Keep It Clean

A recent Morpace Omnibus survey of 1,000 consumers concludes that a clean store attracts more customers than does a dirty one:

• Over half the number of respondents said they’ve avoided a business because it looked dirty from the outside.
• Of customers who shopped at a store a single time and did not return, more than one-third said a reason was that when the customer entered, they found the premises to be dirty. More than half said that a reason was that the store interior was so disorganized, the customer couldn’t find what they were looking for.

     The shopper’s perception of tidiness is especially important if you want them to pick up merchandise. When customers handle products, the purchase potential grows significantly. However, researchers at University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, and Arizona State University verify what most of us would have predicted: Customers have less interest in an item on a rack or shelf when they’re thinking about who else has touched it. They feel disgusted at the idea the product could have been contaminated by other shoppers.
     The researchers discovered a few details about what causes and doesn’t cause the disgust:

• The closer a customer is standing to the item when it’s being handled and the more people seen handling it, the more likely it is that the customer will reject the item.
• If a fair amount of time has passed since the customer sees the item was touched, the customer no longer rejects the item.
• The disgust is worse if there is evidence of product damage, but the disgust develops even if there is no visible evidence the product has been damaged.

     Based on all this, here are a few tips:

• Recognize that the shopper begins forming impressions of your store well before they walk in. Keep the parking areas and the store exteriors clean.
• Adjacent to, but separate from, shelving and racks that hold the items to be purchased, have sample items that can be handled by the customer.
• Have staff frequently refold, repackage, and re-shelve in order to remove cues of product contamination.
• Space out items on racks and shelves rather than have them tightly stocked. Research finds this reduces fears of contamination.
• Avoid showing pictures of people handling the product, since research finds that can be a cue which sets off disgust.

Click below for more:
Head Off Concerns about Touching Products
Walk the Parking Areas