Publican

Photo courtesy of Legacy Liquor Store
The more time customers spend in a retail environment,
the more money they will ultimately spend.
“Slow shopping” - or “fauxsumerism”- is a hot trend
where customers are encouraged to spend more
time in a store without being pressured to buy.
Studies have found that the more time customers
spend in a retail environment - say, getting a free
facial, enjoying a coffee or reading a book - the
more money they will ultimately spend.
Then there’s the idea of “mood maintenance”,
where the ambience is designed to match or
even elevate the consumer’s mood, encouraging
them to spend more. One intriguing aspect is
the influence of aroma. The American company
ScentAir, for instance, creates billions of scent
impressions each year for clients such as
Bloomingdales, wafting the aroma of baby
powder through the infant department or
coconut in swimwear to boost sales.
Researchers have also found that maze-like
layouts, bigger shopping carts and slow music
all encourage people to buy more. For even more
techniques, LRS owners can learn a great deal
from retail theorists and experts like Storesupport
Canada.
and baskets throughout the store? Are you really
encouraging lucrative impulse buys?
Spend some time studying what works in your
competitors’ stores and adapt those elements
for your own - just the way Walmart founder Sam
Walton once did at Kmart.
2) Listen to the Experts
Design is only one aspect of the whole psychology
of how and why people buy. There is, for instance,
a booming business in “experiential shopping”,
which transforms a financial transaction into an
emotional one.
3) Step Up Selection
When a store’s only distribution source and
biggest competitor are one and the same, it’s
almost impossible to compete based on price. As
Lamb says, “It doesn’t make any sense to sell your
competitor’s product at a higher price when your
competitor is two blocks away.”
16 The Publican