Yuletide sales: Retailers engage on price discount to entice customers

Determined to maximise sales this season, various local marketers have introduced discounts on their products to attract customers. The retailers, especially those in the fashion industry and home appliances are cutting their offerings by as much as 10 to 50 percent on the prices of some of their items.

Renowned retailers located at popular areas of Lagos State have taken advantage of the season to reduce prices of their items to ensure that consumers visit and make purchases at their outlets.

However, the idea of discounts arises as a result of the ambition of retailers to clear their stocks, which might have overstayed in the shop and to make room for new arrivals.

To Onyeka Ewelike, CEO of newly launched Footwear Paradise in Festac Lagos, discount on prices is a seasonal affair which retailers introduce to attract customers during festive season. It is also a demonstration of ‘thank you’ to customers who have patronised them during the year.

She believes that in retail business, every marketer, especially a new entrant, has to identify with trends. “I have come to learn that during Christmas season, it has become the trend for retailers to reduce prices on products such as on shoes, bags, among others, which people purchase more, so I am offering discounts too,” she explains.

According to Esther Adekoya, a retailer of children’s clothes at Festac, apart from attracting consumers to a product and increasing sales, other long-term impact of discounts also emerges. “When a retailer offers discount on sales, more customers are attracted and in turn more sales and profit will occur. But in the long run, if you use the opportunity to create a positive impression in the minds of buyers, you could gain their loyalty even after the discount is over,” she says, as discounts offer more opportunities for building customer equity.

To Oluchi of Opinion Apparel Boutique on Bode Thomas, Surulere, discounts are inevitable in the life cycle of any consumer goods market. She explains that it is a very strong marketing strategy that has the power of attracting consumers to see a marketer’s products, especially if the discount is a mouth-watering offering like 50 percent off. “In seasons like this, when demand for some particular products are high, offering discounts on the prices of your product lures the consumer to the shop, and in the long run the consumer gets to know the type of products you have in stock,” she says.

In the same connection, most consumers seem to patronise retailers who offer discounts on sales. Juliana Esare attests to this as she always wait for Yuletide season to make bulk purchases from retailers who offer discounts during the period. “This is the period I always wait for, so that I can only buy from shops who offer discounts and pay less,” she says.

Another buyer at a boutique in Surulere, identified as Nonso Ikenna, says, “I have just bought two trousers which I have been admiring. Ordinarily, the price I got the two could have been used to buy one but with 50 percent off, I got the two. I will check for other retailers who offer same to get other things I need for the Christmas.”

Damilola Coker, a trader, expresses her joy as she could buy clothes for all her children at much reduced price. “I got to the shop and heard that there was a 30 percent discount on the prices of some items, so I was able to buy Christmas good clothes for all my children. I am happy about this and will continue to patronise this shop even after this promo is over,” she exclaims.

Although discount is a trend, but according to analysts, retailers go about the discounting process in an intelligent fashion as business consultants weigh several considerations when putting together their overall marketing strategy.