Black Friday Apples

Friday 23rd November was Black Friday in the USA. Shopping online meant you could take advantage of “special deals” on selected products from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. One of the big news was that Apple shaved a few pounds off their classic iPad and iPod touch. The 16GB iPad boasted a £31 discount. Now perhaps this looks like a better saving in terms of American dollars but it didn’t seem like a great saving to me, in comparison to the hefty RRP of £368 with discount!

This is a smart move by Apple. The “one-time-only” deal causes customers to make rash decisions in the space of a day, over an item they have perhaps been looking at for a little while. Apple are well known to keep products at full price, so this really is a one off!

Apple have carefully manipulated the technology market in recent years, following the creation of their iPad. The fact that they are the original creators of the tablet has given them a head start where the technology is concerned. The tablet computer has of course exploded onto the market in various forms, with other brands leaping through the window of opportunity, but none have quite matched the standard and cleanness of the Apple design or indeed their desirability to consumers.

The psychological marketing of Black Friday in producing one time must buys correlates with Apple’s fast paced market for technological products. Black Friday aims to sell products at slashed prices, yet rely on the volume of consumers coming through the doors to make a profit.

Another item has been in the news recently, about supermarket promotional discounts. The article suggests that supermarkets are in fact manipulating the buy one get one free prices, so that no discount is actually to be had on the product. How do they do this? They simply raise the standard price to cover the unit cost of two and then slap a promotional label on it. Customers are drawn to any kind of discount, especially those watching their pennies.
The result of this manipulative pricing is that people end up buying more than one of something which they didn’t particularly need in the first place, and the supermarkets make a larger profit. The article also highlighted the interests of the supermarket in getting us to buy in bulk.

Apple are the greatest success story in terms of brand image. The clean, fresh look of each product helps us make that decision between the futuristic, minimalist gimmick and the clunky, two toned copy from HTC. Don’t forget to start saving for the next Apple gadget! Why? Because, of course, in a few months time, your shiny new iPod touch will be obsolete in anticipation of the next big thing.