Kohl’s has a female customer base. I say this with confidence because 4 out of 5 men appear to be mentally on another planet. Also, most shoppers have younger children with them as they shop. An older woman and 2 young girls were bonding over the shopping experience. The well-dressed children were getting excited over everything; they even asked for swim suit when it’s fall! Kohl’s is a place where little ladies discover the love of shopping-till-you-drop!
Sales, Sales, SALES! Everywhere you look, you’re to feel like a smart, savvy shopper. Adele and Kelly Clarkson’s music fills the ears of the female customer base that requires reassurance that they can balance everything. As the woman strengthening music plays softly, signs of sales bombard you. If you’re looking for something at a 'normal' price you won’t find anything. This leads me to believe they’re marking the prices up at production to give a ‘discount' to their money-conscious customers. They also try to distract their customers with little hints of other sections. A normal woman will walk into Kohl's for shoes, then notice the rack of kitchenware separating shoes from the main isle. It’s at this point a normal woman becomes a Kohl's Superwoman. They appeal to a 'superwoman' persona; this is one who has classy style, saves money, and of course, she cooks too! This distractor exists to drag people into the less walked through kitchen supplies. It's made even more attractive with brightly colored items.
The bright color’s activate the part of the brain that encourage creativity that’s meant to be shared with the superwoman’s children. Kohl's claims to have a “commitment to family”; this I believe to be completely accurate. The theme of ‘babies’ is in almost every section. In the shoes, baby shoes are at the end of the shelves- reminding people of how cute that baby they know will look in the newest style of shoe. As one walks over to the women’s section in shoes, we see a photo of a woman with what appears to be her children. As we are drawn into the kitchenware, we notice the ‘Clean’ sign advertizing vacuums. The mess the vacuum is sucking up can be assumed from an arts and crafts activity- ideally between mother and child. The superwoman is also always thinking ahead to the nearest major holiday. In the section there is an overflow of baby’s-first-christmas ornaments and stockings. While I was in this section, I thought to make my own (or if I had children, to have them make) holiday gifts for loved ones. These gifts would fit perfectly into the gift bags I can purchase at Kohl's!
They just appear to have right about everything a superwoman would need outside of food and crafting supplies (but they DO sell the gift bags!).
The Superwoman should be served by a Superworker, right? Talking to people in the community about the average Kohl's associate, a general list of traits they appear to have are: classy, polite, educated, and happy. Walking around, I find that all of the associates were dressed to par; they even had glasses! But the smile they lack express that they wish to be anywhere but work. Of the two check-out clerks I observe, only one is genuinely content and offers all the discount options (I’m assuming company policy requires the discounts to be offered to every Kohl's customer). This ‘dedication to service’ atmosphere leads me to see the sign of ‘Please ask a Sale’s Associate for assistance with the merchandise reach pole’ is there to provide legal protection. They average associate seems to hope you successfully use the reach pole without bothering them since they are busy. I question what exactly they are busy doing though. I expect the store to be in tip-top condition, but it’s cluttered. One sale’s associate in the shoe section was left in charge of organizing the shoe section and running a registrar- rumor has it multi-tasking is impossible. I see three sales associates are in one area; one is practically running around trying to organize while the other two openly gock at how little someone else had done. The two criticizing ladies just stand there, loudly voicing their disappointment. On a positive note, two ladies in customer service work together to appear ‘buddy-buddy’ with two unhappy customers who are returning something. The associates talk in such a way that appeal to the customers to gain their trust- the customers left with a smile.
<3 ShainaRene'
No comments:
Post a Comment