I am not sure if J.Crew had a nice update to their Final Sale section online (click here)
this morning. Why? Because I slept in. ;)The past few promotions I have been waking up early to check the sale section for some pop-backs. Even though I purchased less than a handful of items, the additional percent off and the multiple {large} updates was tempting enough to check daily.
Knowing that the STYLE40 promo ended last night, I gladly ignored J.Crew's website in the wee hours of the morning. Plus, I am actually relieved there is no additional promotion for the sale section. (Is that weird?)
Did you check out the Final Sale section today? Did you sleep in? If so, please share! :)
I was contemplating about their practice of running extra % off final sale items. Most other retailers will run an additional 25% off, IE, at the tail end of the sale season. (IE when fall/winter ends and they are rolling out spring, then do a major % off to clear out the old stuff.)
ReplyDeleteIt's so weird JCrew sprinkles their additional % off here and there. So when you see an item "pop back" how aggravating it is to know you can't get it 40% additional off, because a promo had just ended and a new one may not occur for another 2-3 weeks.
In my mind, the item has de-valued itself by 40% knowing that it was just offered at 40% off additional, so I am really, really unlikely to pay their "full" sale price (which is usually crazy high still for the time of year they are offering it.)
Anyone in retail to explain the logic they use?
@pathos - I'm not sure of their logic, but I wanted to affirm your statement about items "popping" back up. In particular, the orange draped skirt and the black minnie pants. I was ready to buy those two things, no problem, but they were totally absent from the sales section until this very morning. Suspicious and frustrating!
DeleteSame logic for changing a promo from 30% to 40% off before one has ended...sending all of us off to get the price adj. which they have to do. Carolyn from Vancouver
DeleteIt is also as if JCrew knows no seasons, like they will have pure winter items linger on and on, like the shearling items in years past, Fair Isle knits now, etc. With really only first cut sale prices. I do not get it. I appreciate it is still cold many places but seriously retail has moved to the next season now by CLEARING out their old merchandise. JCrew seems so ambivalent....
DeleteI'm not in retail per se, but I do a lot of business planning and strategy for retail clients (among other sectors). Many retailers have adopted a strategy of timed rollouts instead of, say, putting all their Spring collection on the floor at the same time like they used to. With online commerce growing exponentially it's all about getting the customer into the store as much as possible.
DeleteWhen evaluating which products move to sale there are a lot of factors the business side considers. One of the biggest is how much is the profit per customer purchase of the current item versus the stuff waiting in the wings. What I mean by that is that if a $150 item is on the floor and selling not that many units per week, and there's a $225 item waiting for floor space, the retailer may decide it's better to salvage $75 of that $150 item and get the $225 item in its spot on the floor to drive revenue. An item that is saying well at a high price point will hold out at full price for as long as it does well, regardless of seasonality. Usually retailers have some minimum revenue or net profit per week they want to hit per square foot in their stores. That's why you'll see brands like J.Crew constantly toying with their store layouts often -- and I must say I think they're excellent at it.
There's no longer really a reason to sale by season, because retailers constantly have more product ready to go. It's more about keeping store profits at a certain level. If they see a dropoff in foot traffic or if product is languishing, all of a sudden there's a sale! Or it could simply be that there's too much product and not enough floor space, so some things need to be driven out of the store. Yes there are plenty of JCAs like us who know to wait for sale. But we are by no means the majority of customers, who simply buy what they want regardless of sale cycles simply because they don't want to invest the time in learning about when markdowns come. Most customers are more interested in seeing new products often, quality fabrics and textiles and right now setups featuring complementary items -- a dress, cardi, necklace and scarf that all go together in one area for instance.
This is also why products go on sale in store but not online (or vice versa). Online 'real estate' is much more plentiful. There's more flexibility to experiment with promotional pricing or limited quantity items online. Shoppers are very savvy now and if an item goes on sale in one part of the country, like the West Coast or something, shoppers in other locations would get upset and hold out until their area sees the same price. But expect to see more price differential in the future!! Many retailers are experimenting with software like the pricing schemes Amazon.com uses, which increase online prices for popular items as often as by the hour, or charges more to users in NYC than it does to shoppers in KC, etc.
Going private has also been very helpful to J.Crew in this regard! With no public stockholders to answer to they have more flexibility in when to launch a sale vs. when to hold out.
Interesting! Thanks Roxy!
DeleteFor me, without the promo it's not even worth looking at the sale selection. I'm glad the temptation is gone (for now!).
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I never look at the sale section unless there's a promo % off! The only other time I check JC's site is when new arrivals roll out, just to get an eye on what's coming up. Then I make a list of what I want on Pinterest and wait for it to hit sale.
DeleteOT, Habitually Chic has pics of J.Crew at NY Fashion Week on her blog today.
ReplyDeleteOne of the popbacks I've been hunting for appeared this morning. It took a while to wrangle it into my cart, since it kept disappearing. While extra 40% would have been nice, I was so happy when my checkout was successful.
ReplyDeleteWoke up in time for sale updates out of sheer force of habit. Was more than willing to shell out the non % off sale price for the purl stitch snood in heather nickel but it popped out of my cart before I could check out so I went back to bed.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what people even bought during the last big promo. I did not see anything I wanted and the sale section did not have much to look at in my opinion. I used to look at JCrew daily for their updates but with final sale and declining quality I gave that up a year ago with no problems!
ReplyDeleteI got double-serge wool pencil skirts, perfect shirt in ivory tartan, minnie pants in wool. Also found the tuxedo pencil skirt through the WWFIFY.
DeleteI think the Final Sale wording was misleading. I got the Merino Inky Floral sweater on promo, a popback No. 2 Pencil skirt in MARRAKECH PURPLE, Buffalo Check shirt, Tipped Boy shirt in navy/white, Biennial medium satchel, Jackie cardigan, Toothpick jean in yarn-dyed denim and some new promo priced tee-shirts. All above was with 40% off and not Final Sale. In my mind a better deal than in the stores since their 30% off was Final Sale.
DeleteOh and also thanks J. Crew finally a promo I will never take advantage of. 20% off bridal wear LOL.
DeleteI looked at the promo items that were returnable but didn't see anything I needed or really had to have or that wasn't in limited or one size only! I got my daughter one thing from Crewcuts but made sure we could return it:)just in case.
DeleteI had the orange tile neclace in my cart and hesitated a moment(because of the price)and it was gone:(
ReplyDeleteFor me the popbacks are at noon,so i really dont have a problem checking every day!
ina, you are so lucky! That is the perfect time :)
DeleteMy internal J.Crew alarm clock went off right on time this morning, and even though I knew the things I've been looking for would be back in the sale section now that the 40% off was over, I couldn't resist taking a peek. Of course, the grand stone bracelet I've been coveting was back, but I just couldn't bring myself to click that order button. I walked away, came back a few minutes later, and thankfully by then someone else had already taken it off my hands.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I'm so happy they're taking a break with the special promos. My wallet needs it. Ha! I also, no longer feel the need to check their site every night before going to bed. Thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteXo,
Elvy
Http://pigtailsnpearls.blogspot.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFinally got really stung on final sale, buying something that I hadn't seen or tried on in person. Never again! Collection Lustre Shell. . . no lustre.
ReplyDeleteHere's what I don't get: many of the items on sale and promo now, even with the 40% off, are no less expensive than they were during the promos and sales last fall! A few days ago I purchased a double serge pencil skirt for $56, the same price for the same skirt (different color) as it was in October.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, there's not only no reason to buy items full price, there's not even much reason to wait until the end of the "season"!
cousy, you are correct. I got my skirt in crimson maple last fall for the same price I got the black and dark poppy last week.
DeleteYes, I noticed and posted that a while back. Things were not final sale and at the same sale price BEFORE Christmas that they were in Jan./Feb.
DeleteI am still waiting for the previous promo's items to arrive, so I did not check the website. But I didn't sleep in either.
ReplyDeleteIn case somebody is interested i have a few reviews on my blog(mini bag,tippi in lemon pulp,
ReplyDeletepave link bracelet,linen scarf)here.
Hmm...your lemon pulp looks a little different than the one I got. I got the tippi cardigan in the same color and it almost has a greenish cast to it, and seems more saturated than the one you have. I need to look at it in a different light. I do like that it isn't neon yellow or school bus yellow!
DeleteMy tippi def does not have a greenish tint,it is a medium lemon yellow color.
DeleteMy tippi cardigan has a greenish cast to it- it's a different yellow that I like!
DeleteI had been eyeing the Collection cashmere pocket sweater in heather flax which I could've scored for $120 (and free ship!) yet I decided not to get it, I'm just so bummed about a recent JC purchase experience. When the 30% off hit, I pounced on the Beaded Herringbone Skirt (now sold out) I had lusted after for months. The package arrived, but to my horror, it held the Collection pencil skirt in windowpane (tagged incorrectly). I'm the first to admit no lives were lost, I didn't actually need the beaded herringbone skirt, but it was still so disappointing. JC is "sending me a gift card" to assuage my unhappiness, but still...
ReplyDeleteBeen there MANY times when I used to stalk final sale; one big reason why I stopped! (I never got a gift card though!)
DeleteI've been sleeping in, at last!
ReplyDeleteSilly me, I didn't know the 40% had ended, so I got up at 5:30 after being up most of the night with a sick toddler! Grrr. Hitting the coffee pretty hard now.
ReplyDeleteFrom the above posts it sounds like many JCAs are stalking some of the more desirable, classic, and iconic J. Crew items to score on popback w the additional promos. We are a smart bunch.
ReplyDeleteThe "extra % off" schedule is maddening, but so is the "popback" schedule! Waiting for the stars to align and hitting it "just right" - getting the popback with the % off - is like winning the lottery! Think about how many customers change their behavior, getting up early to check the website. I try to avoid FS but I do it almost every day.
I feel like a Pavlov dog, trained to doggedly pursue the intermittent reinforcement (remember Psych 101?) of the popback on promo!
It is pretty crazy that's for sure. I am MST so at 10:15 pm I watched the STYLE40 promo disappear and the 20% Bridal appear. For a while after the change the STYLE40 was still working. I have not received my items from 2/13 and 2/17 orders so I am done until I know is going to work and what is going to be returned.
DeleteI get up early anyways, but I am EST, and I have definitely been checking my computer at some pre-6a.m. time and see the site start to slow and the number of items creep upwards, and then I get all excited, because I *know* the popbacks are coming. I feel like the most common update times I've seen are at 5:50a.m. EST...
DeleteI did bite on this sale, I got the Paley Pant in Navy Tall (I want tapered pants, but not ones halfway up my calves...) and the Lambswool Diamond Sweater. They both shipped, so I should have them soon.
The cocoon coat popped back in my size and in color I liked but I didn't bite without the 40% off. At this point winter is almost over in my climate and so it would really be for next year. Its gone now so I guess someone else will be making good use of it...
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if 30% is still going on in stores?
ReplyDeleteI called my Toronto store this morning and it was.
ReplyDeleteMy second and last Style40 box arrived. Collection cable cashmere sweater and the city mini in Dublin tartan. I love it-wont wear it till next year but that's okay by me. It's my first city mini and I gambled but it's wonderful and wearable.
ReplyDeleteI too was up like clockwork. I now get up to exercise so I sort of dont mind. I'm always curious to see the pop backs.
Waking up at dawn to check J Crew's sale section is a competitive sport that I have only watched from the sideline. Having suffered from insomnia before, I just can't risk losing sleep to popbacks.
ReplyDelete"Competitive sport!" Made me laugh.
DeleteDoes that mean I no longer have to hit te gym? I totally understand you though, Greta. The whole reason that I started stalking pop-backs is because of my trouble sleeping.
DeleteNoticed this morning that I was charged $8.95 shipping on yesterday's STYLE40 promo so I emailed CS and got an apology and refund. Definitely worth the 2 minutes it took the email!
ReplyDeleteGlad the promo is over. I have been getting up around 5 for the past 4 days. The Wonderland puffer has been around for a few seasons and I realized I need a short puffer jacket in the worse way. Managed to snag one on the weekend in my size. I am so glad I waited for it. I was going to get it full-priced a while back.
ReplyDeleteI know it's probably a little late but has anyone seen the etta patent pump in neon persimmon in 7.5 or 8? or the janey flats in neon persimmon in 7.5 or 8? TIA!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that they lowered the base prices at J.Crew Factory today. For example, the Factory Trench Coat was 148, bumped up to 178 during their 30% off sale and Pres Day sale, and now its back down to 148 for the extended Pres Day sale! 30% off still applies :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up! I just called and got a nice price adjustment on a few items I ordered last week.
DeleteI have given up on checking out popbacks since I would need to get up at 3 am (PST). That just kills me when I have to get up at 5 am for work. I also find it is dangerous at that hour of the night as I tend to make reckless decisions. I am glad for a sale promo break and I am OVER final sale. A decent promo on full-price items would be really nice.
ReplyDeleteOT -- Garance Doré features the JCrew fall show on her blog!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.garancedore.fr/en
OT - but speaking of fabulous sales, NYC JCA's might want to check out Century 21...they are doing clearance 75% off sales (x-small sales selection limited/weird, all other sizes seemed more varied and with some nice stuff.) Some of the stuff was wicked nice like Giorgio Armani Collection blazers for sub $200.
ReplyDeleteI went on President's day and for some odd reason the store wasn't as crazy as usual. They are renovating the downtown Manhattan store, and their layout was much improved over past trips. I also noted that their shoes store had a decent selection of Cole Haan and Kate Spade, neither were on sale, but they were very well priced.
I noticed a lot of random popbacks this morning - snake print skirt (sz 10), bright pink talitha blouse (sz 4), feather paisley skirt, eyelet pencil skirt in kiwi, snowcat boyshirt, colorblock sequin tank...just added a few things to my cart and nothing is showing up final sale either.
ReplyDeleteB&M store at Tysons Corner continue running 30% sale which makes sale items as final sale.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of cocoon coats in various sizes (in Kelly Green and Beige)
30% off in DC as well, and the SAs had just finished taking markdowns on a bunch of new items. The Tipped Boy Shirt in silk is now $79.99.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is still looking for the pink Cape Cod map scarf, F Street in DC has a dozen.
30% off in NYC.
ReplyDeleteSome new Promo-Priced items & markdowns today for those interested. I noted them in this post.
ReplyDeleteMadewell also has new Promo-Priced items which I've noted here.