Observation Lab

Juan F. Lalinde@juanflalinde

Restaurant: Red RobinLocation: North County Fair Mall

Insights Hidden OpportunitiesThe place has an attractive façade, draws attention and has tasty food. The staff is friendly, however, a lot of them tend to stand close to the entrance with the hostess, which gives an impression of free time.

The decoration is too busy, there is not something special for the customer to focus on, or identify the restaurant for. Simplifying the décor, will give the place more amplitude and also personality.

Same goes for all of the things sitting in the table. Simplifying things will help remove unnecessary clutter.

Ambient noise levels are high, sometimes the music is so loud that it forces the customers to raise their voice. This could be controlled by keeping music at a lower volume.

Burgers come with bottomless fries. Serving smaller portions, will give the patron the sense that is taking advantage of that feature and not wasting an opportunity or worse, food.

Clothing Store: Forever 21Location: North County Fair Mall

Insights Hidden Opportunities

The logo at the entrance, colors, and store design are all modern and align with the type of clothes the store offer. However, the store is too big and that can be overwhelming.

With a store this big, it will be huge to organize the clothes by type and clearly show a map of it. Even further, having a person or an app create a quick guide based on the main item on the shopping list, will allow suggest new garments, and introduce accessories or other promos.

Most of the shoppers were female, but had male companions that were bored. Having a section to entertain the men, will extend the stay thus increasing the chances of larger purchases. As an example, a guy was sitting on the floor eating pop corn while waiting for his wife.

Electronics Store: AppleLocation: North County Fair Mall

Insights Hidden Opportunities

The store’s décor, ambiance, and display setup were great, and the minimalism help enhance the products set on the different tables. You could see the contents of the store from the main entrance, and easily decide where to go.

Mac products can be easy to use, but they are a little intimidating to PC users. Having the products available to play with helps a lot, but it will go a long way, if the “Genius” staff could do impromptu demos for customers of tasks being performed using Mac running products such as MS Office, Safari, iPhoto, etc. This way, people can see how to do it, and believe it can be done without much hassle.

Surprisingly enough, there were no displays or materials regarding the new Mini iPad which was just launched. There was still focus on the iPhone 5 and new Mac Book Pros.

It is good that the employees do not pressure the customers. However, there are times, when as an user, you are afraid of asking dumb questions about how to use a device. They should approach with an idea of a simple demo, as opposed to do you have any questions?

Coffee Shop: StarbucksLocation: North County Fair Mall

Insights Hidden Opportunities

This store was small in comparison to their traditional stand alone ones. What I found interesting was that the color of the tiles split the Coffee making section, from the store section. Hadn’t notice that before.

This is a small and high traffic store. Creating ways to place orders before hand to then go and pick up, could simplify the process for the customers, and help expedite the brewing task for the Barista. Something like a phone app, text message, computer station outside the store or in multiple locations.

For those customers interested in purchasing merchandise and not a brewed product, there should be a vending machine that dispenses these items. With this, the baristas can focus on preparing the beverages, and perhaps answering some questions about the other products.

Clothing Store: MarshallsLocation: Carmel Mountain Road

Insights Hidden Opportunities

Never noticed that they had a good selection of imported gourmet products. They are conveniently located by the fitting rooms. Try a new pair of jeans, then buy some Truffle Oil!

This is a place were people go in search of a good deal. Sometimes the racks have so many pieces of clothing, that it is difficult to find one, and when you do, they are so close together that three come out. Organizing the racks a little better, will make the search easier and less frustrating.

With social media, the store could have users sign up for alerts to new arrivals of their favorite brands. This will also help them expand their user base for targeted marketing campaigns.

Sporting Goods Store: Sports AuthorityLocation: Carmel Mountain Road

Insights Hidden Opportunities

This store uses social media often. It is a great tool to attract people to the store with sales and promotions.

The corridors are spacious close to were the running shoes and golf equipment are located. They should use this space to allow customers to test the shoes by running up and down, or a golf club by setting a long put down the hall. You could also test drive a bike or skates! There is plenty of space to make this a fun experience.

The ceiling is high and unfinished. It gives the store a tough look. Perfect for the products being sold in the store.

Most of the shoppers were female, but had male companions that were bored. Having a section to entertain the men, will extend the stay thus increasing the chances of larger purchases. As an example, a guy was sitting on the floor eating pop corn while waiting for his wife.Considering the equipment being sold and the available space, the store should have some personal trainers do Live Demos at the store. It’ll be a fun way to promote the products.