Store Layout The Science Project example essay topic

Product Assortment The Science Project's goal is to provide consumers with all the science related products they want. The goal is to not only provide consumers with what they know they want, but also with what they don't realize they want. Based on this, our product assortment has to include items that will get consumers into the store and products that consumers will buy impulsively when they see them in the store. It is with this strategy in mind, that has caused the development of four broad product categories 1) science projects 2) science equipment 3) science books and DVD's 4) science novelty items. Science Projects The cornerstone of The Science Project will be its namesake, science projects. In classrooms across America, science projects are assigned with the same basic results.

Students make the same projects year in and year out because they do not have easy access to all the materials they need to do something different. Often, a very simple project will be avoided because the materials needed to build it add up to a great expense and trips to many different stores for items that aren't normally sold together. The Science Project will take away the undue expense and excessive trips with its science project kits. The Science Project will offer dozens of different kits in-store with dozens more that can be ordered for rush delivery. The kits will be continuously evolving. Science evolves every year, why shouldn't science projects?

This continuous product development will benefit the minds of America's students while saving teachers the boredom of reviewing the same projects all the time. Kits of this nature sold online take time to be delivered and rarely evolve. At The Science Project kits can be purchased as soon as needed and consumers can be certain that they will be offered the newest and best science project kits in the world. Science Equipment A store called The Science Project would not be complete if it didn't sell science equipment. Like the science projects, much of the equipment will be sold in kits. Also like the project kits, the equipment will be items that an individual would normally have to buy online or from a catalog.

Examples of the equipment include mortar and pestle, telescopes, stethoscopes, dissection sets, microscope slides and covers, test tubes and accessories, portable UV lights, Petri dishes, filter paper, beakers, flasks, measuring cylinders, calorimeters, tuning forks, Bunsen burners, alcohol burners, scales, drying tubes, litmus paper, pH indicators, and crucible tongs. Science Books and DVDs For the consumer who doesn't want to perform science experiments, but wants to learn about the wonders of science The Science Project offers a full-line of science books and DVDs as well as the top science magazines. These books and DVDs cover a wide range of topics from "What Makes a Geyser Shoot?" and "How do the Animals make more Animals?" for teenagers to "The World of Quantum Physics" and "Mitosis and Meiosis Explained" for college-students. Many of the books and DVDs are companion sets that can be bought together or separately for a discount.

Science Novelty Items This is a category that will never stop expanding. It is very broad and offers many products that are sure to generate impulse buys. For instance, a soft drink that causes you to burp bubbles that shoot out of your mouth in an assortment of colors. Another product will be a simple breathalyzer that allows someone who has been drinking to determine if they are "legal" to drive.

Along with these products will be themed products. For example, The Science Project will offer kits based on the many crime solving television shows. These kits will allow consumers to solve all the little "crimes" that happen to them. Has someone been stealing your cream puffs out of the office refrigerator?

Come to The Science Project and buy the CSI: Miami Print Kit. This kit comes with everything you need to dust for prints and everything you need to trick someone into giving you their finger print without them ever knowing. These are just a few of the many science novelty items The Science Project will offer. Pricing Strategy The Science Projects's primary competitors will be obscure on-line stores and catalog sellers. Therefore, The Science Project does not need to compete on price. Also, the store offers many products that will not be available anywhere else.

Because of this, The Science Project will use high / low pricing. The primary reason for this is that if old products have not sold out and shelf space is needed for new products the old products can be put on sale in an effort to get them out the door. The decision is not based on competing in a price war because The Science Project is likely to never be involved in one. Other factors in the decision include the added excitement the sales will create and the fact that an E DLP strategy might generate the belief that The Science Project's products are not high-quality when nothing can be further from the truth. The actual price of each product will be determined by a combination of the demand-oriented method and the cost-oriented method. The cost-oriented method will be used to ensure that a profitable price is set for each product and the demand-oriented method will be used to ensure the each product is priced to be as profitable as possible.

Site Selection In analyzing a potential site for The Science Project, some factors need to be taken into consideration. First, The Science Project, is a new retail store in which there are currently no operating facilities. Second, the location must provide an opportunity of exposure to consumers of varying demographics. Third, the site must also be at a location where there is a lot of consumer traffic. After reviewing the above factors, the prime location for The Science Project will be in a regional mall. The regional mall would be the best selection for The Science Project as provides exposure a wide variety of consumers.

This is achieved as the mall has many different types of stores and merchandise assortments that attract a wide range of consumers. The regional mall also provides additional advantages as it protects the consumers from the external environment and it also reduce the companies external maintenance costs. Along with advantages there are some disadvantages of selecting a regional mall. The disadvantages are dictated store hours, less convenience regarding consumer parking, and higher rent. However, The Science Project needs to be able to create spontaneous sales and strike an interest in their consumers. The regional mall would offer the best opportunity for exposure to a variety of consumers compared to strip centers and / free standing stores.

Since this is a new business, the best opportunity for The Science Project to create awareness and interest is in a regional mall. The regional mall in which The Science Project will be located, will be at the Colonial Park Mall on Route 22 and Colonial Road in Harrisburg PA. The Science Project's physical location will be in the Colonial Park Mall however, there will also be an online-component to generate sales beyond the one physical location. The Web based business will combat the restrictions placed on the physical location.

The site will not be restricted to dictated mall hours of operation. The website is open twenty four hours offering consumers flexibility for shopping as well as avoiding sometimes overbearing holiday crowds. This expanded reach could generate enough interest and sales to expand the The Science Project in to other physical locations near and / or abroad. The Internet provides the small business an opportunity to reach Sci-Fi loving people everywhere. Store Layout The Science Project will be inside of a regional mall so the exterior of the store will be the entrance from a main aisle in the regional mall.

In order to generate curiosity and attract consumers there will be fog / smoke effect coming out of the store sign. This effect will be accomplished by using dry ice or fog ger / smoke machines placed behind the store name sign. The design of the interior of the store must be flexible and spark interest in the consumer. The smoke / fog effect is designed to attract consumer interest to look at the store. Once the customer steps in the store it must be laid out to continue to influence consumer behavior. The store layout and image will be consistent with the science fiction theme.

The interior of The Science Project will be designed with a free-form layout. This layout will arrange some fixtures and aisles asymmetrically. This design will create a relaxed environment for the consumers. This will allow for more space for the customers to shop and browse the various products easily.

The store will be divided into essentially four product categories including science project items, science equipment, science reference and entertainment materials, and science novelty items. To display these items the store will utilize various fixtures including, shelving, peg hooks, and display tables. The featured items will be allocated in each of the four corners of the store. A majority of the wall space will be utilized to store and display items by using shelves and peg hooks.

The customer checkout and information counter will be in the middle of the store. This will serve as a main point for customers to seek assistance. The back and the front of the store will have experiment tables for periodic product demonstrations by employees and also a place to conduct weekly family experiments or activities. By placing the experiment tables in the back of the store it will force customers to go through the entire store and potentially generate unintended purchases.

By placing the tables in the front of the store it could catch the attention of a customer passing by. Freestanding fixtures will be setup inside the store. These freestanding fixtures will include a mad scientist wax figure standing in the entrance way, a giant thumb with ink on it on that will be placed by the science novelty items, a drunken wax figure by the breathalyzer test kits, a head with a bubble machine in it casting bubble out of it's mouth by the specialty soft drinks, and a large boiling beaker by the project items. These fixtures are designed to grab consumer attention and hopefully generate impulse sales. There will also be a small reading area with a few chairs and a table for customers to relax and read their science literature prior to making a purchase.

The lighting in the store will be designed to create a scientific atmosphere. The ceiling will be black with small circular lights on the ceiling in the shapes of various constellations. Some of the more expensive items will be displayed in glass cases.