I don't usually shop for clothes but when I do it's during a sale
That four letter word women love to hear more than the other four letter word-love
Whenever there's a huge sale in any mall having lots of retail outlets, the scene on that day resembles an apocalypse
Everyone hurrying to grab whatever clothes they can find, as long as it fits them, never mind the fact that they might end up buying more than they need
But that's the motive of a sale
A retailer knows that he cannot sell anything without a discounted rate.
Clothes aren't cookies, even cookies don't attract people's attention unless they smell it from far away
That's how discounts work, the discount is the smell and the clothes are the cookies
I recently went to a big sale at the mall near my home, Oberoi mall, they have this annual 50% sale on lots of brands and attracts a huge crowd
For me I just need to buy a few tees and shirts
But most people come to this sale with one motive, buy anything with a discount, ANYTHING
I've seen women queuing up to get in a shop which can accommodate max 25 people, the queue is way more than 25 people and that queue lasts for a whole day
Mostly comprised of middle-aged women and some younger ones too, while their boyfriends and husbands sit in the corner waiting for their women to call them to pay the bills
The aftermath is that store clearing its stock and getting richer
Though there are some damages due to the over enthusiastic crowd getting in
They don't mind it, a few scratches are nothing compared to the earnings they made
Which I guess is more than the whole yearly earnings
It's real madness this sale, not only is there a traffic jam inside the mall with people stopping and looking but there is a huge jam on the roads too, starting from the mall and going on to Kandivali
The most ridiculous part of this sale is that they also give a discount on the restaurants at the mall, well they must have assumed since you're gonna shop the whole day, you'll be hungry too
How thoughtful of them!
So the non shoppers get a chance to eat more, well, say if a roll on a normal day costs 100 bucks, you'd eat one, but at 50% discount you get to eat two
So much for the money saving aspect of discounts
But hey! at least you won't go hungry for the next few hours
While some restaurants are considerate in offering a discount on all food items, others give a discount only on the drinks, non-alcoholic of course
They must have realized that after eating so much, people do feel thirsty and nothing beats a cheap glass of cola, unless it's mixed with rum
After the day is done and all the people have walked out with heavy bags and empty wallets, which would have been less empty if it wasn't for that sale, the only job left for the sales person is counting cash and unloading all the good stock of clothes for display, as the bad one's were already sold to some unlucky soul who only came to buy a pair of jeans but walked out with tees, shirts, pants and a box of donuts as it's better to eat something sweet when you take a look at what you bought and cry over it.
The next day life returns back to it's normal self at the mall and the retailers lie in wait for the next sale to hit and bring with it another storm of people wanting to buy another set of clothes they never wanted to wear.
I wonder how long it will take for online shopping to take over the retail stores and cut out the crowds
Once it does happen, how will the retailers react? but one thing is for certain this SALE concept will never die and the day isn't that far when everything will only be sold at a discounted rate, if that does happen, empty wallets will be a common sight like the bulky shopping bags and stores with the words sale painted in the windows, big enough to hide the name of the shop
Who cares what the shop is called, they are only interested in the word sale, whether you're shopping at Reebok or Reebuk as long as it has the word sale it doesn't matter
So next time a sale hits any place near you, get ready to see the magic that no other magician can show you
One more thing, carry a lot of cash or your credit card as you will need it more than you think.
That four letter word women love to hear more than the other four letter word-love
Whenever there's a huge sale in any mall having lots of retail outlets, the scene on that day resembles an apocalypse
Everyone hurrying to grab whatever clothes they can find, as long as it fits them, never mind the fact that they might end up buying more than they need
But that's the motive of a sale
A retailer knows that he cannot sell anything without a discounted rate.
Clothes aren't cookies, even cookies don't attract people's attention unless they smell it from far away
That's how discounts work, the discount is the smell and the clothes are the cookies
I recently went to a big sale at the mall near my home, Oberoi mall, they have this annual 50% sale on lots of brands and attracts a huge crowd
For me I just need to buy a few tees and shirts
But most people come to this sale with one motive, buy anything with a discount, ANYTHING
I've seen women queuing up to get in a shop which can accommodate max 25 people, the queue is way more than 25 people and that queue lasts for a whole day
Mostly comprised of middle-aged women and some younger ones too, while their boyfriends and husbands sit in the corner waiting for their women to call them to pay the bills
The aftermath is that store clearing its stock and getting richer
Though there are some damages due to the over enthusiastic crowd getting in
They don't mind it, a few scratches are nothing compared to the earnings they made
Which I guess is more than the whole yearly earnings
It's real madness this sale, not only is there a traffic jam inside the mall with people stopping and looking but there is a huge jam on the roads too, starting from the mall and going on to Kandivali
The most ridiculous part of this sale is that they also give a discount on the restaurants at the mall, well they must have assumed since you're gonna shop the whole day, you'll be hungry too
How thoughtful of them!
So the non shoppers get a chance to eat more, well, say if a roll on a normal day costs 100 bucks, you'd eat one, but at 50% discount you get to eat two
So much for the money saving aspect of discounts
But hey! at least you won't go hungry for the next few hours
While some restaurants are considerate in offering a discount on all food items, others give a discount only on the drinks, non-alcoholic of course
They must have realized that after eating so much, people do feel thirsty and nothing beats a cheap glass of cola, unless it's mixed with rum
After the day is done and all the people have walked out with heavy bags and empty wallets, which would have been less empty if it wasn't for that sale, the only job left for the sales person is counting cash and unloading all the good stock of clothes for display, as the bad one's were already sold to some unlucky soul who only came to buy a pair of jeans but walked out with tees, shirts, pants and a box of donuts as it's better to eat something sweet when you take a look at what you bought and cry over it.
The next day life returns back to it's normal self at the mall and the retailers lie in wait for the next sale to hit and bring with it another storm of people wanting to buy another set of clothes they never wanted to wear.
I wonder how long it will take for online shopping to take over the retail stores and cut out the crowds
Once it does happen, how will the retailers react? but one thing is for certain this SALE concept will never die and the day isn't that far when everything will only be sold at a discounted rate, if that does happen, empty wallets will be a common sight like the bulky shopping bags and stores with the words sale painted in the windows, big enough to hide the name of the shop
Who cares what the shop is called, they are only interested in the word sale, whether you're shopping at Reebok or Reebuk as long as it has the word sale it doesn't matter
So next time a sale hits any place near you, get ready to see the magic that no other magician can show you
One more thing, carry a lot of cash or your credit card as you will need it more than you think.
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