'MARKETING MSM.

by Edward M, Tauber

Why Do People Shop:

Retailers need to redefine their role in the marketplace.

T
he field of consumer behavior which are also of substantial theoretical shopping is a function of location, prod-
bas experienced a dynamic peri- and managerial importance. uct assortment, and store image. Again,
od of growtb over the past 10 "Why do people shop?" Numerous writ- these are variables tbat explain. "Wby do
years. It is frequently over- ings have been directed to the question. For people sbop where ihcy do.'" (store
looked, however, that ihis broad example, researchers have suggested thai patronage).
area consists of (bree distinct activities: shopping is a function of the nature of the But why do people go to a store in the
shopping, buying, and consuming. product, the degree of perceived risk inherent firsi place? The most obvious answer—
Considerable progress has been in tbe product class, and the level of knowl- "because tbcy need Io purchase some-
achieved in identifying tbe bebavioral edge or amount of inlbmiation about alterna- thing"*—can be deceplive and rellects a
dimensions of buying, and a number of the- tives. All of these answers are directed at the markeling myopia that management has be
ories of buying behavior have been postu- question. "Why do people shop in more than caulioned to avoid, i.e.. a producl orienta-
lated. However, less is known about the one store?" (comparison shopping). tion. This answer considers only ihe prod-
determinants of consuming and sbopping Otber authors have maintained that ucts tbat people may purchase and i.s but a
partial and insufficient basis for behavioral
explanations. It implicitly assumes that the
sbopping motive is a simple function of the
buying motive.
EXECUTIVE BRIEFING Peoples' motives for sbopping are a
function of many variables, some of which
are unrelated to the actual buying of prod
n each issue of Marketing Management we feptini an impor- ucls. It is maintained tbat an understanding
/ tant article from a past Issue of one of our sister publications. of shopping motives requires the consider-
This article first appeared in the October 1972 of the Journal of ation of satisfactions which shopping
Marketing. At the lime he wrote this article, Tauher was an assis- activities provide, as well as the utility
tant professor of marketing In the School of Business Administra- obtained from the merchandise ihat may be
purchased. If needs otbcr than those asso-
tion at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. ciated with particular products motivate
people to go to a store, the retailer should

58 fmJ995,VOL4Jo.2
incorporate tbis information into bis mar-
keting strategy.
Probing for Motives
I
undertook an exploratory study to deter-
mine some reasons wby people shop.
Individual in-depth interviews were
conducted in the Los Angeles area with a
convenience sample of 30 people, divided
evenly between men and women. Ages of
respondents ranged from 20-47. Ratber
ihan a direct approach in questioning sub-
jects about why they shop, I asked them to
recall tbeir most recent sbopping trips (of
any type), discuss their activities while
shopping, and tell what they enjoyed about
ihe trip. After considerable probing along
these lines, the discussion narrowed to bow
various types of shopping differed, the sub-
ject's preferences lor these different types,
and bis or her reasons.
From the list of reported shopping activi-
lies and satisfactions. I categoiized the
responses into a number of hypothesized
motives for shopping, classified (ex post) as
either personal or social. While exploratory
research results can be evaluated only on
the basis of face validity, some of tbese
motives for sbopping have been identified
in previous studies. A number of these
motives do not relate to purcbasing interest.
Personal Motives
Role playing. Many activities are learned
behaviors, traditionally expected or accept-
ed as part of a certain position or role in
society: mother, housewife, husband, or
student. A person internalizes these behav-
iors as "required" and is motivated to par-
ticipate in tbe expected activities.
Por example, grocery sbopping is a cus-
tomary activity of the housewife. Attempts
to eliminate "food shopping" through home
delivery and telephone order have, to date,
been relatively unsuccessful. Apparently.
tbe process of grocery shopping bas posi-
tive utility for a large segment of women
wbo view it as an integral part of their role.
Diversion. Shopping can offer an opportu-
nily for diversion from tbe routine of daily
life and thus represents a form of recre-
ation. It can provide free family entertain-
meni that is available witbout the necessity
ol" formal dress or preplanning.
The common term "browsing" and tbe
phenomenon of masses strolling through
sbopping centers reinforce the belief tbat
sbopping is a national pastime. Indoor shop-
ping malls are in an advantageous position
to encourage tbis activity througb exhibits
and (itber traffic-generating attractions that
appeal lo various family members.
Self-gratification. Different emotional
states or moods may be relevant for
explaining why (and wben) someone goes
sbopping. For example, a person may go to
a store in search of diversion when he is
bored or in search of social contaci wben
he feels lonely. Likewise, he may go to a
store to buy "something nice" for himself
when he is depressed.
Several subjects in Ihis study reported
that often they alleviate depression by sim-
ply spending money on themselves. In tbis
case, tbe shopping trip is motivated not by
the expected utility of consuming, but by
the utility of the buying process itself.
Learning about new trends. Products are
intimately entwined in one's daily activities
and often serve as symbols retlecting atti-
tudes and lifestyles. An individual learns
about trends and movements and the sym-
bols tbat support ibem when he visits a store.
Many people are interested in keeping
informed about tbe latest trend in fashion,
styling, or product innovations. While such
learning may take place with or without a
purchase, a certain segment of shoppers for
each product category is more prone to
buying new items. Stores that are trend-
conscious may appeal to these innovators.
Physical activity. An urban environment
characterized by mass transportation and
freeway driving provides little opportunity
for individuals to exercise at a leisurely
pace. Sbopping can provide people with a
considerable amount of exercise.
Many retailers attempt to minimize the
walking distance on their premises believ-
ing that sboppers perceive it to be an incon-
venience. However, some sboppers appar-
ently welcome the chance to walk in cen-
ters and malls that have been designed with
internal througb ways.
Sensory stimulation. Retail institutions
provide many potential sensory benefits for
sboppers. Customers browse tbrough a
store looking at Ihe mcrcbandise and at
each other; they enjoy handling the mer-
chandise and are either trying it on or try-
ing it out. Sound can also be important
because a "noisy" environment creates a
different image than one wbicb is charac-
terized by silence or soft background
music. Even scent maybe relevant; for
instance, stores may possess a distinctive
odor of pertume or of prepared food.
Structured surveys tbat attempt to mea-
UARKETING mAGmENT
sure wby people shop may not detect such
influences because sboppers infrequently
recall tbese stimuli in a top-of-mind
response. Nevertbeless. the gestalt of tbe
shopping environment may iniluence a
consumer's decision to sbop in a specific
store or mall.
Social Motives
Social experiences outside the home. The
marketplace has traditionally been a center
of social activity. In a number of underde-
veloped countries, tbe market still serves as
a gathering place for a town's inhabitants.
Many parts of the United States still have
"market days," "county fairs." and "town
squares" that offer a time and place for
social interaction.
In urban environments, contemporary
equivalents exist in sidewalk sales, auc-
tions, and swap meets. In general, shopping
can provide the opportunity for a social
experience outside the home (e.g.. seeking
new acquaintances or meeting those of the
opposite sex). Some shopping trips may
result in direct encounters with friends
(e.g.. neighborhood women at a supermar-
ket); on others, the social contact may be
more indirect, as exemplified by the pas-
time of "people watching."
Communication with others having a
similar interest. Common interests are a
major link in stimulating communication
and association between individuals. Many
hobbies center around products or services.
such as boaling, collecting siainps. car cus-
tomizing, and home decorating.
Stores tbat offer hobby-related goods
serve as a focal point for people with
similar interests to interact. People like to
talk with others about their interests, and
sales personnel are frequently sougbt to
provide special information concerning the
activity.
Peer group attraction. The patronage of a
store sometimes reflects a desire to be with
one's peer group or a reference group to
which one aspires to belong. For instance,
record stores are common "hangouts" for
teenagers. Sucb stores provide a meeting
place where members of a peer group may
gatber.
This "shopping" attraction is not neces-
sarily related to tbe motive of common
interest because the gathering spot tends to
change over lime; in many cases, the shop-
per may bave limited interest in the product
category and little intention to make a pur-
chase. However, if group status is associat-
fAiLl995JOL4Jo.2S9
ed witb one's knowledge of the category
and nature of boldings (e.g.. size of record
collection), then peer group influence may
motivate tbe person to "develop" an inter-
est in the product.
Status and authority. Many shopping
experiences provide the opporiunity for an
individual to command attention and
respect. In few otber activities can a per-
son expect to be "waited on" without hav-
ing to pay for this service. A person can
attain a feeling of status and power in tbis
limited "master-servant" relationship. Tbe
general concept of a store is an institution
that serves the public.
Store personnel compete for tbe
buyer's favor, especially in lines of mer-
chandise where comparison shopping is
likely (e.g.. expensive clothes, durables).
In sucb instances, shopping can be more
enjoyable than buying. For some cus-
tomers, tbe enjoyment of this sen.se of
power may considerably delay a purcbase
decision because it terminates the atten-
tion tbey were receiving.
Pleasure of hargaining. For many sbop-
pers. bargaining is a degrading activity;
haggling implies that one is "cheap." Oth-
ers, however, appear to enjoy the process
believing that witb bargaining goods can
be reduced to a more reasonable price.
In addition to this competition between
buyer and seller, there also appears to be
an implicit competition that occurs
between buyers—a type of ego-centered
buyer competition. An individual prides
bimself in his ability to make wise pur-
chases or to obtain bm'gains.
In a face-lo-face excbange with flexible
prices, a perceived bargain would result
wben tbe buyer believes be has paid less
for a product ibat otbers will bave to pay
the seller lor the same merchandise. The
presence of "fixed" labeled prices prevents
tbe buyer from deriving satisfaction in this
manner.
To tbe extent that a person perceives
himself as a wise shopper, he will seek
bargains in fixed-price situations by look-
ing at relative prices between stores (com-
parison sbopping) or relative prices over
time (special sales).
Impulse Shopping
I r the shopping motive is a function of
only tbe buying motive, tbe decision to
shop will occur wben a person's need
for particular gtwds becomes sufficiently
strong for bim to allocate time, money,
and effort to visit a store. However, the
60 Fml995JOL4Jo.2
multiplicity of hypothesized sbopping
motives suggest that a person may also go
shopping when he needs attention, wants
to be witb peers, desires to meet people
with similar interests, feels a need to exer-
cise, or has leisure time.
The foregoing discussion indicates that
a person experiences a need and recognizes
that shopping activities may satisfy thai
need. Yet. retailers often observe tbat not
all of their customers' behavior is so well
planned. In the same way that a person
may walk down an aisle viewing merchan-
dise and buying on impulse, be may also
drive or walk down a street viewing stores
and deciding to enter on impulse.
Tbe likelihood of going shopping on
impulse has probably increased overtime
with changes in the concept of conve-
nience. Gravitationalists and behaviorists
bave traditionally evaluated a store's
attraction power in terms of tbe number of
potential customers witbin a given radius
of a store, or from the viewpoint of the
customer's convenience, distance (or
time) traveled from his home to that store.
However, a shopper's store patronage
decision can be influenced by a number of
nonretail spatial attractors: e.g., employ-
ment, social, religious, education, club, or
recreational activities. Thus, shopping
convenience would be determined by "tbe
spatial juxtapositions of the greatest num-
ber of retail and nonretail atlractors."
Because many people spend relatively
little time at bome. a definition of conve-
nience that u.ses tbe bome as the focal point
may be misleading. The existence of mod-
em transportation and the availability of
increasing amounts of discretionary time
serve to expose people lo many shopping
clusters while in transit to their job, or social
and recreational activities.
Tbis mobility increases exposure to
new shopping alternatives and enhances
opportunities for impulse shopping. The
sight of a store may serve as a reminder lo
purchase needed items. Or impulse shop-
ping may be prompted by one of the
motives identified earlier with no planned
purchase intended.
Implications for Retailers
I
t is important lo recognize tbe distinc-
tion between tbe activities of shopping,
buying, and consuming, and lo under-
stand the behavioral determinants of eacb.
A unified theory of shtjpper behavior does
not presently exist. My study has sought to
advance tbe development of such a theory
by identifying several hypothetical reasons
for shopping.
Future research should altcmpl to quan-
tify the relative importance of ihcsc
motives (and otbers that might be discov-
ered) for diflerenl types of shopping trips
and within different defined shopper seg-
ments. If the findings reported bere are
verified, tbere are subsianlial implications
for retail management.
If the shopping process olTcrs benefits
other tban exposure \o products, then retail
innovations that attempt to reduce "sbop-
ping effort" (vending macbines. mail
order, or home delivery) may bave a dim
future for some product categories.
Automatic vending ol convenience
goods, especially confectionery items and
cigarettes, has had notable success, but
efforts to market presold grocery items in
tbis manner have not been successful. In
addition, in-bome shopping by telepbone
or mail has never captured a large percent-
age of retail sales.
Retailers may find that these hypothe-
sized sbopping motives offer additional
opportunities for market segmentation and
store differentiation. In ihc soarcb ibrdil-
ferential advantage, prtiduct related slorc
benefits such as quality lines, low prices,
and credit can be easily duplicated by tbe
competition.
To some extent, even new store loca-
tions can be matched by competitors
establishing nearby brancbes. In the
future, the ability to gain a distinct differ-
ential advantage may depend on catering
to shopping motives that are not product
related.
Ted Levitt. Peler Drucker, and others
have urged firms to define their business
broadly, from the standpoint of the con-
sumer benefits it provides. Product-orient-
ed retailers would probably define their
business as "retail distribution" and
empbasize ihe promotion and distribution
of goods.
However, tbe list of shopping motives
identified here migbt suggest thai many
retailers would benefit by defining their
business as being part of the sociai-recre-
ational industry.
As businesses that offer social and
recreational appeal, retailers must
acknowledge that tbey are competing
directly for the consumer's time and
money with other alternatives that provide
similar benefits.