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Understanding How Consumers Are Changing
There's no doubt that the economic downturn has changed how people are shopping. Yesterday, canada.com featured an article on how consumers were going on "credit card diets" to "trim personal budgets." And Time.com presented an interview with Paco Underhill, the CEO of Envirosell and author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, outlining how he sees the consumer landscape changing.
In How Consumers Shop Differently Today by Sean Gregory, Underhill describes how American consumers now fall into one of three groups: Those who have lost their jobs or are about to lose their jobs. Those who are not in danger of losing their jobs but know someone who is, and as a result, have curtailed their own spending. And, those who have a lot of money but have learned that "conspicuous consumption is bad" and now see spending--or not spending--in moral terms. "The era of bling is over," he says.
Throughout the interview, Underhill shares his thoughts on where retail is and where it's headed. He talks about how the quantum growth of access to information (Internet, phone, etc.) has changed shopping. He believes that "we have reached the apogee of the big box. Growing the store any bigger does not translate into the customer spending any more time or money." He also thinks that "as a culture, we are over-stored. All store chains would be healthier if they were smaller."
While Underhill is speaking specifically about the American consumer and retail landscape, a lot of what he says is pertinent to Canadian retailing. It's definitely worth checking out.
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Lori Smith, , Editor-in-Chief
Lori Smith is the editor of Gifts and Tablewares, Canada's premiere gifts and tablewares magazine. Written for retailers of gifts, tablewares, housewares, stationery and home furnishing accessories, its objective is to help readers increase their sales and run their businesses more profitably by providing information on new products, merchandising, small business management, customer service, consumer behavior and industry news. The magazine is published six times a year by BIG Magazines, LP, a leading Canadian information company.
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on February 23, 2009 12:19 PM.
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