observations creativity assignment

1. Stores I visited…
Rajesh Venkataraman
Sprouts (Grocery)
Target (Consumer)
Pet smart (Pets)
StarPower(Audio/Video)
Bed Bath and Beyond (Consumer)
Walmart(Consumer)

2. Sprouts

3. Observations
• The store is simple in its outlook, it has ample
space to walk into. It is designed to get in and
out quickly.
• There are items that you can buy in small
quantities, e.g. nuts, candy etc. I think this
distinguishes the store from others.
• The store always has free sampling of coffee.
There is no person offering the sample.

4. • The tile near the vegetables that require water
sprinklers to keep them fresh is different than the
other places. This is probably so that the
consumers wont slip.
• There are employees that wipe the floor every
few minutes, and take care of putting the
vegetables back to where they belong.
• The employees hardly interact with the
customers except at the cash counter and the
deli.
• It is interesting that they sell plants too. If people
grow their own plants, would it disrupt their
business?

6. Target

7. Observations
• This “Target” is located in a busy mall area. There
is always lot of traffic. Parents and kids should be
careful while walking to the store.
• There are very few employees walking around
the store, but they are quite helpful in answering
questions.
• Seasonal items like Halloween are in a separate
area, but the customer has no way of knowing
this unless they talk to an employee.
• There is no self service checkout.

8. • The store is huge, so one should be ready to
walk a lot.
• There is a section for groceries (though there
is not so much variety), so one could get all
the essential shopping done in one place.
• The store is very clean and spacious, it gives
the shopper the experience of shopping in an
upscale store.
• There is an area behind the cashier where
they showcase their contributions to the local
community.

9. • There is a small pizza hut, so people can have
a dining experience as well. That way they can
spend more time at the store. Good Idea !
• They don’t ask you to sign for the credit card,
if the bill is below a certain amount.
• There are very few counters serving customers
at the checkout.
• Items that they want to remove from their
inventory are placed in an area which contains
heaving discounted items.

10. Petsmart

11. Observations
• The flooring is not very smooth, I think it is
because of pets walking around.
• There is a pets-clinic on the other side. This is to
entice consumers to shop and get the pets
treated at the same time.
• They have a rewards program to entice
consumers to repeat shop at the same store.
• Employees patiently answer each customer’s
question. It is apparent that they do not work on
commission basis.

12. StarPower

13. Observations
• The store hardly had any traffic, was very
quiet, and there were two sales persons.
• There was a wide range of equipment, but
hardly any customers.
• Talking to the store owners, they seemed to
be focused on audio/video services they
provide. They setup automation for different
audio/video equipment to be controlled by a
device like an ipad. Sounds very interesting !

14. • They have a variety of name brands stocked in
their store. But they have no fliers and no
sales.
• The owner said he would cut me a good deal
on the price of the equipment. It seems that
this store prides itself on service.

15. Bed Bath and Beyond
• This store stocks different variety of house
cleaning supplies, kitchen and bath items, home
electronics, bedding etc.
• The store is unique in the sense that you can find
items that you would not have seen anywhere
else. Eg, a bathtub stone – you can use this stone
to scrub your bathtub.
• There were very few salespeople around, and
hardly any help was provided to customers,
though there were lots of people.

16. • The most interesting aspect of this store is the
20% off one item coupon or $5 off one item
coupon. They accept expired coupons. In
theory, you could walk in and out of the store
multiple times if you needed to buy multiple
items.

17. Walmart

18. Observations
• There were many small shops in the Walmart supercenter.
It is amazing how these businesses use Walmart’s customer
pool.
• There were very few cashiers, and a couple of self service
lanes. I saw a lot of people using the self service lanes as
the other lanes were crowded.
• The sale priced items are placed upfront, so customers can
pick them in one place.
• The customer service counter accepts returns even if the
customer does not produce a receipt.
• Walmart has a person to greet you as soon as you enter the
store. The idea is to enhance your shopping experience.