5 responses we got to the question “why does your club offer discounts?”
Following my article last week on the 3 observations about discounts offered on football clubs’ merchandise stores; I wanted to share some more insight in to the merchandise space.
I’ve been monitoring football clubs’ merchandise stores since the first week of January; and one thing I can safely say is that all clubs discount their merchandise. Whether this is due to lack of demand, getting rid of left over stock or changing sponsors, all clubs within the Premier League have discounted their kits at some point in the season.
After speaking to some top people at football clubs, I’ll be sharing 5 responses that I received when asking them why they still offer discounts.
1) ‘‘We need to get rid of remaining stock’’
When I first heard this, it almost sounded a little desperate. Clubs will do anything to get rid of their stock and finish the season without any surplus; especially if the season isn’t going as planned!
To an extent this is probably the only reason that made sense, in my opinion. When there are a few games left in the season and the club is clearly not going to hit their objectives, engaging fans becomes one of the biggest challenges for a club.
So when the season is lost and there’s nothing left to play for, running discounts and slashing prices would make sense in order to finish the season with as little stock as possible. It’s also worth noting that merchandise teams currently operate in a non-lean world, where they have to order all of next season’s stock in advance, so it’s quite a risky business.
2) ‘‘We don’t handle it, our technology partners do’’
Outsourcing business practices is done in almost every industry, so it’s no surprise to find football clubs outsourcing their merchandise stores to technology providers, who are experts in this space.
However when speaking to the Head of Marketing or Commercial Director at a football club, I’ve been told that they can’t even decide when they want to run a marketing campaign.
There are different technology providers and some only handle the technology, however there are others who run the entire marketing and sales process for the clubs. In these cases the clubs have very little say.
I guess if all the clubs where to ask for specific marketing campaigns, the technology providers wouldn’t be able to cope. However running a discount campaign, for all clubs, and shouting the exact same message makes things very easy for these technology providers; but very boring for the fans!
3) ‘‘Yeah, it’s what everyone else does’’
Maybe it does work in some instances, but at the end of the day, every club has their own fans and each club should engage their own fans in their own way.
Some fans don’t even need a discount to want to purchase their teams’ shirt, whilst others will wait for seasonal discounts before making any purchase whatsoever.
Even with the above point in mind, don’t clubs want to differentiate? Each club is a unique brand and to copy others and be the same as everyone else is wrong for everyone involved.
4) ‘‘We don’t offer discounts’’
Believe or not, I’ve actually been told this on multiple occasions.
I’ve been quick to reply, saying ‘‘I can see that you’re offering a 50% discount on your retail site right now…’’
It’s almost as though clubs are embarrassed to slash their prices, because at the end of the day, they are devaluing their brand and perhaps they know this.
The reality is that digital is new to clubs, however there are a few clubs who are moving towards digital and have really upped their game. Our merchandise league shows this, although there are a few clubs who have yet to really capitalize on digital and monetize well.
5) ‘‘The Fans Expect It’’
Much like Pavlov’s dog and his bell, fans have become very habitual with discounts in January. Fans know that once January starts, the kit prices will be halved and they can purchase the exact same product (a shirt) for half the price. It’s something that’s done every year without fail and fans have begun to take advantage of this. This does not only apply in January; fans have come to expect seasonal discounts at certain points in the season.
Why buy a kit for £80, when in a month’s time it’s going to be £50? As consumers we are all highly informed, and very rarely does anyone make a purchase without at least a little research on prices.
The few instances where consumers complete these kinds of purchases are when there’s some kind of acquisition type offering. For example a special offer that will expire after a certain date; similar to the product offered by DiscountIF.
Should you have any questions about running an alternative to discounts and engaging fans further, please visit www.discountif.com or send an email to contact@discountif.com.
