| Course | MT102 Principles of Retailing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Store observation report |
| Length | About 700 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT102 Unit 3
The Livestock Wall Pulls Shoppers Through: A Unit 3 Store Observation Report at Glassmere Aquatics
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT102: Principles of Retailing
Unit 3 Store Observation Report
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The store, the visit and every observation are composite and illustrative; Glassmere Aquatics is the course's composite retailer, and the sources cited are real.
Visit Details
I visited Glassmere's Beavercreek store on a Tuesday evening in October, from 6:10 to 7:05 p.m. About fifteen shoppers were in the store during that hour, served by three associates, two at the livestock wall and one at the register. I asked the shift lead whether I could take notes and photographs, and she allowed notes but not photographs of the livestock wall, so my floor map is a sketch.
Layout
The store is a rectangle of roughly 7,500 square feet. The entrance sits at the front right. A main aisle runs from the entrance along the right wall to the back, where the livestock wall spans the full width of the store, and returns along the left wall to the registers at the front left. Between those two perimeter aisles, eight gondola aisles run front to back in a grid. Levy et al. (2019) describe this combination, a grid inside a racetrack perimeter, as common in stores that want both efficient shelving and a path that exposes shoppers to the full floor, and the Beavercreek store follows it closely.
Entry Area
The first ten feet inside the door hold a promotional table with the month's circular items, a stack of shopping baskets and a rack of starter kits. Most shoppers I watched walked past the table without slowing. Three of the fifteen stopped at the starter kits, and all three appeared to be first-time buyers, since they read the box sides for several minutes.
Adjacencies
The most deliberate adjacency is the livestock wall itself. Fish and plants sit at the back, so a shopper who came for livestock passes at least one aisle of dry goods on the way and another on the way out. Beside the freshwater tanks, the end of the nearest aisle holds foods, nets and acclimation bags. Beside the reef tanks, the end cap holds test kits and reef salt. Those placements put the item a shopper is likely to need next within a few steps of the item they came for.
Other adjacencies are less helpful. Planted-tank fertilizers sit in aisle 6 with general water treatments, about 40 feet from the plant tanks. A shopper buying plants would have to know where to look.
Signage
Exterior signage is a single lit sign with the chain name. Department signs hang above the livestock wall, marking freshwater, reef and plants. Aisle signs are small and sit only at the front end of each aisle, so a shopper walking back from the livestock wall sees no aisle signs at all. Shelf talkers are common in the food aisle and rare elsewhere.
Checkout
The registers sit at the front left, at the end of the return perimeter aisle. The checkout lane has a short impulse fixture with fish treats, small decorations and battery-powered air pumps, items that cost under $15 and appeal to someone who has just bought fish.
Analysis
Inman et al. (2009) found that unplanned purchases are more likely in categories shoppers can see and handle and when shoppers walk more of the store. The Beavercreek layout uses that pattern well for livestock shoppers, who pass dry goods twice. Baker et al. (2002) found that store environment cues, including layout and design, shape how shoppers judge merchandise value and whether they intend to return. The livestock wall, lit and quiet at the back, is the strongest cue in the store, and it supports the expert-friendly positioning in my Unit 2 profile.
The placement that works against the shopper is the planted-tank fertilizer in aisle 6. Planted-tank hobbyists are the fastest-growing group in the profile, and the store makes them hunt for the items they need most.
The store places everything a fish buyer needs within a few steps of the fish, and everything a plant buyer needs forty feet from the plants.
References
Baker, J., Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Voss, G. B. (2002). The influence of multiple store environment cues on perceived merchandise value and patronage intentions. Journal of Marketing, 66(2), 120-141. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.66.2.120.18470
Inman, J. J., Winer, R. S., & Ferraro, R. (2009). The interplay among category characteristics, customer characteristics, and customer activities on in-store decision making. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.5.19
Levy, M., Weitz, B. A., & Grewal, D. (2019). Retailing management (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
What the MT102 Unit 3 assignment asks for
The third unit asks you to visit a store, ideally one belonging to the retailer you profiled, and report what you observe about its layout and merchandising. Record the visit details first, since a weekday evening and a weekend afternoon are different stores. Name the layout type and sketch a floor map if photographs are not allowed. Then work through the entry area, adjacencies, signage and checkout, describing what is there before you say why the retailer might have put it there. Put what you saw and what you think it means in different sentences, which lets a reader test your reasoning. Ask permission before taking notes or photographs and say in the report that you did. Finish by connecting two or three observations to the strategy your profile identified, and name one placement that seems to work against the shopper. Most sections expect three pages with a map.
How the MT 102 Unit 3 example is put together
The sample's first section records a Tuesday evening visit of 55 minutes, about fifteen shoppers and three associates, and notes that the shift lead allowed notes but not photographs. The layout section names a grid of eight aisles inside a racetrack perimeter, citing Levy, Weitz and Grewal. The entry area is described through counts: three of fifteen shoppers stopped at the starter kits. Adjacencies get the longest section, showing how foods and nets sit beside freshwater tanks and test kits beside reef tanks, and then how planted-tank fertilizer sits forty feet from the plants. Signage is sorted by level, and the checkout section lists the impulse items. The analysis uses Inman, Winer and Ferraro on unplanned purchases and Baker and colleagues on store environment cues, then names the one placement that works against the shopper, which the highlighted line states.
MT102 Unit 3 rubric: what earns full points
Instructors grading this report look for fieldwork quality first: specific visit details, a named layout type, a map and observations precise enough that someone could check them. Keeping description and interpretation apart is often where marks are won or lost, since it shows the writer can see before judging. Counts and distances strengthen observations considerably. The analysis should connect findings to the retailer's strategy rather than offer general opinions about store design, and naming a placement that works against the shopper shows critical judgment. The analysis leans on three sources, Inman's team on unplanned buying, Baker's team on store cues and the Levy text, with each source used where it explains an observation and listed in APA 7. A report that notes permission was requested also meets the ethical expectation most sections set for fieldwork. Organization that follows the shopper's path makes the report easy to read.
MT102 Unit 3 help: mistakes that cost points
Store reports often turn into opinion pieces: the store felt crowded, the lighting was nice. Others list departments without saying where they sit or what sits beside them. A common problem is interpretation mixed into every sentence, so the reader cannot tell what was seen from what was assumed. Some writers skip the visit details or the map, which leaves layout claims impossible to check. Others visit at a quiet time and generalize about traffic. If photographs are not allowed, a careful sketch with measurements serves well. A sample report cannot replace your own visit; the observations must come from a store you walked. Choose a store you can reach easily, since you may want to return for later units. Tell us which store you plan to visit, and we will suggest what to watch for in its layout.
Get an MT102 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Tell us the store and location your section wants observed, attach the Unit 3 prompt and rubric, and include your own visit notes or a sketch. The example report is written around them in 24-48h, and there is no charge for a first request. Your observations stay yours; the example shows how a finished report arranges them. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT102 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
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- MT102 Unit 8: Customer Experience Audit
- MT102 Unit 9: Seminar Reflection
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MT102 Unit 3 questions, answered
Does the report need a floor map?
Many sections expect one, and even where it is optional it tends to raise the score, because it lets a reader check your layout claims against a picture. A hand sketch photographed cleanly is usually fine. Label the departments, the entrance, the main aisle and the registers, and keep the map to the areas your report actually discusses.
Can a sample report replace my own store visit?
No. The observations in the report you submit have to come from a store you walked yourself, on the date you give. A sample shows what a finished report contains and how observation is kept apart from interpretation. Treat its store as a stand-in, then fill every heading with what you saw, drew and timed on your own visit.
Is a website acceptable in place of a store for this unit?
Rarely, because the prompt is usually about physical layout, adjacency and signage. If you have no practical access to a store, ask your instructor before substituting. Where a site is permitted, the same logic applies to its menus, category pages and checkout flow, but the paper should say plainly that it is adapting an assignment written for a physical store.
Where can I find a free MT102 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page has the complete MT102 Unit 3 store observation report on a composite aquarium store, with visit details, layout, adjacencies, signage, checkout and analysis, three references and margin notes.
What placement does the sample say works against the shopper?
Planted-tank fertilizers sit in a general aisle about forty feet from the plant tanks, so the chain's fastest-growing group of shoppers has to hunt for the items they need most.