My First Trip to an Anthropologie Clothes Store

Urban Outfitters seems to be a popular name in retailing, but it wasn't until just a few days ago that I discovered Anthropologie. If you haven't heard, seen, or visited an Anthropologie retail location, you are missing an experience, I kid you not.

After returning from the store, I dug up some statistics that surprised me. Here's one that really made an impact: the average Anthropologie customer spends 80 minutes in the store per visit. Eighty -- that's an hour and twenty minutes on just one trip. Can you guess how much time the average shopper spends at 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 store who outgrew UA's fashions. As such, the target market for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40'ish sophisticated woman with high discretionary income. Not a bad niche to target!

Ask ten women what they think of Anthropologie and you'll likely hear . . . one opinion! Almost unanimously, people love the store, but aren't too fond of the prices. Granted, they are steep, but there's a reason. Anthropologie is very selective and exclusive with their fashion lines, and just about everything you find in a store is limited edition. Heck, they even have some one-of-a-kind items!

These items tend to fly off of the shelves, leaving mismatched items here and there, but that leads to an opportunity for buyers: namely, sales racks. There are quite a few sale items if you're not against hunting, which I'm sure is responsible in part for the average length of stay.

What I like most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their clothes include a lot of floral prints, laces, and velvets, but look elegant and sexy at the same time. The feeling that I get is that it's a clothing line for confident women who don't feel that they have to reveal half of their bodies to look attractive. Home run, I think.

For anyone really looking for a deal, you can find discount Anthropologie clothing online – not through the official store, but through other outlets. 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 shopped in an Anthropologie store, find out if there's one within driving distance. It really is a great shopping experience. But beware of the prices!