AS the recession drags on, more retailers are finding they cannot get consumers to buy much of anything unless they offer huge sales, symbolized by significantly high double-digit percentage discounts.
The Barami store on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan was offering half off on second purchases of equal or lesser value.
The Ann Taylor store in Times Square was offering a 60 percent discount last week. Shoppers have come to expect such sales.
The deals, signaled by “% off” designations in ads, appear to be winning out over descriptions of specific prices, like “was $39.99, now $19.90,” or promotions like “buy one, get one” half off or free, known to retailers as bogos.
For a while, 50 percent off seemed the norm. But since the Christmas holiday shopping season, when some high-end department stores unexpectedly discounted prices by much more than half off, hefty percentage discounts have become the standard.
Experts predict the trend will last for some time as shoppers cling to frugality.
A report released on Monday by Information Resources Inc., titled “Dissecting the Downturn Generation,” said that the recession was creating “a new niche of consumers” more likely to look through retailer ads for deals and stock up on sale items.
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