But this time around, the sheer size of the crowds in these places and the diversity is what struck me and made me explore the phenomenon a bit further. What I found was interesting.

The numbers have been steadily growing over recent years (as gathered from informal interviews with local businesses). And very interestingly, not all were from just surrounding villages. In my own observation, there was a fair smattering of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu being spoken and one even caught the odd Marathi and Gujrati phrase in the air.

Back home, I came across a recent report by McKinsey. It studies the urbanization of India and China. It says that ‘urban expansion in India will be quite unlike anything the country or the world has seen before.’ Sample this:

- It took nearly 40 years (from 1971 to 2008) for India’s urban population to rise by nearly 230 million
- It will take only half that time to add the next 250 million!
- 5 of our largest states will have more of their population living in cities than in villages
- Delhi will move from a population of 15.9 million in 2008 to 21 million in 2030, a growth of over 30%
- Mumbai goes from 28 million to 33 million in the same period
- And Pune goes from 6 million to 11.3 million!
- There will be over 60 cities with a population in excess of 1 million
- And these cities will generate 70% of net new jobs, contribute to 70% of GDP, and drive a four fold increase in per capita incomes!

This made me think about the implications from a shopper perspective. Undoubtedly, these folks would shop at urban shopping centers too. Arguably, their shopping behaviour would be different from that of urban shoppers as they go through a cycle of ‘evolution’ into urban shoppers.

Clearly this scenario will pose a rather new set of challenges for brands and retailers. As a country, India is still probably at the beginning of its maturity phase on consumer insights translating into branding and communication. Shopper research and insights are still being explored by a relative few. In such a context, migration at the speed and scale envisaged by this report would certainly impact the way brands and retailers would need to see the urban and rural landscape.

Would this mean further segmentation of urban retail by catchment area and shopper segment and tailoring the marketing mix accordingly? What about the urbanization of rural India that seems an inevitable result as populations mingle more? Will malls start resembling ‘haats’? Will barter move from the villages to cities? Will ‘haats’ be air conditioned and have shopping carts? In urban retail, we could have packaging and signage in multiple languages and more ‘bazaar’ retail formats. In rural retail, check out counters at fairs would not be out of place.

Do you think this is an improbable scenario? How will it ever be possible to customize to that extent?

The answer definitely lies in technology. Online retail has already evolved to a stage where ‘behavioural advertising’ is common. Cookies and beacons sneak into your computer and track all your movements on the internet. They even know your age, location, interests, books bought and movies watched. Try to buy something on one website and it even happens that other websites start showcasing the same product as soon as you log on to theirs! Try it if you don’t believe it!!

You really think an RFID chip in your wallet cannot result in this scenario at retail?

In ‘Minority Report’, Tom Cruise is bombarded by ads that call him out by name as he walks through a mall. “John Anderson, you could use a Guinness about now” says one of them to him!

Hmmm…I can well imagine a poster selling me a walking stick as I walk slowly through a mall in 2040!


Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

From urban Indian men to kids! This time around, we dipped into our trend insights to share buzz straight out of kiddieland!

Consumerism today has a new friend in kids! The trend sees birthday parties with Miss World or Bollywood themes, and kids in low-waist jeans and high heels. Fashion and beauty awareness are very high amongst tweens, and are rapidly trickling down to other age groups as well. They sport image tags, are clued in to the latest trends and work at acquiring a confident, ‘chilled’ look.

 The “Page 3” culture, peer pressure, exposure to fashion trends on television and parents with deeper pockets are teaming up to produce a generation of independent-minded fashionistas who want to dress older than they are.

What are the influencers? Who are the brands riding this exciting wave?

Read more at TRENDSINSIGHT, our exclusive, India-specific, trend research platform!

Also, see the Economic Times article, Global brands widening product portfolio in kids segment, quoting our research.


Sheetal Jayaraj

Sheetal Jayaraj is Head- Trend research & Design at Insight Instore

(Image courtesies: www.giny@jony.com, www.lilliput-india.com, www.zappkids.com)

Contrary to popular stereotypes, men today seem to enjoy shopping for clothes! 75% as per our survey. In fact 47% enjoyed shopping for clothes more than for appliances! ‘Ubersexual’ did someone say?

For one, this could very well be due to the relative ease in shopping now … with showrooms that have parking, a wide range of options under one roof and staff that are better trained than before the advent of modern retail.

This ‘pleasure’ in shopping seems to reflect in the number of stores visited – Nearly 60% of shoppers visit 2-3 stores on an average for each shopping trip. This also reflected in terms of time spent in stores as well – a fourth of shoppers spent more than an hour during each shopping trip, although this is split between each store visited. The winds of change seems to be clearly blowing, although the most significant chunk of shoppers, 44%, still spend between 15-30 minutes only. Clearly, the cowboy mentality is not dying in a hurry!

Apparel Shopping in fact, seems to be moving towards a more social activity for men, something women have been doing for decades. We certainly know from past research that women in a group are likely to spend more at an apparel and lifestyle store than single shoppers. But 57% of the men we surveyed, in fact profess the need to have friends around for advice while shopping for apparel! Is some creative retailer thinking of a bar counter and a dart board in his men’s apparel store??!

However, some behavioral traits might take time to change, indeed if at all it does – Men still run away from even a hint of crowds - 70% of men would walk out of a preferred store if they find it too crowded. And the stereotype of a mission shopper is bound to stick for a while longer with 76% deciding on what to purchase before they enter the store.

An interesting parallel comes up when it comes to fashion magazines, 87% of male shoppers don’t read any fashion or lifestyle magazines despite the number of men-only options available at the moment. However, 24% admitted to being more concerned about fashion and trends than comfort and price. Considering 84% of shoppers consider it essential to ‘dress the part to get ahead’ these numbers are expected to grow. This is perhaps a cue to retailers/brands perhaps that the key is in using multiple avenues to reach their male target groups.

Is there a need to engage the male shopper greater with the brand itself? It would seem so since 36% claim to not be bothered about what the brand stands for, instead comfort and price is of greater importance. 72% also experiment with multiple brands of apparel wear, indicating a larger consideration set and a possible lack of strong brand connect.

While basic in nature, the research certainly points to one thing. A focus on the basics of apparel retail – a pleasant shopping experience coupled with a greater brand engagement in creative ways - could result in incremental returns for men’s apparel brands.

Nisha Abdulla

Nisha Abdulla is Senior Associate at Insight Instore

• Rural India contributes to 72% of the population and ½ the country’s GDP
• 63% of India’s population will continue to live in the rural areas even in 2025 according to a McKinsey report
• Rural areas are growing at a robust rate of 25%
• While the per capita income is lower than urban areas, the customer base is thrice that of urban areas
• The FMCG sector in rural areas is expected to grow by 40% as against 25% in urban areas in the coming quarters.
• Shampoos have reached < 40% of rural households as compared to > 70% of urban households.
• Refrigerators have penetrated into < 5% of rural households as compared to over 35% of urban.

These numbers and more have been telling the story of many marketing opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid.

But along with purchasing power has come about a marked change in the shopping sensibilities of the rural community. This is also an indirect consequence of better connectivity to urban through transport and a marked increase in rural literacy and education levels. The rural shopper is getting smarter and cannot be taken for granted anymore! But how much are marketers investing in understanding the rural shopper?

We examine here a few facets of the altering mindset of the rural shopper. We do this in the light of two retail formats existing at rural – large markets and small retailers. We then review a few rural trends as well.

Rural retail formats are characterized by small retailers, small town markets, Haats (periodic daily or weekly markets), Mandis (agri markets), Melas (exhibitions) and mobile traders. There are also some large format retail stores like the DSCL Haryali stores, M & M Shubh Labh stores, TATA/Rallis Kisan Kendras and Escorts rural stores etc.

Now, as much as the urban shopper has different intents at different formats, so does the rural shopper. A rural shopper who shops at the neighbourhood small retail store, visits the Haat for totally different reasons. But compared to his urban counterpart, the rural shopper rides on a very different set of references when making a choice. Rural shoppers are mostly dependent on agriculture for their income, directly or indirectly. The seasonality and uncertainty associated with their income is a major influencer in shaping their mindsets. Thus they attach great value to the benefits of purchase and consumption.

In the case of Haats or periodic markets, rural shoppers value product variety and the option to bargain. More so since the haats are usually visited for bulk weekly or monthly purchases and the purchase risk is therefore higher. The shopper feels the need to see more and compare a lot of products in the same category before settling on the final choice. Also since haats are usually located away from their homes, the shoppers also associate an activity cost to the whole process which needs to be offset maybe by a bargain or some other incentives that give them the perception of value.

On the other hand, like the urban shopper, the rural shopper also visits the neighbourhood small retailer due to the convenience factor. He makes only small purchases prompted by immediate unplanned requirements. At the same time, driven by his seasonal income mindset, he avails value in the form of a good credit facility from the retailer. In this case however, since the shopping activity cost associated with the process is less, the shopper does not really expect to be given a bargaining opportunity.

A lesson for marketers could be to ensure variety, various pack sizes, discounts and promotional incentives in the case of periodic markets and effective credit policies in the case of small retailers. Studies have also revealed that the needs being more immediate, impulsive and short term, smaller packs at lower price points sell better for most products in the small retail format. Of course, these are just two simple indicators taking two rural retail formats into consideration. Further studies into the psyche of the rural shopper will unearth more category and format specific motivators.

In this context it will be relevant to touch upon some trends in rural lifestyle which have led to innovative ideas, and which may be valuable pointers for a brand or a retailer looking to explore this potential market.

Let us look at the barter system which has always been part of the rural story. Rural folk take immense pride in their non-reliance on a cash based economy. They save in the form of sacks of grains and livestock. Drastic times see them trading these so-called assets for other kind of goods or services that they require. The more blessed of the lot, save in silver and gold. Cashless transactions are still prevalent. While this has been a challenge for brands and retailers trying to find footing in rural soil, it is heartening to see some others turning it into an opportunity, leveraging the same system to run businesses. For example the rural farming community has devised a barter economy system in Raawal village, Rajasthan, India. There are tiny shops owned by members of a close-knit community where articles are exchanged, instead of the regular cash deals. Thus, a big pack of beedis could be exchanged for half a kilo of wheat. Many other similar transactions make life easier for the villagers. While this is an initiative by the rural people themselves, there have been corporate initiatives as well that have shaped up on realizing the rural potential and studying the rural market.

Corporate initiatives that have emerged out of this trend include ITC’s E-Choupal, HLL’s Project Shakti, Mahindra’s Shubhlabh Rural initiative, Godrej Agrovet-Adhaar and Tata Kisan Sansar. E-Choupal is ITC’s business model to build a trading platform with rural India, and it already touches more than 3 million farmers. HLL’s Project Shakti uses self-help groups to directly cater to 1 million homes every month in villages where traditional distribution systems cannot hope to enter. Mahindra’s Shubhlabh aids farmers and helps improve yield through providing the know-how that is otherwise unavailable to them. Godrej Agrovet-Adhaar has a product range that includes pesticides, animal feed, oil plant plantlets and farming inputs. Tata Kisan Sansar is a network of one stop shops providing everything from inputs to know-how to loans, and has benefited communities where banking services have not found proper reach. All these initiatives are based on understanding and catering to the special needs of the rural consumer.

Going forward there will certainly be more initiatives to benefit these consumers. What would be critical is to keep the finger on the pulse of the shopper who partakes of these initiatives.

With the rural shopper getting smarter, strategies will need to be constantly updated to be in tune with his altering mindset. The solutions offered currently are no doubt beneficial to the rural citizens. However, for these strategies and newer ones to reach their full potential over the long term, it is important to understand the shopper at the point where he avails of these benefits. His intent and responses hold the key to bettering these strategies for his benefit of the brand/retailer. Maybe this focus on the rural shopper will reveal solutions that hasten the “awareness-penetration-adoption” cycle at rural.

Steve Jobs believes that the most important company 20 years from now, does not even exist today! Will it be the one that starts to understand these 700 million rural shopper minds??

We at Insight Instore have launched a partnership program with NGOs working in rural India in our attempts to understand our rural shoppers better.

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

2011 and beyond – A study with a difference

As the world slowly comes out of the recession, one country’s name is on everyone’s lips. Not only for the way it has survived the last two years but also for the remarkable potential it is demonstrating on the cusp of a new decade. India!!

In this exciting scenario, we at Insight Instore decided to research a sector which slowly but surely is making its presence felt both internationally and within the country - the Fashion industry in India. As a precursor to our study, we conducted a scan of the Fashion and Apparel Industry. There are three things which immediately struck us:

1. Indian fashion is seeing exponential growth driven by established and new designers

2. The emergence of India as a source of inspiration for Indian & International designers - surge in popularity of Indo-western garments

3. Greatly increased awareness of fashion; birth of new groups influenced by cultural, social and economic factors.

But interestingly, we find that what’s missing is pretty much the other side of the same coin.

We hypothesize that

1. The sector seems to lack an in-depth understanding of new domestic target-groups.

While fashion in India is rapidly moving beyond the ramp and to the road, it seems to be less by design. Western winds of fashion are reaching our metros faster than Hollywood releases and recession or no recession, fashion in the last year or two has become highly visible, at least on the streets of metros. And while we see a large smattering of influences, we believe these influences are deserving of greater understanding in addition to efforts to unearth newer influences.

2. There is a visible inability to predict fashion adaptations across a diverse map. We still see great dependence on adaptations of western trends

For example there is a definite addition of new categories like club wear, travel gear and lounge wear. However how far are we able to forecast and leverage this segmentation of the customers’ wardrobe? How well are we integrating our own diversity into the fabric of our predictions? We do not seem to have too many in-depth answers to these and other questions.

3. Business houses are still following old methods of trend analysis. We believe the need is for a cohesive design and business strategy that is borne out of a combination of trend, consumer & shopper research.

In a context where trends change rapidly with just the slightest shift in any one factor, are managers really able to look at the entire palette and go beyond mere textiles and colours? Where success is very quickly defined by the quality of information available and its interpretation, is there any definitive source that strategists can rely on??

We believe that in the new context, old traditional ways of static, demography based forecasting are becoming redundant. Mere observation is no more enough! Today, its more about the mood and lifestyle. Its more about dynamic and psychographic influences.

We also believe that today, the shopper has taken an important place next to the consumer. Shoppers studies offer great insight into how we buy instead of just why we buy. Insights into buying patterns that vary based on moods, beliefs & occasions! Insights that come out of robust frameworks, revealing trickle down trends, trickle up trends and trickle across trends, and their expected directions and durations!

In response to these hypotheses generated from our pre study scan, we are now launching an extensive study to explore the potential, complex fashion landscape in India. The study will offer insights into the fashion trends from 2011.

The unique thing about the study will lie in its approach. Unlike traditional trend forecasting which relies on conventional methods described briefly earlier, we will use here a combination of trend, consumer and shopper research in an attempt to unravel more difficult and more sustainable trends.

The broad study outline is as follows:

A) The research will be both primary and secondary, covering

History - Evolution of Fashion in India, Drivers of change

Industry - Current scenario – Size, Projected figures, Nature i.e. Niche and Mass fashion

Trends - Fashion specific trends - based on the trickle down and trickle up theories; Sociocultural / economic trends that influence fashion

Target groups - Consumers and shoppers through behaviour studies

B) The Analysis will include

Gap analysis – Using insights from market, trend, consumer and shopper research to spot the current market gaps

Future scenario creation - This involves using insights derived out of research to define segments and sketch out possible future scenarios

C) Strategy

The scenarios created will be used to draw out indicative roadmaps for each segment, with the intent of allowing brands to develop strategies from there on.

D) Forecasting

Style, Colour, Textile

The objective of this part of the study is to serve as a platform for designers and brands to quickly develop new ideas of color/fabric/theme/mood and yarn developments for different product types and levels. The forecasting will include fabric, colour and styling trends which when combined with effective marketing strategies dictates the success of designs.

The primary objective of the study will be to offer brands and retailers, game-changing insight into to the fashion industry through a unique combination of

• In-depth information on the Indian fashion industry

• Trends and forecasts through an approach using traditional research methodologies as well as consumer and shopper research

• Roadmaps towards creating or revising business and communication strategies.

The study is being conducted by an expert team of trend researchers, students from leading fashion schools including the National Institute of Fashion Technology and designers. We are also seeing good support from brands for this study, intended to be a landmark one for the sector in India.

Watch this space for more on this research project!

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a shopper as one who is shopping. It also defines a buyer as a person who buys!

Rather simplistic don’t you think?!

Looking at these definitions from a shopper research perspective, we think a shopper is a person who is in shopping mode – searching, browsing, comparing, seeking out value in whatever form it matters and going through a rather elaborate dance with the brands available.

On the other hand, a buyer comes across more as someone on a mission, buying what he needs/wants, picking up brands that are important to him or ones used for years, not browsing but leaving the store in an attempt to break the speed shopping record on each visit.

Agree? No?? Either way, here are some interesting findings.

- Our recent research at unorganized retail in India shows us that 80% of people surveyed spent less than 10 minutes at the store. They came, they bought, they left!
- We also found that most shoppers came alone to the traditional stores
- And the average basket size was less than Rs.100 at these kirana stores

Add to this the well known fact that over 90% of Indian retail is still unorganized, and it seems like we now have an arguable case – most Indians are buyers more than shoppers!

But this is not as much about semantics and definitions as it is about how this would impact shopper insights.

Would buyer behaviour differ greatly from shopper behaviour? In situations where decision making is fast (or has already happened) the window of exposure and opportunity for brands is short. So can POP in extreme cases even be perceived as an irritant? What do brands do?

We believe this merits discussion and here are some thoughts.

We notice two significant trends in India that will impact this entire discussion.

1. People are increasingly becoming more time starved, multitaskism is the new religion and mothers are deciding what to buy at the store while they are driving back from work and in between calls from the office

2. The standard of living is on the increase. This is not just in a GDP sense but also in terms of willingness to spend. In fact, a recent HSBC survey of Affluent Asians found that 68% of affluent Indians reported an increase in their wealth in the last 6 months!

Would just these two fairly well documented trends alone not have important implications on stock up trips (more the modern trade offering) as well as top up trips (the stronghold of traditional stores)?

Will there not be a number of category wise implications as well? If time is money, will people spend less time on low involvement categories when they are under time pressure? What about high involvement categories? Is more time spent on out of store research in order to reduce time spent Instore?

So is it not finally a trend of ‘changing value of time’? Should brands change their packaging to make it easy to read and quick to buy? What does this mean for retailers? Sell onions along with underwear to save the shopper time??

Clearly more questions than answers. What do we think?

- With due reverence to The Oxford English Dictionary, we think buyers are a kind of shoppers
- We think that there is a certain ‘path to purchase’ that varies depending on a set of factors (both external and internal)
- We think that understanding the differences between shopper behaviour and buyer behaviour plays a crucial role in ‘managing’ shopper behaviour and ‘influencing’ buyer behaviour
- We think that merchandising done with only an understanding of one of these segments can actually cause damage with the other segment! For example, merchandising or packaging done to please the shopper who has time can completely turn off the buyer who is short on time!

Any which way you look at it, this is definitely not a discussion that can be concluded easily whether you have the time or not ! What do you think?

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

• What is the consumer’s path to purchase while shopping in the case of high level of marketing spends and evolving store formats?
• Do the AIDA or such models or purchase funnel still work?
• What are the implications of the findings on in-store communication?
• How does in-store communication need to be tailored to suit different categories of products, shoppers and retail formats?

Increasingly shopping behaviour is being seen from the holistic perspective of the entire shopping experience. The experiential view of shopping takes a far more holistic approach to the consumption process, right from involvement to post purchase usage. The decision making process and value perceptions could vary depending on individual shopping orientations, the cultural orientations as well as the economic and competitive environment in which the consumer shops. This study will attempt to understand the impact of the major factors on the purchase behaviour of shoppers by examining purchase paths across different product categories signifying different shopping orientations; across culturally distinct regions; and across different stages of retail evolution.

Theory of Shopping
The concept of shopping can be examined according to three different dimensions in order to develop provide a holistic view of shopping and shopping behaviour: the shopping environment, the socio-cultural context and the individual motivations. The Shopping environment refers to the landscape of shopping, changing as it did from the first departmental store to present-day malls to virtual shopping through the Internet. In earlier studies, it has been found that shoppers behave differently depending on the type of shopping situations.

A fairly extensive amount of research examining individual shopping orientations indicates that orientations impact shopping behaviour including store choice based on several factors such as consumer demographics and psychographics, usage situation, price sensitivity, social referents, involvement, segmentation and need recognition. Product category differences are also known to impact shopping orientations though studies in this area have been primarily limited to online purchase behaviour.

The proposed Conceptual Model:
This study is primarily aimed at determining the paths to purchase followed by customers while shopping. The process that the consumer goes through to make the buying decision has been seen like a ‘funnel’. The funnel theory postulates that the consumer starts with a large consideration set of products that systematically gets reduced at each stage till the consumer finally arrives at the decision to buy a particular brand. There are several models that have been propounded in this regard including by marketing guru Philip Kotler. These models propose a hierarchy and a step-wise processes. These models also show a hierarchy in cognitive and affective information processing. But there are studies that indicate non-hierarchical processes too.

While this debate has been taken up in case of advertising, there seems to be a lack of attention paid to the information processing within the store.

Insight Instore and IIM (A) are attempting to test the applicability of the communication models with regard to point-of-purchase communication. The study would have the following objectives:

(a) Shoppers would follow a set path in processing information to decided their purchase
(b) This path may not be hierarchical
(c) Even in case of a hierarchical process, the steps may not follow the same order
(d) The path-to-purchase would be affected by the kind of shopping process adopted by customers
(e) The process would also be affected by the format of the store chosen by the shoppers
(f) A prior product/brand decisions made before visiting the store would impact the shopping process

The conceptual model developed by Prof. P.K.Sinha, Professor of Marketing at IIM A and Chairperson of the Centre for Retailing has been given in Figure – 1. The study will develop scenarios for each of the six boxes.

The study will lead to the publishing of a white paper. It is also planned to conduct workshops based on the findings of the study so that the implications are not just at the academic level but also felt by brands and retailers who wish to benefit from these actionable insights.

At Insight Instore, we intend to make every effort to bring the best minds together in pursuit of cutting edge shopper marketing thinking…watch this space for more!

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

And before that provokes disagreement from the man who likes to shop or the woman who thinks her partner does not look bored, let me say that there is nothing wrong with the situation I just described. After all, men and women differ from each other in just about every way, so why not when it comes to shopping?

For years now, the subject of men and women’s shopping behaviour has been discussed. In dozens of business school classrooms, in hundreds of research rooms and in possibly each and every living room across the world. And at the risk of going out on a limb, this, along with infidelity, could arguably be one of the main (if not the # 1) reason for breaking relationships. On the other hand, I have also seen many cases where the man takes the woman out for an evening of shopping, only to have all his recent sins condoned rather quickly. Might I hasten to add here that this evening of shopping does not always have to end in purchases being made – she is quite happy strolling through malls and shops for a few hours without even the slightest intent of buying anything! And guys, before you complain, look at the positive side: You get good exercise, score a few points and it doesn’t even cost you anything!

To me, the single most important difference in the way men and women shop is in the way they approach it.

For HIM, shopping is a mission. He is a man on a mission that challenges his efficiency. So off he goes to check his wallet, adjust his hat and ride up to the store. By the time he enters, our cowboy is well into his stride. He does not want to look at anything ‘unnecessary’. He hates asking for directions (don’t we know that from his driving!) or any other questions for that matter and he heads for where he thinks his stuff is kept. If he does not find it, he is going to probably pull up rather sharply, look around once or twice and quickly leave the store (obviously without asking for help or talking to anybody). And if he finds what he wants, he is still going to do pretty much the same thing. And what is worse, not only does he not display any joy at finding it, you’d better get out of his way as he hurries out with it.

For HER, shopping is an emotional experience more than anything. She is happy to dress up for the occasion, meander through aisles, departments, shops and even malls, try out a few outfits, test the odd perfume and footwear as she makes her way towards, maybe, making a purchase. This entire experience is often made much more pleasurable by the company of a like minded being of the same gender from the same species. In certain cases where there is no purchase made, the sheer sensory experience of touching, seeing and feeling the product can even result in HIM coming later to buy it for HER! But by now, you know of course that HE will end up buying it in HIS own way.

 
There are theories that seek to explain these fundamental variances. One of my favourites is the one about men having been hunters and women, gatherers. The theory goes on to say that men are better at seeing things in the distance due to their hunter past while women are better at focusing on things in the near range due to their predominant role as gatherers. While the methodology studied visual pathways made in the brain, interestingly, the same theory could also be used to explain the stony silence (of the hunter) vs the cheerful chatty disposition (of the gatherer) during the act of shopping!

Another significant difference lies in the approach of the two genders towards the sales staff. For him, the interaction is an impersonal one. Whether it’s about holding the horse (parking the car) as he goes off to hunt or giving him directions inside the store, the presence of assisting humans is seen as useful only in the context of improving his own efficiency. The assistant’s reward? A nod that acknowledges their presence.

For the lady, the interaction is intensely personal – one human being to another. She wants to chat, know if the dress suits her and ‘This colour suits you perfectly’, ‘Why don’t you try an even better one?’ and ‘No madam, you don’t look fat’ are not white lies. They are statements of bonding and key drivers of store and brand loyalty and woe befall the ones who do not get this simple message.

With these basic differences in mind, we find that women can be segmented into at least a few common types:

Lone Browser:
You set out to go shopping at 9am and don’t return until after 6pm. The only thing you may buy could be your lunch (which you eat alone) but you still have an absolutely wonderful day. Shopping is your hobby and it brings you a sense of calm and happiness and leaves you full of new energy.

Retail Therapy Shopper:
For you, shopping can bring a wonderful sense of wellbeing (akin to a spa session) and of escape from your everyday routine. Shopping for yourself gives you an opportunity to pamper yourself in a way you are not elsewhere. Not only can it chase away the blues, but it can actually be a morale booster more so if you know that HIS ‘guilt’ at upsetting you, will pay for the day!

Girls Day Out Shopper:
You usually shop with at least two other women. You wear sensible shoes for shopping trips and often carry several bags! Or you may simply spend a day at the shops with your sister, mother, or other women in your life, and the focus of the day is as much on enjoying each other’s company as it is about the shopping.

The Hunter:
You are a serious, predatory shopper. You are alert, assertive, even aggressive sometimes and determined to get the bargain. You prepare to shop carefully, arming yourself with catalogues, flat shoes, and comfortable clothing, so you can try on potential purchases with ease. Your favourite hunting grounds are the factory outlets or anywhere hosting a sale or discount rack. You can easily become unhappy if anyone known to you gets a better deal!

Shopaholic:
Not for nothing did Hollywood decide to make a movie out of this one! ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ is based on the best selling Shopaholic series of novels by Sophie Kinsella. If you identify with this, you are one who needs your daily fix. If not, you can become cranky and irritable, often leaving the uninitiated males wondering what could possibly be wrong. On the other hand, savvier men are known to prey on this weakness. In a nutshell, a dangerous category for both genders!

Women shoppers can also move between these types with relative ease being The Lone Browser one day and resorting to Retail Therapy the next, leaving most people rather confused at the switch.

But we can take heart from the fact that male shoppers on the other hand are pretty simple to categorize. There are only two categories.

Category 1: Mr. Grab and Go.

Category 2: Reluctant shopper. This category consists of all the men out ‘shopping’ with female companions and who wish they were in category 1.

And on that note, I need to take my wife shopping now so more on this subject next time.

And ladies, here is a secret: Real men don’t look at price tags!!

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore

In line with our intent of providing ‘best in class’ shopper marketing solutions to our clients, we at Insight Instore are pleased to announce a strategic alliance with RAMMS.

RAMMS is a pioneer retail specialist providing end to end retail solutions right from consultancy to activation and innovative design to customer centric solutions in India and the subcontinent region.

This strategic alliance strengthens the service delivery options we offer while allowing RAMMS to leverage our research capabilities.

For our clients, this offers uncommon insights and unmatched execution!

The Insight Instore Team

(An article on the importance of trends in deriving true insight into shopper behaviour)

In an earlier blog on Zen and the art of Shopper Insight, we spoke about the art and science of gaining shopper insight. We discussed that interviewing shoppers and observing them are two major techniques, but both these methods have their limitations - we cannot really fully believe what shoppers tell us during interviews and observations can only tell us that much.

Deep insight however probably comes from going beyond these aspects to really understanding the mind of the shopper! So how do we try to understand better what shoppers THINK?

One option might be to await the day when we can have shoppers pass through an MRI before entering the store,

Alternately, and according to us, the answer lies in looking at Trends and how they impact shopper behaviour. But before we look at how this helps, let’s look at what trends are or are supposed to mean.

Human needs and thoughts are constantly changing with time. Some core needs remain constant throughout whereas others evolve in alignment with external (socio cultural) and internal (demographic) variables. Trends are a manifestation of new enablers unlocking existing human needs.

Seen another way, some trends remain, only modifying themselves along the way whereas others disappear making way for newer manifestations. Global events give rise to global trends. Local cultures are impacted by local events that shape local trends.

But any which way one looks at it, trends are fluid in terms of their dynamics and most certainly impact all humans.

“I never predict. I just look out of the window and see what is visible – but not yet
seen.” - Peter Drucker

This is certainly a great thought on “predicting” the future. But we don’t really
have to predict things. Knowing the future is not really possible. It is not exactly given to us. The point is to better see and understand today’s landscape in order to be successful in the future.

To that extent, researching trends and their implications on shoppers and shopper segments gives great insight into what shoppers THINK. The point can be best explained by using an interesting example from our recent work.

In a recent case during the recession, we were confronted with a very common situation.

The client was averse to spending on advertising (or anything else for that matter). The shopper was averse to spending (purchasing). So the onus fell on us as the consultants to break this impasse. We started with shopper interviews and we then went on to shopper observations. It certainly told us a lot. But the solution finally came from trend research. At the risk of stating the obvious, the most powerful trend during a recession is a reduction of spending. Our shopper and trend studies in this tough time however, showed us that consumers and shoppers were greatly missing their earlier experiences in all the gloom. So we decided on a model that would allow our client to offer ‘free trial’ of their product (the fact that the client was in an appropriate sector unlike CPG helped!). We decided to ‘TRYVERTISE’ our client’s product. Potential customers were offered an opportunity to try the product for a specific time period. If they liked it, they could buy. Otherwise there were no obligations. While drastically reducing the client’s spend, if nothing, it would help build the brand for better times, we reasoned.

The result was a pleasantly significant improvement in sales and tremendous impact on brand equity!

Does trend analysis guarantee shopper marketing success? Absolutely not. Remember you can’t believe what the shopper says. You only know a bit of what they do (because you are still waiting for them to install MRIs in stores) and you can only scan the environment for what they think.

In that case, is the investment in researching and gleaning insight really worthwhile? Absolutely.

Given the increasing complexity of retail environments, the choices available and the trajectory this science of shopper insight has followed, we believe that both the methods as well as the pool of data from which insights can be extracted will grow tremendously.

In all this, marketers who make the effort to truly understand shopper dynamics are likely to be well rewarded.

In our own work at Insight Instore, we use a combination of methods and approaches driven by the simple belief that there is no single approach to convert shoppers into buyers and if it is there, it has not been found yet. At a fundamental level, our strong belief in in-depth research drives us to look at shopper demographics, socio-cultural aspects, psychographic factors and trends. We do this both independently and in relation to the brand, the category, the retail format and the market in question. We believe that seen in totality, all these contribute to the shopper’s path to purchase. We review a number of factors inside the store and form a perspective of the balance of nature and nature.

Finally, to convert all this into usable knowledge is of course another thing all together. And in getting there comes the unique ability of the expert who would leverage diverse skills, draw upon vast experience and push the envelope of thinking to deliver true insight.

Gopi Krishnaswamy

Gopi Krishnaswamy is the CEO of Insight Instore