Can J.C. Penney's Squareness Lead to Loyalty?

Being fair and being loyal aren't the same thing. But can one engender the other? The question hit me when reviewing J.C. Penney's annual report, which reveals its new pricing strategy, Fair and Square, could produce a fair number of zeros in the coming months — i.e., declining sales. As coupons, price cuts and other discounts have essentially trained consumers not to pay full price (and to wonder what the full price on anything really is), the retailer walked away from the madness. Fair and Square, it said: everyday low pricing, with just two sales a month on out-of-season wares.