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Festive give-aways spell the end for many retailers
Archived article dated Monday January 5th 2009
My local high street looks like most others and the one thing that jumps out at you when walking its length is the amount of discounting. You are hard pushed to find any goods for which you have to pay the full price.
By Glynn Davis, City Editor
Whether it is the Marks & Spencer 20 per cent ‘One-Day Spectaculars’, the Bhs 20 per cent off days, the up-to-20 per cent ‘Xmas Spectaculars’ at Debenhams or the sell-off at Woolworths it is difficult to avoid the Sale signs and heavy promotions in stores.
This is great news for the consumer, which should therefore translate into good news for retailers because as they will always tell you: the customer is at the heart of everything they do. The key objective is to give the customer exactly what they want.
The only problem is that they are surely giving the customer far too much. Cheaper pricing over recent Christmas’s has resulted in an ever-greater appetite by shoppers for discounts.
A look at the high street would suggest this has spiralled out of control and some retailers such as Andy Bond, chief executive of Asda, have been vocal about the effect over-promoting is having on the sector. What it will likely do this year is send increasing numbers of retailers over the edge into administration and worse.
The end to this cycle will therefore be less choice for consumers. The message to shoppers therefore is to make the most of the current discount bonanza because it might be the last chance they get to enjoy such a giveaway – it will certainly be the case with some retailers because come January they will no longer be with us.
Contact the author: glynnd@theretailbulletin.com
Tagged as: glynn davis | discount | discounters
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