Smart people: Why won't this ever sell?
 

I was at the supermarket today to pick up a few things. It took me 20 minutes to find the items I came to purchase. Then I had what I thought was a nice idea. Why not have a small voice recognition type box at each side of the isles that you could speak into and say for examle, "mayonnaise" and the system would return "mayonnaise is in the 7th ilse, red side" etc.
I came home and spent a few minutes researching the hardware, software and programing needs it would take to accomplish this, and found it would be surprisingly simple and cheap.

Then BAM! it hit me...This will never work!!!

Why?

idle chat from other customers talking non chilantly in regards to products they are shopping for?

cause no one would be able find your box?

Cause of all the damn foreigners?

Cause.. you tell me?

the supermarkets want you to walk thru the lanes and impluse buy...

when was the last time you went to a market and only bought the one thing you came for?

yeah, that would be the main reason it wouldn't get picked up by the stores, but I think it has a chance still.

cuzz I am sexy

ive seen tons of stores with shopping carts equipped with small keypads on them that you type what you want, and it tells which isle, and other relevant products

Bingo!

Supermarkets, malls, shopping centers, etc., spend millions of dollars a year on research to keep you inside the store for as long as posable. The longer you stay the better chance of you buying something. Why would they pay for something to get them out? The music, bread on one side of the market, butter on the other, so you have to walk across the whole market. It would be self defeating

Does it have to do with penis size?

Yep, that is why they always put the milk in the back of the store. Most people buy milk when they go to the store so they put it in the back so you have to walk past other sections.

interesting stuff. Chichio just mentioned that they keep the most expensive stuff at eye level.

Are you from the future?

They have these things called employees. Usually within your sight from the end of almost any aisle. Kind of like voice recognition, you speak to them, they answer.

those are very nice...we have one store with them here

but nothing beats the damn calculator on the cart...

i worked in marketing in this field. Theres way more behind this than one would ever imagine.

1. there's a "main street" in every shop. All producers wanna have their products placed there. It generates the most money. Lots of people just walk the main street. Only top-seller can be found there.

2. eye catching places are very important. eye level is the most expensive.

3. as a shop owner you have two possibilities to place a top-seller. i) on the "main street" ii) somewhere where hardly noone would walk to ... just to give that place some more chance

4. Fruit and vegetables are mostly placed at a very good location in the store. Not because the shop owner make tons of cash with that, but they have to sell all of it it everyday ... they cant used it the next day anymore

5. Music gives a better shopping feeling

6. Kids stuff is mostly placed near the exit. Children dont really like to go shopping with their parents ... so the longer a family is in the store, the more stress. You know what happens when they finally reach the toys corner :)

7. .... and so on ...

Is there some formula as to where they put the olives? I can never find them and as a result I havent had any in a year :(
Except from Subway.

oh and btw ... your idea is not that bad. Shop could be interested in it.

You know, shops do not really want to keep you in there as long as possible. Thats not a priority. Its more important for them that you walk those lanes thea want you to walk. So ... if you have that tool on a cart and say "mayonnaise" ... they still know where to place the mayonnaise to make some impulse sales.

and, people wont use it for all things they want to buy. They would just use it for the stuff they cant find.

I'd say, shopping mall owners wont have a problem with this product.


another: its better to place the shop entrance on the right and the exit on the left than the other way round. Experiments showed that people buy more this way (counter-clock). strange huh?

not really, usually where you can find ready-to-use sauces and stuff :)

It wouldn't work unless it also dispenced cupons for what you were looking for then it would be a winner...

Your Idea = Less Money for Supermarkets.

You tell me why it wont sell.

thanks for the great idea im going to be rich!

If you're looking for black olives then you'll need to hit the aisle where the Mexican food is located. If you're looking for cocktail olives, they usually hide those in various places, sometimes with the tapenades and gourmet spreads, sometimes with the vegetables like mushrooms that can come in a jar.

In the really good "gourmet" groceries, they sometimes have an olive bar near the deli with lots of different choices.

That's one of the few things I know how to find ;)

Supermarkets sell olives? :eek7

i think a lot of us already played once with the idea of having a product listed in one of the big stores. I just had a meeting about a month ago with a guy i just met because of that reason. He thought the stores buy the products on their own risk and resell them.

Now let me destroy your fantasies:

If you want to have a product listed in a big supermarket chain you have to:

- have a good product
- have to pay a listing fee (usually between $200k - $500k
- have to show an advertising budget (about $400k +)
- have to pay a test period (1 month .. about $100k)
- have to show and gurantee a working distribution (penalty fees for stock-out situations)
- have to give away free promo tools to the stores (displays ...)
- new products have to show a potential (research costs)
- if your product does not make the test period, it gets kicked without any refund.

thats how it is. Just thought it might be interesting to know :)

Conclusion: A lot of GFYers think they're smart.

I will start adding elevator music to my sites. :)

I like that counter-clockwise method, hey what ever works?

Make your slash the join and work backwords..hey ya never know.

I dig brainstorming.
:)

easier to read the sign or ask someone wo works there

I disagree with those factors. The signs are too vague ,"sauces"? There are perhaps over a hundred different products in the isle and the sign list maybe 8, 10. As far as finding an employee as many of you have said to help, sure...but they are not always in the isle you are in and have to look for them.
It was a consumer product idea narrowed only by the standards of practice. Don't go nuts with your closed minded responses. The customers would love the option and enjoy the technology. Unfortunately it is not in the best interest for the big boys.

Exactly..that's why they put all the cheaper products on the bottom and all the expensive cereal at kids level

Honestly because it would be a complete waste of money on top of losing them money for the marketing point before. If that was pitched to me I would definitely turn it down. People are so lazy that they will usually not even do things that are designed to help them, sad but very true. Honestly I think talking into a box takes more effort that looking up at those nice little signs they have above the isles :2 cents:

Honest?

The same logic goes for those weekly sale flyers.

That's pretty interesting. Thanks for the info.

:)

huh...not sure but...if you look for this particular item..you will most likely buy it...how can they make more money by giving a discount on it....

I remember learning about that counter-clock thing in school, also the outer lanes usually have the products with the biggest profit margins if i remember correctly.

Also think above eye level usually sell less than things below eye level