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Tools:
Anti-Design and Changing Consumer Culture
 Tom Moseman, senior vice president of Envirosell, Inc., knows how to turn casual store browsers into customers. His company does not compile research by handing out surveys but instead by shadow shopping – tracking and video taping shoppers to see what they buy and avoid. These techniques have allowed Envirosell to pinpoint buying behaviors and confront customers at the point of purchase with questions about why they bypassed one product and reached for another.
For one thing, “store design fails the retailer," Moseman says, explaining that many beautifully built buildings with attractive layouts and designs may draw customers, but won’t make back in sales the investment put into them. The fastest growing retail chains, says Moseman, are anti-design, usually big box stores. Retailers can still create a pleasant environment for their customers, but they should focus on refining the details of product, price, and presentation based on customers’ needs.
In addition, "The culture you are selling into is changing faster than the culture you are selling out of," Moseman says. That means that retailers and manufacturers must understand the demographics of their customer base as well as their customers´ needs. According to Moseman, the consumer today has greater expectations, more brand awareness, and has changing values about time and money.
For instance, because over 60% of customer dollars are controlled by older Americans, retail product placement decisions should be based on visual acuity and mobility, Moseman says. Retailers should create displays and signage in bigger print or brighter colors to be seen by vision impaired seniors, while shelving and displays should be accessible to an aging population. For example, older men (and young people) are more willing to bend over to find products on bottom shelves, whereas older women prefer to reach items directly in front of them or a little higher.
Another change is that while women still control 75% of discretionary spending, they may not be the ones actually circulating those dollars in the marketplace. More men are not only doing their own shopping but are shopping for their families and their grandchildren. "We have been locked into old-fashioned thinking," Moseman says, "if we think shopping is a woman´s role. Male shoppers are an underserved demographic."
Also, not only are there single-parent households but multiple-parent ones due to multiple divorces. In addition, children can have many sets of grandparents. These families also may have mixed ethnicities and cultures. Therefore, marketing to traditional families may not serve the families within a retailer´s geographic region.
Finally, convenience and savings come in many forms. For today´s customers, time is more valuable than money. They want to be able to find a product quickly and be on their way. "This is the difference between my father’s generation and mine," Moseman says. "They would save money no matter the time or distance. In fact, they would go out of their way to save a few cents." Purchases today are also made for immediate consumption.
Retailers must be savvy in their purchasing decisions and their marketing options. By knowing who the consumer is, the retailer has a better chance of serving their customers´ specific needs and increasing their store´s profit margins.
 Writer's Bio: The mother of two grown children (an artist and a musician), writer Janie Franz once was a radio announcer and did booking for a rock band.
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