Cheap

Attention Shoppers

Bargain hunting is a bottomless shopping bag for many consumers. The quest for bargain sales and deep discounts often reflects a deeper individual desire for economic control. In the shopping aisles, scoring great deals seems like the way to gain victory points in the retail game. Unfortunately, the financial points you win when you go bargain hunting are often cheap illions.

Many shoppers, particularly in America, seem infatuated with low prices, and the relationship is not one-sided. The retail industry is wooing consumers with a record number of discount chains, outlet malls, dollar stores and warehouse clubs. Faced with heavy discounting, shoppers have a difficult time understanding price tags or decoding value. Often, they don’t or can’t distinguish between high- and low-quality.

Confused, they stock up on low-priced bargains that offer diminished or dubious real value. Some so-called deals are actually rip-offs. But the public’s growing appetite for low-priced, low-quality products makes it difficult for merchants to sell full-priced, high-quality goods.

Innovations in Commerce

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