Assignment: Are you paying attention?

Approach:

To drive greater observations I thought an interesting approach would be to look at starkly contrasting retailers in 3 different categories- shoes, toiletries & technology!

Shoes!

Vs.

Van Haren- the shoe supermarket!

Huge windows display a huge array of shoes

Wide open doors to see inside

Piled high & sold cheap!Store staff does not spend time in back searching for sizes- customer does the work for themselves!

Helping the customer serve themselves• Guide to sizes, materials•Shoe horn•Socks for trying on•Special XXL section (many Dutch are very tall!)

But, staff willing to help out- to upsell to the consumer•Lots of treatment products near try on area used highlighted by staff•Another opportunity at the till point- socks, insoles, more treatment products

Windows showcase a small number of products

With their unique design, passers-by stop in their tracks

United Nude- Edgy unique designs- art gallery feel

Showcasing of products in colour changing wall

Very trendy sales assistant models one of the newest designs (and shows a customer how the ‘no heel’ design allows her to stand normally

Shoe summary

Contrast of both stores best exemplified by the different brochures they produce

Low prices vs unique design (at minimum x4 price also)

Clearly a very different product positioning aimed at a different consumer

Technology!

Vs.

Landmark building with huge open windows.High ceilings, glass spiral staircase

Staff member at store to greet and direct customers

Product is heroed on the walls & tables; multiple samples of a small range for customers to play and engage with.

Emphasis on staff helping customers to discover technology. Workshops & ‘one on one’ care advertised & taking place.

A brochure stand meets customers as they enter the store

Product is locked away in a glass case

A huge variety of products on display.Some areas for customers to interact with products

But staff all the way at the back of the store and stay behind the cash disk busy on their computers

Toiletries!

Vs.

Headline offers heavily promoted in the window of a busy street •More signage hints at more bargains in-store• Focus on driving footfall•Customers steered through store

Cosmetics!

•More bins of offers through the store•Customers channelled through to more expensive brands at the back of the store •Some staff here to assist customers

Every opportunity used en route to the exit (& the tills) to tempt customers with more bargains

•The fragrance of the products is what really hits you •Look of the store is more like a deli-•Blackboards and packaging focus on USP of products – FRESH!

Halloween themed products feature in the window and just inside the store

- “Green slime “bath products -hard to resist touching them!

Focus on the experiential- Lots of stations around the store where very knowledgeable and helpful sales assistants help customers trial products

Very generous sample sized products given to trial the product at home

Store ‘credo’ displayed at exitFeel good feeling- buying into more than toiletries!

Summary of Insights

Despite looking at pairs of stores in three different categories, what actually united stores was their approach to their target customer rather than the category of products they were selling– One group of stores- focus on product, design, in-store

experience. And this commands a premium price!– Other group of stores focus on selling large quantities of

lower priced stock. Although some shared evidence of focus on driving basket value of shoppers