Essay 2 - Somerset Country Store

       In the small town of Somerset, Massachusetts a local establishment, The Somerset Country Store exists.  This small popular convenience store is centrally located on the main road, route 138.  Convenience is certainly this stores main purpose.  Although this store is small in size it is large in providing the customers with daily provisions.

     The outside parking lot is designed to access eight to ten vehicles at a time.  There is a

fuel station island that contains four individual gas pumps which provides the customer

with the choice to put gas in their car before or after shopping; or just fuel up and go.  No

matter what the preference; gas is available for purchase.  The actually building itself is a

single level store that is tan in color.  Vinyl siding spreads horizontally from one end to

the other, a simple design that is only interrupted by two bow windows located on the

right and left side of the single glass entrance door to the store.  For a new or unfamiliar

customer there is not a clear view of the interior of the store as the large windows are covered with posters and banners.  The advertisements are scattered like a collage in the windows informing the viewer of beer specials and of particular brands of beer that are available.  The banners are bold colors; mainly blue, black, red, all on a white background.  There is a single electric sign that hangs in the left front window which is black with three illuminated, large, green capital letters; A T M on it.

     As one enters this establishment with its low ceilings and dim lighting it may immediately be identified as similar to that of a small bar room; wood floors and wooden paneled walls which are oak in color. To the right is a checkout counter. Straight ahead are four aisles that are quite short in length.  Running along the back wall are coolers for milk, dairy and beverages.  On the left the wine and beer encompass a large square area of the store. The wine bottles are arranged accordingly and have a stain-glass window like affect as the colored glass bottles line the shelves row after row.  Colorful banners hang along the perimeter of the store easily noticed with the low ceiling and the dim lighting reflecting off of them. An array of color radiates from the products as well those

that line the shelves of the aisles; Coca-cola, Lays, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for instance.  Budweiser, Miller and other famous beer labels fill the coolers and are stacked from the floor to the ceiling giving off their own burst of color like a display of holiday lights.  Colors are vibrant and evident drawing the attention of the consumer right to the products they represent.  The lighting may be dim however the colorful signs, labels, and products portray a burst of colorful energy that is tremendously enticing to the eye. 

     Layout of the establishment speaks volumes.  Malcolm Gladwell’s article named “The

Science of Shopping” mentions that most people look to their left first and then to the right; meaning shoppers tend to enter a store and do a scan.  It is also mentioned that our world is set up to suit right-handed individuals. (Gladwell, 1996).  This holds true for the shoppers at this establishment who are primarily men; one may enter turn left to get beer and wine products, proceed to the right for their milk, and keep to the right to enter up an aisle finally bringing them directly to the checkout counter.  An amazing floor plan.  For those who do not want to purchase beer and wine; straight to the back of the store for milk or beverages then turn right for products in aisles then head straight for the register.  In the event that there are no purchases to be made it is still imperative that a customer turn right to pay for gas or make purchases of cigarettes and/or lottery tickets.

     Most convenience stores are intended for the purchase of milk, bread, cigarettes, and beverages.  In the case of this retail store the plan calls for the consumer to walk past many colorful temptations to get from the door to any of these products.  At the register alone one will be faced with many other eye catching colors and displays.  Flashy scratch tickets line the entire back wall behind the register as well as numerous brands of cigarettes.  Just as one makes a purchase there is ironically a full display of toys to the left of the register to meet the buying power for even your child.  The lottery machine sits at a ninety degree angle from the register also conveniently located to the right. 

     In terms of purchasing power; gas is the number one seller followed accordingly by cigarettes, scratch tickets from the lottery, beer and wine and finally milk takes last.  The average customer at this store tends to spend at least twenty dollars and approximately 2000 customers frequent this store daily however weekends and holidays increase sales dramatically.  For a small country store it serves a large number of consumers.  The population that makes up the majority of customers is of Portuguese ethnicity.  Portuguese wine, beer and bread are commonly purchased items.  The aroma that fills the air upon entering makes the consumer tempted by the pastry and sweet bread that is on a large oblong table assembled neatly in rows directly to their left.  Portuguese members of the community feel at home not only with the choices available; the clerk and family running the business speak their language.  Again as mentioned in Gladwell’s article; the store environment has to work for the population of customers that it serves.  People want to come in and out finding what they want; making their choices and leaving satisfied.  The concept of one-stop shopping is truly an amazing concept (Gladwell, 1996).  It is in a store such as this that a customer finds the convenience of buying multiple items all in one store, the choices are there no matter who enters with intention to buy.  A clientele of town residents are all in search of convenience when they approach a business such as this.  Mainly men shop at this location.  The woman is more apt to be at the supermarkets buying in large bulk whereas the man is more of an in and out shopper; getting what is needed and leaving.  A family member working at this store told me that if a woman does come in she tends to buy milk and a few other products.  She enters and goes directly to the milk located at the back of the store and may pick up a few other items located in the aisles as she saunters back up toward the register. The milk seems to be strategically located in the back in effort to have to consumer pass through the aisles and make additional purchases; like the concept in “The Science of Shopping” that described the one-floor store where most retailers will put the men’s items up front mainly due to the fact that men do not like to pass through other areas of a store if they do not have to (Gladwell, 1996).

     After spending time observing any retail establishment it is evident to the observer the clientele that the store attracts as well as the products that the store sells.  Some stores are primarily aimed to meet the immediate needs of those they serve, while others are to meet other, not so immediate needs such as clothing and shoes. No matter what the purpose;

the ultimate goal is to produce revenue and be successful.  As a customer one does not always look at the approach that the retailer takes in the appearance and at the layout of the business; people tend to focus on the product.  After careful observation and some insight as to the “science of shopping”; a consumer can get a better perspective on not only the business, but also gain a different perspective on their own shopping experience as well. 

    

    

Works Cited

Gladwell, Malcolm.  “The Science of Shopping.”  The New Yorker 4 November 1996.