A price markdown is a deliberate
reduction in the selling price of
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
merchandise. It is used to increase the ''velocity'' (rate of sale) of an article, typically for
clearance at the end of a season, or to sell off obsolete merchandise at the
end of its life.
The timing and level of markdowns in a selling season is critical to maximising
return on sales In business, operating margin—also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin, EBIT margin and return on sales (ROS)—is the ratio of operating income ("operating profit" in the UK) to net sales, usually expressed in percent.
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. This is often measured as ''revenue realization'': the proportion of the potential original selling price achieved. For example, a revenue realization of 50% means that only half the potential full-price sales value was achieved by the end of the season. It is also important in minimizing ''terminal inventory'', i.e. the amount of merchandise left when the season is finished.
A recent trend has been to use
demand optimization software to establish the most desirable timing and level of markdown. Optimization techniques can be used to determine where the best combination of revenue realization and terminal inventory is going to come from, for example, comparing a tactic of low-level markdowns from early in the season against one of later, deeper reductions.
Tools for markdown
Discount stickers
References
Pricing
Sales promotion
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