The Heeren Shops

And so we went Cathay Cineleisure first. Now next is The Heeren Shops!

Date: Thursday, 4th Sept. 2008
Time: 3:00PM

Venue: The Heeren Shops
Target Audience: Rich Teenagers, Working Adults, Tourists

How do they attract their target audience?

If first impression counts, then the first impression of Heeren is:
- Classy but youthful
- Not so affordable for the average teens
- Attractive to tourists and the rich

After analysing the floor layout of Heeren, it became very clear that the place is very different from Cineleisure even though the age range of their target audience is similar. The choice of stores and its lack of emphasis on affordable fashion (located at the 4th floor; not very convenient isn't it?) would deter most young shoppers who are unable to afford the costly items on sale.


Now, let's analyse the street fashion section of Level 4.

The street wear stores are all placed along the perimeters of the area, while female apparels are always placed either beside or opposite street wear stores. Accessories, bags and headwear are conveniently placed along the center of the entire section.

This layout clearly aims to provide a convenient shopping experience to shoppers. They can shop for clothings first, and after that they can easily shop for accessories, bags and shoes to go along with the clothes that they had just bought.

Now, let's come to a conclusion about both Cineleisure and Heeren!

Similarities:

• Made use of interior design and type of stores to attract customers.
• First impression counts - the very first few shops that customers see will determine what kind of shopping mall they would be perceived as.
• Both shopping malls locate the "majority frequented" stores at the lower levels, and the less frequented stores higher.

Differences:

• Cineleisure's layout is such that shoppers have to walk through the entire level in order to reach the escalator to the next level; meaning they have to walk past every store. This may help boost business although not all shoppers will be pleased with the walking distance.
• Heeren, on the other hand, places escalators of the same direction on the same end of the mall. This provides more convenience for shoppers who would want to skip certain floors, but as a result business may not be as good.
• Why the contrast between the 2? It may be possible that Cineleisure needed to boost the business of every store as much as possible, as it also depends on those stores to keep up the revenue for maintaining their cinema and entertainment spots.
• For Heeren, it may be that they are relying on the high cost of the products sold for the stores that provide the revenue. Heeren also don't have the burden of maintaining a big scale facility such as a cinema, hence it can afford not having customers shopping through every single store. The burden of attracting customers will fall on the stores themselves instead.

Out of this outdoor trip to Orchard, the 3 of us were very amazed by how shopping malls can attract their intended audience through sub-conscious influence to the mind. Factors such as interior design, type of stores, and planning of the layout are already sufficient to attract the right people to their mall, yet most people would not be aware of such details if they do not bother to observe and look carefully.

Hence for our project, we also aim to create a great first impression that will attract our target audience right away, and also to sustain that good impression throughout our application.

In the next few posts, we will cover on our 2nd outdoor trip to 2 different supermarkets. Watch this space!

By Chun Kiat