Tesco as One of the Giant Retail Company in the UK - Research Proposal Example

Research Project [The of the will appear here] [The of the id will appear here] [The of the will appear here] [The name of the course number will appear here] Part 1: Research Proposal Introduction This research would focus on Tesco PLC. Tesco is the third largest global multinational retailer headquartered in England, United Kingdom. The company operates in more than 12 countries including United States, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. This research would focus on the perception of the consumers regarding the retailer. Background In the recent years, giant retail businesses including Tesco and Wal-Mart have been a subject of huge criticism. These companies have been a target of anti-corporate groups who claim that giant retailers monopolize the market. Furthermore, Tesco has been suffering from losses in the last few years and may not be able to survive in the business. This research would attempt to analyze what the consumers think about the organization. It would aim to uncover the threats and opportunities for the organization while also focusing on the strength and weaknesses of the organization. Academic Review Tesco PLC is one of the leading retail outlets in UK. The company began as a food retailer but later went on to dominate the retail industry in UK and many other parts of the world. It was Tescos Loyalty Cards that gave the company a competitive edge in the market. These cards did not just offer discounts to Tesco customer but also customer purchase data and patterns to provide a tailored customer service to its growing number of loyal customers (Anderson, 2014). Tesco was one the pioneers of online retail shopping in UK. Tesco also began producing its own value and fine ranges for its customers. It was mainly Tescos innovative strategy that allowed the company to remain ahead of its competitors. In the recent years, retail experience has been under strong criticism. Retail chains have been criticized for monopolizing the market by offering products at extremely competitive prices which force the local mom and pop stores out of business. Not only this, retail stores are strongly profit oriented. Tesco PLC is another retail store that has been going through a bad experience. The company has taking the worst profit hits as competition in the retail business continues to increase (Ruddick, 2014). The retail industry suffers from the highest form of competition. In this industry, a moderate number of giant retailers run the industry. This requires Tesco to remain aggressive and highly competitive. However, it would seem that Tesco is slipping. The following figure shows Tescos position against its competitors (Anderson, 2014): In comparison with Sainsburys, Tescos financial results are lower. This suggests lower consumer perception about Tesco. This may be because of Tescos horsemeat scandal (Dobran, 2012) and the issue of chicken contamination (Lawrence, 2014). Methodologies The research would be conducted on customers since it is the customers perception that this research focuses on. There are two approaches towards this: qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research provides in depth answers to the issue while quantitative provides an objective overview of the situation. While qualitative would allow for better perception, this research would focus on quantitative research through close ended questions. This is because customers would feel more comfortable in providing answers to close ended questions. It would also require less time and budget and thus would be more suitable for this research. A questionnaire consisting of close ended questions would be distributed to the sample population. Research Question The research aims to answer the following question: Do customers have an overall positive perception of Tesco? Implementation Plan The first stage of the project is to develop the research proposal. For this, an appropriate organization would be selected. In this stage, a preliminary understanding of the organization would be developed to understand where the organization stands. It would take one week to develop an understanding of Tesco PLC. The next stage would be develop the questionnaire for the research. It would take around 2-3 days to make the questionnaire. After constructing the questionnaire, a survey would be conducted. This would be conducted outside TESCO stores in different localities. Three days would be enough to conduct this survey since it is a small research project. The next part would be compiling the research on excel sheets. Data analysis would take one week. After that the data would be presented in a research report. It would take another week to write the research report and proofread it. Part 2: Field Research Research ‘Universe’ The research universe consists of all the people who may potentially buy at retail stores. Since this research aims to evaluate the performance of Tesco, PLC in UK, therefore the research universe would be limited to UK. Thus, the research universe consists of all people living in UK. Representative Sample It would not be possible to conduct the survey on all the people, therefore it would be appropriate to select a representative sample. Since this research is focused on Tesco, therefore it would be appropriate to conduct survey in Tesco stores. Tesco customers would be randomly selective irrespective of their age, gender and income status in order to include a more diverse representative sample. Research Approach The research is designed to take into perspective the consumers outlook. It should be understood that often customers do not wish to be included in survey and most consumers are time-conscious. Thus, quantitative research would be undertaken. Quantitative research requires less time and budget while other approaches to research require more time and dedication which would not be possible for a research on this scale. Data Collection Method Printed Questionnaires would be distributed to the customers. This would be more appropriate since text offers more anonymity to the sample population and most people are more comfortable in filling out forms rather than answering questions. Printed Questionnaire would also be more appropriate since they can be easily distributed and filled by the sample population on the spot. The Data would be easily collected. The questionnaire would consist of close-ended questions. Close ended questions are relatively easy to fill. They require less time and therefore respondents are more willing to fill them. Questionnaire Name: 1. Yearly Household Income: (Tick the Appropriate Box) less than 10,000 10,000-20,000 20,000-50,000 above 50,000 2. You shop at retail stores because of: Low Price Wide Range of Products One Stop Shopping Easy availability of stores Loyalty Cards and Discounts Other, Please Specify _________________ 3. Which is your preferred choice for retail store: Tesco Asda Sainsburys Morrisons Aldi and Lidl Other, Please Specify _________________ 4. How often do you shop at Tesco, PLC Daily Once a week Monthly Rarely 5. On a scale of 1-5, what is your overall perception of Tesco? Extremely Good Moderately Good Neutral Moderately Bad Extremely Bad 6. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos fresh food and groceries? Extremely Satisfied Moderately Satisfied Neutral Moderately Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied 7. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos electronic products? Extremely Satisfied Moderately Satisfied Neutral Moderately Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied 8. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos fashion products? Extremely Satisfied Moderately Satisfied Neutral Moderately Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied 9. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos community service programs? Extremely Satisfied Moderately Satisfied Neutral Moderately Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied 10. How can Tesco improve its stores? Reduction in Price Better range of Products Improve Existing Range of Products Increase number of stores Improve Community Service Standing Other, Please Specify _____________ 11. How has Tesco been performing? Improving its position Maintaining its position Downgrading its position THANK YOU! Data Collection 1. Yearly Household Income: (Tick the Appropriate Box) less than 10,000 18 10,000-20,000 11 20,000-50,000 21 above 50,000 3 53 2. You shop at retail stores because of: Low Price 8 Wide Range of Products 12 One Stop Shopping 15 Easy availability of stores 7 Loyalty Cards and Discounts 11 Other, Please Specify _________________ 0 53 3. Which is your preferred choice for retail store: Tesco 21 Asda 8 Sainsburys 7 Morrisons 3 Aldi and Lidl 12 Other, Please Specify _________________ 2 53 4. How often do you shop at Tesco, PLC Daily 8 Once a week 25 Monthly 18 Rarely 2 53 5. On a scale of 1-5, what is your overall perception of Tesco? Extremely Good 9 Moderately Good 21 Neutral 15 Moderately Bad 7 Extremely Bad 1 53 6. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos fresh food and groceries? Extremely Satisfied 2 Moderately Satisfied 16 Neutral 4 Moderately Dissatisfied 23 Extremely Dissatisfied 8 53 7. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos electronic products? Extremely Satisfied 11 Moderately Satisfied 18 Neutral 11 Moderately Dissatisfied 8 Extremely Dissatisfied 5 53 8. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos fashion products? Extremely Satisfied 4 Moderately Satisfied 10 Neutral 27 Moderately Dissatisfied 11 Extremely Dissatisfied 1 53 9. On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with Tescos community service programs? Extremely Satisfied 4 Moderately Satisfied 15 Neutral 22 Moderately Dissatisfied 4 Extremely Dissatisfied 8 53 10. How can Tesco improve its stores? Reduction in Price 8 Better range of Products 12 Improve Existing Range of Products 17 Increase number of stores 3 Improve Community Service Standing 11 Other, Please Specify _____________ 2 53 11. How has Tesco been performing? Improving its position 2 Maintaining its position 18 Downgrading its position 33 53 Research Report Introduction The retail industry in UK is one of the most competitive industries in the country. The competition has grown so intense that Tesco, one of the giant retail industries, has been suffering through losses. These losses are projected to continue if steps are not taken to improve the situation. This research report would focus on the customer perspective of the situation. It would evaluate the position of Tesco amongst Tesco customers. Research Methods For this research, 60 questionnaires were distributed in three different Tesco stores located in UK. Of these, 53 were included in the research. The rest were not considered because they were either incomplete or not returned. The respondents in the research were randomly selected with no preference towards a particular gender, age or income status. Analysis and Evaluation This question was meant to evaluate the income status of Tesco Shoppers. It seems that people in the lower strata of the society and the middle class shop occasionally at Tesco. On the other hand, the upper class which earns more than 50,000 pounds, only constitutes as less than 6 percent of Tesco shoppers. The lower and middle class is more concerned with cost rather than quality and perhaps this would be one reason why most of Tescos consumers belong to that particular strata of society. The results also suggest that Tesco has been able to properly position its brand. This is because the company, with its loyalty cards and discount offers, aims to target the middle and even lower class who is more price conscious. The next question dealt with why people shop at Tesco. Here also the respondents had to select from a number of options. The responses was quite varied. The most common response was that Tesco allowed people the opportunity of one-stop shopping. They could shop for everything at Tesco; from electronics to fashion products. 23 percent of the respondents shopped at Tesco for the extended range of products it offered. 23 percent also shopped because they owned loyalty cards which allowed them to get discounts on their money. Low price and easy availability were the least preferred options. The third question focused on the preferred retail outlet of the respondents. For this, the leading retail stores were included in the survey. The most preferred outlet was Tesco as 41 percent of the respondents said that Tesco was their favorite. One reason for this could be because the survey was conducted outside Tesco stores. This was followed by Aldi and Lidl, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons. It would seem that Morrison is the least favorite while Tesco faces strong competition from Aldi and Lidl. The fourth questions focused on how often people shopped at Tesco or any other retail store. Most people shop weekly in retail stores. Monthly shopping is also not uncommon. There is also another type of people who visit retail stores almost daily. Only 5 percent of the respondents rarely shopped at a retail store. The fifth question was a crucial question as it dealt with the overall perception of Tesco. It would seem that overall perception of Tesco is quite good. 57 percent of the respondents had a positive image of Tesco while only 15 percent had a negative The rest of the 28 percent were neutral towards Tesco. This shows that Tesco is in a good position. While it would be difficult to change the perception of the respondents with negative perception, Tesco can still target the neutral respondents and turn their experience into a positive one. While the previous question focused on a general perception of Tesco, the next series of question deal with specific divisions in Tesco and how they are perceived among the consumers. The first question focused on Tescos fresh food and groceries. The results show that Tesco does not enjoy a positive image for its fresh good and its groceries. Most consumers consider this section of Tesco as either moderately bad or extremely bad. These account for 58 percent of the respondents. This may be because of the horsemeat scandal in Tesco stores. However, even then 34 percent of the respondents have a positive image of Tescos fresh food and groceries. These respondents are most likely either have no knowledge of the scandal or they are vegetarians who would most likely not buy meat in the first place. The next question deals with the electronic division at Tesco. Here the responses were quite varied. 55 percent of the respondents had positive image of Tesco while 30 percent had a negative image. 15 percent were neutral. This may be because these people had not bought electronics at the store. The next question dealt with the perception of fashion products in Tesco. Fashion products at Tesco are perhaps not a very popular item. This is because 51 percent of the respondents had no particular view of these products. They were neutral in their view. The rest of the respondents were almost equally divided in their positive and negative perception of the brand. This division also presents a chance for improvement since it would seem that many people had not particularly tried Tescos fashion products. This question dealt with how consumers perceive CSR activities carried out by Tesco. Tesco, like every other organization, is involved in community service activities. Here the results show that most respondents (41 percent) have a neutral view of CSR activities. This reflects on the fact that most people either do not care about CSR activities or they are not aware of CSR activities carried out by Tesco. The tenth question deals with improvements that customers want to see in Tesco. Most respondents want Tesco to improve on its quality. They also want a better range of products. Price reduction and improved CSR were the third most common response. A small portion of the respondents want better prices and improve locality. One respondent also mentioned better marketing. The results of the last question of the survey present a bleak picture for Tesco. The results strongly point to the fact that Tesco is slipping as a retail store. Less than 5 percent of the respondents believe that Tesco is improving on its position. Most respondents, around 60 percent believe that performance is going down. Recommendations for Future Research This research was quite limited in its scope given the time and budget restraints. Thus, there are possible avenues for future research. This research was only conducted outside three Tesco stores. Future research could focus on three different retail stores and comparing their responses with Tesco stores. Future research could also focus on the qualitative aspect. In this research, customers were asked to respond to close ended questions. More research on this topic can focus on conducting in depth interviews with the customers. Customers could be asked to reflect on the results of this survey. This would help provide specific insight on how Tesco can improve its store experience. This research is also quite simplistic given its constraints. Future research can evaluate how demographic profile affects customer perception of Tesco stores. For instance, what perception do female shoppers have of the fashion products at Tesco or what perception do male shoppers have of electronic products. Discussion The results of the survey help validate the academic research conducted on the subject. The academic review showed that Tesco was going through a bleak time as sales of the company have gone down considerably. This is reflected in the survey as most consumers believe that Tesco has not been improving on its performance. They either think that is going down or maintaining. On the other hand, the results also show that Tesco still has a chance. This is because the company has an overall positive perception amongst the consumers. Tesco faces the most negative image in terms of its fresh food and groceries. This is also corroborated by the academic research. Tesco has recently been in the negative limelight because the company has been subject to two major scandals with respect to its fresh food and groceries. The first was when the company was rightly charged with selling horsemeat. Recently, Tesco has also been charged for its selling contaminated chicken. While this news is not very widespread right now, it may result in serious issues for Tesco. Tesco has the opportunity to focus on its electronic and fashion products since they mostly have a neutral standing. These means that most consumers do not have a very strong opinion about these products. If Tesco wishes to attract most customers, it could improve these sectors and later transfer the positivity to its fresh food and grocery division. For its electronic and fashion product, Tesco need to come up with value products since it is mostly the middle and lower class that shops at Tesco. Conclusion Tesco is one of the giant retail company in UK and even in other parts of the world. However, recently the company has suffered through consistent losses. The research was intended to evaluate the causes of this. The results suggest that Tesco has not been able to improve its position despite the fact that competition in the retail industry is getting more aggressive. The main reason behind this is the scandals that Tesco has suffered through. The research suggests the even though Tesco is well-positioned in the market, its current scandals has had a negative impact on Tesco. References Anderson, R. 2014. Tesco turns stale as competitors freshen up ideas, BBC News, Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29310445 Dobrin, D. 2012. Sainsburys outperforms Tesco among consumers, Retrieved from https://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/06/12/sainsburys-outperforms-tesco-amongst-consumers/ Lawrence, F. 2014, Jeremy Hunt admits call from Tesco boss over chicken campylobacter tests, The Guardian, Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/11/tesco-director-tim-smith-food-standards-agency-pressure-campylobacter-chicken-report Ruddick, G. 2014. Tesco is still not at rock bottom, The Telegraph, Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/tsco/11282369/Tesco-is-still-not-at-rock-bottom.html Read More