J.C. Penney’s Changes Pricing Tactics
J.C. Penney’s recently announced that it is permanently marking down all of it’s merchandise by at least 40 percent. This new marketing tactic it intended to get rid of the need to run hundreds of sales promotions that the retailer normally runs each year.
This includes a three-tiered strategy that offers:
- Every Day low pricing (Designed to be both more consistent and more competitive).
- Monthly Value pricing (Discounts on select merchandise).
- Best Price (Clearance pricing that is tied to coincide with special dates such as pay days, slow business days, and holidays).
While this pricing structure may not make it an even par competitor with retail giants such as Wal-Mart, it may prove to bring in shoppers that would not ordinarily think of going to Penney’s because of their normally higher prices. As an example, a close friend recently indicated that he never shops a Penney’s unless they are having a sale (which is normally the everyday price at stores like Wal-Mart) or if it’s something that he needs and he can’t find elsewhere.
The above mentioned changes would also be tied in with the following:
- New Color Coded tags when a price drops.
- Simpler pricing rounded to whole numbers (i.e, $14, $20)
- Direct mailing campaigns to existing customers with Monthly Value Pricing.
- New product lines and marketing campaigns at targeting both middle class families (Penney’s core customers) and the younger crowd.
- Down-sizing some locations to what is referred to as "Mini-shops". The main intent here being to decrease costs and increase sales per square foot.
If you are interested in creating a similar pricing structure as above, please contact the CCS Retail Systems Support Department.