Observation Lab - 2nd assignment

Observation Lab

Isabel Armada

2nd. Assignment

Crash Course on Creativity – October 2012

Observation Lab

Introduction

Perfumes & Companhia

C&A

WORTEN

NATURA

SPORT ZONE

CONTINENTE

Conclusions

Introduction

The six stores I visited are located in Portugal, in a
mall near the city of Oporto.

They all have their doors wide open from 9:00 am
till 11:00 pm, 7/7 days.

It was easier to take pictures in the biggest stores
where there were more consumers than in the
smallest ones where the sales persons literally
stared at me.

Because of the crisis, some of these stores have
less and less consumers.

 This is a perfume store and it
smells at perfume as I enter the
store.
 The doors are open and the store
is very attractive, very shiny and
with much light.
 The colors used in the store are
warmth: red and white, the same
as the logo.
 The floor is red and shiny.
 The ceilling is white and not too
high and it makes me feel
comfortable.
 The store has an alarm system
near the doors and some cameras
in the ceiling.

 I can ear the air conditioning that
keep the store cool to preserve the
perfumes.
 The products are expensive; there
are perfumes and beauty products
from the biggest designers in the
world. The fragrances for male are
separated from female ones.
 I can test the perfumes and the
make up as I wish.
 The products at eye level are the
best sellers, the oldest ones
remains at least accessible
locations.

 There is no music, and I can hear
the 3 salesperson talking together
and not giving attention to the
clients: there are just 2 of us!
 The merchandise is expensive and
they are good quality products but
the service isn't good.
HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES
 Ambient music would be nice.
 Salespersons should pay more
attention to the customers.
 The cash register is located near
the door and the products located
at the end of the store are not
appealing.

C&A

C&A is a cheap clothes retail store.

The walls are white, yellow and
light blue and the floor is grey. The
store is warm but the ambient
colors are dull and cool.

I can hear music and the
salesperson talking each others.

The cash register is located at the
end of the store and there is much
more color at the end of the store
that invites you to go further.

The salespersons don't initiates
contact unless you ask for
information.

They are friendly and very active
salespersons organizing clothes
and match the stores image.

C&A

The first products I notice are the
ones just in front of the door, in a
central display table.

The products for men and women
are separated, first ones at left and
the other at right. The products for
children are at the rear of the store.

The least expensive products are
in the center of the corridors in top
shelves.

The fitting rooms are near the cash
register and they are for men and
women at the same time.

The consumers are walking freely
in couples and with children
comparing the products.

C&A

As they enter the store, the
consumers tend to walk in the
direction of the rear of the store to
try the clothes in the fitting room.

There is some impulse items near
the cash register: as key rings,
socks and wrapping paper.

C&A

The salespersons should interact
more with the consumers in order
to help them.

The colors of the store should be
more appealing and warmth.

As I noticed that there is a cash
register that is closed, it would be
interesting to transform it in a fitting
room so they can have one for
men and another for women.

WORTEN

Worten is the Portuguese market
leader in the electrical appliances,
consumer electronics and
entertainment. Their competitive
advantage is their low prices policy.

The first products I noticed are the
mobile phones and the informatics
products.

The ceiling is very high and there is
a lot of light. There is a lot of free
space to walk and it makes you
feel at ease in the store.

The store is very large and is
organized by sections. The more
expensive products as the
television sets are at the
background of the store.

WORTEN

There is music playing and the
sales person are friendly with the
consumers and they follow a script.

There are sales persons in each
section but there is an extra
section to assist the consumers in
their needs for information.

The sales persons are very young
but got good technical knowledge
about the products.

Some products can be expensive
and in that cases, the consumers
are with someone else, and even
calling to someone asking for
opinions and comparing products.

WORTEN

In each section the products are
arranged by price and we can find
some discount products in the
middle of the corridors, right in the
floor.

The products in the top shelves are
very appealing and their price tags
are bigger than the products that
are in the other locations.

There is some impulse items near
the cash register, such as DVD's,
USB keys and batteries. And I
noticed that people that was
looking at the items that are “for
sale” were just browsing and didn't
seem to be on a mission.

WORTEN

This was one of the stores where I
saw the sales persons more active
and relating with the consumers.

NATURA

NATURA is a store with articles
from all over the world, this is
fusion of cultures and color The
articles are essentially for women.

This is a small store with two sales
persons that are very friendly.

These store is well known by its big
bear in front of the door and the
consumers touch it instinctively as
they enter the store. It makes you
feel welcome.

There is a suggestive atmosphere
in it: you can smell the scented
candles and perfumes and you can
ear the wellness music with the
sound of whales or rhythms from
exotic countries.

NATURA

The floor is wooden and the ceiling
is very low and green, with fake
plants decorating it. It makes you
feel in a natural ambient.

The sales persons are very
attentive and nice and offer you
information without asking them.

The store seems a bit crowed with
merchandise and seems smaller
that it should be with all the amount
of articles in it.

The “bijouterie” is the only section
that is well organized. The other
items are mixed up: boots, skirts,
candles, coffee mugs, toys, etc.

NATURA

In spite of all the colors and the
wellness sensations that you can
feel as you enter the store, it
seems a bit chaotic and messy. It
would be easier for the consumers
to find what they are searching for
if the items would be organized by
functions and/or by colors.

It would be nice too if the sales
persons let the consumers touch
the articles without following them
and talking to them all the time.

SPORT ZONE

SPORT ZONE is the biggest sport
chain of stores in Portugal.

They have very competitive prices
and the products are arranged by
sport sections and the clothes and
sport shoes are arranged by genre.

The colors used in the store are
gray and orange. Orange is an
energetic and happy color.

The store is very large and the
ceiling which is very high and the
floor are gray too.

It looks like I am in a sport
supermarket! The consumers
move throw the store and can try
the clothes and shoes at ease.

SPORT ZONE

The sales persons are very young
and remains at the cash register,
located near the door.

The least expensive products are
in front of the door, they are the
first thing I see as I get in the store.
They are appealing the attention of
the consumers.

In each section, in the top shelves,
I can find the least expensive
products.

The shoes are at the rear of the
store, as well as the soccer articles
and the more expensive articles
too.

The music is very active and it
feels like dancing!

SPORT ZONE

The orange color and the ceiling
very high and industrial design
gives me the impression that
products are of poor quality.

I would cover the ceiling to make
the store more comfortable.

The sales persons could be near
the athletic equipment as the bikes
and the steps machines to help the
consumers to try them easily.

The sales persons should be more
active and not remaining at the
same place all the time: it's a sport
store!

CONTINENTE

CONTINENTE was the first
hypermarket chain in Portugal and
is a national reference: they got
low prices and very good services.

The color red is everywhere in the
store, in the walls, in the decoration
and in the employees uniform.

This is the only store in the mall
that have a security employee at
the door.

The products are arranged by
sections, functions and by price.

The customers tend to walk in the
same path and have to go to the
background of the store to find the
grocery and then come back to the
front of the store to pay and go.

CONTINENTE

There are many central display
tables with featured products.

In the textile section, the least
expensive products are located at
the top shelves and in central
display tables.

The cheaper products have bigger
price tags and are written in red in
an handwriting lettering.

Each section has got a sales
person who is responsible of it and
who is available to provide some
help and information about the
products.

Music is always playing and I can
hear some advertising jingles
promoting specific products.

CONTINENTE


The corridors are very large and
they are already plenty of display
tables full of toys for Christmas.

The chocolates section too are full
of new articles and I notice that the
least expensive products are at
eye level and the more expensive
ones are at the least accessible
locations.

The customers are already looking
at the prices and comparing it.

CONTINENTE

I noticed that I loosed myself in the
store. Because of the seasonal
products (toys, chocolates and
Christmas decorations) some
sections were moved and the
products are not at the same place.

It would be easier to find them if
they put some indications in the
corridors and if there were more
sales persons to ask for
information to.

Conclusions

I noticed that in spite of the colors, the lights and
environment of each store, the sales persons really
made the difference to me.

A close relation ship with the client can make him
feel at ease in the store and helps him to chose
more effectively and buy more quickly.

Observation Lab - 2nd assignment

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