Introduction

What’s in it for me? Understand the motivations and manipulations behind the world of retail.

People have always shopped for things they need, from pints of milk to refrigerators. But it is only recently that researchers and retailers have begun to observe the behavior of real shoppers. It turns out these observations are of immense significance for shop owners.

Why We Buy explains that it is vital to understand what shoppers do and how they behave when they’re inside shops. For example, all shoppers share certain tendencies, like the propensity to look to the right rather than to the left, and retailers must be aware of this if they wish to maximize their sales. At the same time, the needs of different shoppers, like the young and the old, must also be taken into account. Savvy retailers will take note of all of these findings when designing their store, displaying their products and training their staff.

But to really make an impression on browsing shoppers and turn even more of them into actual paying customers, retailers must make shopping more than a task: instead, it should be an experience, both tactile and emotional.

Of course, even if you don’t work in retail yourself, Why We Buy is still a fascinating read, not least because it shows how your shopping behavior can be manipulated by retailers to make you more likely to buy things – especially those you don’t really need.

Key idea 1 of 8

If you want to turn shoppers into customers, observe how they behave inside the store.

Everywhere you go today, whether online or offline, you see opportunities to buy things.

But at the same time, people are no longer willing to buy something just because they have already decided that they need it or have seen an advertisement for it on their way to work.

Instead, buying decisions are increasingly made inside stores. This is because inside a store people can be enticed to make impulse purchases: things they think they might need when they see them.

So if you’re a shop owner, the first step is to get people to come inside the store. But not everyone who enters will actually make a purchase, so you need to find a way to convert these casual shoppers into buyers. A number of factors influence this conversion rate.

For example, just getting people to stay longer inside your shop will make them more likely to buy something, so make your shop an environment where people want to linger.

On the other hand, some traits can hurt your conversion rate – for example, having long lines.

By observing the way people shop, we can learn how to improve stores to optimize this conversion rate, by focusing on aspects like store design, product arrangement and employee tasks.

For example, one newsstand owner observed his customers for a while and noticed that most of them were Korean. Thus enlightened, the owner stocked up on Korean magazines and consequently increased his sales greatly.

The behavior of shoppers has previously been somewhat neglected as a field of study. However, it is only by observing the shopping behavior of real people that retailers can learn how to improve stores and optimize the conversion from shoppers to customers.

Key idea 2 of 8

Shops should be designed to provide a comfortable shopping experience.

It goes without saying that store owners want shopping to be a pleasant and comfortable experience for their customers.

This means that the physical limitations and habits of shoppers must be taken into account when designing a store.

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 3 of 8

Shops must help shoppers get into the right shopping mood, and guide them around the store.

Upon entering a store, shoppers are usually not ready to start making purchases immediately. Instead, they first need to make a transition into “shopping mode,” and must therefore be provided with a space that allows them to properly “arrive” at the store.

This means that any special offers that are written near the entrance will probably be lost on shoppers, since they are not yet ready to consider suggestions on what to buy when entering. For the same reason, sales clerks who approach people at the entrance of a shop are actually more likely to scare shoppers away than lure them in.

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 4 of 8

Shop owners must take into account the differences between groups of shoppers – primarily those between men and women.

As already seen, retailers must understand and adapt to shared human traits and tendencies. However, it's also important to consider the behavioral differences between groups of shoppers – most notably between men and women.

Men and women have very different social roles, which are manifested as differences in shopping behavior – and savvy retailers must understand this. For example, women generally spend more time inside a shop and are likely to buy more. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be impulse buyers.

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 5 of 8

The age of shoppers is another factor that retailers must take into account.

In addition to gender, age is another characteristic that retailers and product designers must consider.

For example, the growing number of older customers and their needs must be catered to. Not only will the elderly make up a large part of the population in the future, but they will also probably be inclined to spend more money, because they will have lived in times of economic prosperity.

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 6 of 8

Shops must also consider the needs of children, because they greatly influence their parents’ shopping behavior.

Children often accompany their parents when they go shopping, and consequently can greatly influence parents’ shopping behavior.

What does this mean for retailers?

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 7 of 8

Today shopping should be an experience: customers must be allowed to touch and feel what they might buy.

As stated earlier, a comfortable and practical shopping environment is a prerequisite for any customers to visit a store. But to truly succeed, retailers must advance beyond this basic level.

It is important to understand that shopping is not just the act of buying something, but rather an experience. Customers need to be allowed to touch and try out the products that they might buy. This is why many shops today try to “involve” shoppers with products by tempting them to try them out. One way to do this is to present products so people can see them in action. This could mean, for example, displaying furniture as part of a fully decorated room.

Unlock the full key idea

Key idea 8 of 8

Online stores will not replace brick-and-mortar shops entirely but can bring an additional dimension to them.

Over the last decade, the internet has brought about huge changes in the way we live. Naturally, it has also changed shopping.

Shopping online has become far more common, but there still remain a few problems that online stores have not been able to solve. For example, when customers encounter problems with a product, it is still difficult to get customer support. Brick-and-mortar stores have sales clerks whom customers can approach directly, but with online stores it can be hard to know whom to contact.

Unlock the full key idea

Why We Buy summary