The Science of Shopping: Final Project

Here is the presentation from the Science of Shopping group... please also see their video below!

The Science of Shopping: Final Project

View more presentations from Hans Mundahl.

Science of Shopping

To the Science of Shopping group:
Matt Moulton, Connor Slover, Trang Minh Le, Louis Zhu, Sydney Frazier, Cookie Burrus, Mack Willingham, Ethan Shinn, Dave McGrath, Mike Hutchinson, Claudia Mart Llado and Nick Wright - a huge thanks for being enthusiastic, engaged and responsible. You represented New Hampton School in the best ways and I appreciate all of your work. I will see all of you at 2:30 today in Memorial Hall Classroom to complete a stellar final project.

Mr. Mundahl thanks for all of your work to make this JUA experience such an amazing one!
Mr. Buck

Science of Shopping Day 2

Yesterday, the Science of Shopping group had an interview with Elyse Slayton at TJX, the overseeing company which runs off-price retailers such as TJ Max, Homegoods, and Marshall’s. She spoke with us about some common misconceptions about the companies: the products they sell are not cheaper because they have been manufactured badly or are defective, but instead because their manufacturers simply made too many for its retail stores. TJX then saves the companies the cost of these items by buying them at a lower price, and in turn, selling them to the consumer at a lower price.

This system presents an interesting problem for the advertising section of TJX. Companies like, say, Polo Ralph Lauren, will spend an entire ad campaign to justify the price of their products. While TJX  advertises how  they could sell these products at a fraction of the cost, the consumer would realize the large profit margin of these manufacturers. For this reason, Marshall’s, Homegoods and TJ Max are not allowed to state directly the products they have in stock, and instead must focus their ads on the process of TJX’s aquisitions, and allow consumer to draw their own conclusions.

But does this process work? Do the people who shop at a place like Marshalls understand how their products are available at such low prices? In order to find out, our group conducted a survey and questionnaire outside the Marshalls on Boylston Street. We wanted to conduct the survey inside of the store, but were turned down, as the manager thought that it would distract or annoy shoppers. We’re working on compiling our results, and they’ll be presented in our group’s final project.





Working in this amazing public library is fun...

Science of shopping-Jua

Today, our group visited NATIXIS Global Associates. NATIXIS is a Mutual Fund distribution cooperation that runs worldwide; they are basically a wholesale seller of investments. Between funds and revenues they operate a budget of approximately $900 Billion per year.  We spoke with Dan Lynch, Senior Vice President of Distribution; Chris Hunter, Vice President of the Boston branch; Susannah Wardly,  and Leslie Walstrom, both Senior Vice Presidents of Marketing, International and Domestic, respectively.

With regards to the science of shopping, they all spoke to the methods by which they convince potential buyers to utilize their firm. A personal touch is a huge factor in this sort of marketing, and everyone at Natixis aspires to know their clients as more than a name on a computer screen. After asking us all about our hobbies, Dan Lynch singled out Dave McGrath as an example: he liked to snowboard. "I would talk all about carving through deep powder, and holding an edge through the trees, and the feeling of the snow on my face," he said "and next thing you know, you would walk out with a mutual fund."

They went on to describe the difference between a factual and an emotional appeal to buyers. While most serious investors focus more heavily on the raw data of a fund's success, the emotional image of the firm still plays a huge role. This effect has, according to Chris Hunter, magnified with the economic downturn: buyers in this market want to invest in a company they feel projects an image of reliability, especially in such turbulent times. 

Later that day, we headed to TJX Companies, which operates TJ Max, Homegoods, Marshalls, and several other "off-price" retail centers, in order to examine the effect of advertising to a more tangible product. 

Inside the JUA: The Science of Shopping

What is the JUA all about?  This short video walks you through what a typical day on the JUA might be like on the Science of Shopping group!



Many thanks to Mack who made this video during the free time block!

First Night with group.

We are still at NHS, this is our first serious meeting as a group, we are missing three students. Tonight we decided that we are all going to get out of our comfort zones on this trip and have a GREAT time. We have a great group and are excited for the trip. We are going on two exciting visits tomorrow and are all prepared with our jobs for the day tomorrow. Although 7am is going to be an early morning our excitement of the days ahead learning about the science of shopping will get us going in the morning. We are ready to go!

Science of Shopping

The Science of Shopping group is off to a good start. Roles have been assigned and students should be emailing our senior leader, Connor Slover, 3 essential questions before friday. We have an appointment on March 22nd at Natixis Global Investments on Boylston street to talk about marketing. We are waiting to hear from the Head of Marketing at Marshals for a meeting on teh 23rd. Everyone is looking forward to a well deserved break!