RALEIGH, N.C. — Listening to Kirsten Gebhardt talk about the first time she went to The Container Store is like listening to someone talk about falling in love.
“My breath was taken away,” she said. “I was overwhelmed.” Gebhardt is a 39-year-old mother of two from Cary, N.C., and is normally busy running errands and carpooling. But when it comes to The Container Store, everything else takes a back seat.
It’s that kind of loyalty that defines a rare breed of shopper — the super fan.
Devoted in the way sports fan are to their favorite team, these are the people willing to camp out for a store opening in the cold weather and driving rain. They’re the folks who keep active tabs on the rumor mill, hoping their favorite retailer will announce a store nearby. And should that not occur, they will drive hours to reach one.
Beyond making a big splash on opening day, there is great monetary value for companies in having such a loyal group of fans, said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York firm that studies brand loyalty.
“We call it the rule of six,” Passikoff said. “A true advocate — you’re basically talking about your top 20 percent of customers — are six times more likely to buy things from you. They’re six times more likely to recommend you. They’re six times more likely to invest in you if you’re a publicly traded company. And they’re six times more likely to rebuff competitive offers, especially if they’re only based on price.”
Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth said he thinks the numbers of super fans are growing, partially because social media make it easier for shoppers to spread their excitement.
The Swedish retailer’s grand openings are now so big that it hires private companies to handle traffic and flies in security members from other stores to ensure the events go smoothly.
The chain is in the process of building its first Colorado store in Lone Tree, and many people are expected to camp out for the opening.
“We now only allow them to start lining up 48 hours in advance,” Roth said. “There didn’t used to be a limit. The longest stay was for our West Sacramento (Calif.) store in March 2006. The first person in line lined up three and a half weeks in advance.”
Friends Laura Eischen of Raleigh and Troy Smith of Holly Springs, N.C., have now been the first people in line for three area Krispy Kreme store openings, camping out in some cases for almost a day.
Once, Smith left his vacationing family in Florida to return to North Carolina for a Krispy Kreme opening. He then went back to finish his vacation.
“I love the doughnuts. I love the idea of hanging out overnight,” said Smith, who is a sixth-grade teacher. “If they would give me the title, I would love to be an ambassador of Krispy Kreme. I wear my T-shirt. I love introducing people to Krispy Kreme.”
