Welcome to Retail Checks and Balances, a podcast that takes you behind the scenes of the bustling world of commerce and culinary delights to help you grow your business and win. Join us as we explore the fascinating stories, trends, and challenges that shape the retail and hospitality industry, from cozy corner cafes to sprawling shopping malls and everything in between. And now, here's your host, Kevin Spencer. 

We're back on Retail Checks and Balances. Today, I want to dive into this ever-evolving landscape of customer behavior, or better word, consumer behavior, and how it impacts on businesses and society. And today we're going to explore that fascinating topic. of how that consumer behavioral change has evolved over time. You know I remember the days when I was younger where you know you were influenced by just a TV ad or radio ad to buy a product or service or whatever the case is or even come to a restaurant and then get this super customer service experience that will blow your mind. Those were the days. Now who the hell watches network TV? People, some people don't even have time for that. It's only probably in some sports broadcast you might look I don't know. I mean that's for me. I don't know about anybody else but back then in those days we didn't have social media right and now social media has been the gamut of influencing people to buy stuff. I mean we have a job or for a better word, you know, a career of being a social media influencer. Well your job is to get up every day and influence people to buy whatever product you are being paid to influence people to buy. And you know as we all say it, you know, we look at our closet or look at of storage and we see things that we bought and you say, why the hell did I buy that? What the hell am I doing with this? But for some reason we're influenced to buy it. But it's the price or somebody told us, oh, this is a great product to have. I mean, I look sometimes and I see, geez, something in plastic that I haven't opened in two years. So most of the time now when I see that, I'm not holding these things anymore. I put them in a bag and I give it to Goodwill because I'm sure somebody else will use it. And, you know, just understanding that how consumer behavior is a complex interplay of psychology, culture, and economics. You know? And this behavioral change is so crucial for businesses today. And we have to understand what drives shifts the consumer preference and habits. And as I said, this consumer behavior is influenced by a myriad of factors, including technological advancements, social and cultural shifts, economic conditions, and environmental concerns. For example, The rise of e-commerce, and as I said before, social media, has transformed how consumers discover, research, and purchase products, while the growing awareness of sustainability and ethical sourcing is driving demand for eco-friendly and socially responsible brands. This is a big thing that I just said because, you know, you go on a website, you see an ad. Oh, that looks nice. You click on it. Fine. Then you close that. You go to another website and for some reason that ad follows you. because now it's trying to influence you of course right because of this gamut of google searches and things are being tracked excuse me and we gotta understand that businesses need to stay agile and responsive to these evolving dynamics. So, you know, how can companies adapt their strategies to align with shifting consumer preferences? You know, one key strategy is to invest in data analytics, market research to gain insights into consumer preferences and behavior. I mean, by leveraging data-driven insights. And we had a conversation about artificial intelligence, but you know, this is a ball, but crunching data, you know, when you crunch data, businesses can tailor their products and services and marketing efforts to better meet the needs and desire of their target audience, different demographics. you know, additionally fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation allows companies to stay ahead and curve and anticipate future trends. Because a consumer might not be interested in your product today, but they might be interested in that product later on. For example, you know, we're marketing some sort of baby product. So we're looking at young mothers who just had a baby. We're looking at future mothers who are currently pregnant or somebody who hasn't even just got married and in the process of planning their life. But we want to make sure and hit those three different demographic of mothers or future mothers individually. And we got to know what that is. We got to crunch that to see. And this is where loyalty comes in, customer loyalty, looking at habits, looking at how your customers buy. And this is just a simple example of how that using that data to get you where you need to go. It's like anything. We want to buy something on the great Amazon, we do some research, we look at feedback, we look at a video, we look at probably will this work for me. I've known some people who spend days deciding if they want to buy, put it in their cart, save it. Sometimes, you know, these are anomalies of you leave it in your cart and then for some reason you buy something else and you forget that was in your cart and you pay. And then, you know, some people even realize what the value of their cart is and then it shows up at the door and say, shit, I forgot about that. And then you're forced with the decision whether you're going to return it or you're going to keep it because it was something that I was looking at in the first place. It really depends on the individual. But I'm just saying that there's so many things that drive this behavior we do even try to understand. And, you know, as I talk about, you know, specific examples about recent customer behavioral changes, I know One significant trend we've seen is the growing demand for personalized experiences and customizations. Consumers today expect brands to offer tailored products and services that cater to their unique preference and even their lifestyle, believe it or not. There's been a rise in conscious consumption. with more consumers seeking out products that align with their values and beliefs, such as, you know, organic products from a supermarket perspective, you know. Some people want to make sure, was this product cruelty free? You know, and amazing and you would see that you know what is sustainably sourced goods and this is fascinating you know how these consumers priorities per se are evolving in response to broader social trends you know and you know you would see I mean, if you're into that, I mean, a social influencer will spend 15, 20 minutes talking about a particular brand of item with their common goal to grab as much people to listen to it. And then, you know, they want people to buy it. And it's whether they believe in it or not. and it's like the old days you know we where they used um celebrities to promote products and services and because we know how we like this guy this is great actor or this is a great sports personality so we go buy the brand because they use it or they told us to use it and that continues today because the social influencers that you grew to trust because you know you've been listening to them for this long and they're suggesting a product and for me it's like the good old days you know I'm talking to somebody and they said you know I recommend this product because it works and I have personal experiences with this product, but I trust this person because, you know, they're my friend, they're my confidant, whatever the case is. So, you know, that's one of the things that drives me to purchase particular products based on that trust that I've built with the individual that are in my network, whoever they are. And this is the fundamental thing from a business perspective, we got to make sure and be careful with as well, because from the time, you know, we use. In our business, any social influencers that don't believe in our product or just looking to get a quick buck or. We got to make sure that we manage our customers expectation because we want to make sure that they buy this product, they have a great experience with it and they keep on coming back to buy. because that retention is what builds your business. And you know in hindsight sometimes it's not even about value for your buck based on what the product gives. Now I'm not talking about, I'm talking about the cost of the item. So sometimes I buy something that's more expensive because there's longevity, there's research, it lasts longer than the brand that's significantly cheaper. You know, we talk about so many products and services that are out there that we need to value based on our specific need and what we need to achieve you know it's like you could buy a pencil and the point peaks keeps breaking this has happened to us but it's a cheap pencil we sharpen it probably down to this to the shortest piece in the same day because this is horrible pencil But that's just an example and that's what we need to understand. That we need to manage these trends carefully. And, you know, to put the cap on top of this bottle, it's really about, you know, come back to data. We need to look carefully at what our customers buy. It's not that product that somebody gave me a good deal and I sell it for $9.99. And then when I look at the data, the product I sell for $14.99 is selling more than that product. And I've got a bunch of inventory sit down there. Now I have to discount that product even further to get rid of it because it was a bad purchasing decision. But coming around to it, what I'm trying to say is that The data is so important. And understanding the trends of change from a customer's perspective is where we need to make sure we align. So I hope I was able to give you some insights into these amazing trends. I mean, we see it every day. I look at it every day. you know, even when you walk the aisles of a supermarket, you see what people pick. Sometimes, you know, some people don't even pay attention to what people buy, look at what people pick up. Why are they buying this particular brand? You know, just, I mean, I mean, I might look like a crazy guy, but I want to know, and I've asked people, why do you buy this brand? And you've gotten so many different responses. Oh, because of the price or no, because this really tastes good when I make this particular product. Or, you know, when we look at restaurants they buy particular products to ensure that the customer experience of the taste of that end product is always consistent. Because consistency is key, of course. for us as businesses to keep rotating products and services in short to keep our business competitive and sustainable. Sorry, but again another great episode for you to even think about going forward from your business perspective from your personal Life Choices and Retail Checks and Balances is always going to be here to show you that going forward. Thanks again. Keep it up. Love Retail Checks and Balances. Have a good one. 

Kevin Spencer

Thanks so much for tuning into this episode. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcasts, so we'll get updates as new episodes become available. And if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Until next time, friends.