Observation Lab

Submitted by – Zia Imran

Jalal Sons – Food and Home StoreA well visited store in a busy part of town selling food items (except fruits and vegetables) as well as other household items (crockery, children toys and gift items). There is an on-site deli, meat corner as well as a Gelato ice crème parlor. Store is spread over 4 floors.

Store Front Product Aisle

Meat Section Bakery Display

Jalal Sons – Food and Home StoreThe Third and fourth floors house gift items, children toys and accessories and crockery and utensils.

Clocks for Sale Crockery

Checkout

Jalal Sons – continued …

First Impressions Busy place The front of store is mostly

occupied by checkout counters

Visible security guards at entrance – can’t take a shoulder bag inside store

The entrance door to the store was open

Observations Packaged Food Items section

smelled of strong spices and seemed at odds with high end personal of the store

The meat section also had frozen food freezers including ice crème that seemed inconsistent

The bakery, Gelato and Deli sections were laid out nicely on one floor. This gave a high end store impression.

The 3rd floor was dedicated for household and children items plus gifts

The 4th floor was dedicated to crockery and similar household items

No music in the store

Opportunities Most of the traffic was in

basement and 1st and 2nd floors dedicated to food items so 3rd and 4th floor could house grocery and fruits – items currently missing from store

The 3rd and 4th floor that displayed non-food items had very little traffic. They probably are not making much profit for the store

The entrance was crowded and could be made a more pleasant experience by removing chilled beverages section

An additional elevator will certainly help older customers

Optic WorldA store that custom fits prescription and sun glasses. The store also sells high end watches. The store is located on a busy street in a well known shopping area of town.

Store Front Frames Display

No Lighting at night for facade

Optic World

First Impressions Polished look from outside Immediately greeted by a

salesperson on entering the store

There was ample light in the store and sections were clearly identifiable

Observations Store provides high end

custom fitting glasses Prescription glass data is

stored in a computer and can be pulled out for convenience – I had glasses made here 1.5 years ago and they were able to pull out my data

The inside of store presented a neat and clean look

The sales people immediately approached me but weren’t pushy or invasive. They let me browse but were readily available for answering questions

Opportunities Store had my contact

information and prescription stored in the computer but never contacted or sent promotional material

When I passed by the store later in the evening there was no lighting on the store facade which was odd. The store was clearly open for business. This is at odds with the high end look of the store during day time

The store didn’t have any distinct smell

Vision PlusA store dedicated to providing custom fit reading and Sun glasses

Store Façade well ligt at night

Outside of Store Trying on a frame and had a picture taken with my camera to show to my wife

Vision PlusFirst Impressions Pedestrian looking store

from outside On entering store, it took a

few minutes for the free salesperson to approach me

There was not enough light in the store and it presented a gloomy outlook

Observations All sales persons were

behind the counters. The counters were long and salespersons couldn’t easily come to your side of the counter

On my way back home at night I noticed that the store façade was well lit and visible form distance at night

The carpet of the store didn’t present a pleasing sight

Opportunities The counters and layout of

the store can be made better – need better space utilization

I liked one of the frames and wanted to try it out. Later I suggested to the salesperson to take a picture of me with the new frame on so I could show it to my wife for feedback (see picture on previous page). The picture was taken by my own camera. This could be a regular feature where in such situations, store can use its own camera to take picture and then offer to e-mail it to you ! Better it could make a photo album with subtle ads and email it you

Bread and Beyond – high end bakery shopBread and Beyond positions itself as a high end live bakery (where goods are baked fresh)

Pleasing Store Façade Security camera LCD faces you when you enter the store

Bread and Beyond

First Impressions The best façade of all

stores/shops I visited for this survey – net clean and fresh look – projects a top class image – draws you right in

After entering the store, it was a total anti-climax – no one greeted me although three salespeople were in store all huddled next to cash registers

Observations The LCD that shows various

security cameras was smack in your face attached to the ceiling but in front of the main aisle when you enter store. Very very distracting.

No music in the shop although they had high end BOSE speakers mounted in the corners.

I was in store for over 7 minutes but no one even bothered to greet me or ask me why I was there and what I needed. Horrible service

There was no food aroma in the store that you expect from a place where goods are freshly baked

Opportunities The physical image of the

store needs to be made consistent with the service

A lot of investment has been made by the owner in providing top quality shelf space but bad service makes it under-capitalized

Given the high end impression of store, it should allow sampling of its freshly baked products offered by courteous salespeople when you enter store

ChenOne – High end Lifestyle storeThe store has its own dedicated parking in an upscale area of town. Presents a clean fresh layout. The store positions itself as a high end lifestyle store with furniture, accessories, clothing, shoes, sheets and drapes and decorative items for home

Wooden floor in men’s clothing Furniture Section

Big neon sign outside greets you Single Story open layout

ChenOne – Name of the Store

Different areas of the store had different floor styles and material. This one is for the children clothing section

ChenOne

First Impressions Big neon sign outside draws

attention The entrance to the store is

wide, open and offers a fresh look

You had to pass through a security gate where a uniformed security guard was also present. This is inconsistent with high end image of the store

Observations You enter into a lobby which

has doors opening into various sections – gives the store even a bigger look

The store is on one floor only which makes it easy to walk around and no hassles of elevators or escalators

All sections had appropriate level of open space making the store look spacious and high end

The salesperson were bunching together and chit chatting which seemed like small talk not related to work. Inconsistent customer service

Opportunities The salespersons need to be

better trained The music being played was

too funky, too loud. It needs to be a bit more soothing and conservative – consistent with store image

The store didn’t have any distinct smell

Although spacious, the store could use some indoor plants – similarly the outside of store had plenty of space and parking but no plants – no green shrubs or grass

The store is aimed at attracting families. Given the space available it could have small little garden café offering late, teas and pasteries

Staples – Stationery and Book StoreMost of book and stationery items stores in my town are small, cramped on roads where you can’t find parking. This one is an attempt by someone to change this. This is a combination of Barnes and Noble with Office Depot but at 1/5 th the scale

The Store Insignia

Book Stacks The Ceiling and Store Layout

Floor in Children Toy Section

StaplesFirst Impressions The E in the store insignia

shows rust and weather damage – inconsistent with high end store outlook

No music in the store Could have display tables

right upfront showing major new arrivals, sale items etc

Observations The store was divided into

sections The children toys,

accessories and books sections were well laid out and well stocked

The books were stacked on top of each other (see pictures) – that is a lost opportunity to show book cover and let the book self advertise.

The book section didn’t have books classified properly. You could find cook books in history and politics section!

There was good lighting in the store. The store was comfortable, warm and appeared neat and clean.

Opportunities Check Out Sections could

display items bought impulsively – shining pencils, stickers, fancy looking erasers etc

A place to sit and browse books would be nice

A computerized inventory system or a self service kiosk to locate books would be of great help

The ceiling of store had an expensive look – but one wonders if that is where they should have invested a lot – instead more emphasis could have been given to layout at eye level

An electronics section (phones, laptops, cameras) could be easily added – these are high margin items