Do you click on red & blue store doors to browse stores ?

[chameleon54]

Just out of interest how many people click on sellers store doors to browse for items ? I know I never do, only searching for items by description. If you do, what is your demographic profile, broadly speaking ? 

I suspect the stores appeal to woman more than men and perhaps 40 years + old. Teenagers may also use the facility although they tend to use other sites more than ebay. I suspect buyers of womans fashion, vintage items and crafty people would be regular browsers of stores.  

I,m just interested to know if it is a demographic thing. My stores are pretty basic. Am I missing an opportunity here ? My market is mature aged men, and I find the old store design easier to navigate with more items per page and neatly lined up on top of each other. To me this makes it quicker and more efficient to browse. ( I dont have the time to really browse and rarely buy on impulse. )

I get it is not as Funky and the smaller pics not eye catching for the impulse buyer.  How important is store layout to you, and does it influence your purchases ?

[saarzi]

Im a bit confused by your use of age as a demographic for clicking on stores.

Age as a demographic is so.... 1980's. Its not so relevant to shopper habits any more, at least not in the way youre thinking. These days 'soft' demographics are usually used.. like what people like to do, or how they live, or their views on education (even if they themselves arent necessarily educated).

but anyway.. Im the youngest female so far in this thread, and I hate shopping, especially for clothes, and I do not like "browsing", or window shopping.

I click on stores often .. and its so I can find what I want more directly and faster. Sometimes keywords dont really work - Im about the "look" of things, not brand, colour etc. (thats not just clothes, its everything), so Ill search for something general, see something I like, but thats not exactly what I want, then think maybe that store owner has what I do want, since the other item is close. Then Ill click on their store.

OR, I'll be looking for a tool, and not know what the tool is called, so Ill search for some random tool, and look in the store of a seller who sells tools hoping to see what I need.

and YES a store layout definitely influences my purchases. If its not clear, concise, easy to navigate, or if it makes things hard (like you need to open their pictures to look because they are too small, or the pictures are not extremely clear or if they are cluttered, or searching thru their store is hard).... then I tend to think the owner isnt too bright, and I really dont want to purchase off someone like that and have a poor buyer experience. I just go elsewhere.

[chameleon54]

At 40 you only just slip into the age bracket Digi so maybe you have just started to search using the store format   

Thanks for your comments, it is something to think about.

As that other well known poster says mmmmmmmmmm  

[chameleon54]

Thanks Saazi and other posters who have responded, it is food for thought. I must admit, I havnt really embraced all of ebays recent changes as I have lost some of my zing towards ebay recently. The URL and ISBN thing is probably worth the effort as it would help items to be found in searches through google. 

As for store layout ( old or new ) I suspect the new layout may be better for consumer type products that would attract the impulse buyer, whereas the old format may work just as well for the person who requires a specific tool or mechanical component. ( more my field )

I will have to give some serious thought as to wether I am missing out on impulse buyers. I always assumed buyers found my specific items through search term results and never really considered they would want other un-related items. 

If I have items of more general interest that would suit the impulse buyer,  I often put multiple listings up for auction with a note suggesting buyers check out the other related auctions. I regularly have buyers who purchase multiple quantities of these items and combine postage.

I also still get buyers of BINS in the stores purchasing multiple items and combining postage, so they are either finding similar items through their search terms or using the store catagories to find multiple items.

As a lot of the items I sell are very specific, if some-one searches parts for their machine, my listings may be two or three of perhaps twenty that come up in searches. I use specific colour backgrounds to make my listings stand out from others, so if someone see,s a blue background on three of twenty listings, they can tell they are all from my store.

I will certianly give some thought to trying to improve my impulse buyer numbers..

[digital*ghost]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

At 40 you only just slip into the age bracket Digi so maybe you have just started to search using the store format   

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Yeah.... No.

I joined eBay in 2008, and I have always used the store link, and I have always hated list view when in a store.

I prefer it in search results because eBay don't squash everything together with tiny (tiny) pics etc, but in the store it's not to my liking at all (I won't navigate away based just on that, but that's because I can switch it to gallery view easily enough).  

You can not deny that males can be very visual creatures (if they weren't, a significant portion of certain industries wouldn't even exist), so I wouldn't be assuming they don't like to see a "money shot" when browsing your store, either. 

[amber-eyed-girl]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

You can not deny that males can be very visual creatures (if they weren't, a significant portion of certain industries wouldn't even exist), so I wouldn't be assuming they don't like to see a "money shot" when browsing your store, either. 

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🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

[jillywinkle]

Sure thing I click on the little doors, if I am hunting for something in particular from a seller...jilly

[amber-eyed-girl]

I search by description.

Then go to the store if I need complementary items e.g. Table + chairs.

I will visit the store of a new (to me) seller if it is a specialty item, to see if that is what they sell regularly...experience if you will.

If I know a seller, I will check out new items every so often by visiting their store.

Not 40+.

[247newdeals]

Bit worried seems mainly women use the store function well I must be a little effeminate because when I am buying I use it all the time 

[*tippy*toes*]

As a 40+ woman, I rarely view stores. If I have bought something I found in search I might look at their store before paying to see if there is anything else that takes my fancy, but mostly shop by search. That said, most of my purchases are by auction, unless I want something really specific and want it now.

Mr Tippy who is 50+ always shops by stores and will spend hours trawling through stores. Often he can't think of the name of the item, or he's not sure of the correct spelling, so the trawling begins.

[falconsportspack]

I'm an older bloke, 59, & usually looking for a specific item. So I input that item in search to see what comes up. I rarely go into a sellers store unless I think they might have something else that may interest me.