In-Store Shopper Moments You Can Feel

When I was eight years old, I was on television. It seemed that my science experiment proving that plants needed sunlight to live was breakthrough; more than enough to earn me a spot on a popular local science program.

I killed it. Not the plant (sunlight, duh). I killed it on camera. Charismatic, telegenic, witty and wielding bantering skills that belied my tender age – I was a hit.

And I knew it. So it made perfect sense for me to ask to borrow our chaperone’s giant sunglasses to wear not only upon my exit from the studio, but also for my triumphant return to the classroom.

To this day, I replay that scenario every single time I try on sunglasses. It’s a fond memory (except for having to face the philistine critics at recess). It is a moment that makes me smile and reminds me of who I am and why.

That’s lot of backstory to wring out of a pair of shades, but that’s how moments work. They are powerful and visceral, transformative and personal. Moments become symbolic, resonating with and changing a person.

Small wonder then that the in-store shopper moment has usurped the experience when it comes to shopper interaction.

I have written quite a bit about the Rise of the In-Store Shopper Moment. A step beyond customer experience, the In-Store Shopper Moment speaks not to the size of the interaction, but to its depth, reach, poetry and emotional wallop. An experience is something one goes through; a moment is lived, savored and relived.

A retail marketing moment might be tiny (an alert on a smartphone) or grand (a pop-up VIP fashion show); size doesn’t matter. What matters is the genuine connection it creates between the shopper and the brand.

The retail marketer must now create In-Store Shopper Moments. It’s a challenge, this new need to awaken authentic feelings in a shopper. Step one is to fully understand the heart and soul of the Moment. And the best way to do that is to explore some of your own – and connect with how they make you feel.

Below are 55 life moments. How does each make you feel? Remember the feeling, because it will be a catalyst when fashioning meaningful Shopper Moments.

1. Birth of a child
2. Getting married
3. Winning an award
4. Getting engaged
5. Taking a road trip
6. Discovering a new favorite food
7. A first stadium concert
8. Graduating
9. Driving alone for the first time
10. Celebrating an anniversary
11. Leaving home
12. Standing up to a bully
13. Seeing a parent cry
14. First time hearing your own voice
15. Committing a random act of kindness
16. Earning a round of applause
17. Class reunion
18. Starting at a new school
19. Delivering a eulogy
20. First night at sleep away camp
21. Reading your old diary
22. Seeing your parent kiss
23. The first time you stayed up all night talking
24. Meeting a hero
25. Being disappointed at meeting a hero
26. Finding a love note in your locker
27. First boy – girl party
28. First visit from the tooth fairy
29. Telling your first lie
30. When the gift you picked out is a huge hit
31. Getting hired
32. Getting fired
33. Saving a life
34. The day they take your training wheels off
35. When you learned to laugh at yourself
36. Trying on a wedding dress
37. Buying a dream home
38. Recovering from a heartbreak
39. Jumping off the high dive
40. Sneaking into your first R-rated movie
41. Seeing your baby graduate
42. Losing fair and square
43. Using your passport for the first time
44. Understanding a work of art
45. Laughing alone in public
46. First sight of the ocean
47. Regretting a one-night stand
48. Walking down the aisle
49. Adopting a pet
50. Your first cup of coffee
51. Wearing a costume as a grown-up
52. Your first video to go viral
53. Getting a tattoo
54. Removing a tattoo
55. Receiving a compliment from a stranger