Author: Jane Lansdown
First Authored: April 25, 2012
Last Revised: June 13, 2018
Department and specialty stores may sell some of the same products but the shopping experience in one is dramatically different than the other. Becoming familiar with the two major types of retail stores allows sales associates as well as a consumers to know which retailer will best satisfy a shopping need.
Hooks / Set
On the Board:
Imagine that when you get home today after school there is a surprise card from a relative, with a $100 check inside.
Lecture: This relative has indicated that he/she missed your last several birthdays and would like to make up for it with this gift. The note also states that you should buy yourself something related to a hobby or passion of yours, whether it be craft items, a musical instrument, sports equipment, a trendy outfit, etc. Your relative asks that it not be spent on gas for your car, a library fine, or lunch for the next month; and to please let him/her know what you have chosen. What will you purchase? Where will you go to purchase that special gift for yourself? Will you look for a top quality item or something of average quality? These are questions we ask ourselves each time that we want to shop, especially when we are giving careful thought to our purchase. Students will share their answers, Instructor (or aide) lists items and name of store on board.
Examples:
Guitar..............................Local Music Store
E-reader.........................Target
Tablet.............................Best Buy
Skateboard...................Board shop
New outfit.......................JC Penney
Continued Lecture: We are familiar with these stores that are available for us to shop locally, we know basically what merchandise is carried in these stores, but do we really know what types of stores these are, besides being retail stores? Again, let's take a look at some of the stores that you have chosen to spend your $100 at! A guitar could be purchased at the music store downtown that specializes in musical equipment. It could also be purchased at Sears in the toy or music department. Your e-reader can be purchased at Target in the electronics department or at Best Buy where they specialize in electronics. A new, trendy outfit could be purchased at JC Penney in the clothing department, or at Pac Sun, where they specialize in the latest trends.
Are you starting to see a pattern here? Thankfully, we have a lot of choices of where to purchase products that we want or need and today we'll be focusing on the differences between the two main types of retail establishments.*encourage students to take notes on terminology on their own notepaper.
Many stores have beautiful and useful things beckoning so you will enter the store, examine the merchandise, and buy a little of that magic to take home. Retail store owners hope that you will find their merchandise enticing, so they make every effort to make their stores and merchandise as appealing as possible. When a consumer can walk into a store, touch the merchandise and make a purchase, we are giving business to a Store-based retailer. These retailers open their doors to walk-in customer traffic, display their merchandise for customers to inspect, and provide sales associates to assist in the purchase of products. There are many types of store based retailers, and each has distinguishing characteristics. Do some of these stores look familiar? Are they all the same? What are some of the differences?
* PPT slide #1 with the different store fronts. Indicate that these are all "store-based retailers" with specific characteristics. Generate discussion with students to point out the differences between the stores. Students will recognize the following:
Specify to students that they have indicated some of the main differences between the two main types of Store-based retailers, Department and Specialty stores.
Let's take a closer look at what makes a department store!
* PPT slide #2, the characteristics of a department store. Expand on each characteristic during the slide show. Ask for other examples of department stores. Students' answers may be: Wal-Mart, Target, Nordstrom, Sears, JC Penney, Fred Meyer, Macy's. Students may reply with Costco, Sam's Club, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, but let them know that they all different types of store based retailers and very similar to department stores, but have their distinctive categories which will be explained another time.
*PPT slide #3, indicating several different types of departments within a department store. Ask students to think of other departments not indicated on the slide.
There are many consumers who aren't comfortable shopping in a huge store where there's usually a ton of people, lots of noise and hustle & bustle. Maybe that consumer doesn't want to go to a department store to buy a t-shirt and see that there are 30 more in the same style & color. That shopper wants more personalized service and a better quality product. He or she wants a quieter atmosphere with specialized products and salespeople who are knowledgeable of that specific type of product. This shopper will be happiest at a specialty store!
* PPT slide #4, the characteristics of a specialty store. Expand on each characteristic during the slide show.
Resources and Materials
Guided Practice
* PPT slide#5, indicating what types of products we might find in a specialty store. Point out that these same items may also be found in department stores, but there are specific stores that specialize in these items and sell related items. Leave this slide up on the screen.
*Students need to each come up with 1) specific name of a specialty store 2) identify what products the store specializes in 3) identify related items the store sells
Example: 1) Pet-Co 2) Specializes in small pets 3) Pet food, cages
Each student shall provide an answer.
Lecture
Lecture: By now, you might have imagined what the work conditions might be in a department and specialty store and some of you might be thinking "A job is a job and it wouldn't matter to me." Some others may be particular about where you prefer to spend 15, 25 or possibly 40 hours of your week! A good rule of thumb is to try to gain employment at the type of retail establishment where you prefer to shop, where you enjoy the atmosphere and the products that store sells. Let's take a look at some of the common work conditions of each.
*Show PPT slide #6, which indicates what to expect when working in each type of store. Expand on each point indicated. This may generate some class discussion.
Print and distribute the Department vs Specialty Store worksheet. Allow 20 minutes to complete. I consider this worksheet to be worth 20 pts.
*Show PPT slide #7, which shows the various stores. Students will answer # 1 on worksheet relating to this slide. This is not a test, and answers will vary except for #1 which should have specific answers (below)
*note that students might think Lowes is a department store because it's large and there are different departments, but point out that it specializes in home improvement and building products and it's large because of the size and amount of products they carry.
Resources and Materials