"Buy one, get one free" or "two for the price of one" is a common form of sales promotion in which a second unit is sold for free only if the first unit is bought at full price.
Marketing strategy
[edit]The economist Alex Tabarrok has argued, that the success of this promotion lies in the fact that consumers value the first unit significantly more than the second one. So compared to a seemingly equivalent "Half price off" promotion, they may only buy one item at half price, because the value they attach to the second unit is lower than even the discounted price.[1]
History
[edit]The concept of "buy one, get one free" was devised in the 18th century by retail entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood.[2][3] This technique is commonly known in the marketing industry by the acronym BOGOF, or simply BOGO.[4][5]
Criticism
[edit]Two-for-one promotions in the food industry have been criticized as contributing to food waste. Because many foods under such offers have short shelf lives, customers are more likely to pass the products' use by date.[6][7][8][9]
Another criticism of BOGO deals is that, when combined with discounts, they deceptively encourage customers to buy more than they otherwise would, which can result in them spending more money.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Buy one get one free, from Marginal Revolution. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ Flanders, Judith (9 January 2009). "They Broke It". The New York Times.
- ^ "Josiah Wedgwood, an Industrial Revolution pioneer". Adam Smith Institute. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ Wallop, Harry (2008-07-07). "Food waste: Why supermarkets will never say bogof to buy one get one free". Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Roberts, Loren (2012-01-24). "What does BOGO really mean?". Walton Tribune. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ Piotrowski, Janis (2020-11-27). "Shop wisely: Better habits can prevent waste of precious resource". Tallahassee Democrat.
- ^ Young, Philippa (6 April 2014). "Supermarket 'Bogof' deals criticised over food waste". BBC News. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Buy-one-get-one-free offers 'should be scrapped to cut food waste'". 6 April 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ Swinburne, Zander (6 April 2014). "Supermarkets urged to scrap buy-one-get-one-free as shoppers waste 222m tons of food a year". The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ Why “Buy one, get one free” isn’t a great deal. Vox. 2018-12-20.
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