When Sales are a Bad Thing

So, have you been shopping recently? Despite the extensive reporting on an economy that’s tanking there was a line 4 miles long to get into one of local malls here in San Diego. Presumably those people weren’t all shopping, or were they? Well, if you’ve seen some of the sale prices recently I think the line up of cars makes sense. I was in a major department store on Saturday and found cashmere sweaters at 80% off the original price. Isn’t that great?? Well, yes and no. First off, I now own so many cashmere sweaters that I’ll have enough to last me well into my old age (as a friend of mine says somday I’ll be the best dressed person at my senior center). But as I was scarfing up all the sweaters I could get my hands on a thought occurred to me. So, does that mean that the other 360-or so days of the year that I’m paying 80% too much for these sweaters? And if the store can cut prices by that much, what else am I overpaying for?

As retailers try and lure shoppers to their stores, it’s easy to get caught up in the price-slashing that’s going on this time of year but buyer beware. If you do this with your book, product, or service eventually people will start to question all of your pricing and begin to demand these types of discounts all year round. So while running sales is a great thing, be cautious of the 80% off cashmere sweater. It might be a great deal for the consumer but it could mean a new demand on your pricing structure and, make your buyer wary of overpricing.