Ethnography of Shopping: Scoop vs.

Ethnography of shopping: Scoop vs. Century

Shopping is not simply a chore -- it is also an experience. Shopping for clothing is a particularly personal decision, and various motivating factors can cause one shopper to choose a particular store over another store. Some consumers go to the store to confirm that they belong to a certain social stratum, others because they enjoy the thrill of a bargain. According to Daniel Miller in Making Love in Super Markets, the behavior of consumers in supermarkets tends to fall into two categories -- 'treat' shoppers and 'thrift' shoppers.

'Treat' shoppers view shopping as a chore for which they deserve a reward. In the supermarket, this 'treat' is often the form of a piece of candy or snack that is bought on impulse when the individual waits in line. Even clothing stores such as the warehouse-size discount clothing store Century 21 make use of 'treat' incentives.

For example, Century 21 displays accessories such as necklaces and handbags next to the register, to encourage impulse buys before check-out. Particularly attractive sales that are bargains too good to resist are also placed near the register. Even if shoppers do not regard clothes shopping as a chore in the same way they regard food shopping, they may find finding the right size to be frustrating, and being able to purchase items without regard to size in a manner that is purely fun and for pleasure can be an incentive.

The more upscale retailer Scoop showcases accessories on models, to encourage consumers to buy them as part of the complete ensemble outfit they are assembling at the store. However, the real 'treat' aspect of Scoop is shopping at the store itself. Some stores, such as the grocery store Marks & Spencer in England and high-end stores such as Scoop are almost exclusively 'treat' stores for most consumers, where shoppers will go to rally themselves out of a bad mood. Some of these types of 'treat' stores may function as destination locations. While Scoop does not have the ambiance of a sprawling Marks & Spencer, its spare, clean location is designed to delight the eye in a different manner. The cool, minimalist and spacious area of Scoop is designed to provide a refuge for the consumer from the hustle and bustle of the exterior world.

In contrast, Century 21's chaotic layout, featuring piles of clothing on tables, fosters a free-for-all atmosphere.

Clothing stores like Scoop often present themselves as refuges for the female consumer from the hustle and bustle of their everyday lives. 'Treat' stores like Scoop must work especially hard to create a sense of ambiance, to justify the additional cost of their products. While quality and trendiness may be the stated reason that consumers buy costlier clothes, the desire to participate in the image and experience of the store is clearly another factor. A 'Scoop' consumer has a particular image. A Century 21 purchaser might want to hide the origins of her 50% off Betsy Johnson dress when she goes to a party (even if she reveals her excitement at her find to a close friend).

The spaciousness and clean designs of Scoop are inviting to the consumer, suggesting a temple of femininity and style. While there are men's clothes, they tend to be less prominently displayed in the store, acknowledging the fact that women are far more likely to be the primary consumers of clothing. The spacious layout allows store associates to see consumers, and to direct them to items that might interest them, providing them with a more personalized, customized shopping experience. In contrast, the sales associates at Century 21 function as managers of 'crowd control,' particularly doing big sales days.

The reason for its apparent lack of care for its layout is because Century 21 is a discount store that is always crowed with bargains, versus a store that occasionally offers sales. Scoop lacks many bargain racks, no doubt because they would interfere with the store's cultivated image of exclusivity. Bargain racks would clutter up the layout of the store. Bargain racks tend to look unattractive because they contain a wide array of merchandise of assorted, rejected sizes and colors. This does not affirm the exclusive Scoop image. Consumers also tend to hover near bargain racks, creating a backlog of store traffic. Bargain racks draw consumer attention away from the areas of the store Scoop wants them to see, namely the more expensive items that are very trendy. Rather than advertising sales, Scoop tends to advertise the 'newness' of the fashions that have just arrived.

Century 21 uses its discount merchandise as a 'draw' by advertising sales, much like supermarkets advertise sales.

Consumers know that they can go to Century 21 to obtain clothes at a 40-65% discount on a regular basis, and even deeper discounts on store days. The sense of competition often causes women to go alone, so they will not have to fight with their friends about who saw the trendy Coach bag first. In contrast, Scoop is more of a social experience. Unlike Century 21, its dressing rooms are far larger, better organized, and offer attractive mirror space to encourage the consumers to carefully look at themselves, and see the designer-level quality in their clothes and image in the mirror.