OBSERVATION LABSubmitted by: Monisha kumar

Store 1

The name of the shop is FabIndia, which caters to all the book loving people , and is located in the south of New Delhi, in a posh area named Saket. FabIndia, a bookstore, is one of the many stores in Select City Walk Mall.

The store Drew me in , with its plethora of books , neatly stacked in well furnished cupboards.

The door as usual was open when I entered the store, which made me feel like I was being cordially invited.

The sign lettering of the store was

Environment

The color of the store ( as can be seen from the picture in the previous slide), had just the right amount of light. It was not too dark nor too light and went perfectly well, with the whole ambience of the store.

The store has white marble floors, which goes synonymous to the white lightening, a suave touch.

The music that was being played when I entered the store went perfectly well with the theme of the store. One could actually unwind listening to the soft music, pleasing to the ears.

Environment

The temperature of the store was absolutely perfect.

The store is crowed with mercandise which included antiques from 16th century England.

The store had a woody smell juxtaposed with smell which emanates from the covers of new books, which particularly drew my attention this time.

The cash register was located to the left of the entry gate

The store security was present at the entrance.

Personnel

The sales person took 15 minutes befor initiating contact

He asked me if I was looking for any particular book.

The sales person dealt with different customers differently, depending on their age and gender.

The age of the sales person, from my observation, was somewhere between 27-35, and comprised of both male and female employees, with a ratio of 2:3 , respectively.

The sales people had their uniforms and matched the store’s image , as they were well acquainted with almost all the books in the store.

Products

The first thing I noticed was the attractive signpost with different quotes from various authors, which certainly added a very impressive touch to the store.

The books were arranged according to the genre, for example: fiction, comedy, horror and the like.

I did not find any free samples in the store. Cooking books and some geography related

books were found in the least accessible location.

Customers

Customers trapeze in alone as well with company.

I noticed people who can be 13 years to above 70 years of age, enter the store.

When a customer enter the store, they tend to walk in different direction, some seem to know where they are going to get their hands on some pre-determind book , while some simply wander along and stop if they find something that can be of an interesting read.

Customers

Customers tend to spend an average of an hour in the store

The customers do touch the products. If they find something to their liking, they take out the book from its respective shelf, and sit down to read , which is encouraged as reading chairs are provided in front of every cupboard.

Almost 35% seemed to be interested in purchasing the product, the rest preferred finding a suitable corner and reading in peace.

Other Observations.

There was a special section for kids , which had all sorts of story books, little bean bag chairs and lot of decorations, which kids particularly enjoyed.

All in all, the store is a delight for all ages and understands the need of a person whose hobby or passion rather revolves around reading books.

STORE 2.

The next store that drew me in with its open door was Forever New, a clothing store located in the second floor of the Mall.

The sign is embedded with lights which is very alluring. The mannequins attracted me towards the store and enticed me check out the beautiful clothes which were on display.

Environment

The colour scheme of the store was an amalgamation of champagne coloured lights and light yellow.

The music being played was retro , which I found digressive in nature with the clothes in display.

The temperature of the store was set to just the appropriate measure.

The store was laden with the smell of roses and fresh leather.

Environment

There was security at the entrance ( picture).

The environment with colourful mannequins and latest fashion certainly added on to the perceived value of the merchandise.

Personnel

A salesperson initiates contact immediately after we enter the store

The salesperson asked us if we needed any help with directions regarding where are choice of clothes were located.

The salesperson treated customers equally here.

Emloyees where 20-27 years of age, and comprised of both men and women

The ratio was of men to women were 5:3, respectively.

Personnel

The sales people were not using any store products

They had a uniform on. Yes, the sales people certainly matched

the store’s image as they were well aware of a customers choice of clothes and helped a customer come out of his/her predicament in choosing a particular dress over similar alternatives

Products

The store housed all the latest collection ranging from jeans to shoes, handbags, accessories and the like.

The fist product that caught my eye, was the mannequin in display, she wore denim shorts with a white t-shirt.

The clothes are arranged by size, type and colour There were no free samples The most expensive item in the store was a

handbag worth 1000$, whereas the least expensive was a waist belt worth 5$.

The prices of the products were on the tag of every product.

Customers

A plethora of customers visited the store and they came in alone, or with company.

The average age seemed to be 12 and mostly women were seen in the store

Customers tend to spread out in the store , they don’t seem to walk in the same direction

On an average , a customer stays for half an hour if he/she is just looking through, and takes more than an hour , if they are trying out the clothes

A lot of customers were seen buying clothes which indicated that they had set thir minds on buying the clothes.

Other Observations

What I noticed was that the clothes reflected the modern sense of style that has become a part of Indian culture. Earlier women would think twice before opting for short dresses, now all they preferred were short dresses. This shows a drastic change in the minds of urban Indians.

STORE 3.

The next store I ventured into is called KALPANA, which in contrast to the previous store, has purely traditional Indian clothes.

The store has a collection of saris, (a long cloth draped on the body , as seen on the right mannequin), kurtis (a long top, as seen on the left mannequin) and the same

Environment

The light was very pleasing to the eye , with a slight hue of dark to highlight the stack of clothes popularly demanded by the customers.

There was no music in the background. The floor was white marble. It did not have any distinctive smell. The temperature was set just right. The environment which is in sync with the

traditional theme it generates certainly influences the perceived value of the merchandise

Personnel

A sales person guided us to our desired choice of clothing.

The sales person treats customers according their need.

Age between 28-36, comprising just women.

Saleswomen have a uniform.

products

The saris are arranged according to their types

The other items in the shop were arranged according to their color and size

There were no free samples. The most expensive item in the shop was

a 800$ sari, and the least expensive was a 15$ kurti

The prices were given on the tag attached to the garment.

Customers

The customers came in groups or alone to shop.

The average age of customers was above 32 years.

Customers tends to scatter Customers spend an average of more

than an hour in the store, if they don’t have their mind set on a particular line of clothing, if they do, they quickly purchase their clothes and leave

Other observations

What interested me about this shop is, in contrast to the previous store, only middle aged women were seen in this shop, which reflected the change in fashion and culture of Indian youth. Indian youth now prefers modern clothing over traditional ones.

Store 4.

A music store was next on my list

The store had a collection of music of different genres.

Environment

There was music being played in the environment.

The light was a mixture of champagne colour and scarlet.

The floor was white marble. The temperature was set just right.

Personnel

There was no sales person that greeted the customers.

There were only to cashiers on the cash counter.

products

The music store had a variety of collection of songs.

They were stacked neatly according to genre and language.

Apart from music cds, I also noticed video cds which may have eluded me the last time I had visited the store.

There were no free samples

customers

Customers came in pairs and alone The average minimum age was 13 and

maximum was 43. They all seem to listen to the music cd

befor purchasing it Some customers merely came ther to

listen to the cds and not purchase it They spend anywhere between 2-3 hours

in the store

Other observation

People seem to enjoy the whole ambience of the music store.

I would suggest for them to arrange seating capacity and maybe up a small café on the side, which definitely boost their business. Music and food are a match made in heaven.

Store 5.

Men’s office wear was the next store I had ventured into.

The sign as seen in the picture was very attractive.

environment

There were pictures of male models donning latest designs in office wear.

Lightening like all the previous store was champagne coloured

Floor was white marble. Air was laden with musky fragrance. Temperature was set just right.

personnel

Sales person is there to greet you when u enter the store.

They help us in finding our desired clothes.

Salespeople have a uniform The age range was between 25-37, and

comprised both men and women. They did not use any store product.

products

Men suits and pants were the basic attraction in the store.

The clothes were stacked according to their size and colour.

There were no free samples. The store had mannequins with latest

formal suit on, which made it easy for a customer to make up his mind.

Customers.

Customers , mostly men , came with either their friends, girlfriends or wives.

Age would be between 24-46. Spend an average of an hour in the store. Most men seem to know exactly what

they wanted.

Store 6.

A cosmetics and beauty store

The store is fully air conditioned.

environment

The store was filled with pictures of immaculate models

Floor was marble. Light was champagne color. The air was perfumed with sweet

smelling creams and conditioners

personnel

A sales person was there to greet a customer at the door

The age of the sales people ranged between 23-28, and comprised only women

They used store products while dealing with the customers.

customers

The customers came in the shop to groom themselves

Spend a maximum of 5 hours in the shop Age of customers between 18-40

products

The store had a plethora of cosmetics for sale as well as used by the employees on customers.

There were no free samples.

Other observations

I was able to observe the importance ladies were placing on beauty and grooming notwithstanding money.

The store was frequented by women of higher strata. Middle class women were not seen in the store.