When going through a supermarket there are thousands of items 'staring' at us, asking to be lifted up and put in the basket. But how to know which item is for you and which would suit your expectations? Marketers in now a days have various ways how to make people to put an item in a basket.
My first realization and a point I should be aware of - don’t go shopping when your belly is not full. When people are hungry they tend to pick up more stuff than they actually need. There is a saying in Latvia "you have big eyes" which means you want more than actually needed. Have you noticed that sometimes when you walk in a grocery shop a smell of bakery can be noticed, but the bakery normally is in the end of the store. This is on purpose, this is to make people feel hungry (who doesn’t love a pastry?) and to go through all the store till the end to get your basics like milk, bread, meat etc. On the way you would pick up some more items because you are hungry.
One of the hilarious things I have seen in Aberdeen is that in Kittybrewster (region) there is a retail park and in the retail park there is Pure Gym. And all of a sudden McDonalds decided to make their drive through just next to the gym. I would say – a smart move. Athletes after a gym sessions are really hungry, i know it for myself and the temptations are in a high level when there is no prepped meals done. There have been times that I went to Mac's straight after to get my chicken nuggets, making myself believe that I am getting protein and that’s ok, right?
Second point – bargains. As Easters are over now and we are back to our daily routine with some extra weight on after having all those chocolate eggs and Easter dinner. For some reason I am excited just after Christmas or Easter, why? Because all the chocolate figures are on 60-70% off sale. It is really hard to be focused on your main reason, why did I go into the store, when all i see is sale on chocolate. My suggestion – follow my point one, have a list of items what you want to purchase, that will make you to get out of the store faster. It will also save your money because no extra cash will be spent on things which are not needed. But if you like chocolate and a bargain, it is a great time for you to shop.
One of the craziest times for a baragain is 'Black Friday', it is also created by marketers to make people spend as much money as possible. Black Friday is especially brutal in USA when people previously got hospitalised because they were fighting over a sales offer. People take things what they don't need. They just take it because it is cheap, thinking 'oh maybe someday i will need it'.
From my survey analysis which was made for my Industrial investigation 48,6% of respondents said that they take time to consider different options and see what kind of offers are available in store. People like to search for a bargain, especially students when their income is small. 33 respondents have said they believe that expensive goods are not always better, sometimes it is the same quality. The main reason though, why people choose the cheap option is because of money issues. 40 respondents have said that they chose the cheaper option to save money. More than half of the repondents have said that quality and taste of the product is very important. Almost 1/3 of the respondents have said that they do not care about companies values like Fairtrade, against animal testing or organic ingredients used in making a product. Personally I try to buy organic and healthy products but they're not always accessible or affordable. Few respondents have said that they would rather chose organic food but it is too expensive in UK. I Think this is where the Government should look into. 55,6% replied that the most appealing thing when purchasing a product is it's price, only 10% said that it is the quality of the packaging. It only means that promotions and marketing are effective to affect people purchasing decisions. This survey received 182 responses.
This just shows how complicated is marketing and every aspect of our lives is considered for a marketing strategy. Marketers are trying to find new ways on how to target their audiences and how to change their behaviors and attitudes. It is complicated but it is interesting at the same time. The ironic thing is that even the marketers are 'tricked' into their nets of strategy...
