January 2026
Volume No. 27, Issue No. 2

News of the day - 
Playing games with prices, discounts and coupons

Perhaps we, as small businesses, are not playing the promotion game in the same way that big businesses are. The prompt for this comment comes from a recent article I read, as well as a comment made by a guest on our Small Business Conversations podcast.

In our conversation before the podcast, the guest remarked that they had worked at the corporate headquarters of Yankee Candle. I asked about their maintained margins, as it seems like Yankee Candle is always having a sale. The response was about an ongoing joke at Yankee Candle headquarters, asking if anyone thought there had ever been a customer paying full price for a candle.

My curiosity increased as I made a point to walk into Hobby Lobby several times this fall. As fall merchandise was going up, so were the markdown signs. It goes further than that. Allow me to quote an article.

Most items marked as “on sale” include an original or list price to show you just how much you’re saving—but retailers can artificially inflate these “original” prices or mark down goods for months to give the illusion of a sale.

The Washington Post’s Geoffrey A. Fowler compared the prices of 50 items he previously purchased on Amazon (like toys, printer toner, clothes, etc.) in the six months leading up to Prime Big Deal Days in October with their prices during the sale on October 8. He found that if he had waited to buy those items during Prime Big Deal Days, he would have saved just 0.6%. Some items were even more expensive during the sale.

Similarly, Consumers’ Checkbook tracked popular sale items from 25 major retailers, and 12 of those retailers (including Bass Pro Shops, Gap, Michaels, and Wayfair) listed half of their items on sale for nearly 25 weeks straight.

An American-born shopping strategy may be in the midst of a mini comeback. Post-pandemic grocery inflation has ushered in a new wave of deal fiends.

Although coupon use plummeted to an all-time low in 2022:

Redemptions ticked up in 2023 and 2024, mostly driven by digital offers rather than traditional newspaper inserts, according to Inmar Intelligence.

More than 25% of US adults are using more coupons because of the state of the economy, up from 18% in mid-2021, according to a 2024 survey by the National Retail Federation.


Rebound: In September, Kroger reported a “lift” in the number of products sold after the grocery chain reintroduced paper coupons. Bargain shoppers also logged a win in August, when Bed Bath & Beyond Home opened its first store under its new banner and brought back its legendary 20% coupon. This time around, though, it can’t be used with other offers.

The point of all this is your being creative in how you make your business present its pricing image without seriously damaging your maintained margin.

Article of the Month - 
It is a matter of position

As our news of the day talks about discounted pricing, perhaps we will all agree that this is not the proper strategy for making our businesses different. With the examples above, a small business cannot play those kinds of marketing strategies. The article of the month provides guidance what you can do to position your business differently.

Article of the Month

Seeing the news last month about Netflix's next purchase of another business, this book is an appropriate suggestion. Take a moment to research the story of Netflix attemptiong to sell itself to Blockbuster, and then look at Netflix today. The book of the month is, "Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win - Leadership strategies from Pioneering CEOs at Netflix, Pixar, and HBO".

Personally, I find books like this insightful and challenging.

Book of the Month

Internet Tool for Your Business - 
"Open to buy"

A new year and a new opportunity to focus on ways to improve your profitability. An old saying is that there are three ways to accomplish this. The first is to increase your revenue. The second is to diminish your expenses, and the third is to increase your margins.

However, we know of a fourth, which is working to improve your inventory turn rate. This has a direct relationship with the "open to buy" calculator, which will help you time the receipt of inventory. We are also sharing a link to a presentation on this fourth method for increasing profits. The session is titled, "Can you get more from the investment you have in your business?" Follow this link.

Each month, we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments, and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable, while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scenes, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them requires you to give any personal information, nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.

Internet Tool for Your Business

Staff Incentive for Your Business - 
a personalized item

We had a conversation with a couple of people who had worked in our business several decades ago. Bob mentioned that he still has the watch that he was given. Jessica mentioned she still has hers, as do I. The question was not asked, but I wonder if they still have some of the pieces of clothing they were given.

These items were not incentives or rewards. Nor were they gifts at a work anniversary or Christmas. They were given just because we wanted to say they were appreciated. Apparently, the idea works because these gifts are still remembered.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.