DDi - March 2010 - (Page 88)

88 | Shopping with Paco Back to basics s retail researchers, we have certain issues that come up in almost every job that we do. These issues often include highly specific insights, but sometimes they are primal instincts to which many retailers are not privy. From the standpoint of the retail design industry, these issues must be addressed as part of our collective mantra. This one is a no-brainer that men know, but don’t really understand: most guys are physically stronger, not to mention bigger, than the average woman. Thus, females are conscious of their own personal security in ways most males really can’t fathom, whether it’s the lighting levels in the lobby, the burned-out bulb in the parking lot or hotel window that isn’t locked—even if it’s 12 ft. up from the ground. Women often feel vulnerable. Safety may or may not be a design function, say, of a retail environment or a hotel, but the female’s desire to know that she’s safe and sound does fit neatly into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This starts off with human physiological needs like breathing, food, water, sleep and sex, followed closely by the safety of our bodies, our health and our resources, all the way up to the top of the pyramid, where we find creativity and problem-solving. Most of us have had the experience of standing in line behind a female who is finishing paying for an item at the cashwrap. The cashier hands her a receipt, but rather than move along quickly—and I’ve seen this time and time again—she begins an elaborate, almost Zen-like process of re-securing her belongings. She puts her coins inside her change purse. She places her bills or credit card back inside her wallet, then scans the receipt, before tucking it alongside the bills, or in a special receipt fold. She then replaces both her wallet and change purse (sometimes they’re one and the same) back inside her handbag, then zips or buckles or seals it shut. One final glance down. Nope, she didn’t drop anything. Now, she’s ready to leave. Would a male do this? In similar situations, with a queue forming, I’ve observed that men will often slide their purchases to one side to allow the person behind him to pay and get out of there. It could be some male animal collegiality, but I suspect it also has to do with the man’s indifference to his own personal security. The elaborate choreography the female animal carries out before she exits a retail environment isn’t just a coda to the enjoyment she’s had while shopping, but an implicit sealing (and zippering up) of the transaction she’s just completed. She’s not being passive-aggressive either. It’s a safety issue. Perhaps just as basic as security, but no less of a necessity for women, is cleanliness. The female of the species likes and appreciates—you might even say she demands—clean. It’s hard-wired. Clean and unclean register for most women instantaneously. For a majority of the world’s females, determining whether they are in a clean environment is an intuition, an undercurrent, a sixth sense, a vibe they pick up about every room in their house, every retail establishment they frequent, every dressing room they try on clothing in, every restaurant they dine in, every hotel room they plunk their suitcase down in, every health club they join, every swimming pool they wade into and every bathroom they enter. Why? If we think about it, issues of cleanliness play a natural, crucial role in menstruation and child-rearing, as well as in the acquisition and preparation of food—historically a female occupation traceable back to our earliest hunter-gatherer days. This same vigilant attention to cleanliness also finds its place in the nursing profession, which calls for close proximity to bodily fluids and waste, another historically female occupation. Clean matters to women—can I be any more clear? Over the course of their lives, thanks to mothers and girlfriends and wives, most men, including myself, have found this out the hard way. In retail, we recognize that what is easy to keep clean, is more likely to stay clean. Ask yourself, at what point in your design process does maintenance get factored in? I have a favorite hotel in Stockholm, which famously consulted with its chambermaid staff on the redesign. Think that’s odd? Think again. —Paco Underhill is the founder of Envirosell and author of the books “Why We Buy” and “Call of the Mall.” Considered to be the retail industry’s “first shopping anthropologist,” he shares some of his insights with DDI in this column. Editor’s note: This is the third of four pieces based on Paco Underhill’s upcoming book “What Women Want,” to be published June 2010 by Simon & Schuster. | March 2010 www.ddimagazine.com http://www.ddimagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - March 2010

DDi - March 2010
Contents
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot: H&M Home
Design Snapshot: The School of Life
American Eagle Outfitters
Juicy Couture
Channel Focus: Jewelry
Shopper Marketing Section
Selfridges 3rd Central
Schnucks Market
Right Light
Design Leaders 2010
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
GlobalShop Show Coverage
Classifieds
Advertisers
Calendar
Shopping with Paco

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