Last week when Spouse's family was here, they stopped in at his mom's favorite store K-Mart. Spouse said all the men's bathing suits were 1/2 off. On July 14th!! Heaven help you if you need a new bathing suit in August.
I remember ducking into a store just after my birthday (2 weeks before Christmas) and delightedly found all the Christmas stuff was already 1/2 off. Two weeks BEFORE Christmas. Its not so bad when retailers mark down seasonal merchandise before a holiday, as long as they still have the seasonal merchandise DURING the holiday. Wouldn't you be mad if you needed Christmas gift wrap on Dec 17 and they didn't have any?
Last Sun (July 18) I was in Dollar Tree and saw that they already had Halloween and Thanksgiving merchandise in the store. Come on!! Halloween is 3 1/2 months away and Thanksgiving is 4 1/2 months away!
That took me back to the early 80s when I worked in a shopping mall. I distinctly remember walking into JC Penney on the day after New Years and seeing the mannequins dressed in swimwear. On January 2nd!!
Maybe this makes me sound old, but I find this absolutely ridiculous.
What is the purpose in stores 'rushing' the seasons? Don't they think it frustrates and irritates shoppers when they can't find in-season merchandise 1/2 way through the season?
How many bikinis do they sell in January? I wonder how many MORE bikinis they'd sell if they still sold them in August?
How many snow shovels do they sell in August? I wonder how many MORE snow shovels they'd sell if they still sold them in January?
Who's with me on this???
Crush du Jour: John Schneider
5 comments:
Retailers flow their goods based on expected selling and gross margin. Most shoppers make their selections when goods arrive, especially for hard to find items or sizes. By mid-season, their competitors will begin pricing wars on in-season merchandise, so their best bet is to liquidate early and move on to the next regular price category. This is why the phrase "shop early for the best selection" is so common in advertising!
I too get royally pissed about seeing xmoose crap out on july 5. too damn early to be putting it out! (heh heh heh, I said put out)
john schneider has passed his prime; he was cuter during the "dukes of hazard" days.
I've searched for summertime stuff and it's typically all gone on or very near to the 4th of July. And I remember trying to buy Christmas lights around December 10-15 before -- nope, they are all gone already. Shop early!
I'm with you, man. These "Christmas in July" sales are just plain crazy. They don't sell grills in January, do they?
I am totally with you on this. Aside from the irritation factor stemming from seeing out-of-season stuff WAY too early, I also get annoyed by not being able to get in-season stuff in the middle of the season. I remember a few years ago, ex-spouse and I couldn't find him winter boots and a decent winter coat in Canada in early February. Let's face it: some years we can get winter-like weather well into April around here, with some of the heaviest snowfalls occurring in March.
Re. Anne's comment on John Schneider: True, but I wouldn't say no given a chance. ;-P
Post a Comment