I’m A ‘40% Off’ Tag, And I Swear The Original Price Was Real At Some Point

I have been 40 percent off for most of my adult life. Before that I was 30 percent off, and before that, briefly, on a Tuesday in 2019, I was full price. I remember it vividly. Nobody bought me, but I felt seen.

So I was hurt to learn this week that only 22 percent of shoppers now believe advertised discounts fully reflect true savings, down from 46 percent last year. That is a lot of people who have looked me in the eye, read ‘Was $89.99,’ and thought, ‘Was it, though?’

Yes. It was. At some point. In some region. For a limited time before the limited time.

Trust is a two-way price

I understand the skepticism. You’ve been through a lot. You have seen a ‘doorbuster’ that busted no doors. You have watched a ‘one-day sale’ celebrate its third week. You once bought a blender ‘for 70 percent off’ that has never, in its entire life, cost the full amount. I’m not saying that was me. I’m saying I know the blender, and he is going through something.

But I would ask you to consider my position. I am a small piece of cardstock asked to carry the hopes of an entire quarter. Retail executives look at me and say, ‘Protect the margin.’ Shoppers look at me and say, ‘Prove it.’ I am attached to a cardigan with a plastic thread. I can prove nothing.

Some experts now say deep discounts aren’t needed to make shoppers feel they got a deal. To them I say: fine. Make me 20 percent off. Make me 15. I will still be here, dangling, earnest, a little frayed, telling you that this cardigan used to cost more, and that it was worth it, and that, technically, it is still worth it at the old price, which was real.

Mr. Markdown is a clearance tag. He will be 50 percent off on Monday, and has asked us to say that this is not a threat.

Mr. Markdown is a clearance tag currently hanging from a cardigan in aisle 9. His views are his own and subject to change without notice.