Secret Shopping At JC Penney

     For my excursion assignment, I visited JC Penney located in Manhattan Mall. This department store was interesting because it consisted of two floors, the first floor entirely for women and the lower level for children, men and housewares. Why is it that women needed an entire floor dedicated to them? This indicated that women are automatically expected to shop more. The women's department consisted of several sections besides women and junior's clothing including accessories & handbags, fine jewelry, lingerie, shoes and a Sephora. I suppose that the Sephora store was added to send a message to women that after a long day of shopping for an outfit to go out for the night, why not get their makeup done as well to complete the "look. There were women shopping of all different ages with other women, their significant others, friends and children. I counted six fitting rooms in total on this floor which is many for one single department. The prices for women shirts were decent with a start of $9.99 and ranged up to  $40 the most for a blouse. The most expensive pair of jeans that I found were made by Levi's for $40. I noticed that JC Penney has a lot of designers make women clothing for them as well including "Nicole" by Nicole Miller, "MNG" by Mango, "Betseyville" by Betsey Johnson, Joe Fresh and "I Heart Ronson" by Charlotte Ronson. These designers may have been added to  attract the attention of more female customers that would prefer designer brands to get all types of customers to shop here whether they prefer designer or non-designer clothing.

     As I walked downstairs, I automatically recognized a difference. The lower level was mellow and not as busy as the women's department. I visited the men's department first. There were only three fitting rooms available suggesting that men may not feel a need to try on clothes as much as women. Mostly men were shopping in this department but most were accompanied by a male or female friend. The clothing seemed to be a bit pricier than women's. Their shirts started at $12 and the Levi's jeans ranged from $40 - $60. There was a specific area designated to men's suits, ties and dress shirts which emphasizes that these are a "necessity" for men as opposed to the women's department in which the suits were blended in with the other merchandise. The men's department also did not have as many designer lines. Is this because men may be less materialistic or simpler when it comes to shopping? 

     My next stop was the infant & toddler's section. I found this section to be the the most interesting department. I wasn't surprised to see that more women were shopping in this section than men. I counted six women that were shopping alone and two were with a female friend. There were two couples shopping as well with children and one man by himself. The prices were equivalent between the girls and boys according to the brands. However, there was a larger variety of girl clothing. The colors for girls were bright and adorable with playful designs while the boys had a much smaller variety to choose from with dull colors. The boys did however, have spring jackets available unlike the girls as if the girls wouldn't get cold or aren't supposed to cover up too. I asked a sales associate why weren't there any girls jackets and she replied that they never received any. When I asked why she said that she was unsure.  The boys also had graphic tees with characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cars, Elmo, Thomas and all sorts of cartoon characters. That's when I realized that the girls didn't have any graphic tees. From my experiences with my toddler nieces, girls like cartoon characters too! This department definitely needs to establish a balance with the girls and boys clothing. It displayed how these genders are discriminated from an early age. 

     The older girls and boys department were right across from each other. But the girl's department was slightly larger. Some of the girl's clothing appeared to be overstocked. From my experience as a sales associate I know what overstocked, merchandise looks like. I asked a sales associate why were some of the girls merchandise like this and she stated that girls items sell out quickly.So I suppose that parents shop more for their daughters or their daughters develop shopping habits at an early age. The girls and boys underwear interested me as well. This section was actually combined and took up a part of the boys section. The boys underwear was hung up in packages like normal. However, the girl's underwear which was right beside it was displayed on round tables in a Victoria Secret style. It looked like a mini lingerie area for young girls. There were even  "boyshorts"  on this display for girls underwear starting at ages 4-5. I found this to be inappropriate and perhaps the girls underwear shouldn't be right next to the boy's exposing these children at early ages.

     Overall, I'm glad that I chose a shopping excursion because I personally love to shop but I have never noticed the huge gender differences that occurs in clothing stores. I am definitely more aware now of society's expectations of how men and women shop for themselves as well as their children.