Joslin Displays has provided the highest quality retail store fixtures since 1893, so we’ve seen multiple changes in the retail market. And, no matter what the fashion of the day is, it’s always important to display your merchandise in an attractive and welcoming manner. While fashion trends change rapidly and dramatically, basic human behavior remains the same.

This is why it’s a good idea to try to understand the steps that consumers go through when deciding whether or not to purchase something. In an attempt to do so, The Hierarchy of Effects Model was created in 1961 by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner.

The theory says that consumers go through the following six steps when deciding to make a purchase or not.

1. Awareness – Through effective advertising, a consumer becomes aware of a product.
2. Knowledge – The potential customer begins to gain knowledge about the product.
3. Liking – The consumer begins to like or dislike the product.
4. Preference – The consumer decides to prefer one brand of product over another.
5. Conviction – This is where the consumer develops a desire to purchase a product.
6. Purchase – This is the obvious final stage, where the consumer finally buys the product.

A Theory That Works

This theory has remained one used by advertising agencies and marketing specialists worldwide because it works. And, the wide variety of store fixtures that we have at Joslin Displays can easily help you guide a customer through each step detailed in this marketing theory.

A consumer is made aware of a product when he or she sees it attractively displayed in a retail store. They gain knowledge about the product by seeing it realistically displayed on store fixtures like mannequins and shoe racks. Now they have the information they need to decide whether or not they like the product. When used effectively, store fixtures can then be used to reinforce the idea that your store (and the brands it carries) is better than your competitors. A consumer’s conviction about a piece of merchandise is crafted when they are able to actually try on the merchandise for themselves. And, finally, after going through all the preceding steps, the consumer will then make the actual purchase.

With a better understanding of how consumers think when deciding to make a purchase or not, one can more easily use retail store fixtures to their benefit. The Hierarchy of Effects Model provides us with a practical guide for consumer behavior that can be put to use by any prudent retail store owner.

If you’re interested in retail store fixtures, contact us at: 1-800-325-1030