It would probably be a safe assumption to assume that at some point or another everyone has been in a tourist trap. I mean sure, you could probably count just about every shop on the boardwalk at Ocean City or Wildwood a tourist trap, but that’s not really what I’m referring to. What I’m talking about are the stores and/or attractions that are over-the-top cheesy and which seem to sell nothing but cheap products that no one really needs (we can probably all think of a place). Yet year after year, these places seem to stay open. So the real question here is, how do these places sell enough junk to stay in business? The answer is also an obvious one: because we keep coming back to them.
Why then, do keep people coming back to these types of stores year after year on their family vacations and road trips? It’s because tourist traps are basically one big dummy question; they ask the customer “Do you really need anything from me,” the answer obviously being no. But when people (I myself included) see the neon lit facade and the campy decor of these types of places, I end up wanting to go inside anyways. In essence, they play to curiosity and intrigue. I’m sure that the owners probably know that I don’t need anything from them, but they make the store look so outrageous and goofy that I come in simply because it looks like fun. Then, after they get me in, they probably hope that I either find something I like or find something that I don’t need but feel that I should buy anyways (especially since the odds are that I’m on vacation and willing to spend money that I wouldn’t be willing to spend otherwise).
This, in my own analysis, is how these types of places stay in business. Now do the owners of tourist traps think through this process exactly as they plan the layout and decorations for their store? I don’t know. But I’m sure they can probably bet that people’s curiosity will get the best of them and that they’ll get people to come in. Overall, tourist traps are a great example of how making the customer ask dummy questions, along with piquing their curiosity, can sell very well. For salespeople, this can be an important tactic to use in other (less obvious) contexts, so long as it is used ethically and non-deceptively.
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This was a great application of what we have recently learned. I have often found myself asking the same thing regarding tourist traps. The truth is it is so easy to let curiosity get the best of us, especially when on vacation. I love how you related dummy questions to this application of sales.
This is a really interesting post about how small stores stay in business. I like how you tied in the idea that people on vacation are likely willing to spend more money. If business owners are able to get people in their door because of their signs and decorations, they are much more likely to sell something that people don’t even need. It’s a great way of thinking for business owners that ties in sales in a unique way.
I liked the way you put this because I’ve always wondered how tourist trap stores always seemed to stay open year after year. It makes sense how these businesses try to sell the idea of curiosity about the stores and how you need a souvenir during your vacation. Since most people are on vacation, they do tend to spend more money because it’s for the memories, so going to the tourist trap stores help to sell that concept too.