Retailers want shoppers to like what the shoppers see. Neuropsychological research at Copenhagen Business School and the Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance verifies how it works the other way around, too: Shoppers tend to see what they like. And it turns out, this also works the other way around in a different sense: Shoppers tend to have enhanced perception of disliked items.
The researchers began by asking a group of consumers to evaluate their preferences for 104 well-known brand names. Next, study participants were individually shown the brand names, one at a time, for brief intervals and asked to state for each, whether what was shown produced “a clear experience” of seeing it, “a vague experience,” or “no experience.”
Those brand names a consumer had rated most favorably were the most likely to later receive ratings of being seen clearly. They were seen more clearly than those brands the person rated negatively or neutral.
But there was another finding: Those brands rated negatively were more likely to have been seen clearly than those with a neutral rating.
When a retailer sees a shopper looking at an item, the retailer might assume the shopper especially likes that item. However, the truth is that the item might have drawn the eyes like a magnet because of negative reactions.
Noticing facial expressions, body posture, and gestures can help you determine which is which. Best of all is asking the shopper with an implied question. “I notice you paying special attention to that item….” Leave the rest of the question, “Why are you staring at it?,” unsaid, since that part could put the shopper on the defensive.
Also, as you bifurcate—divide your impressions into the two implications of “the shopper really likes it” and “the shopper really dislikes it”—recognize that characteristics other than the brand name serve as eye magnets.
Package design and package contents, for instance.
Researchers at University of Southern California found that when packages stand out from others, they not only draw the eyes and hands toward them, but also tend to be judged by shoppers as a better value. In one study, people were shown two grocery packages holding identical quantities. The people were told that the prices of the two were the same and the quality was similar. Most of the study participants thought the attention-attracting package was bigger and therefore was the better buy.
Click below for more:
Position Prized Items to Grab Attention
Notice Where Entering Shoppers Look
Keep Your Eye on Merchandising to the Right
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