Observation #1
Upon entering Indian mall, I found that the environment was inviting to customers. The temperature was warm but not hot. It was evident that attention was given to maintaining a comfortable temperature. The walking area of the mall smelled like food. The smells of various foods were drifting down the walkway from the food court. Through the center of the walkway there were sections of benches or walls as well as small shopping stands. Everything was clean and tidy. An attempt had been made to establish an atmosphere that was aesthetically pleasing. For example, the floor had a rough pattern of cut tile that matched the benches in the center as well as the decor around. Additionally, plants and trees were planted in the center among the walkways.
Soft music was playing in the background. The music wasn't noticeable upon entering the mall. However, upon concentration of the environment, I began to hear it. Additionally, other areas were playing music that seemed to compete with the background noise. The different music didn't conflict as I walked through the mall because as one became louder another would fade away. Another contributor to the background was the noise of multiple conversations between different groups of people. These conversations sounded muffled as people were talking quietly and other background noises were competing with each of them. Therefore specific dialogues could not be made out.
Most of the shops were empty of customers. Most of the customers were walking slowly down the walkways. Those who were walking down the walkways were traveling in both directions on both sides. There was no cultural norm that prompted people to "keep to the right side". Most people would look into the shops as they passed them. However, some went into the shops while others passed by them without entering. Of those who entered shops, most didn't enter every shop but chose shops to enter in what appeared to be a sporadic way. For example, one person entered a shop and the left that shop and walked leisurely toward the center of the mall before returning to the same side of the mall to enter another shop further down the walkway.
I found no pattern as to the makeup of those in the mall in terms of whether they were in groups, pairs, or alone. There seemed to be relatively equal occurrences of these. of both those alone and those who were accompanied by someone else, there were examples of people who would meet others that they appeared to know and began talking with them.
Most of the shoppers seemed to be dressed comfortably. Many were in sweats and very few were dressed formally. (Is this due to the "time of day" which they were observed?) Some of thee people appeared to have a sense of purpose in their actions and in the way they traveled from one place to another. For example, they walked strait to the place they visited and appeared to conduct their business and leave. Others didn't seem to have a specific plan or purpose for being where they were. For example, one woman with several teenagers with her was walking down the walkway when, all of a sudden, she turned around abruptly, and crossed to the other walkway. She then proceeded to go another direction.
There were several people working in the shops. Usually, there were more than one working in each shop. (Is this for security reasons?) These shop employees were walking around the shops moving clothing and other items around. Some of them were working on building displays of products. These displays were in a central location in the shop or near the entrance of the shop. Usually, there was an employee watching the entrance to the shop and when someone came into the shop an employee would be available for assistance. Some of the employees were leaning on clothes racks. (Does this indicate they had been there for a while and were tired?) some of the workers have name tags on. These name tags were shinny and exhibited the employee's name clearly. The shops had displays that held products at the center or where the entrance was with prices displayed on large signs in the middle of the merchandise. Most of these signs had the words "Sale" as well as the prices for products exhibited. Other racks were placed throughout the store which did not have large signs displaying the prices. The pieces of merchandise on these racks had price tags hanging from them. There is a "web presence" even in this physical setting. For example, there were web addresses on the doors of the shops with slogans such as "footlocker.com Always Open." There were no "open" hours on the doors to show shoppers when the shops would be opening and closing. (Is this because the mall has operation hours and the stores must adhere to the malls hours?) There were carts that some had procured which hold children that were being pushed around throughout the mall. Some people were pushing children in strollers.
Some of the employees were wearing clothing that indicated they had just come from another activity. For example, there was a girl who walked into the mall with some friends who was wearing what appeared to be a soccer uniform. She had the soccer style shirt and shorts and also had soccer style socks on. One of the girls who was with this girl had a cell phone and was talking with her.
There appear to be more woman than men at the mall and most are not wearing bright colored clothing. (Is this because of the season- "Winter") Some of the customers were carrying bags and some were not. (Were there those who weren't shopping?). Being curious as to whether people were generally there to shop or whether they were there to walk and look, I was prompted to attempt to determine how many appeared to carry some kind of purse or wallet. I looked at this as a possible help in determining if there were those who had no intent in purchasing from the various shops. I was surprised to find that, of the sample I looked at, most of the women and all of the men appeared to be carrying either a purse or a wallet. Fifteen out of seventeen women were carrying purses and eight out of eight men had what appeared to be a wallet in their pocket.