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Retail Business Environment

Notes The shop-in-shop concept creates an aura of exclusivity. Consumers tend to have higher
expectations about the pre-sale service and the attention given to them. A large store also is
likely to stock several brands and hence all brands in the evoked set would have to compete
with each other to progress from the evoked set to choice set. Large outlets may also have a
built-in provision for a lower price (because of volumes) and hence may be in a better position
to clinch the deal with consumers who may simultaneously consider both the brand and the
retail outlet.

Task Interview 10 people and ask them about their brand or store preferences. Ask
whether they purchase from specific retail stores or they choose brands over stores. Prepare
a short report based on their answers.

7.5 Consumer Buying Process

As well as understanding the retail consumer from the point of view of the masses, or total
potential market viewpoint, the study of consumer behaviour is also very much concerned with
how we consume as individuals. Established theory suggests that each time we purchase
something we go through a process composed of a number of key stages. A retailer needs to be
aware of the extent to which they can contribute to the purchase decision-making process.

Needs Recognition

To begin with, the retail environment itself can be used to draw attention to products and
stimulate impulse purchases. In this case the need is generated during the shopping process
rather than prior to it. In other instances, the recognition of need may be closely associated with
the retail outlet that has become strongly connected to particular items.

Example: An empty refrigerator is more likely to prompt the thought ‘I must visit the
supermarket’, than the specific product-related thought ‘I must buy a box of eggs’.

Information Search

In the second stage, consumers use retail outlets extensively for information about goods and
services. Retailers provide information in many forms, including point-of-sale information,
leaflets and catalogues, websites, interactive product trials such as food tasting, trying on garments
or listening to music, and in the one-to-one advice given to customers about their intended
purchase by sales personnel. In particular, a sales person can help to move a customer from the
stage where they are searching for information about products, to the point at which they start
to evaluate the alternatives on offer and make a choice.

Evaluation

During the search and evaluation stage the retailer itself rather than simply the product may
become the focus of a consumer’s evaluation. Customer loyalty and the value of the retailer’s
corporate brand may encourage a consumer to restrict their search and evaluation activity. It is
in the retailer’s interest to progress a consumer to the purchasing stage efficiently in order to
prevent them taking their custom to a competitor’s outlet.

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