Escort Shoppers on In-Store Travel

You realize that when your shopper asks where an item’s located, it’s better to walk the shopper there than to extend your finger and say, “That way.” You and your staff know the store layout so well that it’s too easy to assume the shopper won’t get lost on the way, even in a small store. Older shoppers are especially likely to feel offended by the extended finger. They might abandon their shopping carts and leave in frustration.
     On the other hand, there are many shoppers—more often men than women—who prefer to walk around a store by themselves, and there are times—such as if there are few staff and many shoppers—when it’s difficult to lead one customer to a destination. In these situations, we’d still like to encourage the shopper to travel. As the shopper walks, they’ve the opportunity to see more of your merchandise which might interest them and read more signage about the services you provide.
     Researchers at New York University-Stern, University of Pittsburgh, and Drexel University found that a coupon requiring shoppers to travel farther from their planned path to obtain the discounted item resulted in an average increase in spending of about $21.00. When the coupon didn’t require wandering from the planned path, the increase was instead about $14.00. The researchers suggest that retailers use mobile technologies to identify a shopper’s location in the store and offer a deal that requires travel to another part of the store along with navigation instructions.
     A personal escort can be even better, though. As you walk with the customer, talk about the items you’re passing by. You’ve heard what item the shopper is looking for, and you can see what items the shopper’s already selected. What else might this shopper also benefit from having, but perhaps overlook? The motivated shopper can have tunnel vision. They’re on a targeted search.
     This is a different situation than with a bounce-back coupon, where the customer can get, let’s say, 50% off any single item selling for under $30.00. The shopper holding that coupon will walk up and down aisle after aisle, carefully evaluating one item after another, turning over in their mind how they’ll use this opportunity.
     The salesperson escort who appreciates what your store carries can stimulate some of that passionate examination, whether or not the shopper has a coupon, by being a guide with pride.

Click below for more: 
Use Bounce-Back Coupons 
Structure Your Layout for Shopper Mission 
Increase Repeat Customers’ Unplanned Buying