Retail Analysis

1. What store did you observe? Who do they market to?
I observed the clothing store Frayed, located at the bottom of Academy. It is a store that sells many popular brands of clothing such as Roxy, Volcom, Billabong, and Vigoss. What is notable about Frayed is that they sell clothing that is made from recycled material. They market to young college students who want fashionable and comfortable clothing.

2. Briefly describe the following
a. appearance of store entrance (from outside)
Frayed has a large and spacious parking lot that leads up to the store. From the outside, Frayed has huge windows with displays of clothing and mannequins. There are huge hanging signs with clothing brand names on them. As you walk up to the door, you hear the music that is playing inside of the store because there are speakers right above your head.
b. sounds (inside the store)
Inside the store you are immediately greeted by the noise of music. There are three TVs hung on the ceiling, playing music videos. The music is loud but not too loud that it is obnoxious, or that it hurts your ears. This music is current music like hip hop and pop.
c. how the merchandise is displayed
The merchandise is displayed in several ways. There are many islands spaced throughout the store in a way that isn't overwhelming but packs a lot of clothes into a compact space. Each island has clothes hanging or folded. There are jeans or shirts hanging, but in the front there is a jacket with a shirt on the inside. There are also hats and purses on the top. The clothes are displayed in full outfits with possible accessories so that customers will want to buy more. There are also tables amongst these islands with neatly folded t-shirts, or jewelry displays. In the back are pillars connected from the ceiling to the floor. About midway on a pillar is a circular table with even more shirts displayed. Frayed really maximizes their space by packing as much clothes and other merchandise as they can, but do this effectively so that the store doesn't seem crowded and the customers don't feel overwhelmed.
d. floors
The floors are a beige colored cement. There are many medium sized rugs evenly spaced throughout the store. The floors by the fitting rooms are wooden. By the windows facing the street there is a platform area with more displays of clothing. This floor is also wooden.
e. signs
Besides the hanging signs in the windows facing the street, there are signs strategically placed in all of the displays advertising sales in the store. There are also many framed pictures of friends laughing and smiling hanging from the walls.
f. cashier area
The cashier area is a half moon shape in a diagonal from the entrance. There are four stools in front of this area for customers to sit on. Displayed in the cashier area are necklaces, earrings, sunglasses, CDs, and breast cancer fuzzy socks.

3. What image does this business try to project? Give specific examples of design elements that reflect this image.
Frayed is unique because it is a store that sells clothes made from recycled material. They project this image with the amount of wood that they have in the store. This helps with the idea that all of the clothes are made from recycled materials. Frayed also wants customers to know that these clothes are stylish. They sell name brands.
Behaviorally, the store works. It is very spacious and the islands are very effective because they hold a lot of clothes in one compact area. Visually, the store is eye catching from the street. An abundant amount of bright colored clothes, mannequins, and signs are inviting from the windows. Reflectively, this store sells many popular brand name clothes. Some are expensive, some aren't. The music videos blasting from the three overhead TVs are reflective of the age group the store is marketing towards.

4. How did customers interact with various elements of the store's design?
During the 20 minutes that I was in the store there were only about 5 customers, all of them women. Since the store is divided down the middle by gender, these customers were on the right side of the store. All of them circled around the store, covering every inch. A few tried on some clothes.

5. What did you find interesting about the design of this store?
The more I observed the store, the more I noticed the amount of wood the designer used. All of the tables were wooden with no paint. The islands were wooden. The walls in the back were wooden. The floor in front of the fitting rooms were wooden. The doors were wooden. The platform in the corner was wooden.
What was also interesting was the ambiance they were trying to create. As one enters the store they are greeting by two tables with street lamps at the top. There are a couple comfy couches with plants on the side of them. There is a piano in the boys section. The designer clearly wanted the customers to feel at home and all of the wood material contributes to the natural image of the recycled materials.