Lexi Blaser
After Christmas is the time for retailers to quickly exchange their holiday decor for sale signs to advertise the new big sales to wrap up the december necessities. Retail stores are seeking to increase the demand for the remaining products they have in stock in hopes to clean out the supply, and then be able to restock for the new sale seasons in the future. Also, 38% of Americans agree this is a time for all holiday shoppers to return or purchase items they may have or did not received over the holidays. Overall, the days following Christmas are known for the determined shoppers that are seeking to obtain the items they desire, and with the help of post holiday sales, it is deceivingly believed that these products may be obtained.
What most consumers that shop on the few days after Christmas do not understand is that these sale opportunities come with opportunity cost; by anxiously needing to purchase an item you did not receive on Christmas, reality is that by purchasing this item, you are not receiving the quality you paid for. Sales presented by companies can be deceiving due to the advertisements of the cheap quality purchases that can be made, but the trade-offs can be significant. When purchasing sale products, these products are not of the quality they are believed to be; most companies trick you into purchasing items that may be old, overstock, soon on the clearance list, turnaround gift return/exchanges, items not in the correct size or products not in the best shape (lifewire.com). But once purchases are made, there is no going back to return because most items are considered “final sales”. The crazed holiday spirit is used against consumers, supporting the total amount per American to be spent on December 26th to be near $186, rather than conserving the money the have gotten on Christmas, they are drawn into spending it because an item was “on sale”.
Companies rely on the few days after christmas to increase december sales and create a larger profit. It is looked upon as a competitive time between companies to see who can get rid of the most sale items, and then quickly transfer into their next sales season. This attraction has been proven to be similar to Black Friday. As shown in the graph, sales present on December 26th are slightly greater than sales present on Black Friday. As explained by forbes.com, compared to the 45% of Americans to shop on Black Friday, 66% are predicted to shop on December 26th. Proving the effect these manipulative post-Christmas sales have on consumers.Next time you're seeking those post holiday sale, take the time to analyze the products you're purchasing and the quality of the sale. In the end, retail companies are using these sales to their benefit, and tricking consumers to use their money to help support their efforts to become a primary company of consumption.
Leinbach-Reyhle, Nicole. “The Day After Christmas May Surpass Black Friday In Sales And Success This Holiday Season.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 18 Dec. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleleinbachreyhle/2015/12/18/new-black-friday/#23d44ef22054.
Montaldo, Donna L. “Score Deep Discounts at After-Christmas Sales.” The Balance, www.thebalance.com/after-christmas-sales-rush-4120601.
Silva, Robert. “After-Christmas Sales and Clearance Shopping Tips.” Lifewire, www.lifewire.com/clearance-after-christmas-sales-1845695.
I have never thought about this before! But it makes sense. Going to the mall right after Christmas is crazy, and sometimes more busy than on Black Friday, like you said. A lot of people return gifts that they didn't like or that came in the wrong size, and these sales likely encourage them to buy more than they had planned on. Also, once the holiday season is over, all of the holiday merchandise is no longer relevant, and some people like to stock up for next year's season. The left of holiday goods are often the rejects, and the consumers are not getting as good of a quality.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that companies try to boost sales immediately after a huge time of spending during Christmas, and not before! What is also exciting to learn about is the types of goods that most commonly is returned, and if the goods are common goods or private goods.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting article -- I've never considered the amount of people who shop post-Christmas. Beyond clearing out shelves, however, another reason stores may be eager to hold sales is due to the lack of in-store Black Friday shopping this year. A majority of previously popular department stores such as Macy's have suffered a loss in the competition against Amazon. The post-Christmas sale might be an attempt to gain some revenue without Amazon's interference.
ReplyDeleteThis was a cool topic, and post-Christmas shopping was something I knew was big in the economy, but I had no idea how much the sales really bring in. The fact that more Americans shop the day after Christmas than on Black Friday was really surprising. I think the extra pocket money that a lot of people receive on Christmas plays a big role- when people are handed money, their first instinct is typically to go spend it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic to write about, I had never thought of the effects on stores after christmas! It makes sense with gift cards being a very popular christmas gift lately to encourage people to go shopping after christmas, also like you said with people returning gifts. I'm still shocked to hear that people shop more the day after christmas than on black friday, a day made for shopping.
ReplyDeleteAs you said, stores aim to sell the most right after Christmas and through the days that finalize the year. This way they can get rid of the holiday season's products and replace it with what comes in for the next season...reminding me of stores that stock valentines day goods before Christmas is even over! It is odd to think that companies and firms are so anxious in sales that they feel the need to offer such extreme sales even though they could risk the customer dissatisfaction. Although I am sure customers all are willing to spend money on the items that they want that are on sale after Christmas, they don't realize that the quality is dramatically decreasing and that it would probably be more valuable to buy the good beforehand or elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIt's that businesses would hold large sales just after Christmas. A lot of their items were probably in high demand and so they estimated and ordered more than what they would sell because all businesses are aware that if they run out of the product the customer will just go somewhere else. Because most of these items are seasonal anyways, them going on clearance isn't a surprise either. Christmas sale, or any other sale around the year, you're paying far more for the product than company selling it. This isn't necessarily due to reduced quality in the products. Something Kohl's is very well known for is marking up their prices so that sales seem like they are a deal. In reality, at Kohl's or any retailer really, if you're not buying it on sale, you're getting ripped off.
ReplyDeleteIt makes perfect sense that stores would discount many items after the holidays. Not only are they trying to entice consumers to their products, the stores also need to clear out their stock. After the holidays, many stores find themselves with many leftover items, a surplus. To sell this surplus, stores are forced to decrease their prices in order to increase demand (to return to equilibrium after the holidays). Combined with the amount of gift returns or exchanges, as well as purchases using gift cards, many people are drawn in to the sale. While these post-holiday sales might not produce the highest quality product, they certainly work by greatly increasing demand.
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to me that 66% of people go shopping the day after Christmas. I guess it makes sense, but that is a huge number for a country that likes to spend money. I thought I would have seen more promotions after Christmas so companies could make more money off of returns and spending of recently earned Christmas money, but I suppose New Years sales kind of take over at that point.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this interesting information, this is a topic I had usually thought about but never took into consideration. When I think about shopping, I --like most Americans, I assume-- think that there will be a mad rush to return things, therefore am deterred away from big department stores. Even though I go Black Friday shopping as well, I seem to find the most items on the day after Christmas. However, this year I bought a hat for cheap and the box was mangled and all the boxes around it were mutilated. I wonder if stores even give warning or show that these are clearly clearance for a reason? This was very insightful and enjoyable to read!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is interesting to really see how many people shop after Christmas and all the sales each store has. I believe that they have this sale because of the over production of all the products that they want to get rid of. Also, i think they are almost trying to transition into the next season by having sales on all their winter products. However, i don't necessarily think that buying toys after christmas is a good idea because your paying still a heafty amount for a less quality product when you can just buy it on black friday where it could be way cheaper and better quality but this is the way that stores drag you into their stores somehow.
ReplyDeleteWorking in retail, I understand that the items being sold on "sale" may be old or came back as a return, but it doesn't mean somebody doesn't want it. Maybe it's not the best quality, but the customer decides what they want to by. It doesn't make sense to say they are tricking people into buying these things. Ads just persuade the viewer and the viewer should automatically know the ups and downs about buying that product.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the topic of after christmas sales was very interesting, and a cool idea. Personally, I never thought that the sales the day after christmas would be greater than those sales of Black Friday. As a worker in retail I can see how that might happen that you mention it, because both are very busy times of the year, but I would have never really thought that after christmas sales could overcome black friday sales. It makes sense though, because people have just received money from the holidays and often times gift cards that they are wanting to spend. All in all though I agree with you that companies are trying to compete with each other and that sales after christmas bring in more customers than sales on black friday. Good job on the post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that many people go shopping after Christmas, with their money and gift cards lent to them, and can get more things for their money because of all of the sales. By companies creating these sales, they draw in more and more customers to come to their store and buy their merchandise. Though, not all the time does that mean that the quality of the item is lower, it could also be that after December is over and the new year comes around, many stores slowly start to bring back their warmer weather clothing and so they want to get the other clothes meant for cold weather out so they can replace it. (Out with the old, in with the new). There is a lot to think about before just going out and splurging on that ONE THING that you really wanted, but at the same time, the merchandise can’t be all that bad, and you just have to see for yourself if the marginal benefit is worth the marginal cost.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is extremely interesting that businesses increase sales after holidays in hopes of gaining more profit. After all, I am one of the 66 percent of shoppers that go to the mall after Christmas. It makes perfect sense as to why many stores would discount their products after a holiday, one of the main reasons being that they want to entice their consumers into buying a product - even if they don't actually need it! But overall, when people typically receive money after a holiday, it is usual for them to go out and spend it, ending with the business bringing in a lot more profit.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is really interesting and I've noticed the effects that you addressed in stores that I've been to recently after Christmas. For example, I went to the mall a few days after Christmas and it almost seemed busier than when I went a day before Christmas Eve. Even though it's after the holiday season and people aren't planning on buying gifts, I believe that the demand is still high due to people wanting to buy the things that they didn't already receive for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this post because I am currently employed with Target. One of my tasks for last week was that I had to move all the Christmas candy to our Clearance section. If you were a schemer and wanted to snag the deals, you would wait until Christmas is over, and the whole seasonal section is all half-off, and buy everything. I was surprised when I walked past the seasonal section and saw no people shopping for Christmas items.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised to hear that stores take advantage of holiday craze to increase their sales, even if that means marking up prices before discounting them to make savings seem higher or selling faulty products. What i am surprised about is that sales on December 26th are greater than Black Friday. Black Friday is famous for being an insane day of shopping, so to hear that December 26th has more sales is very surprising.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because there are even examples of this before Christmas as well; businesses often offer extremely Christmas specific products in order to expand their target market and increase demand right before the holiday shopping season. However, many of these products are so niche that after Christmas the demand drops very low, and as a result businesses need to drop their prices very low as well to account for the decreasing demand.
ReplyDeleteSeems as though it doesn't matter whether it's before Christmas or after Christmas, there are always sales going on to help increase the amount of purchases. I agree that a lot of people return and exchange gifts after the holiday and that's because the deals are still going on and consumers can save money rather than paying for the original price. The demand is still high due to people wanting to buy the things that they didn't already receive for Christmas. I must admit, I am one of the 66 percent of shoppers that go to the mall after Christmas and I do it every year as if its habit forming. I wonder if stores will continue with the system of sales or if they will switch it up to try to earn more profit.
ReplyDeleteI can relate because one of my friends works at target. He is always rambling on about how people are still coming into the store to exchange gifts and get the deals that are still going. Never really realized how much this effected the economy even after the holidays. Thank you for this great post, i learned so much. #qualitypost
ReplyDeleteIn reality, post Christmas surplus should be a great incentive to buy any seasonal gifts, considering that the holidays will come again. Just like any seasonal closeouts, buying items in surplus give a consumer an advantage for when the market turns over and the next season begins; the seasonal items are back at full price, yet the smart consumer has purchased his items in the previous year to be used for the next season.
ReplyDeleteI see this effect hand in hand working at Target. After christmas they were selling all christmas themes toys or food for 90% what they originally had. It is crazy how the consumer could et something they might have paid full price for the day earlier and pay a small fraction of that a couple days later. I guess that shows how much the stores can make on each item to be able to sell it so cheap.
ReplyDeleteI see this effect hand in hand working at Target. After christmas they were selling all christmas themes toys or food for 90% what they originally had. It is crazy how the consumer could et something they might have paid full price for the day earlier and pay a small fraction of that a couple days later. I guess that shows how much the stores can make on each item to be able to sell it so cheap.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lexi’s argument that retail stores are tricking their shoppers into thinking they are getting a better bang for their buck when in reality they aren’t. The companies don’t put items on sale for the post holiday season to be nice they do it to boost sales for the year, get rid of over stock, and to get rid of clothes they can’t sell anymore at the normal price. Sales on December 26th are slightly greater than the sales on Black Friday which shows you how Black Friday is supposed to be the biggest day of sales but they stores are cutting the customers short.
ReplyDeleteThe holiday season is suppose to be the one where people spend ridiculously large amounts of money on needless stuff. Knowing that the items being purchased are not the quality they would be if they were not of sale is disappointing. Stores manipulating consumers into buying lesser quality goods takes away from the shopping spirit of the holidays. Having “final sales” are also deceiving. Buying products if they were “final sale” should be the better quality items, since those are more expensive.
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