Up until the age of thirteen, shopping always been torture. Shopping was so bad that I would never buy anything for myself. When I would wear anything other than athletic shorts and a t-shirt, I would have to raid my older sisters’ wardrobe- who just happened to be my size. After losing about twenty pounds in eighth grade, I started to love shopping- much to my parents’ dismay. While trying to find my own personal style, I began to shop at stores similar to Banana Republic and Gap. It soon occurred to me that, although they bear some minor similarities, the difference between Banana Republic and Gap are pronounced. Mark Twain once said “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Even though children are taught …show more content…
A persons’ style is like a form of body language; for example, when I feel the cheerful and happy, I wear brighter colors to show others that I am happy. Banana Republic offers high class business attire, however, Gap provides a simple- stay at home mom/ back to school- type of look. While Banana Republic also has a casual line of clothing, the material is higher quality and the styles are always unique; Gap, on the other hand, has much simpler styles and sturdier material. Gap is popular for their jeans which are known to fit well and be extremely durable. Unlike Gap, Banana Republic does not have a great denim selection, but offers uncommon textured clothing and accessories. When choosing between Banana Republic and Gap, checking ones’ bank account is mandatory. Even though Gap is more affordable than Banana …show more content…
Service wins the game.” As Tony Allesandra states, in order to have+ a successful business, customer service must remain a priority. It is also proven that shoppers are more likely to return to retailers with good customer service over those without. This past summer, my mothers’ best friend was getting married, so my mom and I drove to the mall. Once we had found a parking spot, we both walked towards Banana Republic; I began to walk faster, as if I was being pulled like a magnet, and threw inspiring words back to my mother to pick up her pace. In no time, my mother and I were walking through Banana Republics’ entrance. The greeter said hello and asked us if we were looking for anything in particular. I told the greeter- named Lacey- about my mothers’ issue of not having a dress to wear. Lacey immediately noted my moms’ height and age which would narrow her down her choices, yet she still ended up finding several options that both my mother and I loved. With the help of Lacey, the hardest part of this shopping trip was trying to decide which dresses to put back; my mom ended up wearing lovely textured grey dress that fell just above the knee accompanied with a modest v-shaped neckline. Banana Republic not only made a sell with their superior customer service, but they also gained the trust of my family and free advertisement because my mother now recommends Banana Republic to all her friends. In
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive. People require brands to experience the feeling of being special. People spend their money to have something from famous brands, like a bag from Coach or Louis Vuitton which they think they need, yet all that is just people’s wants. Steve McKevitt claims that people give more thought on features or brands when they need to buy a product, “It might even be the case that you do need a phone to carry out your work and a car to get around in, but what brand it is and, to a large extent, what features it has are really just want” (McKevitt, 145), which that means people care about brands more than their needs. Having shoes from Louis Vuitton or shoes that cost $30 it is designed for the same use.
...r. Customer service is the heart of L.L.Bean mail order, retail stores and web site. During the peak holidays season L.L.Bean has over 3 thousands customer service representatives working for them, to handle over 100 thousands calls on busiest days and more then 15 million calls a year. About 2 thousands of L.L.Bean customer service representatives come back to work the holiday season year after year. “L.L.Bean also does not evaluate customer service representatives based on the average length of their calls, unlike many other companies, or on the revenue they generate” (Tedeschi, 2000, p4). Customer service representatives can spend as much time as needed with a customer, which has translated to a loyal customer base for L.L.Bean. Customer service is why L.L.Bean has L.L.’s Golden Rule “Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings, and they will always come back for more” (L.L.Bean.com).
Paco Underhill has created a way for stores to draw more customers in and spend more money by getting in the mind of the customers. I found some of Underhill’s theories to be true. Underhill’s theories have helped provide research of the actions of consumers inside of American Eagle, Meijer and Hollister, these theories include, the need for shoppers to acclimate to their surroundings, the way customers turn into stores, and by placing most used products in the farthest places away from the
By comparing a basic Puritan to a basic Christian (of which 2.2 billion people or 32% of the world’s population is (Harper)), it becomes clear that the Puritan culture shares a large number of similarities. One of their bigger vexations is their arguments over public nudity. Depending on its usage, nudity may be considered a problem. Puritans of clean origins viewed public indecency as a negative influence; however, it was never actually written into law that a person could not walk around outside naked. The Puritan culture did, however, incorporate some forms of nudity into publications or plays (The Outlook). Outside of that type of judgment, nakedness was looked down upon harshly. Ever since the invention of the internet, many forms of nudity have swarmed around everywhere, becoming so massive that it could become accredited as a ‘public’ form of physical vulgarity. Evolving from simple ‘wink, wink’ jokes to full blown obscene movies, public nudity has scarred much of humanity. Many people would argue that nudity in a complete sense should be eradicated or at least ‘filtered.’ The Puritan culture almost had the perfect answer to our problem with such offensive matters: limit it by law. Almost as simple as activating ‘SafeSearch’ on a web browser, enforcing governmental law on a touchy topic would possibly solve the
I have had bad costumer service at Sephora a couple of times a few of years back. It was mostly the fact that they kind of just ignored me and didn’t offer me any help. I took their survey online I’m sure more than once and made sure to write about it. I didn’t return for a while for that reason. However, recently I went to the same Sephora and had amazing customer service where the girl went all over the store trying to find me this one shade of lipstick. She didn’t get annoyed or frustrated by the fact that we couldn’t find the one I wanted. She had a great attitude and I could sincerely tell that she really wanted to help me. It seems so silly that a certain shade of lipstick would matter that much but she really tried. Even after that I
The other problem people face with many other online clothing retailers is the inconvenience caused if they need to return a product. With our service, the customer does not pay the price for the product and has considerable amount of time to come to a decision as to whether or not to buy the product. This removes any remaining doubt in the customer’s mind and increases customer confidence levels.
Also, rules are put into place in schools and states make laws to protect the less educated. If parents don't have the sense to properly dress their boys and girls, then maybe it's time the schools and states to tell parents how to dress their children for in a society which dresses the same there is less to be distracted by therefore people in society will be more interested in what is really important; making a positive change in the lives of those around us.
First, when shopping, a big factor that will impact a customer 's experience is the customer service. Whether it’s from a simple “hello”, or an employee going out
When Gap was founded in 1969, Gap was unique and new. Gap's target customers were younger generations. Gap's hottest seller at the time was its "basic" look, which consisted of signature blue jeans and white cotton t-shirts. Gap founders realized that jeans were becoming popular among the younger generation of customers. Nevertheless, the company recognized that despite Gaps popularity among the youth, there were not enough assortments of jeans in the clothing outlets. Capitalizing on this deficit was merely the next step in expanding. Gap's founders were sure that jeans could be sold through a chain of small stores devoted solely to that product. As Gaps business idea became successful, Gap expanded their line of offering and now Gap offers a range of clothing for men, women, and children. As Gap's business began to boom, Gap also began to expand. Gap Inc. added two new entities to the company, Banana Republic and Old Navy. All three chains have their own target markets. Banana Republic is known for their casual luxury, with high-quality apparel. Banana Republic tailors their store to appeal to the unique market of pleasing the most fashion conscious consumers.
It’s no secret that some women believe fashion portrays who they are. Therefore follow every season’s new trend. This leads to spending money that they don’t have. Waller Lea, a journalist, suggest that “for some communities, purchasing knockoffs or generic products are frowned upon, forcing minorities to spend more money. Now businesses and companies are targeting minorities, causing more debt problems.” Addicted to retail or brainwashed? Opponents claim that fashion is simply a creative way to express themselves. There are others ways to express ourselves that are no based on our appearance. Through drawing, painting or through our thoughts and ideas. What happens when someone can’t afford expensive clothing or doesn’t have access to fashionable clothes? They are singled out and excluded from society for being different.
In this paper, we will analysis the current operating conditions for The GAP Inc. in Chinese market base on business model canvas. New business model will also be provided after our discussion. The below are the major parts of this essay.
The saying, “the customer is always right” isn’t always necessarily true. Most of the time, the sales associated is correct. However, it is still important to treat costumers with respect, even when they are wrong. Another important skill to have in order to survive retail is to remain patient with costumers. It can be frustrating when a customer messes up a display or leaves clothes on the dressing room floor. Dealing with grumpy customers can also be challenging. Nonetheless, a worker must remain calm and accept that the job entails sometimes dealing with difficult situations and
The sign of moving products promptly from a designer’s table to the retail sales floor has swayed the whole global retail commerce and enticed rivalry. Customers value a “new look” that can be worn for this instant and assess the goods as a monetary fortune; not something that you will keep
Shopping is something that has to be done whether you enjoy it or not to get essentials needed. We all go places where merchandize is being sold for a specific reason. Whether you go to the mall, shopping centers, or your local grocery store, you 'll always encounter many types of shoppers. Shopping isn’t always as fun as it sounds to everyone, but it is something we often do. This is the only way we get products we need, by personally buying them. You have three main shoppers including impulse buyers, list makers, and bargain hunters.