The real cost of discount culture
Chapter 1: Discounts Are a Drug
Discounts work. That is why brands use them. But like most addictive things, they come at a hidden cost. Once you train your customers to expect price drops, you are no longer building demand, you are feeding it with dopamine.
Over time, people stop seeing your product’s true value. The discounted price becomes the new baseline in their minds. And when you try to return to full price? You have to fight your way back.
Worse, your profit margin shrinks while your marketing spend often stays the same. What looked like a short-term boost becomes long-term erosion.
"Every time you discount, you're not just lowering your price. You're lowering your brand."
Chapter 2: You Are Not Competing on Price
Unless you are Amazon or a budget retailer, your brand is not in a price war. You are in a perception war. And constant discounting tells people: "This is not worth what we first asked for."
That is dangerous, especially in categories where brand, story and experience define value. Once trust in your price disappears, so does your margin.
Instead, focus on selling value. Educate, inspire, and create reasons to buy that go beyond price. Strong positioning, content strategy and lifecycle marketing can do more than discounts ever could.
