When almost no one pays full price, what does “full price” even mean? From cars to college to health care, consumers today are surrounded by huge markdowns—which, when you think about it, wouldn’t exist if goods and services weren’t marked up so high in the first place.
Kit Yarrow
Season of Giving? Holiday Shopping Hits New Heights of Selfishness with ‘Self-Gifting’
Six in ten shoppers will hit the malls during the always-expanding holiday season and engage in what’s rapidly becoming a holiday tradition: self-gifting. We’ll reward ourselves with an average of around $140 in self-gifts this …
Maybe Shoppers Don’t Want ‘Fair and Square’ Prices After All
At some level, all shoppers know that a game is being played in every aisle of every store. Original prices, weekly promotions, clearance racks, coupons, Black Friday, blue-light specials, flash sales, oddly specific prices …
“The most miserly people in the United States right now would look incredibly self-indulgent by the standards of the U.S. 100 years ago.”
Why Some People Don’t Bother Returning Stuff They Don’t Want
“When you order something it’s exciting, but with returning, there is no anticipation of anything good happening.”
Gen Y Consumers: Sophisticated, Confident, Materialistic, Demanding
The tech-savvy Generation Y shopper assumes quite a lot: Tons and tons of choices will be a few quick clicks away, the shipping will be free, there will be online customer ratings at their disposal, and so on. Exactly what, where, how, and why do these consumers buy, and how are retailers reacting to the way they shop? A new book offers insights.
