CHICAGO -- What can convenience retailers learn from the shopping mall? Turns out, quite a bit. Paco Underhill, one of the world's foremost experts on consumer shopping behavior, says that much as a teenager gets to know "her" mall as her own, consumers can come to identify with the convenience store that best fits their needs and lifestyle.
"For the c-store on a local road, getting to know your younger consumer and addressing them by name is one way to build familiarity and comfort," said Underhill, who will headline the 2008 NACS State of the Industry Summit in partnership with CSP next [image-nocss] month. "We all like to be recognized. In the c-store channel, we want to recognize as many customers as possible; it's important for both the young and the old."
Underhill, founder and managing director of research and consulting firm Envirosell, is one of the leading experts and pioneers in studying consumer shopping behavior. He has worked with dozens of leading retailers to help them understand consumer shopping behavior and how retailers can tap into specific shopping needs to increase sales. His books include Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping and Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping.
Underhill will speak on April 11 at the SOI Summit in Chicago. Some of his insights:
Q: Malls are primarily designed for women. What can c-stores learn about designing for the female shopper?
A: Light, bright and clean are the starts to a female-friendly c-store. Stocking feminine products—from grooming products to confections. Single-serve sizes help. So do female employees. A spotless bathroom is an essential.
Q: You stress the importance of changing out signs on a regular basis to make the offer seem fresh. How can smaller retailers, with limited resources, do this?
A: They can change window displays and front-of-store displays frequently so entering customers immediately see the difference in product selection. If the product selection isn't new, perhaps the store should consider showcasing different products with low sales or from areas of the store that returning customers might not venture to.
Q: Motor fuels dominate our industry's sales, yet most fuel customers shop for price first. How can retailers look to develop loyalty beyond price?
A: Price is important. Advertising clean restrooms also works. Good breakfast and lunch meal deals can work, too.
Q: You have a great deal of data about how people of different demographics shop, but what have you learned about how the same person may shop differently depending upon the circumstances?
A: In a grocery store—the last place a male shopper usually wants to be—he might quickly walk through the aisles with minimal browsing, stopping only to quickly grab what he needs and trying to get through cash/wrap as fast as possible. Meanwhile in a computer store, where he's more interested in the merchandise, he might browse, spend quite a bit of time comparing products and talk to sales associates in order to gather more information.
Q: How important is sampling to a food retailer's offer? How can it be done well?
A: Grocery shopping, for the most part, is a routine shopping experience. A typical family will usually purchase the same products week after week, simply restocking what they've run out of. If they're satisfied with the product they're buying now, they have no reason to potentially waste money on a new substitute product; samples are a good way to mitigate this gap and show them something new that they may enjoy. Retailers can offer in-store samples, while manufacturers may consider selling trial sizes, even if the product is low cost to begin with.
Read more from Underhill in the March issue of CSP magazine.
The 2008 NACS State of the Industry Summit in partnership with CSP will take place April 10 to 12 at the Westin O'Hare in Chicago.
The event is open to individuals from all retailer and supplier companies who are members of NACS. Complimentary registration is available to all NACS retailer members. To register, visit www.nacsonline.com or contact Meredith Thomas at(703) 518-4252 or mthomas@nacsonline.com.
Retailers are still welcome to submit data for the 2008 NACS State of the Industry report. Contact Bob Swanson at (703) 518-4219 or rswanson@nacsonline.com.
Suppliers who want to participate in the event or receive advertising information in the joint NACS/CSP SOI Summit publication should contact Jim Bursch at (630) 574-5075, ext. 224 or jbursch@cspnet.com.
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