Surgical Shoppers

[john.quinn]

Best Buy Sales at Risk as Surgical Shoppers Lose Impulse: Retail - Yahoo! FinanceNot 60 minutes ago I was engaged with our Benz and Lexus managers discussing traffic and trends in traffic. This coming after an interesting conversation among our management team and corporate trainer this morning.

I love when I spot automotive trends in other verticals. A take-away from the article above:

[Martin has been analyzing shopping patterns for the past 15 years. Typically traffic and sales growth rise or fall in tandem. Last year he spotted something new. Even as retail sales grew 3.5 percent, according to the NRF, traffic declined 0.5 percent, he said.
When the trend continued this year Martin didn’t know how to explain to clients what was happening, so he asked his researchers to dig for answers. They discovered Americans were turning into what he calls “surgical shoppers.â€]

So people aren't even "shopping" at Best Buy or Sears anymore -- they are picking-up what they have already "mentally purchased."

If there are no impulse purchases for DVD's or sheets anymore, what can we expect on our showrooms? This recession has changed sooooooooooo much.....

If you read the whole article, near the end, they talk about "Retailers have also resorted to in-store entertainment and pumping in aromas to keep shoppers in stores..."

I kid you not -- I swear I have an 11:00 appointment tomorrow morning with our Lexus manager to review a contract from a vendor who provides various scents for the showroom!

The game is a'changin again, and fast! Gonna leave another round of businesses in the dust.

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Pretty soon we'll be buying computers that pump out scents. I'll be visiting Cinnabon.com on a daily basis.

 

[Chris Cachor]

I think the writing is on the wall that you'll see new car buyers "mentally" purchase cars online and come to your showroom to pick it up and sign the dotted line. That's how I bought my truck. In fact, I'd even reserve an area on a vehicle details page to spell out taxes (local/state), fees, and a quick check list of what to bring to the dealership when the customer moves from "mental" purchase to physical purchase. I think it's so important that you'll want to focus on the experience just as much online as you would in your store. That's why I'm very adamant about being different and having a great deal of control when it comes to your online marketing and emulating the same experience in your store.

BTW - Carmax is the only automotive retailer I've seen provide this level of data (taxes, fees, etc.) on a vehicle details page, but maybes there's a reason behind not doing this....I don't know. Am I getting carried away here?!

 

[ddavis]

JQuinn, another good thread. "Men were the original mission shoppers, and they adopted e-commerce first because it saved time. Faster Web connections and a better shopping experience drew in more women. This has accelerated change in shopping behavior because women outspend men and retailers have long focused their efforts on them." “Women now go into a store, hoping to go right to what they need like a man would,”

Nobody gets up in the morning saying, "I want to spend my day with a car salesman". Before the Internet, consumers had no choice but to shop several dealerships to see what is out there. Now, statistics show us that they spend, on average, eighteen to nineteen hours before visiting a store. Buyers want know which vehicles best fit their needs and budgets. I'm convinced that dealerships with websites that promise a fast, transparent transaction are the ones that will see those shoppers.

 

[Alex Snyder]

First off Mr. Quinn - fantastic thread :thumbup: I love these philosophical topics!

My opinion begins with a statement: one cannot compare sub 5-digit purchases to over 5-digit purchases (cars, boats, RV's, houses). My opinion continues with a second statement: people are not rational shoppers.

Anytime a study comes out trying to paint emotional behavior out of the equation I walk away from it as fast as possible. I'm not saying anything here has crossed that line, but I like to point that out. On to the topic of this thread:

Why has traffic to traditional retail sites slipped despite sales being up in the last two autumns (years)? Ask yourself what has changed online in the last two years.

• Search? - nope
• Banners/Display? - making a comeback
• Traditional ad spending? - still on the decline
• Mobile improvements? - yes, but mobile traffic is tracked
• QR Codes? - ha ha, GTFO

Hmmmm....what significantly changed that we can't track?

oh yeah! Facebook has been going nuts over the last 2 years and we can't track that worth a damn.

I'm not sure it was the recession that brought these changes, but a better system that makes consumers more comfortable in their purchasing antics: asking friends. Get your head out of the dealership for a minute and think about what you've seen your friends talk about who don't know much about cars. Do they call/email/text you straight-out because you're the car guru? Do they pose questions to their friends on Facebook or followers on twitter?

I'll admit, I had a hard time connecting the dots back to social media (truthfully, I didn't want to), but after someone pointed this out to me I've been looking at my Facebook streams very differently.

And yeah, my opinion is that social media has changed the shopper from one who needed messaging from the seller to one who needs messaging from friends.

 

[john.quinn]

First off Mr. Quinn - fantastic thread :thumbup: I love these philosophical topics!

I have to be philosophical -- have no real concept of reality. And it's Guinn.

But I do kinda disagree with you here.

Ask myself what has changed in the last two years:

1. Proliferation of internet use. I will admit that it's harder to see in less-rural, less "hip" places that were early adopters, but in places like Northeastern PA, it's like a light went on in 2008. I have to assume this was not the only place.

2. People's attitudes toward their money. Plain and simple: consumers have an uneasy feeling in their stomach every time they open their wallets these days. Research=Pepto Bismal

Add 1 & 2 together, and you now have more of an ability to feel better about your purchasing power.

I'll also submit that Social Media has not significantly impacted the "ask friends" category. It's impacted "how" it's done, but word-of-mouth has always been one of the most important factors in purchase consideration -- whether it was in-person, over the phone, or more recently, 3rd-party reviews.

Now, I'm not saying that Social plays little role in Sales (I will say that Facebook plays little role in Sales), but I am saying that our buzzword "Social" is more of a method change than an impact change.

I can remember my Dad installing a new phone on its own line for my sister when she was a young teen. Why? Cause all she did was gab to her friends all day. She still does -- but not on the phone. Is the messaging different? Is the impact different? Nope -- just the method.

Consumer Reports (there used to be an actual magazine published for all you young 'ens out there) -- the original 3rd-party review "site." This "stuff" has always been around -- and been powerful. Methods have changed.

I do agree 100% that many purchases oooze emotion -- autos probably 1st and foremost. But we are living in a time where that enthusiasm is tempered by the need to be at $199 a month. 5 years ago -- bumping somebody from $320 to $370 per month to get that sunroof and wheels? EASY. Now? Oooof.... easier to sell extended warranties. What does that say about purchase intent?

 

[Alex Snyder]

1. Proliferation of internet use. I will admit that it's harder to see in less-rural, less "hip" places that were early adopters, but in places like Northeastern PA, it's like a light went on in 2008. I have to assume this was not the only place.

I would say that Northeastern PA is on the very tail end of the adoption bell curve. Wow! 2008???

2. People's attitudes toward their money. Plain and simple: consumers have an uneasy feeling in their stomach every time they open their wallets these days. Research=Pepto Bismal

All the more reason for them to ask for advice before opening the wallet

I can remember my Dad installing a new phone on its own line for my sister when she was a young teen. Why? Cause all she did was gab to her friends all day. She still does -- but not on the phone. Is the messaging different? Is the impact different? Nope -- just the method.

It isn't just your little sister anymore. And on top of that, the average person on Facebook has 170 friends (bet your sister wasn't speaking to that many friends at one time). That's up to 800,000,000 people who can potentially ping 170 people in seconds. HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Consumer Reports (there used to be an actual magazine published for all you young 'ens out there) -- the original 3rd-party review "site." This "stuff" has always been around -- and been powerful. Methods have changed.

Consumer Reports falls in with Edmunds, KBB, and any other third party "professional" review medium. They are going to garner an audience with a more analytical person (such as yourself John), but there is an entire generation of (your favored Gen-Y'ers and younger) who are not partaking in what is becoming the "new traditional media." Where is this generation getting their buying advice from?

I do agree 100% that many purchases oooze emotion -- autos probably 1st and foremost. But we are living in a time where that enthusiasm is tempered by the need to be at $199 a month. 5 years ago -- bumping somebody from $320 to $370 per month to get that sunroof and wheels? EASY. Now? Oooof.... easier to sell extended warranties. What does that say about purchase intent?

When it comes to extended warranties, I would say that manufacturing is better and people know it. Do you buy an extended warranty on everything you purchase?

Or maybe it is more simple than that. Maybe the world is moving so much faster now, we're just not thinking about the consequences of tomorrow as much as we used to. That might also explain why people are more fixated on monthly payments and money down than the overall purchase price or what the final payout on a loan is.

 

[john.quinn]

@ Alex -- how do you do all these quote boxes? You're so fancy.

But nothing you've said indicates that "Social" has MORE of an impact than it always has. Because of the "potential" to be seen by a zillion people?

How many people do you trust?

I'm not really arguing with anything you're saying above, other than the perception that the "New Social" is significantly impacting retail. I'm saying that "Social" has always had a huge impact on retail, and the only thing you are doing now, in fact, is tracking certain social mediums, where you were not able to track or quantify social impact before the digital age.

In other words, this stuff has always been around. What has changed is the American Consumer.

And to answer your question: now I do! Honestly. It used to be: "Eh, it's a few hundred bucks, if it breaks, I'll buy a new one." Now? I'll pay the $11 to avoid the "surprise" expense later, because my stomach can't handle any more surprises.

And I think that attitude is newly representative of Joe America.

Lastly, Ben Bernanke strongly disagrees with your last statement. One of the reasons consumer spending is where it is -- and the economy is where it is -- is because the American Consumer is much, much more worried about the consequences of tomorrow, and is cutting debt and saving more. The American Consumer is much more cautious: Economists: Consumers won't save the economy

 

[Alex Snyder]

Lastly, Ben Bernanke strongly disagrees with your last statement. One of the reasons consumer spending is where it is -- and the economy is where it is -- is because the American Consumer is much, much more worried about the consequences of tomorrow, and is cutting debt and saving more. The American Consumer is much more cautious: Economists: Consumers won't save the economy

Now we're going into an area we really shouldn't. The economy and how it got where it is and how it is going to get out of where it is, is way too big a conversation for this thread.

 

[JamieS]

Another great thread, so glad I joined up!

There was a stat I heard in the not too distant past that said the average car buyer visits 12 websites and only 1.5 showrooms. That would seem to agree with the term "Surgical Shoppers". My Wife and I are very similar to this ourselves. Nearly every purchase other than say, our groceries, begins online. Why take 20-60 minutes going to the store (any store) when I can save time and gas (money) and shop online.

Alex; great point on FB and the ability for a single person to communicate to 170 in seconds. That is a great way to put FB in perspective.

Chris; you're comment has sparked a few thoughts in my otherwise sleepy brain, thank you!