The document observes several local businesses and notes things like store organization, customer traffic patterns, lighting, and opportunities for improvement. The convenient store allows customers to play their own music and hang out, attracting many patrons despite higher prices. The cafe boutique could better integrate its gift shop into the cafe to provide more seating and browsing opportunities. Overall the document makes observations about store environments and customer experiences that could inform business strategies.

1. BEING OBSERVATIVE
Hidden insights from
observing 6 local businesses

2. RANDOM THINGS
 One particularly cluttered store had a huge sword in
front of their bottles of whisky!
 And a scooter parked in an aisle
in the back of the store.

3. ENVIRONMENT
 The more cluttered a store was the cheaper their
products felt.
 Stores with less merchandise and a cleaner feeling
environment felt more valuable.
 The same products cost more at cleaner stores.
 Most stores did not have background music, but
simply the noise from the nearby traffic was enough
to not feel too quite.

4. THE BOOK STORE
 Book stores hang
toys from the ceiling
rather than putting
the toys at eye-level
for the children?
 Based on the size of
Khmer or English
lettering on a sign
you can get a good idea
of the type of customer
that shops there

5.  Most stores organize
based on function
 Even if you would
expect them to
alphabetize or arrange
things differently
 Many stores use only
natural light, and so
the back of the store is
dim and difficult to see
in.

6. THE CONVENIENT STORE
 Most customers walked through the snacks and
directly to the cold drinks
 2 groups of customers
 Quick buy (individual)
 Hang out (small groups)
 Young women workers,
and mostly young men who
came in to hang out and flirt.

7.  Did a Halloween snack make it to
Cambodia? Or just a good spicy snack
that is available all-year round?
 This was the only store with music
the customers were able to pick their
music and hang out.
 Large windows provided bright natural lighting
 Many customers despite higher
prices on most of their products.

8. CAFÉ BOTIQUE
 The café Botique was very dimly lit and crowded in
an eclectic fashion I found uncomfortable.
 Very few customers wandered in from the café.
 The sign out front did not mention the botique or gift
shop in the back.

9. OPPORTUNITIES
 Convenient store could more clearly market their
coffee and made-to-order products and increase
the number of “hang-out” customers.
 The café botique could disperse their gift items
around the entire café to provide additional seating
in the botique and more opportunities for people to
browse their products WHILE they eat.
 The book store could put more toys at eye-level for
children.