Admit it...we're all suckers for that bright red colored sign that says 'SALE'. And if they're giving heavy discounts with it, we're like almost beside ourselves with glee! Most girls would rush to their favorite stores during end of season sales and return with bags full of what they think to be smart purchases. I beg to differ,though.
I went to a fashion store recently and their annual year-end sale was on. To say I was apalled at the quality of stuff they were selling there would be an understatement. Most of the dresses looked like they were returns. And the prices had been slashed by as much as 50%....which was unimaginable given the fact that the price tags that usually adorn the dresses there would give your wallet a complex of sorts! So...the story goes like as much as I wanted to make the most of it, I still couldn't get myself to spend even a single penny on the trash they'd displayed there.
It's strange how almsot all of us fall for this tried and tested marketing gimmick. Being the daughter of a ruthless marketing honcho (sorry Dad, but you sure are one!), I have grown up seeing all the mind games these guys play. It's like when there's a special offer on (y'know...the 'get a free coffee mug with every bottle of coffee powder' kind), you know that you still have enough supply of coffee powder to last you a month and you end up buying the large pack that has an expiry date that's way too close for you to even finish the coffee. For what? The coffee mug??? Duh! I claim to be no saint myself. I remember the times when I've pleaded with Mom to buy that family pack of some weird brand of noodles from God-knows-where just to get that bowl with Disney characters on it. It's so easy to fool people (esp. kids) that way. Some promotional campaigns make no sense either ('One free ruled notebook with every 100gm soap'....huh? Where's the connection??) but who cares? As long as there's something free attached to it, it goes right into our trolley. How easy to get those stuff nearing expiry off the shelves,no? I mean, come to think of it, we might not even need those things...heck! we might have never bought it before. But the offer seems so lucrative that you don't want to miss it for the world. The easiest kind is the 'Buy 2,Get 1 free' kind. Even the most sensible shoppers fall for that masterpiece. 'We're buying one anyway...and we're regularly using it too. Might as well buy one more so that we get one free as well'. End result - double the sales in spite of whatever crappy offers they put forth!
It would do humanity a world of good if they realised one simple fact - ' If You're Not Paying for It; You're the Product being sold '
Food for thought! :)
