Sales – Are you making the best of them?

As I walked down Constant Spring Road, bright red signs caught my eye as they fluttered in almost every store window.

The signs proclaimed that discounts were available, some of them even boasted a 60% discount while others advertised a modest 10%-20% on selected items.

Some of the stores which advertised a 20% discount were Child’s Play and Ammars while Tropical Jewellry had a huge banner that stated that it was going out of business and so offered customers a 60% discount on selected items.

Genuine Discounts?

Now before you get all excited and rush to grab your cheque book, it is important to note that there is a slow period that merchants are faced with due to a lack of any real holidays in March.

The Valentine’s Day rush is over and several stores such as Jewellery Collection which had offered discounts had enjoyed an increase in consumer traffic. I happened to visit that store during their Valentine’s Day promotion and I was constantly being jostled due to the number of persons in the store. However, when I visited the store the next weekend it was noticeably easier to move around.

My favourite offer during the Valentine’s Day sale at that store were the variety of silver chain and earring sets, which after the discount, cost between $1500 – $2500.

Ammars, located on Constant Spring Road, had wisely stocked up in Jamaica t-shirts which will be worn by students as schools across the island will celebrate Jamaica Day on February 27, 2015.  Their current promotion attracts a 20% discount so there was quite a crowd at that location especially of parents and school aged children.

Be Careful

Just a brief note of caution when shopping at any store is to remember that any item you are purchasing should be one that you need. It makes no sense to buy random items just because they are on sale.

It is also important to consider the original price of the product. I noticed in some cases that the original price are inflated so the discounted price is not really a good deal.

It also never hurts to shop around.  Perhaps the same item you need can be purchased at a store for less even though it is not discounted.

So go ahead and enjoy your shopping!

Teri Ann Renee Paisley

Gleaner online Writer

Tags: discounts