‘If I don’t, someone else will’: Discounting dilemma for SMEs as Christmas closes in

The dust has settled on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and retailers across the country are already in the thick of Christmas trading.
Customary discounting is in full swing, or, to be accurate, never really stopped.
Christmas is undoubtedly an extremely important time for retailers big and small, but as product discounting becomes more ubiquitous, SMEs can find it more difficult to keep up.
Ruby Wang, founder of online skincare retailer Nudie Glow, participated in Black Friday and Cyber Monday, experiencing a record sales day.
However, the small business owner tells SmartCompany the pressure to participate in discounting creates a difficult balancing act with product margins.
“If I don’t do it customers will go to someone else,” she says.
“It’s hard for us, we can’t really compete with the big companies … we decided to go with a lower discount because we can’t afford to have a big sale.”
Competition heats up
Big retailers such as Myer, David Jones, Cotton On and many others went in heavily on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and are continuing to discount in the lead up to Christmas. Read more

Matthew Elmas - SmartCompany - 6December 2018