COMPARATIVE SHOPPING

Flo Smith

1. Choose a store to visit and explain the reason behind your choice. I chose Uneeka Lifestyle & Home wear, already having been a customer I wanted to explore more into the business and get to know them from a professional perspective. I’ve always appreciated the product, I’ve admired the visual merchandising and furthermore respected the ethics of the brand. The atmosphere in both stores are a cosy, vintage, and cultured vibe. I love the up-cycled style of the furniture, the rustic setting and products, and the globally inspired designs.

2. Visit the store in 2 different times: on the same day, a week day and a week end. Visit 1: Thursday 5th November 2015 Visit 2: Sunday 8th November 2015

3. Standards: replenishment, vistas, shop floor cover, VM, fixtures, and store building in general. Home wear store: There weren’t exactly shelves of products, it was more to do with room sets done to a particular plan, so replenishment wasn’t really a priority. However the floor was filled with additional sales such as scarves on coat hooks, throws on sofas, notebooks on desks etc. The visual merchandising was really impressive, the products were definitely shown in their best light. It was even roughly set out like a house, as you go in there are coat hooks, the main room had sofas, the other had predominantly lighting fixtures; the upstairs had bedroom furniture. The products were something you could probably make yourself by up cycling second hand purchases, but the luxury is that it’s all done in a beautifully rustic and unique way. Very trendy, aesthetically, wood painted furniture almost like something in a Farrow & Ball brochure; the light fixtures all had eccentric bulbs (like Habitat sell), but the old wood beams used as shelves and the old fashioned ropes creating the lights true to the brand identity of old to new really sold them. The slightly quirky feel to the place gave it a unique feel, if I had the money I’d definitely decorate my home like this. The shop felt like it was kept clean and tidy despite the ‘lived in’ styling, the surfaces were cleaned and dusted and the place was well lit. The POS were all placed perfectly and all the additional sales were priced so nothing needed questioning. Lifestyle store: Placed more centrally in Truro, this store has definitely got the majority of their demographic in, however their homeware store is advertised within the shop and on the Facebook page. The shop floor was heavily stocked, for Christmas I imagine, and the upstairs coffee shop keeps people coming back, a very ‘please stick around, we have more to offer’ feel. The standards were high, a clear vision of how products were displayed was executed well. Everything was priced, everything seemed to be in the right place which made me think it had been tidied throughout the day, not just the night before. Their window display was enough to bring anyone, capturing the nostalgia of Autumn using leaves, day/night aspects, and fairy lights.

4. Did the staff approach you? How? How long before they did? Home wear store: I got a ‘hello’ not long after I walked into the shop and ‘are you looking for anything in particular?’ So overall the welcome was quite generic but for some reason I expected more? I was the only customer so I’m assuming he’d had a quiet day. When I asked questions about how busy they were his response was ‘last month went really well’, so from that I’d assume he’d want to work a little harder to make sales and keep up the momentum of that success, or even beat it! I got the impression he was a little shy, so maybe that was a downfall, but otherwise friendly and helpful when I asked questions. Lifestyle store: Really friendly sales assistants, one girl behind the till I recognised from a previous visit and another girl I think was quite new. Both very friendly and I was greeted only a couple of minutes after I came into the store. Personally I don’t like being hounded the moment I walk into a shop, so I appreciated having a moment to take everything else in before talking to staff. I was greeted with ‘hi, how are you, having a good day?’, to which I responded and moved further into conversation.

5. Enquire about an item that’s not on the shelf: did they check the stock room? Do they know when back in stock? Did they offer you extended range online? Home wear store: I enquired about a bedside unit I admired, I described it quite well but he lead me through to ensure he knew what I was talking about (lots of their products are quite similar). He told me immediately that the product was clearance and available to take away today at the price shown on the POS. However the POS didn’t say clearance. I also asked about a throw on the sofa and if it came in another colour scheme, but he said there will be more to browse through when their website is up and running. Nothing said ‘out of stock’ on it, so it was hard to know what to ask about, especially as furniture is primarily available to order. Lifestyle store: I admired some of the jewellery they had on display and enquired about the necklaces that had a pendant with different letters on them. They didn’t have the one I wanted and asked when it would be back in stock, they let me know it wouldn’t be back in for a while but offered to take my name and number/email so they could let me know when it was back in. I didn’t leave it as I wasn’t fussed but it was nice to be offered. I don’t even know if they have a stock room but no one went to look. They also pointed out a few pieces that were similar but obviously not what I wanted.

6. Did the staff engage you in conversation? Home wear store: the guy obviously felt a bit awkward, and wasn’t much of a talker. I think I would have felt more comfortable getting into conversation if we was more enthusiastic about the brand or more lively. Seemed to just be his personality though, which is fine, but I think the business could bring more people in if customers know they’ll have someone really friendly and engaging to talk to - especially about the product. He did seem to know his stuff though but I got the impression he was just there because it was his job, not because he liked it. Lifestyle store: really friendly girls behind the till, both talked to me about their loyalty scheme (a stamp card for every time you spend £25+ in store) and got to chatting about the products I was buying. They seemed to know what they were selling and felt like ‘brand enthusiasts’ which was really encouraging. I prefer buying off people when they like what they sell, there’s a better sense of confidence in the product and the brand. They asked if what I was buying were gifts, if I wanted them wrapped, talked about their newspaper bags, and said to keep checking back on the website as it might be re-launching soon. They also suggested heading upstairs for a coffee if

I had the time.

7. First impressions Home wear store: Very quiet but cosy (rainy day) quite an awkward guy but he knew his stock well, knew about clearance products and what's available soon. Beautifully merchandised, really quirky, cosy and up-cycled feel to the products. I feel if the staff were more attentive and alert, more lively and energetic (especially when talking about the products) they’d bring more people in and more people back. Word of mouth is important in marketing a brand and I think if people talk about good service in a shop, people will respond to that and want to experience it for themselves. The products sell themselves, I have now noticed as I’m in a professional role that it’s so important to talk to customers and use more than just the generic ‘hi, can I help’, engaging in conversation is more than just asking how someone is and if they need help, being more enthusiastic about the brand in question gets people excited and interested and sticks in people’s minds. I would only go back for the products, not particularly the serivce. I think I’ll apply this revelation to my own approach on customer service. I found the guy quite awkward, and sometimes I feel like if I’m too OTT in talking to customers it can be a bit cringey, but I think I’d rather embarrass myself in trying to engage with customers, keeping them happy and possibly gaining loyalty than just fobbing them off with ‘give me a shout if you need anything’. Lifestyle store: Kept up with the aesthetic of the home wear store, but a more intimate feel to the shop. The merchandising was done beautifully and the brand has really followed through on a particular vision. Upstairs cafe has lots of laughter and noise filling the rest of the shop which immediately gives a good impression. The products are placed well, it’s clearly been kept tidy and neat, everything is priced and displayed well. The staff were attentive and asked how my day was and if I needed anything at all which again was quite generic but a little more friendly than the homeware store. The products do sell themselves, and I didn’t feel like I was hounded but a little more conversation could have sold me a lot more I feel. I was in there to buy presents so if that was in conversation they could have asked about who else I could buy for etc. and that definitely would have sold more. Their loyalty scheme is great, as simple as a stamp card, and ready on the till and dotted around the shop as subtle reminders if you have one, or easily grabs your attention if you don’t already. Very home-made, up cycling cosy feel to the shop keeps in theme with the brand and the products and little add-on sales I recognised from the other shop were dotted around. They used their own furniture I noticed from the home wear shop as their own furniture which made me think ‘waste not want not’ and their bags are made from old newspapers, and provided by a non-governmental organisation ‘who’s main objective is to provide education and shelter to street children.’ I found this quite impressive and definitely a reason to admire the business, supporting a charity in a really simple way, the bags are also eco-friendly, and made with recycled Indian newspapers. Having good morals is great in any case but in a business that really stands out to a consumer, especially in this climate.

8. Second impressions Home wear store: Different staff on the weekend, slightly more friendly and more keen to make sales as she spoke about the products. She wore an apron which gave the impression she was more hands on with her job. When enquiring about products she clearly knew a bit of background - i.e. what inspired the design or making of the product. She also knew more about product availability and stock levels. Most things are available to order or made to order but she knew about the lighting fixtures and gave a good amount of info on them (e.g. that it was ideal to get an electrician in, even offered contact info on local/good value people). Knowing her stuff and having enthusiasm for the products really impressed me as a potential customer. I definitely would go back if she served me, I feel she’d deserve more custom/commission (if that’s offered to staff) as there’s a lot more confidence in buying things (especially with a heavy price tag) when you’ve been given more information, or if you feel like your custom actually means something to them. For me this indicates that professionally I’m aiming to improve my product knowledge, always be up-to-date on product availability, and recommend service such as furniture building, local electricians for light fixtures (also brush up on my knowledge on light bulbs), and also get to know more about customer’s homes and what would be best suited to them.

Lifestyle store: Understandably a lot busier during the weekend, especially being more central and a lot of people being in town on Remembrance Sunday with the crowds gathering to pay their respect and the marching band going through town. They’d re-done their window VM to fit the occasion which as a business that obviously shows pride in their ethics wasn’t all that surprising! The crowds drew in more customers and they were obviously working hard to keep everyone happy. They were chatty with the people they served and smiled at the people who came in - not hounding customers, letting people get on seems to be their policy (which I actually prefer as a customer!) Despite the big waves of customers, they’d managed to keep the shop floor relatively tidy and presentable (either that or their customers don’t throw their stuff around as much!) There seemed to be a lot of people in the cafe upstairs, so the noise gave the impression the shop was busier than it was, however it was still tricky trying to manoeuvre around such a busy, cosy little shop! I noticed one customer in particular who’d come in quite moody and irritable being served and by the time she left she was laughing - to me this is a sign of great customer service, and I think talking to people and getting to learn even a tiny bit about them when serving them makes a world of difference, even if it is just talking about the rubbish weather or asking how their day is going, simple gestures of friendly communication can make a big difference. I’ll definitely continue to apply this method in my own role.

Additional comments

I’ve noticed that their website isn’t currently up and running, however they keep their customer base interested with their Facebook page. This is clearly working well as a few people respond to their posts. They seem to keep a lot of their posts visual using platforms such as Instagram to post well composed photos of their shop floor and window displays. As far as marketing goes this is a positive way to keep their customer base interested and excited about their business.

This screen shot gives a good impression of their online influence. Using their products to visually create something linking to a social event captures people’s attention and a certain level of creativity also gain’s respect and admiration. I was really impressed with this as someone who’s interested in visual merchandising. If we had more control over our online presence I’d love to be doing stuff like this! (One day?!)

I’ve also taken some photos of my own (yes I was one of those customers!) around both stores of things I thought were particularly impressive, VM-wise…

The home wear store was presented beautifully, although I was slightly more impressed with the lifestyle store…

I found a lot of similarities to Habitat in their lighting set ups, so if a customer likes the look of our industrial-style bulbs, but doesn’t know how to present them, we can direct them here for some inspiration if there isn’t any on the shop floor.

They used the same stacking idea like Habitat for ceramics, however the use of furniture in this makes it look unique to their brand. I like how one idea or technique in presentation can be versatile between two completely aesthetically different settings.

This cabinet in particular definitely caught my eye. I noticed that the little handles they sell have a similarity with the selling point of the Fleur furniture range in Habitat. I think this could be used to our advantage when selling. For example, if a customer loves the design, but wanted different handles, they can still buy the product but recommend looking in Uneeka for a different pattern of handle, and then they have a wider range to choose from. Customers always like a lot of choice, even if they’re indecisive, but most who are buying furniture are living with someone who can help make the decision and give their input. This is also ideal if the colour scheme of the Fleur handles don’t go well with the colours in their house: they can still buy the product and have handles that would go even better with their home!