Are you standing at the checkout at a branch of the Douglas perfumery chain? And maybe you want to save a lot of money when buying (depending on the product)? Then you have to say the following magic sentence: “I would like to pay the online price”. Sounds like satire, but it’s real.
Because some chains offer the same product at different prices: as far as we know, Douglas, Media Markt and Saturn are examples of this. There is a higher store price and a cheaper online shop price for certain products.
Test in a Douglas branch
We did the test a long time ago in a Douglas branch in Augsburg. There we stood in line at the branch checkout with a perfume. The cashier charged 131 euros for the perfume. But we had researched that the exact same perfume with the same quantity only costs 83 euros in the Douglas online shop: 1 Million Elixir 100 ml.
So we said that according to the website, Douglas had this perfume on sale for 83 euros. The saleswoman replied: “If you want the online price, all you have to do is say so at the checkout.”
So we played the game and said, “I’d like the online prize.”
The saleswoman replied unmoved: “Then please make 83 euros”. The following receipt proves our success:
pk
That’s possible with these chains
As far as we know, in addition to Douglas, the electronics stores Media Markt and Saturn also practice this approach. You should therefore definitely research the price online before paying, ideally using your smartphone, so that you can show the price immediately at the checkout if there are any discrepancies. Important: There is by no means a cheaper online price for all products.
Some customers are excluded
This discount practice is not new. There were already reports about this in 2019. The problem is that in the stress of shopping, you often forget to ask at the checkout for a potentially cheaper online price. This approach also disadvantages people without the internet or without a smartphone. Those aren’t even that few.
Telekom sales partner wants to sell a fiber optic connection to an 83-year-old man (without Internet & mail).
