Psycho-shopping

by | December 28, 2005

In light of the poor retail figures around the holiday season, I thought these points from an older Inc. article on The Retail Group, a hot Seattle-based retail strategy firm of the 1990’s to be interesting and relevant. Note that The Retail Group went out of business in 2003 after a split of the founders but I thought the article was worth sharing for its advice to small retailers. Firstly, a shopper should be able to determine within 3 seconds of entering a store its name, its line of trade, its claim to fame, its price position, and its personality. This is necessary to lure in those customers who are not looking for you but are potential customers. Furthermore, because people are lazy, you need to provide strategically placed ‘visual carrots’ to move the customer to hot-spots within the store where the customer is relaxed, comfortable or intrigued. J’Amy continues that shoppers are typically intimidated by retail stores so the environment must be warm and familiar to the shopper — music is often an element to drive this comfort and can drive sales by as much as 20%. Lastly, items in the store must be linked as brand ‘contact points’. These may be color, scent, staff, and organization to drive an image of what the store is all about. Read more at Inc.com.

Author: Michelle Bomberger, Seattle Business Lawyer