Sari shops and the power of reciprocity

Just browsing

A feature of the retail landscape across the state of Kerala in southern India is the large store devoted almost entirely to the sari, that single piece of fabric which, when draped and pleated in various ways, has become the default women’s garment in many parts of South Asia. These shops are stocked from floor to ceiling with tens of thousands of saris, covering the full spectrum of color in every imaginable design. They line the walls without any obvious organizing principle and are yet ordered in some inscrutable way for easy retrieval by employees.

Upon entering one of these emporiums the prospective purchaser can expect to be promptly greeted by a scrum of sales representatives, one of whom will oh-so-graciously offer a beverage of her choosing: hot tea if she wishes or perhaps something cold to better counter the tropical heat outside.1 The customer is shown to a cushioned seat from which to consider the merchandise, and upon indicating the barest hint of directional interest the staff will spring into action.

Suddenly from the stocked shelves a profusion of brocades and prints and filigrees and paisleys and iridescent silks with lace details or fringes or golden threads will be dramatically unfurled, cascading one on top of the other in front of the customer. No whimsy is too trivial to be indulged. If a different texture or a slightly deeper shade of green is sought the clerks will immediately find it and drape it over the growing pile.2 Throughout this display the customer is aware of the sheer extravagance of the effort and the knowledge that each sari will have to be painstakingly refolded and filed back in its place.

All this thoughtfulness may appear altruistic, but it conceals a far more calculated motive.

Give and get

Other retail establishments commonly offer free samples to visitors, with no obligation to buy. The warehouse chain Costco is renowned for its food tasting stations scattered throughout the store. They are of such variety that a sufficiently enterprising shopper can make a meal of it if he plans his route through the aisles strategically. But Costco is not in the business of feeding cash-strapped patrons, any more than Kerala’s sari palaces exist to give refreshments to those who happen by.

They each play on the deeply-human principle of reciprocity. Providing a minor item triggers the impulse in customers to respond in kind, in this case through purchasing more of the goods on offer. The businesses freely distribute something small, making customers respond with their patronage, which is worth much more but is the only thing of value they can give.

This strategy works, quite profitably. Studies show that those who sample goods are much more likely to purchase, and rare is the shopper who can walk out of the sari shop with arms unburdened after having enjoyed the complimentary drinks on offer.3

Organizations across industries have worked the concept of reciprocity into their operations. Some years ago I found an envelope in my mailbox containing several crisp one-dollar bills. These were sent unexpectedly by a media company that had randomly selected me to complete a diary that tracked radio listening, in order to calculate ratings. Getting these metrics correct is essential to accurately determine advertising prices, which broadcast radio needs to function. To avoid any bias it is important that respondents be chosen independently, and that most selectees return their completed logs at the end of the monitoring period so the data is representative of the overall population.

Having no doubt honed their approach over thousands of iterations, the firm surprised me with a couple more dollars in the mail a few days later, along with a gentle reminder that I continue to track my media consumption accurately. I could easily have pocketed the cash and discarded the rest without a second thought. But in the end it worked, as I dutifully mailed in the journal at the conclusion of the survey, despite having no connection before or since with that company.4

This approach worked because most people do not want to receive something without providing a commensurate return. There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but if there were a lot of people would feel bad about eating it. One-sided interactions are hard to sustain over long periods. The principle of reciprocity can also jump-start a relationship between parties that are new to each other, overcoming the initial barriers of unfamiliarity or novelty.

Make it meaningful

Reciprocity can be most powerful if it initiates a sustained, ongoing relationship, based on escalating mutual benefit. The free drink in a sari shop likely won’t cause a repeat visit by itself, but quality products at a good value provided in an environment marked by respect just might.

It works best if the initial gesture is genuine and unconditional. If you have something compelling to offer your customers, show them. Lures or a bait-and-switch won’t sustain an enduring connection between your organization and those whom you serve. Gimmicks in the end fail to maintain lasting trust.

A few considerations when deciding on how to deploy the principle:

• The gesture should be meaningful. A free keychain for opening a bank account is more likely to end up in the trash than it is to cement a relationship with your customers. Provide something useful to those you serve as an initial sign of more profound value, suggesting there are deeper wells to draw from. Choosing an item or service that’s relevant also signals that you understand the needs of your target audience.
• Make it personal, because anonymity kills reciprocity. Most consumers have little compunction about signing up for burner accounts or churning through promotional codes to eke out the maximum savings from some corporation’s broadly-crafted customer acquisition or loyalty schemes. Entire businesses exist to find loopholes in frequent traveler or credit card promotions to extract maximum value. A faceless corporation doesn’t exactly engender goodwill. Even in the public sector, a core challenge when administering government initiatives, regulations, tax codes, etc., is ensuring that those affected use them in the intended way, especially as the governed grow further removed from decision-makers. The social contract itself can fray if citizens no longer believe that their civic participation is important for the well-being of others as well as themselves. A human connection is essential.
• Build relationships that are ongoing. A transactional orientation encourages both sides to think no further than the immediate interaction. Money is the most obvious marker of this—that’s why a one-off survey request must resort to cold cash. For lasting connections work towards more profound reciprocity based on deeper things: affinity, duty, kinship, a higher purpose. This is far harder to develop but more lasting when it’s established.

When the first action indicates deeper value, is grounded in relationships, and provides a hint of what’s to come, it can form the basis for reciprocity that is mutually enriching.5

How can you use this principle in your work?

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References

The Psychology Behind Costco’s Free Samples, The Atlantic

The concept of reciprocity is explored by many behavioral economists and social scientists, including Dan Ariely.