OT. Call me crazy but I think J Crew is finally trying a new tactic of offering smaller numbers of inventory at retail plus an across the board discount of 25% off and it is working! So many things are sold out or close to it. I've never seen anything like it before. If this is truly their plan (meaning, things aren't going to come back fully restocked in a couple weeks) we just might not see the major sale sections and might have to change the "I'll just wait for sale or percent off sale" mentality that so many have grown accustomed to (often through pure frustration that paying full price is never worth it.) Interesting.This is an insightful take on J.Crew's current customer strategy when it comes to pricing. I also believe Bug Pin theory is exactly what J.Crew is trying to do!
How many of us (myself included), find we will wait for an item to go on sale because we know it will *always* go on sale? How many of us (again, myself included), find we will wait for an item to go on sale with an additional percent off because we know there is an additional percent off just around the corner?
J.Crew must have figured it out themselves, (that customers don't mind waiting for a lower price,) as they looked at the Sale Section. Day after day, there are over 1,000 items available for sale in the Women's section alone. (A few years ago, we would rarely see 1,000+ sale items. 800+ would seem like a lot.) With each new roll out now, it means more past-season items to go on sale.
However, as Bug Pin pointed out, J.Crew has started to offer the 25%-off-regular-and-sale-priced-items-too promo more frequently with new roll outs. Coupled with items "selling out" or on "backorder", it creates a feeling in J.Crew customers that they should "buy now".
And let's talk about whether an item is really "selling out". I am surprised to see so many items that are new (as in the first day they "go live"), with the "backordered / ship date" message. Are these items really selling out or did J.Crew just offer a super-limited number to begin with to create some buzz? Because I see most of those same items are sitting on shelves at my local store... (Granted there are those items that really do sell out quickly like Factory's Herringbone Excursion Vest, but I am not so sure about all of them. I remember a certain sweater selling out online and no one was buying it at my local store.)
What are your thoughts on J.Crew's pricing strategy for customers? Do you think J.Crew is trying to re-train its base of fans?
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