News

Luxury retailers expanding the reach of their 'secret sales'

August 2, 2009

The New York Times reports on the growing incidence of luxury retailers taking their "secret sales" and making them not-so-secret, in order to actually move the product in question.

Luxury retail hinges on the concept of exclusivity, the article notes, and that's a concept that is at odds with giant "On Sale" signs that everyone can see. Instead, sales associates will surreptitiously let some shoppers know that certain products are available at a discount, but only if they know to ask for it.

Email is another powerful tool for this. Neiman Marcus uses email to push its "midday dash" offers, which expire after two hours and often offer steep discounts on high-end goods.

Of course, many luxury retailers have long offered discreet discounts to their top customers. Sales associates at luxe department stores were typically empowered to give discounts of about 10 percent to customers spending upward of a certain amount of money, usually $20,000 or $25,000. In this economy, however, the discounts are "more in-your-face," said Stacey Widlitz, a retailing analyst with Pali Research. Moreover, they are steeper than in the past and available to customers spending far less than $25,000.