Leslie Rascoe

The power of sales and how sales get out to people is amazing, over the thanksgiving break I looked at a lot of sales papers and emails that stores were sending out to people and I couldn't believe what great deals were offered. Many people hate to go Black Friday shopping, but it is almost impossible to not take advantage of the sales. I purchased a TV on Black Friday and saved over $300 dollars, it was an offer I couldn't pass up. I have also noticed that stores have such great outcomes on sales from Black Friday and Cyber Monday they are continuing the great deals throughout the week into the weekend. It's amazing how fast the word travels through the internet and how quickly people find out about theses deals. I have been wondering if stores kept these great deals all throughout the year would sales increase enough to make up for the prices being lower? I feel that people will spend more money and shop more often if the deals they find stay great and if customer's f

While visiting an outdoor mall this weekend, I went to many stores to see what sales they have going on. I went into the Apple store and you can tell they are super busy but they are the one store that has absolutely no signs or sales being advertised.  It made me wonder why they do not need to advertise what sales they offer, but they are still receiving many customers. Also, as you walk by most other stores have added signs and more advertising to promote sales, there are so many people out during this time of the season which obviously adds many sales to popular stores. Most of the stores I visited had more employees working and as soon as you walked in they told you what sales were going on and offered to help you find what you are looking for. Would sales stay higher if stores stayed in 'Christmas mode' all year round?

How much more business do small businesses receive when they use social media as added advertisement? This week I spoke to the owner of a small business and while we were discussing all of her ways of advertisement, she stated that before she created social media pages for her business she felt like more people came to her store. She said this was the one thing she was worried about because she thought social media would bring a lot more business in. I think with more information becoming available to people online, they are more likely to not come in to the store because they already know what the business carries. This topic had me wondering, maybe if we changed the way we advertise online it would benefit and bring in more sales. I suggested that instead of posting pictures of all the new items she has to offer, she could try only posting one item and simply advertise that everyone needs to come in and check out her new items. This way, people are curious as to what they have and en

Recently I have started comparing prices in local stores that I shop in, it amazes me at how many deals you can get from just looking around to see what other stores offer. Walmart was mainly  guaranteed to have the best prices on popular items that people are in the market for, but other stores that aren't as well known had better prices on certain groceries. I changed the supermarket I get groceries from and saved $120, instead of going to Walmart I went to the local market and got everything I would have gotten at Walmart but for better prices. Most of the time when I go to Walmart I get busy looking at other items placed on end-caps and on displays and I find myself getting stuff I didn't even put on my list. Walmart may have competitive prices but the store set-up alone will make you spend double what I spend on just groceries. I have noticed that the prices at local grocery stores are close or even a little less than their competitors and most of the time they have sales

After taking a look at the different factors to take into consideration when choosing a location, I saw a way I could pick somewhere to open a business in the city I live in. I noticed there are many places for lease in a couple shopping malls in the busiest area on the highway but the way they were placed made them very hard to see when driving by. One of the bigger strip malls had only 2 people renting for small businesses and the other 6 were vacant. The strip is located right off the interstate but the parking lot is so large it's almost hidden, the lighting is also very dim, and it's located next to a mechanic shop that is very run down. This could possibly effect sales and how often they receive customers. I don't think the location will get many businesses to open here because of how it was built, the strip mall has been there for about 6 years and still doesn't have many occupants. I wouldn't choose to open my first business here simply because of the locati

Dollar Tree is obviously known for their low prices, they use the penetration strategy to keep their prices the lowest on the market. I believe their extremely low prices does help their business because it simplifies shopping and is open for the people that don't have as much money to buy high end items. Dollar Tree is not necessarily the leader in their line of business but they are close to similar stores like Dollar General or Family Dollar. Dollar General loses some of their business to Walmart or discount stores because they can find better sales and deals on the products for sale. Depending on what you are shopping for Dollar General might be the better option, but when it comes to items such as toys, coloring books, or sidewalk chalk you might choose to go to Dollar Tree because you can get more for your money. I have found that Dollar Tree has very dependable dishes like bowls, plates, and mugs. Dollar Tree has much better business because of their pricing strategy and the