Retail Workers Reveal How Stores Fake Year-End Sales & Trick Consumers With '70% Discount'
One employee said that stores would sell their goods at much higher prices before announcing a massive 'discount' and selling them back at their original prices.
By Aqasha Nalani — 27 Dec 2022, 04:28 PM — Updated almost 2 years ago
As we approach the end of 2022, stores and brands across the country are actively promoting their products at drastically reduced prices for the annual year-end sale
While people are eager to splurge during the holiday season, many are unaware that certain department and retail stores manipulate the price tags of their 'discounted items' in order to deceive consumers, reported Kosmo.
The strategy of these department and retail stores is to display 70% off stickers so that the items on their shelves can be purchased at a 'lower' price while also clearing out their stock.
However, several retail employees revealed to Kosmo that sometimes, the discount given is merely a ruse because the price paid by the consumer is the actual price, not the reduced price.
According to retail employees, most retailers and traders use this tactic because they will never actually reduce the prices of their goods by up to 70% in order to maintain profits
An employee at a prominent shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur known as Naim, 31, said that price manipulation tactics are common, especially during the festive season and year-end holidays.
Naim told Kosmo that before applying the discount, stores would sell a product at a higher price than the actual selling price.
He went on to say that once this is completed, the inflated price will be reduced so that consumers will be deceived into thinking that these stores are offering them a huge discount.
"The truth is, if they want to give a discount, they'll maybe only give around 20%," he said.
The retail employee also added more customers will be attracted to buy the product than when the tactic is not used
"Among the tactics used is by offering discounts of up to 70% and 80% while the price sold is the actual price," he said.
He revealed that they would also sell old products during 'special sales', where they would typically collect old stocks from other branches.
"That's why there are stocks that don't have sizes or colours. All of them are old stock. They will manipulate the actual price by placing stickers or promotional offers to attract the attention of customers," he said.
Ameera, a 35-year-old clothing saleswoman in George Town, Penang, said her employer would give customers 'kaw-kaw' discounts, or the biggest price cuts at the end of each year
"There is no denying that there is some price manipulation, and I have been involved in it myself, such as putting a discount tag on a shirt that has no discount," she admitted to Kosmo.
She added that what is most important to retailers is that their stores do not lose profit and that there are no unhappy customers.
However, not all clothes are given fake discounts, Ameera said, because some are sold at a truly discounted price.
"Clothes that have been stored for too long and are too old-fashioned may be discounted, but that is also up to the boss."
Meanwhile, a former saleswoman, Nur Hazwani Md Rizal, 36, admitted that she was involved in a price tag scam while working at a clothing and home furnishing retail store in Butterworth, Penang, a few years ago
According to Hazwani, the trick is to create a fake tag that is slightly higher in price than the original before announcing a huge discount.
Once the discount is announced to the public, they will then paste the original price tag over the fake one to confuse customers.
The retired saleswoman went on to say that these items' prices will rise by about RM5 or RM10 before a bogus discount is applied.
"This situation dragged on until I decided to resign because I didn't want to conspire with the employer to cheat customers," she said.
"Customers buy because they believe the item is inexpensive, but I am afraid to be honest with them. I'm worried that this case will worsen if customers find out."
