The Impact of Social Media on Consumer's Choice: Starbucks Study

This report investigates the effects of social media on consumer decision-making, particularly within the context of Starbucks. It examines how social media platforms influence consumer behavior, impacting purchasing decisions and brand choices. The research includes a literature review analyzing existing perspectives on consumer behavior changes in the digital age and a survey of twenty individuals to understand their online purchasing habits. Additionally, interviews with two managers provide insights into Starbucks' social media marketing strategies and their impact on consumer decisions. The report addresses the research questions by analyzing both primary and secondary data, employing an inductive approach and interpretivism philosophy to evaluate the findings and offer recommendations for enhancing Starbucks' social media marketing strategies.

IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER'S CHOICE
Collage Name
Student Name
1

Executive Summary
The main motive of the research is how consumer decision-making process has
changed in the Digital age, mainly in the field of social media. The information available
to us goes on increasing day by day resulting in exposure and presenting different
features of data via Social Web. In today’s market social media usage has become part
of daily routine to access different platforms either for conducting business or for
purchasing. The research contains literature review to get the analysis of various critics
on how consumer behavior has changed immensely. In order to get the best outcomes
and recommendations in terms of Starbucks, survey of twenty people has been done to
go through the changes in their behavior on online purchasing in recent years. Interview
of two managers has also been taken to understand the values that companies do for
social media marketing which ultimately leads to proper decision-making of the
consumers.
2

Table of Contents
Task 1...........................................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Identifying factors contributing to process of research project selection..............................................4
1.2 Undertaking critical review of key reference of research topic.............................................................6
Aims, Objectives and Research Questions...................................................................................................7
Task 2 ........................................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Matching resources effectively to research questions.........................................................................11
2.2 Undertaking proposed research investigation ....................................................................................16
2.3 Recording and collating required data ................................................................................................17
Task 3 ........................................................................................................................................................18
3.1 Using appropriate research evaluation techniques.............................................................................18
3.2 Interpreting and analyzing results.......................................................................................................19
3.3 Making recommendations as well as justifying further research ........................................................24
Task 4.........................................................................................................................................................24
4.1 Using format and appropriate media for presenting outcomes of research .......................................24
Reference List............................................................................................................................................25
Appendices................................................................................................................................................28
3

Task 1
1.1 Identifying factors contributing to process of research project
selection
According to Hollensen and Raman, (2014, p.17), in today’s world, social media
becomes a part and parcel of an individual’s life. Different social media platforms like,
Twitter, Facebook, on the other hand, Instagram and LinkedIn includes a number of
users which keeps on growing daily. Overall it is found that more than millions of people
are actively communicating through social media. Marketers are being attracted towards
the growing rate of users and have recognized that social media marketing is a major
part of helping marketing interactive techniques. Also, the companies helped via social
media marketing in order to communicate with the customers for decision-making
purposes. This collaboration with the marketers helps them to identify and understand
the needs of the customers and their choices regarding particular product or service.
The main business factors of social media towards consumers are that it
acknowledges in estimating products, making endorsement to the contacts, and sharing
any of the investments through social media platform. Online marketing imposes
communication through these social podiums which create an impact on consumer
choices and marketing strategies. Customer socialization theory anticipates that the
increase rate of communication among patrons not only affect cognitive attitudes but
also the intuitive and behavioral aspects. Advertising on social media folio has taken a
new chapter of consumer’s behavior. The consumers spending more time in online
window shopping tend to make purchases or start business on social media because
they are more active and communicate with people largely. Consumer’s choices or
decision making has a huge impact on the recommendations made by their connections
on social media. It helps in brand awareness, buying attitudes and in advertising
mediums. The more generous responses a product or service receives, the more rates
of consumer purchasing increases. Therefore, it shows that most of the top brands and
their services views it and lead to social media marketing for its brand image to grow.
4

Starbucks is considered as the largest coffeehouse chains in the world, and definitely
the largest in the United Kingdom. It was established in the year 1998 and has over 539
stores alone in UK and more than 21,366 stores across the globe. Starbucks
successfully entered the European market because of its number of Seattle Coffee
Company in the UK (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2017). Both the companies shared a
familiar culture which focuses on the assurance to customer-built coffee. It has same
company values with a bonding of respect for each other for the consumers and the
environment.
Starbucks buys and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and its essence of
having a genuine service makes the customers attracted towards the company. These
coffeehouses have become a flare for all coffee lovers in the entire world because they
are getting an inviting atmosphere and a superb cup of mouth watering richly brewed
coffee. In order to please the taste buds, they offer varieties of premium teas, pastries,
and other delicious treats. The ambiance filled with a music which is chosen for its
artistic decoration and the appeal. The environment welcomes people to chat, meet up
or even sometimes to work. As a part of daily routine, it stands up as a neighborhood
hanging out place which makes it as proud reward to be so close to the heart of the
customers. Everything the company takes as an initiative to do makes it sure to do for
the benefits of its patrons, i.e., from the commitment of serving fine quality of coffee to
the way engaging with the communities for developing the business in a responsible
way. It has also participated in social media platform to reach out to its consumers for
availing the offers and discounts and receiving high rates of reviews from the. The
advertisements they put on their Facebook pages helps them to rise in their business
prospect (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2017).
5

Figure 1: Logo of Starbucks
(Source: Starbucks Coffee Company, 2017)
1.2 Undertaking critical review of key reference of research topic
As stated by Ashley and Tuten, (2015, p.16), the usage of social media has
reached a high growth level where the consumers in recent years, prefer to purchase
products and services and also to conduct business through social media platforms.
Consumers are getting influenced while buying products because of variety of options
available in social media and the comments and reviews of other users about the
particular product or services. In order to analyze whether social media really affects in
consumer’s choices of purchasing, it is needed to look after and research the amount of
time they spent on the internet and how they get influenced by other users. On
company’s pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc it gets to see the pictures,
comments, and reviews of the people visited the place or purchased items from that
particular websites. Generally, the consumers planning to visit or purchase go through
the opinions of other customers and judge it as the rates the particular site obtained. So,
it can be said that social media affects in customer’s decision making as it has opened a
wide platform where people can post pictures, comment, and review as per their
opinions.
As mentioned by Cader and Tenaiji, (2013, p.546), the onset of social media has
emerged a new landscape that creates a new grid of personal connections. Business
6

enterprises see abundant opportunities to extent its platform towards the mass and are
eager to step into the trend, whereas customers are laid behind to the core of the
business world for social media. This research will give an explanation on the basis of
how people are selecting, deciding and processing the information before buying. The
findings stated that individuals perform a productive role on searching data and
materials on social media rather than on mass media, which includes the strategies of
both objective and subjective methods while seeking. It is to find out all the changes that
social media has brought to the consumer's way of purchasing and in their choice
making process. The approachability and the clarity of gathering information offered by
social media to its customers have indicated trough this research topic. Consumers
today can access to all relevant information not only in a wide range but also at a high
speed. Social media thus, play a powerful role in collecting ideas, values, and data
including the relevant information about the offers and discounts.
Aims, Objectives and Research Questions
Aim:
The major aim of this research project is to critically examine the affects of social media
on the decision-making of the consumers.
Objectives:
 To critically examine the impact of social media on the patrons of Starbucks
 To understand the effect of social media on decision making
 To evaluate the impact of customer’s decision making on overall business of
Starbucks
 To recommend some ways by which Starbucks can improve their strategies of
social media marketing.
7

Research Questions:
 How social media can influence customers of Starbucks?
 What are the effects of social media on customer’s decision making?
 How does social media can influence the overall business of Starbucks?
 What are the ways by which Starbucks can improve their strategies of social
media marketing?
8

Methodology:
The researcher will examine this current research by analyzing the influences
that social media created on the purchasers and evaluating the impact of customer’s
choice of making decisions on the entire business of Starbucks. The learner for the
current research will gather both primary and secondary types of data. Basically the
primary information and secondary information, both are used for this study. Primary
data can be collected from the observations through various interviews and meetings
and on the other hand sources for the secondary information will be books, journals,
online libraries etc. Primary information is not same as the secondary, both are quite
different from each other. Primary qualitative data will be gathered through the interview
session with the social media marketing executives of Starbucks, while the secondary
qualitative data will be noted from the selective books and journals.
Research methodology have some research approaches which can be adopted
for an valuable research. Basically there are two types of approach, one is inductive and
another one is deductive. If the researcher is moving from specific to general
information then it is called as inductive approach and in deductive the process will be
vice versa. In this report the inductive approach will be considered because the entire
research depends on the social media practices.
Research philosophy is also so important which will support the research by the
assumptions along with the values and practices. There will be two philosophies as
interpretivism and other one is positivism. The interpretation of the result will be done in
the interpretivism and in positivism the positive results are highlighted by the
researcher. For better understanding the researcher have used the interpretivism
philosophy is this research.
Research nature is one more need of the research which can be obtained by
evaluating expected results. There are some different types of nature such as
exploratory, descriptive, explanatory. The new ideas will be explored according to the
exploratory nature of research. In descriptive the deep analysis of the results will be
done. In this research the descriptive design will be used to as the description of the
topic chosen will be provided.
9

Research strategies is so important to get the information about the research
nature and it is associated with the process of data collection. Survey, interview, case
studies and some other strategies can be used by the researcher to get the information.
In this report the interview is used as the research strategies to get the primary
information related to this research.
The researcher had also done a critical review on the basis of the given topic.
Research
actions
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4-5
Week
6-7
Week
8
Week
9-10
Week
11
Week
12
Choosing a
relevant
topic

Structure
designing of
the
research
 
Analyzing
relevant
information

Selection of
proper
research
method and
data
gathering
method

Secondary
types of
data
Collection

Primary
types of
data
Collection

Literature
review

Analyzing
all types of
primary
data

Research
paper
suppression
 
10

Figure 2: Gantt Chart
(Source: Created by the Author)
Task 2
2.1 Matching resources effectively to research questions
Characteristics of Social Media
ocial media is a method of reaching large base of customers with the use of
internet. People all over the world have been integrated into one zone using this media.
Social media has become an important part of life of people as well as business
sectors. Business ventures use this media efficiently for marketing their products. This
helps in reaching large customer base of world. Social media comprises of
characteristics like openness, community, connectivity and participation. All these
attributes assist in enhancing speed, longevity, and interactivity between several
people. Fan and Gordon (2014, p.75) stated that community help in making virtual as
well as online communities for better work conduction. Huge difference lies between
social media network and also in other communities. Connectivity has been greatly
improved using this media because number of people can be connected in a chain
using this social media.
Different resources are being integrated using this connectivity. Social media
network is much advanced than that of other forms of media. Trust worthy relation is
encouraged using this form of services. Online social media is very rapid in its work.
Companies when market their products using this field, try to use latest technologies.
This help in gaining more opinions thereby, enhancing business processes suitably.
Moreover, decisions of customers have been reformed greatly because this media
encourages participation as well sharing information. Using social media, participation
of customers can be encouraged more thereby, improving business processes greatly.
As a result, social media attributes help in bringing customers into one frame.
Intention of purchasing of customers develops more if a product is more common in
11

social media. Research shows that buying decision of buyers is more complex, which is
guided by social media characteristics. Scott (2015, p.998) demonstrated that planning
of purchasing of products comes from behavioral nature of buyers. Prediction of users
regarding buying of particular product is subjected to advertisement of goods in social
media. When people find some changes in composition of products, they show the urge
of buying that product more. In this way, business profit, as well as people’s choices, is
reformed by social media by its effects.
Importance of Social Media on buying decisions of customers:
Social media can influence purchasing behavior of customers in a large aspect.
Dingus et al. (2016, p.175) claimed that Brand value, quality of products and price of
products can adversely affect choices of customers. Marketers try to manipulate
purchaser’s decisions by advertising their products. Effective advertisements are
displayed by every business sector in order to move customers towards their products
or services. Social media is an important mode of communication between customers
and enterprises. Relationship between customer’s choices and social media directly
impacts upon attitudes of advertisements and intentions of purchasing of customers.
Choices of customers vary in large amount when social media comes into action. It is
necessary that effective modes of communication need to be used by business
ventures for inclining more customers towards themselves.
Jin et al. (2014, p.75) mentioned that social media does not only advertise
products but forms a strong source of communication between ventures and users. In
order to search or enquire about new products or services, social media forms a reliable
source for people. Reactions, as well as responses of purchasers, are formulated when
they use such media for knowing about new products. Buyers can reach company
suitably if they use social media as a base for communication. Recent trends of
business show that people are buying products in online mode. Buying nature of
customers is changing according to the trend of business. Since globalization has
reached a great height, companies are trying to match up with such level of business
trend. Rapp et al. (2013, p.550) commented that companies are focusing on marketing
12