J.C. Penney announced today that it is permanently marking down its prices by 40% and stopping its deep discounting strategy that has been the cornerstone of its marketing in the past. Read this Wall Street Journal article to learn more.
The Acara team has always advocated selling value not price. Strategic use of discounts (10% – 25%) has worked very successfully at our client’s aesthetic practices with added-value offers to incentivize consumers to react now rather than later. Essentially the goal is to utilize discounts and offers to trigger an “I don’t want to miss out” response rather than an “I can finally afford it” response.
I have seen too many Medspas and also Aesthetic Medical Practices get caught up in the roller coaster effect of deep discounting. Unwittingly, they train their customers to buy only when there is, say, a 40% off sale or a BOGO. This discount syndrome shows clearly when graphing monthly sales.
J.C. Penney is taking this value strategy one step further. It will be interesting to monitor the success of the program over time.
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