Acknowledging the fact that men and women seek different experiences while shopping, GAP is planning to have separate entrances for men and women.

“”Research showed that men want to come and go easily, while women want an exploration,” says Mark Dvorak, Gap’s VP for store design. The women’s sections are organized by occasion, such as work or going out, with accessories scattered throughout to foster browsing. The men’s side is more straightforward: Signs list basics required to build certain outfits, and items are stacked by size for a quick in-and-out shopping experience.”

While play areas for kids are common, there seems to be room to attend to the companions.GAP stores have lounges where bored companions can play games and read magazines.

- GAP offers pagers to customers wishing to use the fitting rooms but hate to wait or queue up. Customers can continue their shopping until a room is free.
-Hand held scanners that allow customers to take charge of their grocery shopping through ?self scanning and bagging?.
-?Touch screens? that give more control to customers and offer benefits such as guiding you to cereals or washing powder, enhancing Customer Service or introducing loyalty programmes, placing orders for products that are not on the shelves

The article on GAP’s retail initiatives can be read here and how Bloom is using scanners can be read here

• Deepa