Marketers: Know Your Shopper

By Courtney Velasquez

Shopping is an emotional endeavor. We shop when we are excited for a trip or event, we shop when we are sad and need a pick-me-up and we shop when we have a need for something.  Some may feel shopping is therapeutic while others may say it’s stressful or un-enjoyable.   For me, shopping with three girlfriends is much more enjoyable than shopping with three young kids.

Whether you like it or not, shopping is a way of life, a must to survive.  It’s something we ultimately must do in one way, shape or form.  We shop in stores, online, on our smart phones, because of an email we receive, through a catalog or on the phone.  Even word-of-mouth can cause us to shop.

Have you ever been in a store, started up a conversation with another shopper and either influenced  or have been influenced to purchase something that wasn’t on the list?

As a woman, I am constantly sharing my likes and great finds with friends and strangers, online and off.  I love turning someone onto things I discover.  I love it more when they are thrilled and enjoy my suggestions.  It’s a strange feeling of victory that comes over me when this happens.

I make the purchasing decisions in my home.  I do the grocery and clothing shopping deciding what’s for dinner and what the kids and even my husband will and will not wear.  We have removed artificial colors and high fructose corn syrup from the pantry because I don’t want the family eating them.  I even made the final decision when it came to the last family car purchase.  The minivan beat out the SUV because I needed room to get my kids in and out of the car during the winter and a place to keep all of their coats while riding in their car seats.

I had the opportunity to see Bridget Brennan speak at the SHOP conference at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR.  Bridget is dead on in the fact that women make most of their purchasing decisions in their households.  She is also one of the most entertaining speakers I have ever heard and I have attended dozens of conferences over the past two years and have seen some great speakers.

I attended the SHOP conference with four other bloggers and while Bridget Brennan was speaking, we were nodding our heads, smiling, laughing and nudging each other.  To us, the facts and examples she shared were no brainers because she was speaking about us… we related to all of it.

The day before the SHOP conference, I had arranged a meeting with Bridget and the four bloggers we invited to the conference.  We had a great meeting that felt more like a get together with girlfriends than anything formal.  It was great to get to know her in an informal setting.

As soon as the conference was over I made a beeline straight to the table where they were selling Bridget’s book, Why She Buys.  She signed my copy, “You Rock!” and gave me a hug.  SHE totally rocks and if you ever get a chance to see her speak, do it!  You will not be disappointed!

Courtney is the ultimate multitasking mom!  She is the founder of Detroit Mommies, the Community Director for Collective Bias and has 3 girls under 8 years old.  Courtney is a trend spotter, taste maker and runner.  You can follow her on Twitter @courtneydetroit

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