Let The Discounting Begin
By George Anderson
It doesn’t take long when sales are down for retailers to turn to special promotions and discounts as a means to drive consumer traffic and store sales.
That’s why, despite pledges to the contrary made before the holiday selling season began, retailers such as Sears are discounting merchandise prices across the store.
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Sears added an ‘instant savings’ promotion Saturday, offering shoppers who spent $100 on merchandise such as clothes, shoes and jewelry an immediate
25% discount; those spending $50 got $10 off. From 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Sears took an extra 10% off for most of the items eligible for savings.”
Larry Costello, a Sears spokesman, offered a simple explanation for the retailer’s move. “We decided to be more promotional to encourage customers to act now rather than wait.”
Moderator’s Comment: Are most consumers waiting out retailers for greater discounts?
Despite horrible weather on the East Coast yesterday, consumers were still turning out in pretty strong numbers to shop based on our weekly audit.
From the looks of carts leaving stores such as Target, Bob’s Stores, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Marshall’s, PetSmart and others, consumers were looking to get
their holiday shopping over with. [George
Anderson – Moderator]