Do we really want to buy all our necessities on sale? Do we really need to always feel we’ve done a bargain? And if it’s always a sale, when do we really do the bargain?
I remember a time when Easter was celebrated together with close family, the Summer holiday with all the seasonal fruit and berries was something you looked forward to and Christmas preparations started early December. When I was a child there were seasons and you had to wait, or long for a pair of new summer sandals or that pretty winter coat to arrive in store. Even more fun was probably when my mum went on the sales, The January Sale just after Christmas and the Summer sale starting in August, with bargains between 50-75% off on retail price. Of course you had to buy it well in advance of the sales if you wanted a particular style in the correct size. But there were always some extra fun clothes and shoes being picked up in the sales. And you would tell your friend about the bargain. But by then it would all be too late, the sale would be finished and new collection for the coming season would arrive in store to our excitement.
When moving to the UK, at Easter time, all stores stores had a sale on. Then it went quiet for a few weeks before it all started again, with Mid Season Sale. I then badly regretted my weeks earlier purchases as i could have saved 30%. Then again a few weeks silence, before an email appeared. Shhhhh… Secret Sale it stated. Only not so secret as all my friends had received the exact same email. Again with a 30% discount code, lasting almost until the Summer Sale started.
After a few years I’m now a bit more accustomed to how the market works in the UK. But I can’t help think that designers producing high quality items, and independent shops making it all available to us, have set a price that is right for the product. At the same time trying to keep the prices competitive, with small margins. Unless the retail price is increased I don’t think neither the shop owner or the designer can make this constant sale situation a sustainable one.
And reading the fab blog post by IndiaCoCo I can’t help wishing myself back to the times When Sale really is a Sale.
Completely agree, it is all crazy, and it is also very hard for the shops… Summer sale start in June, most people know that plenty of things will be available, don’t shop before sales start, most shops can’t survive if they only sell at 50% off etc… Sales should start when season is off and new season should arrive at shops when season really changes… It’s stupid that sometimes you can’t find a bikini end August, for example…
I agree. I’d rather have one sale at heavily discounted prices (it’s kind of fun to ransack a sale table looking for your size) than to have a perpetual 10% off…