Inside The Mind of the Shopper Book Notes - Herb Sorensen

This was also another book that stood out to me when I was carrying out my research this was Inside the Mind of the Shopper by Herb Sorensen 2009. This is a handbook for any marketer or retailer seeking to understand why people do what they do when they shop. This helps the brands and retailers to understand the features that stand out to the consumer.

Key points within the book that stood out to me include;

PAGE 6: " Specially designed glasses record the eye movements of the shopper as the consumer walks through the store. The images from the glasses show the field of vision, and crosshairs incite the shopper's point of focus at each step, second by second, along the route throughout the store."
These were invented to allow the consumer to help the retailers in order to point out what is eye catching and what is key within the stores.

PAGE 8: "Twenty million seconds. That is the time all customers collectively spend in a typical supermarket every week based on our measures across many stores. Each of those seconds is an opportunity to sell. That is 20 million opportunities a week to sell something.  But the tragedy of modern retail is that most of those moments are wasted because retailers and manufacturers by and large do not know what the shopper is doing during these moments."
"Retailers focus on traffic but traffic in itself never buys anything: it is traffic investing time that becomes shopping."

PAGE 9: "The tragedy of modern retail is they shoppers come to the store to buy things. The retailer creates stores to sell things. Manufacturers create products to sell. Yet most of the shopper's time in the store is spent not buying. Shoppers and products long for each other."

PAGE 10: "The millions of lost buying opportunities are very important. If we look at the whole shopping trip, the critical issue is not merely sales per visit but seconds per dollar."

PAGE14: " In the observing behaviour of thousands of shoppers it has been managed to identify three primary types of shoppers

• Quick as noted the number of products purchased most commonly on a shopping trip is one. These shoppers spend a short time in a small area,with a relatively slow walking speed but high spending speed.
• Fill-in: these shoppers visit about a fifth of the store, have a slightly faster but still slow walking speed and an average spending speed.
• Stock up: these shoppers cover a larger area, walk more quickly, but have a lower spending speed."

"One of the most important findings from this work is that quick trippers are not pre ice sensitive. This has enormous implications from promotional strategies - many of which are a waste of money. Retailers are throwing away their discounts and coupons."

This supports that they are not interested in the offers and are willing to pay all prices. They are not bothered about checking their price tickets due to the rush. This is something that I could possibly consider for the store due to the rush. This is what could bring the majority of the profit into my service.

PAGE 15: "Shoppers are spending more than money in the store. They are also spending their time and racking up angst. These are the three currencies of shopping. In addition to look at what shoppers take out of their wallets, we also need to consider what they invest in time and angst in the experience"

This reinforces that although some consumers do not make a purchase in the store they are intact spending their time which is just as efficient as they have chose that particular store over everywhere else. This is something that I need to consider. This means that I can try and make their trip slightly worth while by possible giving a leaflet or trying to promote the service in such way to allow a second trip to possible be made. Their time is key and this is something that I intend to focus on within my service.

PAGE 18: "Online retailers face challenges, such as the problem of abandoned internet shopping cart, with a successful sale often requiring the vendor to identify early in the online browsing experience."

"The structure of the industry means that there is more incentive for profit. Listed here from the largest and most import and to the smallest and least important points to consider;

• Trade and promotional allowances from the brand suppliers
• Floats on cash
• Real estate
• Margin on sales

Shoppers only play a role in the fourth source. "

This identifies where the consumer stands in terms of the department.

PAGE 19: "The relationship between retailers and brand suppliers is changing. In the age of mass media, major brand manufacturers dominated retailing. "

PAGE 21: "Understanding how shoppers shop can lead to better designs and strategies that can significantly boost sales and profits. Although we live in a work of Smart Carts and new high tech approaches, many of which are quite valuable."

This again reinforces how understanding your consumer is a key method. This is something that I will try and focus on within my service to show the importance that the consumer has on the service and to display that this will only work as long as the consumer can co-operate and this will only be done through staff and consumer interaction.

PAGE 27: " Each of the segments exhibits fairly distinctive shopping behaviour, as follows:

• Quick: Short time, small area, slow walk, high spending speed, very efficient.
• Fill-in: Medium time, medium area, slow walk, average-spending speed, modest efficiency.
• Stock up: Long time, large area, fast walk, low-spending speed, lowest efficiency."

PAGE 38: "The essential element of this merchandising plan is to offer a common area for all shoppers that serves up the merchandise that all segments include in their baskets; then to provide a secondary area that encompasses the first two segments"

"The fundamental concept here is to address explicitly and distinctively the needs of shoppers as they come through the door. Conceptually, this means that retailers should stand at the door of their stores, call out and then try and deliver in the right manner."

This implies that you need to give a reason for some consumers to come into the store. They might need a push, a slight distraction to show that they will find their right essential within this store over any other. They needs to be convinced so by giving that slight push this can then make the brand a profit and could well give the consumer something that they might never have had before a successful trip.

PAGE 50: " We shop with our eyes first, so vision is at the centre of the three moments of truth. First the eye serves as a pilot that steers shoppers around the store. Next, it serves as a rapid scanner of a category or section to home in on prime candidates for purchase and finally it feeds the sales communication to the brand, thereby closing the sale."

This supports the fact that you eye is key. If something stands out this will draw you in. This is why I want my service to be innovative and unique as when the eye will see this this will automatically draw in the consumer due to the new arrangement of the flowers and the new use of them. This changes the whole perspective in which this will be viewed.

PAGE 102: " Only 45% of shoppers use a shopping list. Shoppers are not automatons following out the commands of a prordinated list. They are making decisions on-the-fly as they walk through the supermarket aisles. This means that packages have an opportunity - a very brief opportunity- to grab the shopper's attention and make a sale."

PAGE 103: " There are a number of reasons packaging is so critical to shopping, as follows;

• For most new products, the store shel is the first and only opportunity to sell to the consumer. Because of the decline in effectiveness of traditional advertising methods, many consumers are first made aware of a new product after seeing it on a shelf.
• Strong packaging can drive trail and awareness of a brand.
• The package is the last chance to have an impact on purchasing decision - 100% of all these are ultimately made at the shelf.
• A typical package generates 570 million impression a year just  by being on store shelves.
• Packaging generates impluse purchases. Research from point-of-purchase trade associate POPAI shows that a consumers may enter a grocery store planning to buy 10 items and leave having purchased 20.
• The package is the best way to break through the clutter/noise of retail"

"Creating shelf impact helps maximise a brand's choice of success. But more than being noticed is required."

All of this information/quote reinforces the importance of packaging so this is something when it comes to designing my own I need to try and make as pleasing as possible to allow the flowers to stand out.

PAGE 150: " Shoppers move through a path and decisions process in finding and buying, whether online or offline. This includes the following;

• Retail shopping
• Eye tracking
• Web browsing clickstreams
• Information acceleration." 

PAGE 176: "In closing top tips for retailers and manufacturers include;

• Creating a comfortable and welcoming shopping environment
• Understanding where these consumers come from
• Cater for all consumers
• Go the whole way
• Make education a priority
• Develop a holistic multicultural marketing strategy
• Get yourselves out there"

These again reinforce the importance of the shopper and how they need to be clearly understood and helped out as much as possible. You want to make their shopping experience as simple and pleasing as possible and need to do everything as a brand to allow this to happen.

I have found this book to be extremely beneficial as it has allowed myself to become knowledged on what the consumer wants and needs and how to go about making this possible. This is something I will carry through for the rest of this campaign to allow the service to be as professional as possible.

The Social Media Marketing Book Notes - Dan Zarrella

When reading through this book I found that It was extremely beneficial as it allowed myself to become more aware of what is key within social media and how the market works. This helps to determine the direction in which I need to go If I want to achieve a successful and professional outlook on my service this will mean that I need to take all points in and analyse this carefully.

Key Points that stood out to be include;

PAGE 1: " More than 250 million people are active Facebook users. More than 346 million people read blogs, and 184 million people are bloggers themselves. Twitter has more than 14 million registered users, and YouTube claims more than 100 million viewers per month. More consumers are connected than ever before, and every second your company is not engaging them in social media is a wasted opportunity." 
This quote supports how social media is vast becoming a key detailed part of society which means that it will be necessary for the brand to make a page that posts on this regularly and allows the consumer to become aware of the changes that are being made by the brand. This reinforces the importance within this area.

PAGE1: "Social Media is best defined in the context of the previous industrial media paradigm. Traditional media, such as television, newspapers, radio, and magazines, are one-way , static broadcast technologies"
This again reinforces the importance and shows the different ways in which you can contact the consumer. This has made it clear to myself that no matter what, I will then create a page for the service in which I am supporting.

PAGE 3: "New web technologies have made it easy for anyone to create- and, most importantly-distribute their own content. A blog post, tweet, or YouTube"
This has allowed companies to all jump on board to try and target all of the consumers in which they want to. This is a nation wide site which means that the more publicity for the brand the better.

PAGE 8: "Whether you are part of a small, medium, or giant business, or are an individual entrepreneur, your customers are getting social media, and there's no reason you shouldn't be,too."

PAGE 9: "Every company with a website should have a blog that speak to it's current and potential customers as real people." 
This identifies the importance of the blogging within each brand. This is because they keep the consumer intrigued and place this into an ongoing site that keeps the consumer aware of what is going on with new products etc.

PAGE 30: " Pick and niche you can own, stay away from crowded areas, and bring your unique voice. Get a good design, without one, you'll find it hard to be taken seriously. Establish a consistent habit of regular posting, and stick to it. Mix up content types and add multimedia."

PAGE 31: "Most companies should be on Twitter; it's easy, requires very little investment of time, and can quickly prove worthwhile in increased buzz, sales, and consumer insight. You can use Twitter to announce offers or events, promote new blog posts, or keep your readers in the know with links to important new stories."

PAGE 45: " Between 11:00a.m and 6:00p.m is EST is the most popular time for retweeting"
"Most retweets contain a link, many more than nonretweet updates."

PAGE 76: "Social networks allow you to build direct and personal relationships with the consumer"
"People should have profiles; companies should have pages"
"Know your audience and selection the social networks where they can be found"
"Don't excessively use public or private messaging system(spam)"
"Offer content that is exclusive to social networks, and don't get rebuild you website"

PAGE 112: "The best time to submit your content is 22 hours before you want it to go popular, typically early in the morning"

PAGE 131: "Users are already talking about your products, services, and brand online whether you're involved in the conversation or not, so you might as well join in the discussion."

PAGE 187: " Whether you're a local business or an international brand, chances are good that people are already talking about you on the Web.  Key tools to identify this can be found as Technorati search, Icerocket blog search, Google news search, Twitter search, Google video search, Digg search, board reader.com, board tracker.com, social mention.com, redditsearch, back type blog comment search"

PAGE 207: "The most important thing you can measure as a marketer is our return on investment, or how much money your efforts are contributing to your business. Is the cost of your investment in social media outweighed by the value it is providing?"

PAGE 208: "Google Analytics' engagement metrics indicate how engaged people are when they come to your site"

PAGE 217: "The most important metic for media-sharing sites is retry straightforward: how many people viewed your image, presentation or video."

Survey Analysis & Findings

With my survey being active for over 2 weeks now I thought it was the right time to begin concluding the findings. The reason for this is because I have sent this out to as many people as I can think of trying to target all ages to get an average opinion on the service and to determine what it is exactly I should be doing to ensure the consumers are happy.
By concluding the survey this means that I can then evaluate the finding and come to some sort of development stage just before I have my photoshoot. This will help me in terms of direction and allow myself to understand what it is I need to do to try and make this survey as successful and as pleasing as I possibly can. With the service being completely new to the brand I am aware that this needs to stand out and this needs to be advertised in a creative manner to allow the porducts that will be sold there to stand out and be expressed giving off the rigth perception and allowing a connection to be made between the porducts and the consumers.
This survey is my primary source of information and I want to get to terms with what the public think of my idea. I want to see whether they would travel to a Selfridges store just for the products, determine whether they think this would work and if they do what they believe I need to do to achieve this and also just gather general feedback from consumers who may possibly already shop there or consumers who I will be targeting with the re-vamping of the brand.

The survey was made on Survey Monkey due to this being a free service. This allowed myself to create a survey that asked 10 questions which I believed to be enough. The Link for this survey is:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_EditorFull.aspx?sm=wsLtPRTNZy8yTrF1_2BfJ0w1RarXviIAa56ivaXw33Vco_3D

When analysing the survey, I am going to look into each question separately and talk through this to allow myself to understand the findings and make an overall conlcusion of each question. This will hopefully allow myself to have more knowledge on what the consumers wants from this service and give me an idea of what target market are looking into buying flowers.
Looking at the findings from the survey, this concludes that 80 people have filled this out for me. This will allow me to see what the survey average says and make slight judgements and summaries from this.

Question one asked my audience how old they were. The reason why I asked this question was to see what target audience this service would appeal to and try to understand and come to terms with what age range would be interested in the flower service. This would then give me an indication into who it is that is happy shopping as selfridges stores and would like this service to work. On the other hand, this would identify what audience is not however interested in flowers which would again help me.
With the age question this helps to point out also what genera matches the age so this again points out who this is intact appealing to.
From the survey findings, this supports that not many 16-19 year olds filled in this survey. This is possibly due to this not reaching them or this could infact be due to the store not appealing to them. Additionally, majority of the results were filled in but 20-24 years olds as they took a massive 51%. This supports that this could infect be the new up and coming customers for Selfridges.

Question two asked the audience whether they are male of female. The reason behind this is to try and find out which sex is most likely to buy into the flower industry. Also, this indicates how often they buy which is another question later on in the survey which can be paired ad linked together. From the findings presented to me. It is clear that more women have filled this in than men taking up over 76% of the answers. This means that although men are buying flowers, this is not as common. This means that this service would stick out more so to women however, there would be occasional men shoppers who may pop in for a gift. This is good feedback for me as I am going to try and aim this as unisex but it is obvious that flowers stand out more so to women anyway so I can add a feminine touch to some key aspects of the idea.

Question three asks the audience whether they buy flowers regularly whether this be for themselves or another person. By asking this question I wanted to see if although they thought the idea was beneficial would the intact shop there or do they infact follow the flowers through on a regular occurrence. From the findings this suggests that 55% of the people to fill this in do not buy flowers. However 44% of the surveyors do so this is kindly split. This is something that I wanted to ask to see if the idea of a new service could infect sway the consumers into buying products that may not even be flower related as such they could just be ornaments or vases or home decoration such as candles.

Question four focuses on where the consumers seem to be shopping for flowers. The options that are given are; supermarkets, in a florist, online, over the phone, or other. This was asked because I wanted to know whether the people who are interested in buying the flowers travel or whether they do this behind the a computer or whether this be in the comfort of their own home. This question allowed me to know a little more about the consumer this is targeting. The findings suggest that majority of the surveyors shop in a supermarket for their flowers with 71% supporting this method. The florist following this from 37% and online with 15%. This implies that the consumers who shop in a supermarket is more so for the convenience of it being near their home. This is something I will try and change by the service that i am introducing. This is something that I am going to work with and work on.

Question Five focuses more so on when they buy the flowers and whether they are bought for a special occasion or whether this is done spontaneously. From this, it suggests that spontaneous is a method used by the surveyors however, this is not the most popular method. This supports that for birthdays, anniversaries and the likes of valentines day are key. This have given the knowledge on the best time to buy flowers which means that for special occasions the window displays and the flower arrangements and the whole colouring can change. This is something that I need to think about. This is something that can influence the colour palettes, the arrangements and the whole style from the layout. This has helped me in terms of knowing key buying times.

Question six asks the audience whether the would prefer to see flowers in their usual layout being placed in a vase or whether they would be interested in viewing flowers in an innovative way such as in a picture frame, on a broach, for a centre piece, candle holders etc. This was to get an insight into whether the service would be beneficial to be unique and offer new innovative and creative outcomes or wether they believe they should be stripped back and basic as they are. From this, the finding suggest that the audience would be intrigued by seeing flowers in a different way. I am pleased that this was the favoured answer for this as I believe that this would make the brand stand out from all other florists along with other department stores as they would offer original one of designs. As this is so, I am going to stick with this idea and maintain the modern twist on the florist industry.

Question seven asked the consumers whether they have shopped at selridges and what they think of the store. From the findings given, i have only presented a few but they all support the shop and believe that they are happy with what the store offers saying it is a luxury brand. This also supports how they like the store and shop there. This is good for myself as they already shop there which means that they can then be drawn into the new service due to the advertising being presented in the right manner.

Question eight focuses around my survey on it's own. This asks them whether they would find the flower service/counter appealing in the selfridges store and whether they would shop there and if they believe this would stand out. From the finding this suggests that majority of the people who filled this in, this being 62% said they think this would be successful. This is a sigh of relief as I want to make this as successful as possible. Whilst this is also happening I would like this to link back to the luxury lifestyle that the brand support having a sophisticated and chic style. As they believe this will stand out, this is good feedback.

Question Nine is an open response question. This focuses on asking the surveyors whether this think this would be successful and make the brand of Selfridges a profit. The reason why I asked this question was although they may seem to like the idea I wanted to know whether they believe this would be a success rather than a failure. Some of the responses that I have acquired read; ' yes as long as they are current and trendy', 'if the flowers were unique in their arrangement and ideas it would be successful', 'as long as it is not too overpriced'. With this being so the main areas that I need to focus on are the uniqueness of the products along with the arrangement, they need to be striking and engage the consumer and want to leave a mark on the consumers mind. Also, pricing is a key factor. This is something that closer to the design time I will need to think out and try and determine what this will be. Like the consumers have said Selfridges is a luxury brand but if the flowers are too overpriced then this could potentially stop the consumers from shopping there. This needs to be something I look at strongly.

The tenth and final question from the survey asks whether they would visit a Selfridges store just for the new service that is going to be launched. The reason why I wanted to ask tho question was to see whether people would be willing to travel just for the service. This would then be able to determine how highly demanded this would then be. When looking over the findings from this survey this suggests that 56% would not travel to a Selfridges store just for this service. However, 43% would. This would all depend on what they are looking for. This all links in with the forms of promotion because if one stands out they would be willing to travel there. This all depends on the product.

Overall, I am pleased with the findings from this survey and I believe they will help and encourage me in all the decisions I make for this service. 

Department store Mintel Research

http://store.mintel.com/department-store-retailing-uk-march-2011

The department store sector is mature and has consolidated significantly in the last decade as the weakest players failed to compete effectively in today’s marketplace. Mintel estimates that sector sales (based on statutory revenues) were worth £13.7 billion incl. VAT in 2010.

• Over 19 million adults visit department stores regularly (at least once every 3 months) and 79% of those go on to buy regularly too. The frequent buyers are biased to women and the ABC1 35-54 year-old special group, while occasional shoppers draw more widely from the population at large.
• John Lewis has gained more shoppers than any other named retailer since 2006 during which time it opened just 5 new stores, four of which were the smaller 'at home' format. Buying levels have climbed by three percentage points, equivalent to an extra 1.5 million customers.
• Good quality is a key driver - almost half of all adults (some 23 million people) shop in department stores for the quality of the products on offer.
• More than a third of consumers (c.18 million adults) like the convenience of shopping for different brands and products under one roof and the AB socio-economic bias here perhaps reflects their cash rich time poor status.
• One in five (around 8 million adults) like department stores for their private label ranges and this rises to one in four ABs. Women are bigger fans of own label too.
• Being a bit pricey was the main reason for consumers occasionally rather than regularly at department stores. Predictably those agreeing with this statement were strongly biased to the under 25s and the lower socio-economic groups.

Flower Image

This image is one that I came across on Pinterest. I found that although this was singularly placed this adds a sense of beauty showing the delicacy of the flower along with the texture that this is supporting. This looks at the beauty of the flower and showcases this in an emotional manner allowing this to be focused upon very clearly representing how this has added thoughts.

This stood out to me as I did not even think to take pictures of the flowers in such way I just thought I was going to do them in a group. However, this would be successful for terms of new stock, promotional methods and for the flower magazine. This would be able to reinforce what the Selfridges service is about.

Instagram - Unique Flowers and fine art

Here is another instagram sourced image which supports the innovative presentation of flowers. This shows them being used for a wedding piece along with being placed in a vase with other forms of material to allow them to stand out. This reinforces how they are placed within a unique style which is what stood out to be about this whole design.
The calming use of the cream/off white colour stands out showing the purity. This is something that I will look into to find out the colour methods and the psychology of colours with in the flower industry and try and select one that have a positive meaning.
This is something that could also be used within the Selfridges flower service as they could provide flowers for weddings. This is something I will have a think about.

Instagram Inspiration - Flower Creator

Another source that I find to be inspiration was Flower Creator.

Again these flowers stood out to me due to their rightful placing. This was intriguing to view with the likes of the candle holders, the baskets, the pots and the vases. All of which as a collection seem to be very interesting and pleasing on the eye. This means that the designs are eye catching and stand out which is what I want the pieces from Selfridges to do. I want tho to be striking so that the consumers feel the need and want to feel that need to make a purchase.
The arrangement of the flowers in this sense is key as they way in which they are used can influence the products that are bought. As they are not just placed into a bouquet this means that there is more chance of them then being purchased and used as a form of art, a decorational piece that stands out from the others.
I have found this very useful and will bare these sets of images in mind as I want this to be as powerful as possible.