Search the web and there’s endless information about internet marketing and digital media. It seems that business advice for online operations is readily available anywhere you turn. But when it comes to designing a shop floor or a product showroom, there’s not much information to look at it. Many businesses today operate both online and offline so a good understanding of shop floor marketing is just as important as ever.
Whether you trade from a bricks and mortar premises or have a customer showroom for your retail web business, it’s important to think about shopper psychology. Here are some great psychological takeaways to bear in mind.
1. Women Are More Likely to See Offers
According to Practical Ecommerce, online shoppers most likely to respond to bargains are women. Well, it’s no different offline. Men are less likely to spot offers on the shop floor according to experts; men operate at a higher level of consciousness when shopping and are more likely to seek out the brands they know and understand. Women shop with a bit more freedom as they are generally more experienced at weighing up product vs. price, or brand vs. offers. So when marketing your in-store discounts, be sure to remember the differences between your male and female audience. If your target customer is male, perhaps more focus should be placed on familiar brands rather than discounted collections.
Color Psychology Is Important
There’s a reason why product offers in major retail stores and grocers are in bright red or yellow. Yes, they get your attention. But not just that; a color such as red also has a deeper psychology attached it, creating urgency and increasing heart rate of shoppers. But this only works successfully if you do not overuse the color. So when thinking about color placement around your store, be sure to use color application wisely. Find out more about color psychology and the effects it has on shoppers from this great infographic from Kissmetrics.
Discounts Diminish Loss Aversion
Loss aversion describes the way a person weighs out risks in his/her head, preferring to avoid losses than to acquire gains. It’s a very careful way of thinking and often has shoppers contemplating the products before they buy. For instance, it could be that a shopper stops him/herself from buying an expensive product that they really want because they would rather avoid being broke than benefit from having the product in their possession. But throw in a discount and this loss aversion switch turns off. Quickly, loss aversion becomes fear of missing out, making Point of Sale a very important part of the in store shopping process. Visit Print & Display for a gallery of different P.O.S designs.
Shopping is a Part of Our Cognitive Behavior
Shopping is a skill. It’s something we learn. It doesn’t come naturally or by instinct, so cognitive behavior is very much a part of the process. Shoppers learn from visuals (signage or displays), in-store messages (copy and advertising), smells, touches and sounds – and these all form memories for the next time they shop. This also means that a shopper’s loyalty to a competitor will see a transfer of expectations (store layout, prices, customer service, queues, etc…). So competitor research is crucial to your success.
Photo credit: Garry Wilmore / Flickr
