Seems like a no-brainer on this blog, huh?

I tend to agree with the majority of Seth Godin’s opinions, but he couldn’t be more wrong on this one. Specifically, Godin contends that brick and mortar stores position product based on what is easy for employees versus what is convenient for customers.

So, all the Armani blue suits are next to each other, then by size.

So, all the boxer shorts at the Gap are on a wall, organized by style first (checks over here, stripes over there,) then by size.

So, all the power tools at Home Depot are together, sometimes by brand, sometimes by function (saw) and then by type of material to be cut (wood).

This is dumb, and the web makes it obvious why it's dumb. It's dumb because it makes it easier for the clerk, not for the customer. And dumb because it plays to the label's ego, not to ours.

Not at all.

It’s done this way because while the Home Depot is a large store, it isn’t a football stadium. Organizing products in this way might be easier for clerks, but it also keeps customers from having to back a sleeping bag and GPS system. Can you imagine how large your local Home Depot would be if you:

find the glue and the wood saws and the screwdrivers and the screws all together in a section called, "working with wood"?

The reason is because while there is a right tool for every job, lots of tools multi-task. And that means overlap.