Can ‘sale’s expand consumer base of premium brands?

Will consumer walking in for a sale stick with the brand? What has your experience been?

HB: There are two or three ways in which this works. Firstly, a sale attacks those consumers who find it difficult to walk into certain kind of stores otherwise. Stores suddenly become accessible when they spot a ‘Sale’ banner. But in terms of repeat, it’s highly questionable because most people who walk into a sale will want to walk in once again into the store when the next sale is on. So there is a seasonal sale-buying mentality and in every city there are hordes of people who buy only during sales. The best brands come up on sale and everybody knows when it’s likely to be up on a sale. Therefore, they tend to bunch their buying during the sale occasion.

DC: Based on the brand experience, they may choose to stick with the brand or revisit the brand. In the context of premium fashion brands, there will be customers who are very discerning. They will not buy at a, let’s say, ‘End of season’ sale because they may want to buy only the latest in fashion, when new designs/styles and trends come in. For consumers who otherwise would not purchase during non-sale periods, and for whom getting the latest design as they are launched is not important, an ‘End of season’ sale is a good time to buy. And in a manner of speaking, brands can see it as  sampling/upgrading  opportunity for a new set of consumers. 

Are there any factors beyond quality that can help retain the ‘sale’ consumer?

HB: No, not really. It’s very difficult to retain the same consumer because consumers are promiscuous and since every retailer provides a different kind of sale and every retailer offers it at a different point of time. There are people who are called sale vultures. These are people who gravitate from one sale to another never mind the brand, just as long as the brand name is of an equitable pedigree. So whether the sale is at Puma or Levi’s or somewhere else, people don’t mind switching between brands of a certain stature.