Subject areaRevenue and sales
Also known asflash sales
A flash sale is an online sale that runs for a very short time, usually from a few hours to a few days, with deep discounts on a limited quantity of products, often reserved for subscribers.
It works because it combines four levers: the urgency of the deadline, the scarcity of the stock, the exclusivity of access and the perceived value of the discount. The model was born in Europe: it was invented by Jacques-Antoine Granjon, who founded Vente-privée (today Veepee) in Paris in 2001 to sell fashion brands' surplus stock to its members without devaluing their price lists in stores.
For a company it serves to clear unsold stock, grow the customer database and test new products. The risk is overuse: a brand that always looks on sale struggles to sell at full price and attracts customers who only buy at a discount.
An example
A furniture manufacturer has last season's collection in its warehouse. It opens a 48-hour flash sale reserved for newsletter subscribers, with a countdown on the page: the warehouse empties, new contacts come in and the store price list stays intact.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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