Merchandise to Fit Purchasing Cycles

Annual weather cycles are somewhat predictable and they affect large segments of your target customers the same way, so you can plan your merchandising to take account of them. In early January, you can pretty much count on everybody being cold if they go outside when your store is in Buffalo, New York and quite warm when outside a store in Adelaide, South Australia. So you’ll stock more stay-at-home and go-out-protected items at one time of year than at the others.
     Consumer behavior research shows that there are also monthly cycles which influence successful merchandising. What makes them different from weather cycles is that the effects vary by customer segment. Still, by being aware of these cycles, you might gain a retailer’s edge.
     Here are two examples to get you thinking about purchasing cycles your store encounters and how to merchandise to fit those cycles:

• Researchers at University of Utah and University of Iowa find that monthly paycheck cycles affect not only how much money people will spend on merchandise, but also the types of merchandise they’ll find most attractive. In the days soon after receiving a paycheck, consumers with full-time jobs become more interested in products and services that help them gain more than what they currently have. This is a time for you to feature the latest technologies and the toothpaste which promises to whiten teeth. Then as the days after the paycheck pass, the person becomes progressively more interested in products and services which help them avoid losing what they have now. They'll become more interested in nostalgia items, familiar brands, and the cavity-fighter toothpaste. The researchers determined that this cycling was not due to a declining checking account balance or to the pricing of different types of products.
• Researchers at University of Minnesota, Texas Christian University, and University of Texas-Austin find that women near the most fertile point of their monthly cycle are about 10% more likely to seek out sexier fashions than at other times of the month. When shopping for shoes, they’ll lean toward the stilettos over pumps and toward revealing blouses over roomy sweaters. The evidence is that this cycle involves competitiveness. If the females in the study were told that attractive women frequented the neighborhood, things moved from 10% more likely to 25% more likely.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Sell Either Protection or Promotion
Acknowledge the Power of Cycles