Spending too long in the shops? Wonder why?
"The amount of time a shopper spends in a store (assuming he or she is shopping, not waiting in line) is perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much she or he will buy. Over and over again, our studies have shown a direct relationship. … The majority of advice we give to retailers involves ways of getting shoppers to shop longer."
Paco Underhill, Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping
Paco Underhill is an environmental psychologist and works with his company Envirosell to help the retail industry sell more by using "traditional market research techniques, anthropological observation methodologies and videotaping".
His book Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping is essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about why we behave the way we do in supermarkets.
The Envirosell website contains some interesting case studies to help you understand how sophisticated this research actually is. Next time you wonder why you lost track of time in the supermarket, consider the amount of money that may have be spent to keep you there.
