In the SIBA, the authors find out that there are two or three salespeople working at the same time. In general, salespeople wait for shoppers at the support area and sometimes walk around in different shopping areas. White shirt, suit pants and colorful tie are the salespeople’s uniforms. These uniforms make the salespeople look professional and easy to be recognized by the shoppers. The salespeople in the SIBA look friendly and can offer detailed product overviews to the shoppers with patience.
The authors have ever noticed that the salespeople helped the customer to carry heavy products to the check-out place, and offered kindly service throughout the period. The authors have made the observation in the SIBA three times at different working period and happen to experience the store’s busy and free time. If the salespeople are not busy or there are few shoppers in the SIBA, the salespeople will ask shoppers whether they need help and actively provide product information for shoppers. By contrast, if the store is busy, shoppers always need to find and wait the salespeople for help, and sometimes the waiting time is quite long.
From the shoppers’ perspective, all the shoppers in the interviews claim that they have not met with crowding situations in the SIBA. But some interviewees mention that if the crowding happens in the electronics store, their emotions will be negatively influenced. Interviewee 8 guesses that she will become anxious and upset with the crowding and Interviewee 1 points out that the crowding will stimulate her to escape
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the store as soon as possible. However, two interviewees (Interviewee 9; Interviewee 12) inform of a special situation that can generate crowding for several seconds.
Specifically, when shoppers check the merchandise between shelves, other shoppers who are in wheelchairs or carry the shopping baskets will pass them by. Under this circumstance, they feel that the store environment is a little bit crowded due to the insufficient space. But this will not influence their emotions to continue shopping because this kind of negative feeling disappears immediately in their minds.
In terms of retail employees, all the interviewees think that it is easy for shoppers to recognize personnel in the store because of their clothing. All the shoppers believe that it is necessary for personnel to wear uniforms because unified clothing conveys the professional feelings.
Apart from this, all the shoppers mention the significance of salespeople when they shop in the electronics store. The findings of interviews show that shoppers will actively ask salespeople for help when they want to acquire more information about the product, or when the price label is ambiguous, or when they want to test the product. It should be pointed out that the majority of shoppers mention that the salespeople will not actively communicate with shoppers until the shoppers go to the information desk especially during the busy times. Some shoppers think it is not necessary for salespeople to actively interact with them because too passionate behavior will render the shoppers stressful. After communication and interaction with salespeople in the SIBA, all the interviewees are satisfied with their service because they can offer professional explanations and recommendations. A number of shoppers provide examples of their impulse purchases after pleasant conversations with the salespeople.
“I bought the massage pillow primarily because of the salespeople’s recommendation. When I went to ask the salespeople about how to use the pillow, the salespeople not only told me its usage but also introduced its function. His explanation was very professional. His voice was attractive. At last, I felt there was no reason for me to skip this product. So, I bought it impulsively.” (Interviewee 1)
“When I was hesitating whether to buy the laptop, the salespeople explained its function, warranty service, and discount information with great patience. You know, I was influenced by his professional and enthusiastic explanation. I made an impulsive decision to buy a new laptop at last.” (Interviewee 6)
“One day, I was considered buying which type of camera. Then I went to consult the salespeople about the two different types. The salespeople clearly explained the differences and made recommendations from my perspective. You know, he did not
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recommend me to buy the expensive one. I really appreciated his honesty. At last, I impulsively bought the cheaper camera but that is more appropriate to me.” (Interviewee 10)
It is manifest from these quotes that the professional customer service provided by salespeople can positively influence shoppers’ impulse purchasing behavior in the electronics store. However, a number of interviewees point out one drawback of SIBA that there are not sufficient salespeople in the store. Specifically, some shoppers meet with the situation in which they have to wait for the mere salespeople who is communicating with other shoppers in the store. Under this circumstance, some patient shoppers will wait for the salespeople; however, some impatient shoppers will become depressed within several minutes and even decide to leave the store. This indicates that the shoppers’ emotions and behavior will be negatively influenced once their need cannot be satisfied within short period. Therefore, Interviewee 2 suggests that SIBA could recruit more salespeople in the store especially during the discount season in order to provide the shoppers with immediate customer service.
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5 Analysis
In this chapter, the authors analyze how the store atmosphere influences the shoppers’
impulse purchasing behavior through combining the concepts and models introduced in the theoretical framework with the empirical findings that the authors have made in the qualitative research. The analysis is presented from five atmospheric perspectives including external stimulus, general interior stimulus, layout and design, point-of-purchase and decoration displays, and human stimulus.