Retail around here - constant sale and clearances..... - YouLookFab Forum

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Retail around here - constant sale and clearances.....

Sal

Veteran

I mostly shop locally in my regional city and was thinking about my purchases to date this year.

Dress - bought on sale $99 discounted from $460 (boutique - one day sale)
Sweater - bought on sale $99 discounted from $250 (boutique - one day sale)
Boots - Bought for $110 discounted from $260 (boutique - last winter stock)
Blazer - bought for $200 discounted from (I think) $290 (online chain store Witchery)
Pumps - bought at $150 discounted from $250 (NZ retailer closing down across the country- David Elman)

I also added a beanie, dress and casual hoodie at full price from a local boutique and a tee and culottes made by my friend. So maybe 50% sale and 50% full price is not too bad.

But the other retailers must really hurt as people do their shopping at the places offering sales. The mall stores/chain stores/high street are constantly offering Spend and Save deals, 25% off deals etc...

I am not by nature a great sales shopper - all the above were found by chance on sale....so I am sure others are doing better than me.

I hope it is just a small phase as I love local boutique shopping - it really suits my tastes and nature. I am hoping it does not become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Is this the same in your part of the world?

Shopping

18 replies

Latest reply was from Sal

Anonymous

Whatever works. Yes it is the same here. Already the ads are coming out for Memorial Day sales. At several retailers, it is crazy not to wait for a sale. A few years ago a new head of JC Penny's instituted a practice of no sales but fair lower every day prices. Business dropped, mostly because customers had gotten used to the sales. (The regular prices were the highest in the mall. I could get the exact same item at Nordstroms or Macy's for about half the price and they were horrible about returns). After a particularly bad experience, I vowed never to shop there again and have not.

bj1111

Veteran

you are a whiz with small boutiques and sales. i'm too chicken to shop where i can't return.

Sal

Veteran

I agree Joy - in a couple of retailers I won't buy now if not on sale - Rebel Sport being one. I feel 25% off is the price - and any lower than that is a bonus. Our prices are in general higher than in the US and it is not that I want a bargain even so I can buy more - but a fair price and good service is a basic condition.

Interesting about JC Penney - high price and horrible service is a terrible combo in retail:)

Thistle

Veteran

It's totally like that here.

I was thinking of checking out something at AT Loft, but I know a tiny bt of patience will see a 40% sale, especially with Memorial Day around the corner.

Many stores have trained me to have a whisper of patience, and everything will be at least 25%, usually 30% to 40% is the norm.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

My biggest frustration are places that intentionally start by overpricing because they know that beginning mid-June everyone will expect enormous sales. But it must work for them.

rachylou

Veteran

I feel all the stores have a clearance area now - but perhaps more importantly, a lot of stores have closed and the last store standing seems to be Ross Dress For Less. Everything is Ross. It reminds me of that Sylvester Stallone movie, where he’s brought out of a cryogenic freeze and Taco Bell has won the restaurant wars and it’s the only place to go out to eat.

My town does still have little boutiques that never do sales. The quality is high and the styles are unchanging. It’s interesting: There isn’t really a reason to visit any of the shops more than every 5 years and you could probably go 10, this not being a flash place.

Sal

Veteran

Rachy - we have some of those boutiques too!! The ones I like stock a range of NZ and international labels, usually owner operated with a handful of other staff. Usually a mix of clothing, scarves, sometimes shoes, and jewelry. They do return but I think only for store credit or another item.

And I have been to Ross and know exactly what you mean!!

Shevia - yes I find that frustrating too. I don't know if it works or not but someone here may be able to enlighten us.

Thistle - I know. There are about four retailers I won't shop from unless they are on sale because the sales are just so common....

bj1111- I rarely return anything I have bought in store....only online purchases (I think I have about a 1/3 success rate with them). I think return policies here are much less generous overall. Even with large online retailers I think you get two weeks to return from when you receive the item...The whole Nordstrom return policy amazes me - I guess it works for them but it must add to the cost of doing business.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

It s constantly a sale day here in the UK.In fact with a lot of retailers you would have to try hard to pay what they claim is the full price.I find it mildly annoying because it’s not really a genuine sale rather a sales technique designed to make people feel as if they are getting a bargain.

cindysmith

Veteran

Rachylou, I love that line in "demolition man". That was hilarious, and eerily prophetic: all stores are becoming Walmart, all pharmacies are becoming CVS, and so on.

I have no idea what's going on in retail in Texas. I'm in a very remote, rural part of the state so there is nothing near me. Nothing. There are a few stores in the next large town to the west, but even their tjmaxx isn't any good.

I would imagine that if I headed down into the DFW metroplex, I'd see lots and lots of sales in the mid-range stores. It seems they're the ones struggling to survive.

Liesbeth

Veteran

Same here in Belgium. Until a couple of years ago, there were only sales in january and july for seasonal clearance. There were even certain laws about it. No more. On the highstreet, it seems forever ‘midseason sale’ or some thematic sale. Even black friday, which no one had heard of until the boom of global internet shopping and the complete americanization of our entertainment patterns, is a thing here now.
I don’t often go brick and mortar shopping, and when I do, I don’t have time to restrict myself to only sales items. But I will postpone purchases like a winter coat because I know it will be discounted mere weeks after its first arrival.
Boutiques seem to hold on to the two months of seasonal sales. I respect that, because it’s reasonable to discount only when necessary. With constant sales, I do mistrust the original prices, because they still have to make a profit somehow.
EDIT: guilty of stalking sales, however, for good quality items that I otherwise cannot afford but that are more of a want than a need.

Anonymous

Paying full price at a chain or department store feels wrong now, which is ridiculous but a sign of the times. The only place it happens is at Lululemon, and I'm ok with that. At least I don't feel like a dumb shopper by paying full ticket price there.

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

Echoing what others have said—I suspect retailers intentionally overprice their items, expecting the bulk of their sales to come with price reductions. It’s very frustrating as a consumer and gives me shopping fatigue. Like Lisa, I appreciate Lululemon’s absence of sales, which—apart from their Final Sale items—resembles the policies of luxe designers. I wouldn’t mind biannual sales, like in France, but I suspect there would need to be a shift in people’s willingness to spend more for fewer items.

jussie

Veteran

Yes same here. I have been looking for a winter wool blend coat. I would expect to pay around $250aud for a nice, decent but not flashy one. However now that price can only be found during one of the “30% off” sales that they have every fortnight lol.....

bj1111

Veteran

i'm in dc for a meeting and had to do some recreational shopping just to quiet my brain. i hit marshalls, ross, and tjmaxx in rapid succession. tjmaxx for the win, but this is so variable by location.

also, i got sticker shock. even if the prices were already much reduced from department stores, i have anchored prices in these types of stores to something much lower than was actual.

i still hesitate to shop at lululemon. those pants need to exercise for me at those prices.

Bijou

Veteran

Wow, those are amazing bargains. Winter stock has been discounted here because we are yet to get cooler weather, the temps have been consistently at or higher than 25C most days, and we are about to hit winter. For certain items, such as items that I love or my Paul Green footwear that is only stocked by one store locally, I have not minded paying full price. However, it can be tough to buy something to see it only a week later reduced.

Sal

Veteran

Bijou - I am not a good bargain hunter at all so I am surprised at myself. But I think that it shows how many sales are around at the moment!! I am prepared to pay full price too but maybe not at some retailers.

bj1111 - with discount retailers they do vary from visit to visit don't they.

jussie - I agree. Coats here seem to be closer to $400-$500 at full price more (and more for designer). It is so pricey!!

Lisa and GF - I also liked the bi-annual sales approach and agree Lululemon rarely have sales except on the "we made too much". It is mentally fatiguing.

Liesbeth - yes I have a similar approach but I do more instore than online shopping. But I suspect that approach will have to change as there become less local options...

CindySmith - that is where online is brilliant when local options are so limited.

Cardiffgirl - I completely agree sadly....

It sounds like an international thing then - constant discounting, continual sales and being unsure of the true price anymore. I wonder if it is successful though.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Hi Sal your post made me think a lot yesterday. I think essentially I am a tightwad and have been for a long time. I know Angie and the forum call it "sales goggles" and I was guilty of that, which was part of what made my wardrobe expand too much. But now that I'm being more careful and planning to wear everything 30 times if I can, I am still buying nearly everything on sale.
I have access to 4 brilliant outlet stores near me with quality stuff at half the price it is in store eg my new pewter Sills trousers were $89 instead of $179, at the Caroline Sills outlet- made in NZ, good quality, 75% rayon with nylon and spandex which is the kind of blend that makes the rayon last better. They're straights, not the latest thing, but perfect for me for work and already worn 15 times. I know about Caroline Sills, she lives on the Devonport waterfront in a fabulous house worth millions. And a lot of our successful designers are like that. So I guess I think, why give her $179 if I can get away with half that? Other people must be buying her clothes at full price and the outlet store sells what didn't sell before ( the stuff isn't made for outlet like in the US) so why not?
Please anyone shout down my thinking process if you like!

Sal

Veteran

Jenni - I understand your thinking totally. I feel sales make items available to us that we might not usually be able to afford, which is often a really good thing. And NZ designer clothing is expensive so often out of my price range. I often wonder who can afford the coats at $750 and dresses at $550.

I don't feel guilty for buying on sale - but I think when there are so many sales that you can pretty much always buy on discount and have no need to pay full price - so it becomes circuitous.