The highly publicized rebirth of in-store shopping isn’t a joke. Here’s what we learned from visiting 18 shopping destinations in 6 states during Back to School season.
As it usually happens with research, answers lead the way to more questions.
You imply that shopping is mission-based but isn't mission-based shopping where online really slays? What's the type of mission-based shopping that leads more naturally to IRL? Is it when you aren't sure about either size or fit (one area where online is really weak)? Or is it because of the instant gratification?
Also: didn't you see any trace of either the "meet me at the fountain" behaviour (shopping has a way to kill time and background for socializing) OR the shopping theraphy thing? (for richer cohorts, shopping as a leisure activity to be done weekly, with no specific "mission" in mind).
Hey there! Thanks for your comment. You're totally right that mission-based shopping also happens online. In our research, we found that store-based mission shopping was usually based on someone wanting to be sure their size fit, or to check material quality, or because they needed/wanted the product ASAP. There was also some use of ordering online to pickup in store, but it wasn't as widespread as we had anticipated.
We also did meet some folks who were just wasting time ("my wife is in the store next door") or shopping to shop, but they were not a major factor overall.
As it usually happens with research, answers lead the way to more questions.
You imply that shopping is mission-based but isn't mission-based shopping where online really slays? What's the type of mission-based shopping that leads more naturally to IRL? Is it when you aren't sure about either size or fit (one area where online is really weak)? Or is it because of the instant gratification?
Also: didn't you see any trace of either the "meet me at the fountain" behaviour (shopping has a way to kill time and background for socializing) OR the shopping theraphy thing? (for richer cohorts, shopping as a leisure activity to be done weekly, with no specific "mission" in mind).
Hey there! Thanks for your comment. You're totally right that mission-based shopping also happens online. In our research, we found that store-based mission shopping was usually based on someone wanting to be sure their size fit, or to check material quality, or because they needed/wanted the product ASAP. There was also some use of ordering online to pickup in store, but it wasn't as widespread as we had anticipated.
We also did meet some folks who were just wasting time ("my wife is in the store next door") or shopping to shop, but they were not a major factor overall.