We have a lot of items under $20. We used to offer a coupon discount which showed the customer they were getting a discount. This prompted sales. Customers liked this and got immediate satisfaction. Now that the coupon fees went from 60 cents to $5.00+2.5%, coupons are no longer viable.
Tried to put things on sale getting a strike through of the regular price. Yes, I read the details but no matter what we do, the sale price shows up as the for sale price with no strike-through. Promotion without having the strike through doesn't work because one impetus for customers to buy an item on sale is the element of time. Without the strikethough there's no impetus.
We've advertised the items, which sort of works, but that isn't saving the customer any money, and in fact it costs them money in the soup of things. Our sales go up but our ROAS makes the advertising unjustifiable. You need a ROAS of around 1.4 just to break even on the HAQM fees, yet alone the product costs, labor, etc. Yes the ads are targeted, we advertise on specific days and at specific times even.
So what is left? I wish there was a discount available to customers to buy more than one at a time. *Buy two and save 10%*. Yes, business accounts can do it, but what about regular customers?
Why not just drop the price? Brand against brand, people buy the middle priced item in a good-better-best scenario. Research has shown cheaper priced brand offering WITHOUT a sale or promotion are seen as inferior. "You get what you pay for up to a point." People like sales and they like discounts they can see. I;m out of ideas. Am I missing something?