I buy my shirts from a combination of about 4 different stores. They are a mixture of online retailers and physical stores. There is no monthly planning or budgeting on what I should buy or when I buy my shirts, which would allow me to take advantages of sales, I just buy when I want.

I’m typically an impulsive shopper, the process usually goes like this: I open my computer and go through my gmail, tab-by-tab. Starting with the first primary tab, I skim through emails that are important and open different emails, which I’ll read later. When I do come across emails from clothing companies that I’ve signed up for or bought from before (therefore getting an email), I just about always and click on the email and see what is new or what is on sales for that week.

Then, when I’m determining whether I buy something I go through a simple calculation of what I think I’ve bought this month and if I have any money left to spend and how important is it to get this shirt (and what is the price). But then, the most important part is, I look how much I have in my virtual account with the retailer (or loyalty points). This comes in the form of points or direct money which will contribute to my total purchase price. The feeling that I’m getting a discount pushes me over the line most of the time. Loyalty points are typically generated by previous purchases with the retailer. They often run promotional offers where you can get double points for a purchase.

All of us are a creature of repetitive behavior. The process I go through is typical of me and I’ve probably done it about 20 times over the last 4 years. I think this is really important for marketers and advertises to understand. Facebook do a great job of this, where if I like a clothing company on Facebook, it will suggest several other similar clothing companies. That’s great, they’re all very similar to my taste and not something completely different and therefore more likely that I buy something.

Sharing loyalty between similar companies. My loyalty points are very important when making a buying decision. If I was able to provide information to the 3 or 4 companies I typically shop at, about my needs for shirts and when I think I need them and I could get a discount and/or add to my loyalty program. That would be huge.

I’m a loyal shopper and I’m happy to send information on my buying behavior to retailers I trust to allow them to make better decision on what sort of advertising they in turn send to me.

The payments ecosystem is becoming more transparent and streamlined to allow and to become a more accurate and effective payment process. You can see this clearly with the strides that blockchain technology has made within the last year. If this can be applied to the interactions and trust between the buyer and the merchant and encouraging brand loyalty via the payments and advertising ecosystem merging together. The world would be a better place.