Yes, as consumers, it is our right to be fickle. And who can blame us when we are bombarded daily by enticing messages and confronted always by choices galore when we hit the shops.
Some researchers believe that 80 per cent of the buying decisions are made at the point of purchase, when consumers come face to face with the brand.
It would therefore only be reasonable to expect more is invested in this area - the brand's retail environment.
Sadly, however, this hasn't been the case.
While most would agree that all brand communications should work together with the vision of building a coherent brand with consistent values and personalities, the retail landscape, where the moment of truth actually occurs, is often neglected.
While PR and advertising may conjure fantastic images for the brand, and promotional and CRM programmes motivate positive action, the brand could well fail to live up to its promises, at the very venue where it is supposed to come to life.
No doubt brand managers face many limitations when it comes to the retail environment. FMCG brand managers, for example, may not have a lot of space and options to play around with in a supermarket. Yet there are many who insist on going out of their way to ensure that the brand experience is unique and consistent through and through.
By installing motion-sensing lighting on shelves to attract attention and create a certain brand ambience, by negotiating a deal with a popular disco and transforming a part of it into a branded environment, by renovating the office so that it delivers the same unique image - all but a few of the ideas that have proved effective.
The power potential of the retail environment is immense. This is where all of the five human senses can be made to work for the brand. A TV commercial can create tremendous audio-visual impact. Imagine the possibilities with the added arsenal of touch, smell and taste. A retail theatre can be orchestrated, and the brand armed with a distinctive edge against the competition, at the level where decisions are made.
Internationally, more and more marketers, Nokia, Hewlett-Packard, Electrolux, to name a few, are seeing the importance of expressing their brands through the retail environment.
Consultants with a strong brand perspective who are capable of translating their understanding into powerful and yet practical retail designs are the specialists these brands are turning to.
As more and more brands take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that this medium has to offer, the place to shop, the place that matters most, is going to become a lot more interesting.