Shoppers vs. Buyers: A Message From Maternity Leave

For years, I have heard that there is a distinct difference between "buyers" and "shoppers." It is not uncommon for men to fall under the former category.

Often, men are called "buyers" because they enter a store, choose an item, check out and leave. (My husband and I often joke that my father-in-law exemplifies this stereotype.)

Meanwhile, women—or "shoppers"—tend to visit retailers in search of a complete shopping experience. This often includes interacting with a knowledgeable sales staff.

Recently, I got to see this distinction up close and personal.

I am blogging while on maternity leave with my second child, Cristiana. One of the perks of maternity leave (besides bonding with my newest child and family) is that I have the opportunity to take relaxing shopping excursions. Yes, relaxing.

I almost forgot how enjoyable it is to spend a leisurely afternoon strolling through the mall. (However, now I am pushing a stroller with one hand and using the other to hold my 3-year-old daughter Daniella’s hand.)

One Friday afternoon, Daniella, Cristiana, my mother and I took a trip to Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, N.Y. We created two new stuffed “friends” at Build-A-Bear Workshop, visited the Clinique counter at Macy’s and even took a whirl on the merry-go-round. Our last stop was a visit to Banana Republic (one of my favorite retailers), in search of the perfect dress for me to wear to the baby's christening.

A sales associate gave me her undivided attention as I tried on different frocks. She helped me choose a gorgeous black Merino wool dress. (The fact that it is in my pre-pregnancy size was a bonus.)

We waited on line, and finally it was our turn to check out. The cashier was friendly and accommodating.

She asked about my kids, made pleasant conversation and even answered a couple of questions that I had about a merchandise return. I remember thinking, "This is a pleasant shopping experience."

Suddenly, a man waiting on line interrupted our banter. “Can we stop chatting and speed this up? I'm in a hurry,” he sputtered.

After apologizing to the customer, the cashier promised to finish so he could be helped quickly. Then she apologized to me and completed my transaction.

When she invited the man to her station a mere seconds later, he was ornery and less than polite.

As a working mother, I understand what it is like to be in a rush while shopping. However, when visiting a full-service retailer such as Banana Republic, customers, especially those in the "buyer" category, should not expect to make a purchase and get in and out of the store. Banana Republic stakes its reputation on customer service, and that is just what it delivered that day.

Sir, shame on you. You put an educated, amiable sales associate on the spot, and you almost ruined a pleasant experience for other shoppers.

On the other hand, kudos to the store associate. Her assistance was priceless, and I was impressed by how she managed to diffuse an unnecessary, uncomfortable situation.

I urge more “buyers” to stop to smell the roses and actually “shop” for a change. As these individuals are converted to "shoppers," I hope they realize that there is more to a pleasant shopping trip than just making an efficient purchase.

—Deena Amato McCoy

Walmartopia Is No Utopian Theater

I thought I’d treat the staff to a night of theater last week, so tickets were bought for something I hoped would be entertaining and at the same time work-related.

Off we went to Greenwich Village’s Minetta Lane Theatre for the off-Broadway musical, Walmartopia. The play, or more correctly, the screed, has some energetic performances, and even some decent songs, but the overall feeling one gets is that the production resembled a union pep rally rather than a serious attempt at social commentary.

The premise behind Walmartopia is that everything Wal-Mart is bad, especially the way it treats its employees. It time-travels its two protagonists, a mother and daughter who work in a Wisconsin Wal-Mart, into the future world of 2037 when Wal-Mart rules everywhere but Vermont.

Political and social commentary has always been part and parcel of the theater, from Greek tragedies and comedies down through the current crop of musicals and dramas. Among current offerings, the Broadway musical Hairspray, for example, lampoons the racial and social divide of the 1950s and 1960s; the off-Broadway revival of Masked uses the Intifada as a backdrop for family relationships amid a struggle for suppressed nationalism.

The best theater leads the audience to the intended conclusion, not with a whip but with a whisper (or, at the very least, something less than a scream). But Walmartopia has no aspirations to be great theater. Walmartopia wields a sledgehammer to attack Wal-Mart for all manner of real and imagined transgressions. Subtlety was a class in dramatic writing that the authors apparently skipped.

—Murray Forseter

Retailer Puts Money on the Line for 'The Boss'

Humphrey Kadaner, the president of HMV Canada, is a retailer after my own heart. A longtime and dedicated Bruce Springsteen fan, Kadaner is going the extra mile in promoting the musician’s new release, “Magic,” in the chain’s 118 stores.

Not only is HMV offering purchasers of the album a free video and ringtone download of its first single, “Radio Nowhere,” Kadaner is also offering a personal money-back guarantee that they will love it. He is promising a refund and individual letter of apology to any HMV customer who purchases “Magic,” and doesn’t like it.

To date, Kadaner has said he is not aware of any dissatisfied customers. And “Magic” quickly shot up to the top of the charts in Canada. This past weekend, Springsteen, while performing with his band in Toronto, dedicated a song to the HMV executive, who was in attendance with his wife.

While some cynics have questioned Kadaner’s sincerity, saying his offer was nothing but a savvy marketing ploy to boost sales, I’m not among them. Counting last week’s concert, Kadaner, has been to 87 Springsteen shows. (Of course, he still has a ways to go before he beats my record.)

"I believe some would suggest I am nuts," Kadaner told the Globe and Mail.

As a university student, Kadaner was nearly arrested once for trying to sell an extra ticket outside the event. He got off with a warning. More importantly, at least in my book, he didn't miss the show.

—Marianne Wilson

At Home in the Mall

A recent article in the Boston Globe hit home—literally. Seems a starving artist in Providence, R.I., set up more than shop in the Providence Place Mall. He made it his abode. Michael Townsend, 36, and seven other artists built a secret apartment in the mall’s parking garage four years ago—and the group has lived there off and on ever since..

The place sounded pretty cozy—sectional sofa, love seat, coffee and breakfast table, rugs, paintings, china hutch, TV and Sony PlayStation 2—all hidden behind a nondescript utility door. (No running water, though, so the group of eight had to wash up in the mall bathrooms.)

The jig was up a couple of weeks ago when mall security stumbled upon the apartment. Despite the fact that they were impressed with the setup, the guards turned Townsend and friends in on a trespassing charge.

Providence Place Mall is owned by General Growth Properties, out of Chicago. I happen to be well acquainted with the folks at General Growth, and know them to be a friendly, hospitable group. I guess it’s asking a little much of mall owners to ask them to serve as permanent hosts to the homeless, no matter how well they hide.

—Katherine Field

Ice at The View

My mom and I went to a taping of ABC’s “The View” yesterday here in Manhattan. When we took our seats, I immediately recognized a man—one of the three men in the entire audience, I might add—in the third row.

I pegged him for Pinny Gniwisch, executive VP of marketing for online jewelry retailer Ice.com. I had seen Pinny speak at least three or four times at various e-commerce conferences in the past and I was sure it was him. My guess was later validated when I noticed he was wearing an Ice.com hat. But I couldn’t figure out why he was there. Maybe a fan of guests Alan Greenspan and actress Anne Heche?

Half-way through the taping, the ladies of “The View” announced that all audience members were receiving a necklace (5-carat green amethyst and diamond 10K white gold pendant with chain) worth $200 from Ice.com. An image of the giveaway, as well as the company’s Web address, was flashed onto the screen for home viewers. What a smart marketing ploy, I thought.

When the audience members received the necklaces after the show, they squealed with delight—all the way to the elevator, where they then swapped comments about their new beautiful parting gifts.

After the taping, my mom and I went to lunch. She opened up her new necklace and sighed. “I just love it,” she said. And here was the clincher: “Maybe I’ll go on Ice.com for some matching earrings, too.”

Smart marketing ploy indeed.

— Samantha Murphy

Losing Weight at the Checkout

I'm not a big fan of self-checkout. The main reason being that it often takes longer than if I had gone the old-fashioned route and waited in line. My last experience, a week back at my local A&P, was fairly typical. After scanning all my items and putting them in the bag, the machine wouldn't accept my credit card.

“Oh, something is wrong with that machine and it isn't taking credit cards,” a young clerk shouted across the way. “If you want to pay by credit, you have to go to a regular checkout lane and start all over.”

I was steamed, and I made a vow right there on the spot to stop scanning items myself. Just the week before, I had used cash at another self-checkout and while the transaction went through, my change failed to materialize. The person charged with overseeing the stations seemed annoyed when I asked her for help, and gave me my change almost begrudgingly. She acted as if I had done something wrong, which is how I feel most of the time when there is a glitch with these devices.

A recent survey by IHL Consulting Group, Franklin, Tenn., suggests that I'm in the minority when it comes to self-checkouts. It points out that more and more consumers are going the self-checkout route, noting that in 2006, consumers spent more than $137 billion on self-checkout transactions, up 24% from the previous year.

Some other interesting bits from the survey: Consumers in the South are most positive about self-checkout, with 75% having a positive view about the technology; and Of those who used self-checkout at least six times, 86% have a positive view of the technology.

There are a few findings that should make retailers think twice. For example, impulse purchases dip 32.1% when self-checkout is used instead of a staffed checkout. The primary reason for the drop: self-checkout stations lack the merchandise displays of staffed lanes, which means you don't have a chance to grab that candy bar or bag of chips you really didn't need but which proved too tempting to resist.

All this leads me to what I consider the most fascinating (albeit ancillary) finding out of the survey: The average American woman could lose 4.1 lbs. a year simply by resisting the urge to purchase impulse items in the checkout line.

Umm. I don't know. I may have to reconsider my ban on self-checkouts. Four pounds a year is simply to good to pass up.

—Marianne Wilson