market research on supermarket proposition

ABDOU MEITE /Q09821695

Student work starts here…

Contents0.2 Research Proposal...........................................................................................................................4

0.2.1 Background-..............................................................................................................................4

0.2.2 Definition of the problem.........................................................................................................5

0.2.3 Aims and objectives:.................................................................................................................6

0.2.4Scope of the study.....................................................................................................................6

0.2.5 Research approach and methodology......................................................................................7

0.2.5 Secondary research..................................................................................................................7

0.2.6 Primary research.......................................................................................................................9

0.2.6A Focus Groups..........................................................................................................................9

0.2.6B Online Surveys......................................................................................................................13

0.1 Secondary research.......................................................................................................................16

0.1.1Prices vs brands....................................................................................................................17

0.1.2 Customer loyalty and influences.............................................................................................18

0.1.3 Supermarket Private brands vs National brands...................................................................19

0.1.4 Secondary research conclusion...............................................................................................20

0.3Design of primary data collection tools..........................................................................................21

0.4 Report on pilot...............................................................................................................................23

0.5 Conclusions and recommendations...............................................................................................31

Reflection............................................................................................................................................32

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0.2 Research Proposal

0.2.1 Background- Asda aims to be the best weekly shop retailer offering lower prices than its competitors whilst maintaining its integrity in providing high quality products to its customers. In order to achieve this, Asda invests in its price strategy – the budget for the next 5 years is to invest £1billion in its price plan. In this way, Asda undercuts its competitors. Asda sees its purpose as to “save everyone money, every day” (Asda, 2014 ) and to become Britain’s most trusted retailer (asda,2014)

Supermarkets sectors

Retail supermarkets in the UK continue to be a competitive place due to external factors such as the recession, inflation, interest rates, job security and lack of increases to salary. These have all affected customer decisions in purchasing at supermarkets. WARC states, “Promotional activity is at an all-time high” with retailers undercutting prices to encourage customers to shop and the price wars can be seen in the advertising. As stated, the supermarket sector is very competitive and 2014 saw the market share slightly decline from the top market leaders. Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda saw a small decrease in profit and shares due to the market conditions. The noticeable decrease in the top four supermarkets was Morrison’s with a decline in sales due to its late arrival of e-commercial stores online, its marketing positioning and price comparisons with other UK retailers. Morrison’s plans to dedicate over £1 billion towards its price strategy is set to increase sales over the next three years.

Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose have seen significant increases in market share points, gained from top supermarkets according to Kantarworldpanel (2014 ), which states, “Over the past three years Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have taken a combined 3.5 share points from the competition which equates to £4.4 billion per year”. Aldi and Lidl are categorised as ‘discounters’ and are acquiring market shares from the top supermarkets because they have gained trust from the middle class segment, known as, “Maidstone Mums”. Before the recession, this segment once considered Lidl and Aldi a ‘nightmare’ and not socially acceptable due to its stigma of cheap, poor quality goods. "It is this low-pricing strategy that continues to draw new middle-class customers – the Maidstone Mums – into our stores for the first time" (The guardian, 2014) Aldi's sales are currently rising by more than 30% a year and Lidl's by nearly 16%, according to the latest industry data (The guardian, 2014)

This is further confirmed by Racplus (2014), who reports, “Sainsbury's finance boss says discounters could double market share by 2020”. Therefore this highlights discounters are becoming a social ‘norm’ with their low prices which affect Asda’s market share, forcing them to compete in the pricing war to gain customers.

The research is going to focus primary on how Asda can build value proposition for the student market align with competing with prices. The purpose is to build student market relationship by communicating the messages of interest to student. This will give the marketing strategy a different dimension and offer emotional attachment to differentiate with competitors prices.

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0.2.2 Definition of the problem

The supermarket sector is very competitive as there has been a decline in market share of the top four supermarkets. This has happened as discounters’ stores like Lidi and Aldi are gaining the confidence of the middles class social group as they look to save money in the hard economy. This has caused the market share shift to discounters because of the low prices and consumers wanting to save.

The research is based on targeting and positioning students efficiently and effectively to raise and create Asda proposition offering to differentiate from competitors for the student market. Understanding student purchasing behaviour and influences will be the basis for creating tailored experiences and private label products which appeal to the student market.

The research is important to Asda because understanding target market needs and wants will improve customer retention. Building student value proposition and engagement of emotional advertising will increase the chances of students’ interaction and purchasing with Asda and differentiate from competitors .

Asda will benefit from the research as it will gain information and understanding of student perception towards shopping. This will help Asda improve student acquisitions and retention to increase continuous purchasing and build customer relationships. Through understanding student interest and motivation in purchasing will enable Asda to build a brand catering for students, focused on emotional marketing.

The research is important as there is no information on student purchasing interests and behaviour to enable key decisions to be made in providing services and products that target students.

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0.2.3 Aims and objectives:Objective have been broken into three section, all sections together will conclude with

recommendations to Asda understanding of the student market interest and motivation towards shopping experiences

1. Students – segmentation; decision making; needs

i) Understanding the student segmentation groups through gathering demographics and behaviour traits to ensure targeting of students groups is effective

ii) Understanding student psychological decision-making and main influences.(need/wants, interest and motivation)

iii) Understanding student perception of Asda supermarket positioning in comparison with other local supermarkets,( main proposition)

iv) To understand university student’s purchasing behaviour and to examine the factors which students take into consideration when purchasing a product from their local supermarket

2. Communicationi) Effectiveness advertising and promotions ii) Effective marketing communicational channels iii) Effective and interactional advertising channels evaluation

3. Price sensitivityi) Understanding effective pricing strategy and the perception towards the quality

of the products ii) Determine if students are brand-loyal or driven by price

0.2.4Scope of the study

Scope of study is national primarily in dominant university cities

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0.2.5 Research approach and methodology The research approach is to understand student purchasing influences and experiences during shopping in contrast with student lifestyle needs to improve Asda proposition offering. The methodology has been devised to analyse specific variables in order to understand students’ market perceptions towards shopping and current market trends such as Private label brands.

The research design will focus on two design structures from the objectives:

Exploratory methods will be applied to understand valuable “proposition” to be able to create suitable services and products for the student market. This method provides insight and can highlight variables of concern which were overlooked or not prioritised. This is known as ‘data mining’, which offers the chance to gain quality information. Further exploration is then possible through detailed quantitative analysis, the main reason being to understand attitudes, behaviour and influences towards supermarket shopping.

A ‘Descriptive Cross-Sectional Analysis’ will be applied to understand effective “communication” and “pricing” strategies using quantitative online surveys.

0.2.5 Secondary research Secondary research will be used to gain insight into students purchasing behaviour towards grocery shopping and to establish current trends in the supermarket sector. This will form an understanding of knowledge gaps to develop primary research approaches to the problem to enable precise and accurate information that enables key decision making.

Secondary research will be broken down into four sections. Each section provides information on key variables of student purchasing behaviour, market trends and general censuses towards shopping. This will be the foundation in developing primary research approaches.

Section one (Target Group Index)

This section will understand student behaviour towards shopping through the use of the TGI database in order to establish the following :

1. Students’ shopping pattern each month 2. Student shopping preference - in-store or online 3. Amount of money spent on groceries 4. Main deciding factors in shopping 5. Most attractive supermarket for students

This will outline students’ shopping behaviour and influences.

Section two

Understanding key influential factors in purchasing

Understanding key decision-making factors for customers To understand the extent of each factor in influencing purchasing behaviour

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Gain insight into influential factors which customers take into consideration when purchasing new products

Section three

Understanding of pricing and brand loyalty within the current economic climate

Key external factors which affect consumer purchasing behaviour Understand consumer deciding-factors between brands, ethical products, fashionable

brands and pricing Understanding the distinction between brand loyalty consumers and pricing incentive-

driven consumers

In order to establish which variable is most important in purchasing decision making

Section four

Understanding the effect of external factors and purchasing trends, establish the market trends in private label brands vs national brands

Understanding market trends within the supermarket sector Establish private brands and national brands performance forecasting Establish the importance of private brand labels

Gain insight towards supermarket sector performance on private brands vs national brands to gain understanding of customer attitudes towards national and private brands

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0.2.6 Primary research Qualitative investigation

Objectives: understanding students’ motivation in purchasing, interest and needs to build supermarket value proposition

0.2.6A Focus Groups Focus groups will provide insights into building proposition that targets the student market. Focus groups will, therefore, take a ‘Conative Model Approach’, a semi -structured format to identity variables which students take into consideration when making purchasing decisions. This approach enables the creation of an hypothesis which can later be validated by quantitative data with a bigger sample size.

Focus groups provide an opportunity to gain insight into attitudes and motivations, establishing key variables in offering brand proposition. This exploratory approach is devised as an open discussion for students to express valuable perceptions and explore key aspects that influence purchasing. This will lead to defining key emotions that supports the development of marketing material. Understanding needs and wants will create the bases for effective marketing that targets students.

Sampling

Target market

Demographics Target marketAge 18-25Gender Males and femalesEducational UndergraduatesOccupations Full time students

Sampling Frame

University intranet databases through which the target population could be reached, with permission to access

Facebook (this could be done through Facebook demographical setting in advertising which shows stated occupation as ‘current university students’, sampling error will come from past students who may have not updated status to graduates or other occupation)

Sampling Techniques

Methods to be used are “probability” sampling as the target population characteristics will be measured through pre-screening to increase precision of target population. This will eliminate random sampling making the sampling precise and relevant to the problem definition target group.

Stratified sampling will be used to increase the chances of precision in the target population. Groups (strata) will be defined through demographical characteristics, supermarket shopping experiences and educational year

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Determining the Sample Size

The sample size will consist of 30 University students Each focus group will consist of 5 students, this will give a chance for every student to

participate and express opinions on the matter in hand. This will avoid the chances of intimidation or shyness to individuals and help improve chemistry, thus improving the quality of information given

smaller sample group gain precision in understanding the target market needs and wants to surface important variables

Validate the Sample

The criteria of the target population will be screened through a pre-questionnaire outlining the target population in order to solve the problem definition requirement:

Demographics Target marketAge 18-25Gender Males and femalesEducational UndergraduatesOccupations Full time studentsShopping pattern Has shopped at a local

supermarket Planning to shop at local

supermarket Mainly shops at supermarkets

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Focus Group Content Analysis –

Advantages Disadvantages

Generates hypothesis and identify variables

Collect consumer attitudes, motives and behaviour

Target population view points Understand target population language Reveal target population issues Report issues, understand needs and

wants Create innovation to marketing decision Wide range of information

Bias interpretation Lacks chemistry between participants Organisation and arranging rooms and

times may be a problem Shyness, conflicts and intimidation may

reduce motivation to participate Video recording may make participants

uncomfortable, invade privacy

Focus group variables

Moderators need to be charismatic and confidents to get the most out of the participants, moderators are important to keep the focus group conversation flowing and exploring the discussion in further detail with probing methods to obtain suitable information of the objective.

Transcript and video recording needs to be informed to participants to evade miss-communication of privacy laws. These will later play a part in observation of facial expression and body language for further understanding, also used for data analysis gathering to conclude.

Comfortable environment is important to participants, as the environment is friendly, warm and relax will effect participates warmth to feel safe and able to be confident in discussing information

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Data Analysis

Reflect on own values and attitudes, factors which may be bias towards the researcher observation mainly to cultural value differences, understand biasness from the researcher is important for data analysis of qualitative research. (unconscious values)

Data Assembly

Gathering data

Transcripts Video Moderator notes, observation notes

Data Reduction

Organising and structuring data Coding data , breaking down the data into subgroups, importance and relevance

“coding is a process that enables the researcher to identify what they see as meaningful and to set the stage to draw conclusion and interpret meaning” (Naresh,k Malhotra ,2012,page 298)

Data Display

Displaying the information in such a manner to be understood and to conclude with justification

Segments groups are formed and information allocated to responsive segment group, group can consist of ages and gender but will be adopted to relevant categorise when information is taken

Information could be displayed as chart, table graphs and spread sheet Main purpose is to see the meaning of the information therefore cross tabulation should be

prioritised in order to create a hypotheses (similarities and difference)

Data Verification

Present a valid meaning of the data that have collected Confidence that they are representing a valid view of their participants,

Quantitative Investigation

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Objectives:

understanding effective communication channels to target students efficiently understanding pricing perception of student and to establish must appealing pricing for

student in persuasion in purchasing

0.2.6B Online Surveys Self-administered structured questionnaire online to obtain information on student communication orientation preference and pricing strategy perception.

Questionnaires are simple and easy to create with the target population in mind. Questionnaire will be directly aligned with the objective of the problem definition. The sample will be at a greater size and hypothesis will be proven to conclude the research.

Sampling

Target market

Demographics Target market

Age 18-25

Gender Males and females

Educational Undergraduates

Occupations Full time students

Sampling Frame

University intranet databases in which the target population could be attained through university access when given permission to access

Facebook (this could be done through facebook demographical setting in advertising which shows students stating occupations as current university students, sampling error will come from past student who may have not updated status to graduates or other occupation)

Sampling Techniques

Methods to be used are “probability” sampling as the target population characteristics will be measured through pre-screening to increase precision of target population. This will eliminate random sampling making the sampling precise relevant to the problem definition target group.

Stratified sampling will be used to increase the chances of precision of the target population, groups (strata) will be defined through demographical characteristics, supermarket shopping experiences, educational year

Determining the sample size

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The sample size will consist of 500- 1000 target population participants, the size will state precise variables in which the target population value most and prioritise towards shopping and communication

The bigger the sample size the accurate the hypothesis obtain in association with definition problem objectives.

Validate the sample

the criteria of the target population will be screen through a pre questionnaire of requirements to obtain the right target population to solve the problem definition

requirement:

Demographics Target market

Age 18-25

Gender Males and females

Educational Undergraduates

Occupations Full time students

Shopping pattern Has shopped at a local supermarket

Planning to shop at local supermarket

Mainly shops at supermarkets

Online survey questionnaire content analysis

Advantages Disadvantages Simple to create Simple to analyses Direct questions, consistent question of

objectives Fixed response question reduce

possibility of confusion Bigger sample size informational

manageable Easy access to target population

Motivation of participants to answer question may not be accurate

The language needs to be understandable to the target population to minimise misunderstanding and error on question

Target population may not be verified through online survey accurately

Quantitative Data analysis

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Analysing quantitative data is simple as because the question are closed- ended questions therefore leaving the participants to answer from the variation provided making the probability known to researchers. Online survey providers eg Survey Monkey provide data analysis summary after participants have answered the question. This form of analysis comes as tables and graphs for the researcher to interpret and manipulate to gain understanding of the research to verify information. This software has limited tools for interpretation, for reliable and efficient software “SPSS” has many tools for manipulation, interpretation and cross tabulation tools to enable detailed conclusions from data analyses.

Benefits of SPSS

Handle large amounts of data Carry out sophisticated statistical analysis in seconds Produce very professional chart

Research limitation

The researching cost incurs secondary credible data bases which have a subscription rate or cost per report, each report prices can vary from £200 to £1000 depending on the context. Hiring rooms, moderators, experts, transcript writers/software all are expenses, also sample frame acquirement will be at high price. The exchange of information will come at a price as well, the target population may require motivation therefore exchange of money or prizes will come into consideration. SPSS software will be a premium cost which cannot be established at this point as because quotes are needed. The time of building, executing, data collecting and interpretation will take 4 months as shown in the Gantt chart below. A team of 6 highly skilled individual will be delegated task to achieve to ensure the research will be done to a high standard.

Gantt chart

figure 0.2.6c: timetable of research process

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0.1 Secondary researchSecondary research is going to assist with understanding the problem definition and to gain information to ensure knowledge gaps are improved and understood, developing further recommendations and primary research tools on the client brief. The process gives the opportunity to be creative whilst enhance the understanding of the problem definition and to help collect and elaborate information to develop suitable objectives for the primary research phase.

Secondary research has been broken down into small sections which are aligned with understanding student shopping and current trends within the supermarket sector

Using Target Group Index the research was based on understanding students’ shopping habits which are in alignment with the client brief. Corresponding information was based on: ‘age 15- 24 years’ and ‘not working full time students/at school’. These were two major indicators of student profiling through demographical traits. The information could not differentiate between high school, college and university students. The following information was found:

TGI Netquest (2010)

Students are likely to regularly shop 2-3 times a month Students are likely to shop online Majority of student will spend under £13 on main shopping but also student maximum on

weekly shopping is £30 Advertising, , low prices and past experiences are all important to students Asda attracts the15-24 age-group as their main shop

The research shows students’ routine for grocery shopping to be 2-3 times a month students are likely to go for their main shop. Students are also most likely to interact with online grocery shopping in comparison with other age groups. The index shows students are very keen on spending under £13 on weekly shops compared to other prices but some student will spend up to £30 maximum. Main deciding factors for students shopping are advertisements, low prices and past experiences.

The research highlights students’ shopping behaviour and these are taken into consideration to understand the knowledge gaps, to specify key variables in order to improve client brief decision-making. The research raised interesting points to elaborate, such as value proposition on online for student shopping, spending limitations and deciding factors. This is a valuable part of the client research outcome.

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0.1.1Prices vs brands .1

Table 0.1.1B UK consumer attitudes TGF partnership 2013

Shows consumer behaviour anticipation going into 2014, the distinction between brands, prices, fashion and ethics for UK consumers

The economic downturn has affected the landscape of purchasing behaviour among consumers and has changed socio-culture perceptions towards spending. The barriers of social classes have diminished due to customers’ squeeze on disposal income and uncertainty towards job security, salaries and wage increases. Therefore it has opened a pathway for consumers to resort to discounter’s stores like Aldi and Lidl during the recession due to low prices.

The graph shows the biggest indicators of consumers’ influence in purchasing products to be pricing, according to the WARC research. This is over brands, ethical terms and trending brands, which shows pricing plays a big part in decision-making . This research, however, has not taken into consideration product quality factors and value for money which may have interpreted the results differently.

Summary

The research shows, “The uncertainty and squeeze on household incomes that can be seen across much of Europe is making consumers more price-driven than ever” (Michael Brennan, 2014) Therefore analysis of pricing is important as a means of understanding the economic conditions of the target group, in order for Asda to make accurate judgement on pricing strategies.

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0.1.2 Customer loyalty and influences

Figure 0.1.2b: influential factor of consumer purchasing behaviour 2013

“Based on respondents with online access only. New products are defined as any product not purchased in the past”

The table shows the main influential factors which consumers value when deciding to try new products in the UK. ‘Friends and family’,’ saw it in shops’, ‘recommendation’s on new products are key persuasion variables for consumers trying new products. This indicates customer experience with brands (customer relationship) will encourage word of mouth and help generate close relatives or friends in purchasing new products. ‘Saw it in a shop’ and ‘free sample’ are based on shop floor experience and ‘possible packaging’ which will encourage customers in purchasing new products.

Summary

The Influential element of word a mouth is very effective to customers as recommendation by “friends” and “family” will encourage customer to try new products, but also shop floor appearances is vital and free sample are variables to also consider. These indicate products with appealing packaging and content or price will impose impulsive decision making for customer to try new products. Therefore communication through packaging and free sample on shop floor will help encourage customer purchasing decision.

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0.1.3 Supermarket Private brands vs National brandsPrivate labels are becoming a significant part of the consumer shopping basket due to the economic uncertainty. Consumers are appreciating private label brand within supermarkets in comparison with national brands. Private label brands are important to supermarkets as this is an opportunity to gain a greater market share also because there is a decline in national brands. Most supermarkets have the same national brand, therefore private labels and prices are moving to the forefront of gaining consumer and market shares.

Figure 0.1.3, shows national brands and private label brands performance 2014

Private label brands are becoming increasingly important to supermarket sales according to the MSL GROUP, London which has stated “private label sales accounting for 46.49% of total grocery sales in January and 48.06% for February , and up by 0.88% compared to same period in 2013”. The figures show continuous increases throughout the months and the acceptance of private brands which are becoming important in consumer shopping baskets. Therefore attention should be paid to this as it is an upcoming trend, vital to market shares as the national brands’ value decrease as the table above shows. “ with increasing competition among retailers for consumers to spend, private labels are set to become the new battleground “ (Nathan Gray, 2014)

Conclusion

The research forecast the importance of private labels which are part of consumer attraction to shops and an increasing market share. Therefore, it is important retailers understand consumer perception of private labels to build customer proposition by differentiating their brands from other retailers. This gives the opportunity to differentiate and create a product line with customers’ interest in mind as retailers commonly have the same national brands making private brands a decision- factor in shopping. This is the main reason why the research of understanding student market is being investigated to cater a product line with specific proposition towards the student market

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0.1.4 Secondary research conclusion Key findings :

Students are likely to use online shopping Students want to spend less but are willing to exceed budget if necessary Advertising, low prices and experiences(services) are key deciding factors Cost of ‘above brands’, fashion and ethical brands are key deciding factors As the economy recovers, consumers continue to look to save money The current trend of private labels becoming the norm in shopping baskets and future

projections estimate an increase to market share in supermarkets sector Private labels are becoming key areas to explore, differentiating value proposition to enable

consumer gain Students are likely to be influenced by friends to try new products Influenced by shop floor appearances

How Does this Affect Thinking?

The key findings shows customers behaviour towards shopping and the changing landscape of the supermarket sector. The secondary research has opened the interlink between current and future trends in comparison with customer perception and influence on shopping behaviour. Therefore primary research will be based on student perception of retailer proposition and private label brands, needs and wants. The importance of supermarket analysis is segmentation therefore research will be based on student perception and lifestyle which can improve understanding of consumer needs and wants on private brands expectation.

The research is important to the client brief as this is a major part on moving forwards as national brands decline. The opportunity to differentiate will be through private brands proposition. Understanding student perception of private brands, including needs and wants, will help the decision going forwards and build a relationship with students, persuading them to purchase at Asda.

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0.3Design of primary data collection tools Objective: understanding students’ motivation in purchasing, interest and needs to build supermarket value proposition

Theory: the buying decision process

The buying decision process will be at the heart of understanding students buying process which will indicate student needs within shopping; this will build the marketing proposition. The model is used to understand the different variable of purchasing process which will be adapted to the quantitative focus group to gain insight to student psychological and motivation process towards shopping. if

Four stages to the buying process: (CL TYAGI, ARUN KUMAR, P 55 2004)

Problem recognition

Recognizes a problem or need Problem triggered by internal or external stimuli becomes a drive Satisfy the drive Identify stimuli

Information search

Heightened attention: consumer pays more attention to variable, eg supermarket , consumer will pay attention to supermarket ads, conversation, friends and family perception and recommendation

Active information search: activity seeking for information from friends, family, books, magazine and reviews to build on opinion

Major information sources that consumers will look into to influences purchase information

1. Personal sources : friends, family, colleagues, neighbours 2. Commercial sources: advertising, sales person , packaging, display 3. Public sources: mass media, reviews,4. Experiential sources: handling, examining, using product

Awareness sets, consideration set and choice sets are important sets in consumers choices of products. The image and category of the product must be positive on the marketing prospective to enter sets. If organisation are not in the set it misses the chance to be considered purchased

Evaluation of alternative

This is the process in consumer decide on purchasing, the interpretation process of the information gained, cognitively approach has the biggest factor on evaluation and purchasing new products

Product attribution and differentiation play a key decision part in evolutional process

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Purchasing decision

Pay attention to attributes that are connected with their needs Important attributes What attributes come to mind Brand image importance

Conclusion

This is the perspective process in how customer approach purchasing decision making. This approach will be in-directed asked in the focus group. Understanding this process with students needs will be able to gain insight into important variables. This process will allow development of marketing proposition towards the student Asda brand.

Quantitative

Objectives:

understanding effective communication channels to target students efficiently

The survey objective will be to understand communication channels that student appreciate to avoid clutter and noise from other organisation, also the context in which student may appreciate and gain a response from.

The survey will start with demographics characteristics: age, gender and education year, this will make interpretation and cross tabulation create and verify hypotheses. The structure will be “generalised” to” specific” behaviour towards communication ,this will be the pathway to marketing activities through communication tools and effectiveness response.

Questionnaire will consist of Likert scales; these are rating scales that require the participants to indicate the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfactions towards the statement using rating scales of 1 meaning agree and 5 meaning disagree. This will be used to understand student perception towards communication and the agreements of each statement. The research should show effective communication channel in which Asda can use to target student efficiently to avoid noise. Order scales will be used for students to state communication tools in order of usage.

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0.4 Report on pilot

AB research consultant is looking to understand student lifestyle to develop a student brand. AB research wants to enquire student shopping habits and experiences, needs and wants to develop student brand which is created by students and used by students.

Overarching themes Questions Possible Probes(follow up questions)

Problem recognition

Why do you go to your local supermarket?

Do you go with friends/individual?How much to you spend?Is that a fixed cost ?

What do you buy?

What type of foods /products?Why the type of food/food?Regular items/different each time?Specific variables, eg price, brands, health to buy

Identify stimuli What is your feeling towards shopping?

Why do you feel that why?How often do you feel that way towards shopping?

Student value to build proposition

What do you think about a student value brand?

what products would you like to see under the student value brand?Why ?What will be a choosing factor of student decision? price, context, convenience foodWhat would attract student of deciding to buy student value brand?Would you buy student value items?

Information search where would you go to find information on supermarket?

What information provider do you find very useful?

Awareness sets, consideration set and choice sets

What supermarkets do you go to?

Why ?What do you think about asda?Whats are important factors , about deciding ?

Has an ad influenced you in attending What was the ad?

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Commercial information supermarket and trying new products?Where was the ad?Factors instores of purchasing new products?

Evacuation alternative

What do you look for when deciding a supermarket to shop in?

What supermarket do you attend and why?

Would you look for student offers?

Purchasing decisionWhat do you expect from your shopping experience?

What attribute are influential to you when deciding supermarket?

Culture What would you consider as the student culture?

Advertising with student would you be interest with as because you can relate to the character?

Conclusion

These question are formulated with the theory in mind of the buying decision making. Gathering this information will be able to conclude with specific variables to gain insight and to develop student brands.

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1st draft

Survey

Gender Male Female

Age 16-2021-2526-3031+

University Year 01234

Please tick if you use the following:

Smart phones TV Radio Social media PC/laptops Tablets

Please place in order of usage ?


From the following rank the order of which you will expect advertising ads?


(1: I did 2:I was, 3:I thought about it ,4:I didn’t care 5, I haven’t seen an ad )

1 2 3 4 5i have seen TV ads of products and I have brought the producti have seen ads on social media of products and I have brought the productI have seen ads on my smart phone of a product and I have brought the product

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When I am shopping at my local supermarket I am influenced by:

(1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither agree nor disagree 4=agree, 5= strongly agree )

1 2 3 4 5PriceBrandsPackagingHealth attributesFriend/family

What communication channels will influence you in purchasing from your local supermarket? and why ?Eg TV ads, radio, social media or instore promotions?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Feed-back

The front and size hard to read, looks old no introduction and disclaimer to the survey hard to understand, the language and wording is not correct email is a form of communication channel survey should be on one page

Changes

change font to Arial Make the questions bold change the wording of the questions, more professional include email Introduction Number

2 daft

Survey

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I am carrying out this survey to find out the most effective way to advertise and communicate to students. All results will be anonymous and your details will be kept private and confidential.

Gender Male Female

Age 16-2021-2526-3030+

University Year 01234

Please tick if you use the following: Which of the following do you use?


Please rank the following in order of your usage per day?

1 being most used to 6 being least used.


Please rank the following in order of where you expect to see advertising ads?

1 being most likely to 6 being least likely

Smart phones TV Radio Social media PC/laptops

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Tablets

Please indicate your response to the following statements?

1: I did 2: I was going to 3: I considered it 4: I didn’t pay attention to it

5: I haven’t seen an ad before

1 2 3 4 5I have seen TV ads of products and I have brought the productI have seen ads on social media of products and I have brought the productI have seen ads on my smart phone of a product and I have brought the product

When I am shopping at my local supermarket I am influenced by?

1: Strongly disagree 2: Disagree 3: Neither agree nor disagree 4: Agree

5: Strongly agree


What forms of communication influence you the most when purchasing from your local supermarket? State why?

Eg TV ads, radio, social media or instore promotions?

Final

I am carrying out this survey to find out the most effective way to advertise and communicate to students. All results will be anonymous and your details will be kept private and confidential.

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1. Gender Male Female

2. Age group 16-2021-2526-3030+

3. University Year 01234

4. Which of the following do you use?


Emails

5. Please rank the following in order of your usage per day?

(1 being most used to 6 being least used.)


6. Please rank the following in order of where you expect to see advertising ads?

(1 being most likely to 6 being least likely)

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7. Please indicate your response to the following statements?

(1: I did 2: I was going to 3: I considered it 4: I didn’t pay attention to it ,5: I haven’t seen an ad before)

1 2 3 4 5I have seen TV ads of products and I have brought the productI have seen ads on social media of products and I have brought the productI have seen ads on my smart phone of a product and I have brought the product

8. When I am shopping at my local supermarket I am influenced by?

(1: Strongly disagree 2: Disagree 3: Neither agree nor disagree 4: Agree 5: Strongly agree)


9. What forms of communication influence you the most when purchasing from your local supermarket? State why?

Eg TV ads, radio, social media or instore promotions?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary

The pilot method was used to critique the survey; the process of observation was applied to approve the questions and format within the survey. The primary process was to be able to identify student communication channels for advertising or interaction purposes. Therefore the translational process

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was to obtain information on communication channels to gain insight to the student market through using words and scenarios which student can visualise to answer the question precisely.

The survey has been critique to the target population preference, the wording and front makes it easy to read, the Likert and order scales are applied within the survey to make the target population visualise scenario and to reply with specific answers. This enables the interpretation of data collection easier to break down to enable insight and hypotheses.

0.5 Conclusions and recommendationsThe decision the business should take is creating a brand which applies to masses but has personalisation aspect which apply to different target groups. As the landscape of the supermarket sector become increasingly competitive, differentiate and proposition are key for customer acquisition and retention.

As personalisation attributes are becoming a key factor in consumer purchasing, is it important to understand the needs and wants of consumers segments to compete in a strong sector. The performance of private brands suggest that consumer are willing to purchase private label brands therefore the opportunity of differentiate is important and the ability to devise unique selling points will create business sustainability. The research focus on the student market as students are a big factor in the economy, this also has long term aspect of continues purchasing after graduation.

The research is necessary as because the current trend of private brands has not peaked to its full potential yet. The research process consist of 3 stages (1 focus group, 2 online surveys) these combined together will give the researcher a visual of the student culture. Focus group will provide narrative and questionnaire will provide visuals. altogether this will give insight to asda to create a band catered specifically to student.

Future recommendation

Researchers should have an understanding of the organisation, market conditions, current/future trends and consumers perception. This is will the foundation of knowledge gaps and creating opportunity to further research to sustain the business model. Researchers should find innovating methodology to create precise judgement and to gain insight to problem definition. Innovating methodologies are becoming a trend within the research sector, but always remember to have the foundation of the old theories as a back backbone.

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ReflectionThings that went well!

i) Finding information on the problem definition using secondary databases went well for me, as I used my skills to skim through articles and was able to pick up valuable quotes to support my statements, the use of graphs was well thought out to support my statement and give the reader a visual.

ii) Reading about theories and incorporating them into my work which I have achieved and I have made them relevant to my problem definition.

iii) The structure of the report is easy to read with various sub heading

Areas of difficulty

I. Areas of difficulties was using the TGI netquest database, I felt I could of found more information on student lifestyle

II. interpretation of the index number would of helped me achieve understanding , I looked into the demographical section which I was comfortable with but I couldn’t understand the lifestyle sections. This would have helped me on understanding student behaviour, there is minimal information on student lifestyle from a credible source but it could have been through achieved through TGI netquest which would of stated variables to elaborate on.

III. Devising data collection was hard as because the relationship between questions and objectives had to work together to gain insight, therefore each question has to have purposes. I found this hard as there is no right path in getting to the objective, being creative and building scenarios for the reader to help fulfil objective.

Improvements

An area to improve on is focusing on one variable at a time. The problem definition had various different variables which are sometimes confusing between each variable, therefore next time I will fully focus on one variable to achieve the objective.

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References

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http://books.google.co.uk/books?

id=9i_xa8UsAUoC&dq=buying+decision+process&source=gbs_navlinks_s

KMR software, 2010, food retailers [online] [viewed 06 may 2014] available from:

https://www.kmrsoftware.net/netquestuni1/default.aspx

Naresh k Malhotra, 2012, marketing research, fourth edition, England

Asda, 2013, about us, [online] [31 march 2014] available from :

http://www.asdasupplier.com/about-us/ethics-at-asda/ethical-policy

Nielsen, 2013, influential factor of consumer purchasing behaviour 2013[digital image] [viewed 06

may 2014] available from: http://www.nielsen.com/uk/en/insights/press-room/2013/uk-consumers-

are-less-brand-loyal-when-trying-new-products.html

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from:

http://www.warc.com/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?MasterContentRef=eac2a139-c0d9-4e19-9a50-

8331b1e50d0f&q=TGF&CID=A100983&PUB=WARC-EXCLUSIVE

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Kantarworldpanel, 2014 , Unprecedented changes in Grocery Retailing in the UK, [online] [31 march 2014] available from: http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/Unprecedented-changes-in-Grocery-Retailing

Kantarworldpanel, 2014 UK, UK grocery market growth slowing [online] [31 march 2014] available from: http://uk.kantar.com/consumer/shoppers/110214-kantar-worldpanel-grocery-share-data/

Michael Brennan, 2014, The UK in 2014: Marketing to the post-recessionary consumer[online]

[viewed 06 may 2014] available from: http://www.warc.com/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?

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http://uk.kantar.com/consumer/shoppers/110214-kantar-worldpanel-grocery-share-data/

http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/Unprecedented-changes-in-Grocery-Retailing

http://www.kantarworldpanel.com/global/News/Unprecedented-changes-in-Grocery-Retailing

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/asda-chief-executive-andy-clarke-i-wont-be-tackled-on-price-9207401.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/asda-chief-executive-andy-clarke-i-wont-be-tackled-on-price-9207401.html

http://www.asdasupplier.com/about-us/ethics-at-asda/ethical-policy

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9i_xa8UsAUoC&dq=buying+decision+process&source=gbs_navlinks_s

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9i_xa8UsAUoC&dq=buying+decision+process&source=gbs_navlinks_s


MasterContentRef=eac2a139-c0d9-4e19-9a50-8331b1e50d0f&q=TGF&CID=A100983&PUB=WARC-

EXCLUSIVE

Nathan Gray,2014, Private label growth: UK consumer data suggests private label trend is here to

stay[online] [viewed 06 may 2014] available from:

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Private-label-growth-UK-consumer-data-suggests-

private-label-trend-is-here-to-stay

Nathan Gray,2014 shows national brands and private label brands performance 2014, [digital image]

[viewed 06 may 2014] available from http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Private-label-

growth-UK-consumer-data-suggests-private-label-trend-is-here-to-stay

Racplus, 2014, Sainsbury's finance boss says discounters could double market share by 2020, [31 march 2014] available from: http://www.racplus.com/news/sainsburys-finance-boss-says-discounters-could-double-market-share-by-2020/8659671.article?referrer=RSS

The guardian, 2014, Maidstone Mum backs discounters as supermarket big four are outflanked [online] [31 march 2014] available from: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/23/aldi-lidl-maidstone-mums-shopping-recession

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http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/23/aldi-lidl-maidstone-mums-shopping-recession

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/mar/23/aldi-lidl-maidstone-mums-shopping-recession

http://www.racplus.com/news/sainsburys-finance-boss-says-discounters-could-double-market-share-by-2020/8659671.article?referrer=RSS

http://www.racplus.com/news/sainsburys-finance-boss-says-discounters-could-double-market-share-by-2020/8659671.article?referrer=RSS


Appendix

Value products have stigma associated with them as cheap and poor quality therefore supermarkets have repositions the own brand range to make it more suitable for customers. The marketing strategy supermarkets have imposed to reposition the perception of own brands value product are to redesign the packaging image which has shown to increase customer appetence and has increase sales at tesco and ocado a ecommerce base supermarket retailer .

Ocado

Achievements

Figure jumped from 79% in 2012 and 84% in 2013. Increase products in baskets Profit of £129 to every £1 invested in re-design

Tesco

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Achievements

Perception of quality improve Tesco market share increase Like for like tesco value improve by 9.8%

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market research on supermarket proposition

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