How much does store layout influence your shopping?

Malari

Whilst perusing the boutiques of my local shopping centre at lunchtime, I realised I just tend to find more things I like in 2 or 3 places and almost never in others, despite the fact that I will often buy in a different store in the city centre or another shopping centre.

I can't stand overstuffed rails where it's impossible to find your size because the hangers can't be moved a fraction of a millimetre apart! :mad: I get impatient when I have to take a 3-rail detour because someone is standing in front of some shelves with no space at all to move around her. :mad:

Am I unusual? I have at least two friends who will pore through messy, untidy, unorganised rails of clothes without a bother in the world to find something they like and I just can't shop with them! I want to see within 10 seconds of entering a store if I'll like anything in there! I'm probably denying myself bargains, but maybe some shops don't bother cleaning up because they know most girls will shop there regardless

What do you think? Are you a carefree forager amongst the messy rails? Do you prefer colour-coded, thoughtfully arranged, spacious shops?

baby and crumble

I HATE really packed shops, you always feel like a sardine trying to get through.

I also hate when items are piled up and folded, like in Dunnes, because the size you want is always in the middle of a pile so you end up messing the whole thing up, and that annoys me!

it also really annoys me when some shops put out their clothes by colour rather than style. I know coast in the kildare outlet do this (not sure if other coasts do the same thing...) but it's so irritating.

phasers

I despise shops that put piles of clothes on tables.

Toto Wolfcastle

When I shop, I walk in, walk around once scanning the clothes, and unless I see something I like, walk out.

If a shop is messy and crammed with clothes I will stop at the door and leave.

H&M in Blanch is a prime example of a shop that I will not shop in because of the way it is laid out. There are clothes everywhere and there doesn't seem to be any particular pattern to the way it is laid out.

reallyrose

OP, I understand.

I tend to walk through a shop and if I don't see any colours I like I'll probably leave.

I hate a messy shop. I hate a cluttered shop. I hate a small shop.

I have issues with feeling crowded or having a lot of people around, so a shop with closely packed rails really freaks me out.

I'm probably a complete nutbag now that I think of it.

Azureus

I do the walk in-scan-walk out method of shopping too. Ive probably missed out on tonnes of stuff because if it, but its not worth trawling through racks and racks of clothing to find the odd hidden gem.

Forever21 is one that annoys me too, because I actually like loads of their clothes but I cant shop in the place. Too many floors without much of a system at all. The girls at the checkout explained it to me once-something to do with themes-but couldnt be hacking it at all. Ill walk through, scan, wakl out and find something that I love on their website and wish I hadnt bothered with the old school way

Its the reason I avoid sales like the plague aswell

Toto Wolfcastle

Azureus wrote: »

Its the reason I avoid sales like the plague aswell

Ugh I hate the sales. I'll actively avoid the sales racks because I have no desire to search threw rails that are close to breaking from the amount of clothes that are hanging from them.

Faith

I HATE trawling through racks of stuff, which is why I don't shop the sales. I like things to be clearly organised and to be able to move around freely.

Lorrrrraine

I hate when all the clothes are jumbled up during a sale. Not just because going through the mess is irritating but because people's manners seem to go out the window. So much shoving and grabbing!

reallyrose

This is why internet shopping is a dream.
Plug in colour, size and style, click a button any you're away!

Pythia

I hate TK Maxx. Too much effort.

I like things sorted into blocks of colours and casual/dressy so I can go straight to what I want.

blackalicious

doesn't bother me unless its tk max which is a nightmare

Malari

The one time I decided to have a look in TK Maxx in Cork I took the escalator up, got to the top and scanned the scene for about 2 and a half seconds then took the escalator back down again! Life is too short!!!

Plus I'm that kind of person who is usually attracted to clothes that are presented well in marketing posters and on manequins in shops. Maybe I don't have enough imagination but in TK Maxx I just can't tell if a dress would be nice or is just a cheap, out of season knock-off :-(

squeakyduck

I'm the opposite. I love a good root and underneath it all there is a bargain Now I understand it can be a nightmare with people at either side of you pulling at stuff etc but I just love looking hard for something! I find that if you get in at the right times you can find the gem! Early mornings when people are going to work or last thing at night.

Work breaks about 12-2 would be busy as would between 3 -7 (schools and work finishing!)

:eek: Am I wierd?! :pac:

Bubs99

Im a qualified visual merchandiser/display designer and Im a freak organiser so when Im in shops that have their products, clothes etc laid out all messy and squashed together...i hate it.

So, OP, yes I do think the displays effect my shopping.

Example: I love TK Maxx BUT i rarely get clothes there simply because the rails are just overloaded with hundreds of everything and anything squashed together and I don not have the patience to search. The rails are massive.

I do love to find little bargains in their books/homeware stuff though although Id love to neaten their shelves. I dont have an OCD, honestly, i dont.

Sometimes Im in supermarkets even and I just fix the tins etc, if they're not facing the front (I used to work in Supervalu).

I think Penneys is actually ok for their layouts but I do think that the O'Connell Street one is getting too small and crowded and needs to be extended BADLY! (awkward i know as they're old buildings but it would be great)

SarahBeep!

I'm always saying it at sale time at work but nobody ever listens....why can't sale rail be organised by size?? You go straight to your size and know whats awailable instead of looking at something, then realising it's not there in your size and being disappointed. What do the F&A peeps think?

phasers

Oh I hate forever21's layout! I can never find anything in that shop, I always see nice stuff online but it's nowhere to be seen in that bloody labyrinth :mad:

Novella

SarahBeep! wrote: »

I'm always saying it at sale time at work but nobody ever listens....why can't sale rail be organised by size?? You go straight to your size and know whats awailable instead of looking at something, then realising it's not there in your size and being disappointed. What do the F&A peeps think?

Rails are orgainised by size in some stores! I worked in River Island and we actually spent an hour 'sizing' after closing time. A ten had to be on the front for display purposes but behind it, it went 8, 10, 12 and so on. God, doing it used to drive me mad! :pac:

I agree though, fwiw. I think sizing is important, even just for tidiness.

Other than that, I hate sales because shops are always a mess. I hate clothes on tables. I hate rails that have too many hangers on them so you can't flick through the items comfortably. I could never, ever shop in the likes of TK Maxx.

Tayla

Online shopping has ruined me, unless I see something I like in a shop window then I will hardly ever go in, if I do go in it's a quick walk around and if I don't see something straight away then I won't bother staying and rooting around.

oompaloompa

I like a spacious store, where everything isn't stuffed onto rails.

If I see a colour I like, I'm drawn to that rail... I won't look at items in colours that don't suit me.

Malari

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one! Some people would have you believe all women love shopping and will exhaustively scan every item on every rail in every shop, but that just wrecks my head.

I probably only look at 25% of what's actually available to buy! Online shopping though, is a real hit and miss because as we know, sizing is not standardised and how many times does something look good on the hanger but not so good on the body? (and vice-versa).

borderlinemeath

I don't mind rooting in sales but I draw the line at TKMaxx rails. I do however shop in their homewares department and shoes.

I hate the H&M philosophy of stuffing the rails so there isn't a millimetre of space left - it damages the clothes and most of them end up on the floor at some point.

I actually hate online shopping, I like to be able to feel the fabric and try on the item I'm buying - very frustrating if an internet purchase doesn't fit or live up to expectations.

cordni

Firstly let me start by saying I love all kinds of shopping, but like others I really love online shopping. Wallis is great when they have online sales!!!

tomissex

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I hate the H&M philosophy of stuffing the rails so there isn't a millimetre of space left - it damages the clothes and most of them end up on the floor at some point.

I hate this. Staff in Penneys always do this when stock gets delivered and they think "oh we have to put it all out!" I'm forever taking a third of the stock off rails and putting it upstairs, it's not just a nightmare for customers, it's horrible to tidy as well!


When I'm in a good mood, especially a good shopping mood, I can stay in a shop for ages looking at everything. Other days I just do a sweep for a colour I like, if there's nothing there I leave.
I really don't like how Forever 21 is laid out. I can see it's sort of by theme (fancy things, hippy denim and floaty tops, casual denim and tees) but it's so difficult to navigate! And I really wish they'd put the clothes that are on their mannequins near the display.

Aoifums

I hate packed shops.
TK Maxx is my worst nightmare. Too little space, too many people, too packed shelves, never tidied and too hot.
The ground floor of Forever 21 is annoying but I find upstairs is better layed out and more spacious. Their staff are usually really helpful so that's cancels out some of the bad things.

chocgirl

I hate shopping in TK as well, I don't know how people can brave it on a saturday. I can't think of anything worse.

I always tend to go in and scan first before I seriously consider shopping. I think I'm drawn to colours too so I don't like a mish mash of everything together. I much prefer getting lost in a larger shop though than having a sales assistant in a boutique following me around, nothing more off-putting.

eviltimeban

I like things to be neat and organised, but somehow I can handle TK Maxx! I get to the L t shirts are whatever and just flick through till I find something I like. I've gotten some good shirts and tees that way.

I prefer the Brown Thomas approach, where shopping is the experience as well as the purchasing. You just feel so much nicer in there! The only problem in places like that is, you get one or two tops neatly folded up on a table, with the paper wrapped inside them. I hate that as it discourages me from picking it up and unfolding it to have a look at it, I don't won't to mess it all up and then the staff have to tidy it up again!

Doing things by size would be a good thing - there's never XLs in things left for me, or size 12 shoes, or 17 shirts etc. That's the good thing about Thomas Pink etc - the shirts are all displayed by size, so you can see exactly what's there.

Overall I like a neat, "fancy" shop, rather than a high street jumble sale.

booboo88

For the life of me i cant handle tk max or pennies. if i go into pennis i usually end up walking straight out other side. cant take the women hacking at your ankles with buggies and ppl standing in the aisles to chat. but im not the most patient shopper
now schuh........my fav shoe shoe and they are quite chaotic.

booboo88

chocgirl wrote: »

I hate shopping in TK as well, I don't know how people can brave it on a saturday. I can't think of anything worse.

I always tend to go in and scan first before I seriously consider shopping. I think I'm drawn to colours too so I don't like a mish mash of everything together. I much prefer getting lost in a larger shop though than having a sales assistant in a boutique following me around, nothing more off-putting.

im kinda same, not a big fan of the sales people following around, or if they ask can they help whilst i clearly have my headphones in. :rolleyes: