Urban Outfitters seems to be a popular brand in retailing, but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered Anthropologie. If you haven’t heard, seen, or visited an Anthropologie retail location, you are missing an experience, no kidding.
After visiting the store, I found some figures that surprised me. Here’s one that stuck out more than most: the average Anthropologie shopper spends eighty minutes in the store per trip. Eighty — that’s 1 hour, 20 minutes on just one visit. How much time do you think the typical shopper spends at other retailers? Fifteen minutes. That’s an amazing figure that should convey loads about the feel of the stores.
Anthropologie was founded to capitalize on patrons of the Urban Outfitters store who outgrew UA’s fashions. As such, the target market for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40′ish professional woman with high discretionary income. Not a bad market to target!
Ask ten women what they think of Anthropologie and you’ll probably hear . . . one opinion! Almost unanimously, people love the store, but aren’t too fond of the prices. Granted, they are steep, but for good reason. Anthropologie is very selective and exclusive with their clothing lines, and just about all of the clothing you find in a store is a limited edition run. Heck, they even have a good selection of one-of-a-kind pieces!
These items tend to fly off of the shelves, leaving oddball items scattered about, but that leads to an opportunity for buyers: namely, sales racks. There are a bunch of discounted items if you don’t mind digging, which I’m sure is responsible in part for the average length of stay.
What impresses me the most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their clothes include a lot of floral prints, laces, and delicate details, but look elegant and sophisticated at the same time. The feeling that I get is that it’s a clothing line for successful women who aren’t compelled to reveal half of their bodies to look sexy. Score, I’d say.
For anyone really looking for a bargain, you can find discount Anthropologie clothing online – not through the Anthropologie store, but through other retailers. I can’t imagine that this stuff is wholesale, and with the high turnover in clothing, I don’t think it’s made up of last season’s items either, but the price is attractive!
Bottom line: if you haven’t yet stepped foot in an Anthropologie store, find out if there’s one in the vicinity. It really is a great shopping experience. But beware of the prices!
