When is a retail store sale not a sale?

The retail sector has been complaining for months that sales are not what they expected, not as good as what they should be, people aren’t spending money like they used to.

Retailers are complaining that people are shopping online, rather than going to bricks and mortar stores.

Of course people aren’t. They are sick of being lied to, they are sick of being treated like idiots, they are sick of just being seen as a cash cow.

I had the displeasure of going into a shopping centre Wednesday the 29th December 2010, looking for nothing in particular, just to pick up some essentials and get the hell out of there.

The two retails stores I did have the displeasure of entering, both had misleading advertising, one far worse than the other, You tell me, which you think is more misleading:-

Store Number 1 – Signs on window indicate 40% off ALL stock (small print, excluding items already marked down)
Turns out 90% of items were already marked down, so no savings to be had there, and the stuff that was on special was not to my liking, nor I bet the majority of shoppers who visited the store.
Thanks Colorado – I mean 40% is meant to be 40% of majority not minority.

Store number 2 – when is 32 inches only 31.5 inches? - when you are JB Hi-Fi
Check it out



I’m sorry – but I have this ‘thing’ about honesty, integrity and truthfulness in advertising. And these two examples just prove that I’m only a cash cow and nothing more in retailers eyes.

Learn from the masses, we don’t want lies, we don’t want to be treated like idiots, we just want what is right, what is truthful and honest. We want the best price without having to haggle, we want service, we want to be acknowledged when we enter anything other than a large department store.

Make the advertising real and employ more staff, you might find we will spend more money