The document provides observations from visits to 6 different locations - a hardware store, 2 clothing stores, an electronics store, a supermarket, and a university. Key observations included: 1) Stores with doors left open and visible signage seemed most welcoming to customers. 2) Cluttered merchandise made some locations difficult to navigate. Additional unused space was not utilized effectively. 3) Customer interactions, uniforms, product displays and pricing strategies varied between stores. 4) Opportunities to improve aesthetics like lighting, cleanliness and repairs were noticed at some locations.

1. OBSERVATIONS
Insights and hidden opportunities

2. PLANNING
• I went to 6 different places listed below for this observation exercise:
 1 hardware store.
 2 Clothing stores.
 1 Electronics store.
 1 Supermarket.
 1 University.
All are located at different locations around Mauritius.

3. ARE WE PAYING ATTENTION?

4. HARDWARE STORE- QUINCAILLERIE L’OCEAN
 QUINCAILLERIE L’OCEAN is the most famous hardware
store in my village.
 The door stays opened during working hours which is from 8
a.m. to 6 p.m.; this is very nice because it makes customers
feel that they are always very welcome.
 The store doesn’t looks that attractive mainly because the
outside paint is wearing off and the concrete parking space is
damaged. Would it have attracted more customers if both
could be mended? Possibilities…
 The sign lettering is very visible and simple, as it is in the
picture. Bold with Arial font; customers like myself will get the
feeling that items sold in this store is going to be cheap.

5. HARDWARE STORE- QUINCAILLERIE L’OCEAN
 The floor inside is in concrete. It definitely feels solid.
Unfortunately when it starts raining and customers enter the
store with drenched shoes, it quickly becomes slippery and
people can easily fall.
 The ceiling is up high and there is a feeling of openness.
 The store is located on a main road and can be noisy at
times specially during a busy day when there are cars
passing by.
 There are no store security. The cash register is located far
inside the store to minimize chances of being robbed.
 Merchandises are very crowded inside and there is barely a
place to walk to access the main counter.

6. HARDWARE STORE- QUINCAILLERIE L’OCEAN
 The owners of this place acts as the sales person in order
to minimize business expenses.
 There are 2 owners and consequently 2 sales person. One
is a woman and one a man. Both of them are between 35
to 45 years old
 If I am the sole customer inside, the sales person
immediately initiates contact. But if there are more
customers, the contact time can vary between 3 to 5 mins.
 Customers are all treated equally. That is a very plus point
for business.
 The sales person/owners don’t wear any special uniform.
They prefer wearing casual dress.

7. HARDWARE STORE- QUINCAILLERIE L’OCEAN
 Customers stay on average between 5 to 15 mins.
 The first product that I noticed was the paint container. It is
located right at the entrance door.
 Customers are allowed to touch the product.
 More than 70% of customers visiting the store will buy an item.
 Most products on sale are arranged to the categories they
belonged to, for example- nails and screws are all displayed on
the same table.
 I also noticed that there was an “unused portion” of the space
available. Everything was just being concentrated near the front
door. That unused space could have greatly help to arranged the
merchandise in a more effective way.

8. CLOTHING STORE- BODY & SOUL
 BODY & SOUL is one among the mostly known clothing store in
Mauritius.
 The store certainly draws me in; It has a modern and trendy look
starting from the outside itself. The tinted glass next to both door
tries to conceal what is available inside the store, which makes
you wonder more to what there can be.
 The door remains open during business hours except during
lunch. When doors stays opened, I get the feeling that there is a
certain “you are very welcome” to it.
 The sign lettering appears to be in simple font and it is big as
seen on the picture. The black background certainly adds the
modern factor to the store.

9. CLOTHING STORE- BODY & SOUL
 The store inside is well lit. I can clearly see all the clothes and
accessories on sale.
 The height of the ceiling is very extended. This enables the store to
display more items.
 There was a music playing in the background, mostly techno
genre. It fits the environment around as being modern and trendy.
 The store is located in a shopping mall. It feels very noisy outside
but fortunately the music inside cancels the noise coming from
outside.
 The cash register is very accessible and is located a few meters
from the front door, next to where the 2 guys in the background are
standing.

10. CLOTHING STORE- BODY & SOUL
 The first product that I noticed was the latest t-shirt the store had
on sale on a mannequin.
 The clothes are grouped by categories. On one side there are
female clothing and on the other there are male clothing.
 There is also a table where clothes are being sold at discounted
prices. This attracts most teenagers.
 The items are arranged sparingly in such a way that it allows
customers to freely walk around.
 The prices are printed out on tags available on all the clothes on
display, making it very easy to find.
 Products at eye level are mostly shirts.

11. CLOTHING STORE- BODY & SOUL
 Customers are mostly accompanied by their families or friends. This
is due to the fact that they want the opinion of a different person
when choosing an item.
 Customers are encouraged to try on their products before buying
it, to see if it fits them.
 The percentage of people who did purchase an item in the store was
about 60%.
 The sales person initiates contact after an average of 1 minute when
a customer enters the store.
 Salesperson definitely match the store’s image by wearing trendy
clothes which is available for sale. There were 1 woman and 2 men
as employees aged between 25 to 35 years old.

12. CLOTHING STORE- PEACE ANGELS
 PEACE ANGELS is a very renowned clothing store in Mauritius.
 The sign lettering is very big, bold and simple. The store’s official
logo is also present in between the name.
 The sign appears quite attractive but somehow the description of
the store printed just below PEACE ANGEL makes it quite
complicated. There is certainly a possibility of improving the
appearance of the sign if the “descriptions” are removed.
 The door always stays opened during business hours. This is a
definite plus point for attracting customers.
 The store somehow doesn’t draw me in. Looking at the store from
outside, I already get a feeling that the merchandise are over
crowded.

13. CLOTHING STORE- PEACE ANGELS
 The floor has a combination a wood and metal structure.
 The ceiling is very high. This enables the store to display more product
for sale.
 The cash register is located at the end of the store.
 There are no store security.
 The store is indeed crowded with merchandise.
 Inside the store is a very modern look with the spot lights and balls
hanging on the ceiling.
 The store is well lit and this certainly helps when customers are looking
at the product.

14. CLOTHING STORE- PEACE ANGELS
 The sales person initiate contact as soon as the customer enters the
shop.
 Every customer is treated the same way.
 There were 3 employees in this store, 2 women and a man. All aged
between 30 to 40 years old.
 The sales person didn’t wear any special uniform but instead wore
fashionable clothes from the store itself, thereby matching the store’s
image.
 Products at eye level were mostly shirts and t-shirts.
 The first product I noticed upon entering the store was the latest and
trendy clothes on the mannequin near the front door.

15. CLOTHING STORE- PEACE ANGELS
 The clothes were arranged by gender category, male and female.
 There are some products like hats which were located on top
shelves. This was a rather disadvantage for customers. Every time
someone wanted to try a hat on, they had to call in the sales
person.
 Customers are very encouraged to try on clothes before buying
them.
 The average age of customers were between 8 to 55 years old.
 Customers stayed on average around 10mins in the store.
 The percentage of people buying something from this store was
about 55%.

16. ELECTRONICS STORE- HM RAWAT
 HM RAWAT is one among the most recognized electronics store
available out here.
 The door always stays opened during working hours. However, the size
if the door is not large enough. It would have been more desirable to
have a larger door.
 The name of the store is written in a way that incorporates the business
logo at the same time. The sign lettering is a bit small and feels lost on
the board outside.
 The stores does draw me in. You already get the feeling that once
inside, you will have plentiful of space to look at products and walk
around.

17. ELECTRONICS STORE- HM RAWAT
 The store has a wooden floor structure. It definitely feels like a warn
environment.
 The height of the ceiling is not that extended partly because most
items are displayed at eye level.
 The store is very well lit and enables the customer to see the products
very well.
 The store is partly soundproof and thereby not that affected by noise
generated outside.
 The cash register is located at the back of the shop.
 Being a tech. guy, I feels like staying around 20mins in there to look at
all the products available.

18. ELECTRONICS STORE- HM RAWAT
 The sales person treats every customer the same way and initiates
contact as soon as the customer enters the store.
 Uniform is a must for the sales persons in this store and does match its
image. There were 2 women as employees, both aged around 25 years
old.
 Customers are very welcome to try on the products but must first ask the
sales persons to assist them in doing so.
 Products at eye level are the mobile phones.
 Customers tend to stay around 5 to 10mins in this store.
 The percentage of someone buying some thing is around 40%.

19. SUPERMARKET- SPAR
 SPAR is one among the many supermarkets in Mauritius.
 The door always stays opened during business hours and this makes me feel
very welcome.
 The sign board does indeed have the name SPAR on it but also have
MANHATTAN, which is the name of the shopping mall where this store is located.
The name and logo are both embedded together to create a more unique look.
The lettering looks big enough and is very visible to customers.
 While being outside, I noticed that there were no lighting and looked very
dull, specially at the counter as seen on the picture. The place would maybe have
look much more attractive if there was some kind of lighting on the outside as
well.
 The cash registers are located just a few meters near the entrance door.

20. SUPERMARKET- SPAR
 The store is well lit and customers can easily identify the products.
 The environment was a little loud. This is mostly because of the
number of customers inside the store.
 There was a nice music playing in the background. This provided a
kind of stress free environment.
 The store is very crowded with merchandise.
 All sales persons appeared to be wearing a special uniform that
matched the store’s image.
 Employees were between the age of 28 to 55 years old.

21. SUPERMARKET- SPAR
 Most of the customers were accompanied by someone else.
 Customers stayed on average 10 to 20mins in the store.
 Products on display are allowed to be touched by the customers. It is
encouraged to do so in order to promote the well being of customers.
 Most customers appears to be shopping, although there were some
who were just browsing and looking at the products.
 The percentage of customers buying some thing was as high as 90%.
 At the time of this observation exercise, there were free samples of a
new cake to potential customers.
 The prices are very easy to find as they are just below the products.

22. THE UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS
 THE UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS is one among the best
university out here.
 There are no doors at the main entrance. This makes students feel
welcome at all times.
 The sign lettering is big, bold and simple. This does give a sense of
friendliness and seriousness.
 The environment around is calm. This is due to the fact that most
students are inside the campus.
 The trees around definitely gives a feeling that nature is very
important to this University.

23. THE UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS
 The campus appears calm and friendly.
 The bench available around is made out of concrete, thereby promoting
an eco-friendly environment.
 The pathway and grass looks kind of neglected. If this can be taken care
of, then there is a high possibility that student will spend more time
outside.
 There are security guards around the campus.
 Students doesn’t wear any uniform, instead they wear casual clothes.

24. THE UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS
 The classroom structure looks kind of damaged.
 The seats are very close to each other. This is because the
classroom is kind of small and there can easily be 40 students or
more at times.
 Would it have promoted the learning experience of students if the
classroom overall appearance can be changed? Maybe yes!
Students tend to feel easily tired and sleepy if the environment
around them is dull and boring.
 Students had an average age between 19 to 25 years old.

25. ARE WE REALLY PAYING ATTENTION? This observation exercise
allowed me to see beyond from how I previously looked at things
and to really pay attention!! There can be so many opportunities!!
Thank you very much for looking at my presentation!!
THE END… ;)