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Improved Department Store

Why have people put up with such awful department stores for so long?
 
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My trip to the mall yesterday to buy a suit yesterday reminded me why I only go shopping semi-annually, and inspired this idea. 5 improvements to department stores. Feel free to add more.

1) Incandescent or "Daylight" LED bulbs. No fluorescent lights. 100% less depressing.

2) Store split down the middle into mens and womens; no walking through the little girls' panty section to get to mens' shoes.

3) Central checkout area near the main entrance to the store.

4) Compass' rose located at least every 10 meters so you know which direction you are going.

5) Locate "impulse" items according to store section. For instance, tool accessories will be located in mens' and the perfumes and jewelry will be dispersed through womens'.

DIYMatt, Feb 10 2013

Rhinoceros display http://www.flipkart...id=PUZDA9J9TBSNSZH8
[normzone, Feb 11 2013]


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Annotation:







       Shirley, the relevant question is not why people put up with such awful stores, but rather why does the existing layout yield the highest profits for the store, which I would wager it does. A huge amount of analysis goes into deciding what goes where.   

       The other relevant question is what were you doing buying a suit? And what was your tailor doing in a 'mall'?
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 10 2013
  

       You don't wear little girls' panties, [DIYMatt]?   

       For some reason I imagined you did.
UnaBubba, Feb 11 2013
  

       Agree with #2, but also: there should be a completely separate copy of the women's section for men who are buying gifts for women (e.g. it's populated only by men and has all male clerks)
phundug, Feb 11 2013
  

       //section for men who are buying gifts for women (e.g. it's populated only by men and has all male clerks)// Why? Because male clerks are so good at picking out the perfect gifts for women?   

       "Oh yes, sir, I'm quite sure she'll love it. It has carbon fibre straps, and a titanium quick-release clasp. It also has a universal remote control built into the left cup, and the right one carries this foldaway socket set and adjustable wrench. We find it sells very well."
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 11 2013
  

       One reason why the location of impulse buy items seems so chaotic is that the store is intentionally walking you past items that you wouldn't normally glance at. If you want to get to the home improvement department without being assaulted by products you aren't interested in, navigate there via the housewares, jewelry, and lingerie departments. The endcaps and islands you encounter along the way will make perfect sense to you.   

       This is the same reason that the grocery store occasionally moves everything around. I know it seems as though they malisciously did it just to aggravate people, but it's actually so that you'll see different products than you usually do and possibly expand your purchasing profile. The frequency at which stores shift the merchandise around (it's called 'frontage rotation') is calculated by an arcane formula incorporating such factors as shopper volume, inventory flow, lunar phase, and chance of rhinoceros. I learned all of this and more as a shift manager at a 7-11, many ages ago.
Alterother, Feb 11 2013
  

       Ah. That explains the rhinoceros display then.
normzone, Feb 11 2013
  

       //If the shopping-for-a- female department were staffed by middle-aged men who've been married at least 10 years, it would be immensely successful//   

       Let me introduce you to the male shop assistants in Australian department stores, none of whom have ever married their "significant other" because the proposed changes to the Marriage Act, which would allow them to marry, are not likely to get through the legislature anytime soon.
UnaBubba, Feb 11 2013
  

       //little girls' panty section to get to mens' shoes.   

       That's the best bit.
not_morrison_rm, Feb 12 2013
  

       <desmond morris>//no walking through the little girls' panty section to get to mens' shoes// - this is entirely deliberate on the part of the store's designers. Mens' products in department stores are always located in places which are just slightly harder or more frustrating to find than is absolutely necessary. This stirs, deep within the subconscious of every man, his primitive 'hunter' instincts. By the time he reaches his prey (the suit, some shoes, etc.) the lengthy search for this object has already filled him with the thrill of the 'chase' and he is ready for the 'kill' and is thus primed to buy the shoes, or suit or whatever. In this mindset, the action of 'killing' or purchasing is more important than the utility of the item purchased. Contrarilywise, if the thing he was looking for was located at the store entrance, was well sign-posted and was easy to find, the man would not have his 'hunter' insticts satisfied - he would just dither around for a bit, think "Maybe I should think about getting that in a different colour" and wander off. </desmond morris>
hippo, Feb 12 2013
  

       - also, as suggested in the idea, more use of compass roses would be great. I personally would like compass roses in the pavement at the exit to every tube station in London.
hippo, Feb 13 2013
  

       hippo, that is a great idea. Get Boris on it.
calum, Feb 13 2013
  


 

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