Brittney Saunders is preparing to give one of her customers $50,000. The founder of Australian fashion label Fayt has earmarked $100,000 for a prize campaign this Black Friday, an elaborate way of avoiding a discount, although Saunders has her reason for doing so. 

After years of participating in the November sales frenzy, she has begun questioning what all those promotions are doing to the businesses that run them, especially when customers have been conditioned to expect a sale every time they shop. 

Saunders is not alone. While Black Friday remains one of the most profitable periods on the retail calendar, a cohort of Australian founders are beginning to wonder whether the yearly tradition of discounting stock in the peak gift-giving period is doing their businesses any favours.

“I’ve done the big sales. I know how exciting they can be, and I know how much revenue they can generate. It’s not to say I’m anti-sale, but there’s also a side to discounting that people don’t necessarily see,” Saunders told Inside Retail. 

Her concerns point to the pressure these sales have on employees and the longer-term consequences of habitual discounting. “As business owners, we’re essentially training our customers how to shop with us.” Her alternative, ‘Change Your Fayt’, replaces percentage discounts with one big $50,000 cash prize and another $50,000 in smaller prizes.

Saunders is curious to see whether giving away $100,000 will prove more profitable than offering discounts across the board. Every discounted purchase digs into a retailer’s margins, while her giveaway comes with a fixed prize budget, and she’ll be watching whether the gamble does indeed pay for itself.

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