The document provides details about the layout, design, and customer experience at various retail stores including Walmart, Jerry's Home Improvement, Sports Authority, Winco, Gen-X, and Footlocker. Key details mentioned include entrance and interior design, product placement, signage, employee uniforms, checkout processes, and types of customers observed at each store.

1. The entrance to Walmart was large, with two entrances,
allowing customers to easily enter and exit without the pedestrian
traffic choking. The building was tan and had stone work in the pillars to
the entrance. The astestic
fit the town well. The
doors were automatic and
the building and entrance
seemed built for function over design. The signs, both the
one on the road and the sign on the building were large and
easy to read from the road. They were used as recognizable
beacons of well known brand.
The color scheme inside was white. The ceilings were white, the floor was white tile and most of
the signs were white. The ceiling was very high and the bright lights, along with the well-lit environment
gave a sense of sterility which might abstract the customer from
the outside world, allowing them to shop happily, concentrating
solely on the products being sold. There was some background
noise, but a majority of noise came from the customers who
were shopping in the store. Most of the merchandise was at eye
level and almost all the sales signs were at eye level.
The products were easy to locate, nothing seemed crowded, every department
having a design exclusive to that department. Most of the floors were typical white
linoleum tile, but the clothing department had panels that looked like wood and gave a
softer feel to that department. Hanging from the ceiling, the generic eye in the sky
cameras were not invasive and looked mostly
for show, since many were catching redundant
angles in the store. The ease of browsing the
isles and variety of merchandise invited lots of
browsing. Everything seemed to be on sale and
one sale sign led to another.

2. There were two distinct sections to check out in. One set of cash registers was located next to
the market entrance and was mostly frequented
by customers who only came to purchase food.
This section had around 20 registers, widely
spaced and easily accessed. There were several
more cash registers located on the other
entrance, which had larger belts to place items
on and looked better equipped for people with
loaded shopping carts. The cashier was the first
person to talk to me, which was understandable
considering the 35 to one employee to customer
ratio. Employees, spanning all ages and gender, wore blue vests which easily made them recognizable
to visitors.
The first product I noticed were the from the market
side. The center of the store, directly behind the registers, the
jewelry display was located. Since jewelry is a luxury good the
displays were well placed to attract customers who might not
have been shopping for jewelry. The hardest items to locate
would be the outdoor/gardening items, being the farthest from any entrance. All of the prices were
printed on uniform signs, as well as the sales. The registers were decorated with impulse buys, such as
candy, gum and magazines. Most shoppers were middle aged women and almost every group of
shoppers contained one middle aged woman. Most the shoppers appeared to be browsing and I would
guess almost everyone bought something.

3. Jerry’s Home Improvement had a great entrance and the store
looked very appealing outside. Various products and landscaping were
used to build a sense that the retailer really understood the customer and
product it was involved in
selling. There were grills
outside as well as plants. The canopy gave was both
convenient for shielding displays and inviting customers in.
The logos were large and easily viewed from the road.
The color scheme was brown and red, but the lighting combined with the colors made the
environment very inviting. The lighting was soft and the music was low and quiet. There were several
greeters who asked “How can I help you”, a phrase I heard several times throughout the store. Space
was utilized well to display the products. The entrance and exits were separate, allowing for customers
to flow through the store and, I imagine, a more secure retail environment. The cameras were well
hidden, a tribute to the design in a home
improvement store. The space was so
inviting and the products so well displayed
that, even if you did not come to make a
large home improvement, you wanted to
stay and browse. Seeing the products
displayed with each other made them
more attractive, for instance the sinks on
the marble counter made both products
more attractive.

4. Employees had good knowledge of the
products. They were easy to find in their
trademark red vests. The entrance had a paint
display, a creative way to play with color on the
customer as they enter. There were several
Christmas displays and each department was
adjoining an appropriate department where
there was product crossover. The products were all very tactile
and appealing to the senses. The only sale I saw was the
lumber sale, which looked like permanent display of lumber
prices. It made sense for the lumber prices to be displayed at
checkout since many people might be coming from a
construction job to pick up one or two items and could easily
check prices of wood. All the associates repeatedly asked
about helping me or acknowledged me. Most customers were
being attended to. Almost all the customers I saw purchased
something.
Sports Authority was located at the front of the
mall, right next to two entrances and an entrance itself to
the mall. This made the location prime for people to
come in and browse while leaving or entering. The doors
on the mall side were open and the displays were simple,
yet well-lit to attract the attention of customers. The
large red sign was glowing and hard to miss.

5. The scheme was neutral, allowing each product to present its own colors. The floor was carpet,
comfortable for walking or playing on. The store had two levels, with the shoes and other more popular
products being upstairs. Having popular
products upstairs provided two
advantages, the first being that customers
have to walk through the store to see the
popular products and the second being a
more secure environment. In the
background, pop music played. The
products had enough variety as not to feel
crowded in any section of the store. There
were sets of registers at each of the exits.
I was there about fifteen minutes before
an employee said hello, but he was very friendly, introducing himself and explaining if I needed help he
would be happy to answer any questions. Most employees were young, wearing red polo shirts and
numbered about one for every two customers.
The entrance had two displays, one on each side, with two sets of
mannequins in each display. The left side had male mannequins
wearing men’s sportswear and the right side had female
mannequins with women’s sportswear. Most things were at eye
level, the shoe section specifically was entirely at eye level.
Everything was very easy to
find. The displays were often
informative, such as the basketball display , which had instructions
on picking basketballs and the miniature tent displays which had
model tent to inform the customer how the tent looked set up.
Much like Jerry’s, everything was very appealing to the senses,
inviting touch and inspection.

6. Winco had an interesting
entrance. The isle led directly to the
produce section and was lined with
sales and discount items. Traffic flowed,
almost irreversibly, through half the
store, which was very smart. The sales
and signs are little overwhelming, but
definitely help customers to make
impulse purchase. The color scheme
was off white and most of the noise
came from customers. The store was cold, which I suspect is a better environment for the food
products.
The exit had many registers and people bagged their own purchases. There
are many good deals which give the impression that everything is on sale. No
employees talked to me, except for the cashier, but there was no appropriate time
to engage me. All employees wore
recognizable blue vests. There
were no central displays, but
many impulse items at the
checkout. Most products were
ordered by food groups and prices
were always easy to find, along
with comparisons of prices at
other supermarkets. The customers varied in age and gender and the environment really invited
browsing. The best feature, in my opinion, was the incredibly cheap pizza slices after the checkout line.

7. The Gen-X entrance was colorful and the displays
of clothes drew customers in well. The most attractive
design in the store was the products themselves. The
numerous colorful products also gave the store an
attractive new clothes smell. The logo was large, but not too large. The walls were white and the rest of
the store had neutral colors. The store was brightly lit and had a luke-warm feeling. Rap music played in
the background, appropriate to the selection of clothes. The register was located at the side of the
entrance. The most intriguing part of the store was the fact that the msrp was visible on all the tags,
contrasted with the much lower Gen-X retail price.
Most of the products were
pants and shirts. The displays had
jeans on them and products were
arranged by style. Almost everything
was well below eye level. Everything
was easily accessible, though price
signs were not visible. There were
three employees and three customers.
I did not feel like browsing and no one
talked to me, but everything seems
like a really good deal.

8. Footlocker had an open entrance. It was very
inviting. There were shoes on
display outside and it was easy
to recognize it was a
Footlocker. Inside the colors
were neutral. The soft carpet
made it comfortable for
customers to try on shoes. The store was well lit and the music nicely
complimented the atmosphere presented in the store. Items were displayed
on the along the wall, some items being easier to access. The store had a great
new shoe smell and the register was centrally located, not taking up space for
product
The store was small and had
two sales people. The saleswoman was
very friendly, said hello and good bye. I
was asked immediately if there was
anything I was looking for. The
employees seemed youthful and in
good spirits. Each sales person wore
the trademark referee Footlocker
uniform. The style of the store as well
as the uniform really paralleled the
Footlocker image. The shoes on sales
had easy to read price tags; otherwise prices were located inside the shoe.
The checkout counter had several useful impulse buys, including sprays to clean your shoes,
socks and sprays to whiten shoes. Customers were usually young males, as the company has another
brand (Lady Footlocker) to cater to women. Browsing and touching was encouraged as well as trying the
product out or on.