Maybe it's the straight pants, or maybe it's the running after children, but I'm liking my flats lately. Found some cute ones at Banana Republic last weekend: patent finish, pointy toe, bright, coral-y red. Best part: the price: $40.99 (marked down from $98). But they didn't have my size. The salesperson said I'd find them online, and I did – for $69.99! I complained to online customer service and received an email that said, in a nutshell, "sorry – we don't match store prices." Online, store – to me, and, I'm guessing, most consumers, it's all the same. There's no excuse for price differences – unless the online items are less, to compensate for shipping charges. Today's shopper jumps from online to stores and back again. She's extremely price sensitive and a $30 discrepancy serves only to make her suspicious of the company's prices across the board.
I found the shoes in my size at another store. Just checked Bananarepublic.com again, and it seems someone important must have read my email: the online price has been reduced to $49.99. Better, at least, but still offensive.
And they wonder why consumers abandon virtual shopping carts.