The main primal drivers that all animals have, including humans, are succinctly summarized as the Four F’s: Flee, Fight, Feed, and the last F is, well you know. Perhaps “Procreate” is the preferred word.  For his presentation, Gavin Johnston, Chief Anthropologist at Two West, bridged evolutionary biology with marketing at retail during the 2010 San Francisco POP Show — demonstrating how the Four F’s are key to effective retail environments and display designs.

But first, a few numbers to ponder:

• 92% of retailers plan to increase store openings.
• 70% of all purchase decisions are made in-store.
• Touching a product increases likelihood of sale by 50%.
• 68% of in-store purchases are impulse driven.
• 28% of shoppers say seeing product in-store had more impact on purchase decision than any other media.

Alright, now to defining each primal driver.

Flee

The last thing you want is a shopper to runaway.  So, to counter this instinct, retail and display manufacturers should do two things:  create safe spaces within the store that encourage shoppers to linger; and create displays which encourage touching and involvement.

Fight

Fight really means to be competitive and, as Johnston put it, “mastering our surroundings” which for at retail marketing should be about giving over control and letting shoppers touch displays and handle products.

Feed

We still enjoy “feeding” our senses, and good design effectively appeals to all five senses. So why not let your shoppers gorge on effective design?

The Last “F”

Our instinct to procreate is really appealing to our sexuality, effectively arousing shoppers by appealing to the sensual nature of us and incorporating that into design.

Specific at retail application of these biological feelings included the following dimensions:

• Slow shoppers down
• Create Hearth setting imagery
• Involve Social eating/ gathering
• Encourage Touch in display

View the complete presentation here.