Enable Shoppers to Revisit the Already Done

“Been there, done that” probably makes top ten lists of trite phrases. Which indicates there’s truth in the notion that consumers resist revisiting experiences they’ve already had in your store.
     How then to explain an observation made in a New Yorker article that young children love repetition in television programming? Esteemed shows like “Dora the Explorer” and “Blue’s Clues” invariably follow a well-trodden formula.
     The developmental psychology explanation is that repetition gives children a sense of security. The New Yorker article takes a slight angle on this, saying young children aren’t bored, as adults would be with repetition, because each time the young child watches the program she experiences it in a somewhat different way.
     So the way to explain the observation about repetition is that the article is discussing young children, while “Been there, done that,” applies to all adults.
     Maybe not. The New Yorker article also points out the highly formulaic format of successful adult TV programs like “Law and Order.” Researchers at American University, University of Arizona, and Northwestern University muse on why people will sometimes read the same book a number of times, watch the same movie repeatedly, or go back to the same place and do the same things again. Is it that, like the young child, these people are experiencing it in a different way during each revisit?
     Analyzing in-depth interviews with consumers in the U.S. and in New Zealand, the researchers identified a set of explanations:

• People refresh their memories for favorite experiences
• They seek out details they missed before due to the limitations of human attention
• They want to give the item another chance for a positive impression because of others being surprised at their report of a prior negative experience
• They’ll enjoy being there while friends encounter the movie or destination for the first time

     Novelty has a major appeal for shoppers, and so does nostalgia. Australian entertainer Peter Allen thought enough of the saying “Everything old is new again” to coauthor a song by that title.
     You can attract shoppers by offering a never-ending panoply of new experiences. But that can get expensive. Temper the change with comfortable repetition. The State Fair visitors may rarely be certain what additional item will be offered up fried this year, but they can always take comfort in there being fried something. Comfort, that is, until they go on the roller coaster.

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

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