NEWS ABOUT: discounts
discounts stories: 12 news briefs
Washington Post Jun 20, 09 4:41 PM CDT
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Big Pharma has offered the feds a discount of up to $80 billion on drugs for programs like Medicare, the Washington Post reports. The pledge, which comes at a crucial moment in the health-reform debate, may be a pre-emptive strike before President Obama pushes for a proposed $100 billion price cut. “There was a great deal of sticker shock" when the White House floated that number, a drug company exec said.
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More food, cleaner aisles lure shoppers
Chicago Tribune May 14, 09 12:10 PM CDT
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When the recession sent pinched consumers hunting for bargains, dollar stores were ready. Cluttered aisles of cheap treasures have been replaced with stocked fridges and neat rows of mustard and canned beans. Half of US households now shop at dollar stores monthly, and 18% more $100,000-plus households started frequenting them at the end of 2008, the Chicago Tribune reports.
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Digital discounts improve buyer tracking, make coupon use easier
Wall Street Journal Feb 25, 09 4:27 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
The recession has more Americans clipping coupons, sort of. While coupon use has jumped 10% since October, more of those discounts were downloaded to smart phones and supermarket rewards cards—not cut out from the newspaper. And digital advertising, still a 1% sliver of the discount pie, seems to benefit buyers and sellers alike, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Likes of Hitachi, Pioneer don't have staying power of Sony and other giants
Wall Street Journal Jan 20, 09 2:09 PM CST
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A steep decline in demand for flat-panel TVs could push smaller manufacturers out of the market, the Wall Street Journal reports. As the economy sours and larger makers achieve economies of scale, the price gap between top brands and cheaper rivals has shrunken dramatically. The top five makers accounted for 60% of sales in the third quarter of 2008, up from 53% year earlier.
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Double whammy for desperate stores struggling to sell in last holiday week
Reuters Dec 21, 08 5:26 AM CST
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Retailers were extending hours and cutting prices deeper in a last-ditch attempt to attract a final wave of holiday shoppers and mitigate the impact of major storms in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast, Reuters reports. Some two-thirds of shoppers still have holiday shopping left to do, according to surveys, but the storms may further cut their already-meagre lists. The bad weather is hitting at the worst possible time as stores struggle with flagging sales amid a major economic downturn.
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Fortune Dec 8, 08 4:33 PM CST
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Rumors that Wal-Mart would offer an iPhone for $99 after Christmas proved unfounded, but the genesis of a misunderstanding that swept through business news outlets is intriguing, Fortune reports. Wal-Mart will indeed sell iPhones, and at a discount—a whopping $2 off list price. But a blogger’s report of that news, tied to conjecture about a discount model, sped the spread of the erroneous rumor.
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Ugly economy pushes demand down, along with price of fuel
Chicago Tribune Nov 24, 08 12:14 PM CST
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With many consumers too concerned about their wallets to make pricey trips, airlines are, for the first time in memory, lowering prices before the holidays, the Chicago Tribune reports. The reversal of convention is allowing late buyers to scrounge tickets for as much as $200 less than travelers who locked in prices over the summer, when fares reflected much higher oil prices, the San Jose Mercury News adds.
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Discount chain follows 2 bum quarters with extra 99% of a penny
Los Angeles Times Sep 9, 08 2:52 PM CDT
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The store where nothing costs more than 99¢ has become the store where nothing costs more than 99.99¢, reports the LA Times . The top price at 99 Cents Only will go up by 99/100 of a penny this month, say executives at the discount chain, who blame inflationary pressures. The move is expected to earn the chain an extra $12 million.
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Switch to cheaper goods is broadest
since early '80s
Wall Street Journal Jul 11, 08 12:26 PM CDT
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As fuel prices and home foreclosures steadily rise, Americans are trading down in everything from automobiles to their lunch options. That's not unusual in an economic downturn, but the speed with which it's happening is, the Wall Street Journal reports. And the flight to the affordable and generic is affecting the broadest array of goods since the recession of the early 1980s.
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Old Hemingway haunt bucks up faltering dollar with 20% off
Reuters Apr 8, 08 10:05 AM CDT
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Harry's Bar in Venice has offered hospitality to tourists and expatriates since the days of Ernest Hemingway. But in recent months Harry's has noticed a sharp drop in the number of Americans showing up at the home of the Bellini cocktail. So restaurant owner Arrigo Cipriani has a novel solution: a 20% discount to subprime-stricken Americans for everything on the menu.
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Procrastinators find
big sales, long lines
Wall Street Journal Dec 24, 07 9:17 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Last-minute shoppers navigated long lines over the final pre-Christmas weekend, nudging retailers toward the modest growth in sales they’d expected. Deep discounts cut into profits, but retailers like Macy's and Kmart stayed open around the clock to accommodate shoppers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The procrastinators finally got out there,” one consultant said.
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Thrifty shoppers crowd malls nationwide
New York Times Nov 24, 07 7:17 AM CST
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On the traditional first day of the Christmas season, shoppers swarmed stores, as always, but the mood was less festive than anxious, reports the New York Times , as consumers flocked to discount chains, and hunted down bargains. Beset by worries about gas prices, adjustable-rate mortgages, and a skittish stock market, many bypassed more expensive retailers. Analysts are already calling this the "trade-down" holiday shopping season.
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