Retail Analysis and Comparative retail (Research)

The Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery Shop 

I have visited the Whitworth and Manchester art gallery shops to compare the product range. The ethos of the shop has been described below in words;

1. Welcoming 
2. Homey 
3. Warm
4. Pleasant 
5. Peaceful
6. Organised 
7. Artistic 
8. Elegant 
9. Cosy
10. Delightful
11. Friendly
12. Playful
13. Stylish 
14. Contemporary 
15. Enthusiastic 

Current Product range 

I have seen in both galleries' shops following are the most things to sell;

• Kids toys (balls, soft toys, wooden toys, etc) 
• Jewellery (necklace, earrings, bracelets)
• Ceramic (bowls, plates, mugs, spoons, etc)
• Cushions (weaved, embroidered, printed, patched work)
• Stationery (pens, pencils, paper clips, stationery bags, sketchbooks, etc)
• Greeting cards
• Postcards
• bags (clutches, stationary bags, accessories bags)

Whitworth Art Gallery Shop 

Manchester Art Gallery Shop

Materiality 

I think the products are been selected by looking towards the best quality and the price range. Also, the prices are not too high as all sort of people visit's the gallery from students to well-experienced people who are interested in buying good quality and contemporary products from these shops. 

Also, I think the finishing of these products is very neat and sharp.

I think, there was a lot of woodwork in the Whitworth shop but not much in the Manchester art gallery shop. However, the use of ceramic is almost equal in both shops.
The Manchester art gallery shop has a wide range of jewellery from a price range of £15 to £650, but less in the Whitworth art gallery shop.

Pricing

Cheapest

According to the seller and the shop tour, I have found out that their cheapest product to sell is charcoal pencils and kids toys worth £1.

Mid-range 

As I was talking to one of the sellers of the Whitworth art shop, I have found out that their ceramic pieces were the mid-price range products as they start from almost £30. 

Most expensive

I think their most expensive products in the shops were their special editions, which are made by designers and they were minor in quantity. They were mostly single prints displayed in good quality frames. Also, Whitworth editions are shown below;

Whitworth special editions

Bestsellers

The shop's best sellers were mostly objects for kids in the small baskets, which are cheaper in price and also handy as shown in the image below;

Small baskets of products for kids in the Whitworth shop. 

In addition to this, their best-selling products were also, toad bags and charcoal pencils because a lot of art students visit the gallery, who carries sketchbooks and other stationery around.

What type of people visit's the Whitworth art shop?

According to the group discussion and sellers' point of view, we have found out some key points as shown below, of the people who visit the shop;

1. Students - from the nearby universities, art students from across Manchester and all around the UK. 
2. Tourists - people who might visit the hospital and likes to come to the gallery to buy greeting cards and gifts.
3. local citizens - people who might visit the Whitworth park, from the hospital, who might be interested in textiles. 
4. artists or designers - who are interested in textiles and its history

A key point for the retailing analysation

There were products in the shops, which was inspired by the current exhibition in the gallery. People might like to buy things, which represents 'the Whitworth art gallery'. This might makes the audience feel personalised and touched with the gallery itself.