The door buster is a sales and marketing strategy that is sometimes employed with retail businesses. Essentially, it is a deal on some type of low-priced item that is anticipated to attract the attention of consumers, and draw them into the store. Once in the store, the customers can secure the discounted item and presumably look around the store for other items they may need or want.
As the colorful name implies, a door buster is thought to be a deal that customers are not likely to resist. Instead of shopping elsewhere, consumers will rush to the store in order to take advantage of the special and secure the sale item. The amount of traffic that the sale is usually projected to generate is of such a magnitude that consumers are ready to burst through the entrance of the establishment in order to purchase the sale item before the store sells out.
For many retailers, a door buster is an item that has not sold well at the current retail price. In order to remove the item from the general inventory, the retailer makes a decision to reduce the price to a point that consumers who were put off by the original price will suddenly consider it feasible to purchase the item. While this means the goods are sold at a loss, the retailer does recoup a portion of the investment associated with them. Selling the item as a door buster also reduces the taxable inventory and may create a tax deduction for the retailer, depending on applicable tax laws.
In addition to clearing an item from active inventory that is not selling well, retailers also often use the door buster as a hook or draw into the store. Often, consumers will enter the store in order to secure the item, but then spend time browsing around for other items that may be needed or desired. Thus, the door buster helps to generate sales of other items, which can help to offset any remaining loss incurred by the low sale price of the special.
Consumers benefit from the sale of a door buster by acquiring an item that may be desirable, but which the customer could not justify purchasing at the original retail price. The level of satisfaction received from getting a bargain often helps to boost consumer confidence and also makes it feasible to stretch the household budget to accommodate additional purchases that would not have been considered otherwise.
