You might think seemingly endless sales would be guaranteed to tempt shoppers through the door . But high street retailers are boosting their fortunes – by scrapping them . Debenhams and Mothercare have called a halt to long-running promotions which fail to excite shoppers , replacing them with shorter events that have more impact . And both have announced revived figures since making the change . Experts claim prolonged sales can devalue products and encourage shoppers to delay buying an item until it is reduced . High street chains , including Mothercare , are calling time on cut-price promotions that seem to go on forever . Figures show a third of all fashion purchases are now made in a sale or promotion , and there have been warnings that shoppers are being ‘ trained ’ not to buy at full price , undermining profits . In the past , retail analysts mocked Debenhams for being ‘ Never Knowingly Not On Sale ’ – a pun on the John Lewis slogan ‘ Never Knowingly Undersold ’ . Now , the department store has reduced its endless blue cross sales and promotions , which it admitted sometimes ‘ create noise but don ’ t create value ’ . Debenhams said that despite fewer sale events , feedback suggests customers now think the store is actually better value . The move follows similar cuts to the number of supermarket promotions . Sainsbury ’ s recently dropped some of its popular offers – including three for £10 on some meat and fish products – in favour of lower prices on more everyday items . In the past year , Debenhams has held 39 fewer sale days , meaning it spent a month less in a promotional period . It has also put more emphasis on ensuring pre-sale garments are ‘ better value ’ and that the ‘ first price is the right price ’ , cutting the cost of some menswear , womenswear and home goods . Debenhams said despite fewer sale events , feedback suggests customers now think the store is better value . Chief executive Michael Sharp said : ‘ It ’ s not about ending promotions , but being more focused and removing events that create noise but don ’ t create value. ’ Mothercare also expressed a desire last year to return to being a ‘ full price retailer ’ . Chief executive Mark Newton Jones said this week : ‘ In the UK , our strategy of reducing promotional and discount activity and returning to be a full price retailer has continued to stabilise margin. ’ Its latest Christmas period sales lasted three weeks instead of an incredible eight weeks in 2013-14 . Diane Wehrle , of retail analysts Springboard , said : ‘ There is a strong argument that the more sales you hold , the more you have to hold . Consumers get used to the store always being in sale and hold out from shopping there until the next one. ’ Neil Saunders , of retail analysts Conlumino , added : ‘ The model of continual discounting is damaging for a retailer , not least because it erodes margins and dissuades shoppers from purchasing at full price . ‘ It ’ s like a drug – the more a retailer does it , the more they have to keep doing it to generate a sales hit . ‘ In some ways , unless it is part of a specific business model , constant discounting is a sign of failure . ’
retailers and retailers have called a halt to long - running promotions . And both retailers have announced sales figures since making the announcement . Experts claim prolonged sales can devalue prices and encourage shoppers to delay buying an item until it is sold . Figures show a third of all fashion items are now made in a sale .