Monday, October 12, 2009

The Science of Shopping

1. What points from this article do you feel are most important?
Most customers enter the store to the right. People will spend more time in a store if everything is spread out, because it forces them to wander throughout the store. The more time people spend in the store, the more likely they will buy more products. It is hard to control the amount of people visiting a store, but what can be controlled is the amount that the purchasers buy. Analyzing the habits and minds of customers is a growing business. Forming a relationship between the customer and the seller can help business too. The environment of a store is crucial in capturing the interest of customers.

2. How much do you personally feel you are influenced by a store's design?
When it comes to grocery stores, I don't think I am greatly influenced by the store's design. I usually have a list of groceries I need to buy. Because I inherently know where they are located, I usually go directly to their location and check out as soon as possible. However, if I am going to a retail store, this procedure is very different. After reading this article I learned that the store's design greatly influences my mindset and my actions in the store. Most stores place their fitting rooms in the back, which causes me to peruse around the entire store before trying my clothes on. Initially when I make my way to these rooms I have a few articles of clothing to try on, and by the time I enter the fitting room line, I have even more clothes dangling from my arms. I like things with symmetry. I am a very visual person, so if the store is symmetrical with many circular tables I will probably spend more time there. I think the set up of a store can really influence how comfortable the customer feels and can also influence how much time they spend there. I will also make more trips to the fitting rooms depending on how nice the people assisting me are.


3. Make a check list you could use to analyze a retail store like Paco Underhill does.
I will ask myself the following questions:
- What intrigued me about the store to enter it? Have I been to this store before? If so, what made me return?
- How much time did I spend in the store, and how much did I spend in relation to this time?
- How much of the store did I cover? Did I walk around the entire area?
- What is the relationship between me and the sellers? How did they interact with me?
- How did the set up of the store make me feel? What kind of environment did the layout create?

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