According to a Which? survey 51% of customers chose a product they thought was on offer but actually wasn’t on offer.  Needless to say this can be both annoying and frustrating to shoppers as well as potentially somewhat embarrassing at the checkout. Customers want offers that are clear, simple and easy to understand and many offers are not meeting that criterion.
The survey also said that 45% of customers haven’t claimed the extra item in a multi-buy because they don’t need the extra item and/or don’t like being pressured into buying more than they need. Shoppers do not always make the decisions that retailers believe they will “logically” make. It’s not all about price or what’s most cost effective.

It’s time to think differently about offers

Customers need to able to clearly see and understand all of the information they need to be able to make a good buying decision for them. They need information to be available right in front of them at the shelf edge.
Of course this creates some challenges for retailers. Making point of sale information simple is actually quite hard to do and moving to “better” price tickets and offers takes commitment. But if that commitment is not found unhappy customers will undoubtedly go elsewhere.

The customer comes first

Several retailers understand this and are introducing better tickets or, as we prefer to call them, “tickets that sell”. The vast majority of tickets that sell are better designed and printed in-store. They are created using the most current information and are capable of being changed quickly which dramatically reduces errors. It also helps that lost tickets can be quickly replaced with high quality tickets printed in-store.
Tickets that sell can be on paper and various electronic devices including ESL’s, screens and kiosks. BUT we all need to put ourselves in our customers shoes and ensure that whatever we do it helps them make the best decisions from their point of view.