Analysis of Consumer Behavior and Store Management Suggestions

The provided document is a detailed analysis of consumer behavior in purchasing products from market places, with a specific focus on the Sports Direct company's safety boots. The assignment has been influenced by various factors affecting individual behavior in purchasing products and has analyzed consumer purchasing decisions alongside suggestions for store management. This document is suitable for students seeking past papers and solved assignments, particularly in the field of business or marketing.

Consumer Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Summary of your purchase.........................................................................................................1
PART 2............................................................................................................................................2
Customer journey and experience...............................................................................................2
PART 3............................................................................................................................................5
Recommendation for store manager...........................................................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Consumer Behaviour refers to the psychological process that leads to a consumer
decision to buy a product or a service offering. It is generally concerned with study of group of
individuals, groups and all activities associated with purchase, including consumers emotional,
mental and behaviour responses that precedes them to make decisions regarding purchase
(Belk,Scott and Askegaard, 2012). Chosen company in report is Sports Direct. It is a British
retailing group which is largest sports goods retailer and owns a large number of shopping
brands, headquartered in UK. This report will focus on summary regarding purchase as well as
recommendations of customer experience and journey. It will also discuss consumer behaviour
theory and will provide recommendations to store manager.
PART 1
Summary of your purchase
Sports shoes is highly demanded in UK. It has been observed that there are around more
than 50% of individuals which have a great demand of sports shoes. Due to its great demand,
company is making necessary changes in its products to meet customer needs. This led the
Sports Direct Company to conduct a research on a shopping mall that is Westfield. Along with
sports shoes, company also provides clothes, boots and many other sports accessories. Company
puts main focus on safety boots which will attract more sports player towards the product and
will help them to play safely. In order to get better understanding of consumers behaviour
regarding their product, respective company should analyse pre purchase and post purchase
behaviour of customers in order to produce products according to their needs and wants.
Market share
In order to capture larger market share, respective company should provide goods which
are superior to its competitors. The biggest competitor of Sports Direct is JD. It has been
analysed that Sports Direct captures 35% of market share compared to JD Sports with 33%.
Respective company uses discounting model in order to capture larger market share as compared
to JD sports which have develop their store portfolio and increased online presence (Cantallops
and Salvi, 2014). In context to this safety boots has more dominated the market of sports shoes.
The participation of sports has enhanced with 53% of participation of people in the sports that
reflecting allocation of sports equipments.
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a) A statement of your purchase
On the basis of data, it has been analysed that safety boots will be more preferred by the
customers in comparison to sports shoes as it has enhanced 53% of Safety boots will be sold by
Sports Direct Company which will be economic and symbolic in nature. This brand will have a
significant value and will develop personal image.
b) Recommendations on the customer experience and journey
It has been analysed that there will be greater demand of sports boots as they will provide
safety to the trainers. Hence it would be in great demand. It has been recommended that
company should make necessary changes in their products according to choice and preference of
customer and should supply their products to new stores and malls (Foxall, 2014).
c) Profile of your main target market
Main target market for the products under Sports Direct will be customers around 15- 25
years which will provide products according their age and with a reasonable price. Company
should also promote its products in order to make aware customers about products. Main
customer would be children's, young generations who have interest in sports, labouring class
occupier any many others.
PART 2
Customer journey and experience
In order to gather relevant information, data is collected by both primary and secondary
research. Under the primary research investigator observes consumer behaviour in shopping mall
and secondary data is collected through Mintel report while analysing Westfield (Goh, Heng and
Lin, 2013). When customers decides to buy a product, purchasing process involves pre purchase
and post purchase consumer behaviour. Behaviours of the consumers can be analysed on
different stages which are described below-
Pre- purchase considerations/issue
This factors considers pre purchase behaviour of consumers. When customers identifies
the need decides to buy a product they browse various stores and sites, compares the quality and
price of product, selects the merchant and thereby takes decisions to buy a product. It is very
difficult for the customers to arrive at a decision about purchasing a product. There are various
factors which stimulates customer to buy the product-
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 Perception and Trends/ Personality Traits - It refers to the perception of the customers
to buy the product. When there is existing trend of product in market and consumer
perceive it positively it will motivate them to purchase it. Different people have different
perception regarding the product such as some use boots as as a safety measure for their
feet and some feels it trendy and like design of shoes.
 Social groups and culture- Customers also get influenced by their friends and relatives
which persuades and motivates them to buy product. It is the basic factor which derives
need in one individual (Heidenreich and Kraemer, 2015). As compared to safety boots
when customers see their friends and relatives buying the product and taking advantage it
will persuade them to buy product. It also determines involvement level of customers
regarding how they are purchasing and consuming product. In context to Safety Boots,
pre purchase process is described below-
Analyse needs and Product search- At this stage, consumers analyse needs of their
products as well as start searching the product on collect relevant information about safety boots
in order to make purchase decisions. This proper collection of information assist the consumers
to take proper decisions regarding purchasing product.
Compares and selects products- At this stage consumers compare the product of
different merchants regarding their price, quality and features and selects the best one which is
according to their needs and desires.
Negotiation of terms- In this delivery time of the product and actual are included.
Consumer Behaviour Theory
Consumer Behaviour refers to the behaviour of the customers towards the product which
influences them to take decisions regarding the purchase of product. It includes various types of
theories to understand human behaviour, further more it order to understand human behaviour
Psychoanalytical theory is given below-
It is defined as an individual personality or behaviour theory which is based on the belief
that individual gets more motivated by unseen forces which are often controlled by the conscious
and rational thought (Hosany and Martin, 2012). This theory is more concerned with aspirations,
fears, feelings and hopes of customer. In general it has been analysed that individuals are not
able to fully understand their motivations because of the presence of psychological factors which
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makes them largely unconscious. This theory is based on three different steps which are
described below-
 This theory believes that individuals or customers are not able to fully understand their
own motivation needs and desires, this is because of the different psychological factors
which makes them unconscious regarding their needs and desires.
 It also states that various factors such as status, age and level of income doesn't influence
or impact motivation or behaviour of customers. Hence marketing messages which are of
high appeal to the customers feelings, hopes and aspirations are often more effective than
rational appeals.
 According to this theory, consumers mostly likely to respond to symbolic concerns as
much as they respond to those of economics and function (Juster, 2015).
This assist the consumer to take proper decisions regarding the purchase of safety boots within
the respective company.
Purchase consideration/issues
At this stage consumers take the final purchasing decision and finally places the order. At
this stage consumer mainly focuses on selecting the most reliable product and also takes into
consideration the environment of the store and experience of different customers. In store
employees should treat their employees and should provide all necessary information regarding
the product. Because of the online presence it has led to the increase of online customers which
mainly focuses on price, quality and design of products and in store customers along with cost
and quality also focuses stores environment and behaviour of staff members. Respective
company should focus on having good online reviews from the customer as well as word of
mouth promotions and proper staff recommendation will motivate employees to make proper
purchase decisions. Proper and knowledgable staff members will give accurate information about
the product and persuades customer to buy it (Kaufmann, Panni and Orphanidou, 2012).
Social process will also influence the customers to buy the product. It therefore refers to
the pattern of change in the society because of specific demands as well as cultural factors which
results company to provide goods according to needs and demands of customers. In relation with
Sports Direct Company it determines the company to make effective relationship among
customers and take advantage out of this. It enables the company to produce and supply products
which caters needs of its target market. As the target market of the company includes customers
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of 16- 25 years which are active players of sports and would buy the product in order to save
their feet from injuries. If the customers will provide right feedback and information to other
customers it will also motivate people to buy safety boots.
Post Purchase Considerations
This is the final stage after the customer buys the product whether from in store or online
store. This stage includes handling, shipping, receiving amount etc. There are some
considerations or issues related to post purchase which the consumer faces are cognitive
dissonance, actual consumption and disposal. Cognitive dissonance refers to the state in which
there is a difference between customers experiences or behaviour regarding the product and in
actual which is different from their beliefs (Mazaheri, Richard and Laroche, 2012). When the
customers buy the product it is the responsibility of the respective company compare to make the
customers about the product regarding its causes and benefits. This awareness about the products
will help customers to take proper decision regarding purchase. If the consumer purchases
product from online it is necessary to have proper information regarding product specifications.
This will assist them to give proper reviews about the product and persuades more people to
take decision regarding the purchase of product. Along with this if the consumer purchase
products from in store, proper information regarding the product will have positive word of
mouth of communication which will make the customers aware and provides information to the
consumers about the product. This determines the behaviour of consumers regarding the
purchase of product. In context to Sports Direct company as they will not provide full
specification or information about their product that is safety boots, it will not influence
behaviour of consumers to purchase the product.
PART 3
Recommendation for store manager
Consumers are the important part of the organisation, respective company needs to
properly analyse their needs and wants and thereby produce products accordingly. When
customer produces products according to needs and demands of customer it will motivate them
and their behaviour regarding taking decisions to purchase product. This is the major
responsibility of the store manager to analyse the behaviour and experience of customers towards
purchasing the product. It also assist them to analyse the problems regarding purchasing
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experience of customers and take immediate actions. Proper analysis of customer will assist
Sports Direct Company to produce goods according to customers and avail opportunities to
grow and capture larger market share. It will help the company to increase its profitability level
and improves experiences of customer. Maintaining effective customer experience would ensure
trust and loyalty of consumers towards the product and would get attached for a longer period of
time with Sports Direct. Customer journey within the respective company should be enhanced
by providing them proper information about the product and also by providing better quality of
shoes and at a reasonable cost. They should also ensure proper friendly atmosphere in the
organisation in order to make consumers free to ask any information regarding the product (Mick
and et. al., 2012).
Customer experience can be defined as interaction between an organisation and
customers over the duration of their relationships. Positive customer experience can be achieved
by the company when individual experience at all the touch points meets their individual
expectations. Proper interaction among customers helps in brand recognisation and creates its
awareness in market. It is highly recommended to Sports Direct Company to make their presence
online in order to target more customers and creates awareness about its products globally.
Along with this there are certain recommendations given to the store manager which are
described below-
 It has been recommended to Sports Directs Company to bring improvement in
positioning in store as it can position it store in different countries and in different
locations to target larger customer base.
 It should start promoting its products through social media platforms such as creating
pages in Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and should telecast advertisements on newspapers
and television in order to create much awareness about its products.
 Company should also start giving discount to the consumers on purchase of products.
They can even provide special discounts on festive seasons to target more customers as
well as could provide discount to customers on first purchase. This also motivates the
customer to make repeated purchase with the same company (Mower, Kim and Childs,
2012).
 In order to enhance more productivity and profitability Sports Direct Company should
come under partnership with other companies in the same segment which can bring better
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innovation in its products and produces specialised products in order to be ahead of its
competitors. Joint Partnership of the company will also assist in enhanced productivity and
produces goods at a large scale to capture larger market share.
 It is also recommended for Sports Direct company to hire qualified candidates with the
help of recruitment agencies. This will enable the company to get employees with high
skills and capabilities which can perform various complex roles and responsibilities and
allow company to generate more revenue (Mullen and Johnson, 2013).
 It is also recommended for Sports Direct company to give discounts to the customers who
purchases products in bulk. It will assist the customers to make repeated purchases within
the same company.
These are the following recommendation which are given to the store managers of the respective
company in order to enhance its productivity and captures larger market share.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that consumer behaviour plays a significant
role in taking decision regarding purchase of product. It has been analysed that there are various
factors which influences behaviour of individuals in purchasing products from market place. It
has been determined that Sports Direct Company is manufacturing the safety boots in order to
protect individual from getting injured. Consumer purchasing decisions have also been analysed
along with this suggestions to the store manager of Sport Direct company is also been provided
and discussed under the project.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Belk, R.W., Scott, L. and Askegaard, S. eds., 2012. Research in consumer behavior. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Cantallops, A.S. and Salvi, F., 2014. New consumer behavior: A review of research on eWOM
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Foxall, G.R., 2014. Invitation to consumer behavior analysis. In Consumer Behavior Analysis
(pp. 23-40). Routledge.
Goh, K.Y., Heng, C.S. and Lin, Z., 2013. Social media brand community and consumer
behavior: Quantifying the relative impact of user-and marketer-generated content.
Information Systems Research. 24(1). pp.88-107.
Heidenreich, S. and Kraemer, T., 2015. Passive innovation resistance: The curse of innovation?
Investigating consequences for innovative consumer behavior. Journal of Economic
Psychology. 51. pp.134-151.
Hosany, S. and Martin, D., 2012. Self-image congruence in consumer behavior. Journal of
Business Research. 65(5). pp.685-691.
Juster, F.T., 2015. Anticipations and purchases: An analysis of consumer behavior. Princeton
University Press.
Kaufmann, H.R., Panni, M.F.A.K. and Orphanidou, Y., 2012. Factors affecting consumers' green
purchasing behavior: An integrated conceptual framework. Amfiteatru Economic
Journal. 14(31). pp.50-69.
Mazaheri, E., Richard, M.O. and Laroche, M., 2012. The role of emotions in online consumer
behavior: a comparison of search, experience, and credence services. Journal of
Services Marketing. 26(7). pp.535-550.
Mick, and et. al., 2012. Transformative consumer research for personal and collective well-
being. Routledge.
Mower, J.M., Kim, M. and Childs, M.L., 2012. Exterior atmospherics and consumer behavior:
influence of landscaping and window display. Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management: An International Journal. 16(4). pp.442-453.
Mullen, B. and Johnson, C., 2013. The psychology of consumer behavior. Psychology Press.
Rucker, D.D., Galinsky, A.D. and Dubois, D., 2012. Power and consumer behavior: How power
shapes who and what consumers value. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 22(3).
pp.352-368.
Solomon and et.al., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London:
Pearson.
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