![]() "Sure enough, individuals who were picky in one domain were picky in other domains. "We looked at a range of contexts to see whether being picky in one domain meant you were likely to be picky in others," Meloy said. Meloy said the results support the theory that being picky is a general personality trait that isn't just present in one situation or area of a person's life. They stuck with their original selection. When they were informed that their top choice of a product was less popular than other options, people who scored high on the picky scale weren't swayed by that information. "We speculate that it could be psychologically costly for picky shoppers to take free items that they don't like because possessing these items is a source of irritation for these individuals."Īdditionally, the researchers found that picky people didn't change their opinions based on a product's popularity. "This may seem irrational to some people who may not understand why a person would reject things that come at no cost," said Andong Cheng, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Delaware who earned her doctorate at Penn State. These shoppers were more likely to reject a free gift when offered as a thank you for participating in a survey. The researchers found that people who scored higher on the picky shopper scale tend to have a small window of what they consider acceptable, which the researchers described as having a small latitude of acceptance and a wide latitude for rejection. ![]() Once the researchers were confident the scale accurately measured pickiness, they conducted additional studies to examine the possible consequences of pickiness. The researchers said they created a series of questions that would help uncover the psychological dimensions of pickiness while also avoiding using the word "picky," since the word tends to have negative connotations. The first series of studies focused on developing the scale. We wanted to explore this a bit more."įor the paper - recently published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology - the researchers performed a series of studies to create a scale for measuring shopper pickiness and to identify the consequences of that pickiness on customer behavior. ![]() For them, it might not be about getting the best quality, but getting the precise version of a product they have in their head - a shirt in a very precise shade of black, for example. "But with picky customers, the best is more idiosyncratic. "In marketing, we call customers who want the absolute best version of a product 'maximizers,'" Meloy said. Meloy said that while pickiness affects a customer's shopping habits and therefore affects a company's business, there hasn't been much research done on defining pickiness or investigating how it influences a customer's behavior. The researchers said it might be helpful for retailers to have a better understanding of what being "picky" means for their customer base, and what those customers may need from a product or shopping experience. Previous research has found that about 40% of people have family or friends they would consider "picky," suggesting the trait is common. Meloy added that even the most robust promotional strategies, like offering a free gift with purchase, may fail with picky customers. It's not just about offering the best products, but offering the products that are best for the picky customers." "Alternatively, a company may allow picky shoppers to customize their products to satisfy their idiosyncratic preferences. ![]() "If a company knows they have a lot of picky customers, they may need to change the way they reward salespeople or dedicate specific salespeople to their pickiest customers, because picky shoppers have very narrow preferences and they see perceived flaws in products others wouldn't notice," Meloy said. Margaret Meloy, department chair and professor of marketing at Penn State, said the findings could help companies devise the best strategies for satisfying their pickier customers. The researchers define what it means to be "picky" and also developed a scale for measuring shopper pickiness. A new series of studies has found that shopper pickiness can go beyond shopping for the "best" option.
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