Merchandise to Capture The Consumers Mind And Soul

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Consumer psychology involves how and why shoppers decide to buy certain products, while ignoring others. Consumer psychologists study the motivation and decision-making processes of shoppers in both individual and social contexts.

Emotion

Successful merchandising taps into human emotion. Beyond making necessary purchases, customers may unconsciously buy depending upon their current state of mind. In other words, people might visit your store to enjoy a mood-changing experience, something that will make them feel good. Your visual merchandising can benefit from this need, beginning with your storefront. Your window displays should be clean, colourful, and simply organised. For instance, entice people to buy barbecue equipment inside the store with a window display consisting of a patch of vibrant green sod and colourful flowers in a planter, positioned against a large photograph of people barbecuing. Place some of your best outdoor cooking products amid the props with a sign inviting them to, “…come inside to savour summertime!” Inside the store, treat your customers to pleasing scents and music to enhance their visit and create a pleasant feeling.

Interest

Another side of the psychology of merchandising is capitalizing on what interests shoppers. Mediocrity does not entice people to buy. Use psychology to think about your visual merchandising from the perspective of your patrons; if it looks boring to you, it will be boring to them. Create interest that makes your products stand out from the same items sold by your competitors. For example, rather than having all interior walls painted the same colour, develop areas of visual impact using a surprising accent colour on a wall section where you’ve displayed a variety of products in a complimentary colour, such as using a dark lavender wall as a backdrop for bright yellow items on sale. Temper your customers’ interest with cohesive merchandising by, for example, arranging a colourful surfboard leaning against a striking beach towel. Spread sand on the display floor, add a beach ball and demonstrate a related product with a video running on a laptop. Place some impulse items in the display; if the chief item for sale is pricey, having some less-expensive associated incidentals nearby can add to your revenue. The idea is to capture your customers' attention and interest while giving them reasons to buy.

Imagination

An essential element of merchandising psychology involves your customers’ imagination. People may be more likely to buy if you make it easy for them to see themselves using the product. Example: rather than merely displaying a pasta cooking pot on a shelf with many others, engage your customers’ imagination with a scene of a table covered with a red-and-white checkered cloth, on which a colourful Mediterranean-styled turret holding the pasta pot are displayed. Include an array of wooden spoons and charming bowls to complete a place setting for one.

A simple sign could draw attention to the cookware with an inviting statement such as, “Pasta isn’t the only thing you can cook in this pot. A world of culinary delights can emerge!” You can stack an easily-accessible quantity of the pots nearby. A display such as this provokes people to insert themselves into the picture and foments a desire to buy the elements of such a pleasing image.

Customer Treatment

Warm customer-treatment is an effective way to pull the customers into the store. It is essential for the retailers to treat the customers like royalty to expect loyalty from them.

• Understand your customers well. Try to find out what they expect from the store.
• The sales representative must greet the customers with a warm smile. It makes a difference.
• Aid them in their shopping.
• Never oversell.
• The retailer must never lie to the customers. If something is not looking good on them, be honest and give them correct feedback.
• If a customer comes for an exchange, do not be rude; instead, help them with an alternative.