“Remember when grocery shopping was a chore? Who would do it for fun? Try millions of consumers and more by the day.”
 
   USA Today (www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2006-04-16-destination-supermarkets_x.htm?POE=click-refer).
  
   In our paper Tires and Bicycles: A Tale of Two Purchases, we argue that customers use two distinct strategies when making purchases. When customers buy a product for its utility, they are unemotional, even indifferent about the product per se and buy on price. If emotions do enter the picture, they are usually negative and related to the interactions with the vendor. When customers buy in this manner, they are inherently not loyal to a brand, a company or store.
  
   However, when the experience surrounding a product has meaning, that is, positively affects them emotionally or psychologically, the customer will scrimp to splurge. They save on things that just fill a need to enable them to splurge on experiences that are emotionally gratifying.
  
   The USA Today article talks about destination supermarkets or grocery Disneyland’s where “yes, tons of food is sold, but there is soooo much more.”
  
   Wal-Mart is successful at selling groceries to the indifferent buyer pulling business from chains like Safeway and Albertson’s.  At the same time stores offering a food experience are pulling high-value business from both.
  
   Customers have always had a split personality when it comes to buying, but in today’s milieu, customers are increasingly seeking emotionally and psychologically gratifying experiences.
  
   Is your company like Safeway, unable to compete with Wal-Mart on price but haven’t figured out how to court the emotionally engaged customer?
  
   Download a free copy of our Tires and Bicycles paper at www.thewhetstoneedge.com to learn more.
 

Posted by John Todor on Friday, July 14th, 2006 at 5:41 am.