University Report: Impact of Romaqua Group Beer UK E-commerce Launch

This report examines the potential impact of launching Romaqua Group beer exclusively through an e-commerce platform in the UK market. The research includes an introduction to e-commerce, research questions, objectives, scope, and rationale. A literature review explores online shopping behaviors, marketing strategies, consumer preferences for beer brands, and the influence of marketing messages. The methodology outlines the research philosophy, approach, and strategy, including qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The report presents the findings, recommendations, and conclusions, harmonizing research objectives, literature, and data. The study identifies competitors, analyzes consumer behavior, and suggests strategies for customer satisfaction. The report also includes a reflection on the research process, evaluating its success and suggesting improvements.

Research Methodology 1
IMPACTS OF LAUNCHING ROMAQUA GROUP BEER IN THE UK MARKET USING
THE E-COMMERCE PLATFORM ONLY
By (Name)
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

Research Methodology 2
Abstract
Chapter 1 of this research gives a brief overview of e-commerce specifically on alcoholic drinks.
It then states our research questions and objectives for the research. It concludes by giving the
research scope and the rational of the study.
Chapter 2 is the literature review from a number of scholar articles explaining customer’s
behavior when it comes to online shopping, how companies have managed to market their
products online, what online customers prefer on beer brands sold in the e-commerce platform,
how they associate with such beer products online and the impact of messaging on beer brands
online.
Chapter 3 is the methodology used in the research. It explains the research philosophy, the
approach used in collecting data in terms of qualitative and quantitative method and the research
strategy used in carrying out the study.
Chapter 4 gives a clear analysis of data collected by interpreting different coding in our study by
giving them individual themes that can be analyzed
Chapter 5 gives the recommendations of the research and conclusion by harmonizing all the
findings of the research by taking note of the research objectives and what was found in the
literature review and data collected. Actions to be implemented by the company are set out and
conclusion given based on what was found in the research.
Chapter 6 gives a brief reflection of what was learnt during the research process, evaluating the
success of the research and what changes could have been made or done differently and the
lesson learnt throughout the research project

Research Methodology 3
Table of content
Chapter 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................4
Research Question........................................................................................................................6
Research objectives......................................................................................................................6
Scope and limitation.....................................................................................................................7
Rational for the study...................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2. Literature Review...........................................................................................................8
An overview of online shopping..................................................................................................8
Perceived benefits of e-commerce...............................................................................................9
Perceived Risks on e-commerce..................................................................................................9
Consumer behavior patterns observed in the online e-commerce space...................................10
How companies market their products online in the e-commerce space...................................11
Preference of online consumers for beer products.....................................................................12
Important consumer touch points where brands interact with consumers.................................12
How marketing messages create an impact on e-commerce consumer behavior......................12
Chapter 3. Methodology................................................................................................................13
Research philosophy..................................................................................................................14
Qualitative approach..................................................................................................................14
Research Strategy.......................................................................................................................14
Sample size................................................................................................................................15
Chapter 4. Results..........................................................................................................................15
Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations............................................................................20
Chapter 6. Reflection.....................................................................................................................21
References......................................................................................................................................23
Appendices....................................................................................................................................25

Research Methodology 4
Chapter 1. Introduction
This chapter gives a brief overview of e-commerce specifically on alcoholic drinks. It then states
our research questions and objectives for the research. It concludes by giving the research scope
and the rational of the study.
Online shopping is considered a form e-commerce which allows consumers to buy goods and
services from a seller through the use of internet. It can also be named as internet shop, e-store,
e-shop, online store, virtual shop, web store and online store. Online shopping has become a
popular means of purchasing products in the 21st century due to the busy and hectic schedule of
people (Bryman & Bell, 2007). As a result, e-commerce become the easiest means of shopping
for most of the people in the United Kingdom and worldwide at large. All this dynamic sphere
has been made possible by the changes in technology and availability of internet that connects
the consumers with their producers with a simple click on a button on a global perspective.
Internet is now considered to be one of the distributive channels for many products in the market
such as alcoholic drinks. Today, the use of internet to purchase goods online has become a
reason for using internet to search for product information before taking the decision to make
orders. Thus, it is evident that the use of internet has become a competitive edge in the market
where the scramble for customers has become fierce.
Some of the online shopping sites include e-bay, amazon, Alibaba etc. the use of internet in the
United Kingdom offers a growth prospect in e-shopping. Consumers’ behavior is a factor that
largely affect the decision of e- customers (Creswell, 2009). These factors can either be micro or
societal. Many experts in the business world are positive about online marketing since it provides
new opportunities for companies to easily reach their potential customers in the market.

Research Methodology 5
According to Rabobank, online purchasing is poised to become the biggest platform that drives
the sales of online marketing.
Romaqua Group is one of the leading companies in beer products and bottled water in the United
Kingdom. It is managed and controlled by Octavio Cretu, who is a local businessman. It has
more than 12 brands of beer and bottled water products, and it employs more than 2500 workers.
It also exports its products to more than 20 countries across the globe (Cabras 2018). E-
commerce is one of the critical areas in which a company can invest in to make maximum sales,
especially in the modern world. Romaqua Group can have enormous impacts on both society and
its growth as well if it causes significant investments in online business (Cabras 2018. The
society today has a considerable number of internet users through various platforms, which
creates a substantial opportunity for companies such as Romaqua group to capture the attention
of a large number of consumers. However, investing in e-commerce is not accessible due to
competition factor where many other companies are selling the same products as Romaqua
group, and they have already established themselves in the market which may make it difficult
for other companies to enter into the market.
This study aims in exploring the impact of launching Romaqua Group’s beer product in the
United Kingdom through the use of e-commerce only. The research will mainly focus on
studying the consumer behavior pattern while purchasing ostentatious products is an imperative
move in today’s organizations marketing strategies in order to be a step ahead of customers.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of brands in the market that customers are ambushed with on a
daily basis (Cui, et al., 2012). In such a busy market, customers are forgetful of the products they
encounter along their search, thus breeding a behavior in them of being selective. It therefore
means that the companies have an uphill task to understand what triggers customers to buy a

Research Methodology 6
certain product in order to package their product in the right manner to attract the attention of
customers to give it a try
Research Question
The primary research of conducting this study is to explore the impacts of launching Romaqua
Group beer in the UK market using the e-commerce platform only. To answer this question, a
number of research aims must be fulfilled to achieve our goal. These include;
 Which competitors in the market are selling the same product in UK?
 Among the identified competitors, who are selling their products through e-commerce
platform?
 What pattern of consumer behaviour is evident on the online e-commerce space?
 How do these companies market their products in the online platform?
 What preferences do e-consumers have for beer products?
 How important do product brand attached to consumers?
 How do packaging marketing information create an impact on the e-consumers behaviour
pattern?
Research objectives
In order to achieve our main goal in this research, there are a number of supporting objectives
that will guide us to our research aim. These objectives include;
 Identifying the competitors in the UK market dealing with beer products.
 Examining the behaviour of customers in the e-commerce platform in UK.
 Exploring the factors that can lead to satisfaction of customer in online shopping

Research Methodology 7
 Identifying the strategies used by our competitors to satisfy the needs of their customers.
 Studying the best practices of the industry and suggesting better recommendations for
online buying that will attract and satisfy clients.
 Exploring the customer’s perception on quality services, brand value, and UK brands
provided on the online platform.
Scope and limitation
The following are the scope areas for the research
 The study area will only be limited to beer products in the United Kingdom
 Understanding the behaviour pattern of UK customers when it comes to purchasing beer
products.
 Understanding the framework of online business in the United Kingdom.
 Exploring the strategies to be used in managing beer consumption in the United
Kingdom.
 Understanding the mechanism used in starting an online business in UK
 Investigating the possibility of selling beer product on the online platform only.
 Exploring the best technology that can be used to process the online buying mechanism
and coming up with resolution centres that cater for emergency issues in order to
maintain the customers trust
Rational for the study
Romaqua Group have faced stiff competition in the market that has led to a reduction in revenue.
In order to reach a wider customer base like its main competitors to increase its sales. The
company has decided to launch an e-commerce platform to sell their products, a strategy that is

Research Methodology 8
considered unique and growing among the public because it is readily available upon request
without using much effort to get what you want.
Chapter 2. Literature Review
This chapter obtain information from scholarly articles on customer’s behavior when it comes to
online shopping, how companies have managed to market their products online, what online
customers prefer on beer brands sold in the e-commerce platform, how they associate with such
beer products online and the impact of messaging on beer brands online.
An overview of online shopping
E-commerce is one of the most growing space in the internet era. Over time, the internet has
continuously grown into a global market where customers can purchase any products from any
part of the world. It is slowly becoming one of the most irreplaceable channel for transaction
procedures. The world’s trade union have predicted a tremendous growth of e-commerce by 25%
in 2018 to reach $2.0 trillion (Hagberg, et al., 2012). The growth will be as a result of the
expanding internet across the world and mobile users, the increase in m-commerce sales
globally, advanced shipping and payment methods and the push of penetrating into international
markets by several brands (Hagberg, et al., 2012). The main reason why customers go online to
seek for products is because it is readily available and it is on their reach any time
Moreover, the internet provides customers with a variety of products at their disposal and
getting enough and humble time to pick products within their budget. This too saves a lot time
that would have been spent visiting the stores and shops to purchase the same products.

Research Methodology 9
Perceived benefits of e-commerce
Previous research have shown that online shopping have many advantages that have motivated
customers to go online rather than visit the stores. Online shopping practice have proved to be
convenient and saves time and effort involved in the buying process. In addition, it has made
finding merchants very easy when compared to the conventional shopping (Maeyer, 2012).
Previous study done on online shopping poised positive psychological factors attitude depending
on the activity been carried out online as opposed to the conventional shopping. A study done in
Pakistan on customers who shop online revealed that it was easy to compare products and get
alternatives, the fair prices is just a plus, looking at the products review is a motivation and
having market without border at the palm of your hand just make it more fantastic.
Perceived Risks on e-commerce
Perceived risk is the nature of customers contemplating on the possible risk of purchasing a
products online and particularly finding it difficult to make decisions. It can be associated with
the doubts of whether a particular product or service is real or is it some kind of fraudsters
robbing people online (Mijhael & Pimentel, 2015). For most beginners, they found it difficult to
believe that it can be done and all they think of the consequences that may follow such as losing
their money strangers (Mittal, 2013). They therefore found it weird and rather use the
conventional means of shopping by meeting the seller in person at a designated area so that in
case of a problem they know where to report back.
Some view online shopping as a risk to invading into privacy of customers when they ask for
credit card details to make the online purchase, the ability of physically inspecting the product is
a no and they feel that sometimes the product may have defects and returning will just be another
hustle that they do not want to end up in that road. Some also perceive the shipping charges as
additional fee that should never be the case. In a nutshell, people are different and can trust the

Research Methodology 10
next person with their money, what about the virtual person on the other end asking for money?
It becomes difficult to transact with such individuals and it all gobbles down to trust issues
(Mittal, 2013). Online shopping basically needs people who can easily trust people and believe
that their products will be delivered as agreed. Ultimately, all these negative thoughts about
online shopping hinder the intentions of purchasing online which later have a repel effect on
company’s who only sell their products online.
Consumer behavior patterns observed in the online e-commerce space
The online business has significantly grown due to its speed, convenience, and the efficiency it
provides to both the consumers and the companies as well. As a result, companies in the online
business have to study the behavior of consumers by studying how they feel and think in various
social media platforms (Pappas, Kourouthanassis, Giannakos and Chrissikopoulos 2016). This
can help companies design strategies and campaigns that can help reach out to a considerable
number of consumers and make huge profits by growing their sales. According to Dimitriu and
Guesalaga (2017), there are three main types of consumers defined by different behaviors in the
online business. The first group of consumers is the unconflicted buyers who are also known as
average spenders. More than 50% of online buyers belong to this group. Therefore, companies
have to manufacture products that would fit their buying capacity as well as their tastes and
preferences when branding the products.
The second group of consumers is known as tightwads and is classified as those consumers with
the behavior of spending less. Most of the markers consider this group as the most difficult to
deal with because they usually feel pain when spending (Pappas, Kourouthanassis, Giannakos
and Chrissikopoulos 2016). Reframing value strategy is one of the main ways in which a
company can use to deal with such consumers. This strategy involves adjusting the structure of

Research Methodology 11
pricing to attract tightwads. For instance, if the price of a beer product is 500 dollars, the
company can reframe the pricing structure into 41 dollars 12 monthly payments, which would at
least look manageable to the tightwads (Pappas, Kourouthanassis, Giannakos and
Chrissikopoulos 2016. The third category of buyers is the heavy spenders. They are the second
largest group of consumers in the online business.
The main objective of any business is to make profits by attracting the most significant number
of consumers as possible. It is, therefore, essential for the business to conduct market research on
consumer behavior and come up with strategies that would help attract all types of customers
regardless of their buying behavior in the market (Pappas, Kourouthanassis, Giannakos and
Chrissikopoulos 2016). It is also possible for a company to convert even the tightwads and
unconflicted buyers into heavy spenders by luring their willingness to purchase its products.
How companies market their products online in the e-commerce space
Investing in web design is one of the main ways in which companies market their products in e-
commerce. The design of a company's website has a significant influence on the attention and the
amount of time that consumers can spend on the website (Kooti, et al. 2016). Writing online
press releases is also one of how companies market their products online. The press allows blogs,
newspapers, and other social media sources to post your company's information where existing
and prospective consumers can access it (Singh and Keating 2018). Blogs are also used in
marketing products by online businesses where they post their keywords and other important
information where consumers can easily access.

Research Methodology 12
Preference of online consumers for beer products
There are various preferences that consumers look into when purchasing beer, especially from
online companies. Some of the factors include taste, style of beer, price, and the brewery
company that produces the product (Malone and Lusk 2018). Most consumers prefer to purchase
products from the famous company's because they already know how the level of satisfaction
they get (Jacobsen 2015). For a new company to get into the online business and influence online
consumers to purchase their products, it can be difficult, but it is possible for them to gain a
competitive market by coming up with strategies that can help convince customers that their
products are better than the already existing ones.
Important consumer touch points where brands interact with consumers
According to Baxendale, Macdonald and Wilson (2015) consumer touch points refer to any
interaction, for instance, non-physical encounters that may influence how a consumer thinks
about a company's product. Some of the most critical touch points are the websites, emails, social
media platforms such as Facebook and, among others. In the modern business world, the most
substantial portion of the population has become internet users when it comes to purchasing
products and also for socialization (Wagner, Schramm-Klein and Steinmann 2018). This gives
businesses opportunities to reach out to a massive community of consumers where they can
access information about their products.
How marketing messages create an impact on e-commerce consumer behavior
Marketing message refers to any communication or media that is designed to attract customers.
They are mostly used to create awareness of a given brand and create demand. One of the
impacts that marketing messages have on consumer behavior is to create a positive attitude in
consumers towards a given brand to influence their willingness to purchase (Pappas,