Contents

• 1. Introduction 2
• 2. Recipients of the Research 3
• 3. Suitability of Researcher for the Research 3
• 4. Research Review and Overview 3
• 5. Research Methodology 4
• 5.1. Research Question 4
• 5.2. Research Hypothesis 6
• 5.3. Research Objectives 6
• 5.4. Research Design 7
• 5.5. Methods of data collection……………………………...8
• 5.6. Research Philosophy 10
• 5.7. Research Approach 10
• 5.8. Research Strategy 11
• 5.9. Research Choice 12
• 6. Population and Sample 13
• 7. Data Collection, Editing & Coding 14
• 8. Time, Cost and Project Management 14
• 9. Is the Research New and Relevant? 15
• 10. Bibliography 16
• 10.1. Journals 16
• 10.2. Books 17
• 10.3. Websites 18
• 11. Appendices 19
• 11.1. Gantt Chart 19
• 11.2. Research Onion….…………………………………….20

Description

Consumer behavior varies to a great extent depending on their age, sex, demography, food habits, living style, socio economical status etc... Different consumers have different reason as to why they purchase a particular brand. A consumer can purchase a soft drink for the sheer pleasure derived from the distinct taste of it. Or another consumer might purchase the same soft drink brand as a style statement. We see in the advertisements soft drinks target customers in particular age group. For example, a particular soft drink might advertise as meant for those who are young and energetic. So a young customer might consume the soft drink in the eagerness to show that he or she is young. Similarly, a set of consumers may be price conscious. And another set of customers may be brand conscious or quality conscious. The first type of customers is that, which hog to clearance sale or discount sale outlets. The second type of customers knows what they expect out the product, make a study, choose a brand and generally stick to the brand for longer time. However, with the initial hype of discount sales is dying and with consumers increasingly having disposable incomes, consumers these days opt for quality over cheaper price and quantity. The paper does a research on consumer behavior by taking examples of three of the largest multiples of Ireland viz., ALDI, LIDL and TESCO. The research is cross sectional, which spans consumers in the age group between 20 and 60 earning hands. A cross-sectional survey is conducted to prove that the numbers of consumers that prefer quality are more than the number of consumers that prefer price and quantity over price. In doing so we are finding out the present consumer trends and study if there are any variations in these and what the reasons for these variations are. There are clear differences in the quality and pricing of similar products at AIDL, TESCO and LIDL and the research, by studying which products the customers prefer can establish what they are exactly looking for. With clear differences in the strategies, the customers are likely to stick to the same brand having a significant impact on the market. The research also tries to find out if there are any other factors that strongly influence the customer other than pricing and quality. By doing this, a better understanding of the customer trends can be achieved.