Primary Research- Direct Observation

DIRECT OBSERVATION

STORE: GRAND PRIX LOCATION: EAST DELHI

A local store in a nearby residential area. Last time I visited (4 years back), it was a small shop keeping only toys and games. No. of employees= 5

7TH November’1118:30 hours

Store from outside

EXTERIORS

KEY OBSERVATIONS: - Maximum Focus on Brand (Yonex)- Name of the shop hardly visible- All we can see from outside is fitness (gym) and sports equipment- Half of the width of the shop is taken by the board alone

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- As one enters, you see gym equipment first, followed by sports

- Within sports, cricket is majorly focussed on

- The store, which looked small from outside, looks expensive and intimidating from inside

- Play stations and dolls (Barbie) are kept right in the beginning- next to the cash counter.

- This is followed by remote controlled vehicles (cars, airplanes ),robots, guns, balls etc.

- Board games were very hard to find (as I was trying to find them myself): Were in a lower shelf (that was hidden by the salesmen standing in front) towards the end of the store

USERS, BUYERS & BUYING - As observed, Buying of toys and games is

influenced by: the grandparents/ parents (who accompany the kids), siblings, and salesmen (as shown in pictures)

- Most of the kids wanted to open & experience the working of the toy/game before buying it

- The users of toys & games were not the one taking the buying decision

USERS, BUYERS & BUYING

- A game based on the latest Bollywood movie (Raone) really excited some of the little boys

- Average time spent in the shop by each customer: 15-25 minutes

- The time (18:30) was the peak hours: Owner refused to give the interview because of too many customers

STORE: SPORTS & GIFT EMPORIUMLOCATION: KHAN MARKET

A toy & game store in one of the porschest markets of Delhi, this shop is 50 years old and has still not expanded to electronic gaming equipment. No. of employees= 3


EXTERIORS

KEY OBSERVATIONS: - Ancient looking - Not renovated for decades- Crammed up - Looks inexpensive- Window Display has too much stuff:

Don’t know where to look - Focus on “Gift”, not games:

purpose, not product

INTERIORSKEY OBSERVATIONS: - Half of the shop filled with board games- A strong focus on Barbie dolls – right in

front as one enters- Unorganized setting: Games not set in

any order - Inventory not stocked properly- Old looking games - 3 employees, No customer for half an

hour.

STORE: GIFT PALACELOCATION: KHAN MARKET

A toy & game store in one of the porschest markets of Delhi, this is the most popular games shop. With heavy sales, they had customers walking in and out constantly. No. of employees= 5


EXTERIORS

KEY OBSERVATIONS: - “Gift” : Purpose, not product - New & Updated- Expensive looking- Promotion posters all over the

window display

INTERIORSKEY OBSERVATIONS:- As one enters, the store looks like it has a vast variety and gives a chance to explore it oneself. - Toys & CDs are at the front,

followed by board games towards the end

- The cash counter is right at the beginning

- The CD section is most crowded at all times.

USERS, BUYERS & BUYINGKEY OBSERVATIONS:- Most people entering the shop are

in their late 20s or early 30s with a kid

- Some kids (12+) also enter alone- Overall, few people only ask the

price before buying : More concerned about the game than price

- Most of the crowd belongs to higher class income group

- On an average, a person spent 15-17 minutes looking for the right toy/game

- Littlest of kids are sure about what they want

- About 30-40 percent walked out without buying

CUSTOMER OBSERVATION 1

Customer: Married lady with 5 year old girlWearing: Woman wearing jeans & top, Kid wearing frock Seeking: Raone CD ( Kid’s choice)Bought: NothingTime Spent: 4-5 minutes

OBSERVATIONS:1.The kid got the mother with her into the shop, asking for Ra one CD. 2. Shopkeeper said they were out of stock and tried showing other games- Body tattoo 3. Kid walked away from the shop 4. Mother was shown other games like frisbee. 5. Mother then asked the kid to buy frisbee and assured her that she will look for the cd some other time. 6. But kid completely refused and told mother to check some other shop.

KEY INSIGHTS:- Parents are vulnerable - Kids are not. - Kids are stubborn - Parents are not very price conscious


Customer: Young boyWearing: Jeans & t shirt; funky hairdoSeeking: gift for someoneBought: NothingTime Spent: 15 minutes

OBSERVATIONS:1. The boy entered the shop looking for a gift for a friend2. He was guided into the board game section by the salesperson3. Was shown games- Risk, Scotland Yard, Taboo4. Ended up coming out without getting convinced5. While coming out, he noticed the latest FIFA CD and exclaimed in excitement– “Just LOOK at this” 6. Read the back cover, checked out the price7. In the end, came out without buying

KEY INSIGHTS:- Board games is more of a

gifting section- There are still some people

conscious of price - Huge difference in CD

Game prices & board games

- Young boys are VERY much influenced by the west

WHOA!Just LOOK at this!!


Customer: Young girl (3 year old) with motherWearing: Mother- Jeans & top, Daughter- FrockSeeking: Mother seeking water bottleBought: aeroplane & pen Time Spent: 12-14 minutes

OBSERVATIONS:1. The mother walked in to buy a water bottle for the

daughter2. The shopkeeper started showing the bottles to the

mother. But by that time, the daughter had found something of her interest- aeroplane !

3. She refused to look at the water bottle and then found a colourful pen that she loved

4. The mother ended up buying the pen and the aeroplane, and not the water bottle. – and she asks the price only in the end

KEY INSIGHTS:- The youngest of kids have

the most clarity- The parents end up

listening to the kids- There isnt much difference

between a girl’s & boy’s choice these days.

- Price not of much concern


Customer: Middle aged manWearing: Shirt & JeansSeeking: Boxing CD for daughter Bought: nothingTime Spent: 20-25 minutes

OBSERVATIONS:1. A middle aged man walks in to look for boxing cds

for his daughter; directly stops at the cd section2. He explores all sports cds including cricket and

football3. Calls up his daughter 3 times to ask her which one

she has already and which one he should get4. Finally, tells the salesperson to keep 3 of the cds

separately so that his daughter can come and figure out

KEY INSIGHTS:- The parents are almost

scared of buying something the kids wont like

- Absolutely no gender differences in games


Customer: 12 year old kid Wearing: t shirt & jeansSeeking: ? (just exploring)Bought: nothingTime Spent: 10-15 minutes

OBSERVATIONS:1. A 12 year old kid walks into the store, when his

family (mom dad and sister) were in the nearby store shopping

2. He stops at the cd section and keeps looking3. Does not ask the salesperson anything4. His parents finally call him and he walks out without

buying anything

KEY INSIGHTS:- Individual choices have

become very important - Young Indian kids are

largely interested in electronic gaming

STORE: MAYA TOYSLOCATION: AUROBINDO MARKET

Maya Toys is one of the most popular toy and game stores, located in Aurobindo market (one of the porsche markets in Delhi). The market is visited by upper middle and high class people. This particular shop is the most popular. No. of employees= 5


EXTERIORS

KEY OBSERVATIONS: - Doesn’t LOOK like the most popular

game store of Delhi- From the outside, it looks like it

focusses on toys - The market is visited by upper

middle & high class, but is not very expensive.

- A clear focus on brands

INTERIORSKEY OBSERVATIONS:- As one enters, the store looks like it has a vast variety .- Board games are at the centre, as one enters and a large variety is present- On the right and left are the toy sections.- The overall interiors and ambience make it seem reasonably priced - The design of the store is such that it doesn’t allow the customers to explore on

their own, it is guided by the salesmen.

USERS, BUYERS & BUYINGKEY OBSERVATIONS:- The salesmen are welcoming and ask the customer what he wants- The crowd that enters the shop belongs to upper middle or high income group- All kinds of board games are present- even cheap (local) alternatives available of

classic games, which give the customers a lot of choice- For the half an hour that I was there, there was no customer

STORE: TOY KINGDOMLOCATION: AUROBINDO MARKET

Toy Kingdom is one of the oldest toy and game stores, located in Aurobindo market. It is one of the porsche markets in Delhi. The market is visited by upper middle and high class people.

No. of employees= 3


EXTERIORS

KEY OBSERVATIONS: - Shop doesn’t have a name board; shows that its an old shop - Focus on toys - Too much stuff; not too well organized - Not too attractive

INTERIORSKEY OBSERVATIONS:- As one enters, there is a passage for the customers to walk into but the table gives

only little scope for self exploration- Board games section is on the right side and electronic games on the left. - Cash counter is right at the entrance

USERS, BUYERS & BUYINGKEY OBSERVATIONS:- Assistance of the salesman is necessary - The point of purchase is not really thought of well : Bottles and tiffins are getting

mixed up with board games!- Local games are also there, even though the location of the shop is such that

higher income group people visit more often- There isn’t a clear gender wise separation of games - For the half an hour that I was there, there was no customer

USER: HARNOOR SINGH LAMBA & MYSELF LOCATION: HIS HOUSE (SURYANIKETAN, EAST DELHI)

Harnoor and I played a 2 player game of the Settlers of Catan. I was trying to observe reactions, feelings and other tangible aspects while playing.

Time taken to play: 45 minutes + setting up (15 minutes) + packing up (7 minutes)


KEY OBSERVATIONS while setting up

- Cumbersome process : Setting up the board and arranging the game took 15 minutes

- We played on the bed : so keeping the board straight was a little irritating

- We had to be careful not to move the bed too much as the board would then get distorted and the roads etc would move

- We had lost the wooden robber ; had to substitute it with a city piece.

- Trying to make the nos. random and arranging the cards also is little cumbersome

KEY OBSERVATIONS while playing

- While playing, there was hardly much trading- The robber was the main tool that we used against

each other - The game seemed to be one sided since the

beginning because there was a lot of difference in resources between the first place and the second place for settlement

- In between, I had a feeling of being cheated when Harnoor asked me for some resource that I would want to trade, I said no and he used his monopoly card! This led to a more competitive feeling among us

KEY OBSERVATIONS after finishing

- After finishing, the winner (Harnoor) felt extremely satisfied and the loser (Me) felt cheated and unlucky and wanted to believe that it was luck which made him win

- Wrapping up, again, was a cumbersome process and it was important that we didn’t leave a piece behind. Though, the box design is good enough to easily fit everything perfectly, without mixing

- I noticed that the box had got torn from one side

USER: AKSHIV, SAMTA AND MYSELF LOCATION: MY HOUSE

Akshiv, Samta and I started playing a 3 player game of the Settlers of Catan. I was trying to observe reactions, feelings and other tangible aspects while playing.


KEY OBSERVATIONS while setting up

- We divided the setting up activities like separating the resource cards, fixing up the board etc into the 3 of us subconsciously and started arranging the board.

- It took us 10-12 minutes to set up the board.- As Samta was new to the game, we tried to start explaining her the rules. However,

after 10 minutes, she decided not to play and started clicking our pictures instead. - And then it was just me and Akshiv : both passionate Settlers of Catan players. - Finally the arrangement of the board was done in a manner so that the resource

cards are equidistant to both of us .

KEY OBSERVATIONS while playing

- While playing, there was a lot of trading because I was losing badly and I was in desperate need of brick. Though I knew Akshiv would finally win, I wanted it to be atleast a close competition

- Since we were playing on the bed, we used the cover of the game to roll the dice in, as it was a cuboid (allowed proper settling of the dice)

- There was a lot of stealing that happened between us, as 7 rolled a lot of times.

- Even though my initial strategy was of building more and more settlements, once Akshiv started building cities, I felt like my strategy wasn’t working and started aiming at that as well as largest army.

KEY OBSERVATIONS after finishing

- There was a huge difference between our victory points when Akshiv won: I had almost lost all hope and was waiting for him to win towards the end.

- Wrapping up, again, was a cumbersome process and it was mainly done by Akshiv as I was disappointed about losing the game whereas Akshiv was happy and active.

Documents

Primary Research- Direct Observation