Introduction

End
of Season Sale (EOSS) is now a trend among the apparel retailers in India. It
is one of the discount sales techniques adopted by the apparel retailers. Many
consumers are looking forward to make their purchase during the EOSS. They
postpone their purchase till the EOSS being offered by the retailers. These
type of consumers are very high value conscious consumers. It is a magical word
which attracts a customer to the store like a bee to the flower. Ever wondered
what would be possibly going through the customer mind during the End of season
sale? What goes into the mind of the consumers during the EOSS purchase. This
article analyses the possible consumer psychology behind the EOSS.

End
of Season Sale (EOSS)

It
is a stock clearance sale offered by the apparel retailers before start of the
next apparel selling season. Earlier days the stock clearance sale was done
yearly once at the end of the particular accounting year. But nowadays it is
being given at the end of the particular selling season. Apparel retail sales
are mainly based on selling seasons that prevail in the particular country. The
selling season may vary from country to country. In western countries, it is
classified as Back-To-School, Spring or Summer, Fall or Winter, Thanks giving,
Halloween etc. In India, the selling season is mainly based on festivals and
family functions. It is like Deepavali, Christmas, Ramzan, other religious or
local festivals, Back to School, marriage seasons, etc.

The
concept behind the EOSS is that nowadays the fashion change occurs rapidly and
a fashion by the end of the year, the fashion may not be a favourite one. The
fashion product life cycle is also becoming shorter so it is no point keeping
the fashion for normal sales till the end of the year. It also incurs
unnecessary stock carrying cost and also occupies the store or selling space
which is one of the important resources for the apparel retailers. So to make
effective and efficient retail sales, the apparel retailers adopt the technique
of EOSS. It is also very much beneficial for the consumers particularly those
who are fashion conscious but at the same time having very high value
consciousness. The discount percentage varies depending on the type of apparel
and it is typically in the form of "Up to 50%" or "Up to
70%" etc.

Consumer
Psychology

During
the EOSS, customer perceives an increase in utility from his disposable income
than during the off-discount period. Hence, an illusion often gets created in
the mind of the customer that there is an increase in his disposable income,
though in reality there is no actual increase in his income. For example - a
disposable income of Rs.1000 allows him to purchase one pair of jeans. While
during EOSS with 50% off for the same pair of jeans, the customer is left with
an additional disposable income of Rs.500 even after the purchase of jeans.
Thus, while the disposable income left with the customer after purchase during
the off-discount period is nil, during EOSS the disposable income left with him
after purchase increases by Rs.500. Therefore, the customer perceives an
increase in his disposable income during EOSS owning to his savings. As a
result the average price sensitive customer entails greater utility for the
same merchandise during EOSS.