Observations:

What do we

notice?

Before you

enter the

store:

Does the store draw you in? If

so, how? Gap: Yes. It draws me in because it is my favorite store to shop for

clothes in Banff. It has clothes that I can wear in both my personal and professional life and there are not many stores like this in Banff.

Safeway: Yes. It draws me in because it is a grocery store and I need to get groceries. It is one of two grocery stores in town and I am drawn into this store because it is cheaper for many things than the other option.

Paper Rock Silver: Yes. It draws me in because I like their variety of goods that they have in the store and you can see all this through the large window in the front of the store so there is always something that catches my eye.

Starbucks: Yes. It draws me in as I like their coffee and because of the large front window you get pulled in by their latest seasonal beverage.

Banff Tea Company: Yes. I really like the tea that they sell, the atmosphere and friendly service.

Indigo: Yes. I like Indigo and their displays are always catchy and their knick knacks are entertaining.

Is the door opened or closed?

All doors are either open or are

automated to open when you approach

the store front.

All make me feel:

How big is the sign lettering

and in what font?

They range. I find that the stores that are chain stores have massive store fronts with familiar branding. I find the stores that are owned locally/independently have more modest signage.

What does it tell you about the

store? Can really tell the difference between a chain store

as the signs are either florescent or have a big recognizable logos where the independent stores depend more on their store front windows and the goods they are selling.

Environment

What is the color scheme of the store?

How does this affect you?

All stores have colored paint on the walls

however all colors are dull shades as to

not complete with the goods the stores

are selling. They range from yellows to

blues to greens. They are warm and

comforting but none are too memorable.

What type of floor does that store

have? How does this affect the

environment?

Indigo, Gap, and Safeway have concrete

floors which are painted. These don’t

affect me in the short term but when I

think about it I would not want to have to

stand on these floors for long periods of

time. Starbucks has a laminate floor. The

other two independent shops are

carpeted which make the environment

warmer.

How high is the ceiling? How

does this feel?

All stores have

relatively high ceilings.

It feels airy which is

nice because in most

stores they are jam

packed so I think it

gives the feeling that

the stores are actually

bigger than they are.

How brightly lit is the store?

How does this affect you?

Most all are brightly lit which I like because

it allows me to see the products more

clearly. Starbucks in the only one that

doesn’t have brightness to it which suites

the atmosphere café’s try to achieve.

How loud is the environment? All have a buzz. Gap has the loudest music of

all. Indigo has light music playing and not too

much background chatter. Safeway just has

the buzz of people and florescent lighting.

Starbucks has jazz music playing and the buzz

of people socializing and the call of

customers drinks. Paper Rock Silver and the

Banff Tea Company both are fairly quiet

besides the conversations going on between

customers and staff.

Is the store warm of cold?All stores are comfortable. I have my

coat on as it is cold outside and I find

each store comfortable with my coat on

but reprieve from the outdoor weather.

Does the store have a distinctive smell? With the exception of Starbucks and the Banff

Tea Company none of them seem to have a smell to speak of.

Is the store crowed with

merchandise or is it sparse?

I find the chain stores seem to have their merchandise levels pretty controlled. There is room to wander around without feeling that you are crowed while the two independent stores seem to want to offer more and the feeling it creates is a little more scattered.

How visible is the store

security? Unless you are specifically looking for

security they are all fairly concealed not

making me feel uncomfortable.

Does the environment influence the perceived value of the merchandise?

I think that the environment with the friendly staff and the atmosphere that has been created do influence the value of the merchandise.

How long do you want to stay

in this store?

Perhaps it is because I am a born shopper

but I would stay and wonder each

establishment. Depending on the size of

the store really impacted how long I stay.

Personnel

How long does it take before a sales

person initiates contact?

With the

exception of

the grocery

store, Safeway,

all have friendly

staff that greet

you almost

immediately.

Does the salesperson have a script to

follow with each customer?

If any of them have a script it doesn’t seem so.

They were all typically a welcoming face and in

most cases I was asked if I needed help finding

anything or if I was just browsing.

Does the salesperson treat different

customers differently?

No, it seemed that everyone was treated equally.

I live in a tourist town however, so I do not think that people can be treated differently as

customers are the livelihood of this town.

What is the ratio of

salespeople to customers?

I would say that it is about 3 customers for

every staff member on average for all 6

stores.

What is the ratio of salespeople to customers?

There were approximately 20 staff spread

throughout the 6 stores however there

were only about 5 men and 15 women.

Do the salespeople have a

uniform? Safeway employees wear

uniforms of kaki shirts, black pants and aprons. Starbucks and Indigo employees wear all black with the exception of aprons with the appropriate logos on them. Gap encourages their employees to either wear their clothes or clothes similar to what is sold in their stores while the independent stores seem to want their employees to dress professionally.

Are the salespeople using the

store products?

If they are not using their products or wearing their products they all seem to be very knowledgeable on the products that they sell.

Do the salespeople match the store image?

Yes I would say although the images are

all fairly different they all fit in with their

stores images.

Products

What was the first product you

noticed?

Each store seemed to feature an item

that was either a new product (Gap and

Paper Rock Silver), a best seller (Indigo), or

seasonal (Safeway, Starbucks and Banff

Tea Company).

Is there a central display table

with feature products?

Yes in all cases there were displays with

featured products.

How are the products arranged? By function? By price? By color?

At the Gap it seems to be arranged by the newness of the items and then by color. Indigo arranges their books typical to most bookstores. Safeway arranges things logically and in the same manner as most grocery stores. Starbucks does not have too much merchandise so it is arranges all in one area near the till. Paper Rock Silver is organized by jewelry type or rock type. Banff Tea Company is arranged by tea accessories or tea types.

Where are items that are “for

sale” located in the store?

All stores had for sale areas and all were at the back of the store and not in a place that your eye would naturally go.

Are there free samples or

demonstrations?

The Banff Tea Company was the only

store that offered free samples.

Where are the most and least expensive products located?

All but Starbucks, The Banff Tea Company and Safeway put their most expensive goods in the forefront. They feature them more prominently. The least expensive products seem to be closer to the ground or at the back of the store.

Are the prices of the products

easy to find?

All prices are clearly marked except those

that are in display cases at Paper Rock

Silver.

Are there impulse items near the register?

All have impulse

items near the

register.

Customers

Are most customers alone or with

someone else? What is the

relationship?

Most customers are with others. Most customers are couples or family members. As I mentioned earlier I live in a tourist town and most people at this time are traveling with family or a significant other.

What is the average age and

gender of the customers?

I would say the average age would be 30 and the majority of shoppers were women.

When a customer enters the store, do they tend to walk in the same path or direction?

They tend to walk in similar directions most of them having a conversation or discussions about products.

How long do customers stay in

the store, on average?

They range. Starbucks and Safeway on

average have people staying longer

probably 15 – 30 minutes. All other stores

see people for 2 – 10 minutes.

Do customers appear to be on a

mission or are they browsing?

With the exception of Starbucks and

Safeway all seem to be browsing.

Do customers appear to be on a

mission or are they browsing?

They range. Starbucks and Safeway

because people are on a mission they

purchase goods 99% of the time. The

others who are just browsing I would say

have a rate of less than 50%.

Other Observations:

I thought that I was very observant person

however this really opened my eyes to

paying attention to the finer details of the

human elements of our daily lives.

I also learned that there are very few

places that openly allow you to take

photos and so I have opted to pull photos

from the web to illustrate my story.