This report analyzes the role personal, social, and situational factors in consumer behaviour in the unisex shoe store category. Observations were made at three different shoe retailers including Town Shoes, Payless Shoe Source, and The Shoe Company. These three stores offer very diverse retail environments targeted towards different demographics of people. This report also found that the retail setting, such as music, light, and organization, had an effect on the actions of the consumers in the store. The time of day also had an effect on consumer’s purchasing behaviour.
Environmental analysis
Town Shoes: The store had bright lights and loud pop culture music without lyrics which attracted a younger demographic of customers. There were “Buy one get one half off” signs displayed all around the store, which encourages consumers to buy more than one pair of shoes. The shoes are displayed without any form of organization; brand name shoes are mixed in with non-brand low quality ones, all stocked in piles on the floor. There are no specific try-on areas for shoppers to try on their shoes and the sales people were mostly unavailable to answer questions because of the high turnover rate of customers entering and exiting the store. The sale racks that post 50% have mixed shoes of different color, style, and size. Most of the shoes are for the current season (i.e. sandals, pumps) and the majorities are female sandals and heels.
Payless: The sale discount signs and cheap price of shoes is the big attention grabber for this store. The medium lighting with soft background music provides consumers a relaxing environment to shop. The shoes are displayed in a warehouse style according to size and gender and accessories. There are also medium quality bags and accessories located near the cashier that satisfies consumer’s desire to take part in the summer fashion. The store layout implies that there is no other inventory since all the shoes are out on display. Most of the shoes only targets the current season. There are limited numbers of try-on areas at the end of the aisles near the back of the store, encouraging shoppers to test out shoes. The employees do not seem to approach customers to help them, but are available for questions.
The Shoe Company: The recognizable designer shoes are on the display to attract consumers who seek for quality shoes or the desire to identify themselves as having a higher social status.
Many stores have policies. One is usually “No Shoes, No Shirts, No Service.”. This is one of the reasons why the manager, Lengel, approached the girls. Many people take the term “decently dressed” in different ways, but an average person thinks shirts, shorts, and sandals are to be worn when entering store. The girls argued that what they were wearing, which was just bikinis, was being decently dressed.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
Companies realize what people need and they take it as sources to produce commodities. However, companies which have famous brands try to get people’s attention by developing their products. Because there are several options available of commodities, people might be in a dilemma to choose what product they looking for. In fact, that dilemma is not real, it is just what people want. That is what Steve McKevitt claims in his article “Everything Now”. When people go shopping there are limitless choices of one product made by different companies, all choices of this product basically do the same thing, but what makes them different is the brand’s name. Companies with brands are trying to get their consumers by presenting their commodities in ways which let people feel impressed, and that are some things they need to buy. This is what Anne Norton discussed in her article “The Signs of Shopping”. People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive.
Pous, Terri. “We, the Underdressed: A Brief History of Discrimination and Indifference in Fashion Retail.” Style.time.com. Time Style, 22 May 2013. Web. 15 January 2014.
In an increasingly competitive market with strong rivals such as Reebok, Adidas, Nike’s latest strategy is offering consumers the shoes they desire. This is done by providing customers with the option of designing their own shoes. At Nikeid.c...
Coming from the world of technology, Johnson envisioned the idea of transforming the “brick and mortar” experience for JCPenney shoppers. His goal was to modernize the store atmosphere to become more appealing to JCPenney consumers, which eventually lead to Johnson’s store-within-store concept. This strategic expansion of JCPenney’s product line was a major point of differentiation for the brand. The collection of branded shops such as MNG, Liz Claiborne, and Arizona were not blocked off with doors and it allowed for consumers to engage with the entire store while easily navigate into other shops within JCPenney (Poggi, 2012). The newly renovated layout focused on improving merchandise presentation and highlighting private brands such as JCP and St. John’s Bay. This store makeover allowed for ...
Most retailers know that the appearance of their stores plays a big part in determining consumer behavior. As such, they seek to use it to their advantage. Sport Chek sells various types of sports merchandise mainly to middle and upper class citizens of Canada. The company has many stores and online portals. The design of the stores communicates to customers that goods in the store are of high quality. Therefore, customers come with the expectation to pay a premium. The main elements that the store uses to influence consumer behavior include the choice of construction materials, careful choice of colors and shapes, and creative use of lighting. These elements have an impact on the affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses of potential customers. The channel strategy used by the company is effective because of Sport Chek’s strong brand name. The company can benefit more from a better channel strategy for its online shopping portal that can help it to take advantage of the global high-end sports market.
They allow consumers to “pet” gloves and bats on a baseball mound to help increase the chances of purchasing the item. They also have fitness machines available for testing in order to influence ones decision making. Lastly, they have several tables set up with folded clothing to help appeal to the idea of a dinner table. Sports Authority successfully conveys Underhill’s marketing strategy, petting, throughout their entire retail Duhigg evokes that “Target began building a vast data warehouse that assigned every shopper an identification code-known internally as the ‘Guest ID number’-that kept tabs of how each person shopped” (187). Every time one goes shopping, they share intimate details about their consumption patterns with retailers.
In reviewing the case of New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. it is clear that there are a few major problems that the company is facing. First of all, New Balance falls behind its other major competitors, Nike, Adidas and Reebok, in the area of marketing. Unlike its competitors, New Balance does not undertake celebrity endorsements. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to brand building. This also causes the company to lose out somewhat on gaining awareness on a global scale as it lacks endorsements in major sporting events. Most global brand names generate strong brand recognition through celebrity endorsements in sporting events that would give them the needed momentum to carry their brand name further into the global market.
When you walk into a discount store such as Ross, you will notice rows and rows of clothing racks. If you look down you will see tile floors. Ross has several different sections. They have a men’s, sports ware, women’s, juniors, children’s, under garments, electronics, luggage, kitchen accessories, shoes, accessories, bed and bath, and seasonal. These sections are all scattered through out the store. When you walk into a section, you will notice the aisles are very close not allowing carts east access between them. If you are looking for a specific item be prepared to search for it. Since all their clothing is on rows of racks all the different types of brands and styles are all together, not allows a quick walk in grab what you want and leave type of deal. All of Ross’s registers are in the front of the store. So if you in the back of the store and ready to check out you must first walk to the front of the store. If you want to try something on before you purchase it you must walk to the back of the store where the fitting room and bathrooms are.
Nike is the number one innovator in the world in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. This worldwide company operates in an extremely different organizational structure than other companies, such as Reebok and Adidas. Nike operates tremendous marketing strategies and develops inventive designs to inspire athletes around the world. This company is one of the largest suppliers in the world in athletic footwear and apparel, main producer of sports equipment, and making Nike the most valuable brand among sports companies. The task for Nike is to join diversity and inclusion to encourage ideas and innovation. Around the world, this company is a popular brand.
Mr. Price is a fashion retailer; this report will focus on the clothing department. Mr. Price clothing aims to sell trendy fashion items at competitive
Skechers is a global leader in the lifestyle footwear industry. They offer one of the largest selection of lifestyle footwear that appeals to trend savvy men, women and children. Consumers are always considered about various type , unique design, colour, attractive, fashionable and so on. Skechers' early products were just only utility-style boots and skate shoes. In order to satisfy needs of consumer, the company has since diversified to include thousands of athletic, casual and dress styles for men, women, and children. So that, Skechers' produce several brands that included Skechers Sport, Skechers USA, Active, Cali, Shape-ups, Tone-ups, Skechers Resistance, Skechers Work and Skechers Kids. We consider about the womens those are care about their height especially model and don’t want wear gorgeous high heels. Thus, Skechers produce the SKCH+3 which are the footwear that hidden wedge then adds height and attained fashion effect. Not just only the features, the company also emphasized about comfortable cushion of the shoes such as the Skechers Memory Form which built in memory foam insoles provide a gentle, comfortable cushion with every step. It's like a bed for your feet! Thus, marketer want to satisfy needs of consumer so they would not missed out any features. Skechers sport is the best choice for those are athletic and sport lovers because it provided light weight and flexible footwear for them. Consumer would not worry about easy get injury when doing exercise or any sports. Furthermore, Skechers also considered about the family who have kids, Skechers Kids provided the shoes which are colourful and twinkle. This also satisfy the needs of consumer are always worry about their kid’s shoes. Comparing with oth...
Action the action is when the customer enters the shop with an intention to buy.
From selling purely ladies’ footwear, Charles and Keith expanded their range of products to include ladies’ bags and accessories in order to cater different demands of the customers. Charles and Keith owns a team of designers that come out with new products regularly and the company has their own R&D team frequently travels to fashion cities to get in touch with the latest design and trend (Singapore Press Holdings, 2009).