In the last few years, immense changes have occurred in our understanding of how we shop in-store. Changes that effect both the retail environment and the consumer’s behaviour.

Traditionally, the approach was dominated by classical economics. The consumer was regarded as a rationalist being able to compare all the alternatives presented in the store. The decision making process could be reduced to nothing more than a rational trade-off between the value and the quality/cost.

When this theory was developed, in the 1960’s, a normal dairy department would have about nine SKUs. Today a hypermarket’s dairy section has up to 600 different SKUs. So it is time to change our view on the shopper’s ability to choose, from a rational point of view. Before, the shopper had the time and ability to compare brands, because there were only a limited number of brands and the products were not as complex as today. The reality is very different now and it is important to understand the effects it has on behaviour and which methods that works.

Tip! If you want to learn more about the changed perspective we recommend you to read Thinking, Fast and Slow the 2011 bestselling book by Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics, Daniel Kahneman, which summarize his research on human behaviour. You can order the book here.