Home » Opinion » Book review
Why big stores fail consumers
By Wu Jiayin |
January 16, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MY mother rarely goes shopping in supermarkets. She prefers to shop in nearby convenience stores although their prices are a little bit higher than in big markets.
"It simply takes me too much time to find what I need in supermarkets," she explains.
In fact, many shoppers experience similar annoyance, confusion and frustration in large stores, according to shopping behavior researcher Herb Sorensen in his book "Inside the Mind of the Shopper."
Largely attributing the cause of such distress to problematic product placement in many large stores, Sorensen recommends that retailers learn more about shoppers' thoughts and feelings and then change layout and placement accordingly.
The book offers very practical suggestions for retailers who want to improve sales.
"There are tremendous opportunities to improve sales and profits by understanding shoppers better," he says.
For example, large stores often deliberately place daily necessities far from the entrance in hopes of enticing shoppers to buy some of the thousands of items they pass on their way to the products they need.
However, this strategy more often makes shoppers turn away from the stores rather than leads them to more sales, Sorensen notes.
After all, the dispersed arrangement of goods is only convenient for the "stock-up" shoppers who are willing to spend a long time browsing in the stores.
But research shows that more than 50 percent of all shoppers go into stores for five items or fewer, and nearly 16 percent are there for just one item, Sorensen points out. Few of this group of consumers want to spend much time shopping.
To improve the situation, the author suggests a "layered merchandising" plan, which includes a common area for all shoppers, a secondary area for quick-trip shoppers, and a third area for stock-up shoppers.
It might sound somewhat troublesome for retailers, but stores that help save customers' time is more likely to attract more customers and thus make bigger profits.
Although most shoppers spend limited time in stores, Sorensen emphasizes that every minute spent in a store is a sales opportunity, which is quite true.
In fact, the big problem with many of today's stores is that a lot of consumers browse for a long time and end up buying few things.
"This is the tragedy of modern retail. The shopper comes to the store to buy things. The retailer creates the store to sell things. Manufacturers create products to sell. Yet most of the shopper's time in the store is spent not buying," Sorensen emphasizes.
Therefore, rather than focusing on prolonging the time shoppers spend in stores, retailers ought to think of maximizing "shopper seconds."
Many consumers are attracted to products not on their shopping list -- they buy on impulse or remember something they want.
This is usually the result of good retail promotion.
In-store flyers, aisle-end displays and freestanding displays are good ideas. So is good packaging. Active retailers can also take the product to the shoppers. This may often be effective but annoying.
Sorensen makes suggestions for improved store design and discusses the factors preventing retailers from better understanding shoppers' behavior.
"Some of the forces that keep shoppers from shopping are a result of the relationship between retailers and manufacturers, which means that more of the retailer's profits come from brand promotions than from shoppers," Sorensen says.
Therefore, retailers favor and prominently display products by manufacturers who give retailers the most rebates, regardless of the products' popularity among consumers.
But it makes sense for ambitious retailers to design their stores in cooperation with brand owners -- but based on customer preferences.
"It simply takes me too much time to find what I need in supermarkets," she explains.
In fact, many shoppers experience similar annoyance, confusion and frustration in large stores, according to shopping behavior researcher Herb Sorensen in his book "Inside the Mind of the Shopper."
Largely attributing the cause of such distress to problematic product placement in many large stores, Sorensen recommends that retailers learn more about shoppers' thoughts and feelings and then change layout and placement accordingly.
The book offers very practical suggestions for retailers who want to improve sales.
"There are tremendous opportunities to improve sales and profits by understanding shoppers better," he says.
For example, large stores often deliberately place daily necessities far from the entrance in hopes of enticing shoppers to buy some of the thousands of items they pass on their way to the products they need.
However, this strategy more often makes shoppers turn away from the stores rather than leads them to more sales, Sorensen notes.
After all, the dispersed arrangement of goods is only convenient for the "stock-up" shoppers who are willing to spend a long time browsing in the stores.
But research shows that more than 50 percent of all shoppers go into stores for five items or fewer, and nearly 16 percent are there for just one item, Sorensen points out. Few of this group of consumers want to spend much time shopping.
To improve the situation, the author suggests a "layered merchandising" plan, which includes a common area for all shoppers, a secondary area for quick-trip shoppers, and a third area for stock-up shoppers.
It might sound somewhat troublesome for retailers, but stores that help save customers' time is more likely to attract more customers and thus make bigger profits.
Although most shoppers spend limited time in stores, Sorensen emphasizes that every minute spent in a store is a sales opportunity, which is quite true.
In fact, the big problem with many of today's stores is that a lot of consumers browse for a long time and end up buying few things.
"This is the tragedy of modern retail. The shopper comes to the store to buy things. The retailer creates the store to sell things. Manufacturers create products to sell. Yet most of the shopper's time in the store is spent not buying," Sorensen emphasizes.
Therefore, rather than focusing on prolonging the time shoppers spend in stores, retailers ought to think of maximizing "shopper seconds."
Many consumers are attracted to products not on their shopping list -- they buy on impulse or remember something they want.
This is usually the result of good retail promotion.
In-store flyers, aisle-end displays and freestanding displays are good ideas. So is good packaging. Active retailers can also take the product to the shoppers. This may often be effective but annoying.
Sorensen makes suggestions for improved store design and discusses the factors preventing retailers from better understanding shoppers' behavior.
"Some of the forces that keep shoppers from shopping are a result of the relationship between retailers and manufacturers, which means that more of the retailer's profits come from brand promotions than from shoppers," Sorensen says.
Therefore, retailers favor and prominently display products by manufacturers who give retailers the most rebates, regardless of the products' popularity among consumers.
But it makes sense for ambitious retailers to design their stores in cooperation with brand owners -- but based on customer preferences.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
