Markdown periods are a national habit, not a promotion. Here is how to sell without teaching your customers to wait for them.
The risk of teaching people to wait
Three consequences, all lasting.
Customers learn the rhythm: if discounts always arrive at the same period announced in advance, they shift their purchases year after year.
The margin degrades across the whole year, not only during the markdown.
And new arrivals sell less well, because the audience assumes they will be discounted in turn.
One consequence for communication: the markdown period is treated as a sales event, not as a brand campaign. It lasts what it lasts, and the content stops with it.
What content works
Four formats, in decreasing effectiveness.
The concrete selection: three precise references, shown and explained, rather than a general percentage.
The answer to the size and material objection, which becomes even more important when returning is possible but less desired.
The reminder of real stock: what is left, what is going, what will not come back.
And the use: what the item is for once the period is over, which justifies the purchase beyond the price.
One format to avoid: the video showing only the percentage. It attracts people who compare percentages, and they buy elsewhere if the figure is higher there.
Stock commands the script
Three production rules, specific to this period.
Never say a price out loud: stock moves, prices change, and the video expires in three days.
Display variable information as burned-in text, replaceable at the edit in fifteen minutes.
And plan a version with no text, kept to republish after the period with another message.
One organisational consequence: shoot before the period, edit during, and keep somebody able to replace an on-screen text within the day.
Not every sector marks down
Three cases.
Sectors where markdown is an institution: the content follows the commercial calendar, with the constraints above.
Sectors where it barely exists: the period remains interesting, because attention is high and advertising cost sometimes lower once the peak has passed.
And regulated sectors, where discount announcements follow precise rules on the reference price and how long it must have been displayed. Those rules are checked with a lawyer before publication.
One useful note: for a brand that does not mark down, the best video of the period is the one explaining why. An honest explanation of how the price is built is worth more than silence.
What to prepare beforehand
Five elements, ready before the first day.
The videos shot and edited, with no price spoken.
The versions with no burned-in text, for quick changes.
The list of references genuinely available, validated with logistics.
The mandatory statements applying to discount announcements, checked in advance.
And the person who can change an on-screen text within the day, without going through the creator.
One calendar note: those five elements are prepared six weeks ahead, not the week before. By then every creator is booked and every lead time stretched.
What is prepared before, during, after
| Moment | What you shoot | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Two weeks before | Product videos with no price | Before launch |
| The day itself | A short reaction at opening | Same day |
| The final week | The closing reminder | 48 h before the end |
What is never filmed at the displayed price
An amount on screen or spoken out loud locks the video to one operation. Filming the product and leaving the price to the graphics makes the file reusable all year.
What must stay accurate
A duration, a condition and a scope. Announcing a wider discount than the reality exposes the brand, to be confirmed with a lawyer before release.
What to measure
Three indicators, in this order.
Total margin over the whole period, before and during, not the turnover of the markdown days alone.
The return rate, which often rises during this period and erases part of the gain.
And full-price sales in the three preceding weeks, compared with the previous year: that is the figure revealing whether your communication taught your customers to wait.
One last marker, valid for the whole category: a successful markdown period is judged not on the volume sold, but on what remains once the margin is calculated and the returns have arrived.
