Best Buy Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer that offers a wide range of products at a discounted price to the customers. This organization has many adverts, online banners, in-store displays, and price tags that draw the attention of the customers. Words such as "SALE! 60% OFF" or "This weekend only: Save an extra 40%!" However, tracking the prices of these products shows huge price differences. Some of these prices do not offer any savings to the customers nor affecting the profitability of the firm ( www.washingtonpost.com , 2020 ). In some instances, the firm offers a discounted price on its online stores to attract customers, but when they come to the physical stores, the product is sold at a non-discounted price. In most cases, these adverts tend to attract more customers who would not wait to get them 60% off the price. However, the prices do not result in any cost saving to the customers nor a decrease in profitability.
My experience with this store was when I bought a laptop at $880 from its stores. Upon entering the stores, I saw a display re"ding “SALE! 60% OFF." Upon seeing this advert, I did not think twice about buying the product because I knew I had gotten a good deal. With the discounted price stated to be $880, I purchased the laptop. However, I later traced back and found that the stated discounted price was the regular price at which the product is sold. Despite the claimed 60% off the price, the final price was the same as the regular price. It meant that the buyer did not gain anything from the sales price. The organization did not also lose any profits from the profits. The discount rate was based on an overstated price, which only takes back the final price to regular.
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The other experience with the store was providing a discount price of its stores, but selling the product at its physical stores at a higher price. The issue occurred when the company listed a discounted price of the phone on its website to be $105. On visiting the physical store, the price of the item was $120, which was much higher than the discounted price.
In both two cases, the firm uses a misleading and deceptive advertisement to attract more customers. The deal is a fake one, neither benefiting the buyer or sacrificing revenue for the business. The retailer is only manipulating and deceiving the customers with false discounts, yet in the real sense, they are paying the same regular price ( www.cnbc.com , 2020 ). This complete manipulation of the price has no value to the customers, but only used as a way to deceive customers to make the purchase.
The sales practices by Bes Buy is unethical and misleading. Ethical adverts require that businesses provide accurate and true information about the products. First, the retailer deceives the customers that it is offering a discount to the customers, yet they still end up paying the same amount as the regular price ( Alavi, Bornemann & Wieseke, 2015 ). This kind of deception is unethical and misleading to customers. Businesses have to uphold high ethical values by providing the right information to customers. They have to provide true adverts with pricing information that is not only accurate but also correct ( Nagle & Müller, 2017 ). Providing misleading information on pricing is the worst deal that Best Buy provided to its customers. Besides, the fact that Best Buy provided a false discount price to the customers on its website is both illegal and unethical. By providing a false discount price on its website, the retailer goes against the misleading information as required by the law. The customers have the right to access correct information about the prices offered by the customers.
Misleading information in the pricing remains one of the most unethical business practices. Manipulation of the customers to convince the customers to buy under false promises goes against the advertising standards. A firm has to be accurate and consistent with its pricing. If a discount is to be provided, it has to have value to the customers by helping them save money. However, Best Buy misleads the customers with its pricing to make them believe that the price offer is discounted.
References
Alavi, S., Bornemann, T., & Wieseke, J. (2015). Gambled price discounts: a remedy to the negative side effects of regular price discounts. Journal of Marketing , 79 (2), 62-78.
Nagle, T. T., & Müller, G. (2017). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably . Routledge.
www.cnbc.com (2020). Best Buy Accused of Overcharging In-Store Shoppers. Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.cnbc.com/id/18846852
www.washingtonpost.com . (2020). Retrieved 6 May 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/with-deceptive-discounts-retailers-are-manipulating-us-to-spend-more/2018/03/13/9c0ca05a-20bb-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html
