Market research and shoppers movements Free Essay Example

Market research and shoppers movements has always fascinated me and made me often question consumer behaviours and shopping patterns in the market place. As I read the article again on shopper’s movements, I find myself looking into the senses and how they impact our shopping experience. The example given was the bakery and the flowers section that are strategically placed at the front of the store to tamper with our “limbic systems”.

Flowers set off a pleasant fragrance and sets the mood of our shopping experience to a good start.

This is positive feedback and great research for the marketing researchers and can help store staff and merchandisers within the business to display their product where it will get the best exposure and target the right audience. Flowers are appealing by nature and seem to always attract women. Flowers also are known to have a soothing effect. When woman enter the supermarket from the chaos of life, the supermarket is like a safe and calm place and the flowers at the front are her (calmness after the rush) (Anthony Hubbard – Dec 2013).

As a mum, I cannot explain the number of times I purchased fresh hot cross buns due to the smell that caught me in the front entrance of my local Coles.

The data used to pick up on the best positions in the store is very helpful to the supermarkets market research. It is evident from the below image (Figure 1) that shoppers choose to duck in and out of aisles to just get what they need.

It is known that “endcaps” or “gondola ends”, are the most valuable. People must go pass the ends, so the products get seen and purchased (Svetlana Bogomolova- June 2018).

Gondola-ends are often used to achieve greater product visibility, increase brand awareness and help showcase promotions in store. As mentioned before on my weekly discussion, while working at Hallmark, it was surveyed that males find the end caps with product very handy with seasonal product and almost is used as a reminder of seasonal product like Valentines days and Mother’s Day.

Shoppers also seem to be attracted to empty spaces, they seem to prefer a wide pathway around a store and this allows them to keep their distance and not get too close to other shoppers. People are also less likely to go all the way down and aisle when it is too crowded and when products are stacked too high. Shoppers are also conscious of the “Butt Brush Effect” and avoid standing in a spot where people could accidently brush against then, they can even just leave the product and avoid the purchase if this is experienced (Svetlana Bogomolova- June 2018).

The “Butt Brush Effect” seems to affect both men and woman, but especially woman, who do not like to be touched from behind. Crowding also influences consumer behaviors. If you are in a store where you are constantly being bumped or constantly crashing into stuff, this also spoils your experience in the store and stop you from returning. Having less “aisleness” – that is, to have wider aisles and less floor space devoted to shelving, as crowding in a store becomes stress to humans. This also affects the behavior of children.

It is found that due to crowding some parents avoid crowded stores with children, because of the lower tolerance to crowding (Epstein, 1981). All the above are examples of points that will affect our buying habits and I enjoyed reviewing because as a shopper I have experienced all the above.

Remember! This is just a sample.

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