Retailing Is Changing
Shoppers are the most necessary element in retailing, and every retailer is looking for an edge.
Retailers, and the consultants who tell them what to do, always have consumers under the microscope. They study shoppers like NFL coaches study opponents, looking for new ways to score.
A new study from a New York consultant rebuts trend watchers who say people are shopping less. WSL Strategic Retail says people are shopping more, but not necessarily spending more.
The company says price no longer rules buying decisions. Convenience, it says, is the top reason people pick a particular store, followed by price, selection, and service.
Who's shopping the most? WSL says it's people ages 18 to 34 with incomes ranging from $12,000 to $44,000 a year. The company said upper-income consumers, with incomes of $70,000 a year or more, are shopping significantly less because, essentially, they're bored with just about every retailing format except specialty stores.
