UnitT22TMarketTresearchTCentreTNumberTSulemanTNahee
m
PurposeTofTmarketTresearchTinTCurrys
CurrysTisTaTBritishTelectricalTretailerTthatTwasTfoundedTinT1884TandTnowThasT73TmainTstreetT
storesTandT295TmegastoresTthroughoutTtheTUK.TDixonsTCarphoneTownsTtheTcompany,TwhichTi
sTcurrentlyTtheTlargestTelectronicsTshopTinTtheTUnitedTKingdom.TDixons'TglobalTpresenceTnece
ssitatesTextensiveTmarketTresearchTinTorderTtoTachieveTtheTcompany'sTgoals;TthisTyear,TtheTC
urrysTisTaimingTtoTimproveTtheirTonlineTshoppingTexperienceTandTboostTnetTsalesTbyT7%,Tmak
ingTthemTtheTUK'sTleaderTinTtechnologyTretailing.TTheTfindingsTwillTbeTlinkedTtoTtheTCurrysTai
msTinTthisTreport,TwhichTwillTdescribeTandTevaluateTtheTcompany'sTvariousTmarketTresearchT
methodologies.TItTwillTalsoTjustifyTtheTuseTofTexpertTmarketingTfirmsTtoTconductToriginalTmark
etTresearch.TCurrysTmakesTuseTofTtheTmarketTdateTinTaTvarietyTofTways,Tincluding:
CurrysThasTtoTknowTwhatTproductsTcustomersTwantTandTwhenTtheyTwantTthem,TthusTunderst
andingTcustomerTbehaviourTisTcritical.TFurtherTcustomerTresearchTaidsTCurrysTinTdeterminingT
whatTmotivatesTtheirTtargetTmarketTtoTbuyTandTwhatTperksTareTmostTappealing.TThisTcontrib
utesTinTtheTcreationTofTmoreTenticingTandTsuccessfulTcommercials,TwhichTwillTaidTinTtheTcom
pany'sTgoalTofTincreasingTsales.
BuyingTpatternsTareTdeterminedTbyTlookingTatTwhichTproductsTareTmostTpopularTinTwhichTde
mographicTandTatTwhatTtimeTofTyear.TCurrysTusesTthisTdataTtoTdevelopTstockTforecastsTandTe
nsureTthatTeachTlocationThasTenoughTinventoryTtoTmeetTdemand.TBecauseTbuyingThabitsTchan
geToverTtime,TtheTorganisationTmustTconductTthisTresearchTeachTseasonTtoTkeepTupTwithTthe
TlatestTtrends.TThisTalignsTwithTCurrys'TgoalTofTimprovingTtheirTonlineTshoppingTexperienceTby
TensuringTthatTallTpopularTproductsTareTinTstockTandTreadyTtoTship.
TheTgoalTofTresearchingTadvertisementTawarenessTisTtoTseeThowTeffectiveTCurrys'TmarketingTs
trategiesTare.TThisTdataTisTthenTutilisedTtoTevaluateTwhichTsectionsTofTadvertisingTareTtheTmo
stTeffective,TasTwellTasTwhichTareasTrequireTimprovementTorTdoTnotTfunction.TWhenTgenerati
ngTmarketingTcampaignTbudgets,TtheTdateTisThighlyTvaluableTsinceTitTshowsThowTtoTspendTth
eTcompany'sTmoneyTmoreTefficientlyTandTwithTgreaterTimpact.
P1:TExplainTtheTrangeTofTmarketTresearchTmethodsTused
TbyTaTselectedTbusiness.
QualitativeTresearch
QualitativeTresearchTallowsTforTaTmoreTin-
depthTunderstandingTofTtheTrequirementsTandTdesiresTofTcustomers.TCurrysTuseTthisTresearch
TstrategyTbyTsendingTclientsTSMSTmessagesTaskingTforTfeedbackTonTtheTserviceTtheyTreceived.
TThisTinformationTisTthenTutilisedTtoTassessTtheTservice'sTqualityTandTidentifyTareasTforTimpro
vement.
QuantitativeTresearch
ClosedTtypeTquestionsTwithTyes/
noTanswersTareTaTfewTpossibilitiesTthatTtheTclientTcanTchooseTfromTinTquantitativeTresearch.T
ThisTformTofTresearchTaimsTtoTuncoverThardTfactsTandTisTtypicallyTcarriedToutTonTaTwideTscal
eTforTgreaterTprecision.TCurrysTincorporatesTquantitativeTresearchTintoTanTonlineTsurveyTthatT
appearsTonceTaTcustomerThasTcompletedTtheirTorder.
SecondaryTresearchTrefersTtoTresearchTalreadyTdoneTbyTaTthirdTparty.TForTexampleTwhenTCur
rysTisTconsideringTtoTopenTaTnewToutletTinTaTspecificTshoppingTcentre,TtheTcompanyTmayTvisi
,UnitT22TMarketTresearchTCentreTNumberTSulemanTNahee
m
tTtheTshoppingTcentreTtoTfindTinformationTlikeTtheTannualTfootfallTandTtheTprofileTofTtheTcust
omersT(referTtoTtheTexternalTsourcesTofTinformationTbelow).
TSurveysT–
TCurrysTconductsTonlineTsurveysTtoTgetTquantitativeTinformationTonTtheirTcustomers'Tinterests,
Tproducts,TandTtheTmarket.TSurveysTareTaTlow-
costTandTquickTapproachTtoTacquireTinformationTaboutTconsumerTsatisfactionTandTopinions.
TObservationT–
TManagersTandTemployeesTcanTobserveTconsumerTbehaviourTinTtheTstoreTtoTseeTifTanyTprodu
ctTarrangementTorTpresentationTmodificationsTareTrequired.
TE-marketing,ToftenTknownTasTonlineTmarketTresearch,TisToneTofTtheTmostTcost-
effectiveTresearchTmethods.TBecauseTofTitsTnationalTreach,TthisTmethodThasTaThighTresearchTp
erformanceT-TeveryoneTwhoTdoesTinternetTpurchasingTcanTparticipate.
TTypically,TfocusTgroupsTareTledTbyTaTmoderatorTwhoTasksTquestionsTandTfacilitatesTconversa
tionTonTaTspecificTtopic.TBeforeTlaunchingTanyTmarketingTeffort,TtheTCurrysTmarketingTstaffTho
ldsTfocusTgroupsTtoTgatherTqualitativeTinput.TFurthermore,TbecauseTtheTparticipantsTcanTconve
rseTandTcomeTupTwithTfreshTsolutions,TthisTresearchTmethodTisThelpfulTforTdevelopingTnewTid
eas.
TCurrysTusesTpilotTresearchTtoTeliminateTsystematicTflawsTinTlarge-
scaleTstudies.TInTessence,Tit'sTaTsmaller-
scaleTtestTstudyTwithTtheTgoalTofTuncoveringTunforeseenTissuesTandTloweringTtheTriskTofTmak
ingTmistakes.TTheTcompanyTwouldTwasteTtime,Teffort,TandTmoneyTifTtheTstudyTcontainedTerro
rs;Thowever,TtheTpilotTresearchTreducesTtheTlikelihoodTofTunsuccessfulTresearch.
TM1:TAssess,TusingTsuitableTexamples,ThowTdifferentTmar
ketTresearchTmethodsTareTappropriateTinThelpingTtoTmee
tTmarketingTobjectivesTandTinformTdecisionTmaking.
InternalTsourcesTofTinformationTareTobtainedTfromTwithinTtheTcompany;TtheTfollowingTareTthe
TseveralTcategoriesTemployedTbyTCurrys:
MostTlargeTsupermarketsTemployTloyaltyTprogrammesTtoTtrackTtheirTcustomers'TshoppingThabi
ts.TCurrysTdoesTnotThaveTaTrewardTprogramme,TbutTcustomersTcanTcreateTanTaccountTonTthe
Tcompany'sTwebsiteTtoTtrackTtheirTshoppingTpatterns.TThisTdataTisTthenTutilisedTtoTdeliverTap
propriateTadvertsTbasedTonTtheTinterestsTofTtheTconsumer.TTheTorganisationTshouldTconsiderTi
ntroducingTloyaltyTcards,TwhichTwouldTboostTnotTonlyTtheTreachTofTtheirTresearchTbutTalsoTcli
entTloyalty.TIt'sTnoTsecretTthatTindividualsTwhoTbelieveTthey'reTsavingTmoneyTeveryTtimeTthey
TshopTatTaTgivenTretailerTareTmoreTlikelyTtoTreturn.
CurrysTalsoTusesTwebsiteTmonitoringTasTaTsourceTofTinformation.TCookiesTareTusedTonTtheTco
mpany'sTwebsiteTtoTpersonaliseTeachTcustomer'sTadvertisingTexperience.TItTgathersTinformation
TlikeTasTwhatTtheTvisitorTisTlookingTfor,TwhichTpagesTtheyTvisit,TandThowTmuchTtimeTtheyTsp
endTonTeachTpage.TThisTinformationTisTthenTutilisedTtoTdisplayTadvertisingTthatTareTrelevantTt
oTtheTcustomer'sTinterests.TThisTisTaTpreciseTandTefficientTmethodTofTgatheringTmarketTdata;T
but,TtheTcorporationTmustTaskTtheTcustomerTtoTconsentTtoTtheTusageTofTcookies;TifTtheyTdoT
not,TnoTdataTisTgathered.TFinally,TthisTresearchTstrategyTisTintendedTtoTassistTtheTorganisation
TinTachievingTitsTgoalsTofTincreasingTcustomers'TonlineTbuyingTexperiences.
, UnitT22TMarketTresearchTCentreTNumberTSulemanTNahee
m
Advantages
TTPrimaryTresearchTmethodTthatTgathersTinformationTdirectlyTfromTclientTinteractionsTonTthe
Tcompany'sTwebsite.
THelpsTtoTimproveTclientTsatisfactionTandTexperienceTwhileTincreasingTsalesTandTprofit.
Disadvantages
TCustomersTcanTrefuseTtoTallowTcookiesTtoTbeTused,TwhichTmeansTCurrysTwillTnotTbeTableTt
oTgatherTanyTinformation.
TTheTDateTProtectionTActTofT2018TmustTbeTfollowed.
EPOST(electronicTpointTofTsale)TandTaccountingTrecordsT-
TEPOST(electronicTpointTofTsale)TandTaccountingTrecordsTareTtwoTtypesTofTcomputerTsoftware
TthatTmostTfirmsTuseTtoTprocessTpayments.TCurrysTemploysTEclipseTEPOSTsoftware,TwhichTcap
turesTconsumerTinformationTsuchTasTname,Taddress,TandTemail.TAllTofTthisTdataTisTutilisedTto
TcreateTcustomisedTadvertisementsTandTanalyseTcustomerTbehaviour.TFurthermore,TtheTdateTf
ormTinTthisTsoftwareTcanTbeTutilisedTtoTdetermineTwhichTproductsTsellTtheTmostTandTwhenTt
heyTsellTtheTmostTduringTtheTyear.TThisTdataTisTthenTutilisedTtoTdevelopTaTstockTforecast,Twh
ichTaidsTinTdeterminingThowTmuchTstockTtoTkeepTonThand.TCurrysTisTonTtrackTtoTmeetTitsTgo
alTofTincreasingTnetTsalesTbyT7%TthanksTtoTtheTtargetedTadvertsTlaunchedTfromTthisTdate.TEcl
ipseTalsoTgeneratesTaccountingTrecords,TwhichTareThistoricalTrecordsTthatTshowTwhatTwasTsol
dTandTforThowTmuchTduringTeachTsalesTperiod.TThisTdateTisTusedTtoTdetermineTpeakTperiods
TandTensureTthatTtheTappropriateTsortTandTquantityTofTstockTisTavailableTtoTfulfilTdemand.TTh
isTsystemThasTaT100%TresponseTrateTandTisTincrediblyTaccurateTbecauseTeveryTtransactionTinT
theTshopTorTonlineTisTlogged.TCurrysThadTtoTpayTmillionsTofTpoundsTtoTsetTupTtheTsystemTat
Tfirst,TbutTitTwasTaTone-
timeTinvestmentTbecauseTitTdoesTnotTrequireTanyTongoingTcosts.TTheTsecurityTofTtheTdataThel
d,TonTtheTotherThand,TisTcriticalTbecauseTitTcontainsTclientTinformation.TTheTorganisationTmus
tTensureTthatTitTisTstoredTsecurelyTandTinTaccordanceTwithTtheTDataTProtectionTActTofT2018.
AdvantagesT
TWithTaT100%TresponseTrate,TyouTcanTgetTanTinstantTexactTdate.
TProvidesTusefulTdataTforTdeterminingTpeakTperiodsTandTstockingTtheTnecessaryTsupplies.
Disadvantages
TThereTisTaTpossibilityTofTaTdataTbreachTandTtheTtheftTofTconsumerTinformation.
TTheTDateTProtectionTActTofT2018TmayTmakeTyouTresponsible.
ExternalTdataTsourcesTcomeTfromToutsideTtheTorganisation.TThisTdateTisTcritical,TparticularlyTw
henTtheTcompanyTcannotTconductTtheTstudyTonTitsTownTorTwhenTaTfullTinvestigationTisTrequi
red.
