If you put items in your Store on sale eBay usually will send notifications to people who have it on their watch list or in their cart and also to some people who have just looked at the listing. This is different that the direct offer to an individual because it's not a sure thing and of course the discount is available to anyone not just those that are notified.
I view a lot of items, I get about a handful of eBay emails every day about items in my cart being reduced, cheaper versions of things I have had sitting in my cart for awhile (I use the cart as a temporary watch list) and for things I have just viewed recently.
