etailers Offer Steeper Discounts Than Usual to Tempt Cautious Consumers

Monday, December 24, 2018 - 11:18 by Graham Miller

As the Christmas shopping season has become far more bargain-focused than ever before, it is perhaps unsurprising to find out that 2018 has seen some particularly brutal price cutting carried out by retailers in an attempt to win over British shoppers.

Analysis performed by LovetheSales.com has shown that there has actually been a five per cent increase in the volume of discounts made available by outlets this year when compared with the same period in 2017, according to Internet Retailing.

This represents a half-decade high for the pre-Christmas promotional pricing of products, suggesting that many sites that offer safe shopping online are having to work harder to earn the attention of consumers used to year-round discounting.

Another point raised in the report is that not only are more prices being cut but the discounts themselves are much greater than in the past few years. On average consumers have been able to save 37 per cent on promotional offers, which is far greater than the 33 per cent cut typically experienced during this period.

This means that getting a good deal is easier than ever for consumers that have the cash to spare. Of course, for the retailers themselves, this is a less positive state of affairs and profit margins could be pushed to breaking point.

The UK’s political and economic instability, spurred on by the growing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit taking place next March, is making shoppers decidedly careful about where and when they spend their money.

The retail market is often the first to be hit in the event of major changes to consumer confidence. Overcoming this caution through steep discounting seems to be the only tactic that stores have available to harness at this very trying time.