Applied Business Research
The University of Liverpool
The Management School
Applied Business Research Methods (ULMS515)
Research Proposal
PROPOSAL TITLE: Supermarket discounts: do they offer genuine benefits or are they “buying traps”
Name: HU LIXIANG
Student Number: 200908448
MSc Major: Consumer Marketing 1. Project Title
Supermarket discounts: do they offer genuine benefits or are they “buying traps” 1.1. Introduction
Generally speaking, people believe a discount in the supermarket is something that will help to save their money and which is a profits sharing activity of supermarket company. However, less people ever think about the real value for them when a discount product purchased. Therefore, Tesco, a well-known neighbour will be a good case for this study.
Since 1919, when Jack Cohen began to sell surplus groceries in East London, a supermarket which later would become known as Tesco has gradually become one of the main companies where United Kingdom consumers like to buy their groceries. Today, the company’s advertising slogan “every little helps” is embedded in most British people 's minds. Today, roughly three thousand Tesco stores provide services in the United Kingdom and Tesco products are on sale everywhere.
Behind the rapid development of Tesco is UK consumers’ notable purchasing capacity, which has greatly increased over the last half century, and also their preference to make use of Tesco as the main provider of their groceries. Consumer behaviour is affected by both internal and external factors. Specifically, internal factors include consumer demand itself (“What do people want?”), while external factors include product quality, advertising methods and marketing structures. From a psychological point of view, while consumers’ interests would often be best served by “shopping around” (selecting the best price for similar products from among many different outlets), the fact of being in a typically encourages consumers to make their
The Management School
Applied Business Research Methods (ULMS515)
Research Proposal
PROPOSAL TITLE: Supermarket discounts: do they offer genuine benefits or are they “buying traps”
Name: HU LIXIANG
Student Number: 200908448
MSc Major: Consumer Marketing 1. Project Title
Supermarket discounts: do they offer genuine benefits or are they “buying traps” 1.1. Introduction
Generally speaking, people believe a discount in the supermarket is something that will help to save their money and which is a profits sharing activity of supermarket company. However, less people ever think about the real value for them when a discount product purchased. Therefore, Tesco, a well-known neighbour will be a good case for this study.
Since 1919, when Jack Cohen began to sell surplus groceries in East London, a supermarket which later would become known as Tesco has gradually become one of the main companies where United Kingdom consumers like to buy their groceries. Today, the company’s advertising slogan “every little helps” is embedded in most British people 's minds. Today, roughly three thousand Tesco stores provide services in the United Kingdom and Tesco products are on sale everywhere.
Behind the rapid development of Tesco is UK consumers’ notable purchasing capacity, which has greatly increased over the last half century, and also their preference to make use of Tesco as the main provider of their groceries. Consumer behaviour is affected by both internal and external factors. Specifically, internal factors include consumer demand itself (“What do people want?”), while external factors include product quality, advertising methods and marketing structures. From a psychological point of view, while consumers’ interests would often be best served by “shopping around” (selecting the best price for similar products from among many different outlets), the fact of being in a typically encourages consumers to make their
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