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Michael's Observation

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Michaels is a retail store that specializes in arts and crafts supplies. I do not create artistic projects often, so I chose Michael’s because I knew I could perform an unbiased observation. As a result, I observed Michael’s in Chino Hills, California on October 16, 2016. After I observed the store’s exterior, the store’s overall layout and design, and stores’ customers, I concluded that the store is successful in encouraging consumption. Michael’s exterior is designed to attract customers. As I drove towards Michael’s, I was easily able to distinguish where it was located. The store had a simple sign on top of its building. The sign was in big red letters and read “Michael’s Crafts”. The parking lot and the surrounding buildings also attracted …show more content…

Michael’s and Staples have products that complement each other, so having the stores next to each other help attract consumers. Lastly, Michaels had the windows and sidewalk display to attract customers. Both the window and sidewalk displays consisted of colorful products that catch your attention. The displays mainly consisted of decorative items and seasonal products. These displays helped attract customers and helped slow down their walking pace as they entered the store. Michael’s overall layout and design encourage customers to purchase their products. As you walk into the store, the customer is given some space in order to slow down their walking pace. The cash registers are located to the left, while cheap impulse products are located to the right of the entrance. After customers passed those items, they tended to slow down about a quarter of the way into the store. It was apparent that Michael’s was aware of this trend, because they placed their big ticket merchandise products in the middle of the store. These items were visible to customers as they entered the store, and customers often stopped to examine them. After the big ticket merchandise, customers walked in different directions. Customers …show more content…

I wanted to see if there were any customer characteristic trends and if Michael’s was addressing their customers’ trends. I first noticed that customers were primarily female between the ages of seventeen and fifty. These customers were mixed in ethnicity and about twenty-five percent of them shopped in a group or had kids with them. Michael’s was aware of these customer characteristics and appeared to be targeting these specific customers. Their aisles were wide enough to fit groups of people and strollers. The music they had playing overhead was 2000’s modern pop, which is a genre that most of the customers have listened to when they were younger. This music helps bring a happy tone to the store. Lastly, most of the customers liked to touch/handle products. Michael’s met this trend as their products were easily

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