Seeking sell reception
Stores try to lure customers with strategically placed items
Shopping represents many things to many people.
For some customers, it’s strictly about getting what they need and getting out. For others, it’s about getting out of the house and enjoying the experience of roaming the aisles.
But for retailers, it’s about getting shoppers to open their wallets and buy more. That’s why shoppers like you and me should at least be aware of their strategies.
Store managers use lots of maneuvers to nudge consumers into spending more. Research shows that grocery shoppers tend to buy cereal and other goods stocked at eye level, so stores place higher-priced products on those shelves, for example.
But height isn’t the only factor that affects buying habits. Research shows that shoppers also respond to where items are placed in stores. Local retail stores’ layouts encourage people to buy certain items. They also set a tone for shoppers’ experience in the stores.
Target, for example, stocks a few aisles of dollar-priced items just inside the doors of its stores.
Joshua Thomas, a Target corporate spokesman, pointed out that the See Spot Save signs in the dollar aisles tie in with the retailer’s national advertising campaign.
“It’s easily identifiable with the Target brand, so it sets an exciting tone for shoppers as they enter the store,” he said.
Target regularly adds new items to the bargain area.
“It’s a little bit of that treasure-hunt aspect of shopping at Target where you never know what you’re going to find,” Thomas said.
I judge a store – particularly one I’ve never been to before – partly on what I find just inside the door. If the prices on those first items are higher than I’m comfortable paying, I don’t venture far inside before turning around and making a graceful exit.
Based on that theory, Target might be smart to lure shoppers with the promise of low-priced merchandise. The store screams “affordable” to shoppers, encouraging them to grab a cart and start stocking up.
Jefferson Pointe’s Barnes & Noble store places newly issued hardback and paperback books just inside the parking lot side entrance. Those are often the hottest books that draw shoppers into the store.
Glenbrook Square’s J.C. Penney store recently completed an eight-month, multimillion-dollar renovation that, among other things, moved the store’s fine-jewelry counter so it’s straight ahead when customers enter from the mall.
Paco Underhill, author of “Call of the Mall” and “Why We Buy,” said some manufacturers pay to have their products displayed near store entrances. That includes 24-pack soda pop cartons stacked inside grocery and discount stores’ front doors.
Manufacturers know the value of being up front and visible.
“Nothing in a store is done by accident,” Underhill said. “Somebody has thought about it.”
Underhill, who is based in New York, said Penney can expect sales of fine jewelry to increase in the local store now that the department is more visible to shoppers.
Henry Canaan, manager of Glenbrook’s Penney store, said last week that jewelry sales have increased since the fine-jewelry counter was repositioned in the store. He acknowledged that some of the sales growth can be attributed to a corporatewide jewelry sale. But, he said, the numbers are up even without the major annual promotion.
That’s retail strategy for you. Stores use it because it works.
When I mentioned to Underhill that I feel a little manipulated by these selling strategies, his response was fast and frosty. He said shoppers need to take responsibility for the things they buy.
I agree.
I just wish I weren’t so darned agreeable when retailers try to lure me into spending more than I’ve planned.