News

What is experiential purchasing?

There are numerous definitions of experiential purchasing, according to The NPD Group's recent report Experiential Purchasing and the New Retail.

May 29, 2015

There are numerous definitions of experiential purchasing, according to The NPD Group's recent report Experiential Purchasing and the New Retail. Generally, experiential purchasing refers to a store in which stuff happens in addition to selling, and shoppers do things besides buying, according to the report.

The idea is that a retailer offers consumers a chance to buy an experience rather than just an object or service. Or to put it another way, the consumer buys a memory. Air travel is the classic example of the phenomenon. Back in the day, the flight to and from a vacation was something meant to be experienced. It evoked adventure and glamour. But the idea of air travel as something people want to experience has been consigned to the past by airport security lines, uncomfortable seats, and the disappearance of manners.

Now retailers of all stripes are finding ways to make the shopping experience as memorable and remarkable as a Pan Am flight in the 1950s. Consider just a handful of the stores that have become destinations to experience, not just places to spend money:

• Lululemon, the yoga-inspired apparel chain that debuted in 1998, offers yoga classes in its stores, serving as a sort of one-stop community for both seasoned practitioners and novices.
• Macy’s flagship store in New York City’s Herald Square offers fitness classes in conjunction with Nike. And Nike is considering plans to expand the Nike Training Club idea to other retail locations.
• REI, the employee-owned outdoor retailer, is also an outdoor educator. The company offers in-house and in-the-field classes in kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, and more. Competitor Eastern Mountain Sports offers similar programs, while rival Cabela’s organizes hunting and fishing trips.
• Whole Foods and Williams-Sonoma aren’t just places to buy cookware, they’re also places where you can take cooking classes.
• Pirch is shaking up the home space with stores that offer guided, interactive tours of working kitchens and bathrooms, letting consumers experience high-end equipment from manufacturers around the globe.

"It would be misleading to suggest retailers are leading the experiential purchasing movement, however,"  wrote NPD in the report. "Our Shopping Activity Services data shows buying visits fell 9 percent from 2012 to through 2014. The reasons behind the drop are numerous. But the central issue is that consumers, particularly young adults, are different from the folks of earlier eras."