OBSERVATION LABVisiting: Best Buy, Lululemon, Target, Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and …

Best Buy

Best Buy’s logo/sign can be recognized by just about everyone as it is a simple price tag with their name on it

I feel as though people wouldn’t stop in to check out new items, only going when they know what they want

The large sign seems like a marketing ploy in convincing customers they are an electronics superstore

Computers, tablets, and more

Best Buy has a wide variety of electronics on display for you to “sample” before you purchase

Employees seemed to walk around and talk to each other as opposed to assisting customers, as I assume they make little to no commission on sales

The most expensive items seemed to be towards the back of the store like TVs and home theater systems

Lululemon

Lululemon’s sign is quite simple as their customer’s immediately recognize it, without needing any writing

The door is always open welcoming in customers

The environment definitely influences the perceived value of the merchandise in a positive way as you can immediately tell it is a high end athletic clothing store upon walking in

Clothing displays

Lulu’s clothing is well displayed with all available sizes sorted below the manikins

The staff is very friendly and willing to help you find what you are looking for as well as answer questions

The employees are all female and are wearing store products

Target

Inside signage

Target had a very warm and welcoming feeling to it with isles neatly organized and clean floors

The first smell I noticed was fresh popcorn popping in the café

Employees seemed to be mostly younger mid 20’s to early 30’s and were all wearing red shirts

Customer to employee ratio was probably 15:1

Nordstrom

Nordstrom’s

sign is very

distinct with

a welcoming

doors wide

open feel to

it

Clothing

The floors were very clean and shiny as well

Salesmen and women approach you fairly rapidly asking “do you need help finding anything, my name is …, please let me know if you need any assistance”

Employees are highly incentivised with commission and seems to pay more attention to seasoned Nordstrom shoppers who are going to spend a lot

Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods sign tells me it is a fancy grocery store with organic food that charges premium prices

Their architecture has a new age feel to it as eating organic is also a new age ideology gaining popularity

I noticed there were electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot as well allowing customers to charge their car as they shop

Fresh produce

The produce looked extremely fresh like it was just picked from the garden

The environment definitely influences the perceived value of the merchandise as the store charges premium prices for premium food

Employees walking around the store were scarce, making it hard to ask locations of certain items

Costco Wholesale

Costco’s sign lets you know immediately you are entering a store that sells bulk items at low membership prices

You are immediately greeted at the door by a friendly employee checking membership cards

I found it interesting that opposite from Best Buy, the TVs were in the front as opposed to the back

At Costco, they placed the drinks in the far back of the store

Item organization

All products were neatly organized in isles and were very easily accessible

Wasn’t able to locate any sale items as Costco believes all their products are on sale

I did enjoy multiple free samples of food that they cook fresh for their members to try out