Research: TRENDS – CONSUMER BEHAVIOR – TECHNOLOGY 

Consumers are more and more both welcoming and resisting technology’s growing omnipresence in the life. For many, technology serves as a gateway to opportunity and an enabler of hyper-efficient lifestyles. Trends don’t happen in isolation and are not preordained. 

I found some trends of 2014 about consumer behavior:

1)     Multiplicity: We are increasingly expecting things to do more that involves interacting with all our senses, offers us a range of touch points to play with, and involves us entirely in new experiences. There is a growing desire for multiplicity and experiences are expected to offer more. We’ve grown used to sensory experiences being enhanced, but now we’re seeing the clashing, blurring and even confusing of senses

-->The desire of multiplicity is a link with the problem that we said in class: In Sokos there is a lot of different brands but not a lot of choices.

2)     Hyper Efficiency: We are seeking and discovering ever-smarter and more efficient ways to solve age old issues–such as keeping fit, lack of space and limited resources. The results are sleeker, quicker and use things that have previously been ignored.

3)     The New Industrial Revolution: Science is no longer a closed world, just for geeks. Digital and technological advances are enabling us to create in new ways–leading to new creative forms and helping us see a new appreciation of the digital as a thing of beauty.

4)     Escape: In a world of austerity and grown up responsibility, we are seeing the increasing desire to let go, to let loose. People are demanding more from every type of experience.

5)     Mindfulness: In a world full of buzz and surface interactions, people are seeking more depth and meaning. They are craving time away from the stimulus of the internet, making their leisure time more about self-development, and taking their own ethical responsibilities seriously.

         -->Maybe go in a department store to spend time with friends or other can be a solution for that. So the department store has to create a great ambiance for people who are coming to buy something special and others who just want to spend time.

6)     Super-personalized: Personalization has been taken out of the hands and tastes of consumers. This is not just bespoke you select – it is also bespoke that selects you. Advances in technology mean that products are able to read consumers and give them what they want – sometimes without even being asked. People like the feeling to be unique. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2014/02/04/six-trends-that-will-shape-consumer-behavior-this-year/

The consumer experience continues to change rapidly. It's getting more digital, more mobile. Companies have to be careful and take care about all the trends every time to adapt and satisfied their customers, and I think it’s can be useful for Sokos to target the good product with the good customer. 

Customer experience via social networks and e-commerce: We are in the era of Web 2.0, social networking, information via the Internet and e-commerce: customers are informed before buying point sale, they share their shopping experience on social networks, they are better informed, and advertising is not enough to promote the product.

/Claire Serris

This is an inspirational video it is about the business model of innovation. He tell everything very easy and he give some advise. It is in English and it takes 8 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ZSGQW0UMI

Second video that I found is not special but it saids that the first idea is most of the time the best idea. You don't think to much about a idea. An idea comes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uh1KxcpWz0

Samantha

Seven habits of Covey

First I read a book about marketing how can you find the strongest and weakness from a company. I already read that book and after it understand that I need to read something about innovation of what can help you in the group. So the next book that I read was about collaborate and self-education.

The name is the seven habits of covey. This book is very interesting because the main subject is find your self and your personality. The second big subject is about collaborating. What is the way to work with different kind of people.

The seven habits of Covey is very important for yourself. It helps you to find out what you want. It is not only about yourself but also about other people. How can you help them and when can you say what you want and when do you need to listen. It is about yourself and what you learnt, what are your values and how can you use them. It is also about how can you take care on yourself or how can you relief something with a group.

The first habit is Proactive. You look to yourself what did I good or fault. Say I to many or to less. Do I help my group or irritating them.

Second habit is about what do you want to do with your live. You need to get your own mission statement in your mind. A aim for your future. This one is very important with school. Is the study what you are doing at this moment what you want or is there something ells. Do you like the courses that you follow or is het required? The biggest question is what is what I want.

Habit 1 and 2 gives you a impression about yourself. This is the first steps and very important.

Habit 3 is about do first all the important things. If you did that than you can think on a other thing. Step for step and choice the most important thins first.

Habit 4 is important for more people. If you work with other people think not only on yourself. You need to think in the term win- win. It need to be great for everybody.

Habit 5, 6 and 7 is about working together. Is part is very important for the course Lean Inno. You work with different kind of people and different cultures. Everybody works method is different. The important point is that you try do understand somebody. Your meaning can be different but try to understand somebody and than can you say what you want to say.

Brainstorm not alone and not only your idea is good. Think in different ways and stay open for an other idea. Know what something is thinking and be interesting. It is all about synergy. It keeps your motivation high.

Covey gives al lot of examples in this book about his own live. He use his family and him self. There are a lot of mission in this book so you can practice by your own.

This book was for my very interesting because I learn more about myself.  

Samantha Mannaert

Research Consumer Behavior

http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/

The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as how consumers think, how the consumer is influenced by his environment, what is the behavior of consumers while shopping, how consumer motivation and decision differ…

In this article, the writer explains a lot of consumer research methods for a company to understand the consumer behavior. For instance, the market research, primary and secondary research methods, surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, projective techniques, observation of consumers, online research methods, scanner date, and also physiological measures. 

All of these methods seem not very useful for us in our case because we can’t do that, but with this article I learned that the environment of the consumer is very important in his behavior of purchase. When I saw that I tried to find an article more precise on this phenomenon.

http://www.expertinbox.com/les-5-facteurs-de-belk-linfluence-des-facteurs-situationnels-sur-les-consommateurs/ 

http://theconsumerfactor.com/les-facteurs-qui-influencent-le-comportement-des-consommateurs/ (Sorry it is in French but we can translate it)

How does a consumer? What are the motivations and aspirations that guide? What are the different elements that influence? What will he do choose a product or brand over another?

I found 5 main factors which explain the situation when a consumer will buy a product or not. That is to say, the environment, the timing, the nature of the purchase act, and the mindset of the consumer can influence the consumer. The 5 factors are:

-          - The physical environment: it is apparent characteristics of the situation (the scenery, sound, lighting, furnishings, smells…)

-         -  The social environment refers to the presence or absence of other people with the consumer (family, employee, friends, other buyers…)

-          - The temporal perspective: this is the time of purchase of a product (you are more pressed during your lunch break, or you take the time to stroll when you go shopping on a Saturday afternoon)

-         -  Defining roles: it is the objective of the purchase (if you buy for yourself or someone else)

-          - Specific to the individual’s previous statements: for instance his mood.

I think we can join these characteristics with our groups (under 18years old, elder women, trendy young adults) because some factors are more or less important according to different kind of people. For instance, the presence or absence of other people with the consumer is less important for an elder woman than a teenage. A consumer does not buy the same products or services to 20 or 60 years. His lifestyle, values, environment, business, leisure and consumer habits evolve throughout his life. In another hand a person who doesn’t have a lot of money spend money differently than another who can afford pleasures. 

These information confirm the fact that we have to focus on a group of people with different motivation, or interest, tribes or also way of life and not only on the age. 

When we did the groups and their potential tribes the last time we could find some similarities.

Indeed, social media can be a main element to influence the consumer behavior. For instance, for the group “until 18” it is important to find information like the website of the shop, and also to see the trends of others people on Facebook or other social networks. Concerning the group “trendy young adult”, social media are important to find information about a product on the website of the shop, or to order online.

/ Claire Serris

Research: Follow people in Sokos at Salo: Sunday, 26 of October - Hour: 10H15 – 12h30

v  Girl, around 40 and 50 years old:

o   With a friend of her (same age)

o   She went directly in the “shoes aisle” and sought first the model (boots and after evening shoes) 

o   She tried the product : touch it, try it for the size, and look if it has a problem or not to be sure of the quality

o   She looked the price

o   She went take a turn in the others aisle (especially clothes and after the make up)

o   After 20 min in the store, she came back to take a pair of shoes (boots) she had spotted at the beginning and bought it.

o   They took a break: they went to the cafeteria to drink a coffee and talked together about their life

o   She went out of Sokos and went to Vero Moda and then H&M

o   She looked the same kind of product than she had seen in Sokos and found a sweat

o   She tried it for the size, the color and the model

o   She looked the price and bought it.

o   After that it was time to eat so she left to the parking to take her car without her friend

I saw in her car she had a car seat for children so I can imagine she has at least a child. In my opinion she was there to spend time with her friend but the wanted to buy some precise stuff. When I saw her in the department store she was comfortable, so I think it was not the first time she went there and even maybe she went often to spend time.

v  Girl, around 35 years old:

o   With her son (around 8 years old I think)

o   She had already a bag from H&M and another from the S-market

o   She spent time in several areas of the store but especially in the child aisles

o   Once she took a hat for her son but when she saw the model and the price she put it back.

o   She didn’t seem to want something precise because she looked a little bit everywhere

o   She spent less time than the first girl in the store as if she saw nothing that interested.

o   She went out to the department store after just 15/20min

o   After that she went to Jack & Jones and found another hat and bought it.

When she left I was going to compare the both products and the quality of Jack & Jones seemed better than in Sokos. Also the price was a little bit more expensive but I think it was not the most important reason. 

There were not a lot of people in the Sokos of Salos so it was difficult to analyze the consumers' behavior.

Claire Serris