Convenience And Comfort A Huge Factor In Where I Choose To Shop
For a stay at home mom with two small boys, which stores I can shop are at times determined by a range of factors. Factors such as accessability, parking, helpfulness of employees, width of store aisles and of course the size and maneuverability of the shopping carts.
In a majority of American households, the women do the necessary shopping for the house. Whether this is fair or not is irrelevantit is a fact. Frequently, women are required to bring their children along to do the necessary shopping. Things which I mentioned above play a larger role to consumers than one might thing. For example, I have an appointment at a nearby beauty supply store later this morning, and I am already dreading it. The aisles are narrow and cramped, and there are not shopping carts available. The amount of time I spend inside the store is going to be minimal, at best.
I believe this is true for alot of stay at home moms with children. The inability to maneuver through a store may keep them from visiting the store all together or may limit their shopping to specific items only. This means less money will be spent and limited “impulse buys”. All in the attempt to avoid a public melt down by either mom or the kids.
One of the most important factors, as silly as it may seem, when I choose a store to shop at and linger at, is the size and maneuverability of the shopping carts. The front of the cart needs to be wide enough to place a carseat without feeling like the cart would topple at any moment, and the handle of the cart couldn’t be too much lower than the basket, otherwise the car seat/ infant carrier would be balanced rather precariously on the front without actually “clipping in”, making it secure.
Every business should provide carts to fit the type of store and the products for which they sell. The carts should be light and sturdy, avoiding large heavy and bulky ones. Their size should be limited to the size of the aisles yet be large enough to accomodate the items sold. Not having the proper size cart for the size of the store and aisles makes shopping difficult and frustrating.
There have been a number of times I have left a store out of sheer frustration and not being able to maneuver smoothly through the aisles. The shopping cart for the small businesses in question were either too large, had difficult to move wheels, or the aisles were too cramped to get around to where I needed. My frustration level would go up as I would try to navigate, and generally I end up leaving sooner, rather than later, and make every effort in the future to avoid that particular store.
I prefer stores that recognize the balance of cart size and aisle width to accomodate their particular inventory of items. I need a cart in which a five year old can sit in the basket while allowing me the room needed to purchase the items I am looking to buy.
To put so much emphasis on the shopping cart may seem silly, but it’s necessary. There is one particular store which I have had to avoid until my child was big enough to sit up on his own. The stores carts would not accomodate my infant carrier. For my small business, I would make sure to provide a shopping cart that was light weight, probably plastic, sturdy, free turning wheels, wide enough for an infant carrier to be secure and possibly allow for a second child inside. It would be the appropraite size based on the overall size of the store, the products sold at the store and the width of the aisles. This would ensure its ability to maneuver throughout the store and would allow for customers to linger and spend more time, hence spend more money.
