Home » Categories » Business / Economy » Business Trends » Christmas Shopping: More Aggressive Tactics--From Retailers?

Posted Monday, December 17, 2007
View All Blog Posts submitted by Alf Gordon

I've noticed a trend this year while doing my Christmas shopping.  It seems that retail companies are putting more pressure on their sales staff to convince me to purchase an item that nobody wants to give to somebody I don't even care about during a holiday season that nobody is willing to call by its proper name for fear of offending somebody.

 

The television and radio ads promoting specific stores don't bother me (although if I hear the word "decadent" used one more time to describe a high-end product, I'm going to throw up).  The circulars in the paper every two or three days don't upset me either (everybody loves saving money).  It's the attitudes of the sales personnel trying to draw customers in to make that all-important purchase that has me irritated.

 

In stores and malls all over town, clerks in record numbers are giving out free samples of their wares.  For products that don't have samples, the salespeople attempt to convince you to try on/smell/feel/play with their product just to see how it works.  One ambitious young man wrapped his item (an aromatherapy neck warmer) around my wife's neck in spite of her repeated protests.  Failing that, they try to engage you in conversation or ask a personal question ("It has nothing to do with our lotion" one young lady insisted when she asked me about my nail-grooming habits) that invariably leads to a blatant promotion of one product or another.  These tactics remind me of walking onto a car lot, where you can immediately pick out the salespeople as they race towards you, waving and yelling to get you to respond to them first.  (If these types of attitudes are reflected in retail markets across the board, I am never going car-shopping again!)

 

I understand that companies want to increase their sales at any time of year.  It bothers me that they have to resort to guerilla-warfare tactics to make that happen, and infringe upon my personal space in order to do so. 

 

Naturally, I'm waiting for the news articles to start showing up.  The woman who was given a glop of scented lotion by an overeager sales associate, only to discover that she is allergic to some of the ingredients and had to be taken to the hospital.  The child who was being directed how to use the latest radio-controlled helicopter and accidentally crashed it into the face of a passerby, who is now suing both the child's parents and the business for damages.  The over-eager male clerk who was so effective in helping a young girl try on the latest fashions that her parents had him arrested for attempted child molestation.  The list could go on and on, but you get the picture.  As the legal claims mount and the lawyer's fees add up, maybe businesses will find it necessary to identify other ways to promote their products.  Whatever they do, it can't be as bad as it is now.  Unless they use the word "decadent" in their sales pitch.