Sell everything! The house, the kids, the wife, the dog, it’s all for sale! I bet that there’s someone out there reading this and you were totally fine, but then screamed “OH MY GOD” when I said the sell the dog part. But the rest was OK. That’s brutal. Alright, fine, Fido gets to stay.
Having “sales” should be the eighth wonder of the world. They’re magical – magical enough to trick the majority of people into buying way more than they ever knew that they wanted. “Sale” was coined as a marketing term to entice customers to come into the somewhat relentless doors of a retail establishment. A company would lower their prices on a specific product, sometimes called a “door buster”, just to simply get you inside the door of the business. They knew that once you entered the store for that product, you’d look around at other things. This easily creates an environment where you would be expected to spend more money, and thus, the business can profit more heavily.
Very quickly though, the term “sale” has turned into a marketing strategy used by high-grossing companies around the world. I challenge you to walk into a Kohl’s and find a time when they don’t claim to have a “sale” on half of the store at any given time. Oh, and on top of that they are nice enough to hand you Monopoly money as you walk out of the store. This money is redeemable on your next visit, and it’s called “Kohl’s Cash“. Listen, I have nothing against Kohl’s (or any store that I speak about in this blog today), I’m just pointing out their clearly deceptive marketing strategies to show you how companies will inevitably invade your wallet. Another brilliant choice Kohl’s has made is to use digital signs near the majority of their merchandise. This allows them to update or change a “sale” price any day of the week, however they’d like to.
Another genius strategy that I actually like is what stores like TJ Maxx and Ross do. Again, highly deceptive, but I’m impressed with whatever psychology or marketing majors they hired to figure this technique out!
They very clearly list an inflated price of the product you’re holding on the sales tag, and stamp their lower price right below it to make you feel better! As a customer, I bet you do feel better when you’re getting a deal. You’ll probably even buy more when there’s a sale on these already discounted prices. Trust me, they’ve done the research and know this. Now, I’ll admit that TJ Maxx and Ross both have pretty fair and cheap prices on decent quality clothes and décor; but, this is still a mind game that they are playing to trick you into buying their product. And clearly, they’ve won. “Hi ma’am, would you be interested in signing up for our awesome TJX rewards credit card today to save 10% on your purchase?” Ha. Ha. If you know, you know.
One of the most deviant of all of the sales tactics is the credit card. This can be extremely dangerous territory. For those of you who know Dave Ramsey, prepare for his burning rage to jump out of the sales counter if you consider opening one of these! Many companies offer a percentage off of every transaction when you shop at their store using their credit card. It’s very smart, because they can take a small reduction in their profit margin to keep you coming back and in essence make more money by turning you into a repeat offender… oops, I mean customer. You heard me, they are making an even larger profit even when you feel like you’re getting some exclusive discount to be a “store credit card rewards member.” They know that eventually they’ll get you with credit card interest, or you’ll buy more during your visits because you get 5% off every purchase! Often, a majority of companies will offer an even better bonus the day that you open your brand new store card with them. This will result in something like 10% off for that purchase (and guess what? Even then, they’re still making profit).
BOGO is probably the most famous of all sales tactics known to the human race. It comes in many forms these days – buy one get one free, buy two get one free, and so-on and so-forth. You are encouraged to buy one product, because you feel like you are receiving more value for your money (one product purchase resulting in receiving a second product). These sales aren’t always as deceptive, and can sometimes be decent to save some money. Other times, the individual product is already marked up in a way where even when your BOGO, the price of the one product is inflated enough to cover the potential costs of two products (maybe at a lower profit margin than the business typically would want). However, believe you me that they will find a way to profit, no matter how good you feel when you get “free” stuff after your purchases!
I hope you like me reminding you that companies are still making profit off of you at every turn. That’s how they’re a successful business. Businesses need to make profit to continue to grow, expand, source products, and pay employees. No matter how many marketing techniques like sales, price tag deception, credit card points back, magic, voodoo, or brain washing – the company is still winning from your purchases! Not all sales tactics are bad but they are all money-making business strategies. Next time you go out, do the math, shop comparable items at other retailers, and decide if this is the best time to purchase – shop smart!
No Place Like Gone 