Price tags. We deal with these everyday. From the daily ride to big ticket items, price tags are our base in deciding our willingness or capability to spend.

Earning money is not a walk in the park, so whenever there’s a need to purchase, its always nice to hear the magic words – Discounts, sale, price slash, reductions!

Accountingtools.com defined sales discount as a reduction in the price of a product or service that is offered by the seller, in exchange for early payment by the buyer.

Makes us wonder why a sale happens? Is it just to push more purchase?

Here are some insights shared by experts.

“On fashion retail, advertising is not really much on our side. We have to be creative in marketing. Our brand is really up there that it cannot be marketed as a need but as a lifestyle badge. Price reduction is our key to induce bigger sales. It happens whenever we close and open a new collection. In the Philippines, it starts January to really kick off new design lines. It’s a different story for our partner stylists and personality development consultants. Sale happens every month for them. And you’ll be surprised that corporate market is bigger than retail!” – Ms. Z.R. ,Marketing Manager for a high-end fashion brand.

 Airlines are also hot in giving away seat sales. Jonas.ph, a famed Pinoy blog site focusing on travel shared tips to spot great deals and promos:

There will always be an Independence Day or an Araw ng Kagitingan seat sale for September travel dates. All Souls Day, Christmas and New Year’s Day for the rainy seasons next year.

This has been proven. You’ll also notice this after you install the Airlines Promo app. Like a competitive suitor, Cebu Pacific always release a seat sale hours later when the rival PAL Express and Air Asia Philippines launch their respective promos to woo potential customers.

Travel Expositions happen at least twice a year. But recently, PAL Express is the only airline among the others worth the queue. Why? Their promo is different from what are published online. Compare the prices in the expo and in the website to know if queueing for half-day is a better decision. Pro-tip: Basco tickets courtesy of PAL Express are rare. So you need to be in the line first hour of the first day.

I am often asked about booking flights during rainy seasons (the off-peak in the Philippines). And I always answer wholeheartedly – take that flight. When typhoon becomes a threat to your vacation, the airline will eventually cancel it for safety. Your tickets are rebookable in this case. If you worry about your accommodation, you should have booked it via booking.com or any website that allows pay later schemes.

And speaking of, as released by Manilastandardtoday.com, Travel Tour Expo 2015, the biggest and most awaited event in the tourism industry will once again offer Filipino travelers unprecedented deals and treats,  at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City on February 13, 14 and 15, 2015.

On consumer retail, Warc.com divulged that shoppers in Asia Pacific are seeking out promotions like discounts and buy1 take1 on fast moving consumer goods through a study done by Nielsen.

                                                                          

One of our sources from Metrobank Card Corp shared that discounts are high before Christmas season and after New year. In 2014, purchase went up during discount sale activities at the start of the year and during summer season.

Some would say that discount sale is just a scheme, where brands don’t really slash prices, but just remove revenue margins. True or not, its up for us to decide whether every purchase is worthy of our money or not.