observations of real stores using retail anthropology

This assignment requires you to conduct some observations of real stores using retail anthropology. Your report should explain what you found in 2-3 pages of narrative. All summary tables must be included at the end of your paper. Samples and grading sheets will be provided and discussed in class.

Professional retail analysts often hire consulting firms to conduct studies that watch how consumers act and move in store settings. This is called “Retail Anthropology.” There are several issues that can help retailers make sure that their store design is optimized for their customers. We’ll look at three specific ones: accessibility by persons with disabilities, customer traffic flow, and overcrowding.

You will compare three similar clothing retailers on these attributes. For this exercise, use simple rating scales from 1-10, where a “10” is best and “1 “is worst in terms of good retail practice. Make a chart like the one below to summarize your findings. Feel free to expand the summary table. Final score is the sum of the three individual scores.

HINT: extra credit for store observations at 3 different dates/times of day (please list them).

Introduction: Describe this project in your own words

Sample of stores: Visit three retail stores in the clothing industry or in some similar category such as athletic clothing, shoes, or specific departments within the same type of clothing (e.g men’s suits). Describe the industry, the stores you selected, their addresses, and tell why you selected each.

Accessibility: are all the stores equally accessible to people with disabilities? Can customers enter and leave conveniently? Does the store have automatic doors, ramps, handicapped accessible restrooms, water fountains, fitting rooms (if applicable), checkout counters? Are displays accessible to people in wheelchairs? If needed, is braille used? Hearing devices?

Customer traffic flow: In each store, watch how people move inside the store. Do they follow similar paths? Are they attracted by certain displays or areas of the stores? Is the traffic flow efficient? Give high scores if traffic moves smoothly; low scores if people get in each other’s way.

Overcrowding: compare how crowded/overcrowded each store is. Are the aisles wider in one store versus the other? Do customers get in each other’s way? Can customers reach and examine the merchandise? Is the merchandise crowded? High score for adequate space for customers and being ”not overcrowded.”

Your assessment: Cut and paste the chart below into your report and expand it to include your responses. Briefly discuss your findings within the report. Were there patterns in the ways that customers behaved? Were certain stores “better” than others? What would you recommend if you were a consultant?

Conclusion: What can a retail analyst learn through simple observation when comparing and contrasting stores in the same industry? What recommendations can you make to improve each store’s design? To improve shoppers’ experiences?

Stores

Accessibility (all types) Smooth Customer traffic flow      Not overcrowded

Overall Summed Score

Store 1

Name and address

Store 2

Name and address

Store 3

Name and address