If you have wondered why there have been a JCPenney Coupon drought lately, I might just have the answer for you. Ron Johnson! The former Apple executive took the JCPenney top spot in November, and Johnson has now implemented big changes at JCPenney.
Anyone, who has shopped at JCPenney in the past couple of years, knows that the regular prices were ridicoulously high, and that there was no point in making a purchase at JCPenney unless it was at least at 50 percent off and you had a coupon. For clearance shoppers, the prices on products had increased as well, so that clearance prices at JCPenney mimicked that of regular prices at other stores.
Yes, it has been possible to get some great deals at JCPenney with coupons, but without coupons the prices were through the roof. So, what is the new JCPenney CEO's plan? Well, his first move has been to announce that JCPenney is getting rid of sale prices, and that as a result JCPenney prices will be slashed 40 percent.
It sounds great, right? Slashing prices 40 percent...
Well, think about it, if the prices were already at least 50 percent higher than they were supposed to be, and JCPenney now announces that they will cut regular prices by 40 percent, but that in return they will get rid of sales... For frugal shoppers, this is not a good move, and I gotta give it to Mr. Johnson, he certainly has guts.
This is of course a sales tactic: let's slash the prices and make our customers think they are getting a better deal. The truth is more likely that the average price on an item purchased is going to be higher than it was in the past, since JCPenney customers could combine sales with coupons to get a better price.
As a frugalista, I am always weary when stores pull a stunt like this. Even more so is the reason for worry, when you realize that this move has been made to improve the bottom line at JCPenney.
According to the Associated Press these will be the New JCPenney prices:
- There will be fewer sales - more like a month long sale.
- Simpler prices: No more $5.99, it will now be $5 or $6.
- Clearance: Items that don't sell well would go on clearance the first and third Friday of every month when most Americans get paid.
- Color tags: (Red Tag: Every day price), (White Tag: Month-long value), (Blue tag: Best Value = Clearance).
- New Advertising: No more coupons??? A catalog will be mailed every month, and focus will shift to celebrity advertising. Ellen DeGeneres will be the new face of JCPenney.
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| The February 2012 JCPenney Catalog |
On a positive note, I will say that the new JCPenney prices are more reasonable than the old JCPenney prices, and where a women's skirt used to cost $60, it now costs $45. Baby clothes usually priced around $12 - $16 a piece can now be found for around $8 etc. Still, while the prices are now closer to those of Target and Old Navy, they are still high if you are trying to clothe a family of five.
If you are used to shopping for clearance at JCPenney, you should now look for the dark blue stickers. On the first and third Friday, new items will go on clearance, but do not expect big price cuts like the 70 - 80 percent that we have seen in the past.
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| The New JCPenney Catalog |
Now, you can still find a couple of valid JCPenney coupons here at Frugality Is Free, and I will continue to post any JCPenney coupons that I may find. Let's hope that Ron Johnson will soon figure out that shoppers go to JCPenney for the sales and not for the high prices.
I think coupons help to find REALLY good deals for the people who look hard enough, I prefer them. :) :)
ReplyDeletehttp://averyjamesphotography.blogspot.com/
I completely agree Avery.
DeleteNot happy with JCP. I always shop there but probably won't. Like you said, regular prices are very high. Macy's tried this and it flopped. Think of all the money they are going to put out for celebs and catalogs. Worse worse worse. Off to look for somewhere else to shop.
ReplyDeleteCarolpie, I think I might be shopping more at Kohl's and Macy's this year, where JCP has been a favorite in the past.
DeleteI completely agree with you on the shift on catalog advertising and celebs....I don't even want to know how much money they are paying Ellen.
As you say Macy's tried it and flopped....and look at the great coupons we got in the fall....maybe JCPenney just need a reality check, even though it might be a very expensive one.
I would rather see JCP do something to stay afloat rather than go out of business. I personally think that stores like Kohl's mark up their prices as well. Any store that can have a sale for 40-50% off over the weekend shows that the prices are marked up past what they should be.
ReplyDeleteMacy's uses a lot of celebrities in their ads as well. I'm not going to pass judgement until I see what they do.
Thank you for your input Joey, I really appreciate that you took the time to voice your opinion. It is definitely going to be interesting to see how it all plays out...
DeleteIf this comes to be reality, I believe I will not be shopping at JCP any longer. I go there solely for the clearance items and use my coupons faithfully. With this new tactic, they'll be just another big uppity department store that I won't step foot into. I refuse to shop at Kohl's or Macy's because of their ridiculous prices. Good luck to them and I hope for the rest of us that it doesn't turn out as bad as it sounds like it will be.
ReplyDeleteJR, I am like you clearance and coupons only. I can find some great deals at Kohl's though between clearance and coupons, so I think I will just spend more time there.
DeleteI completely agree with you about Macys, and I too hope that it won't get as bad as they are saying it will be.
This is not good! My husband and I LOVE JCPenney and the coupons and the sales and clearance items. I did however notice some different tags like last month that said everyday low price and it was in red. I feel like our shopping days at JCP will soon be coming to an end :/
ReplyDeleteMrs. Aguila, I too fear the future of JCPenney is looking a lot different than the past, and for us frugalistas we will either have to think very differently about the way we shop at JCPenney or we will have to look elsewhere.
DeleteAs an insider, trust me - you are spot on!! Red tags with higher prices are covering many lower tags already on merchandise. Where is the honesty in pricing??? Dark blue is considered clearance, but I don't recommend you look for the days of 80%off - that ain't happen' anymore!
DeleteThat's what I feared...thank you for confirming this.
DeleteTHis is how it works:
DeleteLast year a top had a $40 tag and was put on a sale rack for 19.99 then it would reach clearance and at eighty percent be priced at $7.97
NOW the shirt is ticketed at $20 (a penny more) the shirt goes to clearance or "best price" for $8.
I can't understand what the big deal with this is??? you get the same price as you did before!!!
Do you all just shop for bargains.So Go to the bargains outlets have fun. Everything well be ok. Prices will go down because JCP will not have the over head. If you look at the prices, it will be the same as other stores sale prices, just not ending 99 cents.
ReplyDeleteIt takes hours on end to price items over and over again. If you need something buy it,do not buy it because it is cheep. Buy it because you need it, really like it and looks good on you. You all spend more money looking for bargains, it is not a sporting event. Stores have to make money.
I appreciate your input Anonymous. This is a frugality website, so yes most readers here seek to live a frugal lifestyle. Frugality is about getting the best price for the best possible quality, and being frugal certainly does not mean being cheap.
DeleteI actually think it's a good deal but I am glad that you posted this because I had not idea why I wasn't getting coupons.
ReplyDeleteI do think their prices were so jacked up.
I was just there a few weeks ago and items were 60% off for a fisher price toy. The label said 24.99 sale price. What the heck? As if this little tea set was over 50 bucks to begin with - it isn't at other stores. They totally jacked prices. With a nike sweatshirt at 40% off and with a 10 bucks off 10 dollars, I got a sweatshirt for 35.00 before Christmas. Well after Christmas same sweatshirt was regular price with no sales 40.00. Okay 5 dollars more but at least I'm not frantic waiting for a coupon. I liked the sweatshirt and I bought it because I thought it was a fair price. So based on what I've seen the changes are okay.
Lucky Seattle Mom. I agree that it is nice to see more realistic prices at JCPenney. However, I also think that without coupons JCPenney will have a hard time competing with their competitors...perhaps they will rethink the coupon issue, once they evaluate the effect that their new sales policy have....that's my hope anyway.
Deletethis article represents total BS. This article was written with little to no research.
ReplyDeleteFirst, prices were set AT LEAST 40 % off so the majority were actually priced at higher percents off. Second, the prices didn't just come out of thin air JCP analyzed last years sales data and then comprised average sales price per item. JCP then set the prices to the ave sales price.
The only people that don't benift from this pricing structure are those individuals that get a $10 coupon in the mail then come into the store and buy an $11 top (spending $1) JCP isn't going to do those anymore and guess why? THEY LOST MONEY!!!
Shopping with coupons is like a treasure hunt - you come home with a prize. Fair and Square!! does anyone want to be considered SQUARE!
ReplyDeleteDon't care for the red, white and blue take off on patriotic themes....that should be reserved for what the real meaning of patriotism and the colors of our American Flag stand for.
Lets see if all the job eliminations result in the hiring of vets - something that the President is pushing for unemployed returning veterans.
As someone who did the pricing before and currently I feel this will offer a better deal. A $36 shirt would be on sale for $19.99 and many people would have some sort of discout. The company looked at that so not only did they mark it down to what the sale price was but they also factored in additional savings. So that shirt would be $18.36 before and the company brought it down to $18 instead.
ReplyDeleteEverythings is simple now for the customers and associates. No more guessing. Just good deals all around. When there was the scratch off event with 30%, the prices would go up for that event and when the event was over the prices would go down. I did the signing for over 4 years and saw this all the time.
People just are not used to this mentatlity. I say give it a shot. I am excited for all the new changes. They are catering to the customer. Each month there will be a sale on select items. So for February, the items on sale will be themed around Valentines Day, the Superbowl, the Academy Awards. This will last the whole month. The "Best Prices", aka clearance, will occur the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month...around the time that people get paid.
Plus there is a new return policy. You can return anything, anytime, anyplace.
The only reason me or my mom ever walked into JCPenny anymore was coupons. I guess those days are over!
ReplyDeleteI have shopped at JCP for years and have to say how disappointed I am with their new sales tactic. I was always excited to get a coupon in the mail from JCP. That's why I'm surprised to see their ad completely opposite with the screaming of getting coupons. WHO doesn't like coupons? With the state of our economy you would have thougth they'd increase the coupons to get customers in the door. I use coupons in my every day shopping just to keep my household a float. We wouldn't eat if it wasn't for coupons. As a single mom trying to save money and stretch my dollars, I will have to find a new place to shop. I always thought JCP was overpriced and without the coupons, I can't afford to shop their anymore. Good Bye JCP. You lost a customer.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I completely understand where you are coming from. I think that shows such as Extreme couponing makes a lot of people think that we coupon for the fun of it, when the reality is that we use coupons because it is a way to stretch our limited incomes.
DeleteFrom what I have read, it is apparent that this new JCP strategy is a way for JCPenney to try to tailor to the after recession period. However, a lot of people are not feeling the economic growth, which is why I think this strategy is set up to fail.
Checked out some prices of items my family commonly bought and they are anywhere from $2 to $5 higher than the sale prices. Kids polo's could usually be had at $7.99 on sale, now they are all priced at $10. Jeans are now $17 when before sales put them at around $14.99. Multiple that by 3 kids shopping for school clothes and it adds up. And I didn't even account for the $10 off $10 purchase coupons, or $10 off $25. If you bought items in chucks of $25 you could really save a bundle. Guess I'll be shopping at Target from now on.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I stopped by JCPenney today to check out the prices as well, and my conclusion is the same. The JCP that I went to was surprisingly quiet as well, but maybe that is a seasonal thing.
ReplyDeleteNo more coupons at JC Penney.
ReplyDeleteMeans No More Scammers.
I bet Khol's and Mascy's love those people, you know who I mean. The ones with 10 or more of the same coupon.
You really just happened to get mailed 10 coupons, from 10 different addresses (since you handed me all 10 I noticed they all had different addresses).
You happened to print 100 15% off survey coupons, because I mean it let you print 100 coupons. And even though it was a use and kill coupon you still scream at the cashier every time you come in to use the other 99 that you printed.
After all you have standards. And you can not get it into your head that a blouse Now costs what it cost before AFTER the coupon and 30% sale price.
Don't like JCP, go to Khol's.
But I'll bet Khol's does this also.