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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Want to help a starving college student out? :-p
My brother is doing an internship with a dept store in FL. His project is to identify ways to get more moms in the store and in the kids section. He's asking me what are things I would like to see in a store that would make me shop there more often. He talked about a play area but I think it would be hard to drop off your toddler in a play area while you shop, you know?Anyway, anything you guys can think of in a store that you really love and makes you want to shop there even more-let me know! Just trying to give him ideas from mommas since he doesn't have kids 
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Re: Want to help a starving college student out? :-p
A play area so he could get out some energy. I wouldn't leave him there - but stop off and let him play for a bit - then continue on.
Places to sit.
A place to buy something to drink.
YES!
Put the clothing racks far enough apart that the clothes aren't hitting my kid in the face when in a stroller or cart.
Since DS rarely will sit in either anymore, don't put the kids section right in front of the damn escalator.
Hire a cashier that doesn't roll her eyes at my kid who is getting fussy after standing in line for 10 mins while she fixes her receipt roll.
Mark bathrooms better. Shopping is a nightmare with a newly PTed child that only gives you a 30 second heads up.
Balloons for the kids
A few fitting rooms with toys/crayons, something to entertain them while you are in there.
Family bathrooms or at the very least changing tables in all of the woman's bathroom.
Snack counter/shop
Signs that alert me to lower prices or a sale are magnets for me! I'm always out to find a good bargain.
I LOVE Nordstrom's mothers room at MOA, It helps so much to go some place where the lights are dime & soft music is playing. I used this room all the time when I still BF Mr.A
Also make it where strollers could fit plus a little more so Little hands can't grab stuff
Aisles that fit strollers and more benches.
And I'm gonna say that there is NO WAY in hell I'd want a play area in a department store. First off I wouldn't leave dd at it and shop and 2nd off even if we just let her play for 5 or 10 minutes it would be World War 3 trying to get her to leave. And I don't even want to think about if we saw the play area but didn't have time to let her play or something, holy christ......
Changing tables in the MEN'S rooms, too. Or family restrooms that dad's can use. And near the kids' section.
DH and I usually go shopping together and I shop while he is entertaining the kids. 9 times out of 10, if he tries to change LO's diaper, there is no changing station. Usually if I have to walk to the other side of the store to change a diaper, I just leave. I hate having to set my stuff down then try to come back and find everything.
ITA DS always eyeballs the play area in the grocery store. I don't have time to deal with that mess. lol
The first thing that came to my mind was wider aisles, but lots of people already posted that. Sorry, I'm not very original.
I used to work in a department store in college and on the weekends, we would make snacks for the kids. We brought out the George Foreman grills from the home department and made all sorts of things. Never terribly expensive - the one I remember being a real hit was a hotdog wrapped in a slice of cheese and a tortilla around it - but aways yummy for the little ones. We then cut it up into small slices and the kids could come back for a few peices. As much as you might think it would be a disaster, it worked really well. Kids snacked on the various stuff we made allowing the parents to shop a little.
Other than that, I would love to see changing tables in the men's rooms, a small cafe/place where I could by a drink, and wider aisles.
I think a play area where you drop off your toddler would be fantastic! One of our grocery stores has an area like this! I think when you drop off your kid though, that you should get one of those little buzzer things like at restaurants so that you know if your child needs changing or if there is another issue!
I have only ever seen one of these and I thought all stores should do this. A washroom that has a stall with a change station AND sink in it. Sometimes you need more than a baby wipe... Oh and stalls that are actually little rooms so you can pee without worrying that LO is going to crawl out under the door while you pee.
Nursing stations
clothes and toys that are well made and affordable and interesting and not something you are going to find in a million other stores.
Decent selection of items. I'm sick of having to buy everything online.
Wider aisles.
Clean family bathrooms....with changing tables. In my area there are only a few family bathrooms and it's also hard to find a bathroom with a changing table.
...And I'm actually anti-food/beverages/balloons. I can just see my future 3 year old begging me to get him all that stuff every time we go shopping (if it's in view). It would have me avoiding that section of the store.
I will tell you my number one biggest pet peeve in shopping with a baby is when stores crowd the racks so close together that you can't push a baby stroller through the store without knocking 239789 things off the racks.
So my vote is a BIG store with BIG aisles.
I really like the toys at the cash register at Carters, so you have a distracted LO when you're trying to pay.
And definitely the wider aisles.
Balloons for the kids are a great distraction
A few fitting rooms with toys/crayons would be nice when I shop for myself.
I don't know if this is becoming popular, but I saw it for the first time a week ago at our mall. They had little seats in the bathroom stalls with straps on them to sit your baby while you went to the restroom. I'm pretty sure they were coated with Micro ban for bacteria also, but you could always wipe it down first. They didn't look like the most comfortable thing, but for 2 minutes or something, it could work.
I thought that was a great idea because what the hell do you do with your baby if you really have to go and they're too big for a carrier??
LOL. Jinx.