[Sigia-l] "Messy" design, Indian style

Sat Aug 18 11:24:18 EDT 2007

Hi,
Its a good point he makes about - "messy style that sells" but I dont think
the reasons for the failure of the earlier design are elaborated enough...
it may just be that 6 years back, people were very much new to the concept
of wide aisles and spacious buying environments, but the same cannot be said
of today... It may have been only  that people might  have been
"intimidated" by neat, spacious environments not accustomed to before and
decided against picking up/buying stuff..... questions we might ponder upon
are how much was the time given for people to acclimatize to the new
environment before he pulled the spacious design back and went to a chaotic
style? Was there a study conducted of people's buying patterns and their
comfortability?

< "They should get a sense of victory," >
The same can be said to all kinds of interface design, all users want a
sense of achievement, victory over the interface... but is that a reason
enough to make it tough? make it chaotic? build poor quality as part of
design? Is that the only way to tackle??

I have been to Big Bazaar myself and find that extremely messy
and uncomfortable.... But the fact is that it is crowded most of the
time..... Can we always attribute it to the chaotic design?.. It might just
be that there is no other alternative..... and the tag line is very specific
- You dont get cheaper than this elsewhere... this might be the reason this
is successful......

But his idea of embracing a chaotic design rather than a cleaner one looks
to be just that he was tooo lazy to explore innovative ways and was looking
for a quick win solution rather than a long term goal....

Sudhindra

On 8/18/07, Paola Kathuria <paola at limov.com> wrote:
>
> [After writing this message, I read the whole WSJ article and
> a bit more about Mr Biyani's shops. The article is likely
> referring to the "Big Bazaar" shops. I found an article which
> said that some wealthy people send their servants to shop for
> them and that clothes are presented in their up-market Pantaloon
> shops. Pics at the end. My message is a tad black and white but
> hopefully still relevant.]
>
> Ziya Oz wrote:
> > Here's a WSJ article on Indian supermarket design with insights on
> Western
> > vs. Indian approaches:
> >
> > Americans and Europeans might like to shop in pristine and quiet stores
> > where products are carefully arranged. But when Mr. Biyani tried that in
> > Western-style supermarkets he opened in India six years ago, too many
> > customers walked down the wide aisles, past neatly stocked shelves and
> out
> > the door without buying.
>
> I don't think that this phenomenon is to do with culture
> but to do with giving an impression of wealth, and also
> about psychology.
>
> Consider a cashmere jumper folded on a shelf vs. hanging
> off a rail: the folded jumper will be seen as more precious
> and fragile, not to be spoilt or demeaned by hanging amongst
> a gaggle of other clothes. And one hanging on a rail will be
> seen as being better than one in a bargain bit.
>
> I bet that if someone did an experiment, people (of ALL
> classes) would guess a higher value for the folded item
> compared to the same hung item, and both more than when
> it's in a bargain bin.
>
> Having to negotiate clothes folded neatly onto shelves
> is also NOT a practical way to shop and I very rarely
> look at clothes *only* presented this way.
>
> 1) decide whether a folded item is a display item
>
> 2) find the size you want by going through the pile, making
>   sure the ones on top don't tumble off
>
> 3) take one and shake to unfold and hold it against you
>
> 4) spend minutes trying to fold it as neatly as you find it
>
> 5) put it back on the pile, hoping that a staff member
>   isn't frowning at you because you messed up the pile
>
> If the item's hung on a rail, you just remove it from the
> rail and hold it against you.
>
> > Mr. Biyani doesn't allow haggling, but having
> > damaged as well as good quality produce in the same box gives customers
> a
> > chance to choose and think they are getting a better deal. "They should
> get
> > a sense of victory," he says.
>
> Yes, I agree about the victory but, again, I don't think
> it's about class. I know that when one is newly wealthy,
> that, giving a choice, they'd go for the more expensive
> item as a matter of pride but I don't think that this
> buying state lasts forever.
>
> I have a permanent sale in my online jewellery shop for
> a small selection of items. Most visitors visit the sale
> and all kinds of people buy sale items.
>
> Big Bazaar:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/balu/349070896/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/balu/350604257/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/amit_gupta/63834168/
>
> Pantaloons:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/satmandu/920239822/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/satmandu/919386473/
>
>
> Paola
> --
> http://www.paolability.com/
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