CRASH COURSE ON CREATIVITY By RICHARD W.

Assignment II: Observation Lab

Retail Store Visits & Observations Image courtesy of TSC Global

Insights & Hidden Opportunities Brief Introduction

6 stores were visited including 4 retails stores (supermarkets in this part of the world) and 2 book & music stores.

Each visit was very insightful and there was a heightened level of awareness.

Initially each visit was planned for 15 minutes per store but most ended up being at least 30 minutes

CAUTION: Due to increased levels of security and terror awareness, a number of stores did not allow for photos to be taken with whichever device. Nonetheless I managed to take a few via smart-phone.

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) Out of 6 stores, in only 2 were the staff

openly willing to assist with the purchase process

Out of 6 stores, 4 had sales promotions of one kind or the other.

One of the stores was newly opened for business as compared to one which is over 25 years old

One of the stores had an all-in-one concept meaning almost every conceivable item was available

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued)

Missed Opportunity- Great signage; wrong items

-The footsteps represent a dairy firm while the containers on the shelves are for an cooking oil brand. Mismatch!

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) New Sections/Initiative : This store has introduced a new section for gift items . Great initiative ( I bought one of the chimes after a long search for the same)

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) Wider Variety:

This store has ginger beer as one of its drinks offering wider variety for the consumer more than your usual drinks. It could also serve as a supplement for those not consuming beer.

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) Branding:

This section is branded by a detergent’s brand which gives it an aura of freshness and identifies with its colours . It stands out and is easy to locate for the consumer. No merchandisers/promotional staff, it works by itself!

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) Pilferage:

This is clearly a case of pilferage or lack of proper inspection of shelves denoting laxity by the management. The two products are totally unrelated. It’s happening right under regular business operations

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) o Some stores had personnel who were aloof

to the consumers’ shopping needs.

o Some stores had excess personnel instead of skeletal staff for higher efficiency.

o One of the similarities included the cash registers at most exit points for added security

o Another similarity is the use of music to enhance the shopping experience. This was in all stores visited

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) o Safety is still an oversight in some of the

stores. 2 stores had marble tiles which can be slippery. Fire exits were also not clearly marked

o For those with personnel willing to assist, there is a higher incidence of satisfaction and repeat purchase.

o Most in-store promotions almost serve as irritants or distractions. In 4 of the stores, customers completely ignored promotion staff

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) o There is a lot of copying from various

stores such brand colours, brand slogan/ catch phrase e.g. Store I – Pay less, get more & Store II – Saves you money

o Every store has a certain work culture that can work in its favour or against it e.g. in one store the staff when queried were willing to guide customer. In another, they didn’t have a clue and would refer you to a second or third person

Insights & Hidden Opportunities (continued) o Some stores do listen to suggestions and

ideas from customers e.g. the chimes story – I had gone to more than 10 outlets in town looking for chimes. The store that did not traditionally stock such items now has whole section which is very popular with customers. Others don’t bother to listen

o Slow to adapt to creative ways of presenting merchandise. Another missed opportunity to get the additional and new business by appealing to regular and wider customers.

The End