A Disappointing Lesson

This summer my aunt and my cousins, a 9-year-old boy and 6 year-old girl, came to visit my family for two weeks and I got a glimpse into the world of children’s toys. One day Owen, my 9-year-old cousin, saw a commercial for Air Hogs remote control cars while he was watching cartoons. The commercial showed the cars flying through the air, flipping over, and racing each other. He thought the toy was awesome and he absolutely had to have it. Luckily, the commercial said it was available at Target, a short drive from our house. Owen decided to buy the $40 toy with money he had saved from allowance and birthday presents. We made a trip to Target where he headed straight to the Air Hogs section to buy the remote control car, still talking about how great the toy was on the commercial.

The problems started as soon as we got the toy car home. The car took almost 10 hours to fully charge and it was difficult to maneuver since it was not very responsive to the controller. A few minutes after starting to play with the finally charged car, Owen accidently drove the toy straight into the pool. Although it was rescued immediately, the water damage had already been done and the toy stopped working about five minutes later. Owen decided to call the customer service number on the back of the package for guidance and the operator suggested leaving the toy in the sun on a towel for two days, and if it still wasn’t working to exchange it at Target. The call was on speakerphone and we were surprised the operator acted like he was speaking to an adult instead of a third grader. Two days later the toy still wasn’t working and we went back to Target where it was exchanged without a problem.

It turned out the replacement car was worse than the first and had trouble holding a charge. The second car would run for a few minutes before sputtering to a stop, which was not nearly long enough to even try to do any of the tricks shown in the exciting commercial. After switching the batteries countless times and trying to charge it for almost a week, it was back to Target with the poor quality toy and a disappointed Owen. The toy was returned and Owen decided to pick out a new toy with the money from the return. He chose a remote control helicopter and he told me he picked it because his friend owned the same one and Owen had seen working well in real life, not just on a commercial.

The Air Hogs experience seemed to teach Owen that what you see in commercials isn’t always what you get, and it helped me see how easily children are influenced by commercials. I think commercials that show children’s toys being operated by professionals and are possibly computer enhanced is a recipe for disappointment for children. This dissatisfaction could affect the likelihood that a child will want to purchase a similar product from the company in the future. I think this experience highlights the importance of truth in advertising, since no matter how engaging your commercials are a bad product likely won’t be successful for long. Owen told everyone in my family and the neighborhood that the Air Hogs remote control car was terrible, especially considering how expensive it was. I think that this negative word of mouth about the product might be even more influential to parents and children than a flashy commercial on Nickelodeon. I wonder why children’s toy companies like Air Hog don’t place more emphasis on making the actual product experience at least almost as good as the commercial.

The Air Hogs commercial:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwR1-ASKCy8

Claire Dunn

BEM Marketing major, Sociology minor

Don't Forget the Birthday

As September is coming to an end, I am beginning to adjust to fall classes and my lack of free time.  School is beginning to consume many hours of my day, and it is making it very difficult to manage my time wisely.  As a senior, every night seems to be a constant battle between watching sports or schoolwork.  And to be honest, sports tend to win some of the time (okay, most).  But as the first month of school has flown by, one date has seemed to slip my mind in all the chaos: my girlfriend’s birthday. 

A girlfriend’s birthday is something that you must remember very early on in the relationship or else it will be a short one.  To defend myself, I have always known that her birthday is September 24^th, but I have mastered the art of delaying the purchase of her present(s).  You could say that my procrastination is partly a guy waiting until the last minute, but I would also argue that I have no idea what to purchase my girlfriend!

If you were to ask a girl about gifts, they would always tell you, “I just want to hang out with you. I don’t need any gifts or anything special.”  But deep down, a girl always wants to feel special.  The big concern for me is that they never tell you what they want! It is always a tricky answer. For example, when asking a girl what she would like, she might say, “Oh, just get me something that you think I might like.”  Girls are extremely complicated, and I thank God for the other women out there to help purchasing a birthday gift.  

This past weekend, I finally decided to get off my butt and do some research for the perfect birthday gift.  When I looked at the task ahead, the only presents that came to mind were chocolate, roses, and the dreaded date to a “chick flick”. After thinking over in my head if my girlfriend gave any clues to something she might want, I remembered a conversation we had a while back.  While she did not give any specifics, I remember her saying, “I just purchased some cheap earrings from Target because I only have one pair.” 

This was my chance.  My girlfriend deserves to have a nice pair of earrings, and I think I have an idea of what kind she wears.  This was my chance to surprise her AND show her that I listen.  I listen intently!

Call me crazy, but I first decided that my mom and my girlfriend’s best friend would be my assets in purchasing this gift.  After talking to them for the past three weeks, I finally decided upon earrings.  However, the only jewelry store I have really heard of was Jared’s and I could not buy a 1000 carat, diamond studded hoop earring coated with onyx (YET).

After ruling Jared and some guy named David Yurman out of the question, I then decided to go to Macy’s and walk around the jewelry section until an item stood out to me.  After walking around the jewelry store for an hour like a chicken with its head cut off, I finally decided to round up enough “guts” to ask the jewelry department manager for some help.  After telling her that her birthday was in September, she led me to the sapphire section of earrings and helped me determine exactly what she wants.  She asked me questions that I had never thought about.  In-ear or hanging, small or large, gold or silver. I was beginning to panic from overload!  After calming myself down, I began to picture my girlfriend in my head and what specific kind of earrings she normally wears. 

After much concentration and help, I finally narrowed my search to three different in-ear earrings that were silver with sapphire gems and diamonds. All three were priced reasonably, and I finally decided on the earrings that I felt in my heart were best.  Although I thought my mom and her best friend would be my best assets, I realized that the lady in the jewelry section was my greatest of all.  Thank you, Susie.

After spending way too long in a store, I then drove home, turned the TV to ESPN, and began to doze off.  I was very satisfied with my purchase, and I cannot wait to see the smile on her face when she opens it.  Hopefully in the midst of all the celebrations I’ll remember why September 24^th is really important….. #14 Arkansas vs. #3 Alabama at 3:30 PM on CBS.  Go Tide!

http://www.singleguyadvisor.com/birthday-gift-girlfriend.html

For guys who also need help on this matter........




-Austin Stadler

The Psychology behind the Crazy Coupon Queens

            From high school until the summer before my junior year, I have spent my summers working at Harris Teeter.  In my time, I came across an interesting assortment of customers – the hostile customer that curses at you for requesting an ID, the price-haggler that argues with you over the price of an item, and the shoplifter who tries to steal HBC items from the store.  I have come to acquire a keen eye and can easily identify these types of people just as they walk into the store.  These types of customers only make up about 5% of the people with whom I interacted.  Of course, 95% of customers were pleasant and entertaining, which is why I enjoyed my job and continued working there. 

Joining the 5% of my not-so-favorite customers are the crazy coupon queens.  I hate to make a generalization that the only coupon users are women, but 9 times out of 10, that is the case.  I am not talking about the soccer mom who brings a few coupons with her on a shopping trip.  I am talking about the coupon queens who bring binders of coupons with them – a collection from newspapers, websites, mail promotions, and bulk coupons bought through Amazon and eBay.  For these women, couponing is not just about saving money – it is a strategic game.  You can tell immediately who these women are just as they walk into the door – just a simple nod to the cashier next to you communicates your acknowledgement of a coupon queen pacing around in the store.

            My point in singling out these coupon queens isn’t that couponing is bad – you can save a ton of money.  I am a couponer myself, picking out a few from the Sunday paper and using them when an item is on sale, doubling the savings.  My point is that coupon queens are grouped into the most extreme, almost psychotic group of grocery store shoppers.  These coupon queens can spend in excess of one or two hours in the store, pacing up and down the aisles, going through their encyclopedia of coupons and clearing the shelves.  They have studied the sales and know exactly what coupons to pair with what items to get the maximum savings.   As they approach the checkout line with their carts full of groceries, the cashiers glance to their left and right, hoping someone will step up and check out the stereotypical coupon queen.  I always enjoyed the challenge and would tend to always step up and welcome the coupon queen to my line, just as I would any other customer.  However, a typical transaction could take on the order of 20, maybe even 30 minutes.  Of course, these coupon queens are price sensitive, neurotically checking their discounts on the screen and questioning the accuracy of their bill.  Harris Teeter has a strict coupon policy limiting transactions to 20 per VIC card per day.  Customers also can’t use more than 2 coupons for similar items in a single transaction.  Coupon queens know ways around this, and separate their groceries into 2, 3, maybe even 4 or 5 orders, using different VIC cards that they have acquired.  You can imagine how frustrating it can be dealing with these customers.  When the store is packed at 5pm “rush hour” and you are tied up with a coupon queen, 20 minutes is a bit too much time to spare. 

I always tend to ask the coupon queens how much time they spending couponing a week – 10 hours was not out of the question.  This always intrigued me.  Couldn’t that time be spent working and earning income?  That brings me back to my point that extreme couponing isn’t just about saving money – it’s all about the game.  If it were just about saving money, the opportunity cost of spending 10 hours working a job would greatly outweigh time spent couponing.  Of course, coupon queens can easily reduce a $200 bill down to $20 with the proper planning and execution.  Perhaps coupon queens should be strategy professors – though seemingly psychotic, they are smart, know how to work the system, and can find ways around the system if an issue arises.  I am almost envious of them, as some have spent months, even years perfecting there coupon skills.  I’ve even been able to take some hints from them, but I just can’t, and won’t put myself on their level.  So, coupon queens, keep enjoying what you’re doing, but please stay out of my checkout line. - Tom Looney 

           

Missoni (Misery) at Target

I have been waiting for Missoni to come to Target all summer, however I did not realize so many other people were waiting for September 13^th like I was. For those of you who don’t know Missoni is a high end fashion designer from Italy who agreed to design a line for Target that included: clothes, luggage, accessories, throws, pillows, kitchen ware and more.

When I got to Target this afternoon, September 14^th, there was barely anything left. There were a couple different shirt, 3 plates, 1 cup, and a couple journals. I was in complete shock! I asked one of the Target employees when they expected to get in another shipment and she just shrugged and said “not sure”. If I did not need anything else from Target I would have left right then. How could this woman who is restocking products not know when a shipment is coming in?

Understanding that the Target I went to was a smaller Target, near Wake Forest campus, I checked online when I got home. The first link that came up was to eBay . . . confused, I was too. As I continued reading down the page I realized how many people had been awaiting the release of this line. Apparently within three hours of Missoni items becoming available online, at 6am, Target.com went down. The site was still down in some place at 5pm, needless to say this outraged customers who were trying to log on.

Not only am I completely surprised that Target did not plan for this and that their website could not handle the traffic, I am also shocked that all the items are now on eBay, for much higher prices. Because the online and brick and mortar stores are all selling out or completely sold out people will be turning to eBay and paying higher prices, but not everyone. By not planning for the amount of interest from customers Target lost millions of dollars in sales. Target way underestimated the impact of their own large marketing efforts and the power of the Missoni brand name.

I also looked into the pop up store that Missoni/Target opened last week for Fashion’s Night out. The store sold out of everything in one night. This should have been an indicator to Target that this new line was hot and in high demand. However when the line was available in stores and online a week later Target was unprepared.

Reading through articles and the comments people have posted below articles and on blogs, it is clear that Target now has to work on their customer relations. People are infuriated that staff could not answer their question, that Target.com crashed and that Target was clearly unprepared. I am interested to see where Target goes from here. If they do not somehow rectify this situation it is a very likely possibility that they will lose customers and not get as nearly as much interest the next time they feature a high fashion designer.

Lisa Prentis major: BEM/Marketing

Shop-straphobia?

A couple days before the start of classes, I realized that I needed to get my act together. I made a trip to Wal-Mart to casually browse the school section for some useful organizational tools. I didn’t have anything in particular in mind, but I was willing to purchase whatever caught my eye. I stood at the far end of the aisle perusing the different varieties of envelopes and office supplies when a woman appeared at the other end of the aisle. Like me, she did not seem to be intent on finding any specific product. As our searches continued, the space between us became smaller and smaller, until we found ourselves eyeballing the same spot on the shelf. In a moment of utter awkwardness, we both stepped around each other, as I pretended to be captivated by the tape dispenser on the opposite side of the aisle. She continued walking in the other direction. The discomfort of the close proximity to each other put an end to my carefree and willing attitude and caused me to abandon my search for school supplies altogether. I headed to the grocery section. Call me a recluse, but this girl likes her solitude.


It seems that claustrophobia, even in its tamer forms, has the ability to extinguish a desire to buy. In a retail environment, whether it be a grocery store or a shopping mall, the “too close for comfort” principle seems to apply. In the book Why We Buy, Paco Underhill coins his own term for this phenomenon: the butt-brush effect. He describes that in one study he conducted at a department store, he noticed that women in the men’s tie section would consistently get “brushed in the butt” by another shopper due to the unfortunate location of the section directly in front of the store’s entrance. Immediately after this “butt brush” occurred, the women browsing the ties quickly moved to a different department. Nobody likes unwelcome contact with strangers, and shopping settings are no exception. As soon as management changed the layout of the store, sales of men’s ties substantially increased.

What I am offering up is an idea that is one step below the butt-brush effect but still has the same effect on shoppers. It’s like the sixth sense of shopping: Whenever too many shoppers are uncomfortably close by in any given vicinity, everyone involved seems to desert the area and shop elsewhere. Think of it as the strange feeling of heading towards the direction of a fellow shopper examining clothing on a rack. The natural instinct is to avoid any awkwardness with this person by moving to a different aisle or, at least, walking around them to resume perusing on their other side. Even if it means you missed a few pieces of (what looked like) really cute clothes.

If companies want to take this sixth sense of shopping into account, it is important that they design their stores in a way that allows for easy movement and little to no interaction with other shoppers. I expect that this would lead to more “on a whim” buys. Nobody feels compelled to buy after an awkward encounter.

Organizational tools for the new school year may be tempting, but my dignity rules. After all, didn't I need some frozen pizzas?


Erin Devine
BEM Marketing Concentration, Music minor

The Checkout Button that Wasn’t Pressed

These days, it seems as though you can buy just about anything online.  Bizarre items, such as a can of uranium, a wedding chapel, and a UFO detector, are all up for grabs on Amazon.com.  While these products may not be in the online shopping cart of the average consumer, most of us feel comfortable buying a wide range of products online, from textbooks to concert tickets to clothing.  Online shopping offers a huge benefit to consumers:  convenience.  Why drive to the mall and spend hours searching for the perfect outfit in the correct size when you can simply visit your favorite store’s website, click on an outfit, and choose the desired size in less than ten minutes?  Online shopping has made the consumer’s world easier and more time efficient.

While I rarely think twice about buying an outfit online, I recently came across a product that I was not so comfortable purchasing on the Internet.  I had just moved into my first unfurnished apartment, and I was searching for the perfect set of chairs to match a table that I had previously bought.  I had several requirements for these chairs:  they had to be the perfect height, the cushions had to be comfortable and made out of the perfect material, and the legs had to be the perfect color of wood.  Of course, the real kicker was that all of this perfection had to be affordable-I am a college student on a budget, after all. 

The search for the perfect set of chairs turned out to be more challenging than I had anticipated.  After spending countless hours searching fruitlessly for these chairs, the thought of turning to the Internet to quickly find and purchase a set of chairs became very attractive.  I eagerly opened my laptop.  A few hours after browsing several websites, I found what I thought to be my dream set of chairs.  But when it came down to the wire and I was faced with the prominent “CHECKOUT” button on the screen in front of me, I hesitated.  This was one of my first significant purchases on my own, and I was afraid to purchase online.  The convenience that online furniture shopping offered did not abate the fear that the chairs that I would receive might not match up to the chairs that were pictured online.  I was very weary of purchasing these chairs, especially since I had been having so much trouble finding good chairs in person.  So much could go wrong:  the chairs could be a few inches higher than the description on the website listed, the color could be off from the picture, the customers who raved about how comfortable the chairs were in their user reviews may not have the same standards of comfort as me.  Ultimately, the inability to physically see and feel the chairs before purchase overrode the convenience offered to me by online shopping.  After making this decision to forgo purchasing my dream chairs on the Internet, I wondered if other consumers had similar experiences with online furniture shopping.  After reading a consumer behavior report published by mr.pricegrabber.com, I discovered that other consumers were just as hesitant as me about buying furniture online.  In this report, 74% of consumers said that they research furniture online before making a purchase, but only 9% of consumers actually make the purchase online.  Of the consumers that would not purchase furniture online, 70% said that they needed to see the actual product first and 7% admitted that they are afraid to make large purchases online.  Both of these reasons were factors in my decision to decline from purchasing furniture online.  Of the consumers that said they would purchase online, 34% reported price as their reason while 21% said convenience was the major factor in their decision.  As we live in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on the Internet, I wonder how furniture retailers can find a way to raise online furniture sales.  Should they play up the convenience and price benefits, or should they focus on finding an innovative way to weaken the need to see the actual product before purchase?

In the end, I did find a perfect set of chairs that I bought in person from a local store.  While this purchase will hopefully put me out of the chair market for a long time, I wonder if, by the time I need to buy a new set of chairs, consumers will have more confidence in online furniture shopping.  


Erica DeBrock is a double major in BEM (with a concentration in Marketing) and Spanish.

Ready To Run

I have always enjoyed running, but have never considered myself to be a true “runner.” So, when my roommate asked if I would sign up for a program with her to train for a 5K, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to work towards this title. The program, called No Boundaries, is overseen by Fleet Feet, a sportswear store just off of Miller Street in Winston. We attended our first informational meeting on Thursday night, during which they handed each participant a long list of what we will need at each practice. There was the usual: shoes, socks, water bottle – but a few surprises showed up on the list as well: inserts, reflective gear, compression tights. What the heck are compression tights? After skimming the list, my roommate and I quickly decided we would need to pay a visit to Fleet Feet the next day to sort out all that we would need. After all, if we are really going to do this, we’ll need to look the part.

The next afternoon we returned to the store ready to purchase our gear. The most important item I would need was a pair of running shoes; my three-year-old Nike Shox are just not cutting it anymore. In the past, when I have needed new sneakers I would just head over to Foot Locker, pick the pair I thought looked the best, confirm the size and head out the door with my purchase, all within about ten minutes. I expected this experience to be similar, but I soon learned that it was anything but. Once inside the door, we were immediately greeted by an associate and whisked over to a vast wall of shoes. Instead of simply saying, “pick a pair,” we were brought over to a bench where we received multiple measurements of our feet. After size was determined, we were told to walk in a straight line and back as the associate watched us. When we sat back down, she began to tell us how we walked; if we were favoring one side of our foot when we stepped down, if our heel was arched enough, etc. I was amazed that she could tell us all this information in just a few short steps.

Once our feet had been “reviewed,” the associate went to the back room where she picked out two pairs of shoes she thought would be best for each of us. I have to admit, I am all for the right kind of shoe for my feet, but I want them to look good too, so I was a bit apprehensive about what she would bring to me. The first two pairs she had me try on were by running brand Saucony. Although she assured me that these would fit my needs for the program, this brand has never been in my initial consideration set when picking athletic shoes. A brand that has always been in this group, though, is Nike. I have built a sense of personal loyalty to this brand not just based on their high quality shoes, but the company’ extensive line of athletic apparel as well (as I would guess of most Wake girls, my workout drawer is 75% filled with Nike shorts). I timidly asked the Associate if there were any Nike shoes that would fit my foot, and she directed me to a single pair that would be appropriate. All I had to see was the bright white swoosh, and I was sold. Once size was confirmed, I was the official owner of a new pair of running shoes.

Excited about my new purchase, I moved onto what else I would need, including socks, water bottle, etc. When I mentioned to the associate that I did not have a stopwatch, she directed me to their selection: a case of Timex watches, the cheapest of which was $90. While she could have told me that these were the top of the line and I would not be able to get anything similar anywhere, she suggested I look at Target for cheaper alternatives that had the same capabilities. I quickly thanked her for the tip and decided I was done shopping for the day.

An hour and a half later, I stood at the checkout desk with my final purchases, including shoes, inserts and socks. Although the total was not exactly music to my ears, I was confident about my purchases. Through this experience, I became aware of two very important consumer insights. The first is concerned with brand familiarity; if a brand is in a consumer’s initial consideration set, it is three times more likely to be purchased in the end. Because Nike was a brand that I automatically thought of when considering shoes, this trigger had a major influence in my purchase. Ultimately, this single example shows how important it is for brands to increase visibility in the consumer market. Through being well known in a given industry, brands have the ability to reap the benefits of healthy sales and positive customer experiences. The second is concerned with exceptional customer service; according to a recent survey by online database customer1, 60% of American customers are willing to pay more when they have a positive customer experience. Because the associate with whom I worked was so attentive and concerned with meeting my best needs (as opposed to just making the sale), I was willing to spend more money on my ultimate purchase. In addition, I left the store feeling confident about my purchases and encouraged to return to this particular store if I had any future needs. Overall, it goes to show how just a little attentiveness and kindness can go a long way in the eye of the consumer.

As my roommate and I walked out of Fleet Feet with bags in tow, we began to discuss our excitement about starting the program. I am looking forward to starting on the training, and hopefully soon achieving the illustrious title of ‘runner’!

Here is the link to the Fleet Feet Winston-Salem website. They have amazing training programs for all levels of runners, a fun thing to check out if you are interested!
http://www.fleetfeetwinston-salem.com/

Carolyn Toll