Author: Paco Underhill
_Paco Underhill_
Reading time: 20 minutes
Synopsis
This book looks at how people shop. It is based on careful observations of shoppers. Why We Buy? (2000) shares ideas on how to design stores. These ideas help match a store’s design to what customers usually do. These summaries explain why shopping needs to be a special experience for customers. They also show how to do this. With many examples, they show how store owners can attract more customers. Small changes can also help you sell more.
What you will learn: Study how people buy things and increase your sales.
Shopping is a normal part of life for us. For a long time, we have gone to shops to buy products. This includes everything from butter to a fridge. But only recently, researchers and shopkeepers started watching how customers behave. The results of these studies are very helpful for store owners.
Knowing how customers move in a store and what makes them buy can help any business. All customers show similar patterns of behavior. For example, they often look to the right more than to the left. This knowledge is important for shop owners. They can use it to sell more products.
But you also need to think about the needs of different groups of people. This includes different age groups or differences between men and women. For a shop to be successful, you should consider all these things. This means when you set up the store, arrange products, and tell staff what to do. The key to getting regular, happy, and paying customers is this: make shopping a great experience for all the senses.
In the next summaries, you will find out:
- why shops don’t need signs on the entrance door,
- why almost all shops play music today, and
- where to put the most important products so customers can find them.
Blink 1 – Watch how shoppers behave to turn them into regular customers.
We have so many ways to buy things. You can find shops everywhere. They are in small stores, big shopping centers, or online. There are so many products that a shop cannot just rely on ads or newspaper notices anymore. These don’t always convince customers to buy from them instead of a competitor.
If you want more paying customers, you must convince them inside the store. People decide to buy things in the shop, not at home or on the street. Many possible customers first enter a shop just as visitors. They don’t come because they need something specific. They also don’t come because they definitely want to buy something and spend money. They need an idea, something to inspire them. They need to think about what they *could* possibly need. Then they might buy something.
Once they are in the shop, you need to convince them to change from visitors to buyers. This only works by creating a perfect shopping atmosphere. The longer a customer walks around a shop, the more likely they are to buy something. This is true if they feel good in the shop, and the staff are friendly. If a customer sees a very long queue at the till as soon as they enter, they usually leave quickly. They won’t even look closely at the special offers.
Today, shopkeepers and store managers need to know why people buy things. This helps them turn visitors into buyers.
For example, a kiosk owner watches who their customers are and what they usually buy. This can help them sell more. If they notice that most customers are Korean or French, they can buy more magazines in those languages. This also helps them get loyal, regular customers.
Blink 2 – Shops should think about customer needs and habits to make shopping easy and pleasant.
Shopping needs to be fun for people to buy things. To make it a good experience for the paying customer, nothing should get in their way. They should never feel that shopping is hard.
Customers are expected to buy many products that they didn’t plan for. So, it must be easy to carry all these items without effort. A good shop thinks about this. It offers things to help customers carry their purchases easily.
For example, shopping baskets can be placed all over the store. This way, customers can simply pick one up whenever they need it. They don’t have to go to the till with just three items under their arm. The baskets should be stacked so that customers can easily reach them without bending down.
Also, the baskets should be big enough. The shop owner also benefits from this. Studies show that larger shopping trolleys, for example, lead to higher sales.
Another important thing is how products are arranged in the shop. They should be organized smartly, based on how customers move. Customers in a shop usually move forward. They don’t often go back to areas they have already visited. This should be considered when placing important and less important products.
Also, people tend to walk to the right. And because most people are right-handed, they also reach with their right hand. So, products on our right side are seen much better. The most important products should therefore be placed on the right side of the shop.
If shops consider all these things, shopping becomes pleasant and simple. This means customers stay longer and buy more.
Blink 3 – A shop must get its customers in the right mood for shopping.
When someone enters a shop, they need time to switch from “outside” to “inside” and settle in. A good shop has a “buffer zone” for this. It gives the customer some time. Right after arriving, no one is ready to shop. They won’t even notice things that might make them buy.
So, anything stuck or written on entrance doors has no effect on customers. It doesn’t matter how colorful the sign is or how big the letters are. At this point, customers are not ready to hear sales offers. This takes time. Even the friendliest salesperson will likely scare a customer if they rush up to them right at the entrance.
The transition area tells shoppers: “Now you are in the world of the shop.” It should be clear through lighting, colors, or design. For example, a pile of a few chosen items just inside the door, like you might see at H&M, is an introduction zone.
To find their way around a shop, customers also need signs. These signs should show where to find different products. To work well, the signs need to be placed where people naturally look and think.
They should cross a shopper’s natural line of sight. They should also be close to the products they talk about. When we see a shelf with engine oil, we immediately think of our car. So, it makes sense to hang a sign next to it. This sign could remind drivers to put spare windscreen wiper blades in their shopping cart.
The amount of information people can take in depends a lot on the situation. This is another reason why signs should be used wisely. Most people don’t want to read a full menu when they are at the counter in a fast-food restaurant. That’s why big, short menu summaries are useful. While customers wait for their food, they have time. They then look at the menu boards above the till in more detail. Here, signs can work well. They can suggest things for customers to try on their next visit.
Blink 4 – Shop owners must find out when and how best to reach male and female customers.
Some ways of behaving are the same for all people. This is true for men or women, old or young. But in some ways of behaving, there are differences between genders. These differences are especially clear in shopping areas. They change how people buy things. Shop owners should think about this in their stores.
For example, women usually spend more time in a shop. They like to browse and walk around. Men, on the other hand, usually don’t want to waste time. They buy more based on sudden urges: They come, see, and buy.
The reasons why men or women buy are also different. So, shopkeepers should think about which of their products are bought more by women and which by men. For example, men mostly buy garden tools. So, if you are selling a lawnmower, you should talk about its powerful engine. Don’t talk about its nice colors.
When men and women shop together, it can often be difficult. This can reduce how much they want to buy. How can you still encourage them to enjoy shopping together? How can you get them to stay in the shop for as long as possible?
A good idea would be, for example, to open a women’s clothing shop next to a computer store. This way, the shopping trip can be good for both. They will most likely have time to buy a lot. This is because no one will rush them or make them feel impatient.
Of course, shops must react to the changes in men’s and women’s roles. If not, they might lose some customers.
Many products that were once clearly for one gender are now bought by both men and women. In the shoe department, for example, you should also think about male customers. Don’t mark technology as a men’s area. Labeling products as typically feminine or masculine can also upset people who don’t like gender-based marketing. To avoid this, it also helps to break stereotypes. For example, hire female staff in car and computer sales.
Blink 5 – Older people are an important group – they need special care.
Besides gender differences in shopping behavior, there are also differences between age groups. Young and old people often handle money in very different ways. Shop owners should try to serve people of all ages. But they should pay the most attention to older customers. Their role in shopping should not be underestimated.
Why?
The first reason is that this group is growing all the time. This means that older people will make up a large part of customers soon. Also, the generation that will become old soon will only have lived in times of wealth and good economy. Unlike today’s older generation, who save every penny due to war and poverty, these people will not hesitate to spend their pensions when shopping. But they will have special needs. Shops today are not paying enough attention to these needs.
First, products must be designed to be suitable for older people. As people get older, they cannot see as well. The text on many product packages is too small for this, especially for food. The ingredients are important information for older people. So, they should be printed in a larger size.
Also, some big markets like technology have not yet adapted to older people. This is a mistake. The young people of today will also get older. In a few years, they will still want to use technology.
Shop owners must also adapt the store’s layout for older people. This means making all areas of the store easy to access. People should be able to get everywhere even with crutches or a wheelchair. They should also think about hiring some older salespeople. Customers will trust them much faster.
Blink 6 – Children need attention when shopping, as they affect their parents’ desire to buy.
Children are often with adults when they go shopping. A fact that is often ignored is: children have a big impact on what their parents buy. How a shop treats children and meets their needs changes what parents buy, or if they buy anything at all.
Shops must be child-friendly, or parents won’t shop there. For example, automatic doors, wide aisles, and few stairs make shopping easier with small children or a pram. But being child-friendly also means removing dangers. This includes electrical sockets or heavy items that could fall from shelves.
A fussy, bored child that parents need to look after makes it hard for parents to feel like buying. It stops them from paying full attention to the salesperson. So, children should be kept busy or looked after. This allows parents to shop in peace. An example is IKEA’s supervised children’s area, Småland, where you can leave your children for a few hours.
This can also work with a separate children’s corner that parents can see from anywhere. This way, parents don’t have to rush through the store worrying about their child. Also, the area should be big and varied enough. This allows children of different ages to play separately.
Product arrangement should also appeal to children’s eyes. Products for children should be easy for their hands to reach. This is because parents often include their children in buying decisions. But you shouldn’t do this too obviously. If products are too clearly placed to get children to want them, parents might get angry.
Shops should make shopping with children easy. They should show that families are welcome. To let parents enjoy shopping without problems, and thus buy more, shops must ensure children are cared for. The shop should also be a great place for children to have an experience.
Blink 7 – Shopping must be an experience for all the senses.
It’s no longer enough for a shop to just have good offers and make shopping easy. To really excite customers and make them want to buy, you need to do more. Shops must give customers a shopping experience. They should be able to feel, smell, or taste what they buy.
Today, customers want to try and touch a product when they shop. A store should help customers with this need. They should offer test products. But shop owners must do this cleverly. They need to regularly change or rearrange the test versions. After all, the product should not look like hundreds of other people have already touched it.
Also, products should be shown in different ways. This helps customers experience the product they want to buy as truly as possible. For example, in a furniture store, the best mattresses will likely sell better if they are displayed in a bedroom setting.
But using the other senses also makes shopping a good experience. Shops should definitely focus on this if they want people to buy. Smells, especially, are becoming the new way to attract customers. More and more shops are using background smells, as well as background music. This creates a pleasant atmosphere.
A shop should also be organized so that customers feel only good things when buying. They should forget the negative parts. Nothing is more annoying than having to stay in a shop longer than you want. Products must be arranged so that even someone in a hurry can find everything quickly. Especially at the till, where the unpleasant part – paying – happens, customers should not have to wait. They should be able to finish this step as quickly as possible. This way, they don’t remember it as too negative and will be happy to come shopping again.
Blink 8 – The internet does not replace shops, but it opens up a new way of shopping.
The internet has become incredibly powerful in the last ten years. It affects our lives in many ways. Online shops have also greatly changed how we buy things. They make it possible to find almost any product. You can compare it with other products and buy from the cheapest seller. You don’t even have to leave your home.
But online shops still have some problems to solve. If you have a problem with something you bought, you can just go back to the shop. You can talk directly to a salesperson. But with online companies, it is often hard to find the right person to talk to. Nowadays, you can return almost anything by post. But for exchanging an item or getting a discount, talking directly to a salesperson is still better.
And if we think that the shopping experience is very important, the internet can hardly compete. Online, you cannot touch or truly experience things beforehand.
However, real shops can benefit from the internet and its services. In the future, the internet will probably not replace shops. Instead, the two shopping models will come closer together.
There are already some examples of this trend that show the future. For instance, Apple products are no longer sold with thick instruction manuals. Instead, buyers get a link that gives them access to all the necessary information online. And now, in many places, you can pay in shops using your smartphone without cash.
This change will affect retail. Shops could become smaller and better for the environment. For example, in the future, they might only work as distribution points. They would only display goods that customers have already ordered online.
Summary
The main message of this book is:
When shopping, all people show similar behaviors. You can study these behaviors and organize your business around them. Things that make us want to buy include a shop’s layout, atmosphere, and how products are displayed. Also important are services made for customers, like seats for older people or play areas for children. If shop owners make shopping a great experience that perfectly fits their customers’ needs, they can expect to sell more.
What you can do:
Focus on good communication with customers.
You can’t always change long queues at the till. But make sure your sales staff are friendly. They should apologize for waits. They could also answer questions about products customers want to buy during that time.
Attract the customer’s eye.
Don’t arrange your products too neatly or perfectly. Otherwise, customers might feel like they are in a museum where nothing can be touched. On the other hand, your shop should not be completely messy. Find a good balance.
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To read more: Meine Marke by Hermann H. Wala
Meine Marke (2011) explains what makes brands like Amazon, Google, or DM successful. It gives readers a look behind the scenes of exciting companies.
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/de/books/warum-kaufen-wir-de