Why grocery stores in US have so many discounts/sales?
Posted by WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHW@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 238 comments
I watch a lot of grocery store haul videos from America and I tend to see almost everything always on sale. It's not just some random items on the shelf with a deal, but literally everyday products you use daily like meat, fruit, vegetables, milk, energy drinks, toilet paper and so much more!
I've been to almost every European country and they don't even come close in deals and discounts like American grocery stores. Even the big chains and countries (Tesco, LIDL, Edeka, Aldi in Germany, UK and France.)
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHW@reddit (OP)
How do major retail chains compare in prices and quality like Walmart, Targert, Kroger, Costco etc.?
TiFist@reddit
First understand that supermarket/grocery stores are highly regional in such a large country. Some grocery stores like Kroger or Safeway brands tend to have high prices unless you submit to being tracked. Then, prices are okay if you buy what's on sale and with the requirements they set out. For example, a bag of pretzels that might sell for $3 at other grocery stores might be $5 at Kroger, but you can buy 3 for $9 if you submit to tracking. The question though is do you really need three bags of pretzels?
Walmart prices are relatively low for groceries, but often there are local grocery stores that are cheaper depending on your region. Target is almost as cheap as Walmart for groceries but you can submit to tracking, tie your app or a debit card to a payment method like a bank account and save a little more on every purchase. The real draw of those places is not cheap groceries, but that they sell groceries that other places don't sell-- specific flavors or brands that are unique to those stores *or* if you need to buy something other than groceries and just need a few groceries they're convenient.
Costco is a membership, where you pay \~$65/year to have permission to shop there. The prices are extremely low and the products are high quality but you don't have a lot of choices and need to buy large quantities at a time. If they happen to have what you want it's almost always a good deal. They also sell general merchandise etc. They do run sales as well.
There are also specialty grocery stores known for good prices but not infinite selection. Ironically Aldi (Sued) is spreading through the US and a similar store, Trader Joe's is affiliated with Aldi Nord.
mp85747@reddit
"Ironically Aldi (Sued) is spreading through the US and a similar store, Trader Joe's is affiliated with Aldi Nord."
I've always thought this was strange because I love TJ's, but the Aldi I visited once out of curiosity in Germany was absolutely disgusting and depressing. And it must've been in a decent area because I wouldn't have gone to a questionable one as a tourist. Granted, that was many years ago, so they might've improved... I've never seen an Aldi in the US. Since people seem to like them, they either did improve or are better in the US, just like many stores' quality and selection vary based even on the neighborhood they're in...
TiFist@reddit
I'm in an area with coverage from both Aldi (US) and Trader Joes-- not a lot but enough to compare, and I've been to Aldi (Sued) in Germany fairly recently along with a few other German brands of grocery like Rewe and HIT. Trader Joe's is a little more upscale, Aldi (both US/DE) are a little more focused on lower prices but they're usually all clean even if they are more oriented for bulk purchases of relatively fewer brands and rapid turnover of stock so you don't have the same things on sale all the time. The 'Aisle of Shame' at Aldi (both) does bring in a clientele looking for bargains on household and other misc. goods. Of course the German Aldi has a *much* better bakery. No comparison to even a high end US grocery store bakery.
mp85747@reddit
Thanks for sharing.
Ginger_the_Dog@reddit
Walmart is probably 15% cheaper than anywhere else but they never have any kind of sales.
But it’s so gross in there, shopping there is like being punished.
mp85747@reddit
They're not upscale, of course, but they're not all gross. It depends on the city and the neighborhood.
courtd93@reddit
So that’s a hard question because there’s a lot of facets to the answer. To try and keep it simple, regional grocery stores are usually more expensive than Walmart, less expensive than target. Costco is a whole different beast because its bulk items so its less choice and the cost is a per unit difference.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHW@reddit (OP)
Costco rarely seems to have sales, since they already sell for cheap in bulk? At least they don't try to shove -% off or red colored signs in front of their products which is a good psychological trick to gain attention.
TrelanaSakuyo@reddit
It's a warehouse store, not a grocery store. Yes, they have regular individuals as customer members, but their target customers are small business owners like local restaurants, high school booster clubs, and other privately owned retail stores.
unlimited_insanity@reddit
That was the original concept. Now most of the customers are just regular people. They make their money off the memberships, so they can sell products closer to cost than most stores.
boldjoy0050@reddit
I'd say Sam's Club is catered more towards small business owners. They carry a lot of products that Costco doesn't carry like restaurant supplies and office supplies.
TrelanaSakuyo@reddit
Maybe in your area, but in mine most customers are still business owners. They also just happen to purchase for personal use as well.
courtd93@reddit
So Costco does do sales too, you can see them online and I get both emails and a mailer that shows the sales.
bad-and-bluecheese@reddit
Costco also saves money by selling items that are made specifically for Costco, under the same brand name but at a lower quality and cheaper price. They definitely don’t do this with every single brand name product though. But this is the same way that outlet stores and discount stores like Marshalls sell brand name items at such a low price.
Blankenhoff@reddit
Gotta be honest here. Costco is most used by people with a bigger family, at least for fresh food bc the average 1 or 2 person household isnt going to go through that.
As for the others, the prices are all over the places. Walmart is not cheaper, none of them are (minus aldis but they dont sell as many brand named items)
The trick really is to know whats cheaper at each place. This store the cereal is cheaper but st this one, the lunch meat is cheaper. Its also beneficial if they are located close to eachother which they are where i live.
I have maybe 4 grocery stores and a walmart in the same few blocks.
Most people just have their favourite store and do all their shopping there, but some people do hop around to cut costs.
MinutesFromTheMall@reddit
All of those stores you list carry more or less of the same products. Target is much less of a grocery store than Walmart and Kroger are, while Costco is a membership club that tends to sell larger quantities of items.
PC_AddictTX@reddit
I don't know about that. The Target near me carries as much in groceries as Walmart does. Of course Kroger carries more than both, as do Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Winco and HEB which are strictly grocery stores rather than selling a little of everything like Target and Walmart. But every one of the grocery stores puts out a weekly flyer with a multi-page list of items which are on sale.
MinutesFromTheMall@reddit
Targets with full on grocery stores do exist, but Target isn’t typically thought of as a full on grocery store. You definitely wouldn’t be able to do the entirety of the average grocery shopping trip at the Targets around here. They just don’t carry enough variety of food, even basics like produce. Even Target themselves don’t really have a full understanding or vision of how they should sell food.
Help1Ted@reddit
This is so true! I have what was once called a Super Target and have the large grocery section. But it still doesn’t have a lot of variety. It’s weird in a way, and it seems like they have both a lot and yet somehow not enough.
Sensitive_Biscotti14@reddit
Walmart (typically) and target are in a different category as in department store first and then grocery store so selection isn’t so great. Kroger is regular grocery store, nothing else. Costco is on another level with the wholesale side. These are not apple to apple comparisons.
Aggressive-Ad3064@reddit
it's called Hi Low pricing. Higher everyday pricing is designed to encourage higher consumption when items are put on sale.
it's fueled by promotional funding from national brand consumer packaged goods companies. National brands give kick backs of 15-30% to retailers to be spent on price reductions and marketing.
TechKnight25@reddit
To add onto this convo, we do have Aldi, Trader Joe's (which is owned by the other aldi, Aldi Nord), and Lidl (only on the east coast), and they don't put anything on sale. They still get great traffic, but they're a lot smaller and more focused on groceries.
Bigger stores, or even your superstores like Wal-Mart, Target, or Costco, sell a whole lot more than just groceries
DesignerCorner3322@reddit
Some stores got a really good deal on a bulk order of something, so they sell it for below standard cost, but enough to still make a similar profit margin% on it.
Normal-Emotion9152@reddit
It is just the way it is. Now we have cash back on a lot of products too.
Birdywoman4@reddit
They are competing with one another so they have weekly sales.
wet_nib811@reddit
Grocers have 2 main pricing strategies:
Everyday Low Pricing (Walmart, Aldi, etc.) - selling based on volume with tight margins
Hi-Lo pricing - some items sold at a loss, some items sold at higher margins, lots if sales. Idea is to keep in store and fill your cart. Eventually, the margins even out
Kodabear213@reddit
Most of it is sales by the manufacturer - IOW - the brand is on sale. I see that a lot - same items on sale at different stores.
Unsteady_Tempo@reddit
I shop at Kroger. It's like a dang game show trying create a weekly menu based on the digital coupons I've clipped, sales requiring a loyalty card, and stocking up on items that have quantity requirements to get the sale. It's typical for all of that to reduce a 250 dollar bill to 200 dollars.
I see people check out without using a loyalty card knowing they're paying 10%-20% too much.
OhThrowed@reddit
Sometimes its just to move stock that isn't selling fast and free up space.
Other times its because they want to get people in the door, so they sell a popular item cheaply just so you show up for that. (Loss leader)
Some stores its just their schtick.
goatsgotohell7@reddit
Nowadays the majority of sales that happen in large grocery chains are planned well in advance and the brands foot the bill for the sales. I'm sure there are still times when an individual store will make a choice to do a sale on an item more organically, but things are generally very regimented in the grocery pricing/sales world these days.
It's more likely that if something didn't move the store would force the brand to take it back via a previously agreed upon clause.
But the driving sales part is still totally correct, it's just usually the brands who are the ones concerned about sales. Often brands, especially new brands or brands that used to be popular but are losing share will contact a store and ask about offering a discount for their product to get things moving.
Anyway this is a lot of information that isn't super relevant to the question but I started working in the grocery logistics world not so long ago and I find this fascinating. The entire industry is basically pay to play these days! Even where a product is on the shelf (eye level vs low or high) is often related to marketing money spent by the brand!
JimDa5is@reddit
Grocery Stores haven't been random for a very, very long time. I'm sure it's even worse now but I took an entire semester long marketing class in college round about 1986 that focussed on grocery stores and the psychology they used. Like popular items are rarely at eye level... tomato soup will be on a higher or lower shelf because they want you to look at the expensive soup. Same reason they rearrange things every 6 months or so. That way you can't run in and pick up a can of soup stock you have to look all over for it. It was crazy back then, I can't imagine how it is now with the data they have access to
Help1Ted@reddit
Like that one store that’s “going out of business” but they have been for a few years.
Zeppelin59@reddit
“GRADUALLY going out of business”
Lower_Neck_1432@reddit
Rather like this one road in my city that had a "Temporary Speed Limit"...for the past 20 years.
Odd-Help-4293@reddit
Where I grew up, there was a carpet store that was "going out of business" for at least a decade lol
Beautiful-Owl-3216@reddit
Little furniture company in a warehouse like that maybe they are starting new companies and crashing them every year. Those "going out of business" signs look great in bankruptcy court.
Mountainman1980@reddit
One near me has advertised for the last 20 years "We'll beat anyone's advertised price or your mattress is freeeeee!"
I can't imagine calling them with an ad from the competition, and having them say "Gosh darn it, we can't beat their price. Looks like we'll have to give it to you for freeeeee!"
I can't imagine they've ever given out a free mattress.
btmg1428@reddit
You're killin' me, Larry!
VentusHermetis@reddit
?
btmg1428@reddit
It's another one of Sit N' Sleep's catchphrases, which they typically use in their radio commercials. But their more famous catchphrase is, "Sit N' Sleep will beat anyone's advertised price OR YOUR MATTRESS IS FREEEEEEEEE!!!”
CaucusInferredBulk@reddit
Every matress store has custom models from the factory. Its something like a different color or thickness of decorative stitching. Completely irrelevant. But its a different model number. So you can never find the exact model to price compare.
Mountainman1980@reddit
Ah-ha, same thing when comparison shopping TVs. They're the same identical TVs between (online) stores except for one tiny insignificant variation, and because the 6 or 8 digit model number is one digit different at the end, they don't have to price match.
lufthavnen@reddit
That ad is now stuck in my head again, thanks
Swimminginthestorm@reddit
The carpet store near me that was going out of business for 10+ years finally closed a couple weeks ago.
Help1Ted@reddit
Lol exactly! We had a store that was basically just a local version of Ross, Marshall’s or TjMaxx. And it has been going out of business as long as I can remember.
hsj713@reddit
Or the ones that have the Under New Management banners for years.
Jen0BIous@reddit
This is the correct answer
Red_Beard_Rising@reddit
They also track the what discounts are used and how much. It's all to build a model of what the consumer will or won't buy on discount. This tells them if the lack of sales is a price issue or lack of market issue.
mocha_lattes_@reddit
Sometimes it's also from the manufacturer to get people buying more product and they reimburse the store like they do with coupons.
Also, no one likes spending a bunch of money on groceries but make them feel like they got a deal and people enjoy it. Basic psychology that they use for sales tactics.
DefrockedWizard1@reddit
all of the above plus it can also be that their prices are higher than they need to be, and the sale price is just an illusion
hobokobo1028@reddit
To sell stuff before it expires
HotButteredPoptart@reddit
We have so many choices, stores have to lure you in somehow.
GrimSpirit42@reddit
There are several reasons for items to be on sale:
DisgruntledGoose27@reddit
Those that increase the prices only to mark them down because that sells more
Miserable_Smoke@reddit
Part of the reason is those discounts are subsidized by data mining. You only get the discount if you join their club. You only get the really good deals when you tap the deal on your phone.
NorwegianSteam@reddit
Aldi's entire business model is that everything is on sale. But it gets people to buy more stuff, or to go into the store in the first place. If you buy a lot of something, and you see it is on sale for a really good price so you go into the store to buy a bunch, you are going to grab other stuff while you're there. Or if you have a bunch of fish that is going to be past its date in two days, selling it so you made $.25/lb instead of $2/lb is still better than writing it all off as a loss.
Ginger_the_Dog@reddit
I can’t shop at Aldi.
I don’t have a quarter for a cart.
I want my stuff, not random generic Cherry-Ohs instead of Cheerios. Bleh. Not the same.
I know some Aldi’s are better than others but my local Aldi is a dumpster fire of random leftovers.
Lower_Neck_1432@reddit
Buy a cart unlocker on Amazon for $2, put on key chain, never need a quarter anymore.
Jumpy_Engineer_1854@reddit
Grocery stores in the US tend to operate with very thin margins and high volume. If a product isn't selling (for whatever reason), they need to do what they can to get their value out of it without taking a complete loss.
A bigger issue is that in most of the US, families and customers are driving to grocery stores and doing relatively large amounts of purchases at once (say, shopping for the family for a whole week). Places like NYC with bodegas and small daily or every other day purchases being the rule are the exceptions.
As a result of that, customers are likely to buy enough other things to make up for the loss... So a heavily advertised sale can bring customers in, the stores loses money on that item, but while the customer is there they buy other stuff. This is called a "loss leader."
Also, in many areas grocery stores tend to be "sticky" in terms of brand loyalty. Tou have a local store you're familiar with or a chain that you trust. Stores value loyalty and use loyalty card sales and coupons to keep those folks coming back.
Dismal-Detective-737@reddit
Psychological Americans love sales. JC Penny tried to get rid of them and go to "straight pricing" and it backfired. https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2017/02/24/a-strategic-mistake-that-still-haunts-jc-penney/
I have never seen Milk on sale. But Rockstar energy drinks are regularly $2 each and once every 2 months they'll go to $1/each.
Beautiful-Owl-3216@reddit
I'm American and lived in NYC and other countries for 20 years and never went to normal US supermarkets. I started going about 2 years ago and it was infuriating. I'm not price sensitive, I don't really care about the price. I don't want 3 of anything, I just want to get the things on my list. But when the blueberries are $5.99 and buy 3 for $6.99 I feel like I am getting fucked. If they were $6.99 I would have bought one but then I just go home. Same blueberries are $1.99 in every other supermarket.
I just don't go anymore. Farmers market, Instacart from Aldi or little random immigrant markets. Super bonus club card savings discounts are not for me.
boldjoy0050@reddit
Are people not smart enough to realize it's a scam? When I go to Kohl's and see "Original price $49.99 - Sale price $19.99" anyone with half a brain would realize that shirt never sells for $19.99.
Surprise_Fragrant@reddit
I see milk on sale in places like CVS or Walgreens (as a loss leader to get you in the door), but never at grocery stores themselves.
ChuushaHime@reddit
My grandmother managed a JC Penney and it's worth mentioning that at the time they made this change, they also made additional sweeping, drastic, clumsy changes under short-lived CEO Ron Johnson that severely alienated their legacy customer base while failing to appeal to and bring in a new one. I can't argue that Americans love a sale but would be interested to see this experiment carried out again in a vacuum, instead of during a period of brand upheaval.
Surprise_Fragrant@reddit
Yeah... I was ride or die for JCP back then, and I wasn't even mad about the pricing changes, but all the other changes that were stupid. JCP will never be a cool hip place to shop, but they sure did try to make it that way, and alienated the majority of their shoppers (who skew middle-age and up).
Beautiful-Owl-3216@reddit
Nothing is really on sale or discount. They manipulate the prices to dazzle stupid consumers. An item that is always $1.99 in Aldi will be $5.99 BUY ONE GET ONE FREE in major supermarkets or $5.99 ($2.99 with extra super bonus club card savings).
KevinTheCarver@reddit
We like a sale 😅
AvonMustang@reddit
I hate sales. Especially at Kroger - they are so confusing. Kroger seems to always have three different sales each with their own criteria at any given time. I still go there sometimes but less than I normally would just because I hate decoding their sales all the time...
gothiclg@reddit
Lowering a price (even temporarily) brings in more people than it might normally. They also spend money with you they might not normally. It ends up being a win for the store.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHW@reddit (OP)
It's crazy how competitive they are in America, the retail companies seem to have a lot of money to throw around to gain market share.
Constellation-88@reddit
Corporations are always trying to manipulate us into giving them our money.
Businesses are never losing money on sales or they wouldn’t do them. “ Loss leaders” Not withstanding, the fact that businesses have sale so often just goes to show that they are selling items at prices that are quite a bit higher than they are really worth.
VentusHermetis@reddit
they're worth whatever they sell for.
Eldestruct0@reddit
Grocery (and restaurant, for that matter) actually have pretty thin margins for profit from what I understand; it's what encourages them to be competitive with each other.
PartyPorpoise@reddit
Grocery stores actually have a pretty small profit margin. Guess that's why they have to be so competitive.
boldjoy0050@reddit
Is it mostly older people who go after grocery store sales because they still get a newspaper? Because I wouldn’t even know how to find out what’s on sale at the grocery stores near where I live.
Terradactyl87@reddit
In my area newspapers don't have coupons, and the store rarely sends mailers, but they also don't have coupons. They have certain in store deals listed that go on automatically if you have a reward card. It's actually older people not getting the good deals because to get the good stuff you have to have an account and their app that has coupons and reward points. I've seen many older people getting pissed at checkout because they have all these reward points they can't spend and the sale price listed doesn't apply to them because they haven't added that deal to their account. They don't know how to use the internet or download an app, so they just lose out. Meanwhile, I got 3 pounds of strawberries today for $4 because I use the app.
boldjoy0050@reddit
I shop at Walmart, ALDI, and my local Hispanic and Asian stores. Hispanic and Asian stores have by far the best produce for the best price. Walmart and ALDI are better for pre-packaged items like pasta and cans. None of these stores do coupons or have major sales like the grocery chains do.
Terradactyl87@reddit
My area doesn't have specialty stores, just chain grocery stores and one small privately owned store that has a small selection of essential items. Otherwise it's just Safeway, Fred Meyer, Super 1, and Grocery Outlet. All of these have rewards cards and digital coupons you can manually add to your account. The only one with physical coupons is Fred Meyer, and they send rewards members a small pack of coupons each month that is customized to your shopping habits, but the best deals are still their digital coupons.
EggMysterious7688@reddit
My grocery store had an app where you can view the weekly sales, order delivery or pickup, use digital coupons online or in-store, etc.
cthulhu_on_my_lawn@reddit
Yeah I use store apps mostly to see whether they have something in stock and while I'm in the app I might see that there's a sale.
DefrockedWizard1@reddit
they stopped doing mailers years ago here, but they all have websites where you can see if there's anything on sale, except for Kroger. their, "Digital coupons," are a pain to sort through and difficult to load onto the Kroger card if you don't have a smart phone, so I've stopped shopping there
IthurielSpear@reddit
I’m an older folk, I use the store app because some of the sale items have digital coupons that you can only activate with their stupid app. I understand why they do it that way (tracking, data mining, etc) but I hate using their apps, so you’re actually probably better off.
michael-turko@reddit
Because I bought 4 12 packs of cokes today I normally wouldn’t have.
Buy two, get two free.
AdventurousTravel509@reddit
I hate this concept. I didn’t come in to buy 4 12 packs, yet here I am!! Just sell me 1 for the price of 1. lol
ContributionLatter32@reddit
Tbf sodas take a long time to go bad, so in this case getting 4 of them when you only needed 1 at the time is fine in my book
OinkOink9@reddit
And that crazy amount of sugar! Those 12 packs should be discontinued for the sake of health.
OinkOink9@reddit
Looks like my comment triggered obese people that they chose to downvote.
tryingnottocryatwork@reddit
not everyone that enjoys a soda every now and then is obese, that’s a bit out of touch to say
OinkOink9@reddit
My comment was only meant for people who buy in bulk.
lululobster11@reddit
They usually have whatever the soda companies sparkling water brand is on those deals also,
azerty543@reddit
They can't do that because they aren't making money on the coke. They are making money on the other things you get while buying the coke.
aglobalvillageidiot@reddit
Coke has some strict vendor agreements that include dictating the lowest price you can advertise their product for. They're about the only example in the grocery store this definitely isn't true of. They make money on Coke.
The principle is right, just thought it was kinda funny that's the product picked.
Pale_Pomegranate_148@reddit
The store I work at has "buy two get three free". Either soda and chips or just chips or just soda 😂😂. Usually during like big games such as super bowl and during holidays And such 😂😂
No_Pomelo_1708@reddit
Also, the manufacturer will give kick backs if you hit a certain number of items turned. Manufacturers will pay for eye level merchandising and displays.
igotshadowbaned@reddit
If a store has a lot of blueberries that aren't selling as fast as they'd like and the sell by date is coming up soon, they'll drop the price. Selling at discount is better than not selling at all and throwing away
shelwood46@reddit
It's a rotation, most stores put out weekly flyers with sale items and digital coupons. Seasonal produce is often cheaper than when out of season. I don't see milk on sale often unless it's some kind of specialty milk, but, yes, everything else has some variety on sale pretty much all the time. Many people check the weekly flyers (they used to get mailed or inserted in local newspapers; it's all digital now) and shop to the sale, especially if you have multiple nearby stores from different chains.
jupitaur9@reddit
Manufacturers put out coupons , and stores put those items on sale at the same time, for extra savings.
It’s basically to confuse you about prices, though. You will remember the $1.27 shampoo that’s usually $3.79.
shelwood46@reddit
I almost never buy name brand stuff -- the manufacturer coupons are usually for big brands that are already far more expensive than the store brand. But the store brand stuff goes on sale pretty often where I am.
oIVLIANo@reddit
Because "regular price" is an artificial markup to make you think you're getting a discount. It's all marketing.
Any59oh@reddit
I've worked in a convenience store before, a lot of the sales aren't actually sales. Stores will claim to sell something at a high mark up and then put it on "sale" to a lower markup so people buy it. In actuality they wanted to sell the product at that lower price so they trick us by saying it costs more than it should but look we're giving you a (fake) discount so you should buy it
Servile-PastaLover@reddit
promotional pricing from grocery manufacturer/distributors.
gitismatt@reddit
a lot of how our grocery stores are stocked is dictated by the manufacturers of the items on the shelves. the major companies pay to have better shelf placement and more shelf space. major name brands will be at eye level while store brands will be on the botom shelf.
in order to capitalize on this investment, many national brands will distribute coupons to incentivize customers to buy their products. the idea is to get a customer to sample the product once or twice and they'll like it so much they'll keep buying it at normal price.
many of the haul videos you see likely include manufacturer coupons. sotres will also do the same for members of their loyalty programs. offer some kind of big bargain just to get someone in the store where they'll inevitably buy other things,
Professional_Cheek16@reddit
Loss leader
usernamesarehard1979@reddit
If it isn’t on sale don’t buy there (pretty much) but Whole Foods actually has some killer deals on meat sometimes and the quality is really good.
Egnatsu50@reddit
It's also pulls customers over.
Say I drink coke, but Pepsi is buy one get one. I wouldn't buy normally but will when you get twice as much.
Coke lost a sale Pepsi got one.
Also at times the discount stuff to clear shelf space.
Hypnox88@reddit
Some people will maximize these and mostly buy those items sure. But the fast majority will be buying other things as well.
Stores are designed specially to get you to buy more than what you came in to get. I am lucky enough that my brain doesn't really fall for that stuff. 99.99999% of the time if I go to a store for 6 items, I walk out with 6 items.
However, most people will go in there for 6 items and walk out with 20+
SpiceEarl@reddit
There are also a smaller number of shoppers who don't use the store apps and dont shop the sales, just buying whatever looks good. While some of these people are well-off, others live paycheck to paycheck and don't really understand that they are wasting money; money that can be saved for their future.
Hypnox88@reddit
Saving? It seems you don't realize how many people are living pay check to pay check. lol. Only thing most people "save" is to have the rare treats or nights out.
SpiceEarl@reddit
I'm not talking about the people who buy stuff on sale and still struggle to pay their bills, I'm talking about people who earn more than that, yet spend all their money by not being smart about their purchases.
boldjoy0050@reddit
Time is money. I could go to Kroger for on sale chicken, HEB for on sale steaks, and Tom Thumb for on sale 12pk of Coke but that takes 3x as long. And just to save a few dollars, it isn't worth it for me.
Maybe if I had a large family and racked up $300 grocery bills, I might feel differently.
Hypnox88@reddit
So people who have the chance to actually live life and enjoy it shouldn't, got it.
ShelbiStone@reddit
Lots of people here are already talking about loss leaders and they're correct. Another thing to know is that supply creates its own demand, which explains the buy x get 1 free sales. You were never going to buy 3 boxes of crackers, but because the 4th box would be free you leave with 4 boxes instead of the 1 you wanted in the first place.
Both-Election3382@reddit
If you wanna see discounts in the EU come to the Netherlands, we make a sport out of it.
Laughingfoxcreates@reddit
Cuz that milk gonna expire tomorrow and then they can’t profit off it.
Blankenhoff@reddit
They need to push stock
They have revolving discounts to keep people coming in but they have to buy the rest of the ingredients at full price.
Vendor items do what they want
Its a holidaya and they want your business bc they know people will be buying extra food
This is a think in many retail stores though. Memorial day weekend (this is in may).. lowes and home depot.. and other places always have mulch on sale. They know its a big weekend to plant stuff. People are about to have guests over for the entended weekend for parties, its right around the time you have no more risk of frost, so your flowers wont die. So come for the 5 dollar a bag mulch and get ass expensive plants.
martlet1@reddit
Our local grocery has .oo coke, two liter bottles. Always. They take a loss on it to get you in the store and buy other things.
dumbandconcerned@reddit
The meat and produce typically go on sale as they get closer to their expiration date. Other things, like toilet paper, might go on sale to attract customers into their store rather than a competitor’s store, or just generally get customers in the door so that they will presumably by the sale item as well as their other regular shopping items there.
Own_Thought902@reddit
I shop at Aldi in the US so I don't have to deal with this. It's a marketing scheme. Everything in a big American grocery store is designed to trick you into spending more money. They draw you in with an advertised discount and then arrange the store to walk you past all kinds of high-profit items displayed in alluring ways. This is life in the USA - unless you shop at ALDI.
SeaworthinessIcy6419@reddit
Maybe different Aldis are really different. I once was making chili for 500 people and I price checked every grocery store in my area. The only things I bought at Aldi was green pepper and powdered lemonade. Everything else was cheaper at Walmart.
Own_Thought902@reddit
I bounce back and forth between the two. I am surprised that Walmart beat Aldi on that many items. Maybe I should check a little more closely.
Prof_Acorn@reddit
Sell something for $5.
"Hey that's a lot of money!"
Sell something for $8 on sale for $5.
"Hey it's on sale! What a bargain!"
SFG1953-1@reddit
"Loss leaders" to get you into the store and charge you more for everything else.
Head-Major9768@reddit
Retail is marked up 300% of cost. At 75% they’re still making money.
Butterbean-queen@reddit
No. Just no. Target’s average markup is 46%. Walmart’s average markup is 33%. Nordstroms average markup is 67%.
Head-Major9768@reddit
I was a wholesaler for 16 years. Hard goods.
Butterbean-queen@reddit
So please tell me what hard goods do retailers mark up 300 percent? Jewelry is the only thing I can think of.
Head-Major9768@reddit
Furniture, home decor, tools, gardening supplies.
Butterbean-queen@reddit
Then why did you make a blanket comment that “retail” is marked up 300%. Furniture is marked up from 30% to 300%. Tools aren’t typically marked up 300%. The typical markup is 5-15% for power tools, 40-60% for hand tools.
Head-Major9768@reddit
Are you a buyer?
Butterbean-queen@reddit
I’m recently retired. But yes, I’ve been a buyer before. Not for any of those places but I have done lots of research on mark up for different businesses.
Butterbean-queen@reddit
I’m recently retired. But yes, I’ve been a buyer before. Not for any of those places so I have done lots of research on mark up for different businesses.
Curmudgy@reddit
Supermarkets don’t mark up that much on staples.
Head-Major9768@reddit
I’m talking hard goods.
fiestapotatoess@reddit
Grocery stores are generally operating on super tight margins. You need to have a lot of volume to make money in that business.
T2Wunk@reddit
Only true when you consider how much product is thrown out. They throw out hundreds of pounds of food every few days. It’s a net profit that’s somewhat tight.
Kingberry30@reddit
It can be because an item isn’t moving so the store wants to get rid of it or the store gets a deal from a distributor so the store puts that item on sale. Also it can also be that an item sells well during a certain season. Those are the reasons I know. There maybe more.
OrdinarySubstance491@reddit
Marketing
SeattleBrother75@reddit
It’s just a marketing ploy.
Suck people in with “good deals”, then they buy more shit at full price or more
JasperStrat@reddit
Weak consumer protection laws and privacy laws are a large part of it. The sales often require you to use a "club" card that allows you to be tracked, and there is very little you can do to get that data deleted later. Along with few requirements that "sales" actually be a discounted price. It isn't that they jack them up to discount them, it's that the sale price requiring the club card is a perpetual sale. And all of it works on consumer psychology. There are post secondary degrees fully devoted to marketing psychology and getting people to spend more money.
crazycatlady331@reddit
LPT-- if you do not have a club card, Jenny likely does. Type in (store area code) 867-5309 when they ask for the phone number.
TheJokersChild@reddit
It gets people in. Gives them a reason to go to one store instead of the other. Some of us cross-shop and get our chicken at Giant, our produce at Safeway and our cereal at Harris-Teeter; we go to whatever store has what we need on sale. Stores all have apps with coupons we can clip online. Some sales are held by the manufacturer, so the stores follow along on the sale price the manufacturer sets.
We have Aldi and Lidl here, and they're priced low enough that while they do have sales, they don't need them as much as the bigger, US-based stores. They have apps too.
joepierson123@reddit
Some stores have club cards so there's one price for club members and another price for non members I think that's what you're talking about
the_quark@reddit
And to be clear, the point of the club cards is to track and market to you. So the deal is "let us easily track you, and we'll charge you slightly less for common items."
amc365@reddit
Half the time the clerk just puts in the generic frequent shopper number so you get the deals without entering your number.
IONTOP@reddit
(local area code) 867-5309 works everywhere
crazycatlady331@reddit
Giant does a tally on the receipt for how much you've saved this year. One time I forgot my card and put in Jenny's phone number.
She saved over $1000 and it wasn't even Valentine's Day.
Inside_Ad9026@reddit
Jenny must have AMAZING rewards clocked up.
IONTOP@reddit
Fuel Rewards are 100% gone every time...
im-on-my-ninth-life@reddit
You do realize tracking is also useful for the business itself. I.e. knowing that customers that buy A also buy B, etc
Any_Scientist_7552@reddit
It's also useful to the consumer, since it gives you discounts on the things you buy. I don't buy many branded products, but I do buy produce, meat, and seafood. The apps consistently give me substantial discounts on those items.
Frederf220@reddit
Club cards are like going to a university in your home state. It's less a discount and more a punitive fee if you're not in the club. The non-member prices are really high.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHW@reddit (OP)
That's a sweet deal for both the customer and company. Members get to save money and company gets more loyal customers. In my country's biggest retail chain everything is overpriced, but they tend to have a lot of "discounts" for members that aren't even great and their reward system is ass.
amc365@reddit
They seem to have cut back on rewards. Years ago they used to give you stamps on top of the discounts. Like 1 stamp for every $10 you spent which could be redeemed for things like pots and pans. We still use the pans we got like 15 years ago too!
geri73@reddit
Idk where you are in Illinois, but if you have a Schnucks or Dierbergs, they have a nice point system that turns into store dollars.
therealdrewder@reddit
People buy more stuff when it's on sale. This is actually why Walmart was founded. He found that items on sale made more money so he wanted to put everything on sale but his corporate leaders didn't want to so he bought out the stores he managed and started Walmart
Littleboypurple@reddit
Increase customer traffic - Stuff being cheap gets people through the door because people wanna save money
Promote brands/new products - Buy my crackers, they're cheaper compared to the other ones. Also, not surprisingly, if Coca-Cola is releasing a new limited time flavor, stores will briefly have a sale in Coke products to encourage customers to buy and try it
Stay above the competition - Stores gotta attract people and their money so they stay cheaper in order to encourage shopping at their location
Get rid of inventory - They could be trying to push something to get rid of it because they have a lot of it to sell or wanna get rid of what's left to get in new stuff (e.i Heavy discounts on Halloween stuff after Halloween to make room for the Christmas stuff)
Loss Leaders - If someone buys something cheaper, that might encourage them to buy more than they initially intended because they're saving more money. (e.i. A sale on laundry detergent might encourage a customer to buy more cleaning products than they originally thought to get)
MsPooka@reddit
I don't know about the rest of Europe, but US food is much more expensive than in the UK. There are higher profit margins for the stores so they can put things on sale.
MeanTelevision@reddit
To get you in the door. To make you feel someone cares about your budget. To make things more affordable. To get rid of extras or something that is not selling well or fast enough. To entice people to try something new because it's cheaper.
There is a concept called 'loss leader' also in which a store will break even or even take a small hit on profit on one item, to get people in the door, where they will often complete their shopping and buy a lot of other things, often not on sale.
bonzai113@reddit
we have Aldi and LIDL here in the states. a small part of it is to attraction new customers. it also allows older inventory items to go out quicker and make space for new inventory items.
Maximum_Pound_5633@reddit
Competition. Trying to get people to shop there, instead of the store across the street(whonis doing the same to lure customers there
DummyThiccDude@reddit
It moves product better, and the small amount that they lose is pretty negligible.
Technically, im saving $1 by buying 2 frozen pizzas for $7, but im also spending $3 more than my i would have if i didn't buy 2. Net profit for the store.
People get satisfaction from getting those perceived good deals, so they spend more money. That's also why you see clearance items on endcaps or islands. People see a deal that they dont have to hunt for, so they're likely to stick it in their cart if it interests them.
Icy_Huckleberry_8049@reddit
not everything is on sale either.
What you're seeing is just stuff that's been posted.
Try some of the actual store websites.
Soe of the stores near me have sales but it's a lot of jink food or paper products. Nothing of real value.
Constant-Security525@reddit
Near where I lived most of my life, ShopRite stores tended to have the best sales. They even had sales they called "Can-can sales", which were definitely not limited to canned goods.
I live in the Czech Republic now. Most Czech grocery stores have several items on sale. I don't see a big difference between CZ and the US, in this respect. I believe some countries in the EU are a little different, though.
BB-56_Washington@reddit
Too get people to shop there.
JackfruitCrazy51@reddit
To
BB-56_Washington@reddit
Tew
JackStraw-Waukesha@reddit
Tooo
IthurielSpear@reddit
Two
tortie_shell_meow@reddit
Sometimes they mark up the price on purpose, put a "discount" price (aka the real price all along), and then call it a sale. There's a lot of mind fuckery going on over here.
ShylokVakarian@reddit
A more cynical viewpoint, some do "fake sales" where they pretend an item is on sale, but in actuality the sale price is either the same price or even more than what it usually costs.
greeneggiwegs@reddit
Interesting to me that you mention the UK and tesco, because I found Tesco to be extremely intense with the clubcard and clubcard based sales. My experience in the US is that a lot of those sales are tied to a similar rewards card at this point. I don’t think we have a proportion of sales higher than Tesco. Maybe Morrison’s and Sainsbury’s; they are a bit lighter on the card thing, but not Tesco.
(FYI for Americans the tesco clubcard is not a membership card like Costco that you pay for. It’s just what they call their discount card)
hems86@reddit
4 reasons for sales items in no particular:
1) The grocery store wants to clear inventory of certain items. Maybe the item is approaching its sell by date and they’d rather sell it at cost than throw it away. Maybe the item is not selling and they just want to clear it off the shelves.
2) Loss leader. The grocery store will select popular items and put them on sale at cost or even a slight loss. Usually it’s going to be something that you don’t just eat by itself, like preformed hamburger patties. They hope that you’ll then go buy buns, chips, sauces, and drinks to go with it.
3) Grow market share. If the grocery store can convince you to come into their store instead of a competitor using sales. Hopefully you like their store enough to keep shopping there in the future.
4) The individual product supplier is actually putting on the sale, not the grocery store. Suppliers do this for different reasons. Maybe an established brand is introducing a new item and a sale will entice customers to try it. Maybe a small, newer brand wants to entice people to try their product over more established brands. Maybe the supplier is trying to grab market share from competitors.
ArsenalSpider@reddit
The sales were a lot better years ago. I checked groceries in the early 90s and my store gave away free turkeys to regular customers at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most stores did. Sales were significant and prices were much lower. Milk was $2.89 a gallon, eggs were .89 cents a dozen.
Playful-Mastodon9251@reddit
Competition is good for the consumer. Thankfully there are normally lots of grocery stores that have to compete with each other.
igottathinkofaname@reddit
Some sales are also just scams to get you to spend more money.
Safeway does this a ton, where they’ll be like, “Buy 3, get 3 free!” That might be a good deal, but I don’t need 6. I don’t even need 3. I could maybe use 2.
Some stores will also raise prices and then list sales that are comparable to their normal price.
dahliabean@reddit
It's just a marketing tactic. Originally they price things way higher than they should, and then lower it so they can say "Hey, this is on sale, buy now!" Also, a number of the things you mentioned are perishables. Those would make sense to periodically put on actual sale so they sell before they go bad.
There are also a lot of caveats, like the sale price only applied if you have a membership, or if you buy multiple, etc. It's not even worth paying attention to anymore. I just always go by the original listing price.
Dalton387@reddit
Lots of it isn’t really on sale. They rip you off most of the time and then put on a “sale” at what they should be charging for it.
You really need to look at frequency. If an item is on sale once or twice a year, for a special event, etc. It’s probably a legit discount.
If it’s on sale every time your turn around, they’re ripping you off.
Ginger_the_Dog@reddit
I’m not seeing lots of deals at my grocery store. Seems like people in videos are like “Look at me! I’m so smart I got these amazing deals!!” Would these people make a video if the prices were not amazing deals? Nah.
My store does have Buy One Get One sales but these are not my preferred products. For example, I want Cheerios every day for breakfast. Cheerios - that’s my cereal. Not Wheat Chex or Honey Bunches of Oats. At the moment, Cheerios are $9 a box - double what the same box was a couple years ago.
If cheerios are on sale, I get cheerios. If cheerios are not on sale, I get whatever is on sale, love it or not because $9 for a box of cereal is insane.
Grocery store prices have gone up 30% in the last 5 years so just because the store says it’s a deal, doesn’t make it a deal.
MrsPedecaris@reddit
In the US there is a lot of competition. A lot of grocery stores with a lot of product on the shelves. They all have regular sales just to get people in the door, and to buy from them. Because once the customer is in the door, they'll probably do the rest of their shopping there, rather than at the next grocery store down the street. The stores even have "loss-leader" sales items for less than the store paid for that item, because they'll usually more than make up for it just by the other products people will buy while they're there.
People with the time to plan will take advantage of this -- the sale flyers come out every Tuesday. Frugal shoppers will plan the next week's menus by what is on sale that week, and will shop at those stores that have the best deals that week. And for items that are frequently on sale, they'll wait and only buy those when they go on sale.
In addition to this, there will be flash sales to try to move product that is due to be expired, or has just been sitting on the shelf too long because the grocer over-estimated its popularity.
I say all this as if it doesn't work that way in Europe and UK, too, because I don't know if it does or not. I'm just assuming because you asked.
Impossible-Money7801@reddit
Simple answer: it makes the most money for the stores.
cdb03b@reddit
Reason 1) To move product that is about to spoil before it spoils.
Reason 2) To attract customers. People specifically look for deals when grocery shopping and many will frequent stores that have the better deals.
breachofcontract@reddit
JC Penny model. Put everything on “sale” with the sale price being the normal price but showing a hugely inflated “before the sale” price. To make idiots feel like they’re getting a deal.
koreawut@reddit
Honestly the number of discounts is proof that companies extort us under normal circumstances, and they can "discount" most common items to get people in the door.
Also when I worked at Walmart, we had access to how much an item actually costs per item. That means we know when a discount goes from earning twice the actual cost to a few pennies above the actual cost.
False-Can-6608@reddit
I shop almost exclusively sales or store brands. You can save lots of money this way.
Thelonius16@reddit
Why would you watch this enough to notice a trend?
StationOk7229@reddit
"Sales." I'll tell you what a "sale" means here. The item is priced at 5 times its value, and then marked down to make it appear it it a "deal." I was in Kroger's recently and they were selling Macaroni for 1.25 a box, OR you could buy 3 boxes for $4. A quick check of the math shows you that 3 boxes would then cost 1.33 each, not 1.25. That is the kind of stuff these grocery store chains love to pull on their gullible customer base.
realmaven666@reddit
He have a lot of what is call high-low pricing. its a strategy of having higher prices and then putting things on sale all the time. its is really popular in grocery and mass retailers
1chomp2chomp3chomp@reddit
It's to make you unsure what the actual prices of things should be. If something is frequently on sale they're just seeing what they can get away with when it's not on sale
SnooPineapples521@reddit
They’re not sales, they’re prices marked up to something stupid expensive and then they mark it down to MSRP and call it savings. JC Penny was really good for that.
PoisonWaffle3@reddit
One of the grocery stores here normally sells Lunchables for $2 each. One week they were suddenly $2.50 and on sale, with the sign indicating that they were normally $3. If I hadn't been buying them regularly for my kid I might have thought it was a good deal and paid an extra 25%.
The next week they were back down to $2.
Corporate America sucks.
cyesk8er@reddit
Yep
dopepope1999@reddit
For electronics and clothing that's true, but for food items and seasonal items it's easier to offload them at a reduced price rather than store them or toss them out
DryDependent6854@reddit
They list things as “on sale” to get you to join their loyalty program. This does 2 things, it hopes to make you loyal to their store via rewards/rebates etc, and also gives them some of your personal information and buying habits. I would imagine they probably sell at least some of this information to other companies.
MrdrOfCrws@reddit
It's not just our grocery stores. Look up JCPenney's failed "fair and square" marketing strategy. They tried to eliminate the constant sales, coupons and discounts and offered a continuous low price. Sales tanked.
People like getting deals and the temporary nature of sales makes people fear they'll miss out if they don't buy now.
Don't know where you are, but we encourage consumerism and we don't barter so a lower price encourage people to buy.
kaleb2959@reddit
The supply of fresh meat and produce fluctuate by season and other factors. Many grocery stores have the maximum as their "regular" price, and anything less is a sale price. So when they say something is "on sale" it's just a marketing gimmick because the product is cheaper at the time.
mladyhawke@reddit
Some people will only buy things if they are on sale. So sometimes sales are extremely insignificant like 5 or 10 cents off just so it looks like it's on sale.
cyesk8er@reddit
Like 90% of sales in the usa are just marketing/lies, not actual sales. Its not really regulated here. A lot of times products are on permanent sales, other times they are just dishonest about the original price.
Let's say product in my local grocery store is 5$. They'll often post a sale showing it's original price as 10$, and it's a 50% sale. Sometimes there is a small discount, but usually much smaller than claimed. We do get some real sales around perishable goods that are about to expire though like end of life meat.
I needed a household appliance last year. I chose the one I wanted and watched. It had a significant sale ending on some date. I waited for that date, price was the same. Waited for the next large sale holiday, the price was constant, just the signage changed several times.
peter303_@reddit
Its usually around 10% of the items. But I almost always buy the sale one if its cheapest.
sanesociopath@reddit
Mark up to mark down??
Idk but the grocery store I normally shop at has me immune to most sale tags. A buy 1 get one free sort of deal will catch my eye but that's it.
Help1Ted@reddit
Some stores have a weekly sale. You know that on certain days they have these items on sale. Like one that I’ll go to it’s ground beef and chicken breast on certain days. They do additional sales, but that’s what gets most people into the store. Some stores will do BOGO deals to get rid of stock that isn’t selling or expiring soon.
Sometimes they have meats on sale that they thought would sell over the weekend. If there’s a big event, like the superbowl or a long weekend. I typically go afterwards to see what’s on sale and I might stock up. I went after this past Superbowl and bought some ground beef.
r2k398@reddit
Can be because they want to move it faster or because the supplier they are getting it from want to move it faster. Some things are loss leaders designed to get people to come in.
Wonderful-Emu-8716@reddit
Honestly it might be more about discount pricing being more heavily regulated in the EU. In the US, you might have fake sales (jump the price by 30% one week, sell on a "30% discount" the next--end up paying more)
In all EU countries traders are obliged, when offering a discount, to indicate the lowest price applied to the item at least 30 days before the announcement of the price reduction.
There are also more pricing regulations in Europe. France maintains two sales seasons when retailers can discount goods to move stock. But they have restrictions on it at other times. I don't know about grocery stores in particular, but there seem to be some rules banning loss leaders in other industries (eggs used to be loss leaders in the US--get people in with cheap eggs and they'll buy expensive bacon and oj and everything else and make it up)
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
I’m guessing if you’re watching grocery hall shows, they are purposely choosing the sales items. They are choosing not to purchase items that are not on sale, so all you are seeing is things that are on sale
kalelopaka@reddit
Sometimes it’s a sale, or discounts and sometimes it is just an advertised price which isn’t usually lower than the original price. But it makes it look like more is on sale. I worked in grocery stores for years.
Slow_Access_6031@reddit
It’s a ploy to adjust pricing. Everything is over priced. Then “sales” are held to adjust pricing depending upon market conditions. For example, Coke 12 pack cans are priced at $10. That is ridiculously over priced. They will get a few sales at that price from people not paying attention. However, they are almost always on “sale”. Buy two, get (one/two/three) free, depending upon market conditions. Allows the store to adjust weekly without having to redo base pricing.
Saturnine_And_Fine@reddit
bc we have a surplus of food on our shelves and they need us to buy shit that’s bad for you to feed you into the medical industrial complex owned by pharma that shoves meds you don’t need down your throat due to the unhealthy food that’s poisoning you. i don’t see fresh food or produce on sale as much, sometimes they are, but rare. buy 2 12 packs of full sugar soda, get 3 free? yes! buy 2 boxes of frankenstrawberries get 3 free? nope! and to rop it aaaall off, the grocery’s dumpster is full of “damaged” food, not being donated to food banks. the US food supply system is eeeeffed.
amc365@reddit
The discount may also be coming from the manufacturer to promote a new product or flavor or something.
OrthodoxAnarchoMom@reddit
That’s because you’re watching foolishness. Most of what you get sales is either meat close to expiration or name brand expensive things like cereal. Some of the most expensive stores will have sales all the time but it’s usually still cheaper to go to a cheap store in the first place. Either that or you save 30 cents on apples and end up driving all around to save $2.
NickElso579@reddit
Alot of stores (they aren't supposed to do this, but it still happens) will mark up an item's original price and put it perpetually on sale for the normal sale price. I just shop based on the best value to volume unless I need to be picky about quality
MuchDevelopment7084@reddit
It's a marketing 'technique' to keep customers coming in the store.
IAmNotMyName@reddit
It's a scam. Mark up to discount.
Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit
Incentivize people to buy and clear inventory
vinyl1earthlink@reddit
Some of these sales are promotions by the big food companies. They give the stores a lower price, the store takes no profit, and then there are amazing deals - something that usually sells for $2.99 is now 3 for $4. Nobody is making money at this price, but it brings customers into the store.
NutzNBoltz369@reddit
Grocery store already operate on slim margins. They can't afford to discount anything.
The local WinCo never has anything as an advertised discount. They just charge a bit lower all the time.
LTora213@reddit
From time to time, it's to get rid of extra stock other times it's also because grocery stores know that shoppers like bargins.
Tongue4aBidet@reddit
To get you to do your weekly shopping at their store not the competition. Places with few big chains don't have the good deals.
Pale-Candidate8860@reddit
Sometimes it's psychological and not actually a sale. It'll be the same price the week prior and week after said sale. Not always the case, just sometimes.
nagato36@reddit
Sometimes those sale are artificial
Livid-Flatworm-7408@reddit
there are many great points but I've worked in the grocery store business, specifically over how we controlled our pricing, and might be able to offer some additional inside. While we try to keep regular prices generally competitive, are main focus on those is for staples like bread, eggs, and milk. All the other regular prices are somewhat inflated to account for weekly sales, which is a huge driving point to get customers in the store. So we will always have a large selection of items on sale that rotates every week and to make up for this margin is an increase in regularly priced items.
When we plan on increasing the price of a product, we also use a tactic of placing it on sale for the original price while increasing the regular price. This helps curb the perception that we are drastically raising prices throughout the store.
Responsible_Side8131@reddit
American grocery stores have specific sales each week called Loss Leaders which are items on sale below cost. The point is that these items get people in the store, where they will buy other things while there.
michael-turko@reddit
Because I bought 4 12 packs of cokes today I normally wouldn’t have.
Buy two, get two free.
Makes you buy things you normally wouldn’t.
jackfaire@reddit
To make you feel like you're saving money. One grocery store I shop at doesn't do as many discounts but is cheaper than the store that does a lot of them. The store that does a lot of them is charging about the same for name brand stuff even on discount.
GoodbyeForeverDavid@reddit
So there's this thing called "competition"...
Emotional_Match8169@reddit
Because they are marked up ridiculously sometimes.
im-on-my-ninth-life@reddit
They're not true sales (i.e. they're pretty close to the average/usual price anyway) but people are more likely to buy if they think they are getting it on sale.
gdubh@reddit
Marketing.
tlopez14@reddit
Few reasons. I worked in a grocery store for 5 years. American grocery stores use constant sales to compete in a crowded market. They mark up regular prices and then offer frequent discounts to make shoppers feel like they’re getting a deal.
Stores also use loss leaders. Which is discounting essentials like milk and meat to attract customers, hoping they’ll buy more. Loyalty programs and coupons add to the cycle, keeping shoppers engaged and coming back.
AcidReign25@reddit
These extreme videos you see about the US are not reality 99.5+% of the time. Not home things work for the VAST majority of the population. Most people either 1) go to the store and buy specifically what they want with only some regard to price or 2) (majority) go to the store and buy the general type of food they want, but focus their specific selections on sales / coupons.
7empestSpiralout@reddit
Bc we have so many, they compete for business by having sales to get you to shop there.
SimpleAd1604@reddit
To get people into the store. Once in, they’re betting people will spend enough to make up for it. Loss leaders.
GMHGeorge@reddit
I believe other countries have stricter laws surrounding couponing/sales coupled with a tendency to be more interventionist in consumer pricing than the US is the reason for this.
Any-Angle-8479@reddit
An Italian man I met said he was confused when he came to America because there was so much salt being sold everywhere. Apparently “sale” in Italian is salt lol.
Gold_Telephone_7192@reddit
We have a lot more competition than most smaller countries. In my mid-sized city, there are 8 national chain grocery stores and dozens of smaller, locally owned grocery stores. Sales is one of the many marketing tools businesses use to drive purchases and gain market share.
Unique_Statement7811@reddit
Fierce competition with the store a block away.
Szaborovich9@reddit
That’s because they overcharge to begin with.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
Supply. Demand. Loss leaders.