Follow a Big Sales Event with a Smaller One

If people miss a chance to buy merchandise you offer at a substantial discount, you'd like them to feel sorry about it. That way, they'll stay alert for the next time you announce a big sales event. After all, the main reason you have sales is to draw traffic into your store so they'll buy not only the substantially discounted merchandise, but also all the items you're selling at higher profit margins. You want people to notice when there's a big sale.
     Unfortunately, though, many shoppers who miss a big sale will experience regret in a way that leads them to dislike the retailer and criticize the merchandise. In a University of Miami research study, people said that a sofa they'd missed purchasing while on sale was less attractive, trendy, and suited to their décor than an objectively equivalent sofa that was still on sale.
     More importantly, the research found that those missing the sale became less likely to buy anything at all from the retailer. Maybe this is because people were blaming the retailer for what was actually their own fault. Maybe it's because people want to avoid any reminders of the great opportunity they missed.
     The research also showed that you can overcome the problems by offering customers another opportunity to purchase merchandise on sale. You still want shoppers to come into your store, so the sale should be on what the regretful shopper will find attractive. But if this follow-on sale is on merchandise different what was offered in the big sales event, the amount of the discount does not need to be nearly as deep as what was available in the big sales event. That's how to avoid giving away profit needlessly while still maintaining good feelings toward your store and toward what you're selling.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers