How
much of our shopping is driven by planned deliberate choices and how much comes
from our sub-conscious thoughts as we walk around shops. A recent study by
Nielson's in the US suggested that around 70% of supermarket purchases were
planned leaving a massive 30% to "on the spot" buying decisions and
it was suggested that the supermarket experience translated to all forms of
retailing.
Your
sub-conscious may work through simple idle thought. You are thinking about the
upcoming weekend and suddenly realise that you need to buy an item for a
particular activity. Or you may get distracted by something while doing your
shopping. This is why supermarkets have cooking demonstrations at key locations
in store. Getting customers out of their focused shopping list mentality and
into more open purchasing mode is the name of this game.
The
same works at QVM. Many of the customers walking through the top end of the
market are on their way to buy food with shopping list in hand. These are potential customers and if
Nielson's are correct, the potential for sub-conscious sales is quite large.
The secret is to grab their attention and we do that through irresistible
displays and ideally a bit of theatre. Giving your stall the right appeal
through a well merchandised, attractive display, and creating a significant
point of difference with your surroundings, is likely to translate to more
dollars. Getting customers to think outside their formal shopping trip and to
embrace the sub-conscious is the challenge.