The Sales Promotions parameter allows you to place items in your store on sale for a selected date range. Items on sale, as set up in the Sales Promotions program, will be automatically placed on sale at the POS. If there is also a Customer Discount that applies to an item, that will be applied, too. You can set up as many Sales Promotion parameters as you need.
To access the Sales Promotions parameter:
Select Tool-Administration-Parameters from the [i] Merchant Desktop. From the list of parameters, select Sales Promotions. The Sales Promotions program will open.
Once in Sales Promotions, the first thing you will see is the code-description screen, where all Sales Promotion codes and accompanying descriptions are listed. To access an existing code:
Highlight the row of the code you want to access. Once highlighted, click on the Properties button at the top of the screen, or simply press Enter. The Properties screen for the selected code appears.
To create a new code:
Select File-New-Parameter from the menu at the top of the screen. The Sales Promotions Properties screen will appear, with all the fields blank (except for the Date fields, which default to the current date).
Fill in the following fields:
The Code field is where you key in the code you wish to designate for this particular Sales Promotion. It can be alpha or numeric, or a combination. Just make sure that each Sales Promotion has a unique code.
The Description is where you describe the Sales Promotion. For example, if the Promotion is for mystery novels, then the description might be, "Mystery Novel Promo." Choose something that makes sense to you.
Sale Start is the start date of the Sales Promotion. Items that fall under the conditions of the Promotion will begin going on sale on this date. (This date always defaults to the current date. If you want to change it, either key in the desired date, or click on the down arrow at the right of the field and select the desired date in that fashion.)
Sale End is the end date of the Sales Promotion. Items that fall under the conditions of the Promotion will no longer be on sale beyond this date . (This date always defaults to the current date. If you want to change it, either key in the desired date, or click on the down arrow at the right of the field and select the desired date in that fashion.)
The lower portion of the Sales Promotions Properties screen is where you set the percentage of the sale for the Promotion, or choose the flat Promotion dollars amount to be taken off the regular price. It is also where you select which items in your store will be included in the Sales Promotion.
In the lower portion of the Sales Promotions Properties screen:
Click on the Add to List icon (the leftmost icon located underneath the Sale Start field). This will create a new row underneath the two fields at the bottom of the screen: % or $ Amount Off, and Selection Rule. These two fields work together hand in hand. And though the % or $ Amount Off field comes first on the screen, it makes sense to discuss the Selection Rule field first.
Within a particular Sales Promotion parameter, which items in your store do you want placed on sale for the date range you just selected above? Just mystery novels? Mystery novels and horror novels? Another combination? Or everything in your inventory, with no restrictions? That is where the Selection Rule field comes into play.
If you want the Sales Promo to place everything in the store on sale:
After having clicked on the Add to List icon, which created a new row underneath the % or $ Amount Off and Selection Rule fields, leave the Selection Rule field set to "All Items." If you do this, there are no restrictions. The Promotion will apply to everything in your store.
Then, under the % or $ Amount Off field, set the percent off or dollar amount off to be applied to the on-sale items. To toggle between % off or $ off, click on the down arrow to the right of the % (or $) sign. A dropdown menu appears. Choose the selection you want (% or $). In the field to the left of the % or $ field, key in the percentage off or dollar amount off for the sale items.
Now, when any item in your store is sold during the Promotional date range selected above, it will be placed on sale. The sale price will be determined by the value you keyed in under the % or $ Amount Off field. That amount will be taken off the regular retail price of all items in your store.
Notes:
If an on-sale item also applies for a customer discount for a particular customer, the customer discount will be taken off the sale price. So, if a regularly priced $10.00 item is on sale for $8.00, and, additionally, a customer has a discount of 10% that applies, the final selling price will be $7.20 ($8.00 sale price minus an additional 10%, which calculates to 80 cents off the sale price, for a final price of $7.20).
At the POS, the regular price (before the sale) for on-sale items will appear on the screen and the printed receipt.
If an item is applicable to multiple Sales Promotions, the Promotion with the most recent Start Date will be the one the system automatically uses.
The cashier can override an automatic sale price at the POS, by keying in a new price. An item will still be tagged as on sale, even if the automatic sale price is altered, unless the new price entered at POS is greater than the automatic sale price.
If you want to establish restrictions on what should be placed on sale (i.e., not everything in the store will be on sale), then you need to establish a Selection Rule.
After having already clicked on the Add to List icon, which created a new row underneath the % or $ Amount Off and Selection Rule fields, click on the word "All Items" beneath the Selection Rule field. You are taken to the Sales Promotion Rule window. This is where you either select an existing rule or create a new one.
At the top of the Sales Promotion Rule window, there are two options: Query and Filter By. The second option--Filter By--allows you either to view Rules only you created or Rules everyone has created. A submenu will appear with the word "Me" on top and "All Users" underneath. Simply click on the one you want, and a black dot appears to the left of the selected choice. This is user-definable and up to you. Choose whichever makes the most sense. You can switch back and forth anytime you like, but the system will always default to the way you left it the last time you were in the Sales Promotion Rule window.
The Query option has three choices underneath: New, Delete, and Select.
Choose New to create a new Selection Rule. A message box appears where you need to key in the name of the new Rule. Click on OK when you are finished keying in the name, then set up the parameters for the new Rule. To understand how to do this, just keep reading. (More on Delete and Select in a bit.)
If you want to view a Rule already on the system, click on the arrow at the right of the field in the top left corner of the Sales Promotion Rule window (to the left of the Select button). All of the existing Rules (or all of the existing Rules only you created if you set the Filter By field to "Me") appear in a dropdown list. Simply click on the one you want. Its parameters display in the Sales Promotion Rule window.
If you want to delete the selected Rule from the system:
With the Rule selected, choose Delete from the Discount Query menu. A message box appears, asking if you're sure you wish to delete the Rule. If you click on No, the Rule is not deleted. If you click on Yes, it is deleted.
If you want to select the Rule that is displayed in the Sales Promotion Rule window:
Click on the Select button to the right of the field. Once you select a Rule, you are returned to the Sales Promotion Properties screen, and the selected Rule is listed under the Selection Rule field (it has replaced "All Items").
Okay, how do you set up the parameters for a Rule? If you want a Rule to establish only mass market paperbacks be placed on sale, how do you establish that within a Rule? It's easy.
To define the selection criteria for the new Rule:
Back at the Sales Promotion Rule window, choose the category you want to define in the Select Field field by clicking on the down arrow at the right of the field. A pulldown list of categories appears. Click on the one you want. Once selected, it displays in the Select Field field. For an example, let us say you selected Bindings.
In the Select Operation field, choose Like, equal to, greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to, or between.
In the Choose Value field, choose the value or values that define the selection criteria. With the Bindings example, say you chose "equal to" in the Select Operation field. If you then select MM (Mass Market) in the Choose Value field, the Rule will apply to all inventory in your store with a binding code of MM.
For applicable categories (such as Bindings), there will be a binoculars icon at the right of the Choose Value field. If you need to view information on how to select a parameter in a code-driven field, please click here.
If you selected "between" in the Select Operation field, two fields will display under Choose Value. In the top field, choose the start value. In the bottom field, select the ending value. For example, if you selected Store Number in the Select Field field and you want the Rule to apply to merchandise only between store numbers 1 and 5, you would select "between" in the Select Operation field, key in a 1 in the top Choose Value field, and key in a 5 in the bottom Choose Value field.
If you choose Publication Date (or any other date category) in the Select Operation field, a calendar will display if you click on the down arrow at the right of the Choose Value field. This is a convenient way for you to select a particular date.
Note:
If you choose Publication Date (or another date category) in the Select Operation field, the Choose Value field will automatically default to the current day's date. If you need to change that, instead of accessing the calendar and choosing a new date that way, you can simply highlight the default date and rekey the desired date.
Once you have set the fields the way you want, click on the Add button at the right of the Sales Promotion Rule window. The criteria you just set will display in the Selected Ranges box. For example, if you selected a binding code of MM, "Bindings = MM [Mass Market]" will display in the Selected Ranges box.
Note:
If you want to blank out the search fields and begin again (prior to clicking on Add), click on the Cancel button. The search fields are blanked out.
Repeat the above process as many times as you want to define the criteria for the Rule. Each time you establish a new set of criteria and click on the Add button, the new criteria will display in the Selected Ranges box. The more sets of criteria you select, the more specific the parameters of the Rule will be. So, for example, you may set criteria for multiple categories in order to establish a well-defined, highly specific Rule. Perhaps you want to establish the Rule with the following specifications: Store Number 1, Bindings = MM, Publication Date >1/01/04. Simply define these criteria, one after the other, until all are set. When the Rule is established, the Sales Promo will only apply to items that fall under all of these specifications. For example, if an item had been purchased from Store 1 (within the range you set), had a binding code of MM (also within the range you set), but was published prior to 1/01/04 (as you defined), then the item would not fall under the Sales Promotion as established by this Rule. To establish a less-defined Rule, simply remove some of the criteria. There is no limit to the criteria. If you want to define 100 sets of criteria, you can.
To remove a set of criteria:
In the Selected Ranges box, highlight the criteria you want removed and click on the Remove button. The selected criteria is removed from the template.
When you are through creating the Rule, select it for the Sales Promotion by clicking on the Select button at the top of the Sales Promotion Rule window. (If you do not want to select the Rule, then simply click on the "x" at the top of the Sales Promotion Find window.) Either way, the Rule is saved automatically in your system.
Back at the Sales Promotions Properties screen, the Rule you selected (if you selected one) in the Sales Promotion Rule window now appears under the Selection Rule field. If you click on the Rule, you are taken back to the Sales Promotion Rule window.
To the left of the Rule, if you haven't already, establish the discount percentage or dollar amount off under the % or $ Amount Off field.
You can create as many Rules as you want. Every time you create a new Rule (by clicking on the Add to List icon, located underneath the Sale Start field in the Sales Promotions Properties window), a separate, new line is listed under the % or $ Amount Off and Selection Rule fields. So, in essence, you can set up one Rule for a Sales Promotion or one hundred.
Within a Sales Promotion, the Rules are tiered. If you set up two Rules, the system will check an item against the parameters established in the first Rule, then it will check against the parameters established in the second Rule, and so on, if there are more than two Rules. If an item does not match the parameters in Rule 1 but does match the parameters in Rule 2, the Sale Promo still applies, and vice versa. But if, after checking the parameters in each Rule, the system discovers that the purchased item does not match any of the Rules, then it will not be placed on sale.
Also, the percentage off (or dollar amount off) may vary among Rules within a Sales Promotion. Items that fall under Rule 1 may be discounted 20% (established in the % or $ Amount Off field), but items that fall under Rule 2 may be discounted only 15%, and so on.
Once you have filled in all of the fields on the Sales Promotions Properties screen, click on the Close icon button. The system will prompt you to save your changes if you haven't. Once you return to the general Sales Promotions screen, where all Sales Promo codes are listed, the newly created code will now be there. You can establish as many Sales Promotions codes as you want.
For information on how to delete codes from your system, click here.