Does a Sale By Any Other Name Sell Just As Sweet?

Can you drive retail sales without naming your sale? There seems to be a growing trend by retailers to not give their weekly sales a name. Used to be, if you were having a sale, you needed to come up with a catchy name or at least a name describing what the sale was about – whether it was "The Big One" or the "Back To School Sale." But more and more, retailers are forgoing the name and just touting the offers. Is this a good strategy or just a passing fad?

At Yaffe, we've never been big on generic sale names just for the sake of having a name. A name like the "Spring Fling" doesn't really do anything for the customer, because it gives you no idea what the sale is about or why you should be having one. Conversely, we've always been fine with the similar "Spring Fashion Preview." Why? Because there's a believable reason behind the sale name. Customers understand that fashion is seasonable and getting a sneak peek before the season starts is a reasonable excuse for a sale. It's believable. And that's where the difference lies. 

Events tied into natural holidays (Labor Day Sale, After Thanksgiving Sale) and those tied into seasonal expectations (Back to School Sale, Winter White Sale) still work and should be used. Because the customer expects them. Also, those based on actions your company is taking (Year-end Clearance Sale, Factory Overstock Sale) give customers a believable rationale for your sale.

However, when there really is nothing special about the sale, other than the deal, it is a good idea to skip the made-up name and just focus on the value you're giving the customers. Instead of spending valuable commercial real estate explaining your made up name, you can spend it hyping the offer you're providing or talking about some of the reasons customers should shop you over the competition (better selection, lower prices, a cause you're aligned with, how green you are). 

There are a lot of retailers doing a good job of highlighting bargains and creating urgency to shop now, without spending time naming a sale. You can simply state what deals you're offering now and how you need to get in right away to take advantage of them. A good rationale for why always trumps a fabricated sale name Flip Into Fall. 

What sale names do you think you could do without? Try replacing them with a good rationale, an additional reaosn to shop or maybe even something entertaining to grab attention.

Mike McClure, Playing the Name Game

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