Researchers at University of Rhode Island find that territoriality at store closing time leads to shopper behaviors which could readily irritate front-line employees. Examples include people slowing down their product selection in an effort to assert control or making a mess as a way of expressing anger. If the FLE responds in turn with anger or a struggle for control, this worsens the situation.
To avoid triggering the bad behaviors, FLEs should warn shoppers that the store is closing enough in advance to allow comfortable completion of the transactions, and should refrain from carrying out store closing tasks, such as tidying up shelves or reconciling registers, until the shoppers have departed. If it’s necessary to engage in closing time activities while shoppers are still present, still place primary attention on being of service to the shoppers and briefly explain to the shoppers how the activities are helpful to people like them. Taking care not to intrude on each shopper’s personal space is also recommended. When done well, these measures result in the shopper yielding territory graciously as this need is recognized, finishing up quickly and leaving the store satisfied.
In many other areas of persuasion, too, territoriality is a driving force. Or sometimes a lack-of-driving force. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Georgia State University measured the time it took people to pull out of a parking space they’d temporarily occupied. It would seem that a driver would want to leave the space as soon as possible and that the exit would be even briefer if the driver saw another car waiting to pull in. In fact, this is how drivers surveyed by the researchers said they’d behave.
However, territoriality appears to have applied the brakes. Drivers took about 32% longer to leave their parking space when a car was seen waiting. We might attribute this to the departing driver taking more time to exercise caution upon realizing another car is close by. But this explanation is undercut by the further observation that if the waiting car honked, the time for the egress was longer still. A honk didn’t flag “Here’s where I am” so much as “I want your territory right now.”
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Anticipate Black Friday Syndrome
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