Sears debuts handwritten signs in stores in an apparent effort to slash costs

Business Insider

Sears stores are now featuring handwritten signs.

• Sears stores have debuted handwritten pricing signs.
• At one Sears location in Virginia, the signs are giving customers the impression that the store is closing and holding a liquidation sale, an employee at the store told Business Insider.
• The signs are likely part of an effort to slash printing costs, as the company works to cut expenses and improve profitability following years of steep sales declines, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

Sears stores have debuted a new marketing strategy: handwritten pricing signs.

Business Insider found dozens of handwritten signs scattered throughout two stores in Virginia and one in New York. The signs in these stores were previously printed by machines.

At one Sears location in Virginia, the signs are giving customers the impression that the store is closing and holding a liquidation sale, even though the store has no plans to close, according to an employee of the store. She said the signs frustrate employees because of the extra labeling time they require.

Sears did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the signs.

They are likely part of an effort to slash printing costs, as the company works to cut expenses and improve profitability following years of steep sales declines, according to Neil Saunders, the managing director of retail consulting firm GlobalData Retail.

"It is a bid to reduce costs - it's far cheaper to hand-write signs than get them printed," Saunders said in an email to Business Insider.

The signs could also allow Sears to clear out inventory at a faster pace.

"Management can make reductions on the fly rather than having to go through the process of getting tickets printed," Saunders said. But they make the stores look "shabby," he added.

Here's what we found during recent store visits: