Someone is offering 'a special sale' for you even on August 14. Please check
Business
Upper middle class is the target audience
LAHORE (Web Desk) – So in Pakistan, the Independence Day has become yet another great opportunity to promote your brand and expand reach by offering something special like discount and introducing a new service or product. You can’t miss a chance in a free market which is based upon consumerism while making you addicted to different commodities. It is the reason why even the August 14 is not immune to the “sale culture” – a constant in Pakistan nowadays when products are sold at discounted prices.
In good old days too, special events like Eid and Christmas in Pakistan attracted customers to markets. There was or is nothing extraordinary about it. It happens around the globe. However, markets back then had a lot of people even during others days thanks to the better purchasing power.
Less competition meant there was no need to announce sales and discounts, barring less than a dozen well-known brands of different items which resorted to these only during Eid days or summer and winter seasons depending upon their nature.
What made a difference was the mushrooming of local and the arrival of foreign brands in 1990s, resulting in an intense competition. It wasn’t surprising as Pakistan witnessed a rise and expansion in the urban middle and upper middle classes – who were influenced by market forces that offered a plethora of goods and services.
The same period saw the arrival of cable TV followed by internet some years later. So different brands ranging from toothpaste to autos had an opportunity to first reach your TV lounge and then the left pocket in which you always carry your mobile.
It means everyone can now be treated as a potential customer whether your like it, endorse it or not. You are now bombed by ads not only through TV screens but also the computer and mobile phone you use as many of us have access to the internet nowadays. You are a free person and a hostage at the same – 24/7 without any gap.
The market economy revolves around consumerism and commercialisation of every aspect of life, be it sports like football and cricket or art and culture in the shape of movies and music.
For example, even the affluent families didn’t have their children addicted to pizza and burger before 1980s. But these food items along with many others are a common thing in the market.
Now that you are among the addicted, the next step is to keep you in the customers’ list. But given that we as a society have very little or no appetite for innovation, the only thing these brands can offer is reduced prices during the entire year.
The elite – the main chunk of the high-end customers in terms of money spent [which is the only thing that matters in economy] – doesn’t give damn to things like inflation and rising prices as things like reduced purchasing power are in his or her dictionary. He or she mostly shops during foreign trips to buy the quality products which aren’t available in Pakistan. And if still there is something to buy, the high-end outlets are here to serve them.
Meanwhile, they are now less dependent on shopping during foreign tours because everything is now available in the country thanks to the high-end stores. And they can still fly abroad in case of some urgent need or non-availability within the country. Finances aren’t their problem.
But there are those hopeful of becoming an elite, the upper-middle class including the ones who claim to be a part middle class but actually are not. They too follow the brands and rush to avail these discounted rates. They are brand-crazy but still looking for some opportunity to save money. In fact, they are the main target population.
Next comes the last group under discussion, the middle class, who are always waiting for special offers because their limited budget doesn’t allow them buy new items otherwise, especially amid the current economic crisis. However, the affordability issue means their list in terms of brands remains short even during sale offers.
It is in this context, the intense competition between different brands is reflected in sales offers on special occasions, the list of which is expanding with each passing day. The 14 of August is one of them.
Using these events for business purposes is nothing illegal or deplorable phenomenon but still shows how the businesses try to relate their products to the very specific days. No consumer means no business.
They use customers’ feelings and requirements to their advantage, showing the powerful the markets forces are in a free market economy. But are the customers free remains a question.
With the overwhelming majority busy tackling the food inflation as the biggest challenge, the target population is shrinking which will certainly further promote the “sale culture” in Pakistan.
