Acerca da maldição dos descontos

"said department stores have fallen back on sales promotions whenever business begins to slow.
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“Sale[s] cannot be the only driver, it has to be a part of it. But product, presentation, excitement in the stores, the salespeople in terms of servicing the customer” all need to be part of the value proposition for department stores to succeed, he said.
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“The dilemma all department stores face is that, while they would like to wean themselves from the heavy use of promotions, they run the risk of losing their customer base as long as their competitors continue to emphasize sales promotions,” Mr. Montgomery said. “Can it be done? The answer is yes, but to do so would require repositioning themselves in the marketplace.
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“Stores fall back on discounts because discounts are simple and tend to meet short-term KPIs for the executives,” said Doug Garnett, founder and CEO of Atomic Direct. “It’s too bad because these other values [product, presentation, excitement in the stores, the salespeople …] build long-term success.”
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“As it turns out, our recent data tells us that retailers are being run by Generation X, for Generation X,” Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research. “So Millennials are turning out to be something like the weather — everyone talks about them, but there isn’t much anyone (besides the fast fashion guys) is doing about them.”
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“Most department stores have thrown Boomers under the bus and have expected us to respond to endless coupons and trim-fit shirts with abandon,” said Bob Phibbs, president and CEO of The Retail Doctor. “You have to earn our business — we’re not rats to the Velveeta cheese of discounts. We’re hungry for something better.”"

BTW, esta altura do ano é terrível para apanharmos o lado negro do retalho. Ontem à hora do almoço com cerca de 80 € de livros na mão desisti. A fila para pagar não era grande mas era apenas uma funcionária que fazia os embrulhos e tratava do pagamento. Para cúmulo, outra funcionária estava nas traseiras a arrumar não sei o quê. Já no feriado, numa loja Zippy estive uns 3 minutos na fila sem funcionário junto ao balcão de pagamento. Depois, lá apareceu uma funcionária muito lenta e que teve de refazer um embrulho duas vezes e tratar do pagamento. Entretanto, outra caixa estava fechada porque a outra funcionária "namorava" com amiga que estava na fila atrás de mim. Tanto esforço para atrair clientes e, depois, morrer na praia...

Trechos retirados de "Can Department Stores End Their Addiction To Discounting"