Dive Brief:

• Retailers spend billions on holiday promotions to win over shoppers, but most consumers find them confusing or worry they’re illegitimate, eroding trust between brands and consumers, according to a survey published by supply chain planning platform Relex Solutions.
• A staggering 84% of consumers find promotions to be misleading or unclear at least some of the time, with only about one-third expressing confidence that promotions offer real savings.
• Consumer mistrust can hurt brand loyalty, as 45% of consumers who feel frequently misled will reduce or stop shopping with a retailer they don’t trust, the survey found. That’s especially true for shoppers aged 18 to 24, with half switching retailers immediately when a promotion feels misleading.

Dive Insight:

In an attempt to boost revenue and gain market share, brands often overpromise and underdeliver on holiday deals, in turn frustrating consumers.

“There’s a massive gap between promotional strategy and execution,” Thom Iddon-Escalante, Relex’s director of presales pricing and promotions, said in a prepared statement.

On Black Friday, for instance, many online retailers advertised a flat discount across their website, even though individual products were discounted at different rates, Melissa Minkow, global director of retail strategy and insights at technology consulting firm CI&T, told CX Dive earlier this month. 

The No. 1 thing consumers want during a retail experience is to “find what they’re looking for right away and at the best price,” Minkow said. “So if you’re making them jump through hoops for either or both of those things, it’s not good.”

Relex’s survey data backs that up: About two-thirds say promotions feel dishonest when the original price isn’t shown; 58% feel misled when items are unavailable at the promoted price; and just over half, 53%, say unclear terms make deals confusing instead of compelling.

Ultimately, what consumers want is simple: transparency. That includes fairer pricing, straightforward percentage discounts, simpler offers, and the ability to buy a discounted item at the advertised price.

“Marketing teams can design compelling campaigns, but if supply chains can’t deliver inventory or pricing systems can’t clearly communicate savings, the promotion becomes a trust-breaking moment instead of a sales driver. Retailers can’t afford that kind of disconnect,” Iddon-Escalante said. “As we look ahead, promotion success won’t come from deeper discounts, but from deals shoppers believe are real.”

Researchscape conducted the survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adult shoppers in November on behalf of Relex.