What does the suggested manufacturer's retail price mean for retailers?
Suggested manufacturer's retail price is the lowest price a retailer can advertise the product for sale or agreed price a retailer agrees to sell a brand or product at. It is advised by manufacturers to online retailers through legal or non-written agreements in order to maintain their brand positioning and sustain their business in long run.For example, if a sunglass supplier/brand sets a MAP of $200 for one of its sunglass, it means that online retailers must sell this product at $200 or more, if not it means retailer violates MAP policy.As stated in the example, some of the retailers may violate MAP policy. Not some of them aim to violate MAP instinctively, in some cases they had no choice to lower the prices of your products to survive in ultra-competitive e-commerce landscape. This violation can be seen at high percentages in giant marketplaces such as Amazon.Price tracking software is the fastest and most efficient way to monitor the prices that retailers are assigning to your brand. You may have signed a contract about minimum advertised pricing, but if you can’t check the prices properly whether or not they are respecting it, you are risking the future of your business due to lack of information.By automating monitoring retailer’s prices, you monitor your products’ pricing across thousands of online retailers without hassle. Besides, you’ll be alerted when one of your retailers abused the agreement. Thanks to the automated price tracking software, you can focus more on brand retention and grow your business.
Would you ever do extreme couponing?
It looks so cool! And who wouldn't want to spend $10 on hundreds of dollars worth of groceries? The only drawback is that the people don't necessarily buy things they want/need. For example, 50 bottles of Vitamin Water... well, wouldn't a couple gallons of milk be more useful? Or the whole 30 jars of peanut butter. Ok, I like peanut butter, but I most certainly don't need that much and would have no way of using all of it before it expires. Very interesting concept though!
Who thinks that extreme couponing is inconsiderate?
It depends on how extreme couponing is done whether it is or is not inconsiderate. Example: Inconsiderate: Completely clearing the shelf leaving nothing for other customers. Such people that do this are called "Shelf Pigs", "Shelf Clearing Bandits", and "Greedy Shelf Clearers". Inconsiderate: Pulling peelies from items that you are not buying at that time. Considerate: Not completely clearing the shelf and leaving some for other customers. Considerate: Not pulling peelies from items that you are not buying at that time. The stores are completely reimbursed for the redeemed coupons plus 8 cents per coupon which means that the stores does not lose any money.
Does sharing coupons on your website increase sale convergence or reduce cart abandonment?
Look at one typical ecommerce visitor here - the WishListerThere are plenty of wishlisters who visit an online store to 'check out' what's new, but never really 'checkout'. Now, why don't they buy?Affordability, could be a reason, big time. Having an online cart stuffed with things that they can't buy does give them a virtual satisfaction of 'almost' owning those things.Now think of coupons as 'wishful thinking' rather than a something that closes sales. These people, the wishlisters, would willingly hop on their cart and move to complete their purchase if they get a coupon which can cut down on their expenditure for things they wish to own.So yes, sharing coupons on your website does help in sale convergence and cut down cart abandonment.
How can I avoid getting stuck behind coupon ladies at the store checkout?
If you were a customer at the store I worked at, my answer would be to get to know the cashiers.Now I'm not saying you need to know my kids names, when my birthday is, and so on, but it's in your best interest to be one of my regulars. Someone who is kind, cracks jokes, and generally breaks up the monotony of my day pleasantly.If you're one of my regular customers, I will keep an eye out for you. I know the coupon ladies too. So when I see the coupon lady headed my way, and you're in a dead heat to beat her to the front of the line, I'll cheerfully say, “Do you mind if he goes ahead? He's only got three things.” Usually the coupon lady won't mind, because she's busy organizing her coupons with her purchases.If she does mind, hope isn't lost. Because I also know who's on break, and who's due to come back. So I'll call that cashier as soon as they're getting ready to open up, and I'll have them personally come get you and bring you to their register.In the most dire of situations, I'll wait until the coupon lady hits a lull getting her items out of the cart, or sorting her coupons, and I'll just suspend her order and get you the heck out of there. I can do it fast enough that she doesn't even notice you're not standing there anymore.It pays to be good to service people.
Is it worth the time to collect coupons?
That answer differs from person to person and house to house. If you are willing to put 4 to 10 hours a week into it,and are organized you can not pay for a whole lot of things. I either do not pay or do not pay much for most health and beauty items including deodorant,shampoo,razors,and toothpaste. Some of the tricks are wait to use your coupons when items are on sale,have enough coupons to buy six weeks worth of items and do not be brand loyal. Every store has loss leaders designed to get you in the door use coupons with those and get them free or very close to free. If your a brand loyal person coupons arent going to be worth as much for you. Personally I dont care if it’s Palmolive,dove,gain,tide,dawn or store brand if im not paying for it. Sales tend to run in cycles so do buy enough product to get you to the next time toothpaste etc is on sale approximately six weeks.Just like being brand loyal dont be store loyal if the stores are close together go to all of them and buy the sales,here we have a Walmart, Safeway,Giant, Harris Teeter and CVS all within a 2 block radius I can scoop up all the deals from each store not waste my gas and quadruple or better my savings from the loss leaders. Do a walk through of the store prior to shopping day, managers specials and clearance are usually unadvertised and you have a great opportunity to clean up if you have those coupons with you.The best I have ever done was 3 carts full and they paid me .26 to get them.
Is this an example of price discrimination?
No it's not price discrimination. Just as a lot of stores give extra discounts, coupons, and gift cards on people's birthdays, as well as give senioe citizens discounts based on their age.
How does a Six Flags season pass work?
If you purchase a play pass or season pass from either of those Six Flags, then you can go to ALL Six Flags theme parks (in the US, Canada, AND Mexico) for free for the rest of the season...you just cannot get into separate-gate water parks (like Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in NJ) with that pass. It's a great deal, especially if you know you will have a chance to go several times. Pass prices do vary upon parks, since New England is smaller compared to Great Adventure, passes cost less. You can purchase your pass at any park...the only thing to consider is that if you got your pass at New England for $55, you also get a discount coupon booklet which includes discounts for friends (admission discounts), bring a friend free coupons for select days, and discounts for park items (food, games, merchandise). The thing with Great Adventure is that you have to buy the Season Pass ($80 - $10 more then the "play pass") to get a coupon booklet. You do not get a coupon booklet with a "play pass" from Great Adventure. So besides the fact that New England's pass if cheaper (and you can use it anywhere, even at Great Adventure as many times as you'd like), it also comes with a coupon booklet. The coupons in this booklet ONLY apply to the park that you bought the pass in, though (so you can only use the coupons at New England). I believe there is one "bring a friend for 1/2 price to any other Six Flags park" coupon in there (at least there was in my booklet last year), so if they still have that this year then you can bring a friend w/ you to Great Adventure for 1/2 price. So New England may be a good choice to be your "homepark" and get your pass there - it's cheaper and you'll get a coupon booklet. You can then use your pass to go to any other Six Flags theme park for free for the rest of this year (except for separate-gate water parks). Another thing I would recommend is to get a season parking pass...since parking is $15 per visit, it may be worth getting the parking pass. They are usually $45 (they are at Great Adventure), but for some reason according to the website they are $50 for New England....so that's something to think about since parking fees add up if you go to the park a lot. Have fun, hope that helps!
How do you improve your conversion rates?
My first and best answer is to Test, Test, Test! Change one piece of copy, design, etc, and measure the conversions against your previous copy/design. The best one is your control, and you keep testing from there. Never stop! That being said, the best conversion tools I've found are the Hacker Safe, Better Business Bureau, Verisign and Truste logos - particularly when the Hacker Safe logo is at the top (as well as bottom) of the page. Hacker Safe seems to work the best. Other tools I've found helpful for conversion are: live chat, strong money back guarantees, ezine (one of my personal favorites - to stay in regular contact, offer coupons, notify of sales, etc), testimonials and a toll-free number. Beyond that, include graphics of credit cards accepted (don't forget a good privacy policy), shipping information and make sure your pages are clear and super easy to navigate. Don't make your customer guess what they have to do next to successfully place an order. You can test this on a couple of people who have never been to your site. Tell them to order item XX, and then watch them and time how long it takes them to find their item and place the order. By watching, you can see potential problems and find out where your customer may be getting sidetracked or lost. Include an "About Us" page with photos of you and your staff (if any), your office, etc. People want to know they are buying from someone, not some nameless, faceless company. Give them the opportunity to get to know you. Finally, don't put any competing ads, adsense or diversions on your pages. You don't want to give your customers a reason to leave!