Observation Lab Assignment. Observations made in San Francisco, California: Downtown and Japantown.

1. Week 2:
Observation Lab
Maryanne McGlothlin
October 2012

2. 1 / Create a Frenzy
• Salespeople hawk
products on each level.
• Big price signs signal
deals and encourage
buying more than 1.
• Lots of light and glass.
Busy-feeling.
• Customers seem to feel
an urgency to buy and
not to miss out on deals.
• Target audience:
Customers who want
quantity over quality.

3. 2 / Walk on By
• Lighting is white/cool,
not warm and inviting.
• Sparse décor. Not
much to lure one in for
a browse.
• Gives off no energy or
excitement.
• Target audience:
Someone who knows
he or she wants a
cupcake and does not
need enticement to
enter and buy.

4. 3 / Invite Curiosity
• No hard-selling tactics.
Browse without interruption.
• Display of top selling items
catches eye of passersby and
invites in to look.
• Products have explanatory
signs, making the exotic
comprehensible.
• Target audience: Tourists
looking for something new to
try or give and locals who
know the products and want
quality.

5. 4 / Convey a Hint
of Luxury
• Customers self-select
entry. Signage, gleam
of floors and glass,
&appearance of
displays indicate items
are higher-priced.
• Attention to detail
conveys quality.
• Target audience:
People willing to pay
more.

6. Visited Stores
Included
o Bloomingdale’s
o Cako (Japantown)
o CocoaBella
o Nippon-Ya (Japantown)
o Sur La Table
o Uni-Qlo
o Ghiradelli Café
All in San Francisco, California.