REGULAR PRICE VS. ON SALE
Byline:
INNERWEAR
Consumers’ patterns of buying intimate apparel on sale or at regular price is also shifting. Most of the intimate apparel bought in department stores between 1989 and 1994 was on sale, and it is an increasing trend, while the share sold at regular price is decreasing. The same pattern applied to J.C. Penney. On the other hand, the consumer most often pays regular price in discount stores and at Sears, and the trend is growing, while promoted goods are falling off. Specialty stores appear to sell slightly more goods on sale, with no dramatic movement during the period studied.
LEGWEAR
Interestingly, in the three dominant and growing channels of food/drug, discounters and direct mailers, the share of goods sold at regular price is almost twice as large as those sold on sale, and that spread is also increasing. Hosiery is purchased almost equally on sale and at regular prices in specialty and department stores, but the share sold on sale is trending up.