Understanding how to leverage the customers path to purchase as part of the ThinkBlink process. It can take merely seconds for a consumer to initiate a purchase decision, no matter how large or small they may be. Whether buying a house, a car, or a stick of gum at the grocery store, engaging the customer quickly and effectively can make the difference of whether or not they will buy a product.

1. Toolkit | May 2014 | Leveraging the At-Purchase Moment | 1
TeamClient Design ToolKit
Leveraging the at-purchase
moment
Understanding how to leverage the customers path to
purchase as part of the ThinkBlink™ process

2. Toolkit | May 2014 | Leveraging the At-Purchase Moment | 2
Shikatani Lacroix is a leading branding and design firm located in
Toronto, Canada. The company commissions assignments from
all around the world, across CPG, retail and service industries,
helping clients achieve success within their operating markets. It
does this by enabling its clients’ brands to better connect with
their consumers through a variety of core services including
corporate identity and communication, brand experience design,
packaging, naming and product design. A key tenant of their
services is the ThinkBlink(TM) process which ensures compelling
at-purchase moments are designed that connect in the blink of
an eye as part of the consumer brand journey.
About the Author
Adam Mintz, Strategic Planner at Shikatani Lacroix
Adam is an experienced brand strategist specializing in market
positioning and consumer engagement. His career spans multiple
industries and numerous segments within the product cycle, from
manufacturing to retailing.
He began his work in the world of fashion as a brand manager for
Diesel Clothing Canada, after which he spent time working in
mass merchandising for some of the world’s largest CPG
companies and big box retailers across Canada. Adam recently
spent a year as a brand strategist with FutureBrand Australia
before returning to Canada where he has since held a senior
planning position at Shikatani Lacroix.
Adam holds a BA in Communications from Concordia University
and a Masters in Global Marketing Communications from
Emerson College.
Copyright @ 2014 by Jean-Pierre Lacroix. All rights reserved.
ThinkBlink, Blink Factor and Trust Ladder are registered
trademarks of Shikatani Lacroix Design Inc.

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Introduction
It can take merely seconds for a consumer to initiate a purchase
decision, no matter how large or small they may be. Whether
buying a house, a car, or a stick of gum at the grocery store,
engaging the customer quickly and effectively can make the
difference of whether or not they will buy a product. A realtor’s
website with stunning photos of a condominium unit entices a
potential buyer to call and make an appointment; the Attract,
Pre-Purchase Moment. A consumer notices a large and colourful
shelf display for a new soft drink and decides to grab it and put it
in their shopping cart; the Transact, At-Purchase-Moment. Finally,
a consumer brings their purchase home with them, anticipates
using it every day, and receives a promotional notice from the
retailer in the mail as well as a notification via their social media
fan site about a rewards program; the Retain, Post-Purchase
Moment. Attract, Transact and Retain; a process that guides the
consumer along the path-to-purchase journey during which, at
the key moments of truth, one brand or retailer is chosen over
another. These core principles have driven Shikatani Lacroix in
creating strategic design solutions for their clients, differentiating
them from their competitors and successfully targeting their
customers at these key moments. The following is a detailed
account of these principles; a means to help brands win at the
moments of purchase.
Phase #1: Attract, Pre-Purchase Moments
The moments defined: The pre-purchase moments are the
instances when a consumer is considering the products or
services they want or need. For example, a consumer views an
advertisement on TV or YouTube, overhears a friend talking
about a product or service, or notices a Facebook post from an
acquaintance. These are the moments where brands have an
opportunity to attract the attention of a target consumer.
Situation Analysis: It is no longer a secret to brands and
marketers that consumers are using multiple devices to assist in
their purchase decisions. They frequently do their initial research
using their smartphones, laptops or tablets. Then, they may visit
retail stores in person in an effort to learn more about the

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product or service face-to-face with an expert. Finally, they will
often reach for their smartphone once again to conduct
additional research, read reviews and compare prices. A 2012
Google study revealed that 46% of consumers research an item
on their smartphones, followed by an in-store purchase. While
seemingly good news for brick-and-mortar retailers, the study
also revealed that 41% of consumers who researched an item on
their smartphones made their purchases using their smartphones
as well, while 37% of consumers researched on their smartphone
in-store and subsequently purchased their item online on their
computer. What this means in terms of the pre-purchase moment
is that it no longer exists at one single consumer touch-point, but
rather at multiple touch-points at the same time, be it
advertising, online research or even at the retail outlet itself.
Learning about a product or service is no longer exclusive to out-of-
store media due the new experiential retail model that aims to
create pre-purchase moments when consumers are simply
browsing.
Direction for right moment: Through the advent of online,
mobile, social media tools and experiential retail stores, the pre-purchase
moment no longer has a linear path, but one that
moves in multiple directions. In turn, this has caused brands to
adopt the ‘be everywhere for everyone’ strategy rather than
understanding how to properly target their consumers during
this key phase.
In order to determine where a brand needs to be and how they
should target potential consumers during the Attract stage, a
brand must ask itself the following questions:
• What is the correct target market and what are its most
vital unmet need states?
• What is the target market’s shopping bahaviours during
and between purchases?
• What is the target market’s product or service
preferences and what are their key decision drivers that
compel them to make their purchases?
• Who are the key competitors and what are the main
factors in ensuring the given product or service is part of
a consideration set of the target segment(s)?
The pre-purchase
moment...no longer
exists at one single
consumer touch-point,
but rather at
multiple touch-points
at the same
time.

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Asking these questions can help a brand determine how to best
reach their market in the most effective way. These questions
gives brands a better sense of how their consumers buy, where
they buy and why they buy. They will also lay the foundation for
how and where a brand will want to communicate with its
consumers, and ultimately help move the consumer from the
Attract to the Transact phase.
Phase #2. Transact, At-Purchase Moments
The moments defined: The at-purchase moments are the critical
instants when a consumer makes a financial commitment to a
given brand. For example, taking an article of clothing from a
well-merchandised rack and, after trying it on, deciding they will
purchase it; deciding on or placing a grocery item into a food
cart, or; deciding on then adding an item to a virtual cart,
inserting their information and confirming a credit card payment.
There are numerous external factors affecting these moments.
For instance, was the size a consumer was looking for in stock?
Was the salesperson friendly and quick to help or were they slow
and inattentive. Did the POP match with the materials presented
in the pre-purchase moments? Online, factors such as the user
experience at checkout, can affect a consumer’s buying
behaviour. Was the experience seamless and fast or was it
disjointed and slow? These are all factors that attribute to the at-purchase
moments; the moments when consumers make
decisions on whether or not to buy a product or service.
Situation Analysis: Beyond the grocery store, most consumers
do not shop with a final selection or shopping list in hand. They
often visit a retailer or online store with a short list and a general
idea of what they might want or need. This means that brands
and marketers have an opportunity to switch the purchase
decision in favour of their brand. It is at this juncture where a
brand and its products must pay close attention to the visibility,
graphic consistency and clarity of messaging, not only at retail
but online as well.
A brand and its
products must pay
close attention to
the visibility, graphic
consistency and
clarity of messaging.

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The 2011 Shikatani Lacroix study Packaging in an Online World
revealed that, while shopping online, “respondents were looking
for the quickest and most expedient way to grasp the
information they require with more than 50% selecting that they
preferred the simpler approach to see the packaging on screen,
namely the packaging photo of the main view with the
appropriate price, and the ability to view close-up images of
product features depicting all views”. It was also noted that
consumers preferred online shopping experiences that “mirrored
a similar shopping structure to offline experience”. What this
study demonstrated is the need for companies to put greater
emphasis on how their brand is shopped and its visibility to
consumers in specific shopping situations. Ultimately, putting
greater emphasis on these factors will help a brand to better
understand their critical at-purchase moments.
Direction for the right moment: Prior to the creation of that eye-catching
merchandising display, visually stunning package design
or seamless online experience, it is important for brands and
marketers to ask the following questions:
• Where are the key target groups shopping and what is
their decision process while shopping (this refers to
shopping habits and patterns)?
• What are the compelling brand and product messages
(this refers to in-store display, packaging or online
messages)?
• Where will the optimum locations and placement of a
product or service be (this refers to how a product is
merchandised or how a website is formatted)?
• How are customers making their initial transaction
decision?
• What is the best experience and sales choreography (how
to actively engage the consumer)?
These questions enable brands and marketers to effectively
communicate with consumers during those moments when they
are making concrete purchasing decisions. The ultimate goal is to
transition the consumer from an initial interest phase to the final
transaction phase.

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Phase #3. Retain, Post-Purchase Moment
The moments defined: The post-purchase moments are part the
final phase along the path-to-purchase. These are the moments
that validate the user expectations of a product or service they
have purchased and they dictate whether or not the brand will
increase or decrease their retention rates. This can refer to how
well the product performs and it is the consumer’s experience
with the product or service on a daily basis. It also refers to how
the brand interacts with the consumer after the purchase is
made. Was there a promotional email sent? Is there a community
of users that discuss the product or service through social
media? Is the customer service agent helpful and attentive?
These are the moments when a consumer decides if they will
remain loyal to a particular product, become an active user or
even become a brand ambassador. Alternatively, will they
become a detriment to the brand through negative reviews?
These post-purchase moments determine if the path-to-purchase
ends or if it continues towards a new life cycle, either through
repeat purchase or in the form of customer recruitment via word
of mouth.
Situation Analysis: On the journey through the path-to-purchase,
it may seem that the Attract and Transact phases contain the
largest sum of moments where brands must vie for the attention
of the consumer and where competition is most rampant.
However, with the sheer volume of email promotions, surveys,
membership and loyalty program opportunities and social media
groups, the post-purchase moments contain as many
opportunities to connect with the consumer as the previous
phases.
These moments, while vast in number, can also be the most
crucial to a brand’s bottom line, since this phase focuses on
retaining existing customers who continue to return to the brand.
According to Marketing Metrics, “the probability of selling to an
existing customer is 60-70% while the probability of selling to a
new prospect is 5-20%. It also costs 6-7 times more to acquire a
new customer than retain an existing one. A positive experience
with a product or a service has the potential for stronger gains,
while conversely a poor experience with a brand, in particular
A strong focus on key
post-purchase moments
will enable brands to
create a lasting positive
relationship with their
customers and increase
the likelihood of a repeat
purchase.

8. Toolkit | May 2014 | Leveraging the At-Purchase Moment | 8
customer service, can have the adverse effect. A customer is
actually 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the
problem is service-related than price or product-related” (Bain
and Company). It is no wonder then that 59% of marketers are
spending 6 hours or more per week on social media connecting
with customers in real time and why “83% of them indicate that
social media is important to their business” (Hubspot). An
investment in consumer engagement such as social media is an
investment in additional business retention.
Direction for the right moment: In this crucial phase, brands and
marketers must understand how their products or services will be
used and discussed after they’ve been purchased. In order to
effectively target consumers during the Retain phase, the
following questions must be asked:
• What will ensure the value perception of the product or
service is met (this refers to product experience and level
of customer service received)?
• Where do consumers prefer to reconnect with the brand
after usage (this refers to the a compelling recognition
program, such as loyalty cards, social media engagement
or promotional offers)?
A strong focus on key post-purchase moments will enable brands
to create a lasting positive relationship with their customers and
increase the likelihood of a repeat purchase.
Conclusion
While many shoppers follow a similar path-to-purchase, not all
will follow the journey in the same manner, and some will even
drop off along the “different phases of the path” (Euromonitor).
Additionally, the path-to-purchase does not always follow a linear
direction, and not every product’s or service’s pre-purchase, at-purchase
and post-purchase phases occur at separate times or in
separate locations. Finally, not every customer conducts
extensive research or engages in a brand’s online community for
every product or service they choose to purchase. Sometimes,

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each phase of the path-to-purchase occurs at the same time and
in the same place. This is why it is critical for brands and
marketers to ask themselves the key questions stated in this
white paper. These questions will enable them to better
comprehend the target consumer’s behaviours and motivations
at the key moments of truth, subsequently helping the brand to
better align its messaging and marketing tactics to suit those
behaviours, and in turn influence their purchasing patterns over
their life span.