"How Consumers Shop Differently"

I found this article particularly interesting because TIME magazine requested the expertise of the author of our text book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill. As I continued to read the article, I compared the information I learned from the text to the information discussed.

Underhill breaks the consumer into thirds & analyzes each group. Then he proceeds to discuss the psyche of the American consumer during this recession. This is where I found his perspective beneficial. As a consumer I was able to quickly identify with much of what he mentioned, but as a college student researching the industry, I found a more intriguing angle. Consumers are no longer shopping in their spare time and when they are shopping, they are thinking about their needs rather than their wants. The long-term effects of purchasing a $2000 flat screen television are more likely to prevent a consumer from purchasing it. He/she may think about bills that may need to be paid, if he/she will have their job next week, or if they'd rather just save the money. Underhill also mentions that people aren't going to the mall at all because of the temptation. They are more likely to go to a specialty store where they walk through the store with a cart, placing items in the cart, and then deciding that they don't want to purchase the item when they get to cashier. Again, this is something that I find myself doing, quite often, as a consumer. The consumer's indecisive shopping causes a messy store & Underhill states that "a basic rule of retailing is that you have to have a clean store."

So what is the future of consumerism? Underhill mentions that consumers are more inclined to purchasing vintage clothing. Now, more than ever, consumers are changing their perception of the markets. Goodwill, EBay, and Salvation Army have all the same clothing necessities that the mall has, at a lesser and more appeasing price.

For retailers, the industry needs to stop being counterproductive. The size of the store does not reflect the amount that the consumer is going to spend. It only ensures that they company will have to fill the floor with more products. The consumer doesn't need many choices especially if they're widely ranged.

Retailers should also be more female friendly. Taking into consideration that the industry is male driven (in every aspect), women are the "engines of consumption". When the retailer doesn't appeal to the female's aesthetics. Whether it be a hardware store or an Men's Express.

All in all..."chic" isn't gone. Although we as consumers are not purchasing Armani & Louis, we are still very fashionable in a more price conscious way.

The most important idea Underhill mentioned for people wanting to "launch" a retail idea was:
"If I were to act on a new retail concept today, I would ask, 'how do I marry the idea of a physical asset with an online world?' So rather than saying 'I'm going to have Victoria's Secret and then have victoriassecret.com, can I stand back and conceive of an online business which has a physical manifestation that drives it?"

I found this concept very interesting and it has changed my ideas of entrepreneurship entirely.


Sources:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1881098,00.html

Author: Sean Gregory
Title: How Consumers Shop Differently Today
Magazine: TIME Magazine