Place of Purchase
I conducted a non-participant observation at Lush, a brand shop that sells high-quality soaps and bath products. My goal was to learn more about consumers’ buying habits and to pinpoint purchasing trends. I followed a 25-year-old university student (I surmised that she attended university because she had a backpack that was proudly decorated with labels of Harvard and Yale). This young woman walked into the shop and was immediately attracted to the “Bath Bomb” shelf, which was very colorful, displaying different kinds of bath bombs. The girl hesitated, picking up the Experimenter available at $8.95 before seizing the Twilight dreamy lavender froth, available at $6.95. A shop attendant noticed the girl and invited her to check out the cosmetics counter, where she was rather aggressively encouraged to try on some face masks. At first, the girl refused, but after five minutes she tried on a tiny bit of the Cup O’ Coffee face and body mask because she was always tired and needed a “lift-me-up”, she told the shop attendant. The girl was told of the special discount: buy three facial masks and get one for free. In the end, the girl purchased the Twilight dreamy lavender froth as well as three facials, costing her a total of $32.35. She seemed really pleased to have a free facial and selected one of the most expensive ones, the Cupcake ($8.95), to bring back home. On two occasions, she thanked the two women and one man who served her while she paid for her purchase. She was grinning from ear to ear as she left the store, 34 minutes after she initially walked through its doors.
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Observation of Customer Buying Behavior: Method of Purchase.
Based on the girl’s age and buying behavior, she seemed to use the internet a fair deal. She flipped out her phone three times during her stay in the store to check out discounts at competitive stores. That being said, the girl seemed more interested in attractive colors than in comparing product prices. Although she told the shop attendant that she was trying to keep her spending at a minimum, she later admitted to “caving in” because she loved the “pretty colors.” When she was ready to pay, the girl took out her wallet and handed over a Lush gift certificate, which means that she must be a pretty regular customer.
Response to Sales Promotion.
The customer’s response to the “buy three facial masks, get one free” was very interesting to watch because it showcased how effective such a promotion can be. Although the customer initially only came in to buy a bath bomb, or so she told the attendant, she stocked up on facials because of the encouragement she received from the three shop attendants who served her. It only took about 10 minutes of encouragement from the shop attendants to convince the girl that she really “needed” those facials and that it was really “a deal of a lifetime”.
Conclusion
Numerous different factors play an important role in determining customer purchases: the layout of the store, the display of the items on sale, the use of promotions, and the quality of service, to name a few factors. In this case, the customer was clearly attracted to the colorful display of bath products and seemed to rely heavily on the advice given to her by the three attendants. As a member of Gen X, this customer used the internet a lot in guiding her through promotions and in comparing prices, but on the whole this customer was more interested in color than in saving money.
