Microsoft has offered discounts on its Band 2 in the UK with extraordinary regularity, running three deals on the wearable device in just four weeks earlier this year. The latest example began on April 28, when it cut 25% off the Band 2, reducing its price by £50 to £149.99, in a promotion that was supposed to end yesterday, June 30.
But while that two-month-long deal was already stretching the definition of a 'special offer', that term now seems to have lost all meaning, as Microsoft has extended it for a further three months.
The Band 2 will remain available at its current price of £149.99 until at least September 30 - over five months after the discount was first applied. Indeed, this now appears far less like a limited-time promotion, and more like a permanent price cut - and there's good reason to believe that this is the case.
At the end of January, Microsoft began a similar 'special offer' on the Lumia 640 XL, a Windows Phone 8.1 device which it launched last year. It reduced the handset's price by £60 (27%) in a five-month deal, which was also supposed to end yesterday. But instead, Microsoft has extended that discount for another three months as well; by the end of September, that 'special offer' will have been running for a total of eight months.
Of course, by claiming that deals like these are 'special' or in some way limited, Microsoft might well encourage more customers to buy the products than if it openly referred to them as permanent price cuts.
By the way, it's worth pointing out that the extra three months that Microsoft slapped onto its Band 2 offer will end just a few days before the first anniversary of the device's unveiling on October 6. A permanent reduction in price before then would make a lot of sense if the company is planning to announce a new model around the same time.
Source: Microsoft Store
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