IC Bookstore Blog Post

In the IC bookstore, things are positioned very thoughtfully throughout the store. Things are grouped in certain ways that I have never noticed before, but have definitely fallen for. In the back right of the store there are baby clothes with cute phrases and the IC logo. Positioned on the shelf right next to these are stuffed animals wearing the IC logo. Naturally, the store is trying to get into the mind of a consumer who is buying a gift for a baby, and feels that if they're buying clothes, they might also want to buy the baby a toy. Because this is the only section of the store with baby clothes and products, customers cannot price match, so they will automatically buy these things there. There were also things like tattoos and hats for big Ithaca sports events that are placed right near the checkout counter, so if someone sees this and knows there is  big game coming up, especially Cortaca, they'll immediately grab these and buy them. Another example I noticed were these very nice sweaters right in the front of the store on their own separate table with a 25% off sign in the front. These sweaters were very nice, and since it had a discount, people would most likely buy them because the price is reduced, even without checking the prices of other sweaters. The funny thing about these sweaters though, were that there was no price tag attached to them. I think the store believes that since college students love sales, they will automatically purchase the sweaters without thinking twice. When you get to the middle of the store there are some nice Nike and Under Armour products that are extremely expensive. However, these are well known brands that appear to have high quality products, so students will go for them. The sweatshirts are strategically placed near the shorts, leggings, and T-shirts. These items were in the price range of $50-70 which is extremely pricey. The sweatshirts and shorts in the back of the store however were much cheaper (around $30). For people who are price-insensitive won't spend time going to the back of the store to buy the cheaper sweatshirts/shorts/t-shirts. Possible leaks for this is that students will typically be at school for 4 years, so they will eventually explore the entire store and notice the hidden sales racks and cheaper options.