C o n su m e r B e h a vio r

W h y W e B u y — the science of
sh o p p in g

M e m b e rs :
M u sta fa K h a lid ( 9711 )
O b a id S a le e m ( 9558 )
M u h a m m a d A rif( 9531 )
Sana A bbas ( 5583 )
The Author—Paco Underhill


 Founder of Envirosell, a behavioral research and

consultancy firm


 An expert on consumer trends & Retail

management


 From buying behavior to consumerism in the

modern world; Paco has presented ground
breaking observations in his books and
speeches


 Other Books:
 Call of the Mall: The Geography of
Shopping 

 What Women Want: The Global Market
Turns Female Friendly
The Book—We We Buy
 Underhill describes himself as an urban geographer and retail
anthropologist


 Fundamental research methodology is to track customers



 Unobtrusively observe consumers with:

 Time spend in each area of the store
 what they touch and look at
 what they buy
 how much they spend

 After 20 years of research and huge database of shopper
behavior—The science of shopping was invented



A S cie n ce Is B o rn
Chapter 1
Anthropology
A n th ro p o lo g y —stu d y o f h u m a n ity ; a lla sp e cts o f so cie ty a n d
cu ltu re .


S tu d y o f M o d e rn sh o p p e rs in situ —S h o p p e rs’ in te ra ctio n w ith
re ta ile n viro n m e n t


S tu d y th e e n viro n m e n t fo r th e co n su m e r fro m th e fa rth e st
re a ch o f p a rkin g lo t to th e sto re itse lf in clu d in g :
◦Shelf
◦Counter
◦Table
◦Display of merchandise
◦Banners
◦Entrance and exits
Anthropology—The Beginning of
The Science of Shopping
 Anthropology does not cover the anatomical mechanics and
behavioral psychology of the consumer.


 Where they go and don’t go

 By what path they go there
 What they see and failed to see
 What they read and decline to read
 How they deal with the objects that come upon.

 What human beings do in the store?
 How do They Shop?

Need for the Science of
Shopping


 Anthropology is not paying attention in collating, digesting,

tabulating and cross referencing every little bit of data—to
the extreme narrow.


For example:


 How many people enter the store in morning?



 This should be broken down by:

 Gender

 Age

 Socio cultural factors







 If Anthropology had been paying

attention on all these aspects then we
wouldn’t have had to try to invent the


 “Science Of Shopping”
Science of Shopping

 Trackers

 Research Tools/ Hardware

 Track Sheet

 Job Captain

Trackers
 Field researchers.

 How they Work


 A tracker begins by wandering near a store’s entrance.


 Trackers stick with the shopper as long as he/she is in store
and record virtually everything an individual does.

 Trackers work in a team if the store is large


Research Tools/Hardware

 Handheld computers
 Cameras
 Laptops
 Tripods
 Tapes
 Mount
 Lenses
 Other Camera Accessories
 Hard shell cases
 Track sheet (a low tech piece of paper)
Track Sheet


 Low tech piece of paper



 It contains
 Map about the store or premises
 Shopper details like, sex, age & other variables.
 What he/she does in the store

 Tracker uses the system of shorthand notations.


 Over the time more variables have been evolved.

 Currently up to 40 variables are monitored.
Job Captain

 Spends a day “cleaning” the forms.

 Provides data to be entered into the database.

 Mainly SPSS and MS Excel are used for data analysis

Butt-brush effect


 Shoppers don’t like being brushed or touched from behind



 They even move away from the product to avoid it.

 Example: Neck wear issue


 Therefore proper placement of product is required.




Live Examples


 Waiting time at cash counter

 Complicated transactions should be distinguished and
separate counters should be there.

 Display of new releases hidden behind the crowd at cashier.


 Aspirin placed near Beverages section. Elders get irritated

and walk away empty handed. (Modified version of Butt-
brush effect)

The obvious isn ’ t always
apparent
Changing Trends


 Generations ago, only big brand goods were advertised.



 Today, we are dangerously over retailed.


 Too much is for sale through too many outlets.


Changing Trends


 Early generations stuck to the

 brands that they chose early in life.


 Today it is difficult to convince consumer.


 The store itself is important medium for transmitting
messages.
The science of shopping tells
us:
How to
 Attract customers
 Ensure that each message is at appropriate place
 Ensure that each part of store is reachable

The longer the shopper stays, the more he will buy


Time spent in store depicts the extent of enjoyment



Science of shopping creates better retail

environment
W h a t R e ta ile rs D o n ’ t
K now
Chapter 2
Retailer-The practitioner

 Buyer-Supplier relationships
are one of the most
important elements that
influences the purchasing
process.

 Establishing & managing
effective relationships at
every link in the supply
chain is becoming the pre-
requisite of “Business
Success”

So..how much doesn’t the RETAILER
already know??
 The Concept of Conversion Rate
 Shoppers somehow need to
 be transformed into buyers.


 HOW ?
 Change in:
1. Store layout
2. Display
3. Merchandising & Staffing


 A m o u n t O f tim e a sh o p p e r sp e n d s
 Direct Relationship with how much a customer may buy.


 In some stores buyers spend three or four times as much times

as non buyers.


 A d vice to R e ta ile rs:

 Get shoppers to shop
 longer.!!!


 T h e In te rce p tio n R a te
 Implies the percentage of customers who have some contact
with the store employees.

 The more shopper-employee contacts takes place, greater the
average sales.



 S u cce ss S e cre t:

 Talking with an employee draws a customer closer!


 The Waiting Time

 Most important factor in customer satisfaction

 Nobody likes to wait-Be it some busy executive or a normal
housewife

 When made to wait for too long, the impression of overall
service plunges.

 SOLUTION:
 Work on shortening the wait



And Most Importantly…

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS..!!!


 

 Thank You!