Retail Analysis

1. What store did you observe? Who do they market to?
I evaluated Banana Republic. Their market is for adults both men and women.

2. Briefly describe the following
a. appearance of store entrance:
From the outside the store looks very clean and professional. I noticed that there were not any crazy colors. It was mostly black and tan colors, but was still very appealing to the eye.
b. sounds:
The store was constantly playing music that was soft, but loud enough to hear. The music was very upbeat and interesting. I did not recognize the songs, but it seemed like they were from an older genre.
c. how the merchandise is displayed:
The majority of the merchandise was displayed on tables and on the wall. There were a few racks throughout the store, but very spaced out. The tables were black and made the clothes really stand out. On the walls the clothes were hung up and did not have much depth to them. Meaning there was not a lot of clothes behind a certain type of shirt or piece of clothing.
d. floors:
The floors were wooden and seemed very professional. They were clean throughout the entire store and were finished.
e. signs:
There were signs throughout the store representing the type of clothing that was being sold. Some of the signs included denim, cords, chino, mix & match, and business with style. Along with these signs there were also signs that would show which pieces of clothing were on sale.
f. cashier area:
The cashier area was in the middle left part of the store, splitting the men's section in half. There were three registers and one person working at the registers at that time. The registers and check out area seemed very clean.

3. What image does this business try to project? Give specific examples of design elements that reflect this image.
This store tries to project a very professional and business type of atmosphere. The racks and clothes are all spaced out nicely and everything is very classy. The trim and colors are black and tan and make for an adult store. The wooden floors also give the adult store feeling.

4. How did customers interact with various elements of the store's design?
The thing that I saw that the customers interacted mostly with store was obviously the clothes. All of the clothes were spaced out very well. Every rack, table or wall display had plenty of room to navigate around and take the time to thoroughly look at the clothing. Other elements of the store's design were the colors and sounds. Both of them seemed very adult like and professional. I already explained the colors, but the music was also very professional. It was not too loud and was very relaxing to me.

5. What did you find interesting about the design of this store?
The thing that impacted me the most in this store were the colors and the sounds. However, the smells of the store and the temperature were also very big factors for me. The store was at a perfect temperature and made it very easy for me to stay in the store. Also the smell of the store made me want to stay. The space that was available to navigate made this store extra relaxing.