What makes a brand or retailer's sale or promotion compelling?
I feel like anything below 20% off is ho-hum–potentially compelling if I’m in need of something specific but anything less isn’t going to make me think about my wish list or reconsider what I might “want” or “need” at that specific moment. I don’t want to see price jumps, free shipping thresholds change, etc. to accommodate the promotion either. When it comes to Black Friday/Cyber Monday, I don’t like seeing brands have 20% off for one day and 25% off for the other; I’d rather they just offer one discount for the whole weekend than make me guess around – who has the patience any more?!
— Christine
20% is good for me (because I can get 20% off every Thursday at Shoppers, but the locations near me don’t carry all the brand I want) – for brands I can’t get at Shoppers, it’s appealing. Also, in terms of promotions/GWP things, if they are items I want or will use, a GWP can be a good incentive as I’m always keen to have travel sizes of the things I use often.
From one point of view I am in a financial position that allows me to comfortably buy even if something is not on sale; I also have a minimal make-up, skincare, bodycare and hair care collection (meaning that I only use one of each, the number of separate skincare items is definitely not minimal :lol:), so I don’t buy products that often. So sales for me aren’t a huge drive, and I would never buy products just because they are on sale.
From another perspective, there are sales almost anytime, so I sometimes feel `tricked` if I pay full size. 😆 For example, I only buy from MAC when they have the 20/25% off; I mostly use those sales to get pro palette refills on eyeshadows and face product, face/eye brushes, rarely make-up. Since those purchases aren’t urgent, I prefer to wait on the sales which I know that occur quarterly. I wouldn’t find compelling a lesser discount than that or a promo with free gift with purchase.
From another-another perspective, since I buy products only when I really need a replacement, for me even a 5% discount counts, since eventually I still need to buy that product. Due to this reason (and because I avoid products with irritants, fragrance, alcohol, from specific brands, etc.; and because I don’t use specific products in my routine, like lipglosses), most times `free gifts` with purchases don’t make sense to me or compel me to buy (they are usually products I would personally never use).
About Black Friday, I just dislike when some brands/shops advertise the `big` sales they have on Black Friday, just to have bigger ones on Cyber Monday… it’s like they want to compel me to buy, just to say that they have a bigger deal if I didn’t purchase them yet.
That’s exactly how I feel, too. At minimum 20% off, or a hefty incentive coupon like the one Sephora usually offers yearly for $25 off $75. I also see your point concerning 20% off on Black Friday, but the 25% off on Cyber Monday, with *certain* brands/retailers raising base prices just before the sale or during. Those sorts of things are detestable, shady business practices in my viewpoint.
20% or more off with no minimum purchase.
No minimum purchases and no increase in the threshold for free shipping. I dislike when I discover that suddenly during sales the minimum purchase for free shipping increases (or it’s free usually, but has a threshold during sales); not so much due to shipping costs (in the end shipping has a price, so I don’t expect to by free for a $5 purchase), but because `rules` change during sales and they are only specified in small lettering somewhere at the bottom where no one read.
My good and services tax rate dictates yawn factor for anything shy of 20%.
I’m really respecting the decision by many to carry their Black Friday deals throughout a few weeks, or in some cases, an entire month.
I pretty much purchase the bulk of my skin care during the Sephora sale so 20% really helps with that and I finally have my skin care on a cycle that allows for that sale. I would never buy anything just because it is on sale, regardless of amount. I am in a position to be able to buy my makeup without impact to my budget so I don’t follow the sales. Sometimes, when I read the Friday haul comments, I will note that someone will say they picked the product up when it was on sale and I am like, sale, what sale!!
Anything from 25% off or more is helpful and free shipping over a reasonable amount (say $50).
Cosmetic Capitol, an online beauty and skincare retailer, often has between 30% to 50% off their products and for good quality skincare brands, that is often perfect for me.
Priceline and Chemist Warehouse, two of our budget beauty/skincare places often have half priced sales either beauty one week or skincare the next on selected brands, so that is another option – if the discounts are on the brands you want.
I never, ever buy skincare/beauty products from department stores these days as the prices are so over the top and there are never any geniune discounts.
Sephora Australia’s discounting system is absolutely awful compared to what you get in the States, so I don’t bother there either.
Sephora France’s 25% for Gold members is no longer compelling as they seem to give 25% all the time and to anyone now. So, if I don’t see 30-40% +, I’m not interested.