Marketing majors have the option to take different electives that apply toward your degree. There are core Marketing classes that everyone must take, and there are others that you can choose from, which are called “Marketing major electives.” I like having the option of different courses because I can choose to take electives that interest me. Last semester, I chose the marketing elective “Retail Management” taught by Dr. Scott Powell. I have taken every one of Dr. Powell’s classes because he is an incredibly intelligent Marketing professor and I learn so much from his classes. I highly recommend Dr. Powell’s classes, especially if you are a Marketing major.
Particularly, Retail Management was one of my favorite courses that I took at Grove City College. Even if you are not interested in going into retail or working within marketing in retail, there are principles and topics taught in the class that can be used in any area of marketing and in any career that you choose within marketing. In Retail Management, we learned about how to create a successful in-store experience and studied elements such as store layout, smell, sight, colors, temperature, and music. All of those elements make up either a positive or negative experience in a brick and mortar store.
In the class, there were several group presentations that expanded upon the topics that we covered in class. The presentations were all about the same business (that we were able to choose), but each presentation discussed different areas of retail management. My group chose Bath and Body Works as our business, which we studied the entire semester. Every one of our presentations was an evaluation of Bath and Body Works based on what we learned in class. The different projects and presentations helped me to master the material and understand how to apply the material to the real world. As a Marketing major, it is important that you are comfortable with working in groups and giving presentations. Retail Management helped me to feel more confident with my presentation skills. I highly recommend Retail Management to anyone who is thinking about a career in marketing or management.
