Retail has provided for me - as I’ve worked in the industry for so long – a very different perspective on how people act and react when it comes to purchasing new products and services.
I’ve always been used to being social and friendly when meeting someone new, and in an environment where I’m meeting new people for the first time, I usually end up becoming friends and developing a positive rapport with the other person. Retail is completely different. Though I am still very social and friendly, the copious amount of people you meet in a day are merely acquaintances, and barely even that. This makes for an unusual and unique relationship and often brings about less personal conversations.
These new and unique relationships created are formed not from conversation and not from personal similarities (at least not often), but due to financial transactions. One person is the salesman, the other is the customer. People act much differently in this type of situation than any another, as they are forfeiting their money, a symbol of their hard work and effort, for a product or service. A comfortable and structured process received when a new product or service is purchased is imperative to a successful sale, and the relationship between salesman and customer is what makes this happen. A customer is much more content with their decision when the salesman is knowledgeable and honest.
Consumers tend to be less interested in services as a good investment as compared to a physical product. This includes, but it not exclusive to, extended warranties and information sessions. It’s interesting to see how many people disregard many of these services that are offered that can potentially save the customer a significant amount of money in the future. Most often it’s because a service is not tangible or immediately of use.
Another interesting observation is how easily a customer will rely on another’s opinion. Review websites and magazines hold more persuasion over a customer’s opinion than their own logic and understanding. The validation of another person’s experience with a product has an incredibly strong influence, even if the reader has never met the reviewer.
Though there are many interesting aspects of the retail world, these are some of the more interesting observations I’ve come across in my years working retail. People interact completely differently with someone they exchange money for products with than they do with people they meet in other more personal situations.
- David Wytenburg
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Very interesting post Dave. I have an example of when a customer relied on my opinion as a saleswoman, which verified for me when you mentioned that a customer relies on other's opinions. While working in the fitting room at Old Navy, a customer asked me whether I thought the brown or navy pants were better. I replied by saying I preferred the black ones. The customer went on to purchase the black pants, even though his response to me was, "funny you should say that, I thought the brown ones were better. But, I trust your opinion more than mine." Although my encounter with this customer was very brief, he already trusted my opinion more than his own. The relationships in the world of retail are odd indeed.
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