Survey - Laptop Market

This report conducts a research/survey on the factors that play a role in consumer buying decision while purchasing a laptop. It analyzes the attitude, perception, culture, and motivational factors that influence a consumer's purchase decision.

Survey – Laptop Market
MBA ASSIGNMENT – 984952
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Survey – Laptop Market
Table of Contents
Purpose.............................................................................................................................3
Motivation...................................................................................................................................3
Attitude & Culture........................................................................................................................4
Administration Processes...................................................................................................4
Data Analysis.....................................................................................................................6
Motivation...................................................................................................................................6
Attitude & Culture........................................................................................................................7
Key Findings.......................................................................................................................9
Bibliography....................................................................................................................10
Appendix.........................................................................................................................12
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Survey – Laptop Market
Purpose
The contemporary business world is highly complex and competitive. The spread of
globalisation and liberalisation has had a huge impact on the global market and has brought a
large number of changes in consumer buying preferences. Consumers are faced with so many
choices in the market that business organizations are carrying out millions of researches
every day, in order to identify the factors what have an impact on the buying behaviour of the
consumers.
The laptop market is one market that experiences high number of customers every day
because people from all walks of life i.e. business, education, employees, etc. require a laptop
to do most of their tasks. This report has been prepared to conduct a research/survey on the
factors that play a role in consumer buying decision while purchasing a laptop. Survey
monkey, one of the top websites that assists in preparing questionnaires, has been used to
design a questionnaire comprising of 10 questions that would try to analyse the attitude,
perception, culture, motivational factors, that influence a consumer’s purchase decision while
buying a laptop. A total of 15 responses will be used to carry out this research.
Development of a survey instrument
As discussed above, the survey questionnaire had been prepared through Survey Monkey,
which is an online website that provides multiple tools and strategies to carry out a survey. A
total of 10 questions were used to analyse different consumer attributes that influenced their
purchase decision and buying behaviour. The main areas that were targeted to be studies
through the survey questionnaire were motivation, attitude and culture.
Motivation
Motivation, in the field of consumer behaviour, is defined as a psychological force that drives
an individual to develop a need and identify a course of action that would help him or her in
satisfying that need (Consumer Behaviour , 2011). Motivation is generally considered to exist
as a result of an unsatisfied need. The questions that were targeted at identifying the factors
that motivated the respondents to make a purchase decision were the 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th and the
10th question.
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Survey – Laptop Market
Attitude & Culture
In the field of consumer behaviour, attitude is defined as a collection of beliefs, feelings and
behavioural intentions that a person has towards an object, a brand or a retail store. The
global market has been experiencing a huge shift in the consumer attitude since the time
when technology boomed up and offered online markets (Le Roux & Maree, 2016). The
questions that were targeted at identifying the attitude of the consumers towards the product
or the source of purchase were the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and the 7th question.
Culture, in the field of consumer behaviour, is defined as the set of values, beliefs and
customs that direct the behaviour of individuals and influences their purchase decision. The
study of culture in the field of consumer behaviour is considered to be important because
business organizations can increase their sales by gaining a deeper sight into the values,
beliefs and customers that govern the purchase decision of their target market.
Administration Processes
The survey questionnaire was prepared through Survey Monkey and a week’s time was fixed
for receiving feedbacks from different sources. The survey questionnaire was published on
multiple websites that specialised in getting responses from consumers. In a week’s time, 15
responses were received through online resources and referrals, which was then finalised to
study the desired goals. The research was based on random sampling technique as the
responses received were from random consumers.
The responses received from random consumers were helpful in gaining a deeper insight into
the effect of motivation, culture and attitude on consumers who had recently purchased a
laptops through different sources. The results of the survey questionnaire, in terms of number
of times a same answer was received, is given below:
1. Why did you buy a new laptop?
This if my first laptop - 2
My old laptop broke down - 10
My old laptop is outdated - 3
2. Did you get an exchange offer for your old laptop?
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Survey – Laptop Market
Yes - 11
No - 2
3. What impressed you about the new laptop?
Looks - 3
Brand image - 8
Hardware/Configurations - 4
4. For whom did you buy the product
Self - 13
Family - 1
Gift - 1
5. What made you chose a brand?
Quality - 3
Price - 4
After care services - 8
6. From where did you purchase the product?
Brand store - 2
Retail outlet - 1
Online website - 12
7. Have you ever purchased a product or a service previously from the same source?
Yes - 11
No - 4
8. Did you receive any additional offers other than a discount?
Yes - 9
No - 6
9. Did this source provide you a better deal than the other sources?
Yes - 12
No - 3
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Survey – Laptop Market
10. Did you use any discount coupons?
Yes - 12
No - 3
Data Analysis
The data received from the above questionnaire provided useful insights into the factors that
govern the buying behaviour of the consumers while purchasing a laptop. The different
factors and their impact on the consumers are discussed below:
Motivation
Motivation plays a huge role in consumer buying behaviour. In absence of motivation
amongst the consumers, it becomes impossible for them to make a purchase decision to fulfil
their needs or desires. From the questions designed to check the motivational factors, it was
clear that for 66% of the consumers, the main factor that motivated them to make a purchase
decision was that their previous laptops had broken down while the people buying a laptop
for the first time or because their previous laptops had become outdated were fairly low. Over
the next few questions, it was evident that discount coupons, exchange offers, additional
offers, etc. played a huge role in motivating the consumers to buy a laptop. Out of the 13
consumers who had previously owned a laptop, a factor for motivation was an exchange
offers for 11 consumers. Further, 60% of the consumers were motivated because of additional
offers, 80% were motivated because of a better deal while 80% of them also got motivated
because of being able to use a discount coupon.
The findings from the survey clearly show that discounts and additional offers play a huge
role in motivating consumers in making a purchase decision. Product discount is one of the
most important factors that influences purchase decision (Roesler, 2018). According to
sources, 70% of the US internet users said that product discounts had an effect on their
purchase decision during holidays. 83% of the customers were more likely to click on an ad
that offered a discount or a promotional offer. More than 64% of the online consumers wait
for a product to go on a sale before they buy it (Rudolph, 2016). These findings available
from the secondary sources of data match with our finding where the actual purchase decision
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Survey – Laptop Market
was being influenced by discount & offers, which are act as a motivation source for the
consumers (Lee & Chen-Yu, 2018).
Attitude & Culture
Attitude and culture also play an important role in the purchase decision of the customers.
The attitude of the customers helps business organisations in understanding the likely course
of action that the consumers are going to adopt while looking for a product or a service and
how they can be convinced to make a purchase decision. The questionnaire provided a deep
insight into the shift in attitudes and cultures that are being experienced in the market,
especially when it comes to products that are related to technology.
From the results, it was clearly evident that the majority of the respondents had been
purchasing laptops for their own use. Out of the 15 respondents, 13 had purchased a laptop
for their own use while 1 respondent had purchased it for a family member and the remaining
member had to gift the product. In the marketing world, the shift in the consumer culture that
is mainly focused on buying products for one-self is known as the self-gifting culture
(Norton, 2017). The survey questionnaire depicts exactly the same results, which also show
that most of the consumers were following a self-gifting culture.
The next set of questions i.e. the 3rd and the 5th question, were aimed at studying the attitude
of the customers towards the brand of the product they were buying. From the answers given
by the respondents to these questions, it was clear that brand image and after care services
played a huge role in the consumer purchase decision. Out of the 15 respondents, 13 made a
purchase decision on the basis of the brand image of the company and 4 each out of 15
members said that their purchase decision was a factor of the price of the laptop and the after
care services offered by the company for the product. According to the research data, in the
contemporary market, because of high competition, products do not differ much in terms of
price and function. In such conditions, the purchase decision is highly influenced by the
image that the consumers relate with dissimilar brands. This is also a reason because of which
many articles have stressed upon the need to establish a stronger brand image in the market
for ensuring long term success and survival (TEKİN, et al., 2016). In the survey, price was a
factor that did not have a relatively greater impact as compared to the brand image of the
manufacturer. Further, according to different sources, after care services also play a huge role
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Survey – Laptop Market
in customer satisfaction and customer retention, which ultimately leads to a greater brand
value (Haque, 2017). The concept of brand value and after care services are thus interlinked
with each other, which has been proven through the questionnaire where 87% of the
respondents made a purchase decision on the basis of the brand value of the product and 54%
of the customers made a purchase decision on the basis of the after care services offered by
the manufacturing company. The findings clearly demonstrate the importance of having a
strong brand value and providing good after care services to the consumers, as it can have a
huge impact on their behaviour and purchase decision.
The last set of questions were aimed at gaining a deeper insight into the shifting culture in the
consumer buying preference from brick and mortar stores to online e-commerce websites.
Out of the 15 responses received, 87% of the respondents had bought a laptop from an online
store or an online website while the remaining 13% bought it from a brick and mortar shop.
Without a doubt, this finding has also been in alignment with most of the research and
published information. According to an article published by Digital Commerce, the online
retail sales experienced a growth of around 15% in 2018 in the United States, while the
growth in sales for brick and mortar stores could reach 3.7% only (Ali, 2019). This signifies
that e-commerce business is slowly taking over the brick and mortar business concept and
also hints at the changing consumer preference for hassle-free shopping. Further, the survey
also signified that customers have a greater preference of purchasing a costly product from a
trusted source as 11 out of the 15 respondents said that they had purchased a laptop from a
source that they have used in the past as well. According to various sources, trust plays a
huge role in online shopping because the customers are sceptical about sharing their personal
information with online servers as online frauds have become the talk for the day (Rheude,
2017). Therefore, customers only tend to purchase products from websites that they have
been dealing with in the past and have reviewed them previously. According to Inc., 91% of
the customers regularly check inline reviews and 84% of them place their trust in the reviews
(Bloem, 2017). Such findings can be used by e-commerce business companies to strengthen
their business by offering trusted checkout methods to the clients and by ensuring that they
receive good reviews from their customers.
Another important finding from the responses is that 80% of the respondents had used a
coupon code to purchase a laptop, which is generally offered by e-commerce websites and
not by brick and mortar shops. As previously discussed, discounts play a huge role in
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Survey – Laptop Market
consumer behaviour and buying decision and majority of the customers show a greater
tendency to make a purchase in presence of a discount coupon, online websites can offer
more discount coupons to convince their customers into making a purchase decision.
Key Findings
From the information collected through the questionnaire, a deeper insight can be gained into
the attitude and cultural factors that govern consumer behaviour while making a decision to
buy a laptop. The key findings from the survey are listed below:
- Consumer culture shifting to online markets from brick-and-mortar shops
- Trusted source of purchase plays an important role in making a buying decision
- Discounts and offers play a great role in consumer motivation
- Consumers have a greater preference for brand image and after care services
- Consumers have become inclined towards the concept of self-gifting
Using information from this questionnaire, it can become easier for business organizations to
increase their sales by providing the customers with the right factors that can influence them
to make a buying decision.
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Survey – Laptop Market
Bibliography
Ali, F., 2019. A decade in review: Ecommerce sales vs. retail sales 2007-2018. [Online]
Available at: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/e-commerce-sales-retail-sales-ten-
year-review/[Accessed 15 May 2019].
Bloem, C., 2017. 84 Percent of People Trust Online Reviews As Much As Friends. Here's
How to Manage What They See. [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/craig-bloem/84-
percent-of-people-trust-online-reviews-as-much-.html[Accessed 15 May 2019].
Consumer Behaviour , 2011. Consumer Behaviour. [Online] Available at: http://consumers-
behaviour.blogspot.com/[Accessed 14 May 2019].
Haque, M., 2017. Importance of After Sales Service. [Online]
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-after-sales-service-mehmudul-
haque[Accessed 15 May 2019].
Le Roux, I. & Maree, T., 2016. Motivation, engagement, attitudes and buying intent of
female Facebook users. Acta Commercii, 16(1), p. 1.
Lee, J. E. & Chen-Yu, J. H., 2018. Effects of price discount on consumers’ perceptions of
savings, quality, and value for apparel products: mediating effect of price discount affect.
Fashion and Textiles , 5(1), p. 13.
Norton, M., 2017. Self-Gifting: What Gives? Marketing & “Treat Yourself” Culture. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thirdwunder.com/marketing-self-gifting/
[Accessed 15 May 2019].
Rheude, J., 2017. Why Customers Don't Trust E-Commerce & What We Can Do Better.
[Online] Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/05/30/why-customers-
dont-trust-e-commerce-what-we-can-do-better/#63ffd6301b2a[Accessed 15 May 2019].
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Roesler, P., 2018. New Study Shows Deals and Promotions Affect Every Part of Shopping
Experience. [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/peter-roesler/new-study-shows-
deals-promotions-affect-every-part-of-shopping-experience.html[Accessed 15 May 2019].
Rudolph, S., 2016. How Discounts Affect Online Consumer Buying Behavior [Infographic]
[Online] Available at: https://www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/discounts-
affect-online-consumer-buying-behavior-infographic-01575471[Accessed 14 May 2019].
TEKİN, G., YILTAY, S. & Esra, A., 2016. The Effect of Brand Image on Consumer
Behaviour: Case Study of Louiss Vuitton-Moet Hennessy. Internatonal Journal of Academic
Value Studies, Volume 2, pp. 1-24.
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Survey – Laptop Market
Appendix
Looks Brand Image Hardware/Configuration
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
What impressed you about the new laptop?
What impressed you about the new laptop?
Yes No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Offers & Discounts
Did you receive any additional offers other than a discount?
Have you ever purchased a product or a service previously from the same source?
Did this source provide you a better deal than the other sources?
Did you use any discount coupons?
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Survey – Laptop Market
Brand Store Retail Outlet Online Website
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Purchase Source
From where did you purchase the product?
13