Inside the Mind of the Shopper

Herb Sorensen is a preeminent authority on observing and measuring shopping behavior and attitudes within the four walls of the store. He has worked with Fortune 100 retailers and consumer packaged-goods manufacturers for more than 40 years, studying shopper behavior, motivations, and perceptions at the point of purchase. Sorensen’s methods are helping to revolutionize retail-marketing strategies from a traditional “product-centric” perspective to a new “shopper-centric” focus. As Baseline magazine commented, “Herb Sorensen and Paco Underhill are the yin and yang of observational research.” Herb has conducted studies in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. His research has been published in AMA’s Marketing Research, The Journal of Advertising Research, FMI Advantage Magazine, Progressive Grocer, and Chain Drug Review. He has also been utilized as an expert source for The Wall Street Journal, Supermarket News, and BusinessWeek. Herb appeared on the television show Dr. Oz as an expert on the movement of the eyes as part of the shopping process. Additionally, he is currently a panelist of Retail Wire’s “Brain Trust” and blogs at www.shopperscientist.com. Herb’s career intertwines the world of science with the world of business. His Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California at Davis, 1970, resulted in publications ranging from metabolism, to chemical and electron structures. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. In 1972 he launched a food laboratory, specializing in nutrition, safety, and HACCP quality programs. His second company, Sorensen Associates, “The In-store Research Company,” grew at an annualized rate of nearly 30% from 1979–2009. In the 90s a mentor, Bob Stevens of P&G, encouraged a sharper focus on “assessment in context.” This led to the invention and patenting of PathTracker, a second-by-second method of electronically studying shopper behavior in stores. Early on, PathTracker enjoyed mentoring and advice from Peter Fader, and Herb shared in the honor of the AMA’s EXPLOR award in 2007, with Fader and his group at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2004 Fast Company Magazine named Herb one of its top 50 innovators. In 2013, he received the Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award, “honoring distinguished academics and practitioners who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and sustained impact on the evolving profession of marketing research over an extended period.” In receiving this prestigious award, Sorensen joined other marketing research legends such as Robert Wood Johnson, Peter Drucker, Arthur C. Nielsen, George Gallup, August A. Busch III, Paul E. Green, John A. Howard, Philip Kotler, Robert J. Lavidge, and Jagdish Sheth. Globalization of Herb’s work expanded when he sold his company to TNS/Kantar and published the first edition of Inside the Mind of the Shopper and through affiliation with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South Australia as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow. Herb is collaborating with Mark Heckman on Accelerated Merchandising, increasing sales and profits through shopper efficiency.

“The Second Edition of Inside the Mind of the Shopper is a goldmine for anyone trying to wrap their heads around the disruptions reshaping retail in the 21st Century. It provides much-needed clarity to a variety of hotly contested issues, from a pragmatic approach to ‘moments of truth’ to a dispassionate assessment of how physical and digital retailing can co-exist, compete, and (most importantly) be managed. But, for me at least, while there is much new ground broken here, none is more fertile than Sorensen’s notions of shopping as a ‘directional search’ and the idea of the retail area as the interface of products’ and shoppers’ competition for space. The author has given us many things to learn and even more to think about.” – Ryan Mathews, CEO, Black Monk Consulting; author of The Myth of Excellence; The Deviant’s Advantage; and What’s Your Story ? “The author’s new chapters really contribute to making his ideas about active retailing even clearer, and making the book more up to date with the comparisons between online and offline. The book is so refreshing due to the author’s unique perspective and approach to retailing. I am used to both the practitioner’s ways of reasoning as well as academic literature on retailing, but the author’s perspective is distinct. He seems to have the mind of both an engineer as well as that of a retailer.” – Jens Nordfält, Head of Research, Hakon Swenson Research Foundation; Assistant Professor, Stockholm School of Economics “The Second Edition of Inside the Mind of the Shopper is version 2.0, not 1.1. Rarely does an update pave so much new ground that it could be considered an entirely new book. In the first edition, the author summarized the wisdom he developed from watching shoppers across close to a million shopping trips. In the second edition, the author examines today’s most pressing questions for retailers–how to rapidly evolve into a hybrid world of bricks, clicks, digital, social, and mobile. The second edition is an essential read whether or not you’ve read the first edition. Most of the information is new and virtually all of it is essential.” – Neale Martin, CEO, Sublime Marketing; Professor of Innovation, Coles College of Management, Kennesaw State University; author of Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore “Herb Sorensen’s seminal first edition of Inside the Mind of the Shopper has not only become prescribed reading for our consultants, but it has also become the go-to read for many of our clients. This is not a cover-to-cover read but rather a constant companion for any retail or shopper marketing practitioner, as it is packed with valuable insights drawn from over 40 years of shopper understanding. The updated second edition takes into account the dramatic changes technology has brought about since the launch of the first edition seven years ago. Technology has not only changed shopper behavior, but it has also played a significant role in how retailers and marketers engage the shopper. The author’s recommendations for how bricks and mortar retail should venture forth in this digital age are both reassuring and energizing. One thing that hasn’t changed over the two editions is the message that the shopper should be at the heart of everything we do as retailers and brand owners.” – Peter Wilson, Director, koji “I found this book to be a very important part of the industry. I also think it is a must-read for every merchandiser and category manager and would be the right text book for any retail merchandizing course for retail management programs, and even for management trainee programs. I spent time at Grand Union stores years ago in each of their four phas

• Preface: Who Is #1?     xxixIntroduction     1Bidirectional Search     2Products/Shoppers Competition     3Open Space Actually Attracts Shoppers—Think Navigation!     5Review Questions     10Endnotes     10PART I:  TOWARD TOTAL CONVERGENCE OF BRICKS-AND-MORTAR AND ONLINE RETAILINGChapter 1  How We Got Here and Where We Are Going     15What Is Selling?     16Selling Requires a Salesperson, Not a Retailer     17SELLING: Focus on the Big Head of What the Shopper Wants to Buy     18Stop Shouting at Your Shoppers     21How We Got This Way     25Early Shopping in America     26The Birth of Self-Service Retail     26Can Selling Make a Comeback in the Twenty-first Century?     32The Four Dimensions of Purchasing     33Now! Purchases (Advantage—Bricks Retail)     35Surprise/Delight Purchases (Advantage—Bricks Retail)      36Routine/Autopilot Purchases (Advantage—Online Retail)      37Frustration/Angst Purchases (Advantage—Online Retail)          37Where Is Selling Going?     37The Selling Prescription     40The Shopper’s Ideal Self-Service Retail Experience     41What Does the Ideal Self-Service Retail Store of the Future Look Like?     42The Dark Store     43Step-by-Step     44The Ever-Changing Retail Landscape Favors an Evolving Retailer Species     46Review Questions     47Endnotes     48Chapter 2  Transitioning Retailers from Passive to Active Mode (by Mark Heckman)     49Passive Merchandising No Longer Suffices in a Shopper-Driven World     50The Journey to Active Retailing and the Five Vital Tenets of Active Retailing     51The Five Vital Tenets of Active Retailing     52Tenet 1: Measure and Manage the Shopper’s Time in the Store     53A Shopper’s Time Should Be as Important to the Retailer as It Is to the Shopper!     55Wasted Days and Wasted Nights     57Implications for Active Retailing     58Steps for Managing Shoppers’ Time in Store     58Tenet 2: Focus on the Big Head     59Implications for Active Retailing     61Retailers Attempting to Manipulate or Extend a Shopper’s Trip Are on a Fool’s Errand     62Steps in Managing the Big Head     63Tenet 3: Assist Shoppers as They Navigate the Store     63Mr. Retailer, Tear Down This Wall!     66Implications for Active Retailing     67Activating the Dominant Path     68Steps in Assisting Shoppers as They Navigate the Store     71Tenet 4: Sell Sequentially     71What Comes First, The Chicken or the Egg?     72Does the Order of Things Matter?     72Implications for Active Retailing     73Steps for Sequential Selling     76Tenet 5: Managing the Long Tail     76So Where Does This Leave the Tens of Thousands of Other Items That Populate the Shelves of the Store?     77“Nobody Goes There Anymore. It’s Too Crowded”—Yogi Berra     77Implications for Active Retailing     79Steps in Managing the Long Tail     81A Passing Thought about the Role of Displays in Active Retailing     82Closing Thoughts     82Review Questions     83Endnotes     83Chapter 3  Selling Like Amazon Online and in Bricks Stores     85Amazon Selling Online     87Amazon Point of Focus #1: Navigation—Simple and Fast     88Amazon Focus: Selection     89Amazon Focus #2: Immediate Close     90Amazon Focus #3: Affinity Sales and Crowd-Social Marketing     91Amazon Focus #4: Reaching into the Long Tail     93Amazon Focus #5: Info, Info, Info     94Amazonian Selling in Bricks Stores     95Amazonian Bricks Focus #1: Navigation—Simple and Fast     96Amazonian Bricks Focus: Selection     101Amazonian Bricks Focus #2: Immediate Close101Amazonian Bricks Focus #3: Affinity Sales/Crowd-Social Marketing     104Amazonian Bricks Focus #4: Reaching into the Long Tail106Amazonian Bricks Focus #5: Info, Info, Info    107Review Questions     112Endnotes    113Chapter 4  Integrating Online and Offline Retailing: An Interview with Peter Fader and Wendy Moe     115How Did the Internet Change the Study of Shopping Behavior?     116In What Way Are the Online and Offline Patterns Similar?     117How Are Paths in the Supermarket Similar to Paths Online?     119Can Online Retailers Learn from Offline Shopper Behavior?     119Tell Me about What You’ve Found Out about Crowd Behavior?     120What Have You Learned about Licensing and Sequencing—Such as the Purchase of Vice Items After Virtue Items?     120What Have You Found Out about the Pace of the Shopping Trip?     121What Have You Learned about Shopping Momentum?     122What Have You Learned about the Role of Variety in Shopping?      122What Have You Learned about Efficiency? Is It Better to Allow Shoppers to Get Quickly In and Out of the Store, or Should Retailers Try to Prolong the Trip?     123This Raises the Question of Whether Shoppers Are in the Store for Utilitarian Reasons Alone or If They Are Interested in an Experience. What Is the Difference?     124What Have You Learned so far about What Shoppers Are Looking for When They Go Online?     124How Do Online Retailers Use These Insights about Shopper Visits?     125This Captures the Whole Point of What We’ve Called “Active Retailing ” Online Is Leading Offline in This Area  How Does This Come into the Physical Store?     126How Do Some of the Complex Forces of Shopping Behavior Play Out? Why Is There a Need for Better Modeling?     126What Topics Are You Studying Now?     127Review Questions     127Endnotes     128Chapter 5  The Coming Webby Store     129The “Ideal” Sized Store     135Review Questions     137Endnotes     137 PART II:  GOING DEEPER INTO THE SHOPPER’S MINDChapter 6  Long-Cycle Purchasing (by James Sorensen)     141Higher Cost Leads to Anxiety and Indecision     142Longer Shopping Process     143Long-Cycle Purchasing     143A Word about Building Desire     144Wish     145Want     145Need     145Got     146The Shopper Engagement Spectrum     147Speeding the Shopper along the Path-to-Purchase: First Build Desire and Facilitate the Tipping Point     149Life Changes     150Product Benefits     150Ability to Pay     150The Shopper’s Journey     151Early in the Shopping Journey     151Educate     151Late in the Shopping Journey     152Validating Choice     152Complete the Transaction     153Mobile     153Again, the Sales Associate Is Key to Closing the Sale and Completing the Transaction     153Conclusion     153Review Questions     154Endnotes     154Chapter 7  The Quick-Trip Paradox: An Interview with Mike Twitty     155How Do You Define a Quick Trip?     155Why Do Shoppers Make So Many Quick Trips?     158How Do Pre-store Decisions Affect the Quick Trip?      160What Factors Do Consumers Consider in Deciding Where and How to Shop?     160How Do Consumers Think about Shopping Trips?      161What Did You Learn from This Research?      162How Could It Be that Even Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters—Whose Design so Strongly Encourages Stock-up Shopping—Receive More Quick Trips than Stock-up or Fill-in Trips?     164Given that Quick Trips Account for Two-thirds of Shopping Trips, How Can Retailers and Manufacturers Cater to these Shoppers?     165What Is the Quick-trip Paradox?      165Given this Paradox, How Can Retailers and Manufacturers Capitalize on the Quick Trip?      166Could the Shoppers’ Motives for Making the Trip Offer Insights into the Best Assortment to Offer?      168How Can Retailers Best Meet the Needs of Quick-Trip Shoppers?     168What Are the Implications for Retailers and Manufacturers?     170Review Questions     171Endnotes     172Chapter 8  Three Moments of Truth and Three Currencies     173Moments of Truth     177Seeing the Truth: Eyes Are Windows to the Shopper     178Reach: Impressions and Exposures     182Stopping Power (and Holding Power)     188Closing Power     189Three Currencies of Shopping: Money, Time, and Angst     190Time     191Angst: A Vague and Unpleasant Emotion     194A Complex Optimization     195Review Questions     196Endnotes     197Chapter 9  In-Store Migration Patterns: Where Shoppers Go and What They Do     199If You Stock It, They Will Come     201Understanding Shopper Behavior     204First Impressions: The Entrance     206Shopper Direction: Establishing a Dominant Path for the Elephant Herds     207The Checkout Magnet     210Products Hardly Ever Dictate Shopper Traffic—Open Space Does     211Open Space Attracts: The Call of the Open Aisle     212The Great Pyramids     215New Angles     216Managing the Two Stores     219Five Store Designs     221The Enhanced Perimeter     222The Inverted Perimeter     223The Serpentine Design     225The Compound Store     225The Big Head Store     226Where the Rubber Meets the Linoleum     227Review Questions     227Endnotes     228 PART III:  CONCLUSIONSChapter 10  Brands, Retailers, and Shoppers: Why the Long Tail Is Wagging the Dog     231Where the Money Is in Retail     232Massive Amounts of Data     234Shifting Relationships     235A Refreshing Change: Working Together to Sweeten Sales     237Beyond Category Management     238A New Era of Active Retailing: Total Store Management     239Pitching a Category’s Emotional Tone More Precisely     245Retailers Control Reach     246The Urgent Need for Retailing Evolution     248Review Questions     251Endnotes     252Chapter 11  Conclusion Game-Changing Retail: A Manifesto     253The Package Is the Brand’s Ambassador     258Review Questions     260Afterword     261Index     267