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05.19.2005

“HartBeat” is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

For more Hartman Group articles on SHOPPER INSIGHTS, click here...

02.10.2005 "Packaged vs. Fresh...and Center Store Migration"

02.03.2005 "What Is 'Home Experience'?"

01.06.2005 "5 Myths in Consumer Shopping Behavior"

10.14.2004 "8 Common Blunders in Consumer Insights"

03.15.2004 "Luxury Consumption"- Part I

12.27.2002 "Re-Thinking Our Traditional Notion of the Mass Marketplace: The Emergence of a New Paradigm"

06.28.2002 "Experience, Expectation & the Shopping Trip"

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The Myth Of One-stop Shopping

Our ongoing ethnographic research has identified a powerful and substantial gap between what consumers believe they want and what their behavior actually demonstrates. Repeatedly we listen as consumers relish in the dream of one-stop shopping. Like paying one's taxes early, losing those last 20 pounds or finally getting organized, one-stop shopping remains one of those elusive ideals that seem better in theory than in practice. While part of the gap here is admittedly a result of the frenetic pace of contemporary life (shifting needs and hectic schedules ensure we're always "forgetting stuff," always only moments away from "a quick trip for something."), there is another implicit truth at work here. Most are simply no longer satisfied with the quality of goods afforded on one-stop shopping.

Realize that one-stop shopping was the original proposition of the American supermarket in its heyday some 50 years ago. The industrial economy delivered on modernity's great promise by offering American women the opportunity to stock their pantries with one extended trip to the supermarket. By replacing all manner of fresh products with processed versions (frozen vegetables, frozen juice, processed breads, canned vegetables, dehydrated packaged goods, pre-made sauces, etc.), manufacturers and grocers thoughtfully "eliminated" much unnecessary procurement and prep work for the busy head of the household.

Fast forward to 2005 and we find that many, if not most, consumers prefer to avoid such processed or packaged food products, instead seeking higher quality, fresh versions wherever possible. Among other things, this is why the general decline in center store sales has become such a big problem for manufacturers and retailers alike. Moreover, in their search for "all things fresh," we find that many consumers prefer to rely on several vendors with established credibility in their given area of expertise (local delis, butchers, farmer's markets, local grocers, local fish monger, etc.) when provisioning their households.

Briefly, when consumers suggest that they desire "one-stop shopping," what they are really expressing is a desire for convenience. Specifically, a desire to obtain "all of the things necessary for one's ordinary life" in as few locations as possible (in an ideal world that number would be one). The problem here emanates from contemporary understandings of that which is "necessary for ordinary life." Whereas 30 or 40 years ago our ideas regarding "necessity" were often formed around categories (milk, eggs, pasta, produce, etc.), consumers of today exhibit increasingly specific, often intractable preferences for highly differentiated goods and services. Milk is no longer sufficient for the wide swath of consumers who insist that their children drink organic milk. Ditto for produce, where we often find consumers who insist that some fruits be organic (due to health concerns), while vegetables must be conventional (due to price concerns). And in a world comprised of (literally) hundreds of olive oils, who wants to settle for Bertolli?

In short, when consumers suggest that they desire one-stop shopping, what they are really expressing is the idea that they would like to see all of their vast array of specialized, unique needs, tastes and preferences addressed in a single retail format - mass-customization taken to the extreme. So, what consumers are really asking for with their one-stop mantra is their own store stocked with all of the unique products and services they so desire.

And equally important is our consistent finding that despite increasingly hectic schedules and busy lives, consumers will "put their money where their mouth is" and patronize a variety of retailers to meet ever-more specific needs. In essence, their pickiness often overrides their desire for convenience.

Recognizing then that this ideal of a unique, customized retail experience may then only exist in theory, we could suggest the desire for such conveniences is, functionally speaking, a myth. By implication this suggests that forward-thinking retailers, designers and marketeers would be well-advised to unburden themselves of the "one-stop shopping" mantra and focus, instead, on designing retail experiences and offerings that meet the increasingly differentiated needs of "choosy" consumers.

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