Inquiry-Based Learning in Retail Industry: A Case Study of Sainsbury's

This report explores the concept of inquiry-based learning in the retail industry through a case study of Sainsbury's. It discusses retail trends, conducts a SWOT analysis of the company, and provides recommendations for its growth. The report highlights the importance of understanding customer needs, utilizing technology, and staying competitive in the market.

Inquiry Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Retail Trends...........................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of Sainsbury’s...........................................................................................................................5
Recommendations...................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................9
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
A learning approach that primarily focuses on the role of a student in the process of
learning is known as inquiry-based learning. In this kind of learning, the teacher does not tell
students what to do instead the students are encouraged to share their ideas and ask questions
(AKTAMIŞ, HİĞDE and ÖZDEN, 2016). Organization chosen for this report is Sainsbury’s,
which is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in the year
1869 by John James Sainsbury and is headquartered in London, UK. The report explains trends
in the retail industry and a background of the chosen company. SWOT analysis of the chosen
organization based on results obtained from primary data is also conducted. Apart from this, the
report analyzes the performance of the company against retail trends and provides
recommendations accordingly.
MAIN BODY
Retail Trends
Industry Data and Literature Search
Retail industry is among the fastest growing industries in the world and has changed
completely from how retail activities were carried out previously. Retail includes how producers
sell their goods and services to the customers in the market. Retail industry is one of the largest
employers in the UK and also significantly contributes to the nation’s overall economy. Retail
products can be sold through various mediums like department stores, shops, malls, market stalls
etc. The retail industry in the United Kingdom offers employment in different sectors like
customer services, retail management, visual merchandising, distribution, warehouse, supply
chain and logistics and so on (Overview of the retail sector in the UK, 2020). The retail industry
has a fast growing and a pressured working environment which is basically focused on making
profits.
Retail Industry Trends
The retail industry is experiencing a massive among of change in their operation.
Customer’s behavior of respective sector is changing and their expectations are also getting
higher (Fitzgerald, Danaia and McKinnon, 2019). In respect of this it is essential for retailers to

understand key industry trends for ensuring that their businesses are successful and sustain for
long time. Below some of the main industry trends are given below -
 Invest in Omni channels retail strategies: It is considered as most important retail sector
trends. According to this, customers can view items on their mobile and complete its
purchasing by conducting payment. These strategies show growth in digital marketing
operations as well as it will also help in attract huge ratio of customers.
 Provide personalized retail experience: According to these trends retail Industry
Company can offer their products according to customer’s requirement and expectation
(Frank and Stanszus, 2019). In other word retail companies must personalized or
customize its products and services because through they can attract more customers and
satisfy their need.
 Embrace digital mobile wallet: It is one of the emerging trends in the retail industry
according to which almost all payments are made through mobile. This is so because
respective time of payment are hazel free as well as safe as amount is direct credited to
the company’s bank account.
 Offer planet friendly products: It is also growing and preferred trends at retail industry
according to which company need to offer eco-friendly products and services because
through that they can attract more customers. In respect of this they can recycle materials
or make products which can be decompose.
 Rise of subscription in E commerce: According to this trend it is essential for retail
companies to enhance their presence through online or e commerce medium. In respect of
this companies must offer their products and services through the online website or
application.
 “Brand” A Culture: In respect of this retail industry trends it is essential for companies
to enhance their emphasis on the ethical practices because that will help them in increase
awareness among the wide audiences. It is also determined that brands associated with
ethical practices have received boost in their turnover ratio.
 Physical store for digital native brands: According to these trends there several digital
presence brand like Casper, Bonobos, Glossier and so on and for them it is essential to
launch physical store. This is so because through it they able to enhance their customers
base which leads to increase their sales at the potential marketplace.

 Shopping through AR: Augmented reality is also known as machine learning and
artificial intelligence according to this technology or trends customers can experience
bridge the gap among the digital and physical (Thongkoo, Panjaburee and Daungcharone,
2019). In today’s time Amazon is used AR feature according to which customers picture
furniture in their home.
These are some of the main trends of retail industry which help a company in attracting
more and more customers towards them as well as it will also help them in gaining competitive
advantage at potential marketplace.
Analysis of Sainsbury’s
Background of the company
Sainsbury’s is the second largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom that was
founded by John James Sainsbury in the year 1869. The company’s vision is to become the first
choice among customers for high quality products (Buchanan and et. al., 2016). The company
was set up as a partnership when the founder of the company J. J. Sainsbury and his wife opened
a shop in London, UK. Sainsbury’s initially started off by selling fresh fruits and later went on to
sell package goods like sugar and tea. Sainsbury’s is one of the oldest food retailers in the nation
and has nearly 800 stores that include both convenience stores as well as supermarkets.
When the company was established, its main aim was to provide the best butter in the
world to the customers at affordable and reasonable prices. The company primarily focused on
dairy products and aims to offer high quality products to the consumers. The first store of the
company was set up in London, but today has stores across different countries in the world
including United States, Ireland, Scotland, Belfast etc. The company started as a family owned
business but became public in the year 1973 (Company Profile of Sainsbury, 2020). Sainsbury’s
stated facing issues with its new management in the year 1993 and from then on, the family
relieved its ownership.
SWOT analysis of Sainsbury’s
SWOT is a strategic technique that can either be used by either an individual or
organization to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities available as well as potential
threats that can impact the overall performance (Chu and et. al., 2017). It stands for strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, threats and is one of the most widely used techniques across different
industries. The SWOT analysis of Sainsbury’s is described below –
Strengths – Sainsbury’s is a widely recognized brand across the world and is also
regarded as the second largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. It offers high quality
grocery products to the customers at very affordable and pocket friendly rates.
Weaknesses – One of the major weaknesses of the company is that it does not forecast
demand of the customers in a proper way as a result of which the company ends up keeping a
high inventory in its stores as well as warehouses.
Opportunities – Changes in consumer trends can act as an opportunity for the company
and open new markets for it (Galan and et. al., 2017). The company can develop new and
innovative products for customers in these markets. Sainsbury’s can also open new outlets in
different untapped markets.
Threats – One of the major threats faced by Sainsbury’s is intense competition from rival
brands like Aldi, Lidl etc. Also, the rising prices of raw material can pose a threat to its overall
profitability in the market.
Performance of organization against industry trends
Sainsbury’s is one of the leading supermarket chains in the United Kingdom and has a
large customer segment. The customers are loyal to the company as it provides products that are
of high quality and also, not very expensive. Although the sales of the company dropped in the
last few months, it still managed to get back by improving the same. The company is known by
customers in different parts of the world as it has been following the latest trends in the industry
(SWOT analysis of Sainsbury, 2019). The company follows a low-cost strategy across all the
categories of its products and this is one of the reasons why the company has been able to attract
a lot of customers.
Apart from maintaining its high performance, the company lacks behind in understanding
the actual needs of its customers and thus has many times ended up storing the excessive
inventory in its stores and warehouses. Sainsbury’s uses the latest technology in its system in
order to reduce the overall manual labor and gain a competitive advantage over other brands in

the market (Ješková and et. al., 2016). Also, most of the strategies that are adopted by the
company for promoting its products are also highly innovative. The shopping coupons issued by
the company are also designed by taking into consideration various factors like the shopping
behavior of the customers etc.
Recommendations
The primary aim of any organization is to build a business that is profitable and satisfies
the needs of customers. If Sainsbury’s wants to gain a competitive advantage and be able to
maintain its position of one of the market leaders in the United Kingdom, it is recommended to
enhance the technology that it uses in its system which will help it in monitoring and
understanding the needs as well as purchase behavior of the customers. Also, it is recommended
that the company increases its social media presence in order to reach out to a larger customer
segment and thus gain their loyalty.
By carrying out a market research, respective company will be able to gain an insight in
to the recent trends as well as the performance of the competitors in the market
(Karamustafaoğlu and Havuz, 2016). This will help Sainsbury’s in formulating effective
strategies and developing plans that can be implemented to achieve the goals and objectives. It is
also recommended that the company opens new stores in markets that it has not yet tapped to
differentiate itself from others in the retail industry. The distribution as well as communication
channels should also be increased so that any message relating to a new product being launched
or offers can reach to the customers in an effective manner.
Action Plan
An action plan can be defined as a document that can comprises of steps that an
organization should take in order to achieve its goals and objectives. An action plan for
Sainsbury’s is described below –
 Sainsbury’s should clearly set its goals and objectives so that the employees have a
clarity about what they are working towards (Turnip, Wahyuni and Tanjung, 2016). The
company should carefully analyze all the resources available with it and then determine
the most efficient ways of utilizing them to get the desired result.

 Effective steps that need to be followed to achieve those goals and utilize the resources
should be taken. This can include the time frame and deadlines as to when a particular
task should be completed and who will be the people involved in the same.
 Milestones should be set and once all of this is done, the action plan should be properly
reviewed either by the manager or the management of the company. It should then be
shared with the employees and should be monitored, evaluated and updated from time to
time so that any kind of errors can be eliminated and the progress can be reviewed.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that inquiry-based learning is a concept that
helps an organization to grow and gain a competitive advantage against other brands in the
market. The concept has gained popularity over the last few years and a large number of
companies are using the same in their systems to enhance overall performance in the industry.
Retail industry, on the other hand is one of the fastest growing industries and is also among one
of the top employers in the UK. Companies that operate in retail industry should adhere to
various trends in order to stay competitive and stand out from others. To identify their strengths
and weakness, SWOT analysis can be used which can help in formulating effective strategies for
the future.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
AKTAMIŞ, H., HİĞDE, E. and ÖZDEN, B., 2016. Effects of the inquiry-based learning method
on students’ achievement, science process skills and attitudes towards science: A meta-
analysis science. Journal of Turkish Science Education. 13(4). pp.248-261.
Buchanan, S. and et. al., 2016. Inquiry based learning models, information literacy, and student
engagement: A literature review. School Libraries Worldwide. 22(2). pp.23-39.
Chu, S. K. W. and et. al., 2017. 21st Century skills development through inquiry-based learning.
Springer Singapore:.
Fitzgerald, M., Danaia, L. and McKinnon, D. H., 2019. Barriers inhibiting inquiry-based science
teaching and potential solutions: perceptions of positively inclined early
adopters. Research in Science Education. 49(2). pp.543-566.
Frank, P. and Stanszus, L. S., 2019. Transforming Consumer Behavior: Introducing Self-Inquiry-
Based and Self-Experience-Based Learning for Building Personal Competencies for
Sustainable Consumption. Sustainability. 11(9). p.2550.
Galan, D. and et. al., 2017. The experiment editor: supporting inquiry-based learning with virtual
labs. European Journal of Physics. 38(3). p.035702.
Ješková, Z. and et. al., 2016. Efficacy of inquiry-based learning in mathematics, physics and
informatics in relation to the development of students inquiry skills. Journal of Baltic
Science Education. 15(5). p.559.
Karamustafaoğlu, S. and Havuz, A. C., 2016. Inquiry based learning and its effectiveness.
International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education. 3(1). pp.40-54.
Thongkoo, K., Panjaburee, P. and Daungcharone, K., 2019. A development of ubiquitous
learning support system based on an enhanced inquiry-based learning
approach. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation. 13(2). pp.129-
151.
Turnip, B., Wahyuni, I. and Tanjung, Y. I., 2016. The Effect of Inquiry Training Learning Model
Based on Just in Time Teaching for Problem Solving Skill. Journal of Education and
Practice. 7(15). pp.177-181.
Online
Overview of the retail sector in the UK. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/retail/overview-of-
the-retail-sector-in-the-uk>.
Company Profile of Sainsbury. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/company-profile-of-sainsbury-business-
essay.php>.
SWOT analysis of Sainsbury. 2019. Available through:< https://www.marketing91.com/swot-
analysis-of-sainsbury/>.

Appendix
An Industry Analyst was asked to answer a few questions about the strengths and
weakness of Sainsbury’s which are explained below as follows –
Q.1 What is that makes Sainsbury’s different from its competitors?
Sainsbury’s is one of the oldest supermarket chains in the United Kingdom that offers a
wide range of products at affordable rates to the customers.
Q.2 What are the growth opportunities available to Sainsbury’s in the retail industry?
Respective company can develop new products that are developed as per the needs of the
customers and thus satisfy them. It can also open stores in new and untapped markets.
Q.3 What is one of the potential threats for the company?
One of the most potential threats that can impact the overall productivity as well as
performance of the company is competition from brands like Lidl and Aldi.