Assignment 5: Megan

The modern design of American retail centers has changed drastically since the days of outdoor or skylight lit European arcades. While arcades were populated by specialty store owners and high end clientele, the Macy’s department store featured here, for example, is symbolic of corporate America and middle class shoppers and employs modern technology to adapt to its urban environment. The exterior of the building takes on a rather bland, white box shape that has been divided by horizontal string courses, emphasizing the building’s three stories. At first glance, it seems as if glass windows—reminiscent of earlier department stores described by Larry Ford—allow natural light to illuminate the shoppers’ domain. What one assumes to be windows, however, turns out to be a glass wall that does not open on to the shopping levels. Instead, these glass walls create large display cases with room for merchandise displays and advertising boards. This windowless box design only became possible with the development of bright fluorescent lighting and improvements in electricity which earlier department store prototypes did not have. The Macy’s logo crowns the exterior corners and stands as a corporate symbol reflective of the growth and standardization of U.S. department stores which have eagerly attached themselves to large malls rather than remain as free standing buildings.

Because the exterior of the store is windowless, the interior has been brightly lit with fluorescent panels while spot lights accentuate store displays. The department store itself does not have a large, central courtyard or open nave as many early, free standing stores had. Instead, Macy’s relies on the mall’s courtyard areas for natural lighting and mingling places for shoppers to rest or socialize. The center of Macy’s is marked by a column of two sets of up and down escalators which transport customers from floor to floor. The store’s large size has prompted designers to install numerous directional signs to guide customers through the variety of merchandise. Though the sheer size of modern department stores can create a chaotic atmosphere, this Macy’s location has made attempts to add touches of serenity and luxury to the interior by installing its own Starbuck’s coffee shop and a day spa complete with a waterfall on the lower floor.

The interior organization of merchandise in the department store matches Ford’s description that targets female shoppers in particular. For example, cosmetic and perfume stands have been placed prominently in the mall entranceway to the store where most window shoppers enter through. Here, employees greet customers by offering make-up trials and special prices on new perfumes. Just past the cosmetic stands are large displays of shoes, followed by women’s accessories and clothes. Ford identifies these areas as places where female customers who are out browsing are most likely to make spur of the moment purchases and be enticed by special sales prices. Men’s apparel and pricey home goods are located on higher floor levels which are most likely to draw only serious customers who are looking to make a specific purchase. All of this attention on merchandise organization and modern department store architecture reflects the extension of corporate retail growth into the twenty-first century.