At different points throughout college and early in my career I worked in retail. Those experiences, especially early on, gave me a good perspective on the overall motivation behind both customer purchase patterns and loyalty. Having worked in two very different environments, discount retailer, Jos A. Banks, (as my Dad once said, “pretty soon I’ll go into buy a tie and they’ll give me the whole store”) and the higher-end customer centric, Nordstroms.





Comments


Written by businessavante
4880 days ago

Hi Laura.

I think some discount houses have many loyal customers - partly due to the convenience factor - they're comfortable there, they know where stuff is, and they're used to going there for certain things on their list - which is a lot easier than trying out a new place every time there's an ad that's a little less on 1 item. (I know my Dad was loyal to his favorite discount stores.)

Online, I see a different world - it really isn't much more difficult to check a bunch of sites to compare, blowing the price question way out of proportion vis-a-vis local businesses.

Duncan



Written by lkpetrolino
4880 days ago

You bring up two excellent points.

a) Discount places can definitely motivate customer loyalty for all the reasons you bring up. They are predictable, easy, customers feel safe because their positioning is to always offer the best price, plus people feel like they are successful when they buy something at a discount

b) The online world does create a whole new experience. Everything is more accessible, no lines, no crowds, no annoying sales people, plus you can easily compare things. Online shopping has created a dynamic shift in the retail industry as a whole, it has forever impacted how we view shopping and how retailers market themselves and their products.



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Share your small business tips with the community!