THTR 2242 – Fall 2018 FINAL EXAM

Corporations often hire consulting firms to conduct analyses that watch how consumers move and act in retail stores and evaluate the overall store setting. This is called “Retail Anthropology.” Retailers want to make sure that their store design is optimized for their customers. You will compare two fashion retailers on several different attributes. Visit two different types (reference your textbook, if needed) of fashion retail stores. For example, you could use a department store (Nordstrom) and a discount store (Target), or a specialty store (Ann Taylor) and an off-price store (TJ Maxx), etc. You may not use the same retailer you used for your midterm exam! In your analysis, you need to answer the following questions:

1. Name the stores you picked, give their exact location (for example, Old Navy at South Bay Center, 8 Allstate Rd, Boston, MA 02125), and tell why you selected the stores. The stores do not have to be in Boston. 2. Customer traffic flow: a. At each store, watch how customers move through the store. Do they follow similar paths? Are they attracted by certain displays or areas of the stores? Is the traffic flow efficient? How can the retailer improve upon their current flow?

b. Compare how crowded each store is. Are the aisles wider in one store versus the other? Do customers get in each other’s way? What causes any issues and how can it be improved?

c. Are the stores equally accessible to people with disabilities? For example, do they have items such as automatic doors, ramps, handicapped accessible restrooms/fitting rooms, lower checkout counters, etc.? Fully examine what each retailer does to accommodate people with disabilities. What aren’t they doing but should consider implementing? Don’t forget the Americans with Disabilities Act!