Cherry Picking Consumers

For any retailer, especially a retailer in a commoditized retail world like the supermarket industry, Cherry Pickers (bargain hunters, professional shoppers) are not always perceived as your most attractive shoppers. A recently published research paper does not dispel this perception, but it does give retailers a better understanding of who Cherry Pickers are and how their shopping behavior differs from other types of customers.

The study authored by Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch and Edward J. Fox, a marketing professor at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University, found that not only do these professional shoppers save money, but the savings are significant enough to offset the extra time it takes them to seek and find low prices. The authors argue that retailers should accept the fact that cherry picking happens and that they should focus on cross-selling and cross-merchandising tactics to encourage Cherry Pickers to buy more, higher margin goods. (Duh!)

For those who are time deprived, read this summary report from the Knowledge@Wharton email newsletter.

For those more academic minded, you’ll want to read the full research report.