The notification arrives promptly: if it is not a message it is definitely an email. The more “glamorous” ones use the term “private sale” even if the “brand” is very Italian (and the reason is not fully understood). The others are more direct: already “from June 29 (so from yesterday) you will be able to make your purchases at sale prices” promotes a well-known commercial activity of Southern Rome. Message forwarded to all customers who have the “card”, i.e. registration at the point of sale. A well-known story is that of promotional sales with the subterfuges no longer even hidden, despite the law on sales prohibiting promotions in the thirty days preceding the opening of the season.
THE PHENOMENON
«It’s now an out-of-control phenomenon – he comments Max Bertoni, president of Federmoda – it is no longer just a question of online commerce, promotions are rampant.” And those who pay the price are the local shops, because the large chains also implement advance discounts to attract the public who, for various reasons, have no intention, despite being enticed by the sales, to physically go to the store. To avoid problems, some businesses, even if the controls are only real on paper, send messages only and exclusively to their customers. The open “window” is always the same: one week before the official start of the sales. Last Thursday, another well-known business, this time from the North of Rome, announced via text message: “From today and as a preview for our customers, private sales”, but still having the foresight to conclude with “sales for everyone from July 6th”. The advance of online trading it is a child of the times. Nothing new but finally it has been amplified by the use of social media by chains and “brands”. In fact, there is no need to visit the site and then decide in advance which page to direct the search to. From Instagram to Facebook, many of the ads now appear based on historical navigation and so, for example, the ad of a sector or even a “brand” appears on the social profile wall together with the promotion. The growth of the online market is also confirmed by the latest research by Confcommercio with which a real head-to-head is crystallized between physical and internet sales.
THE HEAD-TO-HEAD
In fact, based on the interviewees’ answers, the 50.5 percent of potential buyers will go to a point of sale in person while the remaining 49.5 percent will use the web almost exclusively. And this is also due to the products that are sought especially in summer. Shoes and clothing, with a clientele mainly made up of women and very young people. Then there is the latest attempt at the physical store. Already yesterday, despite the great heat and the festivity of Saint Peter and Paul, the streets of the center were full of tourists, many shops to entice the customer to purchase were offering the activation of the service card in order to already benefit from the discount. “It really takes a minute – informed the shop assistant of a Trident boutique – this way you can already have a 30 percent discount”. Why miss the opportunity?
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The messenger
