How would you respond to this scenario: A jewelry store has the most convenient location but is still losing sales to a competitor due to lower prices. What is causing this condition? Could we say the store is not providing the required/desired shopping experience? If so, what constitutes a desired shopping experience in a jewelry store? What is it that these jewerly customers require?
Which of the following would you suggest could cause customers to bypass the most convenient location to buy at jewelry store in a less convenient location?
A. Selection of merchandise offered
B. Brand image
C. Services provided including sales assistance
D. Store atmospherics
E. Perceived and actual pricing

Certainly location is very important to any retail business. Location can be both an enabler and a barrier to sales. Consider how the geodemographics of residents within a primary marketplace does have a dominate influence to most retail businesses. Primary market locations are usually a matter of minutes of drive time. The more specialized the product the offering, the longer shoppers are typically willing to drive.

Selection drives consumers to specialty stores. Jewelry stores offer high unit priced merchandise which may require special effort on the part of customers to make purchases. Often customers are already presold on the notion of purchasing jewelry, but often don’t know what item they desire. Specialty stores do attract some customers to less convenient locations. However, stores have to be destination locations to attract shoppers from outside their primary market.

Next up . . . What makes for a destination location?

JCK