Select a retail store to visit. You will be observing the store to see if you can identify its “personality.” (Just as people have personalities, so do stores. And just like your personality probably turns some people off and others on, a store’s personality attracts some customers and repels others.) Components of a store’s personality included: atmospherics (the ambiance of the store ‑‑ created by what you hear, see, smell and intuitively sense inside a store); service personnel; and other customers. You will be gathering the following information to use in a class discussion on this topic:
- Record the name and address of the store.
- Describe the physical environment, the customers, and the employees.
- How do you feel in the environment?
- What is the target market? How do you think people in this group feel in the store?
- Does the environment consistently convey the image desired by the store? If yes, how? If no, why not and what should be changed?