Customers have preferences – the stores or online sites where they shop, the types of products they buy, and even the specific brands they look for. That’s why retailers have long focused their advertising and marketing efforts on getting shoppers to “pick me!” But success in 2017 depends on a more sophisticated approach. In order to attract customers, you need to know not only how buyers behave, but why.

When you understand those two factors, you can address the third aspect of buyer behavior – connecting in meaningful ways that will increase sales and loyalty. The following insights will help you consider the motivates of your clientele and the most effective ways to respond:  

In an extensive report on consumer shopping trends, Deloitte says research, recommendations and returns are the keys to understanding buyer behavior. The “3 R’s” put shoppers in control of their own decision-making.

Prospective customers no longer rely on retailers – or even trust them – to provide unbiased, useful product information. They can do their own research, and verify their findings by reading third-party recommendations and reviews. By the time they enter your store they are well-informed. This is especially true for home furnishings and electronics.

In many retail sectors, returns are increasing. Not necessarily due to greater dissatisfaction. Customers want convenience and speed, so they are more likely than ever to make “potential” purchases, then wait to try them on or try them out at home. They fully expect to return whatever they reject. And they expect your store to have a returns-friendly policy and attitude that takes the stigma out of returns and makes the process fast and painless.

Shoppers love the control that self-service in-store options provide, and they appreciate that technology can save them time.

Paradoxically, customers want great selection, but they also hope you’ll find ways to pare down those options to ones most relevant for them. Think of it as personalized merchandising.

Personal assistance also assures the kind of overall experience that brings customers back, in large part because it feeds emotional as well as practical buyer needs. As one customer put it, “she made me feel good about myself.”

Help regular customers save time (and feel special) by capturing and storing their basic information, so their transactions don’t have to start from scratch every time. Use this information to tailor your ongoing engagement with them, too.

Make everything as easy as possible. Savvy visual merchandising enables customers to quickly find what they’re looking for as well as find new or impulse items.

Hire the best sales associates, and train them well, especially on your products. Studies show even well-informed shoppers are receptive to personalized, knowledgeable advice in-store. (Studies also show well-trained sales associates sell almost 70% more than those without training.)

The #1 thing to know about buyer behavior is that they are looking for a sense of connection, not just a thing to buy or a place to purchase it. Focusing on relationships will build sales like nothing else in 2017.