WAL-MART AESTHETICS
Confirming a prediction I've made in various interviews and post-speech Q&A sessions, reader Raymund Eich writes that even Wal-Mart is (slowly) discovering that improved aesthetics are essential to retail competition:
Reading your blog entry regarding Wal-Mart, I wanted to drop an anecdote about Sam's Club. Until recently, the last time I'd shopped at one had been about 10 years ago--all I remember of that store was gray cinder-block and unfriendly lighting. I recently went to a new (18 month old) Sam's Club, and it was a much more welcoming warehouse, with the outer walls hidden by high shelving and white sheetrock and cooler cases in the grocery section. Lots of colored signs hung high in the grocery section, too, and low aisles in the middle of the store gave a spacious feel. If the old Sam's Club was like Home Depot, the new one was like Lowe's. Plus, bulk Halloween candy was cheap.
I've never been to Sam's Club, but I understand the difference between Lowe's and Home Depot. It's subtle but significant and has paid off mightily for Lowe's. In the face of competition, even utilitarian environments can't be downright ugly.