Neiman Marcus Case Study

Register to read the introduction… Also, Neiman Marcus stores are usually multiple stories with similar items grouped together on each floor. For example, its store in Oak Brook, IL has its gourmet food shop along with home goods such as tables and knick knacks on its lower level. On the main level there are mostly women’s items such as shoes, handbags, jewelry, makeup, and clothing. The upper level has men’s clothes, shoes, and accessories. Target is typically a free standing store with all items on one level. When one walks into target there is a row of cash registers and each section of the store has its own ‘theme’ which is usually denoted by a large hanging sign such as ‘PHARMACY’ over it. The layout of Neiman Marcus is designed so that the consumer is guided by a sales person versus Target who provides its customers with big red shopping carts to fill up and checked out by a cashier at the end. These two retailers store layouts provide for a very different customer experience. Neiman Marcus has sales consultants throughout the store and one is greeted almost immediately by one as they walk through the door from that point on the customer and sales consultant walk hand in hand throughout the store providing the customer with advice and …show more content…
Hardly ever is their staff waiting to assist but rather employees in each designated section stocking shelves. The check out experience is that of a grocery store and always seems to be under staffed. Furthermore, Target is not trying to build one on one relationships with customer so that they will return more for the service then the items for sale. A mjor noticeable difference between a Neiman Marcus employee an a Target employee is that Target people have tp wear a uniform of khaki pants and a red polo where as a Neiman Marcus employee can wear any outfit form their personal wardrobe as long as it is business dressy. When all empoyess are in a uniform the customer may have an easier time finding assistance but that seems to be the krux of the experience: the consumer must seek out assistance but at Neiman Marcus the employee seeks the shopper out and the fact that they are allowed to dress similar to a customer may make some shoppers more comfortable. I was able to experience both stores customer service and the two were no where near the same. I went into Neiman Marcus to grab some perfume and my friend asked if I could pick her up a specific brand of eyeliner make-up and a matching brush. As, soon as I walked in I was greeted by a lady who introduced herself and began to cross sell me by offering