Happy Mother’s Day for tomorrow to all the mums reading this. On a business note – I have been surprised to see some newsagents and other retailers discounting Mother’s Day products for the last week, even longer. One shop I saw was offering Mother’s Day cards for 25% off from two weeks ago. What is that about? Mother’s Day is our second biggest greeting card season in Australia. This year is looking good based on the sales numbers I see. Why give away margin if sales do not warrant this?
The key to a discount strategy is to have a strategy: a reason, an entry point and an exit point. Discounting early in an historically successful season does not make sense to me.
AND it devalues. Discounting before an event/season does not make good business sense, not just for the margin, but for future events/seasons. Customers will come to expect it everywhere for every event.
i don’t know maybe they have a lot of stock to get rid of and they know it will not sell after that day ,what is the use of having stock left over after the event ,or maybe they have already marked it up enough so they can discount it and make it look more appealing ,
my stock is not discounted
Just like diaries you said people were wrong to discount before the end of the year, but I bet they had a lot less than you did at the end of the year.Taking 10% now can save taking 50% off later or even being left with it.
people want a bargain and if a store wants to offer a discount goodluck to them.Nothing about it devalues it but may make the customer come back as they know the store is reasonably priced and not over priced.
Mary, you miss the point. Mother’s Day is the second larghets card season we have, sales have been great, the products is sale or return, there is no need to discount.
Also, in this marketplace, 25% off is nothing.
mary, this year I did not discount my diary 2009 and i still sell them everyday like hot cakes
Discounting defintelty devalues the product in the consumer’s mind if the discount is being offered prior to the event you’re buying it for. It creates the perception that the discounted price is the true price and anything above that is a rip off.
As for keeping them coming back well perhaps that is what we would like them to think and in my view poor practice. I am not after that customer who is probably better off at a $2 shop. I’m not going to lower my standard of card offering in the pursuit of a couple of more customers looking for a red spot special. The last thing the Newsagency channel needs is to start looking like a 2 bit dollar operation with specials bins and screaming “get your discount here!”
To date I haven’t done it and my card sales are very healthy. Sure I’m always looking for increased sales but discounting quality product is not the way in my view.
I agree totally – discounting early before any season in our chanel is madness. We want people thinking of us as a first option for big seasons like M.’s Day, not a last resort. I’ve noticed over time that if we put in a big effort for the seasons then more customers remember it for the following year. Discounting early might seem like the logical thing to do, but it will hurt you in the long run.
today is my busiest mother’s day card sell ever!! since opening till now NONSTOP
i agree with eric.
we had more customers than the reject shop nearby who offered m.day cards for $2.