If you want to be sure to make a great impression on your retail store customers and let them know about today’s great bargains, where should you make your pitch? Just as they enter your store would at first glance seem to be the optimal place. After all, you’re guaranteed to catch 100% of the incoming shoppers, and they are no doubt looking for some guidance, right? And, if you were welcoming someone to your house, you’d do it as they crossed the threshold, so why not do the same in a retail store?
Wrong, wrong, wrong, says retail behavior expert Paco Underhill. In an article in the current Business Week, (online version – How to Win Frugal Consumers and Influence Them to Buy), Underhill states that this is the WORST place for signage. Why? Because shoppers use the area just inside the entryway as a decompression zone, and simply don’t notice signs that are placed there. And as for the optimal time to greet a customer, Underhill suggests letting about a minute pass before doing so.
