As the holiday season approaches, shoppers eagerly await the weekly grocery store flyers to plan their Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. We expect to see great deals on all our festive favorites. However, retailers use a sophisticated strategy for their holiday promotions. They intentionally remove some of their most popular staple items from the weekly sales rotation. They know that you have to buy these items anyway. This means they have no financial incentive to offer you a discount on them.
1. Turkeys
The centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal, the turkey, is a classic “loss leader.” Stores will sell it at a very low price, sometimes at a loss, to get you into the store. However, you will rarely see the turkey advertised in the main flyer like a regular sale item. The low price itself is the promotion. The store does not need to offer an additional discount. They know you are coming for that turkey, no matter what.
2. Staple Baking Ingredients (Flour and Sugar)
From Thanksgiving through Christmas, there is a significant surge in demand for basic baking ingredients, such as all-purpose flour and granulated sugar. The stores know that every baker in town needs to stock up on these items. Because the demand is so high and so predictable, the stores have no reason to put them on sale. They will sell at full price, so they are quietly removed from the promotional flyers.
3. Spices
Holiday recipes call for a particular set of spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sage. These spices are another high-demand, seasonal category. Retailers know that you cannot make your pumpkin pie or your stuffing without them. This guaranteed demand means that they rarely, if ever, put these essential holiday spices on sale during the peak season in November and December.
4. Butter
Butter is another essential ingredient for almost every aspect of holiday cooking and baking. The demand for it skyrockets during the holiday season. This high demand often leads to a higher price, not a lower one. Stores know that you have to buy butter for your mashed potatoes and your Christmas cookies. They will dedicate the flyer space to other, less essential items instead.
5. Paper Towels and Toilet Paper
Paper towels and toilet paper are household staples that are consistently in demand year-round. While you might see them on sale at other times of the year, they are often removed from the promotional flyers during the busy holiday season. The stores need that valuable flyer space to advertise the more festive, high-margin seasonal items that they really want to sell you.
6. The Science of the Sales Flyer
The weekly sales flyer is a carefully curated marketing piece. It is not a random collection of the best deals. Every item on that page is chosen for a specific, strategic reason. The quiet absence of our most essential holiday staples is also a part of that strategy. It is a calculated business decision that is designed to maximize the store’s profits during its busiest and most important time of the year.
What is the one holiday item that you always stock up on well in advance? Have you noticed that your favorite staples are never on sale in December? Let us know!
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The post Why These 5 Items Are Quietly Removed From Flyers Every Holiday Season appeared first on Grocery Coupon Guide.
