Stanford Venture LabA Crash Course on Creativity

(http://venture-lab.org/creativity/)

Assignment #2: Insights & Hidden Opportunities

Location:

My exploratory journey brought me to shops in the Mission district in San Francisco, a neighborhood known for its Latin American look and feel. In more recent years it has also become a trendy spot for restaurants, bars, and gourmet cafés as well as a range of unique – sometimes trendy, sometimes quirky – furniture, interior design and clothing stores.

The crowds the Mission district range from hip and stylish to alternative or grungy. It is also a popular destination for more adventures tourists.

The Mission brings together an eclectic mix of nationalities. The colorful environment creates a unique shopping flavor which I am trying to give a taste for in my observations below.

I had not been to the shops I visited previously, so the Observation Lab Guide is what guided my observations.

INTRODUCTION

STORE #1

Home interior:

Quirky artifacts, books and interior design items

Observations

General description:

The shop offering quirky artifacts, books and interior design items is designed in an unconventional way. It blends old with new objects and thus creates a refreshing rather than stale vintage feel.

The unusual name of the store, “Accident & Artifact,” stands out on the sign facing the sidewalk. The barred entrance area and equally barred shopping window are not necessarily inviting. Though they are nicely decorated with a climbing plant.

Inside the store a lot of attention is paid to detail. The way objects are displayed creates a feel quite different in comparison with more conventional stores. A sign at the entrance area reads “We are open Wednesday through Monday. (As in, not Tuesday.) 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM (Hours subject to acts of God, and Man),” which is already hinting at a rather eccentric approach.

The brown hardwood floor and warm decor in general make the shop look like a living room and invite the customers to take their time, stay on and go through the various items.

Observations

Surprises:

Especially given the upscale feel of the store with prices above average I was surprised of the sales person not initiating contact. While I personally prefer a less blatant sales approach, a potential buyer may be intimidated by the detail and range of goods displayed in a relatively small shop.

The position of the sales person, being placed behind a desk that neatly fits into the overall decoration, prevents him and his desk from standing out more as reference points.

Despite the generally very nice presentation of the sales items, there is almost too much clutter in the store which makes it hard to see the forest for the trees.

Some plants seem to be used for decorative purposes. Although they make the space look nice, they add to the feeling of ‘too much.’

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

Although the store is beautifully designed and encourages visitors to explore the various items like museum pieces, it is rather hard to find specific objects one may be looking for or to identify a series of items that are closely related.

It may be the store‘s concept not to come across overly commercial; however, it is not made easy for eager shoppers to find pieces one may be watching out for.

The sales person introducing himself as a guide offereing a “journey” through the range of items on offer would have helped to better understand the overall concept and relationships between the items on display. Highlighting the sales person‘s desk more strongly might attract more potential customers to ask questions.

More space between the goods and/or small theme-based descriptors would also offer some assistance in finding what one may be interested in purchasing.

Moveable bars in front of the windows that can be pushed aside would give way to the items on display and thus create more attention for the shop overall.

STORE #2

Clothing:

Tailored shirts and suits as well as off-the-shelf clothing

Observations

General description:

The shop focuses on both custom shirts and suits as well as other branded off-the-shelf garment, mainly shirts and jeans.

As with the previous store, the barred entrance area and equally barred shopping window are not necessarily inviting.

The shop is designed in a clean way. The various products are grouped, so it is easy to find what one is looking for. There are also signs indicating, for example, patterns for tailored shirts which makes it easy to pick and choose one’s preferred item.

The changing rooms are placed nicely placed and can be found easily.

There are three sales persons, each one of them welcoming customers. The lighting is pleasant and the hardwood floor convey a warm and inviting feel.

The shop comes across as designed but not in an excessive way. Overall, it seems that the relatively small shop space is used in a close-to-ideal fashion. There is a good balance between the quantity of goods and the ease with which they can be identified.

Observations

Surprises:

The sales counter is nicely designed in the back part of the store and stands out. The sales person behind the counter looks friendly and willing to help with questions.

Given the size of the store, three sales persons almost seem one too many. However, with more customers in the store, especially when looking for tailor made items, three sales persons may well be necessary.

A customers‘ eyes are almost taken on a guided tour around the shop. Within a short period of time, orientation is easy and a customer can find what she is lookign for.

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

No music was playing in the background. This may have been a temporary issue. Though with suitable music playing it would fit with the overall theme which accentuates detail.

There are no obvious ways to improve the outline of the store and display of its products.

Details that could be checked further are the quality of the products overall, especially of the tailored items, as well as the knowledge of sales personell.

Again, with bars in front of the windows that can be pushed aside the attraction of the display behind the windows could be improved substantially.

STORE #3

Clothing:

Upscale second-hand store

Observations

General description:

The shop is located in the same neighborhood. Again, the barred entrance area and shopping window prevent passing window shoppers from seeing what’s on offer.

Items sold are higher-end second hand clothes and shoes as well as some accessories. The overall impression is that too many items are on display given the outline of the store and space available.

Messy arrangements of clothes and shoes may prevent customers from walking in or from spending time searching what they are looking for.

Observations

Surprises:

An animal skull and plants behind one of the windows do not indicate the nature of the business. They may even prevent pedestrians from becoming more curious and walking into the store.

There is one sales person who seemed rather busy and did not seem to care much about customers walking into the store.

It is not immediately clear that women‘s clothes are in the front part and men‘s clothes are in the back part of the store. There is a wall in between the two sections which hides that there is another section for men.

The only piece of clothing behind the window is a dress in addition to jewellery for women which would normally imply that the store is for women garments only.

A sign indicates a restroom which is something one may not expect from clothing store.

A ladder in the entrance area is a hazard for new customers and one can easily run into it.

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

Especially given the positioning of the items on display as higher-end second hand clothing, the overall impression is untidy.

Fewer clothes would make it look more organized and generally appealing to customers. Specific items could be found more easily.

Signage on men‘s vs. women‘s clothing or a more obvious seperation between the two sections could help to attract more men into the store.

In addition to no or moveable bars in front of the windows, a different decoration behind the windows could help in highlighting more clearly what the shop is about and thus attract more and the right customers. Removing the animal skull and plants behind one of the windows and replacing it with men‘s clothing would make clear that the store also sells men‘s garments.

STORE #4

Interior design:

Upscale furniture, decoration and interior design items

Observations

General description:

The store offers a range of design furniture, decorative and interior design items.

Not much space is left in between some of the items on display. Although generally, the store does not feel overly crowded, in some cases more space could be left for customers to walk through the store.

Price tags are highlighted clearly.

In addition to items inside, a few items are displayed on the sidewalk outside of the stor. Those items fulfill a dual purpose: on the one hand they attract pedestrians‘ attention and help lure customers into the store. On the other hand, they add a design element and extend the reach and size store. The items chosen are relatively bulky (e.g. chairs) and are thus unlikely to be stolen.

Observations

Surprises:

There was a nice smell in the store which may be unusual for a furniture store. Though it added a nice feel to it as it was not too aggressive.

The shopping windows are nicely lit and decorated and make passing customers curious to explore the shop inside.

All sales personell in the store were chatting with customers or friends visiting. Hence, I did not have any attention when walking through the store.

Some boxes were kept underneath tables which unneccessarily added a cluttered feel to some parts of the store.

Some product categories, especially pillows, were spread across different corners of the store. This makes it more challenging to compare the same products. Pillows are displayed on shelves which did not seem to have the right size to fit them and display them in the best possible way.

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

With only a few bulky items less on display the appearance of the store inside could be improved substantially. The same applies to smaller and medium-sized items which are available in high numbers some of which could be hidding from customers‘ sight.

Also, smaller items could be highlighted more clearly as some of them get lost in between all the bulkier furniture.

With sales personell paying more attention to customers, the experience could be improved substantially.

Sorting products according to product categories (e.g. clocks, kitchen items), separating smaller from medium-sized items, and creating more space overall in between items would contribute to a less cluttered experience.

STORE #5

Mixed store:

Clothing, cosmetics, books, interior design items

Observations

General description:

The store offers various product caterogies including books, cosmetics, interior design items, clothes, handbags and shoes.

The various product categories are mixed up and there is not much clarity as for the overall ‘flow’ between the items.

Too many items, small and large ones, are on display which makes it hard for customers to orient themselves.

There was a nice smell in the store which makes the shopping experience a nicer one.

Observations

Surprises:

Except for the larger items it is very hard to identify items that one may be looking for. It is not immediately clear when walking into the store what the theme of the store may be and what kinds of customers it would like to appeal to.

Though a majority of women were in the store, some of the items on display also seem to target a male audience. This includes men‘s clothing.

There were only two sales persons which seemed a low number given the size of the store, its variety of items and the number of customers in the store.

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

The store seemingly lacks focus and makes it hard to identify specific items or product categories. In other words it is hard to say what the store stands for.

An emphasis on fewer product categories and an indentification of a more obvious and coherent theme for the store would help in sharpening the store‘s image.

Fewer items on display would give the store less of a cluttered look and feel.

Additional or more attentive sales personell could help with addressing more customers.

STORE #6

Telecommunications retail store

Observations

General description:

The store focuses on the sale of mobile phones and corresponding contracts.

Given that the store is located at a corner, there are many windows. The pink light feels too strong in conjunction with the natural light outside.

There is a lot of space between the different displays of mobile phones and related items.

There is a sharp contrast between the dark brown hardwood floor, the pink light and the white furniture which may hurt the eye.

The two sales persons in store were both busy with customers but welcomed me personally and told me that they would be helping me shortly.

Once a sales person was ready I was immediately helped.

Observations

Surprises:

The telecom store was the only one among the stores visited where there was too much space for the items on display rather than too little. The store conveyed an empty feel.

There is no display behind the windows which almost creates too much visibility in addition to empty spaces.

The strong light was irritating, especially given the stark contrasts in color.

A table with a pink table cloth added to an irritating color scheme. It was used to display a prospectus and also had an empty bowl standing on top of it.

The overall look was unexciting and not what especially young people expect from a mobile network operator.

Observations

Hidden opportunities:

Different and more aesthetic furniture and/or a floor in a different color would help with the overall design.

The pink lighting ought to be dimmed according to the strength of daylight outside.

In order for the store to look less empty, the items on display will need to be arranged differently.

Sofas or orther furniture could add a funkier look and thus appeal to a younger target audience which is important for mobile network operators.

Appropriate decoration behind the windows can support the sale of particular items. The table used to fill up the room should be removed as it stands out negatively.