I guess it is that time. My next question is when did HGTV become the official sponsor of Christmas?
The Holidays, so soon?
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Category Archives: Retail environment
In retail history
On November 3rd, 2015, Amazon opens their first brick & mortar store selling books in the University Village Mall in Seattle.
One has to wonder?
Returning from a backpacking trip last weekend, I stopped in at a Dairy Queen restaurant for a quick lunch. (You really can’t beat the “5 Buck Lunch.”)
I made a quick trip to the bathroom to wash up before eating and while drying my hands I read this sign on the paper towel dispenser. We have all seen these “Wash your hand” signs but I had never read one carefully.
Two things jumped out to me from the sign.
First, the idea that employees must wash their hands twice. Shouldn’t one thorough washing do the trick? And if an employee does not do a good job the first time they wash, what makes public health officials think a second washing will do the job?
Secondly, the last line of the sign states,” A placard containing this section shall be posted in all toilet rooms” of any restaurant, bed & breakfast facility or temporary restaurant. I do not remember seeing this sign posted in any of the finer restaurants of Portland.
If I were to buy furniture today…Part 1
On a recent trip to Seattle’s University Village (an outdoor shopping mall), my wife and I decided to make a visit to Room & Board Home Furnishings. We have always liked their product and since they are not now located in Portland, this was our chance to check out their latest selections.
When we walked in the front door of the store we immediately saw two employees. They were strategically positioned next to the front of store featured furniture display and at the edge of the drive aisle leading around the store. I assumed that they were there to greet customers entering the store. That was a rash assumption.
Spotted at Macy’s
I spotted this on a recent visit to Macy’s. The vending machine was located next to the men’s wear department. The machine contained a variety of small electronics and accessories.
It seems like an interesting way to increase assortment and profitability without requiring the store to have knowledgable staff to sell the items. I imagine a third-party service maintains the machines.
In retail history
Mall of America Sign from WikiCommons
The work of Joe Chill 2
August 11th, 1992, the Mall of America (MOA) opens in Bloomington, MN.
At the time of its opening, MOA was the largest shopping mall in the United States with over 2.5 million square feet of leasable retail space inside a building of 5.4 million square feet. Over 520 stores operate in the mall and there is space for over 12,000 cars in the parking structures. 11,000 year round employees work in the mall with another 2000 during the Holidays. MOA generates about $2 billion dollars in economic activity.
Along with the stores, there is the Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme park, the SeaLife Minnesota Aquarium, 24 restaurants, a Mirror Maze, a wedding chapel (that has performed over 7500 weddings), 342 room Marriott Hotel, 500 room Radisson Hotel, a comedy club, Minnesota Children’s Museum and a 14 theater multiplex.
Useful POS
I always appreciate point of sale materials that are both useful and well designed.
I saw this POS display designed for those of us who are a bit “fashioned-challenged” at my local JCPenney. (JCP clearly knows their target audience since not many “fashion-forward” men are shopping at JCP and many of their male shoppers made need some guidance.)
Shoppers do not need to know the lingo of the fashion industry to buy a pair of pants, they can simply look at the illustrations and read the description to decide which pants to buy. Nice job Dockers and JCP.
Too bad it makes no mention of actually taking the pants into the dressing room and trying them on. But that is a different issue.
Am I invisible?
Or are you just ignoring me?
Running some errands on a recent weekday afternoon, I stopped at the Washington Square Mall in Beaverton, Oregon. I wasn’t shopping for anything specific, I just hadn’t spent much tome in retail spaces as of late. While in the back of my mind, I was mulling over what I would pack for an upcoming visit to Europe so I was inclined to buy if a store made me feel welcome and they offered the right product.
My first stop was Dick’s Sporting Goods where I actively shopped in the Golf, Camping, Activewear and Footwear departments along with a deep dive in the clearance racks. I was never greeted, engaged or even acknowledged by any store staff members.
Macy’s was the next stop where I spent some time checking out men’s clothing and footwear. Again, nary a nod or a smile from a Macy’s staff member.
Only 2 seconds
Standing at the end of the checkout conveyor, I waited for the cashier to finish scanning our groceries the other day so that I could bag them. While waiting, I watched the parade of people go by on their way out of the store.
One shopper dropped a wrapper on the floor and continued out the door. Seconds later, an employee walked by the trash heading towards the Customer Service counter when they stopped, turned, went back and picked the trash off the floor. Depositing the trash in a nearby bin, he went on about his business.
Many times I have been in stores that had trash on the floor. Common sense says that managers shouldn’t have to train employees to pick up trash when they see it. But apparently they do. Managers need to communicate how important keeping a store neat and clean is as part of customer service and that it takes little time or effort. In this case, it couldn’t have taken more than 2 seconds.
(The store was WinCo, an employee owned no-frills grocer.)
WELCOME TO WALGREENS!!!
“WELCOME TO WALGREENS!,” the recorded announcement echoed throughout the empty 15,000 sq. ft. store. The announcement was so loud that it startled my wife and myself as we entered the store late in the evening. It was if the voice of god greeted us to the drug store. I commented that I had never run across this before in a store.
The Observant Customer 