HoodFind^TM

Caught an article on NYT recently entitled “Even at Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Is Set in Stone”.

“While tough times give people more incentive to change their behavior, it is the wealth of information about products made available on the Internet that gives consumers the know-how to try it. People now can quickly amass information on product availability and pricing, helping them develop strategies to get the best deal.”

The article goes on to say that businesses, from mega-stores to even mom and pops are becoming more flexible in terms of pricing and are willing to negotiate, primarily to retain customers:

“Says Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said that retailers willing to haggle were making a calculated gamble that acceding to lower prices means establishing customer loyalty. The retail mantra is “customer lifetime value,” meaning any single sale might not be that profitable, but an enduring relationship with a shopper would be.”

But perhaps the most interesting point in the article is when a former Best Buy clerk explained that cash registers at Best Buy were set up so that prices could be reset by associates at checkout. Steps taken like that by management to empower employees are the actual enablers of painless haggling.