i salute subby for a better headline than the article merited.

Old Navy has remodeled about a third of its 1,000 stores, installing a "racetrack" layout to compel shoppers to circumnavigate the store and see more merchandise.

Our local store did that and I haven't set foot in there since. It offends my in and out mentality.

/I thought most males had always been "mission shoppers"

If it takes more than 10 minutes to find and purchase the item I want I'll go elsewhere. Life is too short to spend it at the mall.

Mission shopper! Took on GF shopping for pants 30 years ago. Walked into the first store, tried on three pair, bought them. Done in 20 minutes. She freaked! We spent the next three hours demonstrating that: A. There weren't any better choices for guys and B. No one had better prices.

Many years later I let another GF drag me to 5 stores looking at vinyl flooring. Conclusions: A. All the stores carried the same three manufacturers. B. They all sold the stuff at the same price. She had extreme problems with this.

Rev. Skarekroe: I hate being manipulated like that, and yet I have little choice in the matter.

You could always choose to not give your business to the mall. No, really. There are other alternatives out there.

Reckless unsustainable binge spending got us in to this mess. Clearly reckless unsustainable binge spending will get us out of this!

I mean seriously, how hard is it to get a couple of new credit cards for the holidays? They send them out free in the mail all the time. Do your part citizen!

/you don't even have to pay for any of it right now. Just use some of the generous financing offers most stores have.

The Crepes of Wrath: Rev. Skarekroe: I hate being manipulated like that, and yet I have little choice in the matter.

You could always choose to not give your business to the mall. No, really. There are other alternatives out there.

The Hell you say!

Rev. Skarekroe: This kind of thing drives me nuts. I used to work at a mall, and they'd periodically turn off one of the escalators in order to force people to walk through the food court. I hate being manipulated like that, and yet I have little choice in the matter.



/RIP Mitch.

It's that time of the year.

For the next 8 weeks, we get endless news stories about how much money people are (or are NOT) spending on Christmas stuff. With the implication that if only we would spend MORE, everything would be better.

The "CONSUME CITIZEN" propaganda around Christmas time has really gotten overwhelming in the past 10 years or so.

I think the end of the stay at home mom is what is killing retail. The days of women amusing themselves by spending all day at the mall is over.

There's a bit of cognitive dissonance going on in that article. A "mission shopper" looking for a few specific items isn't going to want to be forced to go through the entire farking store.

Hell, even IKEA is smart enough to at least provide shortcuts through their mazes.

"While e-commerce has been getting better, the stores have been getting worse," says Ron Boire, chief executive officer of electronics retailer Brookstone. "A lot of retailers pulled a ton of labor off the floor in '08 and '09, and now they are figuring out how to put it back in."

I see that Mr. Boire has been to "if by some miracle there are two employees on a floor, they are talking to each other and ignoring customers" Macy's.

natazha: Mission shopper! Took on GF shopping for pants 30 years ago. Walked into the first store, tried on three pair, bought them. Done in 20 minutes. She freaked! We spent the next three hours demonstrating that: A. There weren't any better choices for guys and B. No one had better prices.

Many years later I let another GF drag me to 5 stores looking at vinyl flooring. Conclusions: A. All the stores carried the same three manufacturers. B. They all sold the stuff at the same price. She had extreme problems with this.

I love evolution in action. Who says the hunter/gatherer society is dead?

natazha: Mission shopper! Took on GF shopping for pants 30 years ago. Walked into the first store, tried on three pair, bought them. Done in 20 minutes. She freaked! We spent the next three hours demonstrating that: A. There weren't any better choices for guys and B. No one had better prices.

Many years later I let another GF drag me to 5 stores looking at vinyl flooring. Conclusions: A. All the stores carried the same three manufacturers. B. They all sold the stuff at the same price. She had extreme problems with this.

I got in trouble for pointing out we spent more on gas driving around than we saved. It would have been cheaper to buy at the first store.

FTA: Consumers in this post-recession era

Uhh post?

As I read these sorts of articles that get posted from time to time, I am puzzled by how people have their shopping habits altered by these set ups. One article I read included a shopper who while going through an aisle of soup cans saw a sign saying "limit 3 per customer." she immediately got three cans. Similarly food items that didn't have price tags displayed clearly were more likely to get in her cart.

Rev. Skarekroe: This kind of thing drives me nuts. I used to work at a mall, and they'd periodically turn off one of the escalators in order to force people to walk through the food court. I hate being manipulated like that, and yet I have little choice in the matter.

One time, they shut off the escalator while I was on it! I was stuck for hours

Gergesa: As I read these sorts of articles that get posted from time to time, I am puzzled by how people have their shopping habits altered by these set ups. One article I read included a shopper who while going through an aisle of soup cans saw a sign saying "limit 3 per customer." she immediately got three cans. Similarly food items that didn't have price tags displayed clearly were more likely to get in her cart.

I always like it when I can find a cheaper item next to the sale one on the shelf.

Sale/price drop signs can be useful but as a shopper:

1. Scan the item with a bar code scanner on your phone. Make sure the price really is a good deal.
2. Consider "Do I normally use this product? Can I use this before it expires?". If either answer is no, abort.
3. If it's a brand you're not familiar with but you normally use the item (say a different brand of soup is on sale than your normal brand), buy one and try it. If you like it stock up on your next trip to the store.

You can always tell when I'm in a store. I'm walking 10 miles an hour, go directly to what I'm buying, and then directly to the cash register. And you'd better get the fark out of my way, because I'm not there for a hobby.

Gergesa: As I read these sorts of articles that get posted from time to time, I am puzzled by how people have their shopping habits altered by these set ups. One article I read included a shopper who while going through an aisle of soup cans saw a sign saying "limit 3 per customer." she immediately got three cans. Similarly food items that didn't have price tags displayed clearly were more likely to get in her cart.

Yeah, people do. They've actually done studies on it (of course--what could be more important than making us into better consumers?) If you have item A at a price, then advertise 3 of them for the same price as--3 of them, people will buy the bulk package.

It could be lack of math skills, but actually it's marketing and social psychology.

/Wait, there's more!

Marketing is a fascinating science. There are books by an author named Paco Underhill on the topic. Basically, they send people with clipboards to observe shoppers the way Jane Goodall used to observe chimps in the wild.

However, shutting off the escalator is going to fail if they think it'll get customers to the food court or whatever. With an aging population and an increase in obesity, people are not going to want to go up those stairs and you know the elevators are going to be out of service for the same reason the escalators are off.

Grand Poohbah: I see that Mr. Boire has been to "if by some miracle there are two employees on a floor, they are talking to each other and ignoring customers" Macy's.

My god, this. It was a dark day when they bought Filene's.

/woman mission shopper

Rev. Skarekroe: This kind of thing drives me nuts. I used to work at a mall, and they'd periodically turn off one of the escalators in order to force people to walk through the food court. I hate being manipulated like that, and yet I have little choice in the matter.

You sound fat.

i've been a mission shopper my entire life except for my teenage years or so when i was killing time and hoping to meet the opposite sex while i looked around the music or book store. i'd buy something out of shear boredom to kill a few hours after i got home. every moment i spend in a store i consider a waste of time. i don't want to be shopping for a can of corn or a big screen tv. i want to be home using it already.

I'm a mission shopper in every store, except a book store. They get me every time.

Mission shopper, otherwise known as men.
I'm sure there are some ladies out there too, but I have yet to meet them.

ha-ha-guy: Old Navy has remodeled about a third of its 1,000 stores, installing a "racetrack" layout to compel shoppers to circumnavigate the store and see more merchandise.

Our local store did that and I haven't set foot in there since. It offends my in and out mentality.

/I thought most males had always been "mission shoppers"

I have always been a "mission shopper", having learned it from my grandfather who was one. I never even go into a store unless I have a very good idea that they have the one thing I want. I never buy anything other than what I went for and I don't understand any other way of doing it.

every time the wife drags me to the mall all i see are teenagers running around it

LOL boy.. do i sound old

FTFA: The revamped outlets feature wider aisles to accommodate the strollers pushed by Old Navy's target customer-thirtysomething moms.

Now fixed: The revamped TV schedule/movie remake/mall/amusement park features anything that would accommodate Our target customer-thirtysomething moms.

/Mission Shopper supreme.
// Wife makes shopping list and is shocked that I only look for the items on it rather than wander down each aisle of the store looking at everything goddamn thing.

New captive breeding program hopes to replace the nearly extinct impulse shopper with Shopperus Mmoronus

Moran.

mcreadyblue: I think the end of the stay at home mom is what is killing retail. The days of women amusing themselves by spending all day at the mall is over.

There might be some truth to that, but what you're losing in the 'stay-at-home-mom' crowd, you're making up for in the 'retired-senior-citizen-speedwalker' and 'unemployed-and-bored' demographics.

I was much more of a gatherer than hunter in the past (not much else to do as a teen girl in the '80s), but times change. When you work full-time & have a limited budget, it's best to adopt the mission approach. I have far less patience & energy to deal with mall people...and really need to avoid wandering into stores where I might be tempted to impulse buy.

I guess Im in the minority in my male shopping habits. I like to browse and try stuff on to see if makes me look more awesome. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. If I can afford it and I like it I buy it.

I guess I just dont understand why the average man dresses like he just rolled in a pile of goodwill clothing and put on whatever stuck to him.

/In before "know how I know you're gay"

I'm neither a mission shopper nor an impulse buyer. If I go to the mall, it is to buy clothes. (okay, occasionally makeup). Generally, however, i don't go with a specific article of clothing in mind. If I need black pants, I buy them online.

I go, and I go to my favorite stores and I look around, like, "hmm, ok, shirts, yes, those look nice". However, I don't like shopping. The only reason I'm in your store is because I feel that I need new clothing. Don't make me walk around and look at everything in the goddamned store. I don't want shoes. I don't want purses. I don't want menswear.
I don't buy things on impulse- I came to spend money.

Dunno where I fall, besides, dear god if I never had to go shopping again it would be heaven.

Usually I'm a mission shopper

Exceptions Bookstores, Hand Tools & Power tools(insert grunt) and electronics stores when shopping for myself (damn you Frys electronics why must you tempt me so.)

I'm a goal oriented shopper, but I'm also good at browsing. This is especially true with clothes. I'm not the sort of person that just buys something to cover myself and calls it a day. I need to buy something that I really really like (read: loud enough you can hear it coming). To find the right thing requires that I browse. I'm still very goal oriented- I have a clear picture of what I want and where to find it, and I don't dawdle. But I'm a big fan of serendipity when shopping.

Gah. I'm such a hunter I can't even figure out how to browse when I'm just putzing along for a work-related trip to the local MicroCenter.

I mean, there it is, that hardware mecca I've been pining for since CompUSA/ComputerCity fell apart, and I can't browse.

If I don't have anything I want, I just kind of wander around in a daze.

I use sites like slickdeals.net or fatwallet.com to find the best deals on items that I want and need. I often buy bellow the manufacturers cost, and I never shop for anything else if I actually have to go to a B&M (brick and mortar) store to get my deal.

The key is to not buy stuff that you really won't use, or go nuts and buy WAY too much because you get something for free. Sure free toothpaste is great, but do you really need 16 cases of it?

My best deal has got to be from American Express. My wife and I got 255,000 points after stacking deals by taking out cards, and spending $2,000. Those points equaled $2550 dollars in gift cards. We spent the $2,000 required on groceries, gas, utilities, and anything else that we were going to buy any way. Gotta love free money

Usually a mission shopper -- Exept in Marks Work Warehouse.

Something about comfy practical clothes without big gaudy brands or designs all over them just pulls me in.

Its like a shining star of utility and pragmatism in a sea of complete crap.

I'm usually an in-and-out shopper, prefer the internet for specific purchases, but Target has the best holiday stuff, so I end up wandering there a couple times a year for Halloween and Christmas stuff.

/Holiday shopping was finished on Tues
//Got a Canon camera for my wifey through a seller that uses Amazon
///Seller called, switched out the defective one he was about to ship for a store display, and threw in 5 yr warranty for my troubles
////Way cool story, bro

I enjoy shopping. I even enjoy looking and browsing, although I have a specific goal in mind in the first place-- like "work pants" or "boots without high heel that have tread, fit well, and won't cause me to slip and fall on the ice."

However, I prefer doing it on my own farking terms. I don't want to be run through a maze, however much I enjoy browsing. I want to be able to find what I'm looking for before I get annoyed and say, "Piss on it, I'm going to buy online instead."

I also do not want some employee/associate/counter jockey running around the store, following my every move like a stalker, constantly asking if I need help. That is incredibly annoying and I will (and do) leave stores because of it.

The last time it happened, I was shopping for some nice, expensive winter boots at the local Outdoor Store. This is a local business, not your major corporate store, and from the second I walked in with my mother, they were on us like flies on shiat. We were probably in the store for less than 10 minutes and 6 separate people asked if we needed help finding anything. One guy kept following us, but he walked behind racks and displays so as to stay hidden. Each time I touched a box or a display boot, he came around the other side of the display to see if he could help. Finally, my Mother yelled rather loudly, "I hate being farking STALKED." We left, and I haven't been back since, and it's been a couple of years. That guy looked like he was going to shiat his pants and couldn't get away fast enough. It almost made up for it.

There's little need to browse in stores that have less in less diversity of product because they're trying to only stock the guaranteed-to-sell items. I'm looking at you, Best Buy.

The industry calls them "mission shoppers." men.

I don't do "impulse shopping" - who has that kind of friggin' time?

Ugly art is uuuuugly!

BigBooper: I use sites like slickdeals.net or fatwallet.com to find the best deals on items that I want and need

I used to use madduckets.com before picklefarker sold it to Amazon.

Amazon Prime has replaced nearly ALL of my in-person shopping except for items I need to try on in person.

Why would I go to the store when the store will come to me at my home?

I also find that online you get
* Selection
* More sizes
* Lower prices
* More detailed product information'
* online reviews
* easy price comparing

If retailers want to get more out of every shopper then they need to have more inventory, better selection of products, and fast checkouts. I find that 90% of the time I go into a store, they don't carry the item or they are out of stock. Well, I guess management thinks a greeter at the door will bring in more money than inventory. Stupid management at it's finest! I prefer to shop on the internet. Better selection, no greeters, faster checkout, product reviews, and no traffic.

evilchode: I guess Im in the minority in my male shopping habits. I like to browse and try stuff on to see if makes me look more awesome. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. If I can afford it and I like it I buy it.

I guess I just dont understand why the average man dresses like he just rolled in a pile of goodwill clothing and put on whatever stuck to him.

There's a third path that combines the best aspects of both. Shop where they'll tailor things. The ease of mission shopping with a custom-fitted end result.

Why anyone would do the marathon try-things-on hunt when this option is available is beyond me.

I shop online for specific stuff and hit Target for everything else. I have 3 locations to choose from in my area and I know what they stock (different stores will skew to different products). I can scan the whole place in about 15 minutes and my impulse buys are usually stuff that I forgot to list.

I still go to the big shopping centers from time to time to have a beer and check out the chicks though.