For this project, I have chosen Nordstrom to perform my retail anthropology. Nordstrom is a high-end fashion retailer with over 300 stores in the U.S. and Canada. It was originally opened in 1901 in Seattle, Washington as a shoe store and a shoe repair shop. The Nordstrom I chose to study was located at Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan. I focused my research on trying to discover just who the Nordstrom customer is. To do this, I decided to go with three different methods. I began with direct observing in which I spent hours in the store over the span of several days silently examining the behaviors of the Nordstrom customers. Next, I myself posed as a mystery shopper to get a feel for the Nordstrom experience. Lastly, I conducted interviews …show more content…
with 5 random shoppers to get their take on the store. After gathering together all of my findings, I concluded that the overall relationship between Nordstrom and its customers was extremely positive. I found that many of their shoppers are continually loyal to the brand and have a strong familiarity with the company. Background Nordstrom is one of the leading high-end retail stores in America.
They have stores all over the U.S. and Canada with a large customer base. Hundreds of loyal shoppers file into their stores every day. Nordstrom continues to hold their customers at the highest regard, giving them a top-of-the-line shopping experience. I have come to find out exactly what it is that keeps Nordstrom’s customers coming back. Specifically, I have discovered what aspects of the company customers truly love. All of these factors help to keep Nordstrom in the position of a top fashion …show more content…
retailer. There are millions of retail stores all across America. According to the National Retail Federation, retail supports 1 in 4 American jobs. They have an immense impact on the national GDP coming in at around 2.6 trillion. When looking at a list of the top retail stores in America, Nordstrom comes in at number 32. In 2014 they had 13,259,000 in retail sales. Nordstrom was started by John W. Nordstrom and Carl Wallin in 1901 in Seattle, Washington. The business was originally opened as a shoe store and a shoe repair shop. The ownership of the store was then given to John W. Nordstrom’s sons after he and Wallin retired. Nordstrom is most known for their excellent customer service and both free shipping and free returns. They pride themselves on their attention to the customer. They offer personalized suggestions based on your previous shopping history. Nordstrom also encourages their sales associates to form relationships with their customers, informing them about upcoming sales and promotions. The emphasis of personal selling has resulted in loyal customer base. They also train their employees to be attentive and responsive to the customers needs. It’s exceptional customer service, sets it apart from other competitors. They offer hundreds of luxury brands with a high price tag. Although Nordstrom does have a department for boys and men, it is mainly a women’s clothing and accessory store. In women’s clothing alone, they have over 20 different departments to cater to several different demographics. I have chosen to focus on the Nordstrom located in Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan. Somerset was opened in 1992, and now has over 180 stores. In 1994, Nordstrom was added to the Somerset Collection. The Troy location is one of their larger retail stores and ranks as number 15 out of the 120 stores in terms of sales volume. Research Design & Methodology I began to think about the best ways to gather information about the store and its customers. I decided to go with three different methods to obtain the most accurate information. I took part in direct observing, mystery shopping, and interviews with shoppers. All of my methods proved to be successful in gathering data for my report. Below is a table giving the dates and times in which I collected my research at Nordstrom. When assessing how I was going to execute each method, I wanted to be very particular with the days and times that I chose.
I chose 4 day out of the week that I felt would give the greatest read on their customer base. I primarily chose to be at the store any time after noon based on my own previous shopping history. I noticed these times to be the busiest shopping hours. I wanted to observe the store during the week day as well as the weekend. It was no surprise that the Saturday I chose to go to the store was much more crowded then the previous days I had visited. I wanted to spend my first three visits simply observing to begin to identify patterns within the customer base. I dedicated one day to mystery shopping. This allowed me to get a good feel for the customer service of the brand and the overall experience of the store. I had chosen to conduct personal interviews with 5 random shoppers. I wanted to pick their brain and see what is it they valued about Nordstrom. I wanted to hear their recommendations for anything they would like to see Nordstrom do differently. I also wanted to know what keeps them returning to the store. I was open to hearing both the positives and negatives regarding the customers outlook on the store to better understand the relationship between the shoppers and
Nordstrom. Store Experience I visited the Nordstrom location in Troy on 5 separate days for an hour or a little over to examine the customer behavior. This location is located inside of Somerset Mall. A large mall that is almost always filled with shoppers. Nordstrom is considered to be one of the malls anchors, along with Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. The mall is split between two sides, the North and the South side, connected by a skywalk over the main road. The North side where Nordstrom is located, is the newer side of the mall. These stores are more affordable and cater to a wider demographic. The South side was the original mall and is home to the more expensive luxury brands. Most customers prefer to park closest to one of the anchors entrances into the mall. Nordstrom is most often the preferred entrance given it is closest to the parking garage with 3 available floors. When walking into Nordstrom the layout can be described as free form. They have displays with their fashion items throughout the store that are pleasing to the consumers eyes. These fixtures feature the newest apparel the store has or they showcase a trend that is particularly popular for a specific season. The departments are all laid out with enough room for customers to effectively navigate through the store and find exactly what they are looking for. The departments are spread out amongst 3 floors all accessible to get to either by elevator or escalator. I started by simply walking around the stores to the different departments. I was looking for interactions between sales associates and customers and how and if these resulted in the customers making a purchase. I was also paying attention to the number of people that spend majority of their time just browsing without even picking up an item. I took note of the way people made their way through the store, whether it be they go straight to a specific department or if they leisurely make their way through several departments before exiting the store. I began noticing that many customers were accompanied by a sales associate. I assumed that most shoppers find the sales associates to be some what irritating and just want to be left alone. This was not the case however, customers seemed to be quite receptive to the help of the sales associates. I noticed on many occasions that customers were being shown around the department by a sales employee while they were being informed or different items they might be interested in. The employees seemed to be very attentive to their customers. The busiest department I noticed was Women’s shoes. Each day this department was flooded with customers. I was surprised to see how well the employees handled the great deal of shoppers. They made sure each customer was helped in a timely matter. Over the three days I observed, I did not see one customer walk away from the department while waiting to be assisted. Each day there seemed to be customers making purchases quite often. There were never any lines at the cash register due to the implication of the mobile devices the employees were using. I noticed how efficient these made transactions between the store and the customers. The employees would bring the iPhones devices directly to the customers allowing them to check out in any location around the department. They are able to scan the items and the customers can pay on the spot with cash or a card. These transactions seemed to be very quick and left customers satisfied with the efficiency of it all. When it came for me to pose as a mystery shopper, I decided to fully commit to this role and actually go through with a purchase. Not that it was really a commitment, but rather a good excuse to go shopping. I parked on the second floor of Nordstrom because this floor is where my favorite department Savvy is located. As I walked in the second floor entrance there I walk down the aisle passing several departments before I make my way to Savvy located towards the back. The department is not busy, there are 6 shoppers including myself. I walk around the racks of clothing seeing if anything catches my eye. A sales employee named Sarah approaches and nicely asks if there is anything she can help me with. I decline at first and told her I would let her know. I spotted a lilac bomber jacket that I had to have. I grabbed it and went to find Sarah to checkout. She was extremely friendly and asked if there was anything else I needed help with. Knowing I should cut myself off before I get out of control, she led me to the cash register. It was a quick transaction, with a swipe of my credit card, the purchase was complete. Nordstrom has a policy in which the sales associates must walk around the counter and hand the shopping bag to the customer after the purchase. This makes the interaction feel so much more personable. I was not surprised at all that my day spent as a mystery shopper had gone smoothly with great customer service, as this is what I expect from Nordstrom. I dedicated my last day to conducting 5 interviews with various shoppers. I wanted to interview a shopper from different department to try and get a good range of answers. I started in Men’s shoes and interviewed a 34 yr old man named James. James said he was a repeat shopper at Nordstrom and that he comes to the store with all his shopping needs. He values the customer service they provide, as well as, the ease of the shopping experience. James was the only man I was able to agree to talk to me. After that, I interviewed 4 different Women ages ranging from 29-47. The answers I got from them all coincided with one another. They all had nothing but positive things to say about Nordstrom. They all have been Nordstrom shoppers for more than 5 years and state they will continue to be for much longer. When it came to analyze all the answers from my interviews, I had found that it was an overwhelming positive response. Consumers The consumer demographics of Nordstrom are shaped by the high-end brands with a higher price tag for fashion products. Their targeted customers are a more affluent demographic with ages ranging from 20-40 yrs old. Although, when walking through the store there are many different age groups that shop the different departments that cater to their demographics. During the times from noon to 4pm I noticed a primarily older group of shoppers. It wasn’t until after 5pm that I noticed a younger crowd to trickle in. This I equate to majority of this crowd to just have gotten out of work. When talking to customers they all credited Nordstrom’s customer service to be the reason they continue to shop there. Nordstrom has a great return policy that they all valued very much. They all said they like the layout of Nordstrom, they appreciate that the store is always clean and organized. When asked what they associate with Nordstrom products, answers varied from style and good quality. The ease of shopping at the store was a common theme that came up in their interviews. They said that if they are in a rush, they know that the sales employees will make sure the trip is as quick as possible while still providing great customer service. Each customer I interviewed had a strong level of customer satisfaction. They had said that Nordstrom has never disappointed which is why they keep coming back. Recommendations After assessing all of my collected data and reviewing my experiences, I found it hard to come up with any recommendations to better the store. I thought about most shoppers in this case, ones that do not like to be bothered while shopping. In each department you walk into at Nordstrom, you are almost immediately approached by a sales employee and asked if you need any help. To some, they appreciate this gesture and accept and want more help. Others, and in my opinion, majority, prefer more self-service. I realize it is hard to gage this from the viewpoint of the sales associate, so I think that they should be sure to tailor the experience to each shopper’s wants/needs.
Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack are different retail operations in terms of their choice, pricing, store service, and store atmosphere customer intimate firms, which excel in serving the specific needs of the individual customer well. There is less emphasis on efficiency, which is sacrificed for giving more precisely what is wanted by the customer. Reliability is also stressed. Nordstrom is an example of this discipline. Nordstrom must meet some standards of cost-effectiveness. When customers evaluate the quality of a product, they commonly measure it against two kinds of attributes: those related to quality as excellence and those related to the quality of reliability. From a quality as excellence perspective, the important qualities are things such as a product’s design and styling, its aesthetic appeal, its features and functions, the level of service associated with the delivery of the product,
Levy, Michael, Barton A. Weitz, and Dhruv Grewal. Retailing Management. ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Print.
Strengths for Duquesne University would be that it is nationally ranked number 115. This is a number that can beat many competitors and creates benefits for those that attend. Classes that have fewer than twenty students is 40.9% and classes that have fifty or more students is only at 9%.. (http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/duquesne-university-3258/rankings). Duquesne is located in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and is known to be one of the top places to live in the country. Pittsburgh is considered the most livable and resilient. There is a young crowd that could be an interest for young adults, also this city is considered to be the third safest cities in the states (https://fitt.co/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-best-city/). Religious values are what many people look for to keep that connect they have with their beliefs, having these values instilled in the curriculum could be a benefit view for parents and students.
Nordstrom retail stores have large hallways, and everything is presented in a very classy manner. The color scheme includes pale yellows, whites, and gold, to provide a more elegant appearance in the store in order to make the shopped feel special. The design is also seen through product organization. Compared to stores like Macy’s, which organize their products based on brand, Nordstrom organizes their products based on lifestyle. Because of this, it is easier for shoppers to find clothes similar to their style as opposed to by brand. In effect, shoppers will purchase more products. This also is a type of experiential retailing, where Nordstrom customers are able to experience the elements of their lifestyle within one section. More so, the product presentation will draw people’s eyes to products, even if they are not looking for it. This gives Nordstrom a competitive advantage in relation to other similar retail stores because it makes their store look more glamorous and high-end. While other stores may focus on value, Nordstrom utilizes the retail positioning strategy to make a customer feel more high-end and
Nordstrom is one of the top retailers in the United States. With a solid brand image and a sound financial situation, Nordstrom is relentless in their expansion in the US, and are beginning to expand into international markets. Nordstrom takes pleasure in providing state of the art client support and having experienced sales people. In order to hold their position as the most successful high-end retailer in the United States, Nordstrom must continue to figure out ways to improve their brand image and customer satisfaction. Nordstrom’s current business working strategy is successful but I believe there are a few ideal solutions that the organization could apply to further enhance the organization. Due to the aggressive characteristics of the fashion retail store market, it is crucial that Nordstrom preserves an aggressive advantage providing the highest level of customer support as possible.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
The goal for my ethnographic study is subjected to the study of the people of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a place that varies from city to city, but still attracts many of the same people. Everyone knows the weird people that wear ridiculous things to do their normal routine of shopping. That is why I have chosen to do my mini ethnography one day while shopping as an insider at the local Wal-Mart in Auburn, Alabama. Wal-Mart is a large center for shopping that attracts many different types of people, while creating an environment within itself.
As technology get more advance, people use cameras, tracking devices in the stores to track customers shopping behavior. The retailers apply every detail that they get from anthropologists to get people buy their products. Some people claim that the surveillance of consumers by retail anthropologists is manipulative and unethical. However, the claim is not entirely true. Many retail use the data they get from anthropologists and apply it to their store to create great experiences for their customers, encourage customers to revisited, and ultimately improve business performances.
My company of choice for this report is Macy 's. 'The Magic of Macy 's ', as the company advertises it, has inspired me to shop there, take advantage of their incomparable discounts and great online shopping experience. Macy 's, Inc. is one of the largest department store chains in the United States of America. Macy 's manages stores under the Macy 's and Bloomingdale 's brands. I enjoy shopping at both of the company 's store brands, Macy 's and Bloomingdales. Bloomingdales provides a more personalized experience
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As research focus is on the retail environment, this will include desire to interact with others in the store, enjoy the environment of the store, patronage intentions, recommending the store to friends. Where as avoidance behavior would be opposite to approach (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982). Zeithaml (1996) defines behavior intentions as “The customer’s willingness to provide positive word of mouth, to visit the restaurant again in the future, to stay longer than anticipated, and to spend more than anticipated”. Further focusing on the approach and avoidance behaviors can generate four different outcomes such as: (1) a wish to remain or depart; (2) a desire to explore and interact or a tendency to want to leave and not explore the store; (3) a desire to communicate with others or to ignore them; and (4) thoughts of happiness or unhappiness (Hoffman & Turley, 2002), (Chebat & Michon, 2003).It is a human nature that if a consumer build up a greatly positive or negative experience with a retail store .It will results in approach or avoidance behavior in the future (Zavotka, 2007).Turley & Milliman (2000) also found out that there is significant relation between atmospherics and shopping behavior.
Martineau, P. (1958). The Personality of the Retail Store. Harvard Business Review , 36 (1), 47.
Nordstrom’s has a particularly well-known marketing strategy based around its costumers. In a world of cutting prices to get consumer attention they maintain profitable prices while profiting much more than those who cut prices. This is due to the fact Nordstrom’s carefully tailors itself to the customer experience it wants to give to all its customers. The way the people in Nordstrom’s definitely differ in the way employees treat the customers. At Nordstrom’s it is felt the customer should feel a personal connection they help you out specifically to you, they remember repeat customers. Nordstrom workers do not just simply tell you where an item is located they bring you there personally to make sure you get what you wanted. Where as in a store
The SWOT analysis is a useful tool for identifying our personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to our plans and goals. According to a “Fuel My Motivation” article (2010), this analysis considers internal influences that can positively or negatively affect our ability to achieve our goals. The internal factors are our strengths and weaknesses. Also considered are opportunities and threats, which are external influences that can have a positive or negative impact on the ability to achieve our goals. I will share how the self-assessment instruments and self-exercises in this course have contributed to assessing and understanding my strengths and weaknesses. I will also discuss techniques I will use to leverage my strengths and understand my weaknesses. In addition, I will consider opportunities that I can take advantage of and the threats that can possibly impede my progress.
Today, the retail market is an integral part of economic development because it provides abundant power for the country’s interests. To succeed, retailers must usually update new information and techniques, or find different ways for attract customers from using cameras; loyalty cards of surveys that could help retailers compete with rivals. Most of people believe that the surveillance of consumers by retail anthropologists is manipulative and unethical. In fact, the retail anthropologists should survey to customers for many reasons such as access to customers demand, change and organize marketing strategies, and bring benefits to customers.