The Wall Street Journal says that big discounts and hilarious bailout-themed marketing has failed impress consumers, and retailers are expecting sales to worsen before they get better. Restoration Hardware launched a “bailout” themed promotion offering $100 off purchases of $400 or more at the home furnishings chain, while Steve Madden posted signs depicting “a declining stock chart and implored shoppers to “Sell Stocks, Buy Shoes.”

The deep discounts backfired, says the WSJ:

When they report September sales this week, many retail chains are expected to show big drops in sales at stores open at least year, a key measure of retail performance, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Shoppers, it seems, have become jaded:

Some consumers are becoming hardened to retail claims of “last chance” and “final sale.” Katie Ertel, 30, a La Jolla, Calif., counselor, said she’s begun to tune out. “Every week it’s the same ‘last minute sale.’ Eventually it’s like ‘Ha, ha. You are not getting me this time,'” said Ms. Ertel.

Big Discounts Fail to Lure Shoppers [WSJ]

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