Layouts & Atmospheres

We all have pet peeves and what may turn off one person may not turn off another person. Here is one of my pet peeves. Maybe it's just me, but I don't have the patience to go into a really disorganized store and I'm not even talking about Black Friday I can't do it.  Just in general, I can't go in a store that has clothes thrown all over their place or have to dig through racks or go into stores that are crowded and are really small that cram their items from the floor to the ceiling. I would be frustrated and stressed out.

Am I the only one who feels that way? What affects your shopping experience when walking into a store?

The store image is important. The store image is the overall perception the consumer has of the store's environment. I like to go into a store that is clean, has stocked shelves and organized. By organized, I am talking about the store layout.

Below is a picture of some of the different kinds of store layouts.

On the top left corner is the 'Freeflow layout.' The free flow layout allows customers to roam around the store freely and to browse.

Next, is the 'Grid Layout.' Just think of this like a grocery store with the columns as aisles. It makes is easier for consumers located what they're looking for because its organized.

The 'Spine Layout' consists of a main aisle with aisles located on either sides. It is a variation between the freeflow, grid, and loop layouts.

The 'Loop Layout' is also known as the racetrack layout. It is mostly used in department stores. It loops with a major aisle that draws customers to look around the whole store and has multiple entrances.

Stay tuned for my next post on seeing the layouts of the stores at College Square!

Any Mall Better Than No Mall

Let's be real. Why are people hating on the College Square Mall? Word of mouth, I have heard things about the College Square Mall that I am only going to repeat here and here only.


"It's tiny"
"It sucks"
"It's for mall walkers"
"There's nothing there"
"They need to get more stores"
"There's not many stores that appeal to me"

But really, the College Square Mall provides certain demands to the Cedar Falls population that you can't find anywhere else within the area...unless you want to drive ten minutes out to Waterloo to the Crossroads Mall. I rather have any kind of mall then no mall at all.

The College Square is a decently sized, accessible and efficient mall located on University Avenue in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The mall has some vacant spots, but also has stores that every mall seems to have. These stores include: Aeropostale, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, Christopher & Banks, Claire's Boutique, Express, General Nutrition Center (GNC), Great American Cookies, Hat World, HuHot Mongolian Grill, My Dress Up Shop, Modern Nails, Old Chicago, Perfect IBrowz, Pretzelmaker, Regis Salon, Riddles Jewelry, Sassy's Bling N Things, U.S Cellular, UniversiTees, Vanity, Verizon Wireless, Vila Italian Specialities, Victoria Secret, Von Maur, and Younkers. The movie theatre is also attached to the mall.

All these stores are unique and different in their own way. Look for my next blog on store layouts!