Underground consumer movements become mainstream
There is a revolution going on in the retail. Consumer resistance movements once thought of as on the fringe of society are moving into the mainstream.
This revolution has created a new form of resistance ‘fighter’ – the inscrutable shopper, a shopper who resists consumption; one who expects more of their retailers and one who, unless retailers respond, will take their custom elsewhere.
A new book, The Inscrutable Shopper – Consumer Resistance in Retail, by researchers from Monash University’s Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS) and Deakin University, looks at how the retailer can understand this increasing complex and unpredictable customer – the inscrutable shopper, and how they the retailer can respond in an increasingly turbulent business environment.
Co-author Dr Sean Sands of the ACRS said retailers need to consider why some customers may or may not choose to purchase (or shop) at all, as well as providing relevant and appealing services while responding actively to ethical, environmental and social issues.
“Consumer resistance comes in many guises, from not buying anything, refusing to buy from a certain store, recommending family and friends not to buy; or boycotting products from a particular nation,” Dr Sands said.
“Retailers are always looking at ways to encourage consumers to purchase: but have they ever considered why some people choose not to ‘consume’. Businesses need to understand why there is consumer resistance or even look to how these consumer movements can be engaged to create business opportunity.”
Dr Sands suggests there are opportunities for Australian retailers to play to their core strengths in connecting with consumers, for instance playing to the local, or boutique nature of a product, as in the case of West Australian boutique, The West Winds Gin and their range of gins.
Advances in technology have meant that retailers are increasingly able to engage consumers across multiple channels and to involve them in the communication and creation processes, thus lessening consumer resistance.
The resistant consumer campaigns against globalisation, sweatshops, technology, waste and even advertising. They embrace sustainability and the ‘slow movement’, want value for money, they recycle, they establish cooperatives, and they are not afraid to use online communities and social networks.
The book looks at savvy retailers such as Threadless, an online store where consumers assist with the designing of the products, or UK label Junky Styling using recycled clothes to make new ones, who have met the challenges to maintain or increase their market share
ACRS co-author Carla Ferraro said that this new environment is full of opportunities for the retail industry.
“Retailers have to respond to these lifestyle changes in new and innovative ways if they want to remain viable and maintain or increase their customer base,” Ms Ferraro said.
The Inscrutable Shopper – Consumer Resistance in Retail by Dr Stella Minahan, Dr Sean Sands and Ms Carla Ferraro is available now.