Por: Guillermo T. 26 de Março de 2016
Shoppers exploit 'hedge spending' tactic in the sales
Inglês
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Shoppers are cashing in on the high street sales fever with "hedge spending" - returning items purchased at full price once they can find them at a discount - research has found.
"This Christmas we have seen an unprecedented level of discounting, with retailers extending their promotions over much longer periods, and the same can be seen for Boxing Day, with many retailers starting offers earlier this year and running offers well into the new year," said Vicky Brock, the chief executive of Clear Returns, a specialist in returns to shops.
"This is causing 'hedge spending' behaviours among consumers, whereby shoppers buy an item at full price and then wait to see if it features in the post-Christmas sales.
"They then buy the reduced product and return the full priced item."
Many retailers have increasingly relied on discounts to boost sales since the financial crash in 2008.
The phenomenon has become particularly pronounced in the run-up to Christmas, with the arrival of Black Friday at the end of November beginning a full month of lower prices, even before the Boxing Day sales.
Up to a tenth of all refunds for the year will be demanded between Boxing Day and late January, according Ms Brock said.
She said that the end result of hedge spending was a "triple hit" for retailers that would hit their cash flow.
They lost the higher profit they had originally received by selling the item at full price, they paid the costs involved in taking an item back, and they could then only resell the original item at the new, lower price.
