Urban Outfitters is a hot brand in retailing, but it wasn't until recently that I learned about Anthropologie. If you haven't heard, seen, or been in an Anthropologie retail location, you are missing an experience, no kidding.

After returning from the store, I researched some stats that surprised me. Here's one that really left an impression: the average Anthropologie shopper spends 80 minutes in the store per visit. Eighty -- that's 1 hour, 20 minutes on each trip. How much time do you think the typical 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 customer for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40'ish professional woman with high disposable income. Not a bad market to target!

Ask ten women what they think of Anthropologie and you'll probably get . . . one opinion! Almost unanimously, women love the store, but aren't too fond of 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 limited edition. Heck, they even have some one-of-a-kind pieces!

These items tend to fly off of the shelves, leaving oddball items here and there, but that leads to an opportunity for buyers: namely, sales racks. There are quite a few discounted items if you're not averse searching, which I'm sure is partly responsible the long shopping visits.

What I like most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their fashions include a lot of floral prints, appliques, and delicate details, but look classy and sophisticated at the same time. The feeling that I get is that it's a clothing line for beautiful women who aren't compelled to reveal half of their bodies to look attractive. Home run, I think.

If you're really looking for a deal, 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 would doubt it's made up of last season's items either, but the price is attractive!

Here's the bottom line: if you haven't yet shopped 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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