Comments on: Shoe Shopping

By: Pertinent Observations » Blog Archive » Shopping in New York

Pertinent Observations » Blog Archive » Shopping in New York — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:09:01 +0000

[...] was reminded of this article by Tim Harford that the bofi had posted as part of a comment on one of my earlier posts. The basic insight in the article (which draws upon some widely cited research – I’ve [...]

By: Dibyo

Dibyo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:53:01 +0000

good show, but but to sell books, throw in some ‘fundas’ and ‘concepts’ – for instance, i could see an opportunity to throw in the whole con-b concept of ‘illusion of choice’ (i think it’s called psychological reactance, but i could be wrong).

By: Banjo

Banjo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:01:09 +0000

absolutely. In fact you sound just like consultants who come and try to explain marketing If you were a true marketing guru, you’d have thrown in a few standard jargons.

But keep at it You’ll get there

By: BoFi

BoFi — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:39:31 +0000

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9cebd444-cd9c-11de-8162-00144feabdc0.html Have you seen this article?

By: niranjan

niranjan — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:24:08 +0000

I agree with you. I had similar experience while buying a pair for myself last week in Jayanagar. While I didn’t buy first time when I was shown a dozen pairs, I returned next week and bought it in another shop near the shopping complex in 4th block.
I rarely see such informed salesmen, many times they annoy us by grossly showing unsuitable and unwanted items, be it shoes, apparels or electronics. I enjoy educating them on finer and subtle features they don’t know of the products they are selling.
Could you tell me the shop you bought it from? I’d love to visit such places!

By: maggie

maggie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:20:02 +0000

You may be right but example is not ‘global’. This whole shoe-salesman thing doesn’t happen even in the best of stores in many countries. eg One goes to Bloomingdales or Saks or Nordstrom, and picks shoes on their own to try. A sales rep may then spot you, point you to where all the shoes are or whatever, but they won’t dress up your feet like they do in India.

By: Chevalier

Chevalier — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:13:05 +0000

Yes and no – I agree with the part about trying to understand the customer’s needs and providing a thought-out solution. But in shoe-shopping (as in most things), I, for one, like to see the options available and then decide for myself. If a salesperson were to ask me ten questions before showing me a pair of shoes, I’d've walked out in disgust. Maybe I’m not sure what fashions are available, and my needs aren’t clearly defined at the outset – I discover things in my research phase, which is the window shopping time. Maybe I’m just not very articulate, and would prefer to point and say ‘this type, not this type’, rather than talk through abstract options. Or maybe because I think I understand my needs better than a salesperson (usually male) can interpret mine.

In commodities or specs-oriented products (e.g. electronics/cars, or pharma), a description often works just as well. But in visually-driven products (e.g. fashion – clothes, shoes, as well as some electronics and most cars) – an image or a display is imperitive. Even in boring FMCG categories like detergents, we say ‘jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai’.