Shopping Trip Report: Evaluating Sales Interactions at Retail Stores

This report presents an analysis of a shopping experience undertaken to evaluate sales techniques in a retail environment. The author visited Best Buy and Costco with the intention of purchasing a television set. The report details the interactions with salespeople at both stores, examining their approaches, knowledge of the product, and responsiveness to the customer's needs. The author notes the immediate approach and product knowledge of the salesperson at Best Buy, but also observes a decline in interest after it became apparent that a purchase might not occur. In contrast, the experience at Costco involved a longer wait time for assistance and a salesperson who lacked detailed product knowledge. The report compares and contrasts the two experiences, highlighting factors like pricing, salesperson engagement, and customer service. Ultimately, the report recommends that future buyers conduct product research before visiting stores and considers Costco for its lower prices, while acknowledging the potential for more knowledgeable salespeople at Best Buy. The report also touches upon the shift from in-store to online purchases, and the resulting impact on the salespersons.

Running head: SHOPPING TRIP REPORT
Shopping Trip Report
Name of Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive Summary:
This report outlines the shopping experience that I had after choosing two stores into which I
will walk into and attempt at buying a television set. This report closely analyses the
experience with an individual salesperson in attempting to buy the product in question, and
the instances, which I noticed, should have been improved on and the skills that made my
shopping experience feel much unfulfilled. The report then talks about how a shift in the
public from in store purchases to online purchases has been the greatest factor in influencing
the nature of the salespeople in the stores.

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Table of Contents
1. Product Introduction:..........................................................................................................3
2. Shopping Experience at Best Buy:.....................................................................................3
3. Shopping Experience at Costco:.........................................................................................4
4. Preferred Shopping Store:...................................................................................................5
5. Recommendation for Future Buyers:..................................................................................6

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1. Product Introduction:
The product that I was shopping for was a new television for my living room. However
being just a recent graduate from college, I was not ready to spend a grand amount but
wanted something of outstanding quality. There are many that have resorted to purchasing
their electronics online because it just more convenient, but there are still many that find
comfort in being able to see the physical products lined up against each other before the
buyer makes a decision (Gao & Su, 2016). The first store I decided to go to was Best Buy,
then Costco and finally to Factory Direct. This report will be analysing the shopping
experience from Best Buy and Costco.
2. Shopping Experience at Best Buy:
As I entered the store, I walked directly towards the section of the shop which had all the
TV sets on display. The way that all the TV models are on display was something that always
appealed to me because it showed the customers just what they wanted and how they
expected it to look if they decided to bring it home. After casually glancing at the TVs, I was
approached by a shopping consultant that asked me if I was looking for anything in specific
and I told him that I was trying to buy a set for my living room. The shopping consultant
seemed to be about my age, if not a few years older.
He quickly transitioned into talking business with me and asked me what my budget was,
and if I preferred a certain specific brand of electronics. Once I had told him about my budget
and how I would prefer if the brand were either LG or Sony. It quickly became apparent that
the sales person knew only how to describe the specifications of the various TV sets that he
showed me – information that I could easily find on the product specification page of the
product. There was no doubt about the fact that the sales person knew how the product

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functioned and what it was capable of doing, however I was not wooed by his sales technique
into falling in love with the TV that I was going to buy.
After realizing that I was not going to be making an actual purchase that day, the shift in
the salesperson’s attitude was obvious. He briefly showed me towards an area that had the
TVs according to my budget, and started assisting another couple that was also looking at the
TV sets. This is where the realization of not being able to land his commission must have
occurred to him, which is why he slowly began to lose interest. Though this concept cannot
be deemed ethical for any shoppers or for the company, it is the harsh reality of a salesperson
that customers always realize eventually. Gradually, I was left alone with all the options in
front of me without any information about the payment structure, and if I was required to pay
for the TV in full at the time of purchase or the payment could be done on a credit system.
3. Shopping Experience at Costco:
My next location for the purpose of this report was Costco which I thought would be a
great comparison with the experience at Best Buy. It is usually odd for someone to choose
Costco as the place to shop for electronics, however the cheaper prices is not something to be
ignored. I navigated my way inside the store to find the section of electronics and walked
over to the TVs. The first thing I noticed after walking around and looking at the models and
making sure that I was seen to be noticing the price of them as well to ensure the salespeople
that I was willing to make a purchase.
Help was not available at once as I was waiting around the displays for about five minutes
before I decided to approach an employee to ask if he could call an expert to assist me in
making my decision among the various displayed televisions. I then had to wait around for
another five minutes until a man showed up, looked to be in his mid-30s or 40s. I tried not to
be discouraged by the man’s age because I did not think he would really know the

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requirements of a young buyer. The only question that the man had asked me was what my
budget was and then proceeded to show me towards the TV models in my range.
I believe I may have had merely a bad luck in getting a salesperson that was not too aware
of what the specifics of the TVs were, and I was hesitant to ask him more questions as he
looked like he had somewhere else he needed to be. He ended the interaction with me by
asking me if I would require any more assistance, and when I said that I did not think I did,
he politely greeted me and walked away. I was yet again left with a colossal of products and
still not idea on which one I should purchase.
4. Preferred Shopping Store:
There are many aspects that the two shopping experiences can be compared on, but the
first that this report will be focusing on is the shopping experience in both the stores. For Best
Buy, it was encouraging to see that I was approached by a salesperson almost immediately
after taking a brief look at the television sets and I was also impressed by the casual approach
that the salesperson took, obviously realizing that we are about the same age. This made it
easier for him to relate to me and he was able to tell me all about the specifications of the
various TV sets. However, after realizing that I was not going to make a purchase that day,
the evaporation of interest in my shopping experience was totally lost as he started to help
another couple looking at TVs as well.
In the case for Costco, I was impressed with the prices of the different sets that were out
on display and realized that it was much lower here than what I had seen in Best Buy. Excited
about the low prices combined with the ten minutes I had to wait until I was greeted by a
salesperson, I was already thinking about actually making a purchase. However, when I was
being helped by the salesperson I realised that I no longer had a certain level of comfort or
even desire to find out more about a specific model. According to me, unlike the salesperson

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at Best Buy, the salesperson at Costco was not too interested about getting a commission in
the first place, as he was probably not even assigned to electronics but was the first person to
answer to my request. I also did not think that the salesperson had enough knowledge about
televisions, or any electronic products in general, and he was not able to offer me any advice
on what I should keep an eye out for or what is the most important thing to look for in a TV
before buying it.
5. Recommendation for Future Buyers:
All in all, I realized that if a customer were to choose any of these stores for the purchase
of electronics, they should do some research on a model that they want to buy, its
specifications and also what questions they wish to have answered once they are in the
physical store. However, if I were to choose one I would definitely avail for Costco due to its
low prices and the wide range of products that they house in their store. However, if I had a
higher budget I would definitely opt for the comfort of Best Buy because the salespeople
there seem more knowledgeable about the products that they are selling, and also because the
brand is known popularly for their electronics.
6. Conclusion:
Customers choosing physical stores in order to make a purchase in the store has become
very rare (Meyer, Helmholz & Robra-Bissantz, 2018). Customers now go into the store to see
what the TV looks like, note down the model number of the device and then go home to order
it online. There is a great deal of justification that goes behind the disinterest I had faced from
the salespeople because they have probably experienced many customers who only come to
look and then walk out of the store. Even though it is never compulsory to walk out of a store
with a purchase, it is also the responsibility of the salesperson to ensure that the customer has
the best shopping experience, regardless of what they intend to do in the store.

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7. References and Bibliography:
Elms, J., De Kervenoael, R., & Hallsworth, A. (2016). Internet or store? An ethnographic
study of consumers' internet and store-based grocery shopping practices. Journal of
Retailing and Consumer Services, 32, 234-243.
Fang, J., Wen, C., George, B., & Prybutok, V. R. (2016). Consumer heterogeneity, perceived
value, and repurchase decision-making in online shopping: the role of gender, age,
and shopping motives. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 17(2), 116.
Gao, F., & Su, X. (2016). Omnichannel retail operations with buy-online-and-pick-up-in-
store. Management Science, 63(8), 2478-2492.
Gibson, E., & Billings, A. (2003). Best practices at Best Buy: a turnaround strategy. Journal
of Business Strategy, 24(6), 10-16.
Meyer, M., Helmholz, P., & Robra-Bissantz, S. (2018). Digital Transformation in Retail: Can
Customer Value Services enhance the Experience?.
Schmid, B., & Axhausen, K. W. (2018). In-store or online shopping of search and experience
goods: a hybrid choice approach. Journal of Choice Modelling.