4. Observations
• Products: pastries at entrance, price on all, no
sales or free samples, organised by function, all
products around eyes level and behind counter;
sandwiches at the end; only lollipop as impulse
item
• Customers: variety of ages, and relationships,
all going in the same direction (one entrance,
one exit, flow); staying only 2 minutes; mostly
on a mission except for specialty pastries ;
~100% of customers purchase products
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
6. Observations
• Outside: Store doesn’t drow in as big and “cold”
(cement) with automatic doors; huge lettering
big store, utilitarian
• Environment: Grey and red colours so quite
modern outside; painted cement as floor; high
ceiling; very lit to find products easily; quite loud
because of shopping carts and customers; no
music; cold (esp. grocery section); crowded with
merchandise; with cash register (incl. self-scan)
at the exit (close to exit door); some visible
security convenience, utilitarian, efficient thus
mostly expected cheap. Certain aisles (e.g.
fruits, fishes) emphasize freshness and wine
aisle clean and quality focused
• Personnel: No interaction if don’t ask except for
butcher/fishermen + cashiers; ~20 salespeople
for ~150 customers; mostly women age 35-55;
wear a uniform clean, modest, simple, nice
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
7. Observations
• Products: 1st product= fruits and veggies+
flowers; not many central displays; “for sale”
items at end of aisle + central displays; products
arranged by function; no free sample (today, but
sometimes yes a few); branded products at eye
level; cheap products at bottom; drinks in last
aisle as last product you take before leaving;
clear pricing and comparable (price/kg); plenty
of impulse items such as magazines, gums, top-
up cell cards, etc. efficiency again + push for
brands or impulse items if possible through shelf
placement
• Customers: variety of ages, mostly alone;
mostly walking in the same direction (starting
with the first aisle); stay about 30-40 min; only
fruits and veggies touched before buying (to
choose) come with a mission (list) but almost
always buy more than list; ~100% buy products
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
9. Observations
• Outside: Store draws in as pictures visible from
far and known/pretty ; open (in the mall); 20-25
cm white and black lettering with light inside
modern, movie reference, fun, free time
• Environment: Black, grey tiles, big red curtain;
high ceiling, painted, spot lights, quiet, classic
quiet music, warm and cosy; crowded (esp.
walls) but ordered merchandise; cash register at
back; no security, no smell décor like movie
theatre, perception of not high end but not super
cheap
• Personnel: No interaction; one sales guy ~35 y
old male for ~5-7 customers; no uniform
plays on Iphone and seems out of place (no
passionate discussion on movies, etc.)
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
10. Observations
• Products: 1st product= postcards. No featured
products except on walls ; products by function
(postcards, booklets, calendars, posters); less
accessible are books and booklets in the back
on a table; least expensive= postcards outside
to draw customer in; most expensive = framed
posters on the wall; prices clearly displayed; no
impulse items
• Customers: Mostly young ~30y old customers,
mostly alone; both genders. Walk randomly
given multitude of entries and stay only a few
minutes max. Browse through the products; only
~10% of customers buy something
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
12. Observations
• Outside: Doesn’t draw in, open door; small
almost inexistent lettering cheap, on the go,
no importance of brand
• Environment: White tiles, normal ceiling, store lit
with bright lights; very quiet (except restaurant
noises in the background); radio-music playing;
cold; small but crowded store in terms of
products; cash close to entrance, no security
fast, efficient, functional
• Personnel: Very polite, talks to all customers,
one sales guy ~35 y old male for ~0-1 customer;
no uniform matches customer types (mostly
truck drivers)
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
13. Observations
• Products: 1st product= newspapers. Central
display of ice-creams; no “sales” but promotion
like Kit-Kat at cashier and advertised by
salesguy; products arranged by function (ice
creams, games and teddy
bears, magazines, cookies, potato
chips, drinks); least accessible = teddy bears ;
All products branded and “overpriced” but
convenience; some don’t have price displayed;
snacks at cashier for impulse purchase
• Customers: Mostly guys ~40 y old, mostly truck
drivers, alone; only stay a minute in the store;
browse through to see what they really want
(mostly impulse purchases); 30-50% buy
something
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
15. Observations
• Outside: Pictures at windows (not shoes
display) ; big shop; one door open, next closed;
big blue and grey lettering in capital letters +
symbol of the brand relatively cheap but
modern
• Environment: Blue and grey colours; blue carpet
with the brand’s symbol; high ceiling; well lit with
aggressive lights; quite environment except for
radio music; warm; quite crowded in terms of
merchandise (esp. walls); cash register at front;
no security (but alarm in the shoes) self-
service gives impression of cheapness but still
modern
• Personnel: 2 sales women 45-55 y old for ~3
customers at one time; no uniform; don’t
address customers except “hello” when enter
seem more old-fashioned than products
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
16. Observations
• Products: 1st product= boots; no central display;
“for sales” items hard to find as in the middle of
the other shoes with tag; products by gender,
size and function (bags, sport shoes, etc.); No
difference on what at eye level vs. not with
cheap and expensive intermingled; least
accessible = sport gear (balls, etc.); price on the
box; leather spray only “impulse” items
overall emphasizes messiness and cheapness
• Customers: Mostly alone, ~40 y old, mostly
truck drivers, alone; stay about 15 min. ; follow
their own route as clear signs to find size and
gender; browse in “their” aisle ; only ~10-15%
buy a product
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
18. Observations
• Outside: Doesn’t draw in as cheap, worn down
building in cement, big, closed door, letters in
white on red and blue screams
“cheap, cheap, cheap” and old-fashioned
• Environment: White tiles, normal ceiling, store lit
with bright, quite aggressive lights (neon lights);
only loud because of a few loud-speaking
customers; music and advertisement for the
brand; cold, crowded in terms of products per
square meter; cashier in the middle on the left;
security through alarm on clothes and gantry
“get me out of here fast”
• Personnel: No contact, don’t speak to
customers except if forced to; 3 sales person
voer ~15 customers; all women ~40 y
old, wearing the stores’ clothes but no uniform
matches with old-fashioned and cheap image
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
19. Observations
• Products: 1st product= jackets; no central
display per se; no sales; products by function
and gender; nothing specifically at eye level;
least accessible = shoes at the back; cheapest
item per rack’ s price is advertised; for other
products, need to check on the label; “socks” as
impulse item close to cash register
• Customers: Mostly women, mostly middle aged-
old; sometimes with family; mostly appear to be
“poor” (from disadvantaged economic
background); stay about 10-15 minute ; touch
the products; browsing mostly through it all; only
~5-10% buy –> old, cheap
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
20. A few key insights from this exercise:
• Few shops have it all “right” with everything
aligned with the strategy/customer segment
targeted
• But most shops seemed to have “thought about
it” as a majority of things “make sense” (e.g.
movie theatre décor for the poster shop)
• Especially as compared to the US, in Europe,
sales people are mostly greeting customers and
passively waiting to be asked something, as
opposed to actively try to sell
• Observing is hard and requires focus – without
reviewing the list, I always miss some points
• People are “worried/uneasy” about someone
taking pictures in a store ;-)
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
21. A few key opportunities from this exercise:
• Biggest opportunity is to “correct” the items
which are not aligned with the strategy and
customer segment to reach in each stores (e.g.
change the salesperson in the movie poster
store; more modernly dressed sales women in
the shoe store)
• I loved the hook at the outside of the french
bakery to hook dogs for a minute – could work
in some other “fast” shops as well
• The clothing shop I visited begs the question:
what do you do when your target segment
grows older – at one point, you’ll lose them ; so
how do you rebrand to younger customers ?
• Crowded products usually indicated cheapness
– wouldn’t it be more profitable for most stores
to have less products displayed, at a higher
margin ?
BRU SandrineDury_2ndassignment
