Tag Archives: consumer behavior

by | Tuesday, October 29, 2024 · 7:32 am

The Mall Evolves – Again.

Have you been to the mall lately? What did you experience there? Was it crowded or empty, old or new, exciting or dull?

Well, that’s the mall of old. Today’s malls are investing and reinventing their shopping concepts for more consumer involvement. Malls are being upgraded and turned into lifestyle centers for entertainment and health, not just shopping. Some malls even have fitness clubs, apartments, and grocery shopping.

Yet, some malls still have a high vacancy rate and industry observers state that more than two million square feet of mall space has been demolished. But many more malls are refurbishing, not demolishing. Some malls are adding themed attractions such as Nerf gun courses, Formula 1-type racing tracks, and obstacle courses. (Call it “retailtainment.”) Think of it as experiential marketing and today’s mall looks totally different than the old versions where all consumers do is wander between stores.

Toy companies such as Nerf and Legos have built areas where people can play with the toys, then buy them in the adjacent retail store. Netflix is also involved; it has built immersive installations that mirror TV series such as “The Office,” “Squid Game, and “Friends.”

Malls are also building outdoor spaces to provide more options for relaxing and eating. Mall owners are spending big to lure shoppers into coming back, and stay longer. In 2024, more than nine million square feet has been planned for new purposes in malls.

While Covid cut down on shopping at malls, people are willing to come back, as long as the mall meets their current needs and stays interesting.

Let’s meet at the mall tomorrow!

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss how and where students shop. What are their experiences at the mall?  
  2. Show video about malls evolving: https://youtu.be/B1e2oBigF9U?si=DEm3flwoEXrQSYSl
  3. Divide students into teams. Have teams visit a local mall and observe what is happening around them.
  4. Students might also do primary research and survey fellow students about their desires for mall expansion.
  5. Next, have the teams develop new ideas for malls. They could also provide a floor print of how they see the mall stores and entertainment.
  6. Include stores, dining, entertainment, and more.

Source: Gose, J. (9 June 2024). What retail apocalypse? Shopping centers are making a comeback. New York Times; Margolies, J. (31 August 2024). Nerf blasters and Lego rockets: Another mall evolution. New York Times.

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by | Thursday, October 24, 2024 · 7:11 am

The $1,000 Trash Can

How much trash do you generate in a week? Probably quite a few trash bags if your house is anything like ours.

What goes into your trash can? Does it smell? Yeah, we know. Ours does, too. And sometimes those darned fruit flies show up uninvited. (Hold nose as appropriate.)

But there are options for generating smaller mounds of trash, and even recycling the waste can be easy. Many people do use composting to get rid of trash. But what if you can’t, or won’t, compost? There is still a solution for you if you are ready and willing to spend $1,000 for a state-of-the-art Mill Food Recycler!

In brief, the Mill trash can takes food scraps and pulverizes them into what looks like coffee grounds, but doesn’t smell. Food scraps go into the Mill, internal air circulates and uses a charcoal filter to neutralize odors, dries the food, and grinds it up into a type of compost that can either be mailed back to Mill, or used as compost in gardens. It’s not complicated, after all it is a trash can.

Open the lid using a foot pedal, put in any food product (no bones or shells though). When enough food accumulates, the bucket heats up and the motor runs for a few hours at night, yielding non-smelly grinds. And, for an additional $10 per month, the grounds can be shipped back to the company, which then further processes them and provides them to farms for chicken feed or other uses.

But what’s that you say? You don’t have a grand to spend? Mill even has a rental plan for $30 a month, and you can buy it at the end of the lease.

Ready for a new trash can?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss
  2. Show Mill website: https://www.mill.com/
  3. Show video of product in operation: https://youtu.be/ESuG7j00j9o?si=Yvmh3bb9Fcplp5F3
  4. Discuss the importance of clearly defining a target market.
  5. For this product, what is the target market?
  6. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a profile of Mill’s target market.  (Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.)
  7. Divide students into groups to work on this exercise.
  8. Have each team develop a marketing plan for this product. Make sure they select three different tactics. For each tactic, explain why it was selected and how it will be used.

Source: Merck, K. (18 August 2024). Review: Mill food recycler. Wired; Peterson, K. (29 December 2023). Will people pay to send their banana peels through the mail? Wall Street Journal; Rothman, W. (1 September 2024). I tried a $1,000 trash can for two months – and I get it. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Tuesday, October 22, 2024 · 7:05 am

Decorating Dorm Rooms Reaches New Heights

For many students, moving into their first dorm room can be a shock. In general, most dorm rooms are fairly spartan in both design and décor. There is a lot of beige and utilitarian furniture meant to withstand student lives.

And for new students used to having their families (mostly moms) decide on décor and furniture for the house and their rooms, the dorm rooms can seem, well, ugly. When confronted with small, beige, rooms that also contain a roommate, it can be a tad overwhelming.

Enter a new category of service: Dorm room interior designers. At many schools, particularly in the southern states, designers will makeover dorm rooms at costs reaching thousands of dollars. Depending on what is needed, and parents are willing to spend, makeovers can include custom fabrics and furniture, linens, light fixtures, and custom-made cabinets.

One service, Essentials by Eden, started in a dorm room and now with 25 seasonal employees, is priced at $5,000 per student for a full-service experience, including move-in day service. It had more than 200 clients this year at different design packages ranging from $549 to $1,849.

Have you chosen a color scheme for your room yet?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss dorm room décor.
  2. Poll students: What did they spend on decorating their dorm room? How did they decide what to do and what to buy?
  3. View website of a dorm design company, Essentials with Eden: https://essentialswitheden.com/
  4. Show a video of dorm room decorating: https://youtu.be/P9EERqeQhZM?si=nNKBxyaoW1XliAkc
  5. Divide students into teams. Each team will be a dorm room design company.
  6. Students can use their laptops to search for design ideas on sites such as Pinterest.
  7. Have each team develop a marketing plan for dorm room design.
  8. Discuss target market. Consider geography as well as income, type of school, etc.
  9. Pay attention to pricing of both services and furniture.
  10. How should services be priced?
  11. Next, have the teams each develop a promotional campaign.

Source: Braff, D. (30 August 2024). Tuition: $9,400. Dorm room interior designer: $10,000? New York Times; Lyttle, Z. (27 August 2024). Inside the world of parent-led dorm design, where college move-in day costs $5K and a year of planning. People Magazine; other sources.

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