Decision Making Report: Impact of Multichannel Platforms on Retail

This report investigates the impact of multichannel platforms on high street shops and malls, focusing on how technological innovations and shifting consumer preferences from offline to online shopping influence business decision-making. A primary research methodology, including survey questionnaires distributed to 100 UKCBC College students, was used to collect data on preferences, brand loyalty, and perceptions of online versus offline shopping. The study employs statistical techniques such as mean, median, mode, and correlation coefficients to analyze the collected data, revealing a trend towards the adoption of multichannel platforms, particularly among younger generations. Qualitative data, gathered from interviews with managers from high street shops, malls, and e-commerce companies, provides insights into the economic impacts and operational adjustments required to maintain competitiveness. The report also examines the role of transaction processing systems (TPS), management information systems (MIS), and decision support systems (DSS) in supporting various levels of management, alongside financial tools like NPV and IRR for investment decision-making.

Business Decision Making

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
Planning the survey......................................................................................................................5
a) Create a plan for collecting data from students across all campuses...................................5
b) Present the survey methodology and sampling frame used................................................5
c) Design a questionnaire for collecting the data.....................................................................6
Qualitative data collection...........................................................................................................9
In what way has the multichannel platforms impacted the high street shops and Malls?.......9
Task 2.............................................................................................................................................10
Summarizing and analyzing the data.........................................................................................10
a) Summaries the data collected from the survey using representative values (arithmetic
mean, median and mode).......................................................................................................10
b) Analyze the results of the survey and draw conclusions...................................................11
c) Analyze the data using measures of dispersion.................................................................11
d) Explain how you can use quartiles, percentiles and the correlation coefficient to draw
useful conclusions..................................................................................................................12
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................14
Presentation and report making of the findings.........................................................................14
a) With the help of spreadsheets graph has been produced to bring valid conclusion as per
the survey...............................................................................................................................14
b) Create trend lines in spreadsheet graphs to show the level of impact over a minimum of 3
years.......................................................................................................................................21
c) Prepare a poster presentation in class of your findings.....................................................23
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d) Write a formal report for publication in the Retail Times magazine................................23
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................25
a) How do the following systems serve the various levels of management in a business? You
are to describe their characteristics and the roles they play in a business.................................25
I. Transaction processing systems (TPS)...............................................................................25
II. Management information systems (MIS).........................................................................25
III. Decision support systems (DSS).....................................................................................25
b) A publisher has just signed a contract for the publication of a book. What is the earliest date
that the book can be ready for distribution based on the following activities with time
estimates:...................................................................................................................................26
c) Using financial tools for decision-making advice a business planning on investing in a
project........................................................................................................................................26
d) If the rate of finance at which the business can borrow is 10% calculate the NPV and advice
if it is worth considering this investment...................................................................................26
e) Calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and explain the meaning of the result..............27
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................28
Reference List................................................................................................................................29
Appendix:......................................................................................................................................30
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Introduction
High Street shops and malls have been impacted due to the advent of technological innovations
and multichannel shopping platforms. The impact has been in terms of their popularity. Recent
news points to the fact that consumers of the UK have shifted from offline platforms to online
shopping (BBC News, 2018). This has led to the development of Multichannel Selling Platforms.
The multichannel platforms are gradually adopting online platform for their operations (Wright,
2018). They are also adopting new technologies such as modern decision making systems which
has aided towards increasing the profitability of the business.
This research aims to analyse how these traditional malls and shops are being affected. Further,
this research also identifies how this changing trend has influenced the decision making of these
traditional retail platforms. The research will adopt a robust research methodology to conduct the
study.
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Task 1
Planning the survey
a) Create a plan for collecting data from students across all campuses.
In order to effectively analyse the impact, an effective data collection has to be adopted. There
are two methods of collecting data. They are Primary data collection and secondary data
collection method. In Primary data collection method real time data is collected and is called the
primary data. Data from previously published research, reports, news releases, etc. are called
Secondary Data. The major challenge of secondary data is in terms of its scope and relevance of
use. Hence, this research will consider primary research methodology as the method of research.
A primary research uses survey questionnaire and interviews to gather and record relevant
information about the population considered for the study.
Primary research is associated with a sample which is an effective representation of the
population for study. In this research, the sample size of 100 pupils of the UKCBC College has
been considered. They are randomly selected. The Survey questionnaire method has been used as
the intended data collection tool. The questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions has been
distributed to the intended pupils during the Tiffin hours in the college campus.
The Ethics of Research has been adhered in this study through written permission from the
authority of the UKCBC. However, this research has been challenged through certain limitations
pertaining to the Time and Costs. The duration of the study and the Tiffin break has short time
span which has posed a hindrance. Further, the cost of purchasing relevant online journals has
also been a pressing concern.
b) Present the survey methodology and sampling frame used
There are broadly two methods of Data sampling which are Probabilistic Sampling method and
Non-Probabilistic Sampling Method. The non-probabilistic method of sampling is the ineffective
method of communication (Saunders, 2011). This method is not the appropriate representation of
the population. Hence, this method will result in ineffective research conclusion. The most
effective method is the Probabilistic sampling method because it forms the most accurate
representation of the population of the study. Among the various Probabilistic sampling methods
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the most effective method is the Random Sampling method. In random sampling method, a
random table is used to randomly identify the sample from the total population. This effectively
ensures that the each of the participants has equal opportunity of being selected in the sample.
Hence, this research will consider this method for selecting the sample for this research.
The primary research method will record both the Qualitative and the Quantitative data. Survey
method will be used to record the quantitative data while the Interview method will be used to
collect the Qualitative data. For the quantitative information, the selected sample will be
surveyed through the questionnaire. Interviewing 2 managers from the High Street Shops and
Malls and 1 Manager from a selected E-Commerce company will provide the Qualitative data.
c) Design a questionnaire for collecting the data.
The following section will provide the intended survey questionnaire required for collecting the
primary data. Further, the section will also provide the structured responses to the questionnaire.
1. Specify your gender
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Bellow 20 30 30 100
20 to 24 46 46 100
24 and above 24 24 100
Table: 2: Gender of the respondents.
2. Specification of the age
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Male 50 50 100
Female 48 48 100
Others 2 2 100
Table: 1: Age of the given respondents
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This portion of the questionnaire is aimed at recording the background of the sample and
acquaints them about the survey. The responses reveal that about 50 percent of the respondents
are male and 48 percent are female.
3. Do you accept that online shopping is more acceptable than offline shopping?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Highly agree 40 40 100
Agree 29 29 100
Neutral 03 03 100
Disagree 10 10 100
Highly disagree 18 18 100
Table: 3: respondents’ opinion on the preference of the mode of shopping (online/offline)
4. Do you choose multichannel platforms or high street shops?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Yes 62 62 100
Neural 03 38 100
No 35 35 100
Table: 4: respondents’ opinion regarding whether they prefer multichannel platforms over
high street shops
5. Do you accept that online websites provide more discounts than the offline shops?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Highly agree 42 42 100
Agree 24 24 100
Neural 03 03 100
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Disagree 15 15 100
Highly disagree 16 16 100
Table: 5: respondents’ opinion about the fact that online websites give more discounts than
offline shops
6. How often do you modify your preferred shopping channels?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Very frequently 40 40 100
frequently 29 29 100
Neural 02 02 100
Sometimes 14 14 100
Not at all 15 15 100
Table: 6: shopping channel changing frequency
7. How often do you modify your preferred brand?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Very frequently 16 16 100
frequently 13 13 100
Neural 03 03 100
Sometimes 29 29 100
Not at all 39 39 100
Table: 7: respondents’ frequency for sticking to one brand
8. Will you suggest your peers to buy from multinational platforms rather than buying
from high street shops?
Options Percentage of Number of Total number of
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respondents respondents respondents
Yes 68 68 100
Neural 05 05 100
No 27 27 100
Table:8: Respondents proposal to peers and mates to shift to multinational platforms
Qualitative data collection
In what way has the multichannel platforms impacted the high street shops and Malls?
Respondent Response
Manager 1
Multichannel platforms are widely accepted by the youngsters and have become a
major factor towards setting the future trend. This change has impacted the high
street shops and malls economically.
Manager 2
Multichannel platforms are comparatively cost effective than the traditional high
street shops and malls. Consumers feel that multichannel platforms are convenient
alternative to high street shop and hence are churning out. This has seriously led the
managers of high street shops to consider online platform for their business. This
seems to be the only way to increase the competitive advantage in increase the
sustainability of the business.
Manager 3
The multichannel platform has introduced innovation and has made the market more
competitive. The use of multichannel platform has definitely increased the
effectiveness of operation and also decreasing the cost of operation. However, they
have not been able to affect the profitability of the high street shops and malls.
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Task 2
Summarizing and analyzing the data
a) Summaries the data collected from the survey using representative values (arithmetic
mean, median and mode)
Mean, Median and Mode are the statistical technique used to determine the Central tendency of
the collected data.These methods effectively perform the basic analysis of data and summarises
the information obtained from the survey.
Q.3 Do you accept that online shopping is more acceptable than offline shopping?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of respondents Total number of
respondents
Highly agree 40 40 100
Agree 29 29 100
Neutral 03 03 100
Disagree 10 10 100
Highly disagree 18 18 100
Mean Median Mode SD
2.1875 2 1 1.019975
How often do you modify your preferred brand?
Options Percentage of
respondents
Number of
respondents
Total number of
respondents
Very frequently 16 16 100
frequently 13 13 100
Neural 03 03 100
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Sometimes 29 29 100
Not at all 39 39 100
Mean Median Mode SD
2.2 2 2 0.959958
CorrelationCoefficient: 0.9178882
b) Analyze the results of the survey and draw conclusions
It is clear from the analysis that the trend has inclined towards the adoption of Multichannel
platforms. These multichannel platforms are more accepted and used by the young generation.
Their popularity is evident from the responses collected from the sample. It can also be noted
that this generation is less brand loyal and can easily churn out from their preferred brand. It is
clear that the needs of the younger generation are very fluctuating and ever changing. Hence for
organisation to sustain themselves among these target customers, they have to adopt innovative
methods and strategies which in this case is the Online Shopping Platform. Further, it also be
argued that, the quality of the product is no longer a competitive advantage but rather transcends
to the nature of shopping platform used by the brands. As Innovations are critical elements
towards the sustenance of a business in this competitive market, traditional high street shops and
malls has to adopt the ecommerce and multichannel platforms to upgrade the shopping
experience they deliver to their customers.
c) Analyze the data using measures of dispersion
The mean, median and Mode are the techniques to measure the central tendency of a set of data.
The Mean is the simple average of a set of values. The mean of the third question is 2.1875 and
that of the seventh question is 2.2.
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The Median can be calculated using the scope of values. For both the questions, the median
value has been calculated to be 2. The high probability response is marked with the likert scale 1
and negative probability is marked with likert scale 4. This means that the respondents
responding the value according to Likert Scale 1 can be easily upgraded to Likert Scale 2. This
means that, there is high chance of increasing the rate of customer churning in terms of the
customer choices. Hence, these customers can be highly influenced towards shifting to a
different brand very easily. The Mode is calculated using the highest rate of occurrences of the
responses. The mode for the third question is 1 and for the seventh question the value is 2. A
modal value of 2 represents that most of the respondents prefer online shopping over offline.
Hence, most of the customers perceive online shopping to be superior than that of the offline
shopping.
The standard deviation is utilised to conduct risk analysis. It is evident that there is a high
probability of the multiplatform channels to capture the market and jeopardise the sustainability
of the high street shops and shopping malls. Hence, the high street shops and shopping malls will
have to consider adopting the multichannel platform or ecommerce business channels.
A standard deviation is between 0 and 1, then the risk is said to be high. This means that a value
of 1.019975 means that risk is very high. The question concerns with the churning behaviour of
the customers. Further, the high probability of churning is represented by 1 and highly negative
option is represented by 4.Hence, if the standard deviation is high, then the customers will be
more prone to churning. A Standard deviation of 1.019975 is greater than one hence the risk of
churning is very high.
d) Explain how you can use quartiles, percentiles and the correlation coefficient to draw
useful conclusions
There three types of arithmetic modes used in data analysis. These are quartiles, percentiles and
correlation coefficient. These measures will effectively help to analyse the recorded data and
come to a relevant conclusion.
The method of quartile divides the data set at three major points. These points are determined
using the methods of median, lower quartile and upper quartile. A quartile is effectively the 25
percent of the total values of observation. The Percentile is a method which is used to identify
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the percentage of values below an identified data item. 27 percentile for ‘highly agree’ for the
third question is the highest among the rest. This means that this group of responses are higher
than the others.
Correlation coefficient is used to identify the relation between two parameters. A negative linear
relationship represents that the parameters are inversely proportional to each other. -0.7 refers to
a strong negative relationship between the parameters.
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Task 3
Presentation and report making of the findings
a) With the help of spreadsheets graph has been produced to bring valid conclusion as per
the survey
1. Specify your gender
50%
48%
2%
Male Female Others
Figure 1: gender of the respondents.
Findings and Analysis:It can be analyzed that maximum of the respondents are male whereas 48
percentages are female and 2 percentages belong to the other categories. This is a kind of
background detail of the respondents and is a process of making the participant familiar with the
survey analysis.
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2. Specification of the age
Bellow 20 20 to 24 24 and above
30
46
24
Figure 2: Age of the given respondents
Findings and analysis: from the given details it can be analyzed that among the total number of
respondents , 30 percentages of the participants are below the age of 20 and 46 percentages
belong to the group of 20 to 24 years and the remaining are above the age of 24 years.
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3. Do you accept that online shopping is more acceptable than offline shopping?
Highly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Highly disagree
40
29
3
10
18
Figure 3: respondents’ opinion on the preference of the mode of shopping (online/offline)
Findings and analysis: From the given figure it can be analyzed that 69 percentages of the total
respondents are immensely aligned to the fact that online shopping is more convenient. On the
other hand 28 percentages of the respondents do not agree to the fact that online shopping is
convenient. These participants still prefer to go to the offline shops, choose their products, feel
and touch them and finally get instant delivery. Online buyers however can do a comparison on
the product values from different websites and get an idea of the product from the customer’s
review.
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4. Do you choose multichannel platforms or high street shops?
Yes Neutral No
62
3
35
Figure 4: Respondents preference of multichannel platforms over high street shops
Findings and analysis: From the given data it can be analyzed that 62 percentages of the
respondents have preferred to choose online shopping as their sole mode of shopping. This
proves that the respondents have a positive feedback on the usage of online platforms that turn
out to be not only convenient but user friendly also. However there are few who still don’t want
to change their way of shopping. These participants choose to buy products after checking the
quality and prefer to get the items after getting the billing done. It can be concluded that few
participants follow the conventional mode of shopping.
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5. Do you accept that online websites provide more discounts than the offline shops?
Highly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Highly disagree
42
24
3
15 16
Figure 5: respondents’ opinion about the fact that online websites give more discounts than
offline shops.
Findings and analysis: From the given figure, it can be assessed that participants believe
online or more precisely multichannel platforms give more discounts and offers in comparison to
the shopping malls. In addition to this online websites give discounts on various occasions and
the discount percentage varies from one brand to another. The online websites provide higher
profits to balance the market share in that particular genre. Discounts are always attractive for the
consumers which high street shops often fail to offer.
6. How often do you modify your preferred shopping channels?
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Very frequently frequently Neural Sometimes Not at all
40
29
2
14 15
Figure 6: Frequency of changing shopping channels.
Finding and analysis: According to the above analysis, it can be suggested that most of the
consumers frequently change their shopping channels. From the above data it can be said that
there are a large number of online platforms which provides products of same brands, so the
customers are flexible to buy products from any platform. Generally the changing of platform
depends on the availability of the product that customer wants to buy, product quality, review of
the product from other customers as well. On the other hand, some customers are very rigid to
their preferred channels and do not change them, as they belief their particular channel provides
better quality of goods with respect to other platforms.
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7. How often do you modify your preferred brand?
Very frequently frequently Neural Sometimes Not at all
16 13
3
29
39
Figure 7: Frequency of sticking to a preferred brand
Finding and analysis: According to the above data, it can be analysed that maximum
respondents have positive review for the frequency of changing a particular brand. It can be seen
that most of the customers do not change their own specific brands, as they have enough faith in
their brand. Again it is seen that some customers change their brands as they want to try products
of some new brands. Many respondents change their brands to check the product quality of all
the brands.
8. Will you suggest your peers to buy from multinational platforms rather than buying
from high street shops?
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68%
5%
27%
Yes Neural No
Figure 8: Respondents proposal to peers and mates to shift to multinational platforms
Finding and analysis: The above chart shows that most of the respondents will suggest their
peers and mates to buy goods from multinational platforms rather than high street shops. The
online platform offers more flexibility to the customers about the product and the different
brands. This attracts most of the consumers. On the other hand, some of the respondents do not
want to refer their peers.
b) Create trend lines in spreadsheet graphs to show the level of impact over a minimum of
3 years.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017
Multichannel 16% 31% 55% 80%
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shopping
High street and
other offline
shopping
97% 78% 50% 32%
Trend line graph for multichannel shopping platforms
Trend line graph for high street and offline shopping platforms
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c) Prepare a poster presentation in class of your findings.
The poster presentation is provided in the Appendix.
d) Write a formal report for publication in the Retail Times magazine.
Technology has brought revolutionary changes around the world. Every technological
innovation and development is changing the ways people think and act. It is because of
technology; people get myriad of options and can choose an alternative over the other. The
organizations are also making new products and creating new services regularly. This has only
become possible due to new inventions in technology.
One such revolutionary change due to the advent of technology is the creation of online shopping
platforms. Consumers now change their tastes and preferences every day. Thus online shopping
channels fulfill the preferences and the needs of the consumers. Ecommerce has grown
exponentially and changed the entire concept of shopping. Even when online shopping began,
people were doubtful about it in the beginning. This is because of the security issues and sharing
financial information online. But as days passed, ecommerce markets brought many new changes
to build trust among people. With the policies like return policy, regular discounts, easy shipping
process, online shopping became more popular and trustworthy. The new security features
ensured safety from any cyber security attacks or fraudulent sites. Therefore, with safe
transaction of cash, multichannel platforms became more popular.
Amazon, eBay and Alibaba are considered to be the most popular online shopping platforms.
Other online platforms preferred by the youngsters are Intercom, Adobe Marketing Cloud,
Ampliz etc. Due to the technological innovations, the thought process of the consumers has also
changed. Two major factors that determine the buying pattern of a consumer is time and cost-
effectiveness. These two criteria guide a consumer in choosing a product. For this reason, online
shopping is booming as it is convenient, fast and easy. UK ranks number one in terms of online
shopping spending approximately $5,900, followed by Norway making $5,400 payments. After
UK and Norway, ranks US and Australia according to the data shared by BBC news. While US
accounts for $4,500, Australia stands for $4,000. This shows that consumers now are dependent
on online shopping and finds it more comfortable than offline retail shops.
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Task 4
a) How do the following systems serve the various levels of management in a business? You
are to describe their characteristics and the roles they play in a business
I. Transaction processing systems (TPS)
Transaction processing system is an information processing system that has all the financial
information and data of a company. The function of TPS is collection, modification and retrieval
of financial data used in the business. The advantage of TPS is that it is safe, reliable as well as
highly efficient. It also contains all the information of payroll, purchase and sales or any every
financial details. Thus it is a tool that helps in decision-making.
II. Management information systems (MIS)
Management Information Systems are the systems that are widely utilised for the management of
data and information. Chaiet.al. (2013) explains that Management information systems are
utilised by organisations to store and analyse financial information. The primary functions
include gathering and storing information from the various departments of an organisation which
are in turn utilised for effective decision-making.
III. Decision support systems (DSS)
Innovation and Technological advancements are critical factors towards effective decision
making. Effective decision-making helps an organisation to be competitive and increase their
profitability. An example of a proactive decision-making system is the decision support systems.
This system effectively solvesSemi-structured and unstructured decision problems.
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b) A publisher has just signed a contract for the publication of a book. What is the earliest
date that the book can be ready for distribution based on the following activities with time
estimates:
c) Using financial tools for decision-making advice a business planning on investing in a
project
d) If the rate of finance at which the business can borrow is 10% calculate the NPV and
advice if it is worth considering this investment.
Year Cash Flow Discounting Factor at
10%
Discounted cash flow
0 -15000 1 -15000
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1 8000 0.909091 7272.727
2 10000 0.826446 8264.463
3 5000 0.751315 3756.574
4 5000 0.683013 3415.067
7708.831
NPV 7708.831
IRR 35%
Since, the NPV is the difference between the cash inflows and the cash outflows, a positive NPV
means that the revenue generation is greater than that of the expenditure. Hence, in this project a
positive NPV of 7708.831 means that the project will be worth investing upon.
e) Calculate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and explain the meaning of the result.
In the above scenario the internal rate return is greater than the cost of capital. The internal rate
of return has been calculated to be 35 percent in this present scenario. The Internal rate of return
is capital budgeting tool which enable an organisation to identify the profitability in an
investment or allows a project manager to identify the profitability of a project.
In scenario, the required rate of return will be atleast 10 percent to break even the rate of
borrowing. Hence an internal rate of return of 35% means that the cash inflow in this project will
be greater than the cash outflow. This means that the revenue generated from this project will be
higher than the expenditure. Higher internal cash flow effectively increases the revenue which is
clearly beneficial for this project.
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Conclusion
The research effectively identifies the change in trend in terms of using multichannel platforms.
From the research it is clear that the consumers have shifted from being frequent brand switchers
from being brand loyal. This means organisations will have adopt new and innovative process
technologies to add to their competitive advantage. This research also points out that consumers
are more prone towards shopping through multichannel platforms that offline channels.Hence,
traditional High Street stores and shopping malls are also considering the option to grow online
and adopt ecommerce business. Evidently this will increase the competitive advantage of the
high street shops and malls and increase their business sustainability.
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Reference List
Saunders, M.N., 2011. Research methods for business students, 5/e. Pearson Education India.
Wright, S. (2018). 5 Multi-Channel Platforms Every Marketing Professional Must Know.
[online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281946 [Accessed 7
May 2018].
Chai, J., Liu, J.N. and Ngai, E.W., 2013. Application of decision-making techniques in supplier
selection: A systematic review of literature. Expert Systems with Applications, 40(10), pp.3872-
3885.
BBC News. (2018). UK shoppers 'biggest online spenders'. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39655039 [Accessed 7 May 2018].
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Appendix:
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Specify your gender
Specification of the age Do you accept that online shopping is more acceptable than offline
Do you choose multichannel platforms or high street shops?
Do you accept that online websites provide more discounts than the offline shops?
How often do you modify your preferred shopping channels?
How often do you modify your preferred brand?
Will you suggest your peers to buy from multinational platforms rather than buying from high str
Survey Results
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