Info Retail conducted a survey during the August 2010 Las Vegas market in order to keep our finger on the “pulse,” so to speak, of market attendees. We interviewed roughly 200 manufacturers and retailers. In this article, we review how attendees responded to one of our survey questions, as well as offer our perspective on what the survey results may mean for your business.
Do consumers want more or less products at retail?
According to 63% of the survey respondents, consumers want more product choices at retail.
Info Retail’s perspective: maybe, or maybe not. Under some circumstances the consumer may appear to be asking for more products. For example, suppose a customer comes into your store looking for a sofa. At first glance, all she may see are brown sofas. One has high legs, one has low legs, one reclines, and another has gold rivets on the arms. But they are all brown. This customer might ask if you have any other sofas besides what she sees on the floor. The logical conclusion would be that she would like more products from which to choose.
Although the retailer may translate the consumer’s request into a desire for more products, the consumer may simply be asking for better choice satisfaction. Choice satisfaction is directly linked to the attractiveness of the assortment of options being offered. When the product options are considered more attractive and more easily understood, the consumer is satisfied with less choice. Less attractive assortment options cause consumers to believe they need more products from which to choose (Cherney & Hamilton, 2010). If your customers are asking for more product choices, it may be that your assortment lacks clear differentiation and option attractiveness, or that the consumer perceives your store as being of lower-quality.
We suggest having a clear product hierarchy which consumers can easily understand. This hierarchy should educate them on how to evaluate the differences between good products and the best products. We encourage manufacturers to understand dominant buying motivations and transfer that information into a clearly understood benefit that can translate at retail. Changing from a product-centric to consumer-centric business model is key. Info Retail encourages user testing to fully understand what drives the consumer to either make a purchase, demand more options, or leave empty handed.
For more information about Info Retail’s Las Vegas 2010 survey email us at client.services@inforetail.com.