Shopping fundaes

Well apparently there's a science to it. One of the aspects that intrigued me while reading Kishore Biyani's Book It happened in India was his obsession with the Indian shopper. At various instances he mentions how he meticulously studies his shopper, noting dislikes, preferences, reaction to various stimuli etc. Infact the future group has taken retail to the next level, through their inhouse design agency - Idiom that researches consumer reaction to signages and other communication outlets within the store

Shopping is one of my favourite activities and I was surprised that it can actually be categorized! According an article by Anand Narasimha of Bates David Enterprise, there are infact four types of shopping- Recreational, List, Item and Impulse shopping. According to him,

"This classification is based on two factors: the planned versus spontaneous
nature of the shopping trip and the focused versus open-ended nature of the
purchases made"

Recreational Shopping is pre-planned but open ended and might not even result in a purchase. Here shopping is a means of relaxation. Window shopping also belongs to this category. Apparently as recreational shopping serves as a sort of "retail therapy" more often than not, it does lead to a purchase

List Shopping is pre-planned that leads to a purchase. Like shopping for grocery basically. This is a must do sort of shopping as opposed to recreational shopping

Item shopping is shopping that is triggered by a need for a specific item. Like buying woolens for a trip abroad, or a special dress for ones birthday. That's why one sees retail stores in what I call a "Ever-Party" mood. Its no wonder they are celebrating women's day, mother's day etc. A year long party makes the consumer come back for more

Impulse Shopping basically shopping that occurs on a whim. Like buying chocolates for example. Its unpredictable and according to the article two of the largest impulse categories in a store are women’s footwear and cosmetics!!

Read the complete article here