Zachary Esparza observed six grocery stores - Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Target, Sprouts, Sam's Club, and Walmart - to compare and contrast their layouts, aesthetics, and product placement strategies. Trader Joe's and Albertson's used bright colors and flowers to create a vibrant atmosphere. Target aimed for simplicity with good lighting and open aisles. Sprouts placed produce in back and used frequent watering to showcase freshness. Sam's Club and Walmart prioritized function over aesthetics as warehouse-style stores. All stores except Sprouts placed alcohol in back corners and guided customers along desired walkways to maximize exposure to products.

1. OBSERVATION LAB –
GROCERY STORES
By
Zachary Esparza

2. MY SIX STORES
• I wanted to compare and contrast various stores that either were
grocery stores or had a grocery component in it.
• My six stores are Trader Joe’s, Albertson’s, Target, Sprouts, Sam’s Club
and Walmart.

3. TRADER JOE’S
• Trader Joe’s has a very colorful, vibrant vibe
• The signs are filled with large font and
numerous colors
• They were highly noticeable and really
bring the customer’s attention to them, but
it also gives off a fun aspect

4. TRADER JOE’S (CONT’D)
• Right upon the entrance there were multiple
flowers of different colors
• Also when you enter there are more flowers
on the left and colorful fruits on the right
• This represents a lane and leads the shopper
right to the outside of the store

5. TRADER JOE’S (CONT’D)
• Trader Joe’s also even put in its effort to
customize some of its art to the city where
it was located
• Also the laid back wear of the cashiers as
well as tables outside bring about a very
laid back atmosphere
• It’s almost as if we were at the beach
judging from the Hawaiian shirts

6. ALBERTSON’S
• When you walk in front you see again
flowers and balloons and a deli to the left
• Both showing colorful types of foods
though not nearly a large enough caliber
• This again is to brighten up the store for
the customer’s right as they walk in

7. ALBERTSON’S (CONT’D)
• Something I never would have noticed but
saw everywhere for this assignment was all
the advertisements for the monopoly game
• Even on the speaker system that played the
softest music suddenly was loud when they
were talking about the monopoly
promotion
• There must be a lot of incentive to shop at
this store for the monopoly if they have all
this advertisements

8. ALBERTSON’S (CONT’D)
• Also walking through the packed aisles I
noticed these branches of products sticking
out
• Upon further inspection I noticed that these
branches had something to do with the
products they were surrounded by
• For example there were bags of candy and the
branch had clippers that would be able to seal
the bags of candies
• In the other picture there was kids toys right
next to crackers that parents would likely
purchase for their children

9. TARGET
• Before walking into Target I noticed they
really try to put an impression even before
you enter the store
• They have these red balls that signify going
into target
• And they put a target on the floor that
sparkles
• I think it’s similar to the flowers upon the
entrance

10. TARGET(CONT’D)
• Of the boxed sized retailers Target aims for
a simplicity to it
• It has short little quotes around it and has
by far the best lighting of all the stores
• It’s walkways are very long and there a little
to no advertisements in the middle giving it
a very clean feel
• Target has to be aiming for this open look
which to me brings about a sophisticated
feel

11. TARGET(CONT’D)
• The entire food section is on the left away
from the once entrance which is on the
right
• Because it’s far away Target doesn’t seem
to make their grocery a prominent stock
• Also it was strange that the holiday candy
was in the far left away from everything
• This must mean that in order to get it
customers have to walk through everything
to see it

12. SPROUTS
• Sprouts a health food type store almost
synonymous with a Whole Foods Store has
its vegetables and fruits way in the back
• The produce that is most bought is in the
back so that customers have to walk
through the entire store
• Also the produce on the wall was watered
almost every five minutes to give it that
watery look that looks very fresh

13. SPROUTS (CONT’D)
• Sprouts also has a lot of food where you
scoop into containers thus not using any
containers
• It has candy, coffee, nuts, and even spices
that you get into your own containers
• This really brings about a local authenticity
to it as opposed to some manufactured
product regardless if it is

14. SAM’S CLUB
• Sam’s club like Costco is unique in that it
serves function more than aesthetic
• Unlike the rest of the stores that stock all of
their produce in the back, Sam’s club is a
warehouse with its stock above all the
shelves
• They also have the same warehouse
lighting that’s effective but not as pleasing
as target

15. SAM’S CLUB (CONT’D)
• Sam’s club has a very specific walkway they
want you to follow as well
• Most stores want you to do the same thing
but Sam’s club provides incentives along
the square route by using samples as a way
to get people to ”follow the trail”
• Also right after you finish paying they have
a food court set up with large signs and the
aroma of fresh pizza at low prices

16. WALMART
• Walmart was very similar to Target but it
did have some differences
• One of these differences was that Walmart
had many signs spewing the lowest prices
everywhere I looked
• Walmart exclusively focuses on its prices
• Also they have a lot of the store full of
product including those long aisles which
gives it more of a cramped feeling

17. WALMART (CONT’D)
• Right upon walking in McDonald’s was
right in on the left
• Also unlike Target, Walmart had its food
right in front of the entrance right along as
you walk in
• They have their produce in the front and as
you walk back the refrigerated sections and
like all of the other stores dairy in the back
• Walmart makes their food much more
accessible and therefore a more populated
area than Target

18. SIMILARITIES
• One thing I noticed of all the stores except for Sprouts is
that all of the stores have alcohol in the back right
corners
• This is probably because it’s illegal to any children but
also may be the norm for people to find it
• Also while Sam’s club used incentives along its walkway
all stores have a desired walkway for the customer to
view most of the store. If a customer doesn’t seem
something there is no way he or she will buy it