Hey, today’s curiosity!
How do you feel when you walk into a store and see all the clothing racks overly stuffed?
Let’s say you want to buy a t-shirt in your favorite color, there are about three on the entire rack and they are in the middle.
You try to pull one out to see the print or tag, and while you struggle because the rack holds three times as many t-shirts as its capacity allows, the ones on the edges start to fall off just because you moved them a centimeter.
What emotions do you experience when the space between two rows of clothing is just 25 cm, so narrow that you can’t pass through on either side?
For example, initially, I tend to feel fat 😊
Then my logical side kicks in, and I start ranting a bunch of things, obviously in my head, otherwise, they’d kick me out of the store if anyone from their staff heard me.
Things like:
Man, these people don’t understand what store layout means.
They have no clue about space organization.
They stack items on top of each other and next to each other without thinking about access to these items.
And the list goes on.
Not to mention, they have no idea what it means to navigate between aisles for people with a child in a stroller or those using a wheelchair.
I don’t want to believe they operate on the principle of “more merchandise, more buyers”; we need access, at the very least. 🙂
Do you also notice that even the placement of racks in the store seems to suggest, “It might be time to lose some weight if you want to reach item X?” 😊 Not to mention the sizing of things.
Like, one size fits all, which I understand is supposed to accommodate a wide range of people (for as many body types as possible, with various measurements), but in reality, it’s often smaller than an XS. 😊
And now, while I was thinking, how does a person in a wheelchair do their shopping? Because I know what it’s like with a child in a stroller. 😊
”Sister, please stay here with the little girl because I want to check out blouse X, but we can’t all fit in there.” 😊
I remembered an experience from another store, not a clothing store, but it relates to the same issues.
I think I wanted to buy a mug. I lifted it off the shelf to examine it, and during this process, I heard the sounds of glass breaking, someone bustling about—not near me, though.
About 30 seconds later, a woman approaches and tells me:
– You need to pay for this and that.
– Why? I ask.
– Because they fell from there, this “there” being on the opposite side of the shelf where I was with the mugs 😊
Now, what to do next?
Argue with them that the shelves are unstable or that items are not secured properly, or just pay and leave.
What would you have done?
I left the store without mugs and without money in my wallet 😊 well, I didn’t go back there afterward either.
I told myself, if that’s their sales strategy, it’s a poor one… because just in that situation, if they had taken responsibility for their organization, instead of paying for two broken bottles, I would have bought six mugs, a triple win. Or who knows.
And so, due to lack of organization and space optimization, you lose not only the customers you didn’t have because you didn’t facilitate their access but also those who paid for something they weren’t responsible for.
I’m not telling this story to complain, because I can find t-shirts and mugs in countless places, but maybe you, the reader, own a store and such experiences inspire you and help you understand that
#accessibility_is_not_a_luxury
It involves comfort while shopping and not only for the customers, but also widening the customer base and ensuring their loyalty if you own a store.
We will be better apart when we are good together.
Do you have similar experiences?
I’m waiting for your comments!
