“They’ve got things on sale for a right amount of time and then a usual selling price for a right amount of time.”
Black Friday sales were also beginning earlier and earlier each year, they said.
“I think the way that we think about this is all of these sales are just mass marketing ploys and an opportunity to encourage people to spend more money.”
A Boxing Day sale starting already is “surprising” but New Zealand consumers will not be short of discounts in the coming weeks.
“There’s just going to be sales aplenty, generally between the beginning of November and the middle of January. It’s just peak sale season.”
The spokesperson advised consumers to look beyond the price tag when navigating through shops.
“Don’t assume the biggest saving means you’re getting the best product.
“Say something says it’s $1000 and now down to $500. Just because something is recommended retail price of $1000, that doesn’t mean it’s the best product out there.”
Shoppers should also check websites such as Price Me or Price Spy to see how often a product goes on sale.
“Get an idea of what the usual selling price is, and that’s a really good indication of whether, for example, this Boxing Day sale is really worth parting with your money or not, or whether, actually, this product drops in price every two weeks.”
The Consumer Guarantees Act does not give customers a right to a refund, so try to control the urge to buy among the encumbrance of the sale stickers, they said.
“Try and just take a minute, take a breath. Do you really want or need this thing?”
Briscoes have been approached for comment.
Meanwhile, Swedish furniture retailer Ikea said it would reopen its customer support centre at 9am tomorrow, after it was shut from yesterday to allow its team to focus on rebooking customer orders and resolving outstanding issues.
