Black Fridays & Blue Mondays
“Retailers, having controlled inventory this year in the face of uncertain sales, have been more aggressive with promotions to lower inventory and keep pace with consumer demand, which worsened in September and October. Retailers this week are expected to report their worst November sales on record after their worst October, according to Thomson Reuters.”
The numbers are in; lots of shoppers were out on Black Friday…and Cyber Monday is in full swing…but will retailers still be singing the bottom line blues?
Many companies have “trained” their customers badly. Why should consumers ever pay full price for anything?
If you’re always running “specials” - nothing is special.
If you’re always discounting, that’ll become the “real” price…which cuts profitability and reduces your pricing flexibility.
If you always have “door busters” on Black Friday, people won’t darken your door until then. They’ll wait and get that discount. (And, personally, I think it’s cruel and inhumane to ask store clerks to come in before the crack of dawn…to sell stuff people could buy any other day of the year at a decent hour. Doesn’t make for a good service perspective. Exhausted people aren’t happy people.)
I once worked for a tech company where the CEO had become addicted to “fax attacks.” Every week we sent out a wave of discounts and specials…and then he wondered why his profit margins were so low…so he’d run yet another round of “specials.” Duh-oh!
Tags: customer relationships, marketing, marketing troubleshooting, sales strategies, pricing, Black Friday
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