The 5 ways your shop is losing the introvert’s dollar

Working in advertising I see lots of briefs for retail clients that ask “how can we make the act of shopping more social? How can we be more on trend and upbeat, how can we create more energy in our stores, have more personal interaction?”

After a hectic day shopping on Saturday I think, as a customer, that’s the absolute last thing I want.

And that’s because - while social, polite, curious about other people and having lots of deep and long lasting friendships - I’m an introvert. That means I draw my energy from within, and feel recharged by being alone. It doesn’t matter how much I talk to other people (and I talk to other people a lot), I get my best ideas when alone, work out problems alone, and make decisions alone.

In contrast, extroverts “are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone.” That’s a quote from an article by a proud introvert,  so it makes extraversion seem a bit outlandish - but his basic point is correct. Extraverts learn by talking, and form opinions and make decisions by talking things through. Shopping - particularly clothes shopping - is designed for the extraverted among us and absolutely excludes everyone else.

Here are the things that make introverts grit their teeth coming into your shop, and often escape before parting with a dollar:

1. You - by accident or design - put up a psychological barrier to entering the store.

Many shops consider it personal, attentive and best practise to set up their desk near the door, or stand a salesperson nearby. In fact, that creates a hurdle of anticipated dull interaction as a condition of entry that often an introvert can’t be bothered to overcome.

2. You make forming an intense personal connection a precondition of browsing.

I love markets. I love artisan produce. I love design fairs. But you know as soon as you walk up to a person who has slaved over a jam or a brooch that they’re not going relaxedly allow you to browse. They’re going to to tell you where the cows came from that made their cheese or how the constant sewing of their handmade scarves formed callouses on their hands. This irrelevant personal overlay clouds an introvert’s ability to take in, assess or form a connection with your products - and drives them away. If an introvert asks a question, please do share (we love chatting, if we have something to ask or say) but don’t tell us your life story just because we’re the first person you’ve seen in half an hour.

3. Please stop making constant inane chitchat - and worse, taking it seriously.

“Can I help you with anything?” The only acceptable answer to that for an introvert is a curt “no, I’m just looking.”  If the introvert customer verblises their vague wish to find a black skirt, they’ll never have a second alone - the shop assistant will shepherd them round the floor pulling out more and more ridiculous garments. “This is blue, and a pant, and I know you’re looking for a black skirt, but it’s soooo versatile.” No matter how well-meaning and helpful you think you’re being, if an introvert can’t look at your products in a relaxed state, you will lose a sale.

It is criminal that shop assistants are being trained to stalk and bombard people, regardless of whether the interaction is helpful or welcome. For example -

Every day, at every Uniqlo worldwide, customer advisers repeat what are known as “the six standard phrases,” which they are expected to use while on the floor…

• “Hello, my name is Uniqlo, how are you today?”
• “Did you find everything you were looking for?”
• “Let me know if you need anything. My name is Uniqlo.”
• “Thank you for waiting.”
• “Did you find everything you were looking for?”
• “Good-bye, we hope to see you again soon.”

Each customer is expected to hear at least four of these phrases (of course, with the advisers’ own names) as they go about their shopping excursion.

Here’s the test - if someone walks into your store and you say “how are you?” and they say “very well thank you” and nothing else, leave it at that. Not everyone needs constant shallow interaction. That is what Twitter is for.

4. We don’t trust you to deliver a fact factually. Sorry.

I’ve never met you before, shop assistant. How am I to know how much training you’ve had, your commitment to or understanding of the brand, how hungover you may or may not be? That is why if I do require some information - I’m looking for a specific item, say, or I want to know if something contains an ingredient - I would much prefer to consult a non-human source. Sorry, but I trust a catalogue, a look book, an ingredients list or signage 100% more than I trust you. It’s probably just better to let me look myself.

5. Oh god, don’t put mirrors on the outside of a changeroom.

This is madness. I’m sure even hardened extraverts hate this. The aim is to force the shopper to come out into the middle of the store where the shop assistants can weigh in - whether their opinion is wanted or not - about the fit of your clothes, the look of them, what they would match well with, and how your body needs to change in order to suit the clothes better. I don’t want to discuss this with you. I will make the decision to purchase something based on a private fitting in a private dressing room, without announcing it and without external input.

There are of course other things to avoid - like playing massively loud music (introverts hate having to raise their voice). But these 6 things are the main offenders responsible for driving me and my introverted kin out of shops every single day.

So how can you serve us better?

• Design your shop so it’s welcoming, with staff positioned nearby if you need them, not in your face as soon as you walk in.
• Instead of having a one-size fits all “you MUST bombard all customers” approach, train your staff to assess what kind of shopper an individual is (introverted or extraverted), then treat them differently accordingly.
• Put all the details shoppers need on your website and regularly answer emailed queries.
• Never. Ever. Place the mirrors outside changerooms.

Edited: to more correctly reflect that in fact this is a list of 5, not 6, annoyances! In addition to be an introvert I am also - alas - innumerate.