Excerpt
The following ran on the June 5, 2013, edition of WFAA-TV. Marketing professor Dan Howard provided expertise for this story.
June 7, 2013
by Jonathan Betz
DALLAS –– After a disastrous rollout of an everyday low pricing model, JCPenney is now facing more controversy as it changes its prices yet again.
The company is defending its return to coupons and discounts, saying they’re popular with consumers. Yet the Plano-based retailer has been caught putting more expensive price tags on top of cheaper ones.
“That’s awful,” shopper Sue Jackson said when News 8 showed her a men’s shirt with a $50 sticker hiding a $30 price. “I never thought they would do that, especially after all the trouble they just had.”
News 8 found several items in a Dallas store this week with higher tags covering cheaper prices. Recently, WCPO-TV in Cincinnati found the same thing in several stores there.
The company changed its pricing structure in February, returning to coupons and sales....
What JCPenney has done is terrible,” said SMU marketing professor Daniel Howard, who has studied retailers for years. “They know that one way to increase their sales is to convince people they are getting a deal even when they are not.”...