Jacqueline Snyder argues that customers want retailers to tell them what to buy rather than choose on their own. She illustrates this with a holiday shopping anecdote about mannequins in store windows that model complete outfits, and notes that features like a "bestsellers" section on a website serve the same guiding function.
Write this down. The customer wants you to tell them what to buy. Yes, you heard that right. The customer doesn't want to make these decisions on their own. It's super, super confusing. So let's just imagine this for a hot second. You know, we're in the holiday season. I used to live in New York City. And you're walking down Fifth Avenue where all the beautiful store windows are happening. Now, I want you to imagine you walk into the store and you see a beautiful mannequin wearing a beautiful outfit. And you look at that outfit and you're like, I want to find that. I want to wear that. You look on the floor, and usually it's sold out or pieces are gone or sizes are gone. That's because, again, a customer wants you to tell them what to buy. That's what a mannequin does. When there is something positioned in front of you, the customer is relating. Oh, I see how that works. I see how it works together. I want to buy what they're selling. So if you're like best sellers and there's a section on your website that says bestsellers, a lot of customers go there.
