Retail Expert Details Dumbest Things People and Stores Are Doing

So when we called Professor Eugene Muscat, a retail expert and 38-year instructor at the University of San Francisco, a question came to mind: What are the dumbest things shoppers and stores are doing right now? He had an answer. In fact, many.

First: Consumers.

Professor Eugene Muscat

​"I've been seeing a term I haven't heard in a long time, which is 'layaway,'" said the professor. "And, boy, that really makes me nervous. Almost as nervous as 'Zero Percent.'"

As SF Weekly noted earlier this year, the layaway plan, once a vestige of Depression-era shopping, is making a comeback (and never really left in other parts of the world). And, according to Muscat, fiscally irresponsible shoppers suffering through a down economy need this about as much as a recovering addict needs an all-expenses-paid trip to Columbia.

"The reason consumers have gotten themselves in so much trouble to date is because they continue to buy with money they do not have -- kind of like the way the government is funding itself," he said. "During tough economic times, what are good things people should be looking for? Rebates. A rebate is real savings; I'm happy to see stores use those as a way to entice people inside."

Fair enough. So what are some stupid things stores are doing?

"I think that opening at midnight is a loser," says Muscat. And yet, gimmicks opening stores at 3 or 4 a.m. get his blessing as a sound business venture. His rationale? Someone shopping at midnight stayed up, someone shopping at 4 a.m. got up.

Hmmm? There's a difference here? "It's a sociological thing. There's a difference between staying up and getting up. People who stay in bars until 2 a.m. are different than people who get up and do things. A person coming to shop at 4 or 5 got up, they have a job, a life."

We're not so sure; a person staying in bars until 2 a.m. may be spending his time much more productively than someone racing through store aisles shopping at one in the morning. Also, the real skill isn't barhopping until 2 or getting up in the morning -- it's doing both.

Finally, the professor felt that stores attempting to hawk wares by greenwashing them run the risk of alienating consumers. His students ran focus groups regarding a chocolate company championing the rescue of endangered jungle creatures and trumpeting its eco-friendly credentials -- and consumers soured on the company's relatively paltry 10 percent dontation to charities.

"When it's all said and done, it looked like a bait and switch deal," said Muscat.

So, there you have it. The very worst thing you can do is stay up until midnight to rush out and buy greenwashed chocolate on layaway. Lesson learned.