Mystery Shopper Report Mark 301
Mystery shopper report For my report I chose the shop Pier 1 Imports, I have never heard about this shop before which shows that they have weak marketing strategy. So the reason of having gone to the Pier 1 Imports was actually a gift card presented to my parents. I would like to emphasize here that the gift card is a reason to make a purchase even if you don’t have intentions to buy anything. Another very interesting characteristic of the gift card, which not many people are aware of, is that the amount you are going to spend is much higher than the actual value of your gift card.
We had $100 on our gift card but spent $200; because of the human nature we always tend to want more.
And it is impossible not to buy something in Pier 1 imports: every shopper will find something appealing to him or her. After visiting this shop and starting my assignment I found out that Pier 1 Imports has a chain of stores in US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Value Pier 1 Imports calls theirs products as one-of-a-kind. Uniqueness and originality are the main characteristics of the products they offer.
People come to Pier 1 Imports not just to buy goods for home interior they come there in a search of something outstanding. Merchandise which is imported from more than 50 countries is carefully selected in order to find an appeal to each customer.
The one most outstanding value they offer to its customer is that buyers can cooperate with the Pier 1 Imports Development Team on new designs of future products. Pier 1 imports states that this shop is a “different world” and each time you visit this store you can “discover something new and unexpected”. Their point of differences
Comparing Pier 1 Imports to the Ikea (for example) who has the same range of products offered, the first one has their goods imported from all over the world. The IKEA offers only Swedish products.
Pier 1 Imports offers a variety of styles attracting different groups of buyers. It’s impossible to get bored in this shop because Pier 1 Imports doesn’t offer dull goods. Over there you can find Moroccan pillows and even Chinese secret boxes. Target market Target market of Pier 1 Imports is people who are easily attracted by bold bright colours luxury and other worldly inspiration.
According to allbusiness. com the current target market for Pier 1 Imports is credit worthy women aged 21-39, who live close by.
But in my opinion, this shop is suitable for all ages. Young women like to experiment with the style of their apartment, older women will more likely search for something that can add comfort to theirs home-place; Pier 1 Imports can satisfy these both needs. a. Pier 1 Imports’ strategy is to carry breadth of home decor products. Pier 1 Imports offers seasonal goods, dining, gifts, home accents & decor, home textiles, furniture, aroma candles and fragrances.
Authentic hand-crafted furniture got my attention the most because of its unique style; it was brought from such exotic places as Vietnam, India and China. Astonishing variety of pillows with such bright colours and textures for sure can lift up your mood every day if you have one of them in the room. All products were brought from all around the world: fresh and fragrant candles, exotic wicker, hand-painted dinnerware, gorgeous textiles and thoughtful handmade gifts. b. Pier 1 imports offers goods with a very huge price range from $2 to $1000.
I found it very convenient for people who just want to buy something small and also for people who want to buy some exclusive furniture or piece of art. Quality of the goods, that Pier 1 Imports offer, depends on price. I am uncertain about the quality of particular products so I rely on price-quality hypothesis saying that relatively high price should be a sign of good quality. c. The hours of operation are very convenient for all shoppers: working people, retired etc. The store is open on weekdays from 10am to 9pm, on Saturdays from 10am to 6pm and Sundays from 11am to 5pm.
The store offers membership and rewards cards. Membership cards entitles customers to discounts throughout the year, coupons, sales and special shopping events. Reward cards offer 4 points for each dollar spent and after collecting 2,000 points shoppers receive $20 certificate valid for 90 days. Customers can return or exchange their goods by bringing the items with its original receipt of purchase to the store within 30 days or if the receipt has been lost, customers can show a valid ID and get in-store credit.
Pier 1 Imports has chosen to provide outstanding customer service to leave customers happy with a purchase. From my experience I can say that service staff is very helpful and answers all the questions.
Also they take care of the packaging. Since we bought a wooden vase and five metallic colored bamboo straws to stick in, they wrapped each bamboo straw separately, which by the way took a lot of time to unwrap afterwards, but the good thing is that the sale staff actually takes care of products they sell. In Pier 1 Imports service is on a high level. d.
The store I visited is located 13530 137 Avenue Northwest.
The location chosen has an easy access and has other decor specialty stores around. Also there are two more Pier 1 Import stores in Edmonton; the second one is in the North-West and the third one in the South-East. All three are located in the areas of high shoppers traffic. e. After I had gone to the physical store, I decided to check out the online store. The web-site has a very good navigation system and an easy access; also they have pretty much the same products they offer in the physical store and even greater variety.
On the web-site all goods are divided in specific categories so it is easier to orient oneself and find the specific good without spending much time on searching. It’s a little bit difficult to find a particular thing in a physical store because of a huge assortment of goods, and some products were not placed within the right categories. That’s why I personally prefer the online store in the sense of the navigation, but for those who prefer to touch the product it is better to visit the store. 3. Pier 1 Import doesn’t offer discounts on bulk purchases.
It is considered a good strategy because by sticking to its price Pier 1 Imports attract clients who appreciate the value of a product.
Discounting can lead to detraction from the perceived value and attract only those customers who are hunting for low prices, which is not what Pier 1 Imports seek for. Instead, Pier 1 Imports can offer such campaigns: “Try new exclusive products from South America. If your purchase exceeds $100 you can get $20 free for your next purchase (or you can get this exclusive item for free)”.
Also Pier 1 Imports should offer coupons in the popular newspapers such as Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun. People will be curious about this shop and probably will visit it because of coupons. Another strategy is to sell Pier 1 Import gift cards in grocery stores such as Sobeys, Safeway, etc.
near the cash registers. When a buyer finishes his/her purchase and stands near a cash register waiting for the goods to be scanned, he/she could see Pier 1 Imports gift cards among others offered on a stand and might buy it in order to give it to a friend or relative.
There is always a high level of traffic in the grocery stores which are quite favorable places for Pier1 Imports gift cards promotion. Product organization in the store I visited was confusing for me. All categories of the goods were placed in the mixed order so it was a little bit hard to concentrate on a specific good. In my opinion, it would be better to sort items and put goods more by categories, otherwise it’s hard to find a particular thing.
For example, furniture was placed all around the store mixed with products of home decor and others.
On the one hand, it is good since customers can have an idea of the design, but, on the other hand, it looks messy and people might have feeling that the shop doesn’t have enough space to put furniture separately. In conclusion, Pier 1 Imports is a shop of goods not of the first priority. People do not intend to visit it very often, only if they want to buy something special and add some luxury to their house or apartment. That is why this shop isn’t very appealing for every day shopping.
