Shopping behavior

The absolute majority of decisions to purchase takes place in the store. Some people believe that this number is approximately 70%. Making a decision is a visual process which is governed by the presentation of the range of products.

The Nobel Prize in Economy 2002 was awarded to the psychologist Daniel Kahneman. In his theory regarding decision-making, he divides the mechanisms of thinking into one slow and one quick system.

The slow system is the rational and more calculated way of thinking. The quick system, on the other hand, is almost automatic and cannot be turned off. Our quick decisions are largely based on a gut-feeling instead of facts.

This means that we are not receptive to rational arguments when we are in a store. First of all, you need to catch the attention of the customer and then give a visual presentation of an offer which might trigger a quick decision to buy something.

Shopping behavior mostly concerns how we move around and behave in the store. At ICA, the average customer spends 12 minutes in the shop. Only of a few minutes are spent on active searching and choosing products. During the remainder of the so called ”customer walk” – i.e. the route the shop wants us to walk – you are very susceptible to influences. If something can induce you to remain in the shop for a couple of more minutes, you will leave the shop with another two products according to statistics. There are a multitude of tricks which are used to catch your attention.

We might stop at the shelves which have products that are on a special. We will grab a dishwashing brush in the full rack, believing that it is very cheap. And the photo depicting an avocado salad suddenly activates our thoughts of cooking. In the queue going towards the till, it becomes almost a stampede of impulsive purchases.

The question of how one can force one’s way through this hustle and bustle is seldom debated at different companies’ marketing departments. The most common way is trial and error. Another way is to use the experience which already exists, asking those who have already tried most of it.