Women have different attitudes towards shopping - someone relieves stress in this way, others have fun, and still others kill time. I cannot classify myself as an inveterate shopaholic, but I will not hide the fact that I love both new clothes and new shoes.
I noticed that with age my actions become more rational, and purchases are calculated and planned. This applies not only to clothing, but even to food!
Functionality
With a smile, I remember the days of office work, when lunch break I walked around the city center and often stopped at shop windows. Sometimes such walks ended with another blouse / skirt, without which life was not sweet to me.
As is often the case, the new thing was worn at most once or twice. Then it turned out that there was nothing to combine it with, the buttons were ugly and the seams were uneven.
I really love universal things, and when buying them there is no question of spontaneity - it often takes a lot of time to search. It would seem that it is easy to buy an ordinary black turtleneck or classic jeans. Whether I'm picky, but I'm not all right. For a year now I have not been able to buy myself good jeans that would suit me in every way.
Planning
Long gone are the days when I went to shopping center with the thought "buy some dress". Now I clearly know what kind of dress I need - from the cut to the material and colors. Because of this pre-planning, the number of purchases, and even more so spontaneous ones, has drastically decreased for me.
I do the same with my daughter's wardrobe - I think in advance what we need, and only then I make purchases. I haven't had a "go buy something" situation for a long time.
The reasons
Sellers obligingly push us to spontaneous acquisitions. These are tempting promotional offers “three things for the price of two”, and crazy discounts (“well, when else will I buy a stole in sequins with a 50% discount?”), And the notorious state “I want something new”.
Probably, you need to reach this conclusion on your own. By the age of thirty, I enjoy only successful purchases, and not those with which I managed to satisfy the obsession with "buying something."
How to fight?
Sort through the cabinets. When you see with your own eyes how many clothes and shoes lie idle, and then you also remember how much money was spent on all this, the desire to spend money in vain disappears.
Let go of the desire to spend money on things in a different direction. If you can't do without it, spend on cheaper things. So, at one time I came off on children's panties and socks, then switched to elastic bands. Still, it's cheaper than buying regular sandals.
Set specific goals. For example, at one time I really wanted ordinary black wedge shoes. Believe it or not, I did not look at clothes or other shoes until I found exactly them - the shoes of my dreams. The savings turned out to be huge, even my husband noticed, because for six months I did not make a single purchase.
Pay attention to the quality of clothes and shoes. In most cases, sellers are trying to sell something imperfect. Just because 90% discount is not done, agree. I like clothes and shoes to serve me for more than one season. Especially considering the joyful fact that my size doesn't change. And the joy of a spontaneous purchase is replaced by sadness after the first wash.
In general, I advocate advance planning. And if I really want spontaneity, then I buy something inexpensive - nail polish or something tasty.
What do you think about spontaneous purchases? How often do you have such situations?
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(№31-32, 2009)
How often do shoppers change their plans once they're in the store and buy something they didn't plan on, or, thinking about your brand, take another off the shelf? The agency OgilvyAction conducted a study of impulse buying and shared the results exclusively with "&" .
The heads of consumers were once very accurately called "black boxes", the contents of which are extremely difficult to understand. But their owners daily provide companies with a turnover and allow the business to live and prosper. However, this only happens if people buy exactly your product or service.
Marketers have long known that 70% of purchasing decisions are made in-store. Like any generalization (and even obtained from the results of a study in the USA), the figure of 70% is very conditional, and on its basis it is impossible to make any decisions on the withdrawal or promotion of the brand. That's why OgilvyAction (a research arm of the Ogilvy Group, part of the WPP network) recently conducted a global study of consumer behavior in retail outlets.
These findings of the study are especially relevant at the present time, when manufacturers prefer to step up their marketing work just in stores. That is, directly where a person makes the final decision to purchase, looks at the product, holds it in his hands, then looks at a similar product and ... for some reason changes his mind and buys something else. As noted in a 2008 Deloitte and Grocery Manufacturers Associations (GMA) report, manufacturers and retailers plan to increase spending on in-store promotion (advertising, POS, etc.) within three years. Moreover, 19% of manufacturers and 50% of retailers consider in-store activity to be the best return on investment.
“The point of sale is the moment of truth for brands,” says Steve Harding, CEO OgilvyAction in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). “In order for companies to outperform competitors on the last mile, you need to know what drives customers. After all, the task of increasing ROI and sales levels keeps directors up at night.”
Spontaneous China and Romania
About 30% of all buyers in the world do not plan in advance which brands they will purchase. They make their choice directly in the store. On average, one in ten will change their mind near the shelf with the goods and choose the wrong brand that they thought about at first.
Many people take a product in their hands, but, on reflection, leave it on the shelf. In general, there are about 10% of them (although the figure can vary greatly, for example, in the USA there are about 20%).
AT different countries there is a varying degree of spontaneity in the behavior of customers in the store. The aforementioned 70% has changed little in the US: according to the SDMIS (Shopper Decisions Made In Store) study, 72% of consumers make a purchase decision while already in the store. The highest rate of spontaneity in Romania is 94%. Very high in China - 88%. Residents of Germany are extremely conservative, only 38% of them make decisions on the spot.
These figures indicate that consumers are internally ready to change their decision in the store. This applies not only to the choice of brands, but also to the category. So, all over the world, 20% of people buy goods in those categories that they did not think about before coming to the store.
Price reduction is simple but inefficient
Sales are highly dependent on marketing activity in point of sale. OgilvyAction researchers looked at which promotional activities had the most impact on people. General conclusions are:
- special displays best promote a product category (although they are also effective for sales of certain brands in a set amount);
- lowering the price helps to sell more, and engaging customers helps promote a particular brand (for this, sampling, recommendations, brand communication with consumers outside retail outlets, etc.) are practiced.
Consumers need help choosing a brand, be it visuals or something else. The recommendation of the employees of the trading floor strongly influences his choice. Therefore, manufacturers should not lose sight of such a channel of influence. The main thing is that the store staff should be well identified with all categories of goods.
From the above it can be concluded that the least effective way point of sale promotion is price promotion. Around the world, consumers are more affected by special displays of goods (for example, at the end of the shopping aisle) than by a temporary price reduction.
About a third of Americans (29%) shop in categories they didn't plan to shop before they went to the store. Many of them (24%) were influenced by product displays that were far from the profile malls, and only 17% made purchases using price promotions. At the same time, most consumers say that the layout attracts their attention, and they make a purchase if the price suits them.
Jeff Frode, OgilvyAction's chief strategic planner, commenting on the data, said price action will always be important to buyers who don't want to be ripped off by manufacturers. It's important to remember that display, POS, and other in-store promotions work well on their own without an accompanying price cut.
Ukrainians love their beer
“In Ukraine, we studied customer behavior in eight categories: confectionery, coffee, beer, spicy snacks, soft drinks, skin and hair care products, tobacco products,” says Svetlana Polyakova, director of OgilvyAction Ukraine.
Here are some important indicators that characterize Ukrainians as buyers:
- 78% make one or more impulsive purchases;
- 79%, when planning purchases, do not indicate the name of the brand in the list;
- 41% make impulse purchases in a product category;
- Loyalty has been talked about a lot in Ukraine for a long time. Probably, great success has not yet been achieved, because 46% of our compatriots make the final choice between brands directly in the store. Of these, a third change their original decision;
- 35% in a store make decisions about how much to buy.
(For comparison: in Russia, 30% of shoppers choose a category in a store and 41% decide on quantity.)
There is a general law: each product category has a different meaning for people, so they make decisions in these categories in different ways. But there are exceptions. Thus, consumers around the world are more spontaneous in their choice of thirst-quenching drinks. Global indicator: 60% of shoppers decide, already in the store, which brand to choose and how much to buy.
In Ukraine, consumers are loyal to beer. They choose between brands only 10% of the time. And 70% of decisions in the beer category relate to the amount of drink purchased. 15% of total number shoppers buy beer spontaneously.
The maximum number of impulsive purchases (Ukraine is no exception) are made by people in hypermarkets or other stores of a similar format. This is due to the great depth and breadth of their range.
Research methodologyThe SDMIS study covered 24 countries of the world. More than 14,000 customers were surveyed in 700 retail outlets. People were asked at the entrance to the store about their intended purchases (intentions), then interviewed at the exit to find out what they had purchased and what manifestations of in-store marketing they noticed. We analyzed product categories, brand choice, and quantity purchased because there are typically three kinds of decisions consumers make in a store:
In all countries, the study covered six categories - beer, coffee, shampoo, skin care products, soft drinks, tobacco products, but additions were made in each national market. The surveys were conducted in large and medium format supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores. |
Trade, for the most part, does not develop at the expense of high demand on a certain range of products, but due to a very interesting phenomenon, which marketers are still studying. Spontaneous purchase. What's this?
Impulse buying - how to increase sales
Have you put a lot of effort and time into attracting buyers? They came, bought bread, milk and sugar and left? Something in your store is planned wrong. Most of modern consumers strives to plan his expenses economically, so it is not so easy to force him to fill his basket to capacity. People tend to make spontaneous purchases if the atmosphere contributes to this.
Display of goods
Proper display will increase sales. You should clearly think over the planogram for the location of goods, brands, product units. A “tasty” layout attracts attention and makes you buy additional goods. Shelves should be complete and tidy, prices should be affordable and objective. Teach sellers how to properly organize the display, demand timely replacement of price tags in order to avoid unpleasant situations at the checkout. Use embellishments for public holidays, banners when designating a promotional product, social positions and other units to which you want to draw attention.
In pursuit of maximum sales, you should use all possible methods and knowledge. Among them, we highlight the effect of color and the effect on olfactory receptors.
Color
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Scientists in the last century studied the phenomenon of the influence of color on human behavior. Yellow excites the appetite, red irritates, green calms, pastel colors are inviting, and rich colors aggravate the atmosphere. It is easy to use such knowledge in the store. Where foodstuffs are sold, appetizing colors should be used, red colors will draw attention to promotions, news. Do not turn the store into a "Christmas tree", arrange the colors very reasonably and clearly, develop your own style, recognizable and effective.
Smells
Vanilla, coffee, the smell of fresh baked goods are not only the most favorite smells of shop owners, all buyers, noticing such pleasant smells, will go to look for where this pleasant aroma comes from. Hot brewed coffee and the aforementioned aromas whet the appetite, and the colors in which the furnishings are decorated further fuel the visitor's thirst for something delicious. Many other scents can help increase sales beyond the grocery area.
Music
Soothing music does not play in vain trading floor. To lull the vigilance and attentiveness of visitors means to significantly increase the percentage of spontaneous purchases. Choose interesting and correct music that everyone will like, and make you a profit.
Direction of travel
Oddly enough, arranging the shelves so that shoppers move counterclockwise is very effective in increasing spontaneous purchases. If even the most purchased items of daily consumption are located next to various products that should be sold faster, their sales will also increase.
Do you want to sell more product? Don't like it when the customer returns the product to the shelf? Use subtle techniques to influence visitors and increase your sales.
Impulsive shoppers are both a pain and a joy for marketers and business owners. On the one hand, it is much easier to motivate them for unplanned purchases than rational buyers, on the other hand, you need to make them an offer that they cannot refuse, and most importantly, at the right time.
While most impulsive shopping so far happens offline, online users are driven by the same feelings and emotions, and as the number of online shoppers is steadily growing, e-commerce players should consider ways to attract impulsive shoppers. The psychology of the buyer, despite the less favorable conditions for spontaneous purchases, remains the same, and with proper marketing, a solid part of the online store's revenue is formed by random purchases.
But who are these impulsive shoppers who have such a strong influence on online and offline retail? Are they mostly married or single? Where do they shop more often: online or in brick-and-mortar stores? Do they regret their purchases? How much do they typically spend on each impulse purchase? In what state of mind do they spend more, and why do unplanned shopping motivate them to spend more?
Today, we'll take a closer look at the mystery persona of the impulsive shopper and talk about the commonalities and trends that you can use to build your marketing strategy.
Statistics and trends
Most people are prone to spontaneous shopping - 84 percent of all buyers make impulsive purchases. On average, there are at least three impulse purchases in every 4 out of 10 shopping trips.
Despite the fact that the majority of impulse purchases (about 8 out of 10) are still made offline, and it is unplanned purchases that account for 60 to 80 percent (depending on the industry) of offline store revenue, the performance of online platforms is not that far off: unplanned purchases account for about 40% of all e-commerce spending.
The financial aspect of impulsive buying
According to statistics, over 40% of buyers spend more on purchases than planned. More than half of US shoppers (54%) spend $100 or more on impulse purchases, including 20% who spend more than $1,000.
Interesting fact that with planned shopping, shoppers are 13% less likely to make impulsive purchases, and with an unexpected shopping trip, they are willing to spend 23% more.
Portrait of an Impulsive Buyer
Single shoppers make 45% more impulse purchases than married couples. Millennials are the most prone to sudden purchases of all generations, with 52% of them saying they love unplanned impulse shopping.
Only 46% of men regret their purchases, while for women this figure is more than half - 52%. Although according to Brandongaille statistics, 75% of buyers feel happy after making spontaneous purchases.
If we talk about the emotional state, then most of all impulsive purchases are made in a joyful and high spirits: 50% of women and 46% of men. Spontaneous purchases out of boredom are made by 32% of women and 28% of men. Curiously, sadness provokes women to buy much more than men: 28% versus 14%. But when drunk, the situation is reversed: under the influence of alcohol, impulsive purchases are made by 13% of men and only 5% of women. In a fit of anger, 10% of men and 13% of women are subject to impulsive purchases.
How to capture the attention of impulsive shoppers
Tip 1. Ensure maximum usability and site speed
To motivate the user to make a spontaneous purchase, you need to create conditions that reduce the time between the moment when he saw the product on the page and the moment of payment.
Shopping under the influence of emotions implies speed in everything: loading pages of an online store website, ease of ordering, fast delivery. The more obstacles a user encounters on their way to a purchase, the more likely they are to change their mind. Good service and ease of ordering at all stages help the user justify an unplanned purchase and ensure loyalty to the store in the future.
Tip 2: Use Social Proof
Positive evaluation of the product by other buyers increases the chances of influencing impulsive buyers. This goal is perfectly served by reviews and blocks “X people bought this product today.” So, for example, the use of social proof in the form of a “purchased today” block in triggered mailings of the Quelle online store made it possible to achieve a 37.8% increase in conversion.
Tip 3: Implement discounts and limited-time offers
A great incentive for unplanned purchases - temporary promotions or special offers with certain conditions(for example, 3 for the price of 2), limited by time frames. These mechanics involve the so-called "fear of loss" and help to attract even rational buyers, because they not only affect emotions, but also show an objective benefit.
The most important thing in impulse buying is to make an offer that will be really interesting to the user. Relevant offers of related and alternative products not only do not annoy users, but also seem useful to them, increasing the likelihood of purchasing additional products.
Similar to products in promotional stands and checkouts in offline stores, offer users related products on the product, category, search, and even cart pages. On the example of the Shoes.ru online store, personal recommendations allow you to increase average check by 11.8%, conversion by 6.9% and ensure revenue growth by 18.4%.
Tip 5. Provoke emotions
Since most impulse purchases are made in a joyful and high spirits, the task of the online store is to evoke good memories or set up pleasant thoughts, for example, about the upcoming vacation or updating the wardrobe for the new season.
Don't use too many details in product descriptions - impulse purchases are designed for emotional response, so more emphasis should be placed on beautiful images and bright buttons. The brain processes visual images much faster than text and has a deeper impact, so use colorful and emotional photographs.
Shoppers at computer screens, as well as in traditional offline stores, are prone to impulsive purchases. And well-made offers, coupled with the convenience of the site and good service of the online store, will help impulsive buyers to enjoy unplanned purchases, instead of regretting shopping under the influence of an emotional outburst.
In our crazy, crazy world, we often spend certain amounts of money on various things. But people have been thinking about saving, probably since the time when two bison skins were given for three leopard tusks. So far, we have not figured out how to change this fang-hide course, but I will try to tell you how to spend less fangs for the same skins.
Let's say that we need to purchase a certain gadget for which we have twenty thousand rubles.
The dumbest thing you can do when you want to buy a certain thing and intend to save money in doing so is to buy it right now. The fact is that you mentally already have a gadget, carry a box with it home, unfold the layers of soft pimply polyethylene, feel the incomparable smell of new electronics, gently, gently press the “Power” button… Wake up! A button and polyethylene with pimples will not go anywhere from you, but a few thousand rubles are easy. Coming to the store in a state of such euphoria, you will not only buy anything (even a car without wheels), but also spend any amount (if, for example, they tell you that there is no gadget for 20,000, but there is a cooler version for 23,000). In order to save money, postpone the purchase of things for exactly a week - and that's it. We will spend this week fruitfully and learn how to buy correctly (and what did you think, saving money is no less work than earning it).
First, let's determine if you really need a new thing. According to British scientists, a person buys new things based on two reasons. Firstly, he may feel a real need for a new thing (“my old MacBook is broken and it can no longer be repaired”), or he buys a thing guided by the fashion principle (“my MacBook seems to be nothing, but then the new MacBook Air came out, it tougher"). So here - The best way save money - do not buy things on the fashion principle. There is nothing wrong or shameful in this. For example, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who is worth an estimated $23 billion, still drives a car he bought 15 years ago and sits in a chair that is 23 years old. And nothing, he is not ashamed!
It seems to you that you can’t do without a new gadget - good. Now sit down and calmly imagine yourself with a new thing (yes, yes, you have often been doing these lately). Imagine how you use the gadget, how often and how comfortable you feel while doing it. Perhaps this will help you understand that you do not need a new thing (for example, you are going to buy a new electronic reader, but in fact you prefer paper books or you don’t have time to read at all).
When you decide to buy a new thing, try to find someone who already has it and use it in a calm environment (you can hardly think straight in a store). How comfortable is the camera in your hands, do you like the feeling of working at the laptop keyboard? You will not pay attention to all this when buying, but this can be a decisive factor in the end.
Read all the reviews and forum posts, both good and bad. Do not read reviews and reviews on store websites, we know who writes them (I'll tell you a secret - me). Try to reach all the reviews, if the thing is expensive - talk to the owners live. Study the information on the forums with a piece of paper, on which write down in one column all the shortcomings referred to by the owners of the gadget, and in the second - all its competitors. Pay special attention to shortcomings that are repeated repeatedly (for example, if users constantly write that the laptop often heats up). Re-read the first list (the list of disadvantages). Perhaps something is a critical flaw for you? That's it (and then they themselves could write such critical posts on the forums)!
As we have already said, we have 20,000 rubles to buy a new gadget. Now we take and subtract 10% of this amount - we have 18,000 rubles left. Calm down, I'm doing this for your own good (predicting questions about the origin of the number 10, I say - 10% was not invented by me, but by the founder of the popular blog about minimalism Zen Habits Leo Babuta). And this number is taken away for a reason. The thing is that any thing has an image factor (and these 10% are just about this factor and characterize). Let someone else pay for the brand and a beautiful nameplate, we are not like that, right? Moreover, the 2,000 taken away will not disappear anywhere - they will be overhead costs. Your new laptop will need a bag, your phone will need a case and headset, your camera will need a memory card, and so on. As a result, you will spend just 20.000 (and not 22.000 - 23.000, as it could be).
Carefully study the list of competitors that appeared with us after analyzing reviews and reviews. Which ones cost 18.000? Emphasize them and start researching reviews of these models. Soon enough, you'll notice that some of the competitors are just as good as what you originally wanted to buy (maybe even better).
Carefully study all available sources of purchasing goods - all physical and electronic stores. Pay special attention to buying abroad, electronics are cheaper there. Know everything about discounts (electronics are usually cheaper in November and December - stores are preparing for the New Year's hype and lower prices). Feel free to ask about discounts and special offers, as a rule, most stores are willing to make a small concession.
When going to a physical store, bring one or two companions with you (they can be friends or relatives). Trick them in advance - the attendants should sparkle with skepticism and pour bile. With such companions, you will not have a chance to break loose and buy the wrong thing. It’s also good to have exactly 18,000 rubles in your pocket and forget your credit card at home.
Help save other people - suggest, advise, teach, take 10% of the amount and snatch money from your hands, prepared for depositing into the cashier for a gadget that is actually unnecessary.
Do not do all of the above at once (this way you will fall out of work and lose more money than they could earn). We have a week, right? Spend half an hour a day on analysis and search, in the evening, when, according to a well-known proverb, there is nothing to do. Many will say, "Is it worth spending time to save a miserable two thousand." First, 20.000 is an example amount (the method works well for both 200.000 and 2.000.000). And secondly, if you can easily spend any amount of money without blinking without the thought of saving at least a little, then forget everything that is written here and sail further on your yacht.
So, friends, I have some advice. I will also say this: in order to have enough money, you need not earn more than you spend, but spend less than you earn. Healthy minimalism and connecting heads have never hurt anyone. Good luck on the battlefields with price tags!