1. Scenes
from
a
strip
mall
What
I
saw
on
October
30,
2012

2. Mastermind
Toys
Store
1
Like
most
guys,
I
hate
shopping.
When
I
go,
I
tend
to
have
to
buy
something
and
get
out.
Or
I’m
following
a
friend
or
relaFve,
in
this
case
my
daughter.
I
asked
her
to
take
me
to
6
stores
she
liked
in
a
new
development
on
the
outskirts
of
town.
I
trailed
aHer
her
–
and
tried
to
look
more
closely.
First
place
she
ran
into
was,
surprise
(for
an
eleven
year
old),
a
toy
store.
It
smelled
like
new
toys
–
a
very
nostalgic
aroma
of
cardboard
and
off-­‐gassing
plasFc.
All
the
displays
are
designed
to
be
seen
from
my
daughter’s
height
or
lower
-­‐
and
they
are
very
tacFle.
Colours
are
bright
–
service
is
like
you’re
on
the
set
of
a
children’s
tv
show
or
visiFng
a
well-­‐run
daycamp.
I
almost
felt
good
about
buying
stuff
–
like
it
was
a
moral
obligaFon.

3. Ardene
• Store
#2
is
aimed
at
tweens.
• Music
was
top
40,
staff
was
friendly,
but
much
more
scanFly
clad
than
the
first
shop
• Security
seemed
Fghter,
cameras
prominent
-­‐
even
posFng
a
number
for
me
to
call
if
I
didn’t
get
a
receipt,
indicaFng
the
staff
as
well
as
customers
were
not
to
be
trusted

4. Roots
• Security
was
so
Fght
here
that
we
set
off
the
alarm
as
soon
as
we
went
in.
A
disinterested
staff
member
looked
at
us
in
a
mildly
accusing
way.
• Weirdly
the
music
at
this
middle
of
the
road
clothing
shop
was
50’s
doo
wop.
Sales
signs
were
prominent.

5. Dollarama
• This
discount
store
was
packed
–
with
people
and
merchandise
up
to
the
ceiling.
Such
a
contrast
with
the
toy
store.
• Music
was
a
portable
radio
playing
in
the
store
room,
barely
audible.
• Mostly
women
shopping
for
halloween
treats,
but
also
pockeFng
an
amazing
variety
of
impulse
household
purchases.

6. Structube
• Empty
except
for
two
well
dressed
salesmen.
• No
music
whatsoever
–
made
it
seem
like
a
sonic
oasis.
IntenFonal
or
just
two
guys
alone
in
a
store
who
don’t
like
music?
• Mostly
bland
Ikea
type
finishings.
Like
every
other
store
we
had
seen
everything
seemed
like
it
was
designed
far
away
–
from
products
to
signage.

7. Marshalls
• Last
store
not
one
I
was
familiar
with
–
but
my
daughter
was.
Reminded
me
of
Woolworth’s
–
a
sort
of
remaindered
department
store.
• She
liked
it
because
there
were
oHen
neat
things
available
inexpensively
–
and
she
could
almost
play
shop
for
an
imaginary
household
on
her
allowance.
• Much
more
spacious
than
any
other
store
–
with
industrial
lighFng.
• No
salespeople
to
be
seen
apart
from
at
the
cash
register.

8. General
observaFons
• I
felt
uneasy
nearly
the
whole
Fme
I
was
there
and
was
itching
to
get
out
of
there…
I
envied
the
kids
in
the
furniture
store.
At
least
a
though_ul
manager
had
put
a
small
kids
play
area
there.
Nothing
for
a
bored
adult
tagalong
member
of
a
shopping
team.
• Everything
was
a
retail
“concept”
aimed
at
middle
income
shoppers
but
it
felt,
to
me,
like
only
the
toy
store
had
a
manager
who
made
it
feel
like
a
personalized
experience.
It
was
also
the
place
my
daughter
convinced
me
to
buy
her
something.
Which
confirms
my
feeling
that
closing
a
sale
requires
a
bit
of
extra
effort
–
even
for
a
moFvated
11
year
old
consumer.
And
probably
not
a
coincidence
that
it
was
the
store
I
like
the
most.