顧客購買行為研究：從迴轉壽司得到的啟示

CONSUMERBEHAVIOR：LESSONSFROM THE SUSHI CONVEYOR BELT

The fashion industry has traditionally introduced new apparel twice a year (for the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons), with most retailers rolling out all their merchandise at once. But over the past decade a new model, called fast fashion and led by Zara and H&M, has pro?ted by rotating merchandise much more apidly, creating an urgency to buy. 「Flash sale」 websites, such as Rue LaLa, operate similarly.In a new paper, researchers explore how and when companies can take advantage of the 「sequential assortment」 strategy, in which goods are added to the shelves over time instead of all at once.

「When a fast fashion or ?ash sales retailer starts selling sandals in March, the customer must decide which pair(s) of sandals to purchase without knowing the new styles of sandals that the retailer will o?er in April,」 the researchers write. 「It is precisely this uncertainty that may cause the customer to purchase a pair of sandals in March, only to return in April and purchase another pair of sandals that she loves even more.」 If the shopper had seen the entire sandal selection in April, she might have bought just one pair.

The researchers calculate the 「value of concealment,」 or the incremental revenue a company might win by revealing merchandise over time. They compare the strategy to a restaurant with a sushi conveyor belt that showcases items one by one;diners who choose dishes from a conveyor belt may be prone to eat more than those who order from a menu.

To determine whether concealment will add value, the researchers say, companies need to consider the category of merchandise and the type of shopper. With categories such as apparel, footwear, accessories, and children』s toys, people may be open to buying additional items within a short time period, so concealment may add revenue. With categories such as appliances, automobiles, and other big-ticket items, concealment is unlikely to drive incremental purchases; it may even hurt sales, because consumers who suspect that new models will arrive in stores soon may delay or even forgo buying.The researchers also distinguish between myopic shoppers, who are less selective and more impulsive, and strategic shoppers, who are more careful and more willing to forgo a purchase.Concealment works better with myopic shoppers, but companies don』t yet have an easy, practical way to determine how many of their customers ?t this category. The researchers hope to partner with retailers to obtain data for that purpose in a future project.?

Harvard Business Review, 2017-07/08

顧客購買行為研究：從迴轉壽司得到的啟示

時裝業傳統上一年會推出兩次時裝發布活動（春夏季和秋冬季），大多數的服裝零售商會把該季的所有新品一次展出。但是在過去的10年中，出現了一種由ZARA和H&M引領的快速時尚形式，它們以更快的速度推出其產品，讓顧客產生一種急迫感，以達到盈利的目的。一些「閃售」的網址，如「Rue La La」也是以類似的方式運營。在一項研究中，研究者們對這些公司是如何且何時利用這種「有序多樣」，也就是逐漸而非一下子全部展出商品的營銷戰略進行了分析。

「當快速時尚或者閃售的零售商在三月份開始賣涼鞋時，顧客就得決定買哪雙好，但在這時顧客仍不知道四月份商家會推出什麼樣的新款，」研究者寫道。「就是這種不確定性讓顧客在三月份買了一雙涼鞋，但四月份她們仍會來店裡買更喜歡的另一雙。」如果顧客四月份一次看到了所有的涼鞋款式，她就會只買一雙。

研究者們計算了商家通過一段時間逐漸展示產品的方式所獲得的「遮掩價值」或「增加的利潤」。他們把這種方式與迴轉壽司店用傳送帶漸次推出菜品作比較，人們在吃迴轉壽司時一般要比在菜單上點壽司吃更多的壽司。

研究人員認為，為了確定通過遮掩銷售的方式是否會增加價值，公司需要考慮商品的種類以及顧客群。像服裝、鞋襪、裝飾品、兒童玩具等商品，人們會傾向在短期內購買額外的數量，所以用遮掩的方式能夠增加盈利。但是，像家用電器、汽車和其它大宗貴重商品，遮掩的銷售方式就不太可能造成超量的購買，甚至還會對銷售造成負面影響，因為如果顧客感覺會很快有新款推出的話，他們會推遲購買或者乾脆放棄購買。研究人員還對短視的顧客和有前瞻性的顧客進行了區分，前者不怎麼挑剔，經常憑衝動購買；後者會對商品仔細挑選，更易放棄購買行為。遮掩式銷售對短視的顧客有效果，但是商家很難找到可行的方法來判定究竟有多少顧客屬於此類消費者。研究人員希望與零售商合作進行研究以得到準確的數據。

（選自《哈佛經濟評論》2017.07/08）

詞語解釋：

roll out:to introduce a new product推出

only to do sth（used to indicate sth that happens immediately afterwards, esp sth thatcauses surprise, disappointment, relief, etc）反而；卻

concealmentaction of keeping sth from being seen or known about隱藏；掩藏

incremental value:increased value增加的價值

revenue:income收入

merchandise:goods bought or sold商品

big ticket item:high value item大宗商品；花上大價錢買的商品

forgo:give up or do without放棄或沒有也行

myopic:showing inability to look ahead into the future短視的；無遠見的

長難句分析：

1.In anew paper,researchers explore how and whencompanies can take advantageof the 「sequential assortment」 strategy, in which goods are added to theshelves over time instead of all at once.

分析：該句中，劃線為句子主幹，how和when引導的句子為expore的賓語。In which為非限制性定語從句修飾 「sequential assortment」 strategy。

2.The researchers also distinguish between myopic shoppers, who are less selective and more impulsive, and strategic shoppers, who are more careful and more willing to forgo a purchase.

分析：該句的正常結構應該是the researchers also distinguish between myopic shoppers and strategic shoppers, 但是為了更詳細的定義兩種shoppers, 故在myopic shoppers後加了一個非限制性定語從句；同理，在strategic shoppers後面也接了一個非限制性定語從句。

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