Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Chapter 5: Classifications and Methodology of Retail Research

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Retail Research Components Store location The consumer Merchandising Advertising and Promotion Customer services Human Resources Sales methods Competition

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Store Location 1. Trade area size 2. Trade area demographics 3. Degree of competitive saturation 4. Appropriate retail environment 5. Sufficient parking available 6. Public transportation 7. Shopping center competition 8. Competition’s interest in site

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved The Consumer – Part One 1. Will merchandise selection meet customer’s needs? 2. Does the consumer have adequate finances? 3. Will store hours be conducive to consumer’s needs? 4. Do the market psychographics fit with the retailer’s philosophy?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved The Consumer – Part Two 5. Are consumer shopping habits in line with retailer’s policies? 6. Does the customer match the store’s image? 7. Will the targeted market purchase from the Web site? 8. Is the catalog’s format appropriate?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Merchandising – Part One 1. Is the brand assortment right? 2. Will private label merchandise compete effectively with merchandise at discount establishments? 3. Is the price right? 4. When should new merchandise be introduced? 5. What is the target turnover rate? 6. How should markdowns be handled?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Merchandising – Part Two 7. Are automatic markdowns appropriate for the company? 8. Would frequent markdowns benefit the turnover rate? 9. How many merchandise resources should be used?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Advertising and Promotion- Part One 1. Which media should be used to advertise? 2. What proportion of the budget should be for newspaper advertising? 3. What should be the goals of the advertising budget? 4. How often should catalogs be sent?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Advertising and Promotion- Part Two 5. What format is to be used for Web site promotions? 6. What special events should be used? 7. How should visual merchandising be handled? 8. Is a traditional format or an “environmental” format better for the retail store?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Customer Services – Part One 1. Would personal shoppers increase sales? 2. Should there be a charge for gift wrapping? 3. Will shipping charges apply to Internet purchases? 4. Would a child-care center increase sales?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Customer Services – Part Two 5. Will sales associates with foreign language skills increase sales? 6. What food facilities are appropriate? 7. Should there be a charge for alterations? 8. Should expanded shopping hours be introduced?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Human Resources 1. Which personnel sources provide the best employees? 2. What motivational techniques will reduce turnover? 3. What training methods should be used? 4. What is the role of HR in new employee selection? 5. What benefits and services should be available?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Sales Methods 1. Should there be self service or personal selling? 2. Should employees be assigned specific areas or placed in busiest areas? 3. Should computer stations be used in place of sales associates?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Competition 1. Should there be a system to assess the competition’s inventory? 2. Should the quantity of competition be assessed before location decisions are made?

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved The Research Process 1. Identification of Problem 2. Defining the Problem 3. Gathering Data 4. Selecting a Sample 5. Collecting and Tabulating Data 6. Data Analysis and Report Preparation 7. Making the Decision

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Methods of Gathering Data Secondary Data  Company records  Governmental agencies  Trade associations  Private research organizations  Periodicals Primary Data  Questionnaires Mail questionnaires Telephone questionnaires On-line questionnaires Intercept surveys  Observations  Focus groups

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Questionnaire Considerations 1. Length of questionnaire 2. Easily understood language 3. Sequential question arrangement 4. Specific questions 5. Multiple choice answer format preference

Diamond: Fashion Retailing: A Multi-Channel Approach. (C) 2006 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved Trends in Retail Research Increased use of focus groups Outside agency use Organizational studies Human resources retention Location analysis