Shopper Psychology

I recently read an interesting article from SmartMoney that reminded me of how much I like the people side of marketing. I wrote a brief post awhile back simply pushing us all to remember that we market to people. Now that the holiday shopping season is in full swing, I think its a good idea to take a minute to understand how we shop. The article explains a few interesting research findings that I'll summarize here.

Basically, when we try something on or test it out, the "endowment affect" sets in. If we own something, we perceive it has a higher value than before. Furthermore, ownership can begin even when we are only trying something on. Think about how seeing detailed images, videos, and consumer ratings of products online can help you imagine the product as your own.

Also beware of shopping near attractive people. Our evolutionary need to reproduce plays a role in how we communicate the right attributes as we shop. And, whatever you do, don't let anyone touch you while you're shopping.

Lastly, we all know the 99 cent trick where retailers price items at $1.99 rather than $2. I guess our minds are so damn good at simplifying life for us that it's really hard to not pay attention to the leftmost digit.

For more detail about the studies that give light to our shopping minds, check out the article. Knowing these techniques can help persuade you to buy something does not make them all bad. Trying on a pair of shoes or touching a sweater to see if its as soft as it looks can be very beneficial to both the interested and the brand. And if pricing something at 1¢ below the next dollar amount, even if we know it clearly makes us more likely to buy, its better than being priced at 1¢ above. ;)

We are talking about people. People.

I was thinking about our brand's audience this afternoon, because that's what I do. I think about our audience at work. And sometimes after work. And sometimes before work. And sometimes when I drink. I'm kidding. Not really, I work on a beer account. Anyway, you get the point. Today, I got the feeling that when we call people "consumers" or "shoppers" or "customers" or fill in the blank, we tend to think of them as something else, as though because people are shopping or consuming (the actual product or our messaging) they've suddenly undergone a confusion causing transformation. And these all illusive "shoppers" are a big code to crack. What is it they really want? What need do they have that has gone unmet? What insights do we have into their decision motivations that can help us strategically place our brand into their lives? As any brief says, the list of questions goes on. And it's not that I don't love these questions, I do. I just want to take a moment to think about who it is we are talking about. People. People who are not all that different from you and I. They are not overly involved with every decision they make. Are you? Do you make some decisions very quickly and take days, weeks, or even months to make others? I'm not trying to say that people are not complex, WE ARE. And we all have underlying motivations behind our behaviors and an understanding of this is crucial to any good advertising strategy. I'm just reminding myself and any of you lonely readers (insert echo) to occasionally remove the marketing and "shopper" lens and take a different look through the people lens. After all, I believe a good product can connect with a real person who has a real life.

Shoppers don't necessarily inspire me, but people do.