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What’s genuine, what’s not?
Kapsons Director Darpan Kapoor believes that a customer has to be quite witty to understand what is genuine and what is not. “There are several shops that hike prices and then offer discounts on it.
But customers are equally smart these days, they keep a tab on the price of the product they wish to purchase and buy it when the price falls.”
The sellers in the market claim that most of the sales and discounts are genuine, as the sellers are more interested in long-term gains.
They believe in long-term relationship with customers rather than short-term gains. Moreover, sellers believe in selling off the stock rather then stocking it up for the next season as fashion trends change at the drop of a hat.
Impulsive buying
The traders definitely earn when they offer heavy discounts. One reason is that because the footfall increases and people often buy impulsively. Arvinder, Head, Sales, Ebony, in Sector 9, “With us the foot fall increases by over 400 percent which definitely results in the increase of sales as well”. The traders do not lose anything while they offer discounts. Rather the footfall increases by leaps and bounds because of which they obviously earn profits. Adding Darpan Kapoor, says, “Our sales have increased by over 45 percent since we began to offer discounts. Discounts don’t mean that we are not earning, rather it means we are selling more items.”
Marketing gimmicks
This year making it different United Colors of Benetton made it different by offering 50 percent in the early morning and late evening hours. People who must have never woken for a morning could be seen queuing up at 7 in the morning outside its showrooms in Chandigarh and Panchkula.
Keeping this in mind, Ebony too has also come up with latest marketing strategies wherein they offer the same percentage of discount on the Republic Day as the years of the country being republic.
Meanwhile, it keeps on offering discounts of and on at its different product ranges. A similar kind of strategy is used by Ebony at the time of Independence Day.
Here, the discounts start one week in advance and by the time the D-day arrives, the discounts are made available up to the number of number of years the country is celebrating its independence. Last year, the discount offered by them on the Independence Day was 60 percent, which would be increased to 61 percent this year.
Further in Sector 17 and other markets also almost all the shop owners are offering the end of season sale. The main aim here is to do away with stocked items so that they can get the fresh stock next year.
Another very common strategy followed by different companies is that of offering freebies. Car companies to even the bookstores are following this strategy.
The sellers lure consumers by offering them multiple products while the consumer is made to pay for just one commodity. There are companies like Black, which go ahead giving 90 percent discount on its merchandise.
There are genuine sellers and there are not. The buyer needs to be aware of it. Big brands follow a set pattern while individual sellers give arbitrary discounts.
One thing that needs to be remembered here is that shop owners in no case lose if they give heavy discounts. However, there are times when the consumer ends up making a good deal all it requires is a little market research and of course awareness about products.
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