You might think seemingly endless sales would be guaranteed to tempt shoppers through the door. But high street retailers are boosting their fortunes – by scrapping them. Debenhams and Mothercare have called a halt to long-running promotions which fail to excite shoppers, replacing them with shorter events that have more impact. And both have announced revived figures since making the change. Experts claim prolonged sales can devalue products and encourage shoppers to delay buying an item until it is reduced. High street chains, including Mothercare, are calling time on cut-price promotions that seem to go on forever . Figures show a third of all fashion purchases are now made in a sale or promotion, and there have been warnings that shoppers are being ‘trained’ not to buy at full price, undermining profits. In the past, retail analysts mocked Debenhams for being ‘Never Knowingly Not On Sale’ – a pun on the John Lewis slogan ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’. Now, the department store has reduced its endless blue cross sales and promotions, which it admitted sometimes ‘create noise but don’t create value’. Debenhams said that despite fewer sale events, feedback suggests customers now think the store is actually better value. The move follows similar cuts to the number of supermarket promotions. Sainsbury’s recently dropped some of its popular offers – including three for £10 on some meat and fish products – in favour of lower prices on more everyday items. In the past year, Debenhams has held 39 fewer sale days, meaning it spent a month less in a promotional period. It has also put more emphasis on ensuring pre-sale garments are ‘better value’ and that the ‘first price is the right price’, cutting the cost of some menswear, womenswear and home goods. Debenhams said despite fewer sale events, feedback suggests customers now think the store is better value . Chief executive Michael Sharp said: ‘It’s not about ending promotions, but being more focused and removing events that create noise but don’t create value.’ Mothercare also expressed a desire last year to return to being a ‘full price retailer’. Chief executive Mark Newton Jones said this week: ‘In the UK, our strategy of reducing promotional and discount activity and returning to be a full price retailer has continued to stabilise margin.’ Its latest Christmas period sales lasted three weeks instead of an incredible eight weeks in 2013-14. Diane Wehrle, of retail analysts Springboard, said: ‘There is a strong argument that the more sales you hold, the more you have to hold. Consumers get used to the store always being in sale and hold out from shopping there until the next one.’ Neil Saunders, of retail analysts Conlumino, added: ‘The model of continual discounting is damaging for a retailer, not least because it erodes margins and dissuades shoppers from purchasing at full price. ‘It’s like a drug – the more a retailer does it, the more they have to keep doing it to generate a sales hit. ‘In some ways, unless it is part of a specific business model, constant discounting is a sign of failure.’
Debenhams and Mothercare have called a halt to long-running promotions.
And both stores have announced revived figures since making the change.
Experts claim prolonged sales can devalue products and encourage shoppers to delay buying an item until it is reduced.
Figures show a third of all fashion purchases are now made in a sale.