Retail Boutiques Shopper Behaviour

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 1

RETAIL BOUTIQUES & SHOPPER BEHAVIOUR

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Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 2

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior

It is crucial to get a proper understanding of the practice of consumers of a particular

product. Failure to gain an appropriate understanding of a product will lead to a loss in an

organization. It is difficult to ascertain behaviors of different shoppers since each shopper portrays

different behavior due to variation in tastes and preferences of various commodities. It is essential

to understand different behaviors since responses are dynamic and keep on changing. Belk in the

year 1975 suggested that understanding the dynamic behavior of shoppers helps retail boutiques

to realize the market gap that needs to be filled for successful product marketing of a product is

possible. Some of the dynamic changes in shoppers' behavior are; attitude of a consumer towards

the purchase of a given product, change in technology and evolution of fashion of a given product

and change in the living standards of the shoppers.

The shopper behavior

Assael in the year 1984 postulated that a shopper’s behavior is a code of conduct that a

shopper portrays when the shopper is in the process of purchasing a product, consuming a product

or disposing of a given product. Shopper behavior involves identifying a given product, evaluation

of the different features the selected product shoppers' trends in purchasing and consuming the

product. After a shopper has purchased a product, his behavior is still studied whereby we seek to

ascertain the degree of consumer satisfaction and the extent of consumer dissatisfaction. A shopper

goes through a few steps when in the process of buying a product. Through an evaluation of a

shopper's behavior, one can determine how the shopper looks for a product and how he makes his

decisions. This knowledge on the shopper's behavior works as an important tool in determining

the reason why shoppers purchase a given product and to know the level of satisfaction shoppers'

gain when they purchase a product.

Importance of Shopper Tracking Behavior for Retail Boutiques

When retailers market a commodity, their main intention is to meet shoppers' needs and

demands, and this is aided by studying behavior of different shoppers to come up with a common

conclusion that is likely to cut across all wants of the shoppers under study. Since shoppers are the

most important people for a marketer of a commodity, it is deemed important to know their specific

likes and dislikes pertaining a particular product. This enables retailers to understand what

shoppers require, their tastes and preferences and their wants are fully satisfied as suggested by

Román in the year 2003. Study of shoppers behavior plays an important role for retailers, and other

product marketers and this roles include;

 The retailer can design products in a manner that satisfies the shoppers' needs. Product

design entails coming up with a new product that is intended to be sold to the final

consumers. Studying the behavior of shoppers will give retailers a clue about the kind of

product consumers' demand that full satisfies their wants.

 The retailer can come up with a decision on where a product or service should be provided

to meet the shopper's demand and hence tap all the shoppers' potential purchases that are

aimed at increasing revenue and returns to the retailer. I identification of a business location

is very crucial since poor business location can lead to poor performance of a business.

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 3

Boutique retailers should ensure that proper decisions are made concerning Location

identification.

 Product price is determined by monitoring the amount that is acceptable to all shoppers.

This increases general acceptance of the product and also grow in sales which leads to

higher returns hence a retailer can realize higher stable and consistent profits. Correct

Product price determination is achieved through the careful study of consumer behaviors.

 The retailers can identify the best way in which a product should be promoted to attract

more shoppers and hence lead to the realization of higher business gains. Through carrying

out a study on behaviors of shoppers, boutique retailers can identify a method of consumer

attraction that can reach many consumers faster and efficiently.

 Study of shoppers' behavior helps retailers to identify how other factors influence the

decision that a shopper makes.

Boutique retailers also play the role of marketers since they sell products to final consumers

who are shoppers. Hence it is crucial for them to understand shoppers' behavior. Study of shoppers'

behavior assists retail boutiques to identify specific locations where that will supply a commodity

to a specifically targeted group of individuals. The main aim of a retail business is to make many

sales. This implies that there will be much profit realization as many deals will be made. With the

increasing technology, many shoppers have much knowledge concerning a range of products, and

hence it is not easy for one to convince them to buy a particular product. Xu and Walton in 2005

said that, much research concerning the behavior of shoppers has to be done to realize main areas

of interest for the product by the consumers. The following reasons imply the necessity of tracking

the behavior of shoppers for retail boutiques;

Having a better understanding of the practice of shoppers in buying certain products.

An investigation about the shoppers' behavior by a retailer helps the retailers to establish the

purchasing behavior of the shoppers, and hence the retailer is capable of predicting when and why

a shopper purchases a particular good. Through the interaction of retailers and the shoppers, it

becomes easy for the retailers to know the level of consumption of a product and the reason behind

disposition of a good and hence retailers are more aware of the products that they sell. Study of

shoppers' behavior also helps retailers to understand the shoppers' conduct after they have

purchased a product and hence this enables retailers to have a complete understanding of all the

phases a shopper undergoes. This phase involves the pre-purchase behavior which is barely the

behavior of shoppers before they purchase a product and post-purchase behavior which is the

shoppers' behavior after he purchases a product. It is evident from past studies that different

shoppers portray different responses for a given product in that they buy the good for various

reasons, they pay different prices for the good and use the goods for different purposes. Different

shoppers also have a different emotional connection with the given product.

Creating shoppers and retaining them

The principal objective of retailers is to develop and maintain shoppers. It is believed that

if a shopper purchases a product and he finds that the product satisfies his needs, then the shopper

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 4

will undoubtedly purchase the product again. Due to this fact, retailers should aim at inventing

techniques that can lure and attract shoppers to buy a given product. This will eventually retain the

initial shoppers of the product and create new shoppers for the product. It is evident that shoppers

of a particular product live with other potential shoppers of a similar product and when a loyal

shopper of a product purchases a product will want to share his experience with another person

who most probably may not have come to a cross such product. The loyal customer is likely to

convince the other person to purchase the same product brand. Providing information on the

website is essential in promoting retail sales since constant updates and convincing to buy a

product through online sites makes a shopper who purchased a product but was not satisfied with

the product to retry the same product.

Having a clear understanding of the factors that influence the buying behavior of the consumer

Retailers should have a proper understanding of factors that affect the behavior of shoppers;

these factors range from social, behavioral factors, cultural factors, psychological factors, and

personal factors. A proper understanding of these factors enables retailers to market their products

to the right targeted group at the right time and location. Retailers should take into consideration

the cultural practices of the people and their religious affiliations. Also, the retailers ought to look

at the lifestyle of the target group so that they can come up with effective strategies that can easily

convince shoppers to purchase a given brand of a product. Hence the retailers should ensure that

they correctly ascertain factors that influence shoppers since this are the factors that determine

their demand for a commodity. If retailers fail to correctly identify these factors, they will also fail

to identify factors that affect the shoppers and hence they will not establish the customer demands

precisely. Due to lack of understanding of the shoppers' demands retailers will make minimal

profits.

Increasing the knowledge of retailers which in turn influence the shoppers to purchase a product

Marketed products constitute the behavior of the shoppers, and hence if retailers can

accurately and effectively sell their products, there are high chances that the product will reach the

targeted individuals in the right period. Consumer need deals primarily with products people need

and would want to buy against what is available in the market that can satisfy their requirements.

It is essential for retailers to have complete knowledge of shoppers' needs so that the retailer can

communicate to the shoppers all the benefits of a particular product to the shoppers. Retailers

should ensure that they have total command over their languages since anything that retailers say

has a direct impact on the outcome. Misunderstanding of retailers by shoppers will automatically

harm the reputation of a particular product.

On the other hand, retailers should ensure that they have a more full range of knowledge

concerning a particular product since if shoppers will have much experience that exceeds that of

retailers, the retailers will not be able to meet their targets of sales maximization due to difficulty

in convincing the shoppers to purchase a new product in the market. In some cases, some variables

are not distinct and hence are difficult to define. When such a situation arises, consumer theories

and concepts are used to predict the consumers purchasing behavior to a reasonable extent. Due to

the presence of variables that cannot be readily observed, it is essential for boutique retailers to

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 5

continually research on consumer behavior concepts and theories hence gaining broad knowledge

to be able to apply the ideas for successful evaluation of the market.

Understanding a consumer decision to dispose of a product or service

Product disposal is the act of throwing away a product. Shoppers can decide to throw away

a product if a product that is purchased for a given reason fails to satisfy the intended need. To

track down this trend, retailers employ effective strategies that include making a follow up to the

shoppers so that they can ascertain the reason behind the disposal of a given product. Some retailers

deal with this issue by allowing an exchange of the failed product with a better product, providing

reasonable warranties for the product and refunding money to shoppers who come across such

problems. By some extent, these strategies influence the behavior of consumers by some degree.

Various ways of product disposition vary from product to product. Psychological factors and

situational factors are the main factors that lead to the disposal of multiple products. Psychological

factors that influence the disposition of products include emotions, mood, and social class while

situational factors include product fashion, product reliability, and product durability. A good

example of products that were disposed of are the old abacus computers that were large were later

eliminated due to advancement in technology, affordability and portability and change in size to

smaller portable computers.

Enable retailers to optimize sales of a product and creating of focused market strategies

Theories of consumer behavior help retailers to have extensive knowledge of practices of

consumers which enables consumers to develop effective strategies that increase sales. The

opinions also give a guide on how shoppers spend their money and the causes that make the

shoppers spend their money on particular products (Samuelson 1938 pp.61-71). By studying the

different consumer strategies, one can know the different choices that make a consumer to buy a

specific product. The following factors should be considered when analyzing shoppers' behavior

to increase product sales and also to enable effective marketing strategies;

 The taste and preference of shoppers. Retailers should clearly define consumers'

interest in the product by breaking down the targeted shoppers into smaller segments

that may vary according to age, the location of the shoppers, and location of the

shoppers and the occupation of the shoppers.

 The rational behavior of the consumer. Consumer behavior theories suggest that

shoppers will want to gain maximum utilities and satisfaction by spending the

minimum amount of money. But since money is scarce and limited, shoppers may use

their money to purchase necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. Hence retailers

should be cautious when analyzing the shoppers' behaviors.

 Product features. Addition of elements to products tends to increase the prices of the

products. Due to this shoppers will manage to purchase products that have additional

features that go for an affordable price. Hence profit maximizing retailers ought to

ensure that the products that they offer in the market have maximum utility at an

affordable price.

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 6

 Knowledge of a consumer about a product. Most shoppers are so much keen on

selecting products that they are familiar with. It will be difficult to convince people to

buy a particular product if they are aware of the health effects of the product. For

instance, it will be challenging to sell foods with high-fat content to consumers who

are watching their weight.

 Product price. Boutique retailers should ensure that prices of products are kept low

while maintaining the quality of a product so at attracting consumers. Most of the

consumers will prefer to purchase products that are sold at a lower price but meet their

wants.

Ways Used by retailers to track customer behavior.

Use of store loyalty cards

Retailers use loyalty cards to track the behavior of consumers. In most cases credit cards

are offered for free. Retailers will offer discounts to only customers who own loyalty card. By

doing this, many people will opt to own credit cards so that they can also have an opportunity

of accessing the discounts offered on products. This practice is commonly practiced by grocery

retailers to track consumer spending habits. As consumers purchase different goods, their

demands are monitored. For instance one may realize that after buying an expensive appliance

for example a television set, he will start receiving emails offers for discounts on television sets.

The more a customer shops, the more the retailers learn about his demands and hence they are

able to send the customer specific offers that keep the customer spending on the products.

Use of customers’ phone number.

Retailers ask for customers’ phone numbers at check points. The phone numbers and

email addresses are then attached loyalty cards. Retailers are able to analyses consumers’

purchasing habits by the use of phone numbers. The retailers will then analyze the purchasing

information and they will be able to determine in advance what you may need in future so that

they can offer it to you. For example a young woman who may be shopping things that are

associated with pregnancy, the retailer may predict that the lady may need maternity clothing

and baby furniture and playing equipment.

Customers’ smartphone

This refers to the technology used in customers’ smartphone. Through innovation of

geofencing technology, a technology that uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, retailers are able to identify

a customer who is approaching or entering a retail shop. People who have applications like

cartwheel on their smartphone will realize that offers increase allover a sudden as they

approach a retail shop. This is a strategy employed by retailers to ensure that you keep on

spending on the targeting retail stores. Since they already know a customer’s shopping habits,

they present offers that entice the customer to buy the goods. When a customer makes a

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 7

purchase mostly using the application, retailers know how effective their offers are and they

also know specific items that the customer needs.

Use of free Wi-Fi

There is nothing really free, retailers used the strategy of providing free Wi-Fi to get important

information from users of the Wi-Fi. Retailers are able to know spending habits of customers

since they get crucial information about the part a customer follows from the check point and

offers that a customer stare at for some time in in the retail shops. Retailers are capable of

tracking customer needs and can know the reason why some retailers will be more successful

than others, and if there are places that customers overcrowded, they easily identify the places

and fix the problem. The main aim is to make the consumer happy and as a result the customer

will spend more in the retail shops.

Use of website cookies

A cookie is a small piece of data that is stored in a phone or computer that provide

essential information about consumer’s movement in a site. It provides important information

about the last visited site by a consumer. Retailers take this advantage to access areas visited

by consumer and from the information they gather, they are able to give offers to consumers

so that consumers can buy goods they forgot to include in the shopping list. For instance hotel

managers use this strategy to estimate the number of customers that are likely to visit a

particular hotel. If many customers search for a particular hotel, hotel managers will know that

the hotel is in high demand, hence managers will increase prices in the hotels.

Use of CCTV equipment

Retailers use cameras to recognize customers entering a retail shops and how they react

to various products on offer. Though facial expressions, retailers can predict whether a

customer likes a certain product or not. As technology develops over time, specific

advertisement will be tailored for specific people as they walk through a retail shop. As a

pregnant walks through a retail shop adverts about maternity products. Which changes to

adverts of toys as a family with children passes through the same area.

Use of social media

Social media accounts include Facebook accounts, instagram, twitter and snap chat.

Retailers use this plat forms to push offers to customers. With the aid of sophisticated software,

retailers are able to interact with customers. If a customer likes a given product retailers in

social media provide liked that let a customer to purchase the product instantly. Retailers give a

customer rewards for sharing a certain offer and the more a customer shares the adverts the

more they learn about his spending habits. Due to this reason, customers are steadily

monitored on social medial and they are given offers that fit their spending habits.

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 8

Industry based example of tracking behavior for retail boutiques.

Analysis of consumer behavior in supermarkets.

In a supermarket, there is an indoor tracking system that that monitors shopper’s

behavior. In the supermarket customer movements are critically analyses with an aim of

gaining insight to the habits of customers. This optimizes the store design and product

placement in the supermarket. The indoor tracking is supposed to allow for a more needs

oriented personnel planning. With the help of indoor localization through Bluetooth, the sales

chart location is determined in the sales area. In the backend, customer routes are visualized by

analyzing utilization at the important areas such as the cash desk, the personnel requirement

can be identified effectively. In addition, a passive RFID system can be used to create a link

between customer movements and the purchases he makes. From the results, shopping

profiles can be derived.

In order to track customer movement, Bluetooth low energy beacons are installed on

the shopping cart and shopping baskets. Infsoft Locator Nodes which are located in the

supermarket capture the beacons and forward their position to infsoft locaware platform

where the walking routes are displayed. The shopping carts cannot only be equipped with BLE

BEACON, but also with an RFID tag, which is scanned at the cash register by a locator node. By

matching the data with the receipt’s time stamp, the correlation between the customer’s

movement and his purchases can be established.

Asos is a practical example of a company that tracks shoppers’ behavior.

Online fast-fashion retailer Asos sells a mixture of its own brand products alongside brands like

Nike and Tommy Hilfiger across the globe. The company is located in the United Kingdom. By

continuously committing to improve the customer experience through technology, the

company has become a true multi-channel retailer where customers can shop via the web,

mobile phones, Asos app and social media. Creative social media campaigns and a keen

understanding of its customer base grew the brand’s instagram following to 6 million and

celebrity endorsement from Jessica Alba to the Obama’s have helped Asos to be revered by

millennial. The online first nature of the business has allowed Asos to avoid the onslaught of

increasing rent and property costs that affects its high street competitors. The retailer’s

revenue has risen by twenty seven percent while United Kingdom sales rose by sixteen percent.

Implications of shoppers' tracking behavior for retail boutiques

Shopper behavior theories play an essential role in the retailers in boutiques since they

define shopper needs and wants. Hence products should be effectively and efficiently marketed to

realize the profit and sales maximization goals of a firm. By studying consumer behaviors, retailers

can define the various factors that lead to determine the decision of a shopper to choose a given

brand of a product. Failure to understand this factors will lead to the failure of a firm to achieve its

set targets.

Retail Boutiques & Shopper Behavior 9

References

Assael, H., 1984. Consumer behavior and marketing action. Kent Pub. Co..

Belk, R.W., 1975. Situational variables and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer

research, 2(3), pp.157-164.

Román, S., 2003. The impact of ethical sales behavior on customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty

to the company: An empirical study in the financial services industry. Journal of Marketing

Management, 19(9-10), pp.915-939.

Samuelson, P.A., 1938. A note on the pure theory of consumer's behavior. Economica, 5(17),

pp.61-71.

Xu, M. and Walton, J., 2005. Gaining customer knowledge through analytical CRM. Industrial

management & data systems, 105(7), pp.955-971.

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