Discount events are ‘training’ shoppers to never pay full price: report

If you’re a retailer expecting consumers to line up to pay full price this year, here’s a tip: Maybe don’t buy the velvet ropes just yet.

Asked what type of promotions they’re most likely to take advantage of this year, the majority of consumers (55.9%) said price discounts, nearly triple the next most popular, loyalty rewards, at 19.8%, and cash-back offers, at 12.2%. Those findings are from the 2026 Shopper Sentiment Report from RetailNext, a store-intelligence company focused on physical retail stores that partners with 560 retailers globally.

With high-profile sales events including Amazon’s Prime Day, Walmart Deals days, and Target Circle Week, “promotional calendars are training consumer behavior,” the report stated. “The more a retailer relies on discount events to drive volume, the more shoppers defer purchases until those events occur.”

The poll surveyed 1,053 US adults aged 18–64 on the online platform Centiment in February.

Retailers considering dynamic pricing, the term for raising and lowering prices in real time, may do so at their peril, as it’s at the top of consumers’ dealbreaker list. Asked what could turn them off enough to make them stop shopping with a retailer entirely, the most common reason respondents selected was unfair or unpredictable pricing (33.9%), even more than poor product quality (23.2%), or poor customer service (17.7%).

“Dynamic pricing and algorithmic markup strategies face significant consumer resistance,” the report stated. “In an environment where pricing inconsistencies are surfaced instantly on social media, perceived unfairness carries outsized brand damage.”

Consumers’ aversion to dynamic pricing has been widely documented, with Gartner finding that when brands use dynamic pricing, 68% of consumers feel “taken advantage of” by the practice. When it comes to food apps, 43% of consumers think dynamic pricing is unfair, a YouGov survey found.