The retail store that I chose to do observational research in is Target. Target is an upscale discount store with ranging variety of products from groceries, to clothes, electronics, makeup, home décor, and much more. The location of the Target I did the research in is the Okemos Michigan Target. Target has 1,816 stores all over the United States (Target, corporate). The research methods used in the study are direct observation, interviews, and surveys. Direct observation was used to observe how people acted in the store, the order they went through the store, the things people are buying, and how long they are spending around the store. Interviews with six individuals were used to question the reasoning they were in Target, what they planned
Macy’s intended to deliver enhanced shopping experiences to its consumers through dynamic department stores and online sites. In this regard, the company developed a North Star strategy that allows it to improve its sales growth and to develop its existing core activities. The company’s consumer research monitors, analyze and anticipate their needs and wants based on the changing market trends. This allows it to strengthen its customer base and also helps it in identifying new markets and customers. Macy’s also identifies different styles and designs based on various occasions and events that allow it to capture the changing preferences of its customers. The company also celebrates various iconic events to interact with its customers which
I chose to research two very different apparel retail stores. The GAP, Inc. and Nordstrom, Inc. are very interesting companies to me because they deal with something that is very important to me and a lot of people, clothes. Everyone buys and wears clothes, and these are two companies who have succeeded in this venture. They both started out with the same intentions, to sell apparel through specialty stores, but at this point Nordstrom’s has been more successful.
In general merchandise retailing, Wal-Mart’s primary competitors are Target and Kmart. Retail superstores such as Circuit City and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, also provide retail competition. A survey found that the majority of respondents favored Wal-Mart over stores like Target and Kmart. Respondents claimed Wal-Mart offered lower prices, better variety and selection, and good quality. The needs of consumers is an important economic feature in all competitive environments. What attributes (price, variety, quality, etc.) prompt buyers to choose one retailer over another is very important in the competitive landscape.
For this observation assignment, i decided to observe men and women at the mall. Since my friend Ashley works at one, she did me a favor and let me stay behind a counter during rush hour. Ashley said rush hour would be about five to eight. I came in at four to see what the difference would be before rush hour. I got to see the alternation from men and women with shopping techniques, to behavior encounters and how they reacted in particular with an occupied store. By observing this it made me realize that men and women are completely different shoppers.
Baker et al. (2002) while discussing the importance of store patronage on the consumer intention and their willingness to wait or stay in the retail store conclude that the role of gender have a significant impact on the evaluation and wait expectation of a retail store. He used videotapes to reproduce a store environment experience and applied maximum likelihood simultaneous estimation rules.
The content and research used in this report was conducted by Roy Farah in Lebanese retail outlets.
To most people in the United States shopping is a way to relax and forget stressful situations. One way to shop is by going to the mall and site-seeing, walking, and talking. Mall of America is the largest mall in the United States. It opened its doors in the year 1992 and its executive vice president is Maureen Cahill. The case study was about how the mall has a variety of stores , space, entertainment, and its attraction mechanism to attract people.
This essay is based on an analysis of research observations which took place at a Supermarket in Bradford. The aim of the exercise was to observe the behaviour of consumers while shopping in order to theorise and draw conclusions from our observations about consumer buying behaviour when shopping. As a means of interpreting and analysing the data we used the psychoanalytical perspective of Freud, pester power and independent and interdependent self concept. These concepts particularly lend themselves to the interpretation of the data. This essay begins by defining these key concepts before offering an analysis data the research data.
Characteristics of a shopping mall’s environment have massive impact on consumers’ purchasing behavior. Following the literature from Mehrabian and Russell (1974) who focus on the relationship between environmental cues and consumer behavior, some further studies suggests that store atmospherics plays a prominent role in switching product evaluation and consumer satisfaction (Bitner, 1986). From the review of recent marketing scholar, store design, product display, lighting, background music, ambient scents, such combination of environmental elements potentially influence the willingness of consumers to buy and stay (Baker et al, 1992). Generally speaking, these physical settings are directly connected to our human beings
Visser, Preez and Noordwyk (2006) stated that: "Store image, that is the sum total of perceptions customers have about a store, is determined by these merchandise, service, and price factors; it is also determined by atmospherics, advertising, and store personnel. Retail store image is taken as a whole attitude of buyers to the store, its attributes mean various things, and each store has a relative location in the buyers mind”. All these contribute to favorable or unfavorable buyers attitudes in the direction of retail stores. These attributes were sell, service, customers, physical facilities, ease, promotion and endorsement, store atmosphere, and post-transaction satisfaction.
One primary feature of store image is the interior design of the physical space (Roose, 2014, p. 209). Sensory conditions, for example lighting, color and temperature have a critical impact on the manner a customer examines their experience and categorizes the store image (Pine,Joseph and James, 1999, p. 66). Environmental stimuli are considered to have a major impact on consumers’ emotional conditions determining their assessment and acceptances of a specific retail setting. Different researchers have evaluated individual atmospheric elements and the influence they have on shopper’s moods and activities. For examples, one group of scholars (Dowling, R. (2013; Borghini et al, 2010; and Duboisson-Quellier, 2007) evaluated the impacts
... layouts. Friendly employees who occasionally engage consumers give the patron a sense of importance, being ignored can hurt the retail-consumer relationship. When clerks are too pushy, or assistive it can also be harmful as shown by example with my neighbor. Females have many more clothing options than men, and are less expensive. This I believe, reflects the focus of intimacy with the customer, and appeals to the more intuitive nature of females. Consumers hold the ultimate power to make or break retailers, it is imperative that they continue to serve the consumer. Small stores moved from a strong social center for gathering of people. It was more of transfer of social centers to more of an intimate shopping experience. In a way, it has allowed the romance of shopping, appearing that a secondary outcome was the love affair between person and product.
Noad and Rogers (2008) analysed that many studies have been done on how store entrances influence the consumer behaviour. The results specified that store entrances are significant to store though there are various other elements of retailing those have their own level of importance. Also, the level of importance of the elements depends on consumers planned buying, unplanned buying or an impulse buying. Store entrances can increase the performance of retail store by affecting the customers’ unplanned or impulsive buying behaviour while entering the store. Effective and well-designed store entrances create positive attitude of customers toward the store and they spend more time in the store and also increase the level of browsing. In the retail sector, easily used entrances of store and attractive appearance are affirmative features that encourage customers visit to the store.
The modern day shopping mall represents security. It is a long thread that winds through each resident of this country, binding the public tightly together. No person is untouched by this fascinating structure. It provides commonality in such a diverse population, and with that commonality comes comfort. Recently, I spent time at the Southside Works Shopping Center located in the city of Pittsburgh. Southside Works fits the profile of the average 21st century mall, complete with a movie theater, various popular retail stores, and of course, The Cheesecake Factory. It is a place soaked in consumerism where unique individuals become customers. Massive globs of people shuffle across the perpendicular paths that join the shops together. Each group, whether it’s a congregation of giddy tweens or a rowdy family with small children, is complete with various bags from their favorite stores. However, they look happy. And happiness is good, right?
Visiting a shopping mall is an everyday activity for most. Shopping malls have become a central hub for a diverse set of activities ranging from being an access point to satisfy basic needs for food and clothing to being a social mecca where customers can engage in common interests. Over the last decade, the influx of competitors in the mall arena has forced managers to develop strategies that elevate themselves above the competition. As a result, different malls have deliberately introduced unique attributes to serve as a magnet to attract shoppers. A thorough understanding of the reasons people visits malls, and in whatand the activities they engage in when at the mall, will start to give insight to for the formulation