Continuous sales and prices!!

Gastines3

Does the retail trade think the shopping public are complete idiots and are taken-in by the continuous sales promotions? Obviously they do! Winter/Spring/Summer/Autumn/Re-building?Re-furbishment/Anniversary.50%,extra10%,up-to,etc.etc. It would be nice if we could be treated as having a little common-sense and the shops stating that the bed,carpet,kitchen,car,T.V. etc. was made to sell at X amount of £'s and save us all the continuous kidology.

Hintza

Gastines3 wrote: »

Does the retail trade think the shopping public are complete idiots

Most shoppers are and that is why the retailers continue to do it.

Having said that the fall of Tesco suggest some shoppers are waking up.

molerat

As above, most shoppers are.

When I worked in retail the number of people that bought something because it was a bargain at half price was unbelievable. We used to call the "half price sale" the "£10 off sale" as that was precisely what it was, normal price £150, last week it went up to £280, this week "half price" at £140. They could not be convinced that the one at £150 that was showing reduced from £200 was much better value / quality than the £140 one and were convinced we were ripping them off to get an extra £10.

Some shoppers are too stupid for their own good and whilst they are retailers will continue these tactics. Remember when Comet had a "no sales just honest pricing" policy. Even though their prices were very competitive they lost sales because they did not use big red tickets.

pinkshoes

In France, I'm quite sure that they are still only allowed to have sales twice a year!

It is very regulated!

shaun_from_Africa

pinkshoes wrote: »

In France, I'm quite sure that they are still only allowed to have sales twice a year!

DFS only have sales twice a year.
Their winter sale runs from December to the end of May and their summer sale is from June to November.

bris

Hintza wrote: »

Having said that the fall of Tesco suggest some shoppers are waking up.

I would hardly call Tescos, fallen, it's still one of, if not thee biggest supermarkets in the country. It also can't be assosiated with the practises in this thread, they don't exactly constantly have half price sales now do they, 2 for 1's don't count.


But yes the public are constantly fooled by the practise, it's been 20 years now since a sale actually meant something.

JJ_Egan

But all DFS sales end on Monday .

Fact is that this sort of advertising sales technique must find enough fools who believe for it to work . Though as said the new trend of the stores like Aldi / Lidl is changing that somewhat .

paddyrg

Millets near me are 'upto 30% off everything closing down for refurbishment sale EVERYTHING MUST GO', and yet are still getting regular fresh stock deliveries.

Misleading in the extreme.

unholyangel

paddyrg wrote: »

Millets near me are 'upto 30% off everything closing down for refurbishment sale EVERYTHING MUST GO', and yet are still getting regular fresh stock deliveries.

Misleading in the extreme.

Thats actually an outright banned practice - unless they are genuinely closing down.

(15) Claiming that the trader is about to cease trading
or move premises when he is not.
A trader runs a clothes shop. He puts up a sign in the shop
window stating: ‘Closing down sale’. Unless the shop was
genuinely closing down this would breach the CPRs.

The other pricing tactics mentioned can also breach the same regulations - if they are likely to mislead the average consumer and cause them to take a different decision as a result.

I believe the pricing guidelines used to give better guidance on what they could and couldn't do: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31900/10-1312-pricing-practices-guidance-for-traders.pdf

But if memory recalls, its just guidance to what could be deemed misleading under the CPRs rather than statute itself.

tomtontom

There was a thread on the Grabbit board about an M&S sale, some people got very offended when it was pointed out the previous sale had only finished days before.

Yes, many consumers are still blind to marketing gimmicks!

pmduk

bris wrote: »

It [Tesco] also can't be assosiated with the practises in this thread, they don't exactly constantly have half price sales now do they, 2 for 1's don't count.

They were, perhaps may still be, a major practitioner of increasing a price then reducing it to more than the original price whilst calling it a price cut.