I read an article this morning in the Wall Street Journal and was fascinated by the different buying behaviors in other parts of the world. In the article, "In India, a Retailer Finds Key to Success Is Clutter," Kishore Biyani (the owner of a $875 million supermarket chain) discusses how he re-designed his supermarkets to create tiny, cramped aisles with messy floors lined with dirty vegetables. His customers are lower middle-class shoppers who prefer shopping in this type of "chaotic" environment.

This article brought up important three questions that I think every retailer should know the answer to in order to optimize sales:

1. Who's your customer?
2. What kind of experience are they looking for in your store or at your cart?
3. Are you selling your merchandise based on price or value?