Reading the comments about Domino’s coupon obsession, I feel like giving an economics story about when JC Penney said nuts to sales and coupons and nearly went bankrupt.
Corpos in food and retail found that overpricing things then hitting you with deals and coupons caused American audiences to feel like they were getting a good deal. 15 buck pizza for only 6 dollars? Sounds like a deal until you realize that it’s really cheap to make thanks to suppliers and premade frozen pizzas. But if they always price it at 6 bucks, you’re gonna raise an eyebrow.
What if you don’t do that? JC Penney had that idea a few years ago, since their industry basically priced jeans for 100 bucks and then said they were 70% off almost every day. So they tried everyday low prices and… they nearly bankrupted themselves. Lots of factors, but their main factor was their usual clientele thought they weren’t getting a deal even though the prices were cheaper than competitors (while not really attracting a new audience savvy enough to know sales are a scam).
Point is, Domino’s is in a cycle of coupons or bust. It’s a shame you don’t have good pizza options at reasonable prices nearby, though, and a shame the good old days of free delivery seem behind us.
It certainly wasn’t a thriving business, but I don’t think it’s purely a correlation isn’t causation situation. The points about clientele not adapting are probably valid, given the evidence suggests that they lost those loyalists on top of their nose dive.
And yes, it can work if you are consistent. Trader Joes is a good example, they are thriving and haven’t once did sales while virtually every other grocer does. Domino’s is set in their ways, though, although they’d probably survive if they blundered.