How does Store merchandising can influence on our shopping decisions?

If you are a smart shopper, it is not that easy to persuade you to actually buy something. There is the science behind how the products are organized, labels are written and sections are ordered to guide you through to making a purchase. That’s a wealth of tricks based on psychological theories and practices that in the end convert you from a regular visitor into the buyer. All these tricks are usually called merchandising techniques and could be classified in the following ones:

· Environmental: Color, Music, scents, lights,

· Design: layout, distribution, product presentation

· People: staff, customers, density

If focusing our attention in just the environmental ones, it is possible to discover some powerful tools that will enhance our customers buying one or another thing.

For example, one powerful method to appeal to a potential buyer is applying color theory to commerce. Has it ever occurred to you why you feel safer in one store and more energetic in another one? Have you ever noticed that landing on some web page you feel like clicking some button and keep browsing the site? Color is believed to be one of the most powerful elements of design for web sites, direct mail, ads, and other marketing materials. While calid colors generate a high impact in impulsive or non-planified purchases, cold and neutral colors are more useful in purchases that need a larger decision process.

Another method that produces distortions among customers is music. Have you ever perceived that in Christmas or sales period music rhythm is usually faster than in other occasions? This is because music rhythm, type and volume affects the way the consumer shops so the stores try to adapt those behaviors depending on their interests. While “slow tempo” music permits a slow purchasing rhythm, “fast tempo” music produces the opposite effect. Also, music type affects our perception in the way that traditional or known music make the customer loose perception of time while the opposite occurs when talking about not-familiar music.

As the same as music and colors, scents also affects at our senses and feelings making the customer more or less willing to any potential purchase. Did you know that in Las Vegas some particular scents are used so as to increase people’s optimism? Actually, well-combined scents can relax or even stimulate the customers as desired. Moreover, some aromas can make us evoke some feelings or perceptions like just baked bread in bakeries, coconut scent in travel agencies or leather scent in new cars. All these scents produce a distortion in our perceptions which make us feel higher quality in the case of the car or remember something special in the case of travel agency.

At the end, you might wonder if what you’ve just bought is what you really wanted or what it was really wanted you to shop. Actually, it will probably be both, ‘cause even if when you entered wanted such a detailed purchase, there’s too much unconscious tricks on the store that influence you and may change your mind.