The final installation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will debut for sale at one minute past midnight on July 21 and retailers are attempting to outdo one another with discounted prices, promotional events, free shipping and other special offers.
Online sites such as Amazon are promoting all things Potter with a complete collection of books, DVDs and other items. Amazon announced it had taken preorders of 1.2 million copies of the book by July 11.
Meijer is running a special "Hallows First" night from 11 pm to 2 am on July 20th. Stores plan to celebrate the event with costume contests, food, prizes, and giveaways, including 10 free books at each location.
Discounting of the book, which has a suggested retail price of $34.99, has been fierce: Overstock.com is coming in with a price of $17.49 ($2.95 standard shipping is extra); Wal-Mart at $17.87; Amazon (free shipping kicks in at $25); and Target at $17.99 for the book. Grocers including Kroger ($21.99) and drugstores including Walgreens ($19.99) have also gotten into the Potter sweepstakes.
With so much discounting taking place, it is clear that retailers are looking for sharp price points to drive traffic with the intention of converting those numbers into sales of other items carrying profitable margins. The question is, will retailers pushing the steepest discounts (possibly even at loss leader prices) find enough in the way of profitable added sales to make it all worthwhile?
Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Retail Pricing |
|
Overstock.com |
$17.49 |
Wal-Mart |
$17.87 |
Amazon.com |
$17.99 |
Target |
$17.99 |
Sam's Club |
$18.48 |
Buy.com |
$18.88 |
Costco |
$18.99 |
Walgreens |
$19.99 |
Toys R Us |
$19.99 |
Barnes & Noble |
$20.99* |
Borders |
$20.99 |
Kroger |
$21.99 |
| Source:
RetailWire 7/11/07 *Members - $18.99 |
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Discussion Question: Are retailers shooting themselves in the foot with such low sale prices on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? What can retailers without the buying power of Amazon and others do to be successful rolling out the new Potter book?