Ethnic Grocery Store Ethnography–Trader Joe’s
- In what ways is the store organized differently from what you expected?
- Are food items categorized in a way that makes sense to you? Is it easy for you to find the things you are looking for?
- Are the food items packaged in a way that seems attractive to you?
- What differences do you notice in how products are presented? In other words, which items received priority placements (at the end of an aisle for example)?
- Did you find items that you did not expect? Did you expect to find items that were not available? How do you think the store managers decide what should be offered?
- Does the store seem to have comparable standards of freshness and quality as those in which you normally shop? Do you think that there might be any cultural reasons for this?
- From your observation, who does the typical shopper seem to be? Young, old, male, female? Is this what you would expect?
- Do there seem to be different rules or norms for behavior such as politeness, appropriateness, and so forth?
- To what extent does the store seem to be identified with a certain culture or subculture?
- What does the type of food and product selection tell you about this culture?
- Do people seem to interact in the same way as they do in stores with which you are more familiar?
- Note any other areas in which this store seems to be different from other stores. Do you think these differences can be attributed to culture?