The distinction between Mission Shoppers and Possibilities Shoppers has not died, according to researchers at University of Vienna and University of Freiburg. When you watch shoppers entering your store—or track their browsing patterns on your website—do you notice how some of them are clearly on a mission? They go right for a particular item and, if the value is right, they want to buy the item as soon as possible. Other shoppers love to look through the possibilities. Even if they've a specific item in mind, they enjoy digesting the alternatives.
Are men more likely to be Mission Shoppers and women more likely to be Possibilities Shoppers? Yes, at least when it relates to clothes, according to some Stanford University researchers. In general, men shop for clothes out of necessity, and when they do enter the store, it's with a targeted purpose in mind. On the other hand, women are more likely to circulate around so they can socialize, analyze, and discover what's new.
Ecommerce turned Possibilities Shoppers into Mission Shoppers. Because consumers are now accustomed to learning all about the products, the alternatives, and the prices before entering the store, many more of them bullet in with a target in mind, and then leave without even as much as a ricochet toward impulse items.
Still, although there are fewer Possibilities Shoppers, plenty of them still populate bricks-and-mortar stores. Compared to Mission Shoppers, the Possibilities Shoppers end up with larger purchase totals, even if not making those purchases as promptly, when the salesperson activates the proper mindset. The Vienna/Freiburg researchers say that this mindset is one of deliberation. The retailer should encourage the Possibilities Shopper to think about the experience of making the purchase, not only the purchase outcome itself.
Activating this mindset causes the Possibilities Shopper to become willing both to buy more items and to pay a higher price for each item. These consumers can find shopping to be entertaining and are willing to spend for the entertainment.
Be grateful for your Mission Shoppers. They're spending money with you, and they don't waste your time. But also move Mission Shoppers toward being Possibilities Shoppers. Do your store/website displays and merchandise arrangements encourage browsing and upgrading? Are your store aisles wide enough for customers to stand in front of the merchandise without getting in the way of other shoppers? Are your bricks-and-mortar staff creating entertaining encounters?
Click below for more:
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