#disrption

By Lina Martinez

The other week I had to go on a long shopping expedition. I'm usually the kind of person that just buys stuff online. But, I had stupidly left things to the last minute! As a result, I had no choice but to source the items I needed from local retailers.

 One thing that intrigued me about my shopping experience is this: I was only drawn to certain stores. And not others. Why? Well, it all depends on various factors. They range from the layout and design of the store through to the checkout experience. Also, let's not forget about reputation!

 But don't just take my word for it. Many studies got commissioned in the past to find out what draws us to certain stores over others. Here are some of the main reasons we only stick to certain retailers:

   Photo Source: Pixabay

 Attention-grabbing displays

 When you traipse around a shopping mall, the first thing that pulls you in are the window displays. They might display products that are trending. Or they may advertise events such as summer sales. It's no secret that many retail customers visit a store on impulse.

 Brand reputation

 Imagine if you read a news story about a retail chain that did something appalling. Few people would want to go and spend their money with the chain!

 On the flip side, if a brand's known for offering good value for money, shoppers will flock to their stores. In the business world, it's crucial to build up a positive brand image. Otherwise, no amount of clever marketing will increase your sales.

 Customer service

 One of the reasons I prefer certain retail stores over others isn't down to the pricing. Nor is it down to the products offered. It's actually because of the customer service experience!

 We all know that we should treat others how we wish to get treated. The sad truth is some employees hate their jobs and "take it out" on their customers. It doesn't take a genius to determine that a poor customer service experience is a bad thing!

   Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

 Staff professionalism

 Many shoppers visit stores that have happy, professional staff that can assist them. The employees are dressed and groomed well and have a friendly attitude.

 They will wear uniforms and have name badges to help customers identify them. These days, it's easy for retailers to provide uniforms and name badges for their staff. Vendors like Imagin Products make it simple for even small stores to be more professional. There isn't an excuse for retailers not to make such improvements.

 Product placement

 Here's something that you probably don't know. When you enter a retail store, you tend to look at products to your right! Armed with that info, many store owners put high-profit products in that area by the door. These are usually products that interest most customers entering that store.

   Photo Source: Pixabay

 For example, let's say that you have a hardware store. You might make a lot of profit on goods like gloves and buckets. Stacking up vast quantities of those items means you can sell more of them and enjoy greater profits. Places like Home Depot do this all the time!

If there are a few things that are certain in this world, then they are death and taxes. It is also the fact that weddings are expensive. There is a lot to plan and organise, and the cost of it all adds up. The thing is, it doesn’t have to too expensive. There are plenty of ways that you can save and cut costs when planning a wedding. You can still have your dream wedding, without having to sacrifice on quality or style. Here are a few ways to think about.

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The Reception

One of the biggest costs at a wedding reception is the number of guests. When you are providing food and favours for hundreds of people, it quickly adds up. So think carefully about who you want to invite. You can’t invite everyone, so cut the list down to the people that you want there the most. One other way to save money on the reception is to avoid having a wedding at the weekend. Choosing a Saturday wedding costs much more than it would for a midweek wedding. The guests that want to be there will take the time off work to be there. So don’t let that fact put you off choosing a wedding in the middle of the week. As you can literally save hundreds of pounds by choosing a midweek wedding over a weekend one.

 Stationary

One of the biggest ways to save when you think about your wedding stationery is to make it all yourself. When you don’t have the cost of a designer than the cost does go down. You will need some crafting equipment to do that, though. So if you aren’t fully equipped, then it might be a better option to order them in. You could look online, at somewhere like Pure Invitation wedding invites, to see some styles. Then you can decide what style you would like to either make or order. You could print your invites onto one piece of card, making it a postcard style invitation. If you don’t have lots of large pieces of card, it will work out cheaper. You could also make the name cards and menus at the reception, double up as the same thing. Saving you costs of printing and paper. If you are planning on sending save the date cards, then it could be worth emailing them instead. It will save a lot of money on printing, as well as postage that way.

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 Food and Drink