Paying AttentionBy Michele Lenhart

6 stores 6 senses 6 speculations

Intuition

1. Stores that put pictures of smiling faces and welcome notes near the front entrance tend to have employees who seem less

happy to be working.

2. It appears that the bigger the footprint of the building, the higher the ceilings tend to be.

3. The larger the store, the more durable the flooring appears to be.

Small mom & pop shop vs. big box store

4. Decor in stores reflects an image they want to not necessarily the customers shopping there.

Auto shop décor very masculine: most customers were female.

Department store with fragile displays: most customers were families with young children.

5. If there is music playing or TV on in the store, the atmosphere tends to be less relaxing than stores without any media playing.

6. No matter the store, customers appear to know what to do upon entering. Perhaps they are returning, or perhaps these stores set up in a way that people can intuitively

figure out what to do.