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Urban Outfitters is a hot name in retailing, but it wasn't until just a few days ago that I found out about Anthropologie. If you haven't heard, seen, or been in an Anthropologie store, you are missing an experience, I kid you not.
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 visit. Eighty -- that's one and a third hours on just one visit. Can you guess how much time the average customer spends with other retailers? Fifteen minutes. That's an amazing number that should convey loads about the feel of the stores.
Anthropologie was founded to profit from patrons of the Urban Outfitters chain who outgrew UA's fashions. As such, the target market for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40'ish sophisticated woman with high disposable income. Not a bad market to target!
Ask ten women what they think of Anthropologie and you'll likely hear . . . one opinion! Almost unanimously, women love the store, but aren't too fond of the prices. Granted, they are high, but for good reason. Anthropologie is very selective and exclusive with their fashion 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 items!
These items tend to fly off of the shelves, leaving mismatched items scattered about, but that leads to an opportunity for shoppers: namely, sales racks. There are a bunch of sale items if you're not against searching, which I'm sure is responsible in part for the long shopping visits.
What impresses me the most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their fashions include a lot of flowery prints, laces, and velvets, but look elegant and sexy at the same time. The impression that I get is that it's a clothing line for successful women who don't want to reveal half of their bodies to look attractive. Score, I'd say.
For anyone really looking for a deal, 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 would doubt it's made up of last season's items either, but the price is appealing!
Here's the 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!
Smruti Evans runs the discount Gucci bags web store and maintains several popular weblogs, including the Discount Designer Clothing blog.
More Resources for Discount Anthropologie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn50mTEGnrU
