Was in Wal Mart today and.....

[TooManyWheels]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
I couldn't find any Festivus decorations at W-M. That figures...


That' because Wal-Mart hasn't recognized it as a marketing opportunity yet. If Coke can sell an un-cola, surely W-M can come up with some non-decorative decorations. Or maybe convince you that if you really believe in Festivus you should have MULTIPLE poles in your house ("... and have a Festivus pole in your garage, now in industrial gray, so the non-spirit is always with you...").

 

[Gary Allan]

Retail has been advancing the timing of this shopping event for decades. We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without. You can't buy a winter coat in winter.

 

[wavinwayne]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
...We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without...


What's wrong with that theory? The story of the lazy grasshopper comes to mind, although I admit it is not a perfect parallel to your point.

 

[TooManyWheels]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
...We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without...


What's wrong with that theory? The story of the lazy grasshopper comes to mind, although I admit it is not a perfect parallel to your point.


Why should your buying habits be dictated by when the stores want to sell something, rather than when you want/need to buy? Does that not seem bass ackwards (reference my earlier post about manipulation)?

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
Yeah, Its piped in from the W-M home office. Everyone is complaining. Can't wait for breaks so I can escape to the Vic and blast some hard rock. Ive been trying to find out where a certain certain piece of equipment is and make it disappear or stop working. At the very least disconnect the speaker that blasts TLE. Can push page on a phone and leave it off the hook, but then nobody else is able to page, which could be bad if a Code adam comes up or something similar...

I suggest everyone call/email W-M and tell them how you feel.


Effen heck with code Adam, red, blue or brown are your bigger concerns!!!!!

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Retail has been advancing the timing of this shopping event for decades. We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without. You can't buy a winter coat in winter.



Lead time for China build and boat ride.

 

[Cutehumor]

Walmart and the other retailers want to hit your wallet before the other retailers get their first dibs.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
...We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without...


What's wrong with that theory? The story of the lazy grasshopper comes to mind, although I admit it is not a perfect parallel to your point.


It's a fine concept in terms of personal productivity. It's another when you view it from the point of "animal conditioning" ..especially if you're the animal being conditioned.

 

[TooManyWheels]

I'm waiting for them to get so far in advance that they are either behind, or on time!

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Walmart and the other retailers want to hit your wallet before the other retailers get their first dibs.


Exactly! And if you think Christmas is bad try shopping for wedding stuff! The caterer, dress people etc all want to be the first contract you sign before you run out of money.

Wife (then-fiance) goes into David's Bridal 4 months prior, they say "you got here just in time".

I usually luck out if I need swimming trunks on the 4th of July, they're on clearance b/c "back to school" is coming.

 

[Gary Allan]

The problem I had with the whole deal is that there typically isn't "competition" for a given product ..it's the presumed limited production of given products that the herd stampedes for.


For example: Somehow whomever produced "Tickle me Elmo" created a mad drive for the thing. You were willing to kill for it regardless of price. You had to get out early and with a vengeance to get one.

It's was the same with Nintendo ..Xbox ..PS2 ...all competing for your choice ..but not truly competitive for the price of those offerings across the whole retail sector.

So essentially the demand is infinite and the price is fixed by the guys who ordered the production about 9-10 months earlier.

Do you guys recall Teddy Ruckspin? I forget the retail price ..but it was LARGE for 1984-85. If you looked at the fine print on the warranty, you merely sent your broken Teddy to some address ...with a $35 processing fee. This paid for the warehousing and shipping of all the unsold Teddy's. Essentially they gave you another brand new Teddy R ..and made a profit off of that too.

I don't think Teddy R. ever went on sale. He was just superseded by another "new must have if you love your child" product.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
The problem I had with the whole deal is that there typically isn't "competition" for a given product ..it's the presumed limited production of given products that the herd stampedes for.


For example: Somehow whomever produced "Tickle me Elmo" created a mad drive for the thing. You were willing to kill for it regardless of price. You had to get out early and with a vengeance to get one.

It's was the same with Nintendo ..Xbox ..PS2 ...all competing for your choice ..but not truly competitive for the price of those offerings across the whole retail sector.

So essentially the demand is infinite and the price is fixed by the guys who ordered the production about 9-10 months earlier.

Do you guys recall Teddy Ruckspin? I forget the retail price ..but it was LARGE for 1984-85. If you looked at the fine print on the warranty, you merely sent your broken Teddy to some address ...with a $35 processing fee. This paid for the warehousing and shipping of all the unsold Teddy's. Essentially they gave you another brand new Teddy R ..and made a profit off of that too.

I don't think Teddy R. ever went on sale. He was just superseded by another "new must have if you love your child" product.



Welcome to Marketing 101. The time to market factor is the most important part of money making for toys, gadgets (toys), cars (cars are toys), electronics (also toys), cell phones (toys), fashion (toys), and other toys for young and old early adopters who are willing to pay for it.

Typically the profit margins are very very high at the first several months/weeks of the product introductions. If you miss that window, you are making bread crumbs or losing money.

Take hard drives for example. When a new model/capacity/speed first came out, they usually make 80% more profits, then it gradually lower to the typical profits, then in the end when you are behind your competitors or no longer hot. You have to do rebates to get them off the shelfs.

All when they cost the same to make (or about the same).

 

[mrsilv04]

Yep. Yesterday, my WM had a 20' tall Christmas tree just 10 feet inside the doors.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Hermann
They were playing Christmas music in the store already. It is going to be a long shopping season.


Frankly the whole thing disgusts me. We talked about it today, and the feeling is the same in the family. We know the real meaning of Christmas and it's not buying garbage at WuhanMart. We will make an effort NOT to buy gifts this year.


Agreed. I cope by inventing my own lyrics to play in my head while the stores are bombarding me with Christmas music in October. Like:

We wish you would spend more money,
We wish you would spend more money,
We wish you would spend more money,
Make payments next year.

Big profits you'll bring,
to bosses in charge.
We hope that your VISA
bill is very large.

Kind of makes my own statement, in my head at least.

John

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Retail has been advancing the timing of this shopping event for decades. We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without. You can't buy a winter coat in winter.


It's funny -- I'm reminded of being in college. Every year, it seems the "weekend" came earlier. Folks were out drunk on the town on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Friday night was pretty slacked off, and you'd confuse Saturday night for a Sunday morning. Thursday was, by far, the biggest party day of the week. Friday classes were sparsely-attended.

We would always joke that, if you waited 5 years, the "party night" would work its way so far forward in the week that it'd return to being on Saturday.

 

[Gary Allan]

That's how my wife lives

Not that she parties ..she's constantly trying to "get ahead" on a list of items that has no end. Let's say it's cooking a meal (at maybe 1:30-3:00pm) ..and if I don't show up soon enough, it's already packed in Tupperware and in the 'fridge and @ 33F requiring me to "enjoy" a microwaved meal when the mere "waiting" would have been such more joy....

I'm like

Races with no finish lines ..I just can't get into it.
Goals that can never be reached...

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Retail has been advancing the timing of this shopping event for decades. We've constantly been conditioned to get out there early or do without. You can't buy a winter coat in winter.


Not to mention the horror of seeing thick wool coats and warm cotton sweaters that belong by a fireside as snow falls, on sale in The Swamp in September! Even though I know that in civilized climes you'd be able to use that coat or sweater by mid-October, and as much as I love fall and winter, I can't get into it when it's 92 F. outside.

And count me out on the Early Christmas Marketing, too. When I was a kid, as someone has pointed out, the Christmas season began the day after Thanksgiving. So we kids generally only had a month to endure the mounting suspense. Nowadays the kids get bombarded for two or three months. No wonder so many of 'em are on Ritalin!

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
Nowadays the kids get bombarded for two or three months. No wonder so many of 'em are on Ritalin!


Kids have had feature length commercials interrupted by 1 minute commercials for about 25 years. Everything from Transformers® to Pokémon.

Big departure from my secret decoder ring days.. (I really don't recall my parents ever buying anything that allowed me to get a secret decoder ring

).


Nabisco plane flying during Sky King ... I did have a Marky Maypo

He'd hang on the bowl and keep you company...

 

[TooManyWheels]

Christmas and back-to-school marketing start at about the same time around here. I call this part of the year the Christmas Shopping Quarter but that really doesn't do it justice, because it is more like 4 months than three.

 

[eljefino]

WM also cracks me up in March... must be spring in Arkansas b/c they have all the grills out... hard for me to find a snow shovel in lawn & garden that I need b/c a previous one broke.

There's anticipating the next curve, but you have to serve your customers' basic needs...