My God if I have to listen to my mother in law brag about how good of a “deal” her $10 (made up “retail”, $26) Tommy Bahama hand towels from TJ Max were one more time…
taiyang@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Reading the comments about Domino’s coupon obsession, I feel like giving an economics story about when JC Penney said nuts to sales and coupons and nearly went bankrupt.
Corpos in food and retail found that overpricing things then hitting you with deals and coupons caused American audiences to feel like they were getting a good deal. 15 buck pizza for only 6 dollars? Sounds like a deal until you realize that it’s really cheap to make thanks to suppliers and premade frozen pizzas. But if they always price it at 6 bucks, you’re gonna raise an eyebrow.
What if you don’t do that? JC Penney had that idea a few years ago, since their industry basically priced jeans for 100 bucks and then said they were 70% off almost every day. So they tried everyday low prices and… they nearly bankrupted themselves. Lots of factors, but their main factor was their usual clientele thought they weren’t getting a deal even though the prices were cheaper than competitors (while not really attracting a new audience savvy enough to know sales are a scam).
Point is, Domino’s is in a cycle of coupons or bust. It’s a shame you don’t have good pizza options at reasonable prices nearby, though, and a shame the good old days of free delivery seem behind us.
RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Well, TJMaxx and Marshalls is different. Those items are mostly close out, clearance, etc brought in from other retail chains. So on most things there yes it’s some expensive brand you’re getting for a fraction. Unfortunately both those stores (Same company) have also narrowed that margin as of the last few years.
andros_rex@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yeah - I’ve noticed Big Lots (similar kind of store) hasn’t been that much better than Walmart or whichever store the items first came from.
Clearance sales also seem to getting worse across the board. My Walmart puts dented cans and packages with missing stuff out for maybe $1-2 off at most.
IMongoose@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I feel like all food is moving to JC Penny sales tactics. In what world is a box of cereal $8 but you can get 4 of those same boxes for $9. Same with soda prices. Every other week they run these sales.
stevestevesteve@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I hate how people mix up correlation and causation with JC Penney and it’s couponless trial. It was ALREADY very much a failure when it decided to try removing coupons - that’s why they tried it. It didn’t make enough of a difference to pull them out of the nosedive they were in.
It’s not that not doing coupons doesn’t work, it just didn’t save a failing business.
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Doesn’t matter, actually. Now the idea is ingrained in the MBA equivalent of a brain, it will be a generation before anyone tries again.
taiyang@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It certainly wasn’t a thriving business, but I don’t think it’s purely a correlation isn’t causation situation. The points about clientele not adapting are probably valid, given the evidence suggests that they lost those loyalists on top of their nose dive.
And yes, it can work if you are consistent. Trader Joes is a good example, they are thriving and haven’t once did sales while virtually every other grocer does. Domino’s is set in their ways, though, although they’d probably survive if they blundered.