Your Shopping Personality

(from fashionlvr.com)

It seems like my bargain sensibilities are firmly in sync with the new retail world, at least according to a study about who shops: How America Shops 2010 MegaTrends Study, by WSL Strategic Retail, a retail and marketing strategy firm.

As reported by WWD EyeScoop, the study narrows down 5 shopping personalities. The personality closest to mine is the first (see below), although I have a few modifications. She should be named "Smart-shopping Sue." And while I agree that she is "OK with less," it's not that she's "given up her aspirations on big name brands." It's that she never believed they were worth their full-price value. Ever. And finally, she would substitute "Marshalls" for "Wal-Mart or even dollar stores."

• Shop-a-Lot Sue. She loves to shop, and although she has limited means — a household income of $60,000 — this is “not a deal breaker,” the survey found. “Sue knows she doesn’t have much to spend, so she shops smart, which lets her buy more.” She often opts for online options or chooses mass merchants such as Wal-Mart or even dollar stores. “She’s given up her aspirations for big-name brands and is OK with less.”

The other four shopping personalities are:

• Miserable Mona, who also has a household income of around $60,000. She is “so jaded by her financial situation that she finds no pleasure in shopping. Making ends meet is a constant struggle.” Although she, too, shops at discount or dollar stores, she doesn’t use online tools to help her.

• I’ll Pass Patty, who is apathetic about shopping and views it as a necessity. She has an above-average household income of $90,000 but lives within her means. She often opts for online shopping to avoid having to go to stores. “To her, smart shopping is no shopping,” the survey said. “Low price is important, but not if it means having to shop around.”

• Bubble Barbie, who spent the recession living in a bubble, ignoring everything and continuing to shop. Her household income averages $72,000, and she visits stores often although her debt level is high. “Bubble Barbie is the best reason to keep doing attractive displays of new products that stop her in the aisle and add more to her basket,” the survey said. “Sales and discounts are good, but not necessary for her to buy.”

— Bubble Barbie (or Bobbie, per diagram) worries me. She's the only one with debt issues. She needs help! And not from marketers.

• Chic Chic Charlotte, who has a high household income, around $101,000, and loves to shop. But even she was impacted by the recession and will buy less than she had in the past. “The more affluent have developed a case of retail guilt. She is not as spendthrift as she was in the Nineties. Reassure her that you are offering her value.”