Some men's goods are shopping lines. A man cer tainly shops for the expensive things that be uses in his business and for the more momentous purchases for home and family ; for instance, Ile compares values when he buys an automobile or a furnace. But ordi narily a man does not shop; he selects his store for the same reasons that influence a woman to select a store in which to buy convenience goods, and he buys . in that store what he asks for or what is offered him if it seems to suit his purpose.
13. Shopping centers.—Mr. Parlin has also found that some communities attract more trade from the surrounding districts than they lose to other com munities. These towns or sections of a city he calls shopping centers. Women center their purchases there in shopping lines. Each of these shopping cen ters is likely to have three department stores or other establishments handling shopping lines, because wo men seem to like to compare values in at least three stores. If there are more than three department stores, they can usually be classified in groups of three each, the classification depending on the grade of goods carried and the people appealed to.
From these conclusions it may be possible to es tablish certain principles. If a manufacturer is mar keting something that can be classed as a shopping line and which is bought chiefly by women, it is often advantageous for him to confine its sale to one of the three competing stores in each shopping center, be cause he can be reasonably sure that all possible pur chasers in the community will visit that store before finally buying. If exclusive agencies are thus granted, direct selling to the retailers is often the most economical and satisfactory sales method, on account of the relatively large purchases of each dealer. De partment stores depend almost entirely on the trade of women; they are usually more anxious to handle shopping lines than convenience goods, because the great majority of the latter are bought in local spec ialty shops. Accordingly, the department store seems to offer the most desirable trade outlet for the manu facturer of a product that appeals chiefly to women and that can be classed as a shopping line.
On the other hand, in marketing convenience goods the exclusive agency is not desirable, because sales will be increased by having the goods on sale in as many stores as possible. Moreover, many goods of this sort are ordinarily marketed thru jobbers, because the majority of the retailers purchase in small quan tities. If department stores handle a convenience line, they cannot monopolize its sale; most of the customers of a department store visit it chiefly to shop, and only buy convenience goods there for one or more of the reasons already given.
14. Unfamiliarity of the product.—If goods are new and the public is unfamiliar with their use, they must often be sold direct to consumers. Vacuum cleaners were in this class when they were first mar keted. The same consideration may dictate a policy of introducing a product by demonstrations in retail stores. An invention for cleaning silver was success fully marketed in this way. The unfamiliarity of the goods may again induce the manufacturer to select one distributor—jobber, retailer, or mail-order house —to push his product in return for an exclusive agency. The pioneer in the kitchen cabinet field was
marketed in this manner.
15. Necessity of unusual selling effort.—Cash reg isters would never have been used extensively if the manufacturers bad depended on jobbers to market them. They can be sold only by specially trained salesmen. Sometimes a retailer in a community can be induced to learn a difficult line sufficiently well to sell it to his customers, in return for an exclusive agency contract, but more often direct sales are the best method of reaching buyers with an article that must be backed by real educational salesmanship. The de velopment of advertising as a creator of demand may possibly change this situation. At the beginning of a campaign, however, the manufacturer will ordinar ily link up the advertising with strong personal sales effort.
Allied to the necessity of unusual selling effort is the frequent necessity of special attention to consum ers after the sale has been made. Automobiles il lustrate this latter necessity. The 1)113-6. expects the man who sold him a car to lend a hand if troubles de velop after he has purchased it. Department stores and mail-order houses have been known to handle automobiles, but the great majority of automobiles and other articles requiring much attention to keep the customer sold are marketed thru the manufac turer's own sales force, independent selling agents, or local specialty dealers with exclusive contracts.
16. Other influences.—Product and market analy sis affect sales methods in countless ways. The fol lowing suggestions emphasize some things that have 0.one before and that are indicative of the value of analysis in any marketing campaign. If goods can not be sold by description, printed advertising alone must not be depended on to create a demand. If the demand is not extensive, direct sales are often not pos sible; established middlemen must be used. If job bers and retailers do not give the desired cooperation, or if the market is demoralized by price-cutting on the part of dealers, a manufacturer may be forced into di rect selling. If a manufacturer's capital is small, be ordinarily cannot assume the risk-carrying feature of the jobber's or retailer's activities ; he must usually sell thru dealers. If his profit is small, the selling ex pense must be kept down, and sale thru established agencies may be necessary even at the cogt of the greater sales that could be made by direct solicitation of consumers. Long credits demanded by retailers may force the manufacturer to deal thru jobbers. If the independent retailer will not carry a manufactur er's complete line, he may have to start his own stores. It is said that the AV. L. Douglas shoe stores were es tablished for this reason.
The manufacturer may find that his product and his market are adapted to a number of different selling methods ; in such case, his choice of sales channels de pends on expediency, policy and the attitude of the middlemen. If a product is new and non-competi tive, the manufacturer may forge out his own market ing method ; but if it is in competition with old es tablished lines, it must often meet competition by going thru the same channels as competing goods.