As the father of three, including Olivia, my 11-year-old, I’m used to the occasional eye-roll. It reached a new level last week when Olivia wanted to throw out a perfectly good fan because it didn’t meet the “aesthetic” she was trying to achieve in her room. Needless to say the fan is staying, but the situation did put an exclamation point on changes to consumer behavior and the future demographic of purchasers.
I spend a lot of time thinking about what influences me as a consumer and sways my purchasing decisions. Is it an online ad that I saw? Customer reviews? Convenience? Expert advice? Or maybe my children have worn me down and I am tired of saying no. Often it depends on what I’m buying, and like everyone, I may be more deliberate on something uniquely personal or expensive.
(L-R) John VanFossen, Meijer; Buy Nearby Guy; Kim Edsenga, Meijer; and Bill Hallan, MRA
Historically, the 18 to 34 age group is the most coveted demographic for advertisers. Individuals in this age group are spending money on consumer goods while older generations are transitioning their spending to services. At 39, I’m outside the most valuable demographic, but as a family of five, we are still firmly in the “spending” phase of life for both consumer goods (e.g., lacrosse equipment) and services (e.g., dance lessons).
But I question whether advertisers are getting good value when they show me their online ads. At this stage in life, it seems that the process has a stronger impact on my purchasing decisions. As consumers, we interact with a variety of businesses everyday; with the proliferation of e-commerce, the choices are endless. Thus, many of our purchasing decisions are based on whether the process was positive or negative. In our sister publication, the Michigan Food News, there’s a great profile on Hansen Foods in Hart, Michigan, where store-owner Dave Hansen discusses his plan to remodel the front entrance, so customers enter the store’s produce section instead of into checkout lanes. The change will create a more inviting customer experience. It’s these types of changes that enhance the shopping process.
Bill Hallan and Tony Sarsam, SpartanNash President & CEO
We often look to our members for inspiration and we have tried to incorporate that mindset at Michigan Retailers Association. We have implemented many different strategies to connect with members (and prospective members) about our services. It’s no shock that credit card processing, workers’ compensation, and government advocacy aren’t the most exciting topics, so creativity is key. Further, we recognize that time is valuable and attention spans are short, so we’ve increased video content, tightened our updates, and developed various forms of automation. Each change is designed to enhance interactions with the Association and hopefully increase engagement.
As we continue to develop ways to connect with our members, I ponder what the future holds. Watching my 8-year-old, Zachary, swat at imaginary objects on his Oculus, I wonder whether a time will come when Michigan Retailers Association hosts a virtual meeting in the Meta-verse. It may be sooner than we think that customers will be able to virtually shop any local retailer. This is the sort of article that will probably not age well and I’ll probably look back and see how far off we are. But as long as retailers and Michigan Retailers Association continue to focus on providing the best experience to our customers the future is bright.
