Charles Bodkin, associate professor of marketing in the Belk College of Business, studies retailing, consumer behavior and Internet marketing. Dr. Bodkin frequently serves as a faculty expert for reporters covering stories in these areas. Charlotte Observer reporter Jen Aronoff called on Dr. Bodkin to help with astory focused on holiday shopping. The article, which originally appeared in the Charlotte Observer on Dec. 13, 2009, is below.
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Look beyond the lures during holiday shopping
Know the facts behind deals, and why stores do what they do
By Jen Aronoff (jaronoff@charlotteobserver.com)
Published in the Charlotte Observerand posted at www.charlotteobserver.com
Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009
As retailers head for the holiday home stretch, caution reigns. Or at least, that's the prevailing message that emerged after spending an afternoon last week touring Northlake Mall and nearby big-box shops with UNC Charlotte marketing professor Charles Bodkin.
Our aim: To get a better sense of what stores are trying to tell and sell you during their biggest time of the year, and help you smartly navigate the enticements, appeals and supposed deals.
Though Christmas trees were up and seasonal music played, the atmosphere was muted. Many stores displayed few decorations, and a few displayed none. Plenty promoted discounts, but they didn't seem as deep or eagerly offered as those from last year. And even the amount of merchandise in stores was restrained. Here's what we found - and what it means.
The discounts
In the 2008 holiday season, stores slashed prices to unload excess merchandise they ordered before last fall's financial upheaval, with reductions of 50 percent off or more common.
This year, the desperation appears to have eased, despite the role discounts play in spurring reluctant shoppers to spend. Instead, a discount of about 25 percent off seemed to be the standard, Bodkin said, particularly outside of department stores.
You shouldn't necessarily expect that to change as the holiday draws closer. "If you don't see sales now, I can't imagine something's going to be incredibly different next week," Bodkin said. "They ordered less, so they don't have to mark it down."
Other stores said they already offered their biggest discounts of the season - some even before Thanksgiving, as at American Eagle Outfitters.
Among the most common sales:
* The blanket percent off - as at Ann Taylor, where all full-priced items were 30 percent off. The deepest reductions by far were at teen-oriented apparel store Aeropostale, which had a giant red sign blaring "50 to 70 percent off everything" displayed by the door. Bodkin was skeptical that it would apply to "everything," but that turned out to be pretty much the case.
* The buy one, get another at a percent off. This appeared at a bunch of stores, including Hollister, Express and New York & Co., and it can be deceiving, Bodkin says. A buy-one, get-another 50 percent off deal is really just a 25 percent discount on both items - but using the phrase "50 percent off" sure sounds like a bigger deal.
* The free item with purchase. Preppy purveyor Abercrombie & Fitch, which has experienced steep sales drops in the recession, was offering a $25 gift card with a $100 purchase. Such items often come with strings attached, though: In this case, the gift card has to be used by the end of January.
* Pricelining. This involves grouping items into different price categories, as at Brookstone - which prominently promised gifts under $30, $40, $50 and $70. The Children's Place, meanwhile, promoted presents you could get for $5, $10 and $20. That operated on a different level at Banana Republic, with "Gifts under $100."
Department and big-box stores, with their wider array of merchandise, were peppered with varying amounts of sale signs on racks. Dillard's had the calmest, lowest-key look, Bodkin said - "It's not screaming discounts," he noted - while Belk had signs on nearly every rack, and on many sales counters, too.
The image
Inside the mall, Bodkin found many store windows and in-store displays to be surprisingly unseasonal - perhaps, he speculated, because stores didn't want to spend as much scarce staff time on decorating. At Dick's Sporting Goods, for instance, two trees flanked the main entrance and some garland was displayed, but entire swaths of the store bore no sign of Christmas.
"This is like regular shopping," Bodkin said. "I think there's an assumption that people are going to shop for Christmas anyway."
Department stores such as Belk and Macy's, he said, were the most festive by far - which makes a difference, because it helps create an emotional connection and makes people feel more comfortable with spending money. "That was Christmas; that was emotion; that's what I was expecting," Bodkin said. "It makes shopping other stores feel like a chore."
Stores ordered holiday merchandise more cautiously this year but need to be sure to present well-stocked shelves, too - because choice creates excitement, as long as a store avoids clutter, Bodkin said. He gave Belk and Macy's high marks on that front.
Other notable displays were at more upscale retailers such as J. Crew, Anthropologie and Pottery Barn, he said.
Though retailers nearly across the board - including high-end sellers - have worked to emphasize value and affordability in the recession, appeals based on price seemed to have been dialed back a bit at the mall. At Dillard's, for instance, the racks that displayed signs reading "New Lower Price" had the word "New" in large letters, and "Lower Price" much smaller.
Other displays were simply confusing. Plus-size women's apparel store Torrid had a large disco ball decal and the phrase "All I Want" on its front window, with a decal for a charity above it. Several other stores were also promoting charitable efforts, but Bodkin wondered: "Would you buy something (there) just because of that?"
The Gap didn't even have any of its products in the window at all, instead displaying large photos and decals. One, with big red words, said, "2-4-6-8/'tis the time to liberate," a reference to a recent TV ad.
"'Tis the time to liberate?'" Bodkin asked. "What does that mean?"
The overall theme of the season, he said, is that "the yellow flag is up," he said. The upshot: Tread carefully.