Observation Lab: Store Experiences
- 1. Crash Course On Creativity Observation Lab: Store Experience H. Zimmer, October 2012
- 2. General Remarks Location: Urban Type: Shopping mall Building includes a cinema, gym and multiple restaurants/food court
- 3. 1. Fashion store (Women And Men) Tommy Hilfiger (international brand, smaller)
- 4. Hilfiger Large store front with a “themed” decoration, use of props and big photo wallpapers. People can imagine how to use the clothes, potentially buy a whole “outfit”. Color scheme mostly black and an off-white that lets the bright colors of the garments stand out more. Surprise: The store looks inviting and well organized to me, but many people seemed to “window shop” without entering. Could be a hidden conflict.
- 5. 2. Fashion store (Women and Men) H&M (large international chain)
- 6. H&M No clear theme. A bit of a department store flair. Security: Fairly obvious “anti theft” gate at the entry with a cameras, and a security guard nearby. Security devices also existing at other stores in mall, but rather hidden out of sight. Might signal a lack of trust in customers. Merchandise: “Basic” apparel, with cheaper items organized mostly in front for impulse purchases. Target group: Lots of families in the store, with parents buying for their kids and teenagers.
- 7. 3. Women’s Fashion Store ZARA (international chain)
- 8. Zara Potentially hidden/missed opportunity: No clearly recognizable theme a la Hilfiger (maybe because collections change fast). Elegant design, but looks somewhat sterile. Somewhat confusing layout. People seem to search around more before they find what they are looking for (browsing). Can’t look easily into the store from outside (only through door) due to smoked glass and curtains behind store front windows. If customers don’t immediately like the window exhibitions and don’t know the brand yet they might not get drawn in to try it out.
- 9. 4. Men’s Fashion store Olymp (small chain, no big brand)
- 10. Olymp Business-oriented, but not high end. No theme, just what looks like generic “corporate” stock photos. Outfit suggestions for customers who are unsure what fits together, e.g. ties matching shirts matching suits, plus some accessories. Employees are also asking very soon if you need assistance. A lot of the merchandise is stacked in shelves, rather than hanging. A bit like shopping at a grocery store, but easier to find. Overall impression: Store seems trimmed to efficiency, buying daily “necessities” rather than “fashion”.
- 11. 5. Electronics store Apple (premium reseller, not original store)
- 12. Apple Very clean organization, almost sparse interior design. Well lit. Limited product selection on display (“less is more”, paradox of choice). People are encouraged to try out the products. Time of stay seems longer than in other stores. Many customers seem to have no intension to purchase anything that day, just “kick the tires” and enjoy the product experience. Employees are helpful but don’t try to “hard sell”. The products seem to rather sell themselves. Often stay at cash register in the back of the store.
- 13. 6. Electronics store (video games specialty) GameStop
- 14. Video Game store Very different product presentation compared especially to Apple store (also smaller sq. ft.) Everything is crowded with merchandise. Rather simple shelves. Despite the appearance the selection is fairly easy to navigate for most customers (e.g. sorted by game console and PC). Few have to ask for advice. Considerably younger customers, many teenagers but not exclusively (e.g. some men seemingly above age 40). Service personnel seem to be video gamers themselves. Try to “upsell” customers to buy more, or get them to pre-register for upcoming releases.
- 15. 7. Grocery Store Local, no big chain
- 16. Store Detail: Bakery at entrance to Grocery Store
- 17. Grocery store Fresh food is placed in front. Also a small bakery included in the store at the front, presumably to make it easily accessible and make store smell good. Small shopping “islands” with special offers to slow down customers who have to go around them. Customers will inevitably look at them. Customers are guided through a maze of aisles and have to go through almost the whole store to exit, pass by everything even if you entered with a specific purpose to shop fast (compare to IKEA furniture stores). Different flooring to per section. Some more “rustic” in fresh food section. Product display much less elegant than in most other mall stores, rather utilitarian. No clear color scheme.
- 18. 8. Gift Store Local, no big chain
- 19. Gift store Has capitalized on a seasonal selection of products. Products are mostly grouped into logical arrangement. Most customers in the store seem to be women, especially middle-aged. Located at a corner with widely open store front and clear glass windows throughout, merchandise easily visible from outside. Company logo is a bright green, but other colors in the store were mostly white and autumn colors.
- 20. Overall insights Some stores were able to create a distinct shopping “experience”, though without measuring over a longer timeframe it is just an estimated guess that this might draw in more customers and thereby potentially increase revenue. Most stores in this mall were opting for a clean look, often using white shades as the overall background color for the walls and separators. Most stores rather left a lot of “empty space” with no merchandise cluttering the aisles and walking paths, though there were exceptions (e.g. GameStop). The Apple reseller and the grocery store seemed to have developed ways to keep customers longer in the store, though via very different mechanisms.