MARKETING FUNDAMENDALS - Essay Example

Here we will conduct a customer analysis of the markets of Sainsbury's which is the most established supermarket brand in UK. 1 The macro environment of any organization mainly consists of four factors: Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological factors. In order to analyze the macro-environment PEST Analysis is used. In order to understand the influence of factors in the macro-environment upon the consumer behavior of Sainsbury, we will have to undertake the PEST Analysis of Sainsbury.

The market of Sainsbury's is mainly the economy and premium customers of UK. In order to understand the affect of macro factors on Sainsbury we will have to study the macro factors of UK. We will proceed as follows: The political environment in UK is one of the most stable in the whole world. There is a Kingdome rule in it for centuries which lead to a well balanced achievement of successful government rules in the country. In order to control the trading system in the country the government has made many regulatory authorities.

These authorities ensure the healthy, well-balanced priced, environmental friendly etc aspects of the various business industries in the country. e.g. in January 2007, the government put a lot of pressure on the supermarket and retail industry to cut short the packaging materials as they were adding to the household waste in country. This step was taken in response to the mounted anger among customers who were facing environmental hazards due to a lot of wasted packaging materials. The Independent moved an anti-waste campaign to reduce customers' worries about packaging waste handling and the government fully supported it.

The Office of Fair Trading, Food Standards Agency, and Trading Standards Central Agency etc are various regulatory bodies established by the government in order to provide the consumers a safe and well-aware purchasing environment. Such regulatory authorities not only control the various aspects of product/ service qualities of industries but also offer education to the consumers for making informed-buying. There exists a Supermarket Code of Conduct in the country which deals with the relationships of supermarkets and their dealers.

It safeguards the interest of the dealers.Economic factors:The economic condition of the country and the pricing strategies of competitors can have a direct impact upon the sales and costs of the Sainsbury's business. The economic condition of UK is very stable and it has been ranked as the 7th most stable and prosperous country in the whole world in a most recent one year analysis of 235 countries. It has even superseded the United States of America which is placed at 22nd position. It shows a growth and stability in the household disposable income of the customers in the coming five years which directly impacts the sales growth.

The economical strength of UK depicts the strong purchasing power of the customers indirectly. The customers have a study level of earning and income and therefore can purchase premium products of good quality from any good supermarket in the country.The recent increase in terrorist attacks in the country has posed a greater risk to the sustainability