Price promotions and career breaks: Your Marketing Week
At the end of every week, we look at the key stories, offering our view on what they mean for you and the industry. From the impact of price promotions to the value of taking time away from work, it’s been a busy week. Here is my take.
The price isn’t always right
Price promotions have been described as the “crack cocaine of marketing” by Les Binet, who back in 2022 warned marketers that overdoing the discounts could be a “recipe for disaster”. And if ever there was more proof needed that slashing prices might not be the best way to counter oppressed sales – particularly during challenging times – this week provided a number of case studies.
The first came from Clarks, which admitted its over-reliance on promotions had hindered its performance over the past year. Margins were also impacted by higher costs and exchange rates, but chasing “discount-hungry” consumers was singled out as something it needs to move away from to return to growth.
