Could you really bring yourself to spout off such dribble and make corporate believe you? Remember that if it has any common sense then it is not likely to be a good idea for corporate.
Still misleading to say you’re discounting a $100 priced item down 20% to $96.
In that case, increase the price by, say, 70%. It’s on sale but you’re still making extra profit!
What you are describing is called price establishment.
There are usually rules covering how long the product has to be on sale at the higher price before you can say it is on sale at x% off.
if a chain of stores is doing it then it isnt always necessary for the product to be offered at the higher price at that particular store or even all stores, just one store needs to offer the hhigher price
Stuart *is* corporate… or at least what Corporate is made up of. These are the people who have told themselves the lie so often that they have begun to believe it.
Except that I’ve bought more from them in the last year and now when I go into other department stores I really do wonder how much markup is behind the tag.
75% markup is the norm. The problem is, that people inexplicably like sales and coupons. They really think that they are saving money, and this all has to do with “perceived” value over real value. There’s a whole science behind it. But it doesn’t really explain why JCPenny is going bankrupt. Something must be rotten at the top.
It seems like, instead of paying the consulting firm, they could have just had a sale, or permenantly lowered their prices compared to their competitors, thus encouraging more customers.
That’s the joke… that they pay an analytical firm a lot of money for these strategies that don’t really work. Customers want sales. At Sears we had a circular saw at $99.99 regular price, but it went on sale once a month for $49.99. Customers saw the half price sale and they bought it. They never bought it at full price, but half price? yes
I think it’s the “snooze or lose” factor that makes sales work. No one wants to miss out on a deal. But you still need reasonable everyday prices or people will only buy the sale items.
A version of this I see in some stores is MSRP followed by preferred card price on all items. If you don’t have the stores “preferred card”, you will be charged MSRP if you buy anything.
After a while, a savvy consumer will get a feel for the ebb and flow of “everyday” prices and “sale” prices, and know when an item really is a bargain. Smith’s, whose “fresh value” card I use (I don’t really care if they track my spending habits, let them knock themselves out, and I get a discount on gas prices, too) will occasionally run 2-liter bottles of my preferred poison, Diet Dr Pepper, at 10 for $10.00. That’s when I buy it, despite the price sticker at other times blaring “Everyday Low Price.” I watch for the loss-leaders, because I know what a loss-leader is. I know where to look on shelves for items that are overpriced and items that are deeply-discounted but “hidden”. Of course, behind me are 99 other people who don’t do things like this, so Smith’s comes out ahead.
Sounds like I should get out of retail and work for an “analytical firm.” Seems like easy money according to Stuart.
Could you really bring yourself to spout off such dribble and make corporate believe you? Remember that if it has any common sense then it is not likely to be a good idea for corporate.
I got it!
We’ll raise our prices by 20% one day and the next day have a 20% off sale!
Wait… I was kidding. I hope this is illegal….
That would actually still be less than the old price. For example.
$100*1.2= $120
$120 * 0.80 = $96
Still misleading to say you’re discounting a $100 priced item down 20% to $96.
In that case, increase the price by, say, 70%. It’s on sale but you’re still making extra profit!
What you are describing is called price establishment.
There are usually rules covering how long the product has to be on sale at the higher price before you can say it is on sale at x% off.
if a chain of stores is doing it then it isnt always necessary for the product to be offered at the higher price at that particular store or even all stores, just one store needs to offer the hhigher price
Will Stuart ever stop bowing and scraping before Corporate as though they can never be wrong? Guess not.
Stuart *is* corporate… or at least what Corporate is made up of. These are the people who have told themselves the lie so often that they have begun to believe it.
Wasn’t there a store that actually did this just recently and it ended up going really badly for them?
JCPenny. Got rid of sales and coupons and just has basic “low” prices. They are predicted to go out of business this year.
Except that I’ve bought more from them in the last year and now when I go into other department stores I really do wonder how much markup is behind the tag.
75% markup is the norm. The problem is, that people inexplicably like sales and coupons. They really think that they are saving money, and this all has to do with “perceived” value over real value. There’s a whole science behind it. But it doesn’t really explain why JCPenny is going bankrupt. Something must be rotten at the top.
It seems like, instead of paying the consulting firm, they could have just had a sale, or permenantly lowered their prices compared to their competitors, thus encouraging more customers.
That’s the joke… that they pay an analytical firm a lot of money for these strategies that don’t really work. Customers want sales. At Sears we had a circular saw at $99.99 regular price, but it went on sale once a month for $49.99. Customers saw the half price sale and they bought it. They never bought it at full price, but half price? yes
I think it’s the “snooze or lose” factor that makes sales work. No one wants to miss out on a deal. But you still need reasonable everyday prices or people will only buy the sale items.
A version of this I see in some stores is MSRP followed by preferred card price on all items. If you don’t have the stores “preferred card”, you will be charged MSRP if you buy anything.
My grocery store does this. I enjoy them much more than any other grocery store I’ve been to.
After a while, a savvy consumer will get a feel for the ebb and flow of “everyday” prices and “sale” prices, and know when an item really is a bargain. Smith’s, whose “fresh value” card I use (I don’t really care if they track my spending habits, let them knock themselves out, and I get a discount on gas prices, too) will occasionally run 2-liter bottles of my preferred poison, Diet Dr Pepper, at 10 for $10.00. That’s when I buy it, despite the price sticker at other times blaring “Everyday Low Price.” I watch for the loss-leaders, because I know what a loss-leader is. I know where to look on shelves for items that are overpriced and items that are deeply-discounted but “hidden”. Of course, behind me are 99 other people who don’t do things like this, so Smith’s comes out ahead.