Add to Global Warming in Your Store

Whenever shoppers experience rejection or loneliness, they’re ready to buy physical warmth. They feel cooler than do people who aren’t lonely. Studies at Purdue University, Tilburg University, VU University, and University of Milano-Bicocca indicate this is because lonely people are, in fact, physically colder. Experimental subjects who were rejected as suitable partners in a game showed reduced body temperatures, and lonely people reported feeling more comfortable when asked to hold a cup of warm tea or coffee.
     Researchers at NUS Business School in Singapore and University of Florida-Gainesville postulate all this is due to lonely consumers being mammals. From when mammals are very young, any sign of negative emotions produces a desire to be held close to get warmed up.
     In our northern hemisphere, the “lonely customer” effect is greatest around the Christmas holidays, both because the weather is colder and because relations among family and friends gain prominence.
     What should you do? Bear hugs from staff probably won’t work with most shoppers entering your store. Cranking up the heater could burn through your profitability. There would be the fuel cost plus the risk of chasing off shoppers who aren’t feeling cold at all, yet prefer to keep their clothes on while browsing among your aisles, thank you.
     The way around this is to recognize that the research shows psychological warmth in a store also attracts lonely consumers. Romance them.
     Researchers at University of Colorado-Boulder and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology found that study participants who drank cold tea were more likely than those who drank warm tea to subsequently choose a romance movie over other sorts of movies. When another set of study participants were asked to sit in a room that was cold, this increased the tendency to select a romance movie.
     Next, the researchers matched dates of movie rental records with local temperature data. Sure enough, when it was cold, there was a shift from horror flicks toward romantic ones. The enhanced chances of getting a reassuring embrace when watching creature features wasn’t enough to compensate for the shivers up the spine.
     Does this mean you should flirt shamelessly or invite shoppers who look lonely to join you in a dance to your store’s background music? No, but it does mean you should romance the customer professionally. Psychological warmth in your store is a balminess few worrywarts would complain about if it spreads globally.

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

Click below for more: 
Blanket the Cold with Romance 
Romance the Customer, But Professionally 
Get Customers In Touch with Each Other