1.
Erin Fillingim
Anthropologie
Analyzing
Navigations
“Customer Journey Documentation”
Summer Semester 2011 - Adjunct Professor
Alisan Atvur

2.
How Would I find a Brown Handbag
at Anthropologie?

3.
Differences in
Navigation Experience
• IN-STORE
• When you are shopping in-store, you are greeted by a kind employee. They usually ask if
they can help you find anything. At that point you could say, “Why yes, I am looking for a
brown handbag.” The employers are trained and required to know the store’s inventory, as
well as where every product is located on the floor. The employee could then easily direct
you around the store to all the brown handbags currently available. If none were to suit
your fancy, they could help you locate one at either another store location or in the
inventory catalogue.
• But say you are not interested in an employee’s assistance and want to browse the store on
your own time. Anthropologie typically has their handbags scattered around the entire
store, so the customer would have to navigate the entire floor to see every bag. This allows
for her to see other products, increasing the likelihood that she will buy more than what
she came in for.
• Physically navigating Anthropologie can be exhausting. There is a lot going on, and many
products to look at. People who are not familiar with the style of the store could easily
become overwhelmed.

4.
Differences in
Navigation Experience
• ONLINE
• Navigating Anthropologie online is quite a different experience. There are
clearly defined labels and categories, so a person doesn’t have to waste time
browsing among the many products the store offers.
• There is also a greater selection of products considering it varies with each
physical location in keeping up with the desired inventory.
• However, online does not allow for the friendly customer service that
shopping in-store does. Plus when a customer enters an Anthrpologie
location, they are completely immersed in the whimsical environment the
store creates.

5.
In-store Navigation
Difficulties
• When navigating in-store there is a lot of information to take
in. Dresses, shirts, sweaters, sofas, books, tea cups, aprons,
bedding, shower curtains etc. The store winds and turns and
takes you all over the place. It is difficult to follow one path
when you are browsing the store. I found myself taking several
tangents and then having to double-back to start browsing a
new section. One minute I was looking at denim pants, then
before I knew it, I was in the kitchen ware section.
• I will say the store does a fairly decent job in trying to
separate the apparel from the home decor. And the “Sale”
section almost always has its own department.

6.
Online Navigation
Difficulties
• The most difficult in navigating the online store is
the amount of products to look through. Page after
page of handbags, shoes, earrings etc., it can get
overwhelming and cause an impatient customer
with a short attention span to either give up or
search somewhere else.

7.
Would customers use both
In-Store AND Online?
• I think a customer would use both in a situation where she
went to the physical store location looking for a certain
style/color/genre of a product and didn’t find exactly what
she was looking for. She could then search the larger
inventory online to find the perfect item.
• The reason I say a customer would be less likely to use the
easy method of shopping online is because shopping at
Anthropologie is not just about purchasing an item - its
about experiencing the ambiance of the unique and
creative world that the company creates inside each and
every store.