Embattled
retailer Big W has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this week with
two episodes that might make them look at some of their marketing and in-store
practices.
First
was the furore over making Christmas trees and decorations non-Christmas. Big W
were promoting Christmas trees as “Grand Pine Tree”, “White Forest Tree”, or
“Black Forest Tree”. It would appear that attempting to tread the middle road
of religious beliefs has back-fired big time for Big W with shoppers
complaining openly on social media.
Now
they have a shopper complaining that she has been victimised by Big W staff who
attempted to remove containers of baby formula from her trolley in case she was
on-selling to China. There is a huge demand for Australian baby formulas in
China following following health issues with products from other countries. The
customer was Asian in appearance although the fact that she had a 7 month
infant at her chest seems to have escaped the notice of shop staff. At least
that is the way social media has interpreted their action.
And
it is not just Big W in the wars this week. Aldi have copped social media
criticism for “treating their customers like cattle”. Apparently a particularly
sensational special toy offer involving kids ride-ons for under $200 had queues
of eager customers lining up for some 40 minutes prior to store openings in
some locations. Customers were disgruntled to find that some stores had only
two items in stock. Blatant loss-leading can have a price in consumer
dissatisfaction.