DEA 6500 Programming Methods in Design Project 3

OBSERVING THE CORNELL STORE

September 28th, 2010

Susanne Gruening, Giyoung Park, Uchita Vaid

INDEX
1. 2. Background information Observations a) Observation Methodology and Documentation b) Physical traces c) Activity Snapshots d) Customer Tracking Problems and Issues a) Customer related Issues b) Staff related Issues c) Other issues Programming Statements Adjacency Diagram Summary of Conclusions Appendix References 3 6

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4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
LOCATION AND ENTRANCE EXISTING DEPARTMENTS Background information was collected to understand the existing site function and to put the observation site into a context. Information like location of the site, entrances available and the existing spatial zoning of the departments in the store.

a) Location and Entrance

Libe Slope East Avenu e

Central Campus

Cornell campus store is located between Central Campus and Ho Plaza; and is adjacent to Libe Slope. Ho Plaza holds events by diverse organizations almost everyday; and Sage Avenue and East Avenue are two of the busiest streets on campus connecting College Town and the Central Campus. In addition, the store provides textbooks and class materials, and includes a convenience store (Caf 18xx), clothing department, stationary, art supplies, and even small tables and chairs; so that this store can be one stop shopping place. The store has two entrances: one from the Ho Plaza and the other from the Central Campus. One of the unique features of this site is it takes advantage of the slope it is located on. To illustrate, it has one entrance on each floor, so both floors are directly accessible from outside. However, we discovered the Ho Plaza entrance on the first floor gets more customers. This would probably be simply because Ho Plaza has more foot traffic. Another thing we noticed from our observation is some people just enter the store to pass through on their way to destinations. The Ho plaza entrance is more frequently used by customers than the Central campus entrance

Ho Plaza & College Town

Sage Avenue

Approach to the store

Entrance to the 2nd floor from Central Campus Entrance to the first floor from Ho Plaza and Libe Slope

Entranceusage
70% Persentageofpeople 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% HoplazaEntrance CentralCampus Entrance Background Information 27% HoplazaEntrance CentralCampusEntrance 63%

Access to the store

EntranceUsed

b) Existing Departments
Lower Level Current space allocation for the departments on the lower level of the store.
1. TTCo 2. CFCU 3. 1865 Caf 4. Cashier 5. New realeses 6. Books Information 7. Books 8. Men's Apparel 9. Women's Apparel 10. Kid's Apparel 11. Textbooks

Upper Level

Current space allocation for the departments on the Upper level of the store.
1. Cashier 2. Technology connection 3. Stationary 4. Art Supplies 5. Poster Sale/ Seating area 6. Accessories 7. Cards & Gifts 8. Memorabilia 1 9. Memorabilia 2 10. Posters & Magazines
Background Information

2. OBSERVATIONS
OBSERVATION METHODOLOGY & DOCUMENTATION PHYSICAL TRACES ACTIVITY SNAPSHOTS CUSTOMER TRACKING

Observations were done to gather facts and issues for the site. Various observation tools like observing physical traces, activity snapshots, customer tracking and notations were used to suit the project requirement. Each tool provided a different set of information and issues and facts.

a) Observation methodology & documentation

At beginning, the team visited the store together to find physical traces. (Item 1) And then, we split the open hours into three time zones: morning, noon, evening to understand customer patterns throughout a day; and allocated two slots on weekend to compare weekdays and weekend. Each member with multiple copies of store floor plans visited the store at least three times, one for each time zone, for observation. Due to the small size of the team, members observed on their own, even if two of us observed during same time slot. (Item 2 & 4) The following tools were used to map and record the behavior: Finding physical traces: Categorized into 1) By-product, 2) Adaptations for use, 3) Displays of self, 4) Public messages (Zeisel, Chapter 8, 2006) Activity Snapshots: Recording the number of people per department every 15 minutes, totaling 30 Customer tracking: 1) customers demographic information, 2) the amount of time spent in the store, 3) activity types at pause points, 4). time of the day 5) routes Totaling 30 (Refer Appendix 1) (Zeisel Chapter 9, 2006) Notations: General observations noted in a verbal format to record qualitative data.

Individual Observation Plan

9/15 W 8:00am 11:30am (Morning) 11:30am 2:00pm (Noon) 2:00pm 5:30pm (Evening) UV 9/16 Th SG SG, GP GP UV SG 9/17 F UV 9/18 S 9/19 Su 9/20 M GP

Observations

b) Physical traces
i) By-products

Erosion: wearing away of paint on stair risers.

Erosion: flaking paint in Technology Connection- most likely from strips of tape that once displayed something there.

Leftovers: sticky tack on soffit from over Technology Connectionevidence that something was once displayed there.

Missing Traces: many television monitors around bookstore not on/ being used. *This could be a prime spot to display information that is attention grabbing.

Missing Traces: many display shelves are empty, or stocked with very less products. Observations

ii) Adaptations for use

Props: baskets only at entrances

Props: step stool- many seen throughout store. *Suggests that the height of the shelves/wall displays is too tall for employees to stock without help.

Props: changing room/stall created in middle of sales floor.

Props: Fan on upper level ceiling.

Observations - Physical traces 9

Separation: posts and barrier belts at cashier lines.

Separation: moveable textbook shelving- used to create independent textbook area. *This creates the necessary boundary for the textbook sales area but also separates the area visually from the rest of the store and decreases light levels within the section.

Connection: the floor mat put to connect the level differences in the floor.

Separation: change in the flooring material acts as a means to separate the primary circulation from the secondary circulation routes.

Observations - Physical traces 10

iii) Displays of self

Identification: in stationary and technology sections the signs indicate aisle numbers. Personalization: cubicles in staff area on upper level- evidence of photos and stuffed animals.

Identification: Cornell over exit.

Group Membership: Cornell mascot.

Observations - Physical traces 11

iv) Public messages

Official: section signage. *The signs indicating section of the store are not large enough and are often blocked by ceiling protrusions and columns when viewed from primary circulation routes.

Unofficial: poster sale signs with images and directions

Physical Traces Analyses

Customer Issues discovered from Physical Traces:
*Shopping baskets: are available, but only located at entrance off to the side, out of line of sight and used by very few customers, leaving many to struggle with armloads of items. *Signage/wayfinding: the current signs for section identification are not visible from far away and are often blocked visually from primary circulation routes by protruding ceiling areas and columns; there are no signs/indicators of what sections are located on which floor.
Observations - Physical traces 12

C) Activity Snapshots
Morning Snapshots
Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is books.

Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the upper level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is art supplies.

Observations

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Noon Snapshots
Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the noon from 11:30am to 2:00pm at the lower level were 251. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is TTCo bank.

Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the noon from 11:30am to 2:00pm at the upper level were 358. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is posters and magazines.

Observations - Activity snapshots

Lower Level

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Evening Snapshots
Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the evening from 2:00pm to 5:30pm at the lower level were 175. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is TTCo bank.

Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the evening from 2:00pm to 5:30pm at the upper level were 167. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is posters & magazines and cards & gifts.

Observations - Activity snapshots

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All day Snapshots

Lower Level
Comparison of number of people in each department across the three time slots of a day reveals that on the lower level mens apparel is the most visited section through the day and at the upper level poster sale is the most visited section.

Upper Level

Observations - Activity snapshots

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Morning

Noon

Evening

Observations - Activity snapshots

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Activity Snapshots Analyses

These graphs compare the percentage of customers in each section of the store over three times of the day: morning, noon and evening. Across all time periods, the poster sale (15%, 29%, 12%), mens apparel (12%, 8%, 16%) and the technology connection (12%, 8%, 9%) maintain the highest volume of customers. While various other sections at times also had a relatively high volume of customers, these three sections consistently had the most. For the poster sale, this high volume can be attributed to it being a featured and temporary event that draws in many customers to the store. The one day observations were made after the poster sale had ended recorded very few customers spending time in the section (converted to a seating area). The 1865 Caf also shows a significant change of the day. Beginning in the morning, the caf receives 8% of the customers, but for the noon and evening times is reduced to 3%. While the caf is an important and popular element of the store, it is really only so in the morning as students purchase food and drink items for their day. The banks have similar results, having 10% combined of the customers in the morning but only 4% at noon and 2% in the evening. The may also be due to customers using the banks to prepare for their needs of the day. Also, the banks account for a small percentage of the customers overall, despite their prime location in the store.

Observations - Activity snapshots

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d) Customer Tracking
Morning Routes
Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is books.

Upper Level Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the upper level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is art supplies. The routes taken by people in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower and upper level.

Observations

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Noon Routes

Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is books.

Upper Level Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the upper level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is art supplies. The routes taken by people in the noon from 11:30am to 2:00pm at the lower and upper level.

Observations - Customer Tracking

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Evening Routes

Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is books.

Upper Level Upper Level

The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the upper level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the poster sale and the lowest number of people is art supplies. The routes taken by people in the evening 2:00pm to 5:30pm at the lower and upper level.

Observations - Customer Tracking

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All day Routes

There are two main circulation paths but only one is a high traffic zone. The path to mens apparel section through the books section is not much used.

Lower Level
The total number of people in all departments in the morning from 8:00am to 11:30am at the lower level were 75. The department with highest number of people is the mens apparel and the lowest number of people is books.

Upper Level Upper Level

There are two main circulation paths but only one is a high traffic zone. The path to mens apparel section through the books section is not much used.

The staircase near the posters and magazines section is underutilized. Also the primary circulation route near the underutilized staircase is not much used.

Observations - Customer Tracking

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Customer Tracking Analyses

Buyervs BrowserXTimespent
40% 35% Percentageofpeople 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% <4 4 to 7 8 to 11 12 to 15 Timespentatthestoreinminutes 15< 18% 12% 18% 12% 10% 6% 18% Buyer Browser 35% 35% 36%

The buyers tend to spend 4-11 minutes on an average in the store while the majority of browsers spend 8-11 minutes. The customers who linger in the store more than 15 minutes are mostly browsing.

Groupvs IndividualXTimespent
60% Percentageofpeopple 50% 40% 30% 30% 20% 10% 0% <4 4to7 8to11 12to15 15< Timespentatthestoreinminutes 0% 22% 16% 26% 16% 11% 16% 11% Groups Individuals 52%

On an average the groups tend to spend more time in the store in comparison to the individuals. Groups generally spend at least 4 minutes while 22% of the individual users spend less than 4 minutes in the store.

Observations - Customer Tracking

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Customer Tracking Analyses

Customer Pause Point Adjacency Matrix

The information displayed in this matrix is derived from the number of customers recorded going from one specific section directly to another.- linking the spaces with their journey. From these numbers, the relationship of the spaces can be described as primary (5-8 customers), secondary (3-4 customers), tertiary (1-2 customers) and no adjacency (0 customers). Using these findings, a proposed adjacency diagram can reflect these relationships through the organization of the spaces, but also utilizing commonly visited areas to attract customers to those rarely visited. 24

Observations - Customer Tracking

3. PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

CUSTOMER RELATED ISSUES STAFF RELATED ISSUES OTHER ISSUES The observations revealed certain problems and issues with the physical space which the customers and the staff faced while accomplishing their motives in the store. These issues are not comprehensive but are suggestive .

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Customer-related Problems and Issues

Caf: The full height walls on all sides isolate the Caf 1865, which prohibit it from being integrated into rest of the store to promote sales interaction. Additionally, the lack of seating area allows the customers only grab-and-go options. Signage and wayfinding: The current signs for department identification are not visible from far away and are often blocked visually from primary circulation routes by protruding ceiling areas and columns; there are no signs or indicators of what sections are located on which level. Lighting: The current lighting design uses only flush mounted or similar fixtures which provides insufficient ambient lighting in the outlying departments. Shopping baskets: The baskets are only located off to the sides of the entrances; so they are seen and used by very few customers, leaving many to struggle with armloads of items. Security: Customers carrying bags are required to leave them on open shelves at entrance to textbook department. Some customers were noted to feel uncomfortable with the insecure nature of this. Front cashier and information desk: The cashier at front of lower level is intended to serve the entire level except textbooks, but it appears to belong only to the book department due to its location. The information desk is meant to serve the entire lower level including textbooks but is not visually locatable.

Problems and Issues

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Staff-related Problems and Issues

Information desk: The information desk is underutilized, because of its low visibility. As a result, the information desk staff appear unable to provide efficient service. Textbook and Book departments: The shelving is very high and arranged counter to staff location, which decreases customers accessibility to staff when needed. Cashier Lower Level: The staff have been observed to turn their backs to store, lean on counter, or leave when no customers are present, which results in customers having to wait until staff notices them. Cashier Upper Level: The cashier counter serves other miscellaneous purposes such as faxing, shipping, and photocopying. The related equipment are located further back in the staff area, which brings the staff out of earshot and line of sight to customers. Staff satellite area at apparel department at the secondary staircase: This staff area does not function to provide adequate staff resources as the staff has been observed to move around with armloads of merchandise rather than utilizing the satellite station for stocking needs.

Other Problems and Issues

Obvious primary circulation: The path connecting the two entrances is a direct and obvious route leading the customers to pass straight through without any distractions by merchandise. Staircases: There are two open staircases, but the secondary one is rarely used due to its low visibility and the close proximity to the other one. Consequently, it is a waste of space and does not aid in promoting full circulation of space. Flexibility: The lack of multi-purpose area causes a high volume of merchandise being moved around to accommodate events (e.g. poster sales) and temporary space needs of other departments (e.g. textbook departments additional space needs at the beginning of a semester) causing disorganized displays.

Problems and Issues

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4. PROGRAMMING STATEMENTS
On the basis of the observations and issues identification, programming statements for renovation of the store were written taking into account the most important issues to be addressed.

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Mission Statement: To redesign the Cornell Stores interior space that creates a
convenient and efficient shopping environment.
Goal Statement 1. The new design will increase legibility of the store.
PR Statements The new lighting design should provide at least 20 foot-candle ambient lighting at waist level throughout the store; and offer additional lighting to lead customers to highlighted areas of interest, such as new release books, promotional items, finer items, etc.,

All section identification signs should be visible from the entrances to facilitate the customers wayfinding.

Goal Statement 2. The new department allocation will encourage customer exploration of the store and its products.
PR Statements The flooring of the circulation routes should be the same as the rest of the store to encourage customers to meander.

The new design should facilitate customer visits on an average to at least 60% of the stores departments. The Caf should provide seating for at least 10 people to promote lounging and casual reading.

Goal Statement 3. The customer service areas will enable staff and customer interaction and visibility of each other.
PR Statements

The new layout should locate centralized information and cashier areas on each floor allowing customers to easily recognize and access them, while allowing staff to have greater view of the store and customers. The configuration of departments should facilitate visual and physical accessibility to the primary circulation routes as well as to adjacent departments.
Programming Statements 29

5. ADJACENCY DIAGRAM
In accordance with the programming statements and the observations the relationships between the various departments of store were determined. Two levels of relationship were allotted immediate adjacency and close adjacency.

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Adjacency Diagram

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6. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with the programming statements and the observations the relationships between the various departments of store were determined. Two levels of relationship were allotted immediate adjacency and close adjacency.

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Summary of Conclusions
The observations of the Cornell Store through staff observation, customer tracking, activity snapshots and physical traces, provide insight into how the store functions and where there are problems in how it does or does not facilitate those functions. From staff observations and the customer tracking it became clear that the location of the information desk is not appropriate for its function of providing as the information port for all of the book material as well as for the textbooks, and there is also no specific area to go to for help with the apparel sections. It does not function properly primarily because of its location: against the wall and behind two columns which block visibility to and from the staff and of its sign. From these findings, the recommendation to make this vital aspect of the store more efficient is to give it a more centralized location with full customer access from all sides and visibility to and from all departments it supports. This can also then be combined with the lower level cashier location. Having a central location will also allow customers to more clearly recognize its function and welcome them when they enter. Another main issue which became uncovered from the physical trace observations is that the signage is not effective in labeling the spaces. Coupled with the low ceiling with protruding elements and large columns, the size of the signs provides very low visibility of department identification. The absence of sign or map indicating department locations wayfinding issues. The recommendation to remedy this issue is to locate signs closer to the front of each department rather than the back considering the structural elements which could interfere with them. Introducing an overall locator map will also aid in wayfinding. Physical trace observations and general observations also uncovered the issue of lighting. In general, the store has insufficient lighting, particularly at the back of the lower level. Currently, the textbook department utilizes tall shelving units to create the section, blocking artificial light sources and view from the front of the store. This creates it a closed off and dingy space, not particularly conducive to browsing textbooks. Also, in areas such as new release books and promotional items, there is no more emphasis placed on them than the rest of the sections, making them blend with the general merchandise. The recommendation is to install more effective ambient over the entire store and provide spotlighting over certain areas to highlight them as a hot item.

Summary

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Fromtheresultsofthecustomertracking,themostcommonroutestakenbycustomersaretheprimaryroutescreatedbythe storesdesign.Byvaryingflooringmaterial,thecurrentstorecreatesadefinitedifferencebetweenmerchandisedisplayareaand circulation.Thisdiscouragesmeanderingbymanyofthecustomersobservedandprohibitsthemfrominteractingwith departmentsthattheycouldiftheycrossedthroughmoreonthewaytotheirdestination.Takingadvantageofmeandering customersfromadepartmenttoanotherwouldpromotemoresalesforthestore.Thiscanbeaccomplishedbyeliminatingsuch perceptualbarriers:installingthesameflooringovertheentiregeneralspacewithonlyafewexceptionssuchastohighlight areas,giveadifferentmoodorforhighmaintenanceareas. Anotherissuededucedfromthelackofacertainactivityaswellasfromtheshortaverageamountoftimespentinthestore is thatofcafstyleseating.Currentlythecaffacilitatesconveniencestorelikeshopping:entering,purchasingandleaving.The cafaspectisanareatotakeadvantageoftoencouragecustomerstostaylongerinthespaceanduseitasabreakarearather thanawalkthrough.Therecommendationofprovidingcafstyleseatinglinkedtothecafforcoffeedrinkerscanbecombined withloungestyleseatinglinkedforthebookdepartment.Thiswouldpromotelingeringforbothdepartmentsandincreasesales. Thecustomertrackingandactivitysnapshotsalsosuggestthatmanyareasareignoredorseldomvisited.Basedontheexisting planofthespace,thoseparticularareasarenotonlyindirectlylinkedtoaprimaryroute,butarealsodisconnectedfroma secondaryrouteeitherbyphysicaltraceseparationsorvisualimpairments.Forthestoretofunctionproperlyasawhole,each sectionshouldhaveequalopportunitytobevisitedbycustomers.Arecommendationforthiswouldbe the configuration of departments should facilitate accessibility to each other as well as to the primary circulation routes. Also,somewhat alternatingorgroupingtheseundervisiteddepartmentswithmorepopularoneswillbringcustomersintothemevenifby accident. Thesefindingsandconsequentissuesandrecommendationsarederivedfromthedatacollectedfromvariousmethodsof observation.However,itshouldbenotedthatthescopeoftheobservationsislimitedto30customertracksandactivitysnap shots,whichmighthaveconstraineddatatoanalyze.Itispossiblethattherearefurtherissuesnotdiscussedinthisanalysisand thataredesignofthestoreshouldtakeintoconsiderationmorethantheseprimaryobservedissues.Regardless,thefindings supportoneanotherinmakingthepointsoftheissuesandrecommendationsgiveninthisreport.

Summary

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Appendix 1:
The customer tracking data sheet was used to collect and record information of the customers demographics, activities and the observers comments. It also charted the time spent in the store and the entrances used to map out behavior patterns.

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References:
Alexander, Christopher, et al. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. New York, NY: Oxford University, 1977. Print. Cornell University. Maps. Cornell University, 2010. Web. 25 September 2010 <http://www.cornell.edu/maps>. Durek, Donna P. Architectural Programming: Information Management for Design. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1993. Print. Underhill, Paco. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Print. Zeisel, John. Inquiry by Design: Environment/Behavior/Neuroscience in Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, and Planning. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. Print Anbinder, Mark H. The Cornell Store. Flickr from Yahoo, 2010. Web. 27 September 2010 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhaithaca/485184896/>

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