Shoppers on a mission

Pakistani housewives pride themselves in their ability to pick up good bargains in the oddest deals. From getting the vegetable vendor to toss in a bushel of coriander on the house, to haggling down the price of a gold set to silvers rates; if theres any chance of a deal sweetener, these overzealous bargain hounds will sniff it out. Now as incomes stagnate and persistently rising prices tighten their stranglehold on disposable incomes, retailers are finding that women shoppers as well as other consumer groups are hunting deals like never before. Youth consumers, dubbed mall rats, have long been considered the darlings of retail establishments, given their not-so-frugal spending habits. Yet, savvy marketers point out that these young buyers are breaking the mould of impulse buying. Manning the cash counter at a cellular phones retail outlet in Karachis Clifton area, Ahmad Jamal contends: "People don come in here with a vague idea about buying a cell phone any more. Nowadays, most customers already know everything from the specifications of a phone to its price and similar details about three substitutes before they even walk into the store." And thats not all. Shoppers are today spending less time browsing merchandise in stores than they did back at the turn of the century when the booming financial industry had ensured the presence of multiple credit cards in every wallet. "Business has been affected adversely over the past few years. High cost of business has been compounded by issues of law and order and load shedding," asserts Chairman, Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Atiq Mir. He contends that the flow of shoppers at hundreds of malls and markets in Karachi and other cities has slowed to a trickle as a consequence. But not all marketeers are taking the change in consumer trends lying down. Health spas, beauty salons and apparel outlets are filling up the pages of supplements such as Home Express, with special deals and discounts. Social media such as Facebook are fast becoming the newest frontier for bargain hunters as retailers push incentives through online deals. Far from being limited to deals on designer wear and luxury items, these social networking sites are being used to market everything from beach huts for rent to butchers on Eid for hire. For businesses keen on following customers perceptions to their offerings; SAP Pakistan has recently launched a software solution that allows marketeers to follow customers feedback about their products, online. The indigenously developed online bargain provider, Groupin has garnered an instant following among shoppers and businesses alike; with its model of facilitating discounts to prospective buyers through daily online deals. "Its not so much that customers are buying less; they are buying smarter," contends Farrukh, the owner of a local leather accessories chain. His establishments have all been designed to encourage customers to browse through all products while well-trained sales staff ask directed questions that are more likely to generate positive responses from prospective buyers than the conventional, "how may I help you?" The rising popularity of the internet along with increasing availability of localised content is arming consumers with more knowledge of the market place. That means these mission shoppers are not just a passing trend brought on by the economic slowdown. Consumers are likely to be more informed about their choices in the future. Businesses too, have to step up their marketing efforts to keep up with todays tech-savvy, well-informed shoppers.