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"Buy now, pay later" offers have long been used by retailers to flog sofas, electrical items and the like. But gig tickets? During the last few days adverts have appeared in some newspapers promoting a summer concert by the singer Dionne Warwick where you can "Book now [and] pay by March 2009". Such an offer will probably have surprised seasoned gig-goers who are used to handing over the full ticket price – plus associated fees – straightaway, often months before the event is due to take place.
The concert, at London's Alexandra Palace on 31 July, is being promoted by Warner Live, which is allowing people to reserve up to nine tickets – which start at £49 – as long as they pay for one now. They must pay the remainder by 1 March. Al Eastwood, the firm's head of promotions, says: "These artists – especially with the pound being very weak against the dollar – can be expensive to bring over [to the UK]." He says his firm is keen "to give people a chance to get the money together". Eastwood adds: "You can give them the option of buying the first ticket and then give them a window of a couple of months to save up for the other tickets they require. It helps all concerned. If they don't complete by 1 March, they lose their initial ticket."
This is just one example of credit crunch marketing. The economic downturn is dramatically changing the way businesses advertise their wares – whether it is event tickets, meals out, low-cost flights or bank accounts – and customer-grabbing tactics traditionally associated with one area of retailing are rapidly spreading to others.
"Companies are having to be a lot more creative," says Dr Delia Vazquez, a lecturer in retail marketing at the University of Manchester. She adds that sectors that were previously "completely watertight, where you could put the price up and up," were now taking a leaf out of the supermarkets' book and running "3 for 2" and similar multi-buy offers.
It emerged a few days ago that a car dealership in Stafford is offering a "Buy one, get one free" deal as part of its January promotion. Vision Vauxhall said anyone buying a new Vectra Exclusiv five-door hatchback for £16,570 would get a 2008 model Corsa 1.0 Breeze, worth around £7,000, thrown in for free. In November, an Essex car dealer desperate to shift stock offered a similar "Bogof" deal on Dodge Avenger saloons.
Food fights
Newspapers have been groaning with adverts from restaurant chains offering two-for-the-price-of-one and other discounts in a bid to get diners through the doors. Perhaps this is an attempt to fight back against supermarket offers such as Marks & Spencer's high-profile "Dine in for £10" deal, which ended yesterday.
Meanwhile, some banks have been aping the department stores with their new year "sales". HSBC is currently promoting its January sale, with half-price offers on fee-paying current accounts and discounts on insurance premiums and investment fund charges. Housebuilders have been resorting to increasingly desperate measures in a bid to sell new homes. Barratt Homes and its subsidiary David Wilson Homes this month offered to supply some homebuyers with gas, electricity and water free of charge, and pay their council tax bills, until the summer of 2010.
Buy now, pay later
Like the promoters of July's Dionne Warwick concert, the organisers of the Glastonbury festival have been allowing revellers to pay for tickets in instalments. Festivalgoers have been able to put down a £50 deposit on a ticket for this year's event; they then have until 1 February to hand over the remaining £125. The organisers say the deposit scheme, aimed at giving people more time to plan and pay for their tickets (and presumably a response to last year's slow sales), had been a "great success".
It will be interesting to see whether other event promoters copy these tactics. Recent months have certainly seen an increase in the number of special deals out there, with price reductions and "2 for 1" offers on many plays and musicals. Nick Blackburn, managing director of leading ticket agency See Tickets, says he has given some thought to "50% now, 50% later" offers, but the view was that these would be quite tricky to administer. And he points out that "red-hot" gigs and shows were still selling out quickly.
Some industry experts believe that as the credit crunch continues to bite, and many people become less keen on forking out large sums on tickets, we may start to see more free events, with promoters making their revenue from the bars and restaurants. In October, the 02 Arena in London hosted a two-day festival of New Orleans music featuring major names such as Dr John and Allen Toussaint, where all the events were free to enter. Dr Vazquez says people do not want to decrease their leisure activities "but want to make their money go further".
Inconspicuous spending
What if you have money to spend, but in these straitened times feel guilty about splashing out on luxury items? Some retailers are offering shopaholics a way to hide their purchases so that friends, partners and colleagues will not know they have been spending money. Luxury designer shopping websites NET-A-PORTER and my-wardrobe.com are offering customers "discreet" delivery options, with packages sent in plain brown paper bags or cardboard boxes
The NET-A-PORTER website says: "Psst ... your secret's safe with us! Your order will be delivered in an unbranded, recycled brown paper bag," while my-wardrobe.com has started using slogans such as "Buy now, love forever" and "Wardrobe detox" to encourage buyers to shop for investment pieces rather than one-off fast-fashion ones. Spokeswoman Lauren Cleak says:"The overall tone and message of my-wardrobe.com has completely changed as a conscious response to the credit crunch. Our messages now are about longevity – so we are saying things like 'top 10 wardrobe essentials' instead of 'must haves for this season'.
"People still want to buy designer clothes, because they want to look and feel great, but we're consciously selecting seasonless clothes from designer collections so that they will last from year to year."
Safeguarding summer holidays
At this time of year, many of us are thinking about escaping to warmer climes. But what if you book your summer holiday and are made redundant before you set off? Over the last fortnight travel companies Thomson and First Choice have launched free redundancy cover for anyone booking through them. The offer from Thomson and First Choice is valid on all bookings made this month for summer 2009 package holidays or flights. Anyone who loses their job before they depart will be entitled to a refund up to one month before they leave.
Budget airline Flybe is also encouraging cash-strapped households to take to the skies by giving them free redundancy cover for flight bookings made this month. Customers will automatically receive the cover provided they have had more than two years' continuous employment with their employer. The insurance is being offered to passengers who book flights, car hire and hotels in January, and are due to travel before 24 October.
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