Knowing Your Customers

http://www.hardwareretailing.com/walmart-big-boxes-find-holiday-sales-drivers/
The economic principle I’m exploring is “Because of scarcity, people choose. All choices have an opportunity cost.”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How do retail / grocery stores choose which products to display /to stock during certain seasons or in general throughout their stores?”

The article/video/etc published in Retail Management Software Blog titled “5 Focus Points for Better Retail Management” demonstrates this economic principle because it shows that in order to attract a scarce number of customers, stores need to create a unique, select items that appeal to certain crowds, and to make changes to continue to attract customers. 

First, you must understand what the customers really want, get to know your customers and what they like. It’s important to stock your store with what your customers would be interested in and avoid buying what they would avoid. Also, your price ranges and overall environment influence what type of people come to your store, so look out for that.

Second, have a business model and embrace it. If you want to be a higher end grocery store then stock with high end items and have a fancier interior, if you want to be a cheaper option for families then have the basics and deals that would lure them in. A store like Kramer Foods attracts more of an middle age to elderly group of people, due to having employees that help bag your groceries and are willing to help customers out to their cars. Services like these attract the crowd they get. A supermarket like Walmart is more of a general store, it will attract all crowds of people due to it's universal design and prices.

 Third, look for the future, don’t dwell on past experiences or successes unless you’re sure they can work well for you. It’s important to have objectives and other assessments ready for the future. Every experience you learn something, but a good management knows that it’s a waste of time to focus on what has happened, but what could happen. For example, Kramer's has been around for around 60 years, and they haven't seemed to change their overall look of the store or it's prices. Some ways they might need to change for the future are to have deals that might attract people of different crowds, or create a different output of items that you might not see elsewhere in the town which kids and young adults would like.

In my next blog post I will research: What type of products is it important to purchase based on season, weather, and other factors.