The strategy retailers have employed during the tight economy to lure cash-strapped shoppers into stores has bred a group of deal junkies who won’t shop unless they see 70 percent off signs or yellow clearance stickers, reports The Associated Press.
The group is a thorn in the side of retailers due to the now-required discounts it takes to get them into stores, which is eating into profits, the news service says.
A survey conducted in early 2012 by America’s Research Group found that three-quarters of 1,000 shoppers said it would take discounts of at least 50 percent to get them to buy a given item. That’s up from 52 percent in 2005, AP reports.
A Retail Metrics survey of 122 retailers also found that annual profit growth has been cut in half from 2006 to last year.
