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Retailers are pulling out all the stops to differentiate themselves in today's hyper-promotional, super-competitive shopping atmosphere. But which do you prefer when it comes to department store shopping? Do you like the game of collecting and using store coupons and store cash on specific sale days to lower that full ticket price, or would you rather just go without all the hassle and know you were getting the best regular price a store offers?
Well, beginning Feb. 1, JCPenney will be leaving the coupon-crazed likes of Kohl's and Macy's and joining ranks with Wal-Mart and Costco in an effort to offer consumers pricing without the craziness. No more coupons for $10 off a $10 purchase and no more door buster one-day deals.
"But do you really believe that's the best price you can get?" asks James Dion, president of DionCo, a Chicago-based retail consulting firm. "Everyday low prices works for Wal-Mart because they are in the business of consumables –- items you need regularly -– which is the reason you go there often. But we are now conditioned to go to Kohl's, JCPenney and Macy's only on specific one-day sale days with our pockets stuffed with coupons and we don't buy anything without earning or redeeming store cash," he says.
The only benefit to regular low pricing is that you will actually know how much your purchase will be without whipping out your cellphone to calculate the different sales with the coupons and your store cash on multiple items.
So, are you the type of shopper who likes to start with the high-ticket price and watch your coupons, promotions and store cash lower that price? Or, would you rather just walk into a store and know you were getting a great deal from the lower regular price on the ticket?
