Jorge Soldevila visited 7 stores in Tucson, Arizona to observe their atmospheres and customer interactions. The stores included Costco, Dick's Sporting Goods, Buckle, Zumez, Vans, Animal Kingdom, and Dollar Tree. Observations were made of each store's greeting process, merchandise, employee and customer behaviors, and overall feel. Stores ranged from crowded with customers like Costco and Animal Kingdom to feeling empty like Dollar Tree. Employee interactions varied from friendly assistance to no interaction at all.

1. Observation
Lab
TEM 431
Jorge Soldevila
April 16th, 2021

2. Overview
 For the most part, I went down toTucson,Arizona to go to some
stores for this small assignment. I did this during the weekend
(4/10/21), and mostly at theTucson mall, when it was the busiest.
 I wanted to see a mix of stores and atmospheres, so I went to a
total of 7 stores:
 CostcoWholesale
 Dick’s SportingGoods
 Buckle
 Zumez
 Vans
 Animal Kingdom
 DollarTree

3. CostcoWholesale
 Building is not very inviting; however, the
expression of the building is not what is
drawing in the customers
 Entry requires Costco membership, and is
checked by employee
 You are greeted by all different types of
products and merchandise. Mostly house
products, foods, and pharmacy items
 Can be very crowded at times with customers
shopping in the same section
 Employees friendly, but do not interact with
customers unless asked by them
 Most customers already know what they
want, and are simply doing grocery shopping
 Felt very claustrophobic, especially with the
amount of customers in the building

4. Dick’sSportingGoods
 Atmosphere of store really draws in people who are
athletic and into various type of sports
 Simple walk in, but no one really greets you to the front of
the store
 Merchandise primarily focuses on sport equipment, but
also have gym apparel and clothing
 Employees were nice and helpful, but do not interact with
you unless spoken to
 Customers were very sparse, as they mainly focus on the
section that they want to look at, whether that would be
basketball or golfing. It could also be the type of apparel
they’re wanting to purchase
 Felt a bit more open, even with all the merchandise
spread across the store

5. Buckle
 Had a very nice atmosphere and mood in the store, with
the music not being loud at all
 When walking into the store, an employee instantly
greeted us as we were walking in.This same employee
also helped us with items we were looking at without
asking. Super friendly staff
 Merchandise focuses on casual apparel and clothing
 Only one other customer in the store with me at the time,
but more came as I left the store
 Felt somewhat empty, due to the lack of customers in the
store, and the employees really worked their best to see
how they could help in any way possible.

6. Zumez
 Atmosphere was very loud, and very much catered to the
younger audience
 No one really greeted us or helped us during the moment
inside the store.The music that was playing much louder
than necessary and was even turned up louder.
 Merchandise was mainly clothing and apparel, but also
included some skateboarding and longboarding
merchandise
 A small number of customers were in the store, mostly
young and a lot were focusing on the boards more than
the clothing
 Never felt empty, but the music was too loud for the
experience

7. Animal Kingdom
 For being the mall pet store, the room inside was very
open, with huge areas for pets to play in. Had a very
welcoming atmosphere
 No employees really greet us, as they were mainly
focused on customers looking to adopt
 They only focused on dogs, which was surprising, as some
places let you adopt cats too
 There were a lot of customers in the store, but they were
just looking at the pets. Only a few customers were being
serious about adopting a pet
 Was never not busy, as people were always coming in and
out of the store at a constant pace

8. Vans
 The atmosphere was very similar to Zumez, but much
tamer with the music and environment
 Employees only helped when making a purchasing
decision. In this case, I was buying a pair of shoes and they
helped with finding the right shoe size
 Their focus was mainly apparel, but mostly shoes
 There was a good number of customers in the store. Only
problem being that many of the customers are looking to
purchase shoes, seriously crowding one side of the store.
 On the side where there was just clothing and other
apparels, it was much clearer and more open.

9. DollarTree
 The atmosphere felt very unsettling, with almost no one
being in the store, and no employees interacting with us
 Employees wore headphones and were only restocking
shelves. No real interaction was made from them.
 They sell anything that should only cost a single dollar,
whether that would be some toys, food, or cleaning
utensils
 No customers could be found or seen inside the store,
especially during late nights
 This store just felt empty, even with all the aisles of
merchandise.There was no energy in the store, so this
combination no people and no interaction feel so empty