Consumer Behavior: Observational Research - Term Paper Example

?Consumer Behavior: Observational Research Term Paper A. OF THE METHOD The notion of conducting market research is one of the key constituents for a marketer to determine the consumer behavior. Research can be conducted in two ways i.e. by using primary and secondary research methods. In this regard, it can be observed that primary research is related to designing and conducting researches independently. On the other hand, secondary research is associated with conducting researches by using already existing data or information. The consumer activity which has been chosen in this report is observing the buying or the behavioral patterns and the methods chosen by the people in deciding which food items to buy at a food court situated in a shopping mall. In this regard, the research has been conducted using the approach of observational method of study. The primary focus in this observation study has been to determine whether people behave differently at diverse stalls in the food court. Moreover, the observational research has also aimed to determine if there are any differences in the way in which people order in the food court. Buying behavior is the act and the process of decision making used by people in buying different products. In general, there are three vital aspects that affect the buying behavioral pattern of the individuals at large. These are social, cultural and personal factors. It can be apparently observed that people belonging to all income groups often visit shopping malls to buy products. In the present day scenario, the shopping malls have developed into multi-stored structures that sell a huge figure of goods or services. It is very much convenient for the individuals to buy various sorts of food items from a food court located in a shopping mall. People can find varied delicious food items at a single place from a food court which generally attracts individuals belonging to different social class to buy their preferred options. Thus, it also facilitates to save their time and effort as well. In terms of the subject of the observation, the analysis of the study is based on observing a group of customers belonging to different social class in a food court within a shopping mall in the region of the United States and the research has been conducted for a period of four weeks. The name of the food court where the observation was conducted is Food Court at Prudential Center in Boston, United States. The observation for a period of four weeks was conducted in the month of June’ 2013. The introduction as well as the execution of observational study method was quite useful in gathering a wide variety of information relating to the behavioral patterns of the consumers in deciding which food items to buy at a food court. It is to be affirmed that different sorts of observational behavioral phenomenon or aspects have been taken into concern. These comprise physical actions such as the pattern of shopping, verbal behaviors such as sales conversion or exchange between a customer and store-in- charge, expressive behaviors such as facial expressions as well as voice modulations and temporal patterns like the amount of the time that a customer spent while buying the food items. The important variables or aspects that have been used for the study embraced the food items purchased by the consumers, the time as well as the frequency of their purchase, the behavior of buyers at different stalls and the difference in the pattern of order making. In the study of business research, the phenomenon of observation is often regarded as a systematic procedure of recording the behavioral patterns of the people, objects and most vitally determining the frequency concerning the visit of the people at a food court situated in a shopping mall. In this process, no communication and interaction of the people is required. The phenomenon of observational study method has been used in order to record as well as witness valuable information impacting the decision of the people towards which items to buy at a shopping mall. In this similar concern, two particular phenomenon of observations were used for the research i.e. visible observational phenomenon and hidden observational phenomenon. The observational method in which the observer’s existence can be felt is known as visible observation. On the other hand, in hidden observation, the people are unaware of the fact that they are being observed. In the research conducted, it can be affirmed that the hidden observational study was quite effective as it helped in supplying accurate and correct information and it also assisted in reducing respondent errors that are more prominent in the case of visible observation (Cengage, “Observation Methods.”). In this observation research study, a key factor which has been aimed to be determined is the facet of motivational level that acts as an underlying factor to influence people to demonstrate different buying behaviors in different food stalls. B. ANALYSIS OF THE OBSERVATION Consumer Behavior is the study of the persons, organizations or groups as a whole that may be utilized to protect, choose, exploit or arrange of different products or services to persuade the requirements as well as the impacts that these aspects may have on every societal member within a community. The study of consumer behavior may blend the elements from various fields like sociology, psychology, economics and social anthropology. It considers certain significant factors that embrace situational, social, personal as well as psychological in finding out the reasons as to why the consumer’s shop, why the consumers purchase the products and the reasons as to why the customers at times become faithful to the product (Applebaum 172-178). By taking into concern the aforesaid theory relating to consumer behavior, it can be learned that the purchasing conduct of the consumers impacting their decision about which items to buy from a shopping mall is mainly influenced by two main factors such as the preferences and the needs of the consumers. Precisely, an extensive assortment of consumer activities was noticed without the customer’s anticipation about the observations being made. Through this phenomenon, it became quite possible to learn the activities regarding the difference in a customer’s behavior in the stalls of a food court. All the data that are observed were recorded instantly and whenever possible it was made in codes for avoiding any kind of ambiguity. The recordings were noted in a notebook and specially designed or marked with various symbolic characters in order to avoid the suspicion of the customers. Then finally, the gathered data were mechanically processed to derive the conclusions of the study (Applebaum 172-178). a) Description of the Observations A description of the observations about three interesting patterns or incidences relating to the study has been depicted hereunder: Incident 1: The food court in the selected shopping mall for observation offered customers’ different theme based restaurants or stalls. The offered food items were mainly based upon fast food category. The primary facet that is ascertained by the food court was availability of superior quality food items at each of stalls within affordable prices. It was observed that in one of the stalls serving Chinese cuisines there were a number of people belonging to different cultures. It had been a striking observation that despite the presence of food items belonging to a particular region of the world, they were amid the preferable options for a lot of native buyers as well. In accordance with the observation, it can be stated that consumers were making their orders based on the availability as well as price. A few customers seemed to desire to have a taste of new kind of food offerings, thus they can be said to be belonging to first-time purchasers of Chinese food items. In the food stall, there was also a particular rule followed in terms of firstly paying the required amount of money for the selected food items and then the order was processed as well as served. Incident 2: With regard to another pattern or incident, it was observed that the stalls offering sea food items and Italian foods were thronged by a number of buyers. The behavior of people in these two stalls was quite different than the Chinese food stall in the food court. Through the order placing technique remained the same alike the Chinese stall, the decision making process related to the purchase of food items seemed to be a bit different. People visiting these stalls were generally behaving together where the purchases of items were based on mutual or shared decision making. Italian or sea food items seemed to be amid the favorites of a lot of visitors at the food court. Moreover, people were taking a bit longer to decide the food items of their preference in these stalls as compared to the Chinese food items stall. The people were mainly sitting in the designated area and they seemed to be very interested to not only taste the multi-cuisine availability of the food court but were also eager to spend a relaxing time together with friends and families in an ambient location. Incident 3: Another incident or pattern related to consumer behavior at the food court was observed in the food stall offering baked food items, coffee, ice cream and chocolates. This food stall was mainly thronged by young visitors at the shopping mail which comprised people belonging to the age group of 5-25. The primary reason behind such a striking distinction can be the presence varied items such as chocolates and ice creams which are preferred by young people. In this stall, a number of young consumers were accompanied by their parents; however the purchase decisions were based on largely the preference of the young consumers who seemed to possess distinct tastes and preferences. The people seemed to be taking a moderate amount of time to make purchase decisions. It was also observed that a number of teenager casual shoppers were also a keen visitor to the food court. b) Hypotheses about explanations or causes From the overall observation, it can be evidently said that the needs and the buying patterns differ massively amid the consumers. The pattern of the buying behavior represents the preferences as well as the needs of the customer. Thus, it can be stated that the buying habits of the customers in general are not fixed, nor it can be considered to be sacred even though certain habits transform constantly. There are many factors that operate in combination with the purchasing behavioral approach of the customers. These factors comprise availability of the products in the food stalls of the shopping mall and regularity of visits of the customers at the stores of shopping mall among others. In this regard, factual evidence was observed within the noted incidences that teenagers and young people belonging to age group of within 25 years were an avid visitor to the food court. Their main aim was spend long hours by chatting or gossiping with each other and with their friend circle. In this course, they desired to have varied food items available in the stores. Similarly, the stalls offering Chinese, sea food and Italian cuisine were mainly thronged by high and middle income group buyers and families who were desiring to taste multicultural food items after spending long hours at shopping in the mall. It is worth mentioning that decision-making as of today concerning buying products is more complex as compared to the past. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the present day consumers are well informed and have adequate knowledge of different products as well. c) Relation of the causes to the study The above discussed causes can be said to be reflecting human behavior in general especially in the observation setting i.e. a food court in a shopping mall. The present study highlighted the consumer behavior for food items in shopping malls from different perspectives. Consumers rate the parameters differently while buying different goods. Based on various significant factors, it was apparently observed that the varied elements of marketing mix, stall quality and taste as well as flavors of the consumers among others caused the maximum variance in their purchasing behavior by a greater level. Even though the food and the eating habits get affected by the shifting of a new region, the basic consumption and buying behavior remain unchanged. Consumers, in general pass through a variety of phases when they purchase any sort of products. These phases might comprise aspiration of a need or a desire for something, information search about an item or a product, evaluating various products, choosing a product and buying it, evaluation of the product after purchase and finally disposal of the products. The level of involvement of the consumer lies in his or her interest in the product and their desire to purchase the product. The two main reasons for which consumers purchase different sorts of items from a food court in a shopping mall are firstly because of convenience and secondly because of sheer necessity. C. LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED BY A MANAGER FROM THE STUDY Organized selling of different food items in the food court of a shopping mall might require effective delivery. It is worth mentioning that consumers mainly seek quality, variety, price and convenience while purchasing different sorts of food items from a food court within a shopping mall. From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that there has been a drastic change in the buying behavior of the consumers due to increased level of globalization along with internationalization. It however does not mean that the higher income groups are spending more, but it also stresses on the middle-income group of people who have become more inclined to enjoy life and are spending money for a better lifestyle. It can be apparently observed that a huge figure of upper, middle and lower income group of people often visit the food courts of the shopping malls and purchase different sorts of food items belonging to multi-cultural avenues behaving differently because of several factors. These factors might comprise convenience, acquiring better quality of products and cost-effectiveness among others. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be stated that the managers of different food courts at the shopping malls should make deliberate efforts in developing their respective brands or products and most vitally to identify the behavioral patterns of the customers more correctly. It can facilitate them to accomplish their respective predetermined business targets by a greater level. Works Cited Applebaum, William. “Studying Consumer Behavior in Retail Stores, 2001.” East Carolina University (2001): 172-178. Print. “Observation Methods.” Chapter 11. Cengage, n.d. Web. 25 Jul. 2013. . Read More