Targeting both customer experience (CX) and business profits
How successful “retailers” do what they do best behind the scenes
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why you picked up so many extra items that you didn’t initially plan on buying at your local supermarket? Why do you think that is? Is it because you are the worst person in this planet to stay away from temptations? Or, is it because you think there’s something going on behind the scenes that you are not instantly aware of?
For this short article, I’m going to unravel some of the mysteries around the topic of the retailers’ strategies in targeting customer experience and business profits. So, without further ado, let’s find out!
Colorful greetings at the entrance
As soon as you step into the store, it is most common to first see the colorful fruits and vegetables section. Every season and also during the various holidays, the stores often reorganize the layout in order to make it more visually appealing to the customers. And the vibrant colors of the fruits and vegetables easily stimulate your eyes and your brain so that you can start your shopping experience more pleasantly. According to some of the research, people tend to feel excited, joyful and welcomed when they encounter a glaring scene.
Hmm.. what else did you notice? Did you happen to notice that a lot of the fruits and vegetables stands are quite lower than your height? Actually, the stands are designed in such a way so that the customers can easily view other interesting items beyond just fruits and vegetables. Moreover, the customers are able to get a sense of how large the store is: more aisles beyond the stands with other customers walking around with carts contribute in turning them into explorers.
While these are strategies for the store to generate more revenue and to bring customers deeper into every part of the store, they are also kind and caring considerations for the customers to feel more welcoming and excited.
Liquor section at the very back
Interestingly, a lot of the stores have the liquor section at the very back of the store. For a while, I’ve always questioned myself why the wine, beer and sometimes cheese or salami sections are near the end. During my research, I was able to find out that customers who regularly come to purchase liquor tend to be already fixated on what they are looking for (ex. Beer, Wine or snacks that go well with them). Therefore, by putting the liquor section at the back, the store induces the impulse purchase of the customers while they are looking around (and walking) as they arrive at the liquor station. This turns out to be a great business strategy for the store.
So, why does this bring a better customer experience? Well, it’s a very simple idea actually. Imagine yourself on a date either in your neighborhood or at a new place. I bet there were times when you discovered interesting restaurants or a dessert places by accident that you wanted to try out. Similar to this, as you are entering the store with a short list of things to buy (wine and cheese) in your head, you might discover other items that capture your interest. You might have thought of coming out of the store with just two or three items but realize later that you actually have to go back to the front of the store to pick up a basket or a cart.
Children are also customers
This is my favorite and you may have not noticed this so pay attention! A lot of the stores aim to organize the shelves so that the cheapest toy is at the very top and the most expensive ones are at the bottom. Why? This is because toys or other kinds of items that children love to get their hands on sell more when the children are able to view them directly. By directly viewing I mean, considering the children’s height and their eye levels.
Since children have smaller height, they’re eyes typically circle around the lower shelves as well as their reach. Therefore, by putting some of the expensive but best-selling toys there, the store is able to get the maximum profit out of the parents!
For this specific strategy, I want you to think about how the store not only strategically organize the shelf to target specific customers but how they actually care about the children and especially their experiences at the store.
See-through shopping carts
Did you notice wherever you go, the shopping carts all look alike? Just like in the picture above, you are able to look through everyone’s cart to see what they have purchased. But! Do you know why it’s designed this way? This will be another “aha!” moment for you.
Typically, as you are shopping and move around from place to place, you might notice yourself looking inside other people’s shopping carts unconsciously. Remember the last time you visited the local store. Have you ever taken a look at other customers’ carts? I bet you are nodding your head right now!
Interestingly, the shopping carts are designed in this specific way so that the customers leave not only with the specific items they needed to purchase but also with a lot more. By glancing at other people’s carts, a lot of the customers actually remember additional items to purchase and sometimes even trigger impulsing buying behavior.
Conclusion
Quickly in about 5 minutes, I hope you gained some insights on a few strategies of the store. Honestly, not all the stores will do this but there are more stores that do similar things to first, generate more profit and second, to keep bringing customers back to their store. Of course, there will be many more other factors such as the freshness(quality) of the food, employee friendliness, cost and more. The point of this short article was to introduce some of the things that you might find interesting through reminiscing your last store visit.
Thanks for reading!
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