Bottled Water among Uk students: Is it a luxuary or a necesity in the current UK economy - Dissertation Example

The first is the general concern for the preservation of health, by avoiding contaminants that are perceived to be present in tap water or by imbibing the greater health benefits that are attributed to water from mountain springs with a high mineral content (Ward, et al., 2009; Geissler & Gamble, 2002). The second reason is the desire to be identified with a certain social group that could afford to regularly patronize expensive brands of bottled water (Semansky, 2008; Kimmel, 2007), which is again linked somewhat to the extraordinary health benefits of certain types of water drawn from exotic locations (Beverage Industry, 2000; Marketing Week, 2005).

It is determined by literature, however, that the health advantages of bottled water over tap water is largely perceptual, with little basis in fact (Geissler & Gamble, 2002). Because of the ambiguity of the so-called “benefits” of bottled water, it becomes now a valid basis for inquiry to qualify the preference of the consuming public, from the standpoint of market psychology. In the light of the economic crisis the repercussions of which are still evident, it seems contrary to usual consumer behaviour for a wide segment of the buying public to prefer the more expensive bottled water than water pumped from public reservoirs to the house tap, which is more affordable (Ward, et al.

, 2009; Geissler & Gamble, 2002). . Marketing data and academic studies have shown that this is the fastest growing segment of bottled water consumers (British Bottled Water Producers, 2011; Balmond, 2005). The research question that shall delimit the study, therefore, is stated as: Do UK students prefer bottled water to tap water, and if so, what are the principal considerations that motivate their decision, when these students are divided into their educational level – i.e. elementary, high school, and college levels?

A set of hypotheses that may be tested to determine this may be proposed as: H01 : There is no significant difference among the groups of students for their preference for bottled over tap water, as far as they are motivated by health reasons. H02 : There is no significant difference among the groups of students for their preference for bottled over tap water, as far as they are motivated by the projection of their social status. 7. Sources Bainbridge, J 2007 “Sector Insight: Bottled water - Health drowns out green concerns.

” Marketing (00253650), 8/15/2007, p99 Balmond, S 2005 “Bottled water sales are booming in the UK market.” Design Week, 7/28/2005, Vol. 20 Issue 30, p7 British Bottled Water Producers. Accessed 25 May 2011 from http://www.britishbottledwater.org/vitalstats2.html Bryman, A & Bell, E 2007 Business Research Methods, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford Cooper, D; Cooper, D R; & Schindler, P 2010 Business Research Methods, 11th ed.. McGraw-Companies, Inc Geissler, G L & Gamble, J E 2002 “Straight from the Tap?

Consumer Evaluation of a Bottled Water Product Concept.” Journal of Food Products Marketing, Vol. 8 Issue 2, p19; DOI: 10.1300/J038v08n02•03 “Island water floats on Luxury and Prestige.” Beverage Industry, Sep 2000, Vol. 91