It’s the week before Christmas and typically, I have left buying my wife’s gift to the last minute. In between meetings and after work, I have been hitting the streets and malls of Hong Kong to find inspiration and find the gift. The good thing about Hong Kong is that you are never short of choice. The bad thing, it takes so much longer to actually buy something!
This is a perfect example of the problems of choice which was researched and articulated so well by the American psychologist Barry Schwartz in his book “The Paradox of Choice – Why More is Less”. In my aimless wanderings over the last week, I was struck by the thought that perhaps we marketing and agency folk, in our effort to innovate and differentiate in retail, are collectively creating stressful and bad experiences for consumers. Sometimes we forget that simplicity used at the right time and place is in itself a way to innovate and differentiate.
On a recent retail project, my team and I stumbled upon the importance of this ingredient. The goal of the project was to refresh the client’s retail experience to reflect the desired change in their brand position. The brand was moving from mass to a more luxury status – affordable luxury if you like.
Essentially, we deconstructed what was affordable luxury and looked to define how to interpret this though store-front displays and in-store experience. One of the elements reviewed was quantity. We successfully argued that for the client’s products, the beauty and exclusivity of individual pieces were lost in a sea of choice. We argued that variety is better communicated through price mix and category style at the store front and that wider choice should be managed in-store by customer service.
Each brand and product is different. For our client there was a certain solution. For others simplicity can play out in different ways. Technology can play a part, but the important thing is to consider at each stage of your customer’s journey where there is a fight or flight problem – from channel strategy, to location planning or in-store. Seek ways to make life easier for people like me!
Now back to my wife’s gift. I still don’t have anything and there is one-day to go. The pressure is on. Fight or flight is no longer a choice. All I can do is fight. It won’t be fun or memorable, but a necessity. Wish me luck and have a great New Year ahead.
