(Pop Quiz Link Below) It's official: The economy has slipped into a recession. In response there has been a flurry of activity in Washington. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke just cut interest rates to zero in order to stimulate the financial markets. Meanwhile Congress continues to discuss economic stimulus packages and President-elect Obama declares the economy his number one priority upon taking office. But all these efforts are going to take time for consumers to feel the benefit.
Further American retailers -- the backbone of the consumer economy -- simply can't wait for these programs to kick in and stimulate business. Retailers today face a challenging environment where they have too few customers spending too little money. Consumer-insights expert Pam Danziger's latest book, Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, can help retailers today. It is packed full of practical ideas and business-building solutions that retailers can implement immediately and that will help them in the new year.
Danziger's new book "Shopping" helps retailers learn how to attract shoppers and get them to spend more.
"Next year more than ever retailers need to be at the top of their game," author Danziger says. "With shoppers super cautious about their spending, retailers need to give them a reason to come shopping -- but shopping alone can't be the reason. They need to draw them into the store by offering an experience that makes shopping there fun, engaging and entertaining. That is the key for retailers to survive in this recession and what my book Shopping is all about."
Research into the behavior of shoppers has found that two factors are pivotal when it comes to getting people to spend more money when they shop:
- Increase the amount of time spent in the store; and
- Increase the shopper's interaction in the store with the merchandise and the staff.
Danziger says, "In research for my new book Shopping, I discovered seven factors -- what I call the Pop Equation -- that successful stores share that transforms the shopping experience in their store. My book shows through clear, practical examples how different retailers have used each of these seven factors in the Pop Equation to 'make their shop pop.' Retailers can follow these ideas and strategies in order to get their customers to spend more time in their store and increase their level of interaction in the store. And that will mean more sales, more profits and more success."
Retailers will learn by example seeing how 'shops that pop' offer their customers an extraordinary shopping experience.
In Shopping, a retailer that focuses on enhancing the shopping experience is described as a 'shop that pops!' Danziger says, "A 'shop that pops' is one that is transformed from an ordinary store into an extraordinary shopping experience. A shop that pops becomes a destination for loyal customers to visit again and again, not because they need to buy anything, but because they want the thrill of shopping there once more. A shop that pops thrives because all the while shoppers are getting their experiential thrill, they are also shopping and spending money."
Powered by in-depth research about what people want when they shop, Danziger's Shopping profiles extraordinary retailers who have overcome obstacles to succeed, such as:
- Prairie Edge in Rapid City, South Dakota, offers authentic Native American arts and crafts with a big vision. Their goal is not only to sell rare and fine objet d'art, but also to preserve the heritage of the native peoples and to provide a fair price to their artisans. Prairie Edge is one of the early pioneers of 'fair trade' at retail that makes their customers feel involved in the store's greater mission; Nell Hill’s, in Atchison, Kansas, a thriving home furnishings store that has become a destination for clientele, over 90 percent of whom drive more than an hour to shop;
- Charleston, South Carolina's Tiger Lily, a florist shop that has won both local and national awards for their stunning arrangements and superior service. They succeeded only after they rejected what the 'experts' told them they needed to do to run a florist shop, like sell balloons, giftware and other non-flower items. Instead they got rid of all the extraneous non-flower stuff and focused exclusively on delivering ‘awesome flowers.’ With their new laser focus on flowers, Tiger Lily's customers responded with passionate loyalty;
- Feast! in Charlottesville, Virginia, where customers are offered generous samplings of rare artisinal cheeses and locally-grown produce. The store’s rule of thumb is ‘get it in their mouth and make a sale;’
- Damsels in This Dress, Worthington, OH, has transformed from being just a fashion boutique. They offer their customers more than a new outfit — they help their customers discover their own personal style. They bring out the inner diva hidden inside every woman.
"For the nearly 20 retailers profiled in Shopping, they have learned the secret of successful retailing and that is, it is less about what you sell and more about how you sell it. In other words, it is all about creating a shopping experience for the customer," Danziger says. Further the lessons in Shopping apply to both large national retailers as well as small independent 'mom-and-pop' stores and anyone else involved in retail.
Retailers: Does your shop pop? Take the 'Shops that Pop' Quiz
How well is your store doing to create an experience for your customers? How can you enhance the experience of shopping in your store?
Find out by clicking here:
www.whypeoplebuy.com/cms/Home_Page/Pams_Books.php
to download a self-test with advice from Pam about how to make your shop pop.