nickshanagher

In the past 20 years the science of behavioural economics has been adapted by consumer packaged goods manufacturers to create a revolution in shopper marketing. Independent retailers in the convenience channel will see the benefits of this thinking all around their store. For example, confectionery companies ask you to arrange your assortment according to shopper needs so that a hungry builder can find what he is looking for and a dieting social worker can find what she is seeking. Or in the beverages chiller, a brewer suggests how you should arrange your stock to make it easy for customers to find what they want. However a lot of this marketing investment may not work if the shopkeeper does not get the context right for her shoppers, suggests a new book The Irrational Consumer by  by Enrico Trevisan . Trevisan, an expert in pricing strategies, says that “the value created by a product and the resulting willingness to spend are strongly influenced by how the choice relat...

Reading about how Jack Welch says he ran General Electric, the giant US conglomerate, offers a useful test for local retailers thinking about how to invest in their shops. "Our job is capital allocation - intellectual and financial," he said. "Smell, feel, touch, listen, then allocate. And make mistakes - but we're big enough to make mistakes." As a local retailer you need to manage your financial and personal assets. You need to think hard about new ideas. You need to take risks. But not life threatening ones. Swansea retailer Salaman Rasul says he made several attempts to move into fresh food over his 22 years operating a convenience store. Then a year ago he made a big investment in a chiller, spending £12,500, and it has worked. The chiller keeps the food fresher longer and encourages shoppers to buy his products.