Do you like being lost? Disoriented?
IKEA is betting your own cold, hard cash that you don’t. That’s why they’ve designed their stores like a maze.
It takes the average shopper three hours — and some as long as eight — to weave their way through the retailer’s carefully merchandised, catalog-inspired stores. So by the time shoppers are able to find the warehouse area where they can actually purchase something and leave, they usually buy stuff they never intended (or perhaps even wanted).
It’s simple psychology, says Alan Penn, director of the Virtual Reality Centre for the Built Environment at University College London. The longer shoppers are exposed to IKEA’s products, the more impulse buys they are likely to make. And the confusing layout means they grab stuff when they see it, because backtracking to find items later would require bread crumbs…or an overnight stay.
This type of conscious manipulation kinda creeps me out…and pisses me off a little. I have always thought of IKEA products as sleek, modern and forward thinking — all about ease and simplicity.
But this kind of marketing duplicity runs counter to their brand image. When your products are as cool as IKEA’s — and as well-priced — do you really have to trap shoppers in the store to make sure they buy enough before they leave?
Maybe I’m the one being simple.
Branded
We all have name brand products that we love.
I prefer Pepsi products to Coke. Jif Peanut Butter over Skippy. Cheetos to any ‘imitation’ cheese puff.
But would I willingly get a tattoo of a favorite brand logo if it meant a 20 percent discount for life?
Not even.
But that is exactly what Ecko Unlimited is currently purposing to its brand faithful. And they appear to be perfectly seriously.
Sound like a deal?
Before you run out and invest in a new tramp stamp, do the math. If the Ecko Unlimited tee you are jonesin’ for retails at $30, the brand permanently decorating your backside only saves you $6.
Six bucks!
They expect people to turn themselves into a billboard for that? Sorry, Ecko — personal real estate carries a far heftier price.
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Posted in Advertising, Business, Commentary, Design, Finances, Humor, Life, Shopping
Tagged advertising, billboard, brand loyalty, brands, Business, Cheetos, Coke, commentary, discounts, Fashion, Humor, jeans, Jif, life, marketing, Pepsi, product brands, product tattoos, shears, shino, shopping, Skippy, sneakers, t-shirts, tats, tattoos, tees, tramp stamp