Urban Outfitters seems to be a fashionable brand in retailing, but it wasn't until recently that I discovered Anthropologie. If you haven't heard, seen, or been in an Anthropologie retail store, you are missing an experience, I kid you not.

After returning from the store, I found some figures 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 1 hour, 20 minutes on each visit. How much time do you think the typical customer spends at other retailers? Fifteen minutes. That's an incredible number that should describe a bit about the feel of the stores.

Anthropologie was founded to capitalize on patrons of the Urban Outfitters brand who outgrew UA's fashions. As such, the target market for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40'ish professional 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, women love the store, but aren't crazy about the prices. Granted, they are steep, but there's a reason. Anthropologie is extremely selective and exclusive with their clothing lines, and just about everything you find in a retail location is a limited edition run. Heck, they even have a good number of one-of-a-kind pieces!

These items tend to sell out very quickly, leaving mismatched items here and there, but that leads to an opportunity for shoppers: namely, sales racks. There are quite a few discounted items if you're not averse digging, which I'm sure is partly responsible the average length of stay.

What impresses me the most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their fashions include a lot of floral prints, laces, and velvets, but look elegant and sophisticated 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 sexy. Score, I'd say.

If you're really looking for a bargain, you can find discount Anthropologie clothing online – not through the Anthropologie store, but through other retailers. I can't imagine that these items are 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 right!

Bottom line: if you haven't yet stepped foot in an Anthropologie store, determine if there's one near you. 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.

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