Summer Sale Shopping

Summer time, traditionally a time for family vacations, we pack up our families or our friends and we head to the beach. But not this year. With gas prices hitting an average of $4.00 per gallon and anticipated to go even higher before the end of the season, many are having to fore go the annual marathon of lazy days at the shore. So what is a gal, or guy, to do?

Well there is no point in saving all that cash (and credit) just to turn around and blow it all at the mall. The good news is you don’t have too. Summer is the second best time to shop sales, January, of course, is number one. However not all sales are created equal and no sale starts out as good as it ends up.

With sluggish retail sales this year there are going to be lots of great things available at bargain prices. Understanding how the sale cycle works in retail can save you lots of money. The first thing to know is why do stores have sales to begin with? There are three reasons, slowing demand for a product, the product was seasonal, and the need for the “real estate.”

Demand, every product has a life span. As new products are developed demand for the older products wane.

Seasonal, this especially effects apparel. Each product is made for a specific season and no one wants to buy last season now (unless it is for a really good price). Housewares are also made for each season although the cycle is slower, there are three seasons for house wares, Spring/Summer, which start arriving in stores in January, then there is Fall, which starts arriving in July and then there is “Holiday.”

The Real Estate. Retail space is very expensive. Because of this we refer to every inch as real estate. When a slow moving product sits on a shelf its tying up the retailers most valuable commodity, real estate.

Sitting on slow moving merchandise can cripple a retailer, tying up their capital, wasting the real estate and lowering sales volume. (Lower sales volume directly impacts the value of its stock.)

So now it is mid-June and the Spring/Summer collections are on their way to sale tables. Hurray! Get out the credit cards, right? Well, not exactly. Yes you should head out to the mall, but you might want to leave you credit cards at home, its not time to buy just yet. Bring a pen and a small note pad. Write down everything you find that you want to keep an eye on, write down the price (current price and the original price) and upc or sku number. Its kind of like watching an e-bay auction but the prices go down, not up.

What you see is not what they’ve got. Retailers will set up a sale table with a little bit of each product. They want you to think that if you do not buy today you will miss out on the 20% savings. Yes, this works. Merchandise moves faster when customers see only a few pieces left. This means the retailer will sell more at the first mark down and protect the profit margin. So how do you know if it is really the time to buy? You ask the sales associate. But you will have to a bit sneaky. If you just ask about the quantity in stock chances are you will not get an honest answer. If you show an interest in possibly buying quantity, the associate will be more obliging. “I might need 30 of these, would you happen to have more in the back room?” This will get your sales associates attention and give you a more realistic idea of how long the item will be on sale and whether or not you should wait for the next mark down.

Another important thing to know is when the store takes its new markdowns, most retailers do it on Thursdays to be ready for the weekend. If you ask an associate when the markdown will be on a particular item you may not get an answer. Honestly the associates and even the managers don’t always know in advance what will be marked down when. In fact that decision is not made in advance it all depends on the consumer. If a product is moving at an acceptable rate at only 20% off, it will stay at 20% off, at least for another week or so. When demand at that price wanes the new markdowns go into effect. Its a reactionary decision. Sales associates do however know when the new markdowns will be issued, its usually a weekly or bi weekly event during “Sale” alternating between departments.

So how do you make sure you are paying the lowest possible price?

Make friends. Find a sales associate you work well with and make him or her your friend. Tell her what you are interested in and ask her to call you if another mark down happens on those items. There is a fine line between being a good customer and being a pain in the butt. The later will get you no where. If you are in every week, taking up peoples time and not buying anything, you will be black balled. Be nice, be courteous of the fact that the associates have a lot on their plates and goals they must meet to keep their jobs. The associate can call her favorite customers and tell them when something has been marked down. He or she may even give you some insider advise on whether now is a good time to buy or should you wait. So play nice and make friends.

Don’t burn up your gas. Traveling to and from stores each week can end up costing you more than what you stand to save. Use the phone instead. Have a list of the items you want and ask for a price check. Knowing which days the markdowns happen can be helpful here. Knowing the upc or sku numbers can help as the associate can check everything at a register rather than running all over the store while you wait on hold.

Don’t rely on the internet. Many internet sites are on different markdown cycles than the stores. By the time an item on the internet hits 50% off your local store may have sold out of the exact same item at 75% off. If you want it badly enough you will end up paying more plus shipping.

Price Adjustments. Take advantage of the stores “price adjustment” policy. Most national retailers have one. Before you buy ask what the policy is. Keep your receipts. All you need to do to get the adjustment is bring in you receipts, if an item has been marked down lower since you bought it (usually within so many days) you can receive a credit for the difference.

Use the customer service 800 number. If you waited too long and your store ran out before if hit the price you wanted to pay, call. The customer service representative can often times track down an item for you at another location. Having them do the searching saves you from calling each store individually. You will be on hold for a while while she searches and you will have to pay shipping but if the markdown is good enough it can be worth it.

Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day is usually the last hurrah for the summer sales with radical markdowns on whatever merchandise is left over. Usually 50% or 75% off the lowest price marked. Thats merely pennies on the dollar to the original prices! So carve out a few hours on the Friday morning of the Holiday weekend and head back to you favorite stores. Somethings that were out of range a few weeks earlier may be at a bargain price by then.

Thomas Swider
http://www.insideretailer.blogspot.com

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