Stop the Nagging Among Shoppers

Shoppers don’t like being nagged. By you or by each other. Especially by their own kids. Too much of it, say psychologists at Duke University, and the shoppers get anxious to bolt out the door. And you lose the sale.
     This could be a particular problem at the cash/wrap. So how about the decision by Hy-Vee supermarkets to remove candy bars, gum, and other sweet treats from checkout counters throughout the chain?
     It’s not a brand new idea for Hy-Vee. In January 2011, some Hy-Vee stores introduced the change. It’s also not a brand new idea in the industry. Back in 2007, Loblaw Companies Limited, as Canada's largest grocery retailer, began gradually rolling out what they called “Clutter-Free Check Out Lanes.” If you wanted your candy, you bought it in the larger package in the candy section of the main store.
     Hy-Vee publicized the checkout lane system as a healthy living initiative. Hy-Vee also hires dieticians to be on store staffs. Loblaw said the change was to make the checkout process quicker. They also removed magazines and batteries from the cash/wrap area.
     But there’s also the nag factor. Loblaw got congratulations not only for cleaning up the overstuffed cash/wrap area, but also for enabling parents to guide their children and themselves through candy-free alleys, making it less likely the whole family would end up overstuffed. Superquinn, one of Ireland’s most respected supermarket chains, removed the candy from the checkout counters because, company founder Feargal Quinn was quoted as saying about the kids, “They kick up blue murder until the mother buys them something from the display of goodies.”
     It’s true that Mr. Quinn anticipated losing considerable revenue by preventing sales of the nag-buy items. And Loblaw may have been cheating company stockholders out of dividends by forgoing the chance to make all those small last-minute sales when a shopper is waiting in line.
     Hy-Vee did not transform all the checkout areas in a store to the healthy food format. We wouldn’t want to nag shoppers into giving up candy if they choose to indulge or if they actually welcome the kids kicking up blue murder so that the adult has an excuse for stuffing the stuff in.
     In your retailing, give the consumers choices. Also stay aware of ways you can head off the types of nagging among shoppers which irritate some of those shoppers.

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

Click below for more:
Prime Your Shoppers Below Awareness
React When Faced with Reactance
Make Waiting in Line Interesting