shopping behaviour

Shopping has become a means of self expression.  As the retail industry continues to fragment and retail brands continue to proliferate, people now make statements to others — and to themselves — by where, when, and how they choose to shop.  I was surprised to discover, though, that the shopping-as-self-expression phenomenon originated back in the late 19th century.

A long time ago, at the birth of the ageing business, there was a set of arguments that were always rolled out to justify why brands focus on the young. In those days young was 18-34, for many it still is but it has gone up a decade or two.

In the never-ending quest to understand how consumers make purchase decisions, and what influences their decisions….

No, wait. That’s not right. Let me start again.

Most of the UK press featured the research from Kantar Worldpanel about the growing buying power of older women and their influence on fashion.

Women in their fifties are now spending almost £7 billion a year on clothes and accessories.

In just the past week, I’ve had several conversations about the future of retail – and how drastically shopping as we’ve known it is going to change. From these provocative discussions, it’s become clear to me that retailers must change the way think about and build their brands, or face extinction.

For years I've been talking about how new mobile technologies can turn physical retail into nothing more then giant "windows" for online retailers. I know that I price check using my phone and I know that more & more people will do the same.

We have to deal with economic decisions on an everyday basis without knowing it. Here’s a few example of what I have been dealing with the last two days. From buying a pair of sneakers to using the iPad.

I first saw this drawing, forwarded by a friend, years ago and keep coming back to it every time I read something about shopping behavior (this time it's Inside The Mind of The Shopper). Never knew who the author was, until today.

The first thing that popped up on “must blog” list is another item about luxury.

According to a Luxury Institute study, summarized by AdWeek, state-of-the-market series, 77% of high-end shoppers "agreed that luxury is less important in today's economy."

According to the consulting group Bain & Co, shoppers are suffering from "luxury shame". These results appear in its latest report about the global luxury industry.

The WSJ (sorry subscription only) covers this research and has a fascinating article about the trials and tribulations of the luxury suppliers.