Retail Analysis Q&A's

1.       For the Retail Analysis Project, I decided to observe and analyze Meijer, a supermarket store that is based in Grand Rapids. Meijer markets every-day products such as groceries, electronics, home appliances, beauty products and etc.

2.       When I entered the parking lot of the store, I thought it looked like a train station with the windows that you see when you go to a train station. That style gives the store a unique appearance. When I entered the store, it was not as loud as most stores are like. Most stores, I would hear mostly carts making noises and people talking on speakers communicating with its employees. When I walked around the store, I never heard a speaker or excessive noise of carts. I thought it was very impressive. The way the merchandise is displayed has a few flaws. For example, I went around looking for Gatorade and I expected it to be in the same section as sodas and beers. I was short on time and wanted to make a quick run to the soda section, but didn’t find any Gatorade, so I wasn’t able to get some. It is either a flaw the layout or a strategy to force customers to explore the store. The floors are mostly white or plain. It was nothing appealing or repelling. I thought the signs were a major issue. When I entered the store, I was only able to find 3 signs for each section when there are 8 plus sections throughout the store. The cashier area was excellent. There were 38 check-out stations with 12 of them self-checkout stations.

3.       Meijer seems to project the image it describes with its motto “Higher Standards, Lower Prices.” The style of the store was bland and not a stand-out from the inside while maintaining a good layout and attractiveness from the outside. The company simply tries to attract customers using its unique outdoor style.

4.       As I was walking through the store, I saw many customers testing out the products by performing the functions of them. From this observation, it seems the store concentrates on convincing customers their products function properly.

5.       The most interesting design I saw in the store was the way the layout forced customers to explore the store more than just look through one section. People would have to get pasta in one section, pasta sauce in another section.