A CRASH COURSE ON CREATIVITY

Wilbroad Kukundakwe
wilbroadk@gmail.com

Kampala Uganda

A Crash Course on Creativity

STORES VISITED
Nakumatt Oasis Nakumatt Bukoto Game Stores Shoprite Lugogo Tuskys Ntinda Quality - Ntinda Uchumi Garden City

BEFORE ENTERING THE STORES

All stores have broad signage with company Branding; All stores have doors always open; All the stores are the known biggest shopping centers in the city; None of the Stores has a significant feature for drawing customers in;

ENVIRONMENT
All stores with color schemes based on company branding; All stores have tiled floors; All Have high ceilings; All are brightly lit; The major source of noise is air conditioning system in some stores and music from electronics on display; All stores are not crowded. All have more walking space than the shelves; No distinctive smell except for the smell of products; All cash registers are located near the store exit/entrance; All stores have security cameras especially near the cash registers; Security personnel are located at the exits on some of the stores while some stores dont have any visible security personnel; The environment does not influence the perceived value of some of the merchandise in all the stores;

PERSONNEL
None of the personnel in all the stores initiate contact with the shoppers; All the stores dont seem to have salesmen; Most of the personnel at the cash registers in all the stores are women; Personnel in all stores have uniform; The uniform for personnel in all stores matches the image of the store;

PRODUCTS

In all the stores the first products to be seen are impulse items near the cash registers; All stores dont seem to have featured products; All stores dont seem to have for sale items in the store; Products are arranged by function in all stores; No free samples in all stores; Demonstrations are made at the request of the customers in all stores; Products are displayed on shells with no regard to what is displayed at eye level; In some stores bulky items are located in least accessible items such as Tuskys- Ntinda which furniture on the top most floors of the store; Products in stores are not arranged by price. Its difficult to locate the least expensive items; Some products prices are easy to find while other products prices are not easy to find.

CUSTOMERS
Most of the customers are alone; The average age of customer is 30 years and the gender is female; Most customers move to different sections of the store; Average time a customer stays in the store is 30 minutes; Customers touch the products . But they are prohibited from sitting on the furniture; Most customers appear to be on a mission while in the store; About 95% of the customers purchase products while in the stores.

CONCLUSIONS
All stores should consider hiring sales persons to talk to customers about the products in the stores; All stores should consider establishing highly visible sections for featured products and items on sale in the stores; Consider making demonstrations especially for new products in the stores; Store should consider playing distinctive music through the entire store