Unlike the fashion trends, I have never liked sneakers in my entire life. Sneakers don't have a good cushion, so my feet always hurt if I walk for more than 20 minutes. Yes, I love walking and running. Spending a single day without sweating was marked as a bad day or something wrong to me. So, running shoes became my office located on the 1st floor of the Samsung electronics warehouse. My brand new dress shoes could not see the sunshine ever since I had lost my job at a marketing agency on a summer day in 2020 when the European countries were shocked by the emerging NOVEL Coronavirus.
I am in my mid-30's, so I do not want to look old-fashioned YET. Thus, I didn't buy the most comfortable shoes and looking like hiking shoes that I had found at Bever. I started observing others. My colleague who always looked chill and stylish was wearing Vans sneakers and importantly he was in his 20's. Sneakers caught my eyes at that moment. However, no Vans because that did not give me a good impression of comforting my feet about ten years ago. One day on a train, I had encountered another nice pair of sneakers in pinkish-purple color. The bold color looked nice to me. Finally decided on the kind and color of shoes I wanted!
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| Public transportation is the best showroom for me |
I started browsing the Converse webshop. I have never bought any pair of shoes of Converse before, but I had to visit the Converse webshop just to prepare for a job interview. Exposed to their philosophy, history of the brand, and their product page, it must have built some trust towards the brand without notice. Plus, I have seen their product images and price. Their products were too good-looking in basic colors as well as bold colors with many different material choices. Now I understand why Linkedin has become one of the critical marketing channels. Anyway, back to the purchasing story and to summarize the buying process:
- I needed a pair of shoes that suits a casual office look
- Observed others around me
- Decided what type of shoes and color do I want
- Excluded some brands and started browsing another brand I have learned recently.
- Saved some products on my Pinterest
- A couple of days later, a banner displayed a pair of Converse shoes in the right color at a reasonable price
- Checked out in 5 minutes
Key Take-Away:
- Brand plays a crucial role in the shoe market.
- Display / Banner ads have been smarter by using shoppers' search history and retarget them.
- Brand story matters.
- Physical contact with the products gives you a chance to form a clear opinion.
- I make a purchase decision based on my intuition, and personal experiences.
- The research took a long time but the purchase was just in a blink.
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| My Purchase Choice: Converse One Star Ox |