paying attention-observation lab
DESCRIPTION
This is the 2nd assignment for the crash course on creativity on the venture's lab; www.venture-lab.org/creativityTRANSCRIPT
PAYING ATTENTION
Aisha Abbas
Assignment
Go to at least 6 different stores. They can be at the same shopping center or different locations. Spend at least 15 minutes in each store making OBSERVATIONS using the lab guide for reference. Take photos to capture your observations.
Create a presentation that captures your INSIGHTS and HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES. What types of things had you missed before? What were your biggest surprises? Are there opportunities hidden in plain sight?
Shops Classification
6 stores of separate genus were observed;1. Super Market2. Books & Stationary 3. Shoes4. Flowers & decorations5. Mobile/Telecom6. Clothes boutique
This presentation gives a summary of my observations, insights and the opportunities, I learnt from this exercise
Observation Classification
Factors observed
Environment
Personnel Products Customer
s
1. The Supermarket
This is a is a Danish discount supermarket .
On a 5 minutes walk from my home, I buy all my groceries from here, every week.
As the banner and the sign on the entrance tells, it stay open all 7 days of the week from 8 AM to 10 PM.
Taking pictures was not allowed inside the store
Observations
Automatic door which opens
Food Items closer to expiration on sale, near the entrance
Longer opening hours even on the weekends draw more
customers in
Use of bright colors to make the interior more spacious and airy
Clean and clutter free environment
fresh food items
Comfortable environment to shop
All the items are labeled with prices
Observations
Noise free, music free environment. The only sounds audible are the
cash counter beeps
Customers of all ages and gender, alone, with family, kids or
partners
All the customers who get in the store, makes purchase
everyone comes in on a mission
Ice cream, impulse items i.e. chocolates, magazines, small jewelry
items near the cash counter
Sales personnel is in uniform, is polite and greets on exit
Insights
Factors affecting the sales at a supermarket are;
Freshness of the food items
Cleanliness of the storeBright and airy
atmosphereRates of the itemsOpen hoursAvailability of all the
necessary house hold items
Closeness to residential area
2. Books & Stationary Shop
My second stop was
the exciting book store
Observations
Books on sale, and colorful postcards/greeting cards were placed outside the shop near the entrance drawing people into the store
Book store was divided into smaller sections, each section with a different color having individual genre of books. i.e. kids books in pink shelves, fiction in green, history in blue etc
All the kid-puzzles and board games were placed on the centre table near the entrance
Key Observations
Bright and calm surrounding, with
peaceful music playing in the
background lightly Cash counter is located near the entrance/exit Sales personnel is around age 20-30 Products are arranged by function Stationary items, Christmas decorations, envelops, stationary
accessories, calendars, greeting cards are on the eye-level Schoolbags, table top globes were in the least accessible locations Impulse items near the cash counter include fancy sharpeners,
bracelets, small games, key chains etc Customers of all ages from 5-70 were seen. Most customers tend to
browse through and go
Insights
Colorful environment makes it interesting to go in
The library atmosphere with book samples available for reading and the reading chairs in front of the shelves makes it more customer friendly and exciting
20% of the customer make purchases each day
3. Flowers & Decor
My third stop was
the beautiful
and fascinating
flower & decorations
shop
Observations
Beautiful Christmas decorations, flower pots, plants, scented candles on the entrance catch instant attention of the people passing by
The most friendly and cooperative sales personnel of my observation trip
Immediate welcome to the shop and cooperation in showing around the items
Dark brown wooden interior with plants and decorations and dim light gives a mysterious and mesmerizing forest look
Store has beautiful fragrance of the scented candles around
Observations
Products are arranged color wise
Most expensive decorations are placed on higher shelves
Impulse items including nougat, candied dry fruits, jewelry items, post cards near the cash counter
More customers included females, moms with kids, couples etc
60-80 purchases a day, out of 300 browsing customers
4. Shoes Store
My 4th stop of the day was the famous
shoe retail chain
Observations
Shoes on sale were place outside the shop that draws customers in
Discount brochures were placed in the shelf right after the entrance
Spacious and well organized interior
Light music playing in the background, and the other noise included light chatting and the cash counter beeps
Observations
Store had leather smell Cash register was located near the exit Customers of all ages, families, couples, individuals came to
shop, more were females 25% customers who come in the shop make the purchases Formal clutches and bags were placed on the centre tables in the
front entrance of the store Impulse items near cash register included key chains, colorful
wallets Products were arranged by size and functions i.e. for ladies,
gents, kids, heels, boots etc Products like hats, bags, clutches were on the eye level Sales personnel had more females of age 20-30
5. Clothing Boutique
My fifth stop was the posh Casual
clothing store
Observations
Spacious, light and bright surroundings, light music and trendy casual wear draws in the female community passing by
Sales personnel is very friendly between the age of 20-30, giving full 1-1 attention to the customer
Newest arrivals are placed on the centre table, the display corner of the shop
Discounted items outside the shop, capture the attention
Newest items are on the eye level
Observations
Last season and all year round casual items are place in the least accessible corner of the shop
All the prices are tagged
No impulse items near the cash counter
Customers are encouraged to try out the outfits
Most customers just browse through, 7% customers who browse the shop purchase the items
Cash desk is towards the corner of the store
6. Mobile & Telecom Customer Service
My last stop of the observation
trip was the Famous
Telecom franchise
Observations
Interesting environment with latest products & service offer posters
Cooperative, and extremely attentive sales persons who are there to tell you each and every function/specification of the product
Products are sorted by brand
First products I noticed were the latest I-phones and the notebooks
Sales people are in uniform
Least accessible items are ‘phone covers’ which are placed inside the locked showcase
Observations
Customers are very much encouraged to check out the products in detail
People of both genders, aged between 20-30 are the most frequent customers
5% of the browsing customers buy the items each day
Cash desk is in the last corner of the shop
Insights
All the shops except the supermarket had their doors open
Sales personnel at all shops follow a similar script with every customer i.e. greetings on exit
The supermarket staff was less friendly and welcoming as compared to the clothing boutique, flowers / décor and the mobile telecom shop, from which I learnt that;
the attitude of salespersons is extremely significant in the shops where the ratio of browsing customers to the buying ones is much higher
Insights
People do not go to supermarkets for browsing. All the customers who enter the store make the purchase and sales personnel's friendly attitude is not required for driving the people into buying
Stores with smaller sized items, larger quantity of products had their cash counters near the exit
Shops having lesser browsing customers per day and smaller shop area did not have any security cameras
Opportunities
I learnt about the marketing tactics to draw the customers into the shop and buying things include; Very friendly and involved Sales personnel Newest items on the centre tables New arrivals on display and front view of the store Items on sale are displayed outside the shop Clean and organized shop structure Impulse items near the cash counter Fancy and attractive items on the entrance
Opportunities
people can be fully understood and manipulated with a checklist of motivators or pyramid of needs
One doesn't need to be a psychologist to successfully market a product, but he/she needs to understand the decision making process and the emotional and rational factors involved
By striking the right balance of courtesy, sound understanding of customer’s needs and impactful marketing, anyone can outperform in the selling business.
From my observation trip, I learnt new things about the Product Marketing, I
hope you did too