Script for Speaking Assignment

SPEAKING ASSIGNMENT SCRIPT

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (BUSN 732)

Hello and welcome! It’s a pleasure to be with you today. My name is Floyd Samson and I am a post-graduate student in the School of Business at Centennial College under the Global Business Management program.

I recently watched a very informative episode from the MARKETPLACE website entitled “When is a SALE, really a sale? Some bargains are not the REAL deal”. It was last aired on January 8, 2016 on CBC.

Our talk will take around 5 minutes and is divided into TWO main sections that answers the following questions. First, what are the TWO common promotional deals that stores employ / in getting their customers think … they save money in buying quality products at a cheaper price? Second, what are the customer’s REACTIONS upon knowing the TRUTH behind these promotional structures.

To answer the first question, two of the common schemes that some retailers employ are the LOW-PRICED branded products in their outlet stores AND the COMPARE-AT pricing schemes.

Let’s discuss first the deals they made on outlet stores. Traditionally, some retailers have a corresponding outlet stores that SELL GOODS at bargain prices SINCE these products didn’t fly off the shelves from the last season, get rid of OVERSTOCK OR SELL-OFF factory seconds. However, many retailers are now manufacturing specific lines of clothing JUST for their outlet shops, WHICH may not be the quality consumers expect from higher-end brands. In outlet stores, items are largely made just to be sold cheaply… and so … companies are going to cut corners. This was proven true by Marketplace investigator Charlsie Argo, with the help of Clothing Designer, Hillary McMillan. Further investigation revealed as they compared similar products from the outlet and retail stores THAT some products from outlets such as handbags and clothing, were made with lower quality materials, such as less durable leathers OR unmarked linings and accessories.

The second scheme that some retailers use to lure customers is the COMPARE-AT PRICING SCHEMES. This is the type of scheme where they give a bargain price for a product against it’s SUPPOSED to be ORIGINAL PRICE. Thus, making consumers believe they are saving money when buying the items. The Marketplace team looked at the accuracy of some store’s COMPARE AT Prices and found that they don’t always accurately reflect the FULL PRICE that consumers would pay at another store. Further, when they verified it with the store as to WHERE their data for the COMPARE-AT price are derived from, a concrete response was NOT provided. Mark Ellwood, a New-York based shopping expert, says he’s seen similar pricing tactics in off-price retail stores in the US…. AND… consumers should NOT put much TRUST into these prices on retailer’s tags. Furthermore, he says, "Compare at pricing is one of those TRICKS that works on the way our BRAINS are structured. It is called ANCHOR PRICING. When people see two numbers, we instantly look at the higher price and take notice of the difference.