TEM 431 Observation Assignment

1. OBSERVATION
ASSIGNMENT
TEM-431
Prof. Bronowitz
Andre Murdaugh

2. The first store I observed was HOMEGOODS. This is a store that sales home accents.
Bedding, flower vases, china dishes, pillows, furniture..etc. The store has very good
lighting and a lot of items, but I get the feel that half the items are more for an office
then my home. The prices seem reasonable and their competition in the area is Target.
They should do well based on their prices, but I have not seen any advertising for this
store. It was fairly empty inside as far as customers. HomeGoods needs to advertise and
market their store better.

3. The second store I observed was TARGET. Target is a major super market that sale everything
like food, cloths, toys, furniture and electronics. Once again, the store is well lighted and the
the floors are white. I think this gives the store a look of being very clean, which is something I
didn’t pay a attention to before. Target prices seem a little bit higher than some other stores.
But I believe that being an all in one shopping store means I will not have to go to another store
and I can get everything here. My biggest surprise is that they still sale music cd’s, I would think
that they are not making a lot of sales in that department based on music being streamed and
downloaded online a lot more today. I believe they do waste space in some departments that are
rarely used. Jewelry, music and movies are departments were they can cut space for more
lucrative departments. They also had about 20 registers which I think is a bit much, maximize the space.

4. The third store I observed was the super giant Walmart. Once again, I noticed the floors are white
which I didn’t pay attention to before. They sale everything, food, cloths, furniture, electronics,
tools and garden supplies. I also noticed that the larger the store is the more time you spend in it
looking around at items you may or may not need. Walmart also has a auto sale and service
department where you can get your oil changed and tires changed while you shop. This is great
marketing of thinking outside of their market and looking at other segments. Walmart has a great
marketing team and seem to have every market covered. You can also buy hot food in Walmart.

5. The fourth establishment I observed was Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is a discount store that sales item
for a every low price which are of low quality. First observation was the sign had three letters not
lighting up outside. I don’t think this would happen at Walmart. It’s sad to say but I think the
customers that Dollar Tree services and cater to is why the company may not be concerned. This is
a case where the marketing environment and economy plays a part in the appearance and up
keep of the store. I now believe the any store/company that sales food has established that there
be bright lighting and white floods. I have seen this in every store that sales food products. I feel
this company is probably hitting it’s target market, so I’m not sure they will want to venture into
other segments are markets. They may lose their customers they are targeting if they do.

6. The fifth store I observed was Home Depot, which is a home improvement warehouse store.
Home Depot is a huge supplier of hardware and garden supplies for home construction and repairs.
First thing I noticed was the floor, it wasn’t white and they do not sale food product. This made me
think of color schemes and how companies use colors that are more suited for what they sale. The
grey floor seem more like a hardware color than white. Again, they have about 5 or 6 registers and
use the rest for the space for product. Maximizing their store space for the best fit. I also noticed
that the store logo has the state named underneath it. I had not noticed this before and wonder if
it’s like this in every state.

7. The last store I observed was Staples, an office supply store. Staples sale office supplies, copy
paper, binders, folders, office chairs and computer accessories. The first thing I didn’t notice
before was that the L in the logo outside was a different style. I assume it’s staple, did notice
that before. All the store have height ceiling which give them an open spacious feel. I believe
People like this feel when they go in stores. Floors is an off white which I stated before might
mean they don’t sale food, so no white floor. Staples does more business online today. A lot of
companies and businesses buy their supplies from Staples online. I believe Staples might do well
with a repair department for computers and printers. I think there’s a market for them in that
segment.