Investigating Pricing Impact on Consumer Behavior: River Island MBA

This MBA dissertation investigates the impact of multiple pricing strategies on consumer purchasing behavior, focusing on River Island. The study explores the conceptual framework of consumer buying behavior and various related theories, highlighting how evolving consumer behavior affects retail organizations. Using a qualitative secondary data analysis approach, the research examines different pricing strategies employed by River Island and their influence on consumer purchasing decisions. The findings suggest that River Island needs to deepen its understanding of product sales and consumer purchases to effectively adapt to changing consumer behavior. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for River Island to optimize its pricing strategies and improve customer engagement, while also acknowledging the study's limitations and suggesting avenues for further research.

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF MULTIPLE PRICING STRATEGIES ON
CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR
BEHAVIOUR: A STUDY OF RIVER ISLAND
A RESEARCH SUBMITTED TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF CHESTER, CHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL, CHESTER
CAMPUS, PARKGATE ROAD, CHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM.
IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA).
MAY 2022
 The work has not been submitted to other institutions for any other degree, or
certificate in this university or any other university in England.
 Whenever I used materials (data, theoretical analysis, and text) from other sources, I
have given due credit to them in the text of the report and given their details in the
references.
 I have followed the guidelines provided by the university in writing the report.
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 The work contained in the report is original and has been done by me under the
supervision of my supervisor.
I declare that copying someone’s project, or part of it without proper acknowledgement
is wrong, and understand that failure to do so amounts to plagiarism and will be considered
grounds for disciplinary action to be taken against me.
I declare that there is no plagiarism in the dissertation apart from properly referenced
quotations. This is my research.
Student’s Signature: AKINOLA OPEYEMI SUNDAY OLAWUYI
Date: MAY 2022
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to the highest God, my creator and master. Who kept me going
throughout my journey and gave me the inspiration, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and
divine favour, all glory to God.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Luisa
Goncalves Rosado for the continuous support of my research, her patience, motivation,
enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me in my research and writing of
this thesis all the time. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank my PAT, Henry Sidsaph.
My sincere thanks also go to my gleaming brother (Lawyer Abiodun Adekoya), my wife
Oluwaseun Olawuyi, Prophet Mr & Mrs Adeyemi Adesina, DSC Popoola Olawuyi, Adekola
Olawuyi, Tosin Olawuyi, and my friends Segun Lagastar, Raphael Oluwadamilola for their
support and encouragement throughout the process.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank my mother for giving birth to me in the first
place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life.
God bless you all.
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ABSTRACT
The main purpose of conducting the present study is to analyse and investigate the impact of
multiple pricing strategies on consumer purchasing behaviour. To understand the conceptual
framework of consumer buying behaviour. There will be a detailed overview of the various
theories associated with consumer buying behaviour. It will help to develop a detailed
understanding of how changing consumer buying behaviour is affecting the present retail
sector organisations in the long run.
Research methodology is a step-by-step process that is applied to collect and analyse
information efficiently. In this, there are different types of research methods that are applied
for collecting as well as analysing data systematically. The present study has carried out a
qualitative secondary piece of data. This study has only considered a secondary type of
information data for addressing each question of the research effectively and efficiently.
It is recommended that in the past few years, there is complete changes in the way River Island
focus on analysing the changing nature of consumer buying behaviour. For this purpose, it is
suggested that in River Island, the brand can focus on getting deeper knowledge about product
sales and consumer purchases.
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Contents
TOPIC: Investigating the impact of multiple pricing strategies on consumer purchasing
behaviour…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................8
1.1 Background to the research..................................................................................................8
Research aim:..............................................................................................................................9
1.2 Research question................................................................................................................9
Research Objectives.....................................................................................................................9
1.3 Justification for the research...............................................................................................9
1.4 Outline methodology……………………………………………………………………………………………………10
1.5 Outline of the chapters......................................................................................................10
1.6 Definitions..........................................................................................................................11
1.7 Summary............................................................................................................................12
2. Literature review.......................................................................................................................12
2.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................12
2.2 Parent disciplines/fields.....................................................................................................13
2.3 Main theme, analytical models and applicability to research questions............................13
2.4 Conceptual model................................................................................................................22
2.5 Summary............................................................................................................................22
3 Methodology.............................................................................................................................23
3.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................23
3.2 Methodological considerations.........................................................................................23
3.2.1 Justification for the selected paradigm and methodology.............................................23
3.2.2 Rejected methodologies and methods...........................................................................25
3.3 Research design.................................................................................................................25
3.4 Research methods / procedures........................................................................................26
3.5 Ethical considerations........................................................................................................27
3.6 Summary............................................................................................................................28
4 Data analysis and Interpretation..............................................................................................28
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4.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................28
4.2 Data analysis......................................................................................................................28
4.3 Findings for each research question discussed in the light of the literature....................35
4.4 Summary............................................................................................................................37
5 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................37
5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................37
5.2 Critical evaluation of adopted methodology.....................................................................37
5.3 Conclusions about each research objective (aim).............................................................38
5.4 Conclusions about the research question/s......................................................................39
5.5 Limitations of study.............................................................................................................41
5.6 Opportunities for further research......................................................................................42
6. Recommendations.....................................................................................................................42
6.1 Implementation plan...........................................................................................................44
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................45
APPENDIX 1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..51
APPENDIX 2……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..52
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TOPIC: Investigating the impact of multiple pricing strategies on consumer purchasing
behaviour
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the research
Pricing strategy is defined as the methods that an organisation uses to determine the
price of its product and services. It is an important element that allows a company to maintain
its performance and retain customers as well (Steinhardt, 2019). There are various factors that
an organisation considers while deciding on the price of products, such as resources, demand
and supply, customer segment, and the ability of customers and the market (Kramer et al.,
2018).
On the other hand, consumer buying behaviour is undertaken as an inseparable part of
marketing and is the study of ways in buying goods and services to satisfy the requirements of
customers. In the present period of COVID-19, the behaviour and pattern of customers towards
consuming goods as well as services has changed. Most of the customers preferred to buy good
and quality products, whereas some do not purchase goods because of the high price. At
present, organisations need to consider the situation and analyse the behaviour of customers
before setting the price of their products and services offered in the market (Zhang et al., 2021).
For the present report, River Island is chosen as a base company. It is a high street fashion
brand established in 1948 and headquartered in London, UK. The company offers men’s and
women’s accessories, clothing and footwear and has its presence globally (River Island, 2017).
Due to the changing situation of COVID-19, the company has adopted multiple pricing
strategies so that it can deal with the changing consumer purchasing behaviour. The company is
now facing an issue as it is not able to maintain its performance and attract customers to its
offerings. The present study helps identify the impacts of multiple pricing strategies on
consumer purchasing behaviour to deal with this.
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Research aim:
“To identify the impacts of multiple pricing strategies on consumer purchasing
behaviour”: A study on River Island.
1.2 Research question
 What is the conceptual framework and significance of pricing strategy that influences
customers?
 What are the different types of pricing strategy which used by River Island to sell its
products?
 What are the impacts of multiple pricing strategies on consumer buying behaviour?
 What benefits of the pricing strategy are taken by River Island to influence consumers
and make a buying decision?
Research Objectives
 To determine the conceptual framework and significance of pricing strategy that
influences customers.
 To state the different types of pricing strategies used by River Island to sell its products.
 To describe the impacts of multiple pricing strategies on consumer buying behaviour.
 To state the benefits of the pricing strategy that is taken by River Island to influence
consumers and make a buying decision.
1.3 Justification for the research
In the present situation of COVID-19, the behaviour and attitude of customers towards buying
the product has changed as they prefer quality and good products as well as services. Along
with this, some of the customers are not able to buy products offered by the company as they
are not able or willing to spend money on them. To deal with this and to maintain and retain
their customers, companies need to make use of appropriate pricing strategies by considering
the buying behaviour of the customer (Çakır, Li and Yang, 2021). The present study help
company deal with this situation and help the company to develop effective pricing strategies
effectively. Along with this, it also helps the organisation to analyse the benefits of using an
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appropriate pricing strategy along with its impact on buying decisions of its customer segment
(Koku, 2020).
1.4 Outline methodology
Research methodology is one of the significant parts of the dissertation as it explains the
tools and techniques used by the researcher to implement the study along with its justification.
The present study is based on secondary information as it will help to perform the study in a
detailed and effective manner. In addition to this, it also helps the researcher to gain the views
of various authors on a particular research topic further leading to the development of valid
and reliable conclusions (Mahapatra et al., 2021).
Interpretivism is a research philosophy that is taken into consideration as it assists to
collect and evaluate secondary data without any issues (Hürlimann, 2019). An inductive research
approach will be used as it is more appropriate and useful to follow research questions
associated with the dissertation. A literature review has been applied as a research strategy as
it facilitates the gathering and analysing of secondary data about the topic. Moreover, the
presentation and findings are analysed with the help of thematic analysis. This helps in
presenting the findings in more effective ways based on the secondary information.
1.5 Outline of the chapters
It is the main and significant part of a study which assists the reader in the overall
identification of the structure of the dissertation. Various chapters have been included to
complete the study systematically and effectively. The research worker needs to develop an
effective outline to conduct the study as it assists in executing all the activities of research
properly because of which research objectives are attained timely and effectively. The chapters
of the present study are given below:
Chapter 1: Introduction: It is the first and most important part of the dissertation which
consists of detailed information regarding the research aim and objectives, an overview of the
topic, background of the study, justification of the study, research questions etc. All these are
the significant and main aspects of this chapter which are essential for the reader in the
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determination of chapters. The main purpose of this chapter is to effectively develop the
research aim and questions as other chapters are based on it.
Chapter 2: Literature review: This chapter consists of secondary information collected from
various sources such as books, articles, magazines, journals, and publications. The main
objective here is to identify research gaps from previous studies. With the help of this, the
investigator can fulfil the research gap appropriately.
Chapter 3: Research methodology: It is another vital chapter of the dissertation which
consists of tools and techniques, methods, data analysis and the methods used for data
collection. In addition to this, it includes methods which are research approach, research
design, research philosophy, research ethics and data collection. These are useful and
important parts which will be applied to implement the study systematically. The main purpose
of this section is to gather information from various sources and attain valid results for the
study.
Chapter 4: Research and findings: It is the fourth chapter of the dissertation that is
associated with the literature review. In this, the research worker finds and analyses outcomes
that are based on secondary information. Furthermore, the main objective of this chapter is to
discuss and find out results from secondary information systematically and effectively.
Chapter 5: Conclusion: This chapter takes place after the overall information is collected
and findings are developed. It is necessary for doing any nature of dissertation and includes the
entire data of the study briefly. This will further assist the researcher or reader in the
identification of whether objectives associated with research are attained or not.
Chapter 6: Recommendations: It is the last chapter which consists of some
recommendations associated with the topic. If there is less information regarding the topic and
its influence on industry and business, then there is a need to provide some suggestions to deal
with the issues appropriately.
1.6 Definitions
Pricing strategy: It is referred to as the methods which an organisation used in other to
price its products and services offered by them in the marketplace (Pricing strategy, 2019).
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Along with this, it is a tool that is used to fix the price of specific products by considering
different factors such as demand and supply, market conditions, resources, need of the product
etc (Dhen, 2022).
Consumer purchasing behaviour: It is referred to as the actions considered by consumers
before purchasing goods and services (Consumer buying behaviour, 2020). It is also the study of
ways of purchasing and disposing of products, ideas, and services to satisfy the requirements as
well as wants of customers (Seaman, 2018).
1.7 Summary
The above chapter summarised the research aim and objectives, and the research
questions based on which the overall study is conducted. Along with this, the justification of the
research and the methodology are briefly presented along with the structure of the
dissertation. The researcher needs to develop this chapter effectively as, with the help of this,
the dissertation can proceed in a detailed and appropriate way. Furthermore, it consists of all
the chapters and activities that lead research to complete a dissertation promptly.
2. Literature review
2.1 Introduction
A literature review is the overview of published work on a particular topic. In addition to
this, it is a piece of academic writing which demonstrate the basic understanding as well as
knowledge of academic literature on a particular topic (What is a literature review, 2020). It is
the secondary information that is gained through various sources such as books, articles,
journals, and online polls. The main objective of the literature review is to identify the gaps and
then fulfil them with the help of research questions (Ngendakuriyo & Taboubi, 2017).
In previous studies, there is a discussion about the importance of pricing strategy in the
context of the organisation. Along with this, there is information about various forms of pricing
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