Consumers told us their opinions on in-store media…

50% of respondents did not like in-store media at all.
10% had actually left a shop because they found it offensive or too distracting.
20% said that music was often too loud and had put them off visiting.
But 10% liked retail entertainment because it kept bored boyfriends or friends amused, allowing them to carry on shopping.

Plasma TVs and touch screens were the most frequently recalled items.

Asked whether in-store media enhanced respondents’ shopping experiences…

57% of shoppers said yes. When asked to explain how, reasons included that it created a lively, trendy atmosphere that enticed them to enter and stay in a store.
Being able to view more of the company’s products was also an advantage of in-store media, giving respondents ideas to copy said 21% of the survey.

We asked what people’s favourite shops were and why…

Marks and Spencers was by far the most popular store with 21% choosing this retail outlet.
Topshop was also a favourite and picked by 13% of respondents.
Layout was essential when deciding which was a consumer’s top store, accounting for 59% of the poll. Respondents preferred bright, open spaces where products were well presented and continually positioned in the same place, making items easy to find.
Ambience was paramount to 27%, who mentioned music as a key factor.

Instore Environment:

Respondents were also probed regarding the stores they disliked…

Interestingly Marks and Spencers also featured in this poll. 15% of consumers found it boring inside or the layout confusing. The biggest pet hate (35%) was overcrowded, cramped shops that try to cram too many products into too small a space. This was closely followed by queues that aggravated 20%, and more surprisingly 20% detested stores that look old and had not been modernised.

Responses to what would improve the shopping experience varied…

Ranging from better refreshment facilities to seating, air conditioning and interesting displays, our respondents found many areas to improve on.
Again layout was fundamental, 35% of the survey referred to the store structure, mentioning in particular the need for wider aisles.

We wanted to know what prohibited consumers from having a happy shopping experience…

Staff who are too overbearing or simply not there at all frustrated 23% of our respondents and also accounted for 11% of complaints regarding queues.
Instore Promotions:

Interviewing members of the public, we found out what consumers favourite promotions were…

52% mentioned Buy One Get One Free as the best retail offer and the remaining 48% referred to 3 For 2, half price reductions, money off and vouchers.
Our research also showed that consumers remember and directly link promotions to specific stores. Respondents reiterated offers specific to Boots and Sainsburys.

Are promotions influential when consumers are deciding on a product? We discovered that….

63% admitted to being swayed by special offers while 37% would stick to buying the products they needed.
Some respondents preferred to go to shops advertising sales or lower prices.
However, 10% said that rather that persuade them to buy, promotions put them off, making them question the quality of the discounted products and why it is not selling at full price.

Do free gifts help persuade customers to buy products? The results…

A 50-50 spilt. Half of our respondents said yes it would, while the other half would evaluate the value of the gift first or would be wary of hidden costs.
15% of the poll thought free gifts were tacky, cheap and of poor quality.
Cosmetics were mentioned by 10% as being an area where free gifts were highly regarded and influential on a purchase.

External Advertising and Promotions:

With a plethora of sales, reductions and freebies available, we wanted to know whether vouchers had any affect on consumers purchasing decisions…

More than half said that they did while 42% believed that they were a waste of time.
HMV in particular were remembered for their ‘Christmas Voucher Booklet’ that was regarded as giving real discount to its customers.

Some respondents admitted to cutting vouchers out from magazines.

Do people really save vouchers and collect tokens? Our poll shows that….

71% take the trouble, especially if they are for children. Respondents make the effort for children campaigns such as Tescos’computer vouchers and Sainsbury’s Active Kids.
Many got annoyed and gave up when vouchers got torn or forgotten at the back of their wallets.

Our study also uncovered what advertising methods people thought were the most effective….

The ubiquitous nature of television and radio made this form of advertising score most highly (36%), but both newspaper and magazines and in-store advertising also received a mentioned.
Adverts that featured real people were popular; Both the Dove and Asda campaigns were praised.
Nike was selected by 8% of the poll for having unique visuals that consumers would remember.

Respondents also let us know what types of advertising was unproductive…

19% detest any advertising associated with mobile phones. Texts, ring tones and telesales were among the worst offenders.

Leaflets handed out in the street or through the post were also slated and often ignored.
Surprisingly, offers of a free gift were seen by 4% as an ineffective form of promoting a product.
Loyalty Schemes:

We asked whether our respondents had any of the loyalty cards available…

Only one out of all of our subjects had no loyalty cards at all.
Many respondents had more than one and the most popular were Boots Advantage Card (37%), the Nectar card (25%) and Tescos’s club card (11%).
Complaints about the card included high interest rates and the long length of time it takes to build up sufficient points to claim a reward.

Which are the top loyalty cards?

Our research shows that the Nectar card is the most pleasing with Boots cards coming a close second.
Reasons for this include the fact that respondents feel like they are actually getting something back, of value, from these cards.

We also wanted to know what type of rewards are the most appealing to the consumer…

Popular responses related to money, with cash back accounting for 40% of the poll and money off 26%.
Air miles were appreciated by 13% while others preferred to have points to spend.

Finally questioned whether loyalty cards made customers loyal to a particular store…

An overwhelming 72% thought so and many used the example of the Boots card, which they said stopped them from visiting Superdrug, even though it was cheaper.
However 11% believed that loyalty worked the other way round. They had to be happy with the shop first before signing up for the relevant cards.

Products, Packaging & Pricing:

We quizzed our sample consumers to find out whether they preferred branded or own label products…

50% preferred branded but 45% admitted that they used a variety of both.
Food was a particular area where consumers where happy to mix and match different labels.
Quality is important and respondents felt they could trust establish brands and felt reassured by the accompanying reputations.

Many admitted to ‘following the crowd’ when it comes to purchasing and dubbed themselves sheep for continually choosing branded produce.

Own brands were seen as inferior to branded goods and shoes and clothes were areas were consumers were more likely to opt for branded goods.

We were interested also in whether respondents shopped around for the best price…

Results were tight, 40% said yes, 36% no and 24% saying sometimes.
Time and the price of the goods dictated whether customers made the effort. 23% said they checked before making an expensive purchase but for cheap items they preferred instant gratification without the hassle of trawling the shops.

Customers enlisted the help of the internet to compare prices as well as keeping an eye on high street bargains

Packaging has evolved significantly and we asked our poll if it was still important to them…

An overwhelming majority of 82% said yes with many admitting that it plays a big part in their purchasing decisions from catching their eye to being a reflection of the quality of the product inside.
Issues of hygiene meant high quality packaging is demanded when it comes to food for 13% of our respondents.
Easy to open packaging is a big hit and many moaned about the irritation of hard to open, tough plastic coverings.

Online Shopping:

Discovering whether modern technology has changed shopping habits, we asked if respondents used the internet to buy goods…

57% said yes, commenting on the ease and convenience it allows
Trust was an issue for 14% that prohibited them from using the web and conventional shopping methods were clearly still a favourite for some.

Types of products respondents brought on online include…

Baby toys and goods, holidays, clothes and car or home insurance.
Many commented that they used the internet for ‘everything’.
Entertainment goods however, were the main purchases with CDs, DVDs and games listed by 31% of the poll.

Our study unearthed what people perceived as the benefits of online shopping…

Convenience was the run away winner with 87% including this in their answer.
Obtaining items before they are released in shops was a big bonus for some as well as locating products that they couldn’t find in store.


The pitfalls of online shopping were….

The inability to see and feel the product. Respondents like to try things on and judge the quality of an item before they purchase.

Trust also cropped up and 22% felt unhappy with online security.

Consumers informed us of their favourite online store…

Again sites supplying entertainment were popular and favourite with our poll was Amazon (45%).
Interestingly the ASOS site was mentioned by respondents who had seen it repeatedly referred to in magazine fashion pages.

Sites selling event tickets also appeared.

Source: http://www.voxpops.com

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