Three unrelated stores that have made ambiance pay are Costco,
Wegmans, and Target.
* "I'm using Target more and more, it's much cleaner
and better organized than Wal-Mart, prices are slightly higher but
it's worth it."
* "A visit to Costco is almost always fun."
* "Going to the supermarket is yuck, unless it's Wegmans
which is different."
Thinking about what these three very different versions of positive
shopper ambiance have in common, I am reminded of a once-popular song
titled "Accentuate the Positive." The song was a standard part
of my parents' car-trip repertoire: The most relevant part of that
song's chorus was the third part of the advice triangle:
1. You've got to accent-uate the positive
2. Elim-inate the negative
3. Don't mess with Mr. In-between.
Each of these retailers has found a way to follow all three parts
of this basic advice.
Sears is getting a lot of positive attention, but negatives cut
deeply into their repeat shopping expectations. Many shoppers expect to
try them out for Lands End merchandise they now carry but aren't
sure of getting the same prices, quality, or service that they
experienced with the mail order operation.
"I have been treated very badly by Sears in the past, and this
past year finally decided I have had my fill and will never have another
Sear's product in my home."
Target continues to get great word-of-mouth recommendations and is
picking up a lot of the business of many disgruntled Sears and
Penney's customers:
* "We stopped going to Sears as they clog the place with racks
and displays so you can barely move around and all the clerks are rude
to us; that store used to be our main source of dry good and we've
found that Penney's is almost as bad."
Trader Joe's generates good will and applause from many parts
of the country--and more "hope we get one" than we heard about
anyone or anything else. People like the lighthearted communications as
well as the good prices. (It's noteworthy that several of our
shoppers referred to Trader Joe's communications as
"communications" or "messages" rather than as
advertising, circulars, or marketing communications. I think these
shoppers feel that Trader Joe's is treating them with respect and
leveling with them rather than advertising to them.)
* "Love Trader Joe's. Wonderful selection & prices
and very generous with donations to soup kitchens, etc."
* "Whole Foods great store. Like the natural aspect and
customer service."
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