Marketing Research Paper

1 I. Introduction With the flourishing recognition that store design is one of the restaurants’ most important concerns, store designing has emerged as top management priority in most restaurant businesses nowadays. Various gizmos are employed to attract clientele, thus increasing profitability. With its highly competitive nature, store design can be equally and especially important to influence customers’ perception and drive store choice and loyalty aside from other standards such as the location of a store, the distance the customer must travel and of course the price plus the healthful conditions of the place, primary reason why the management of De La Salle University- Dasmarinas sees to it that every canteen inside the campus is clean and every food served is safe and fresh. These are the basic criteria in consumers’ canteen choice decisions. Every store manager should take time in strategically building and positioning a food stall’s image for the customers to have a good perception about the business. Store design is one of the attributes that influence the overall image of a store (Lindquist, 1974, Mazursky and Jacoby, 1986). Store image not only includes the location, affordability of food prices, cleanliness of the place and food preparation but store design and layout as well. Emplacement or positioning of the canteen is equally significant. This is not however, to say that location is unimportant, canteen choice seem to be discrepant with a framework where customers optimize their food costs, where effort to access the canteen location being one component of their budget. Bell, Ho, and Tang, (1998), find that location no longer explains most of the variance in store choice decisions. Consumers’ store choice may be based on different criteria such as the availability of time depending upon the nature of the travel and schedules although student canteens inside the campus are conveniently situated in an area accessible to the students that’s why location may not really be a big issue for students of De La Salle University. Like any other consumer, students too, have their food allowances on a budget. That’s the reason why almost all of De La Salle University– Dasmarinas Square Canteens’ food is uniformly priced and is within financial means of students. Students enjoy almost the

2 same prices for sandwiches that range from P 25.00 to P 30.00 while student lunch is served from P 45.00 to P 60.00. Food prices also play an important role in students’ eating preferences and/or purchasing decision. Student consumers measure store image also by food cost and how the food price fits their budget. Nevertheless, each student still has different taste and lifestyle. Some prefer delicious mouth-watering food and affordable prices. Others prefer cozy and classy ambient, not taking into consideration the prices of the food. Hence, store design is one factor that can affect the purchasing decision of a student. That’s why; store owners must also take into consideration their store’s design to build a better store image. Richardson, Jain, and Dick (1996) said that a pleasing in-store atmosphere provides substantial hedonic utility to consumers, encourages them to visit more often, stay longer, and buy more. Although it also improves consumers’ perceptions of the quality of merchandise in the store, consumers tend to associate it with higher prices. An appealing in-store atmosphere offers much potential in terms of crafting a unique store image and establishing differentiation. Even if the products by a retailer are similar to others, the ability to create a strong in-store personality and rich experiences can play a crucial role in building retailer equity. Store layout and design will be the only subject that the researchers will consider in the University’s Square canteen’s environment. Questionnaires were formulated to fit the objectives of the research. The respondents were not exclusively directed to a certain group but to different class levels. The researchers will find out if store design really is important to consumers of De La Salle University – Dasmariñas. This research will build a better fundament or groundwork for the necessity of committing to invest on the layout and designs of stores and canteens to get students’ positive response. The specific problem and objectives, research framework, scope and limitation and research hypothesis will be further explained in this paper and at the end of the study, a further analysis, interpretation and conclusion of the findings will be discussed.

3 I. Research Problem This research study aims to answer the following issues: General: Does the University Square Canteen’s food stall design have an impact on the purchasing decision of students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas? Specific: What are the weekly allowances of students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas? How many times in a week do students eat in the University Square Canteen? What are the factors that contribute to a good design inside a food stall? What is the percentage of students who are influenced by food stall design in their purchasing decision? What are other factors aside from store design that may influence student’s purchasing decision? II. Research Objectives This study aims to achieve the following goals: General: To determine if the University Square Canteen’s food stall design has an impact on the purchasing decision of students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas. Specific: To identify the weekly allowances of students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas. To know how many times in a week students eat in the University Square Canteen. To know the factors that contributes to a good design inside a food stall. To measure the percentage of students who are influenced by food stall design in their purchasing decision. To know other factors aside from store design that may influence student’s purchasing decision.

4 III. Research Methodology This study was made to describe the impact of University Square Canteen’s food stall design on students’ purchasing decision. Descriptive design will be utilized to describe student’s social status by the rate of their weekly allowances. In relation with their perception of store image, a linear regression design will also be used to determine significance of the relationship of Square Canteen’s stall design and purchasing decision. Survey will be the tool used for data collection. The social survey questionnaire will comprise close-ended questions that will be answered through multiple choices and dichotomous choices. Data collection strategy will be cross sectional wherein respondents will be individually given questionnaire surveys at a different time. On the other hand, data type will be both qualitative and quantitative. Social status and those that students see as a factor which can influence their purchasing decision will be in qualitative form. Percentage of students influenced by store design and relationship of store design on the purchasing decision of students will be in quantitative form. The number of respondents will be wisely chosen using convenience sampling to be able to control and adjust to the arrivals of first year respondents of De La Salle University- Dasmarinas. This non-probability sampling would be convenience sampling. The sample size will be computed based on the whole population of DLSU-D students for the year 2009- 2010. For convenience, survey questionnaires will be distributed to students found in the Square Canteen at the time of surveying. There are 12,452 students welcomed by De La Salle University- Dasmariñas for the Academic Year 2009- 2010 according to the Students Admission Office (Heraldo Filipino, Vol. 24 Issue 1). The sample size will be 100 students computed using the Slovin’s formula with 0.10 errors. Data from the survey will be the primary source of data. The questionnaire distributed to the respondents will determine the relationship of store design and students’ store preference. The weekly allowances and number of visit in a week on the Square Canteen will be expressed in categories or as ordinal data while purchasing decisions

5 influenced by store design nominal quantitative data or simply by yes and no during data measurement. Related literatures from internet articles will be used to establish the movement of variables such as social status, store design and store preference. These articles from the internet will support the objectives, conceptual framework, and research design of the study. For data analysis and interpretation, Cross Tabulation will be used to determine number of times a week students eat in the University Square Canteen and perception towards stall design’s importance on their purchasing decision. Other variables such as weekly allowance, number of times in a week students’ eat in Square Canteen, factors that contributes to a good design and other factors that affects purchasing decision of students will be interpreted through tables and bar or pie charts. Data that answers the specific problems of the study will be measured in an ordinal level to be able to rank the most common allowances, number of times students eat a week and factors that affects students’ purchasing decision. For the testing of the hypothesis on the relationship of store design and student’s purchasing decision, linear regression analysis will be used. Level of significance that will be used for hypothesis testing will be 0.05 to have a 0.95 confidence level. P-value will then be compared with the significance level to determine the truthfulness of the null hypothesis. If P-value will be lower than the significance level, then we will reject the null hypothesis. If not, we will accept null hypothesis. IV. Scope and Limitation The scope of the study is about the impact of different designs at Square Canteen’s food stalls towards the purchasing decision of students in De La Salle University. The research study will be focusing mainly on the students of De La Salle University- Dasmariñas, Cavite and their eating or purchasing behavior observed in the University Square Canteen area situated at the west part of the campus.

6 The study will comprise of the weekly allowances received by the students for the researchers to determine their buying capability, the times a week students’ eat in the Square Canteen and students’ purchasing response to stall designs and perception to food stall design’s impact on their purchasing decision.. V. Hypothesis Both the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis of the study will be analyzed using the survey data at the end of the paper to prove which hypothesis is correct. Ho: Square Canteen’s food stall design has no impact on the purchasing decision of De La Salle- Dasmariñas’ students. Ha: Square Canteen’s food stall design has an impact on the purchasing decision of De La Salle- Dasmariñas’ students. VI. Conceptual Framework The theoretical framework of this study explains food stall design’s relationship with the purchasing decision of a student which is also influenced by student’s perception of the overall store image. Store image is built through many factors that a canteen is composed of, and one of those is design. As Lindquist (1974) and Mazursky & Jacoby (1986) said, store image allows customers’ perception on the business to be built. Store design is one of the attributes that influence the overall image of a store. Store image not only includes the affordability of food prices, the cleanliness of the place, food preparation and promotion, but store design and layout as well (Lindquist, 1974, Mazursky and Jacoby, 1986).

7 Store layout and design includes the wall color, table and chair setup, ambience, lighting and spacing. That’s why; store owners must also take into consideration their store’s layout and design to build a good store image because store image allows businesses to gain more customers and receive positive purchasing response or decision. The framework states that how a student perceives store design’s importance in building store image has a relationship with their purchasing response. Good perceptions then affects purchasing behavior of a student leading to a decision to eat or dine while a bad perception otherwise. This theoretical framework will be further proven by a thorough analysis of the research survey. The independent variable is student’s perception on the importance of store design and the dependent variable is their purchasing decision, store design itself being the intervening variable. Perception on Stall Design’s Stall Design Purchasing importance in and Layout Decision building Store Image VII. Research Findings Weekly allowances of students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas For the demographical characteristic of the respondents, their weekly allowance rate was determined through a survey. There are 27 different weekly allowance rates according to the survey. Out of the 100 respondents, 5 didn’t indicate their weekly allowance rate that’s why there are only 95 valid answers in the survey data. Statistics Weekly Allowances N Valid 95 Missing 5

8 Weekly Allowances Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 250 2 2.0 2.1 2.1 350 1 1.0 1.1 3.2 500 6 6.0 6.3 9.5 600 7 7.0 7.4 16.8 650 2 2.0 2.1 18.9 720 1 1.0 1.1 20.0 750 9 9.0 9.5 29.5 780 1 1.0 1.1 30.5 800 2 2.0 2.1 32.6 850 1 1.0 1.1 33.7 900 6 6.0 6.3 40.0 960 1 1.0 1.1 41.1 1,000 17 17.0 17.9 58.9 1,150 1 1.0 1.1 60.0 1,200 5 5.0 5.3 65.3 1,250 8 8.0 8.4 73.7 1,375 1 1.0 1.1 74.7 1,500 13 13.0 13.7 88.4 1,600 1 1.0 1.1 89.5 1,750 1 1.0 1.1 90.5 2,000 1 1.0 1.1 91.6 2,100 1 1.0 1.1 92.6 2,400 1 1.0 1.1 93.7 2,500 4 4.0 4.2 97.9 3,750 1 1.0 1.1 98.9 5,000 1 1.0 1.1 100.0 Total 95 95.0 100.0 Missing no response 5 5.0 Total 100 100.0

9 Survey data show that 17.9 percent of the first year De La Salle University students have a weekly allowance of P 1,000. Also, 13.7 percent of students have a weekly allowance of P 1,500 or P 300 daily allowance for a five-day a week classes. The third most common weekly allowance for the students of De La Salle is P 750 a week that is P 150 a day rate for a five-day a week classes. The fourth is P 1,250, which is P 250 a day in a five-day a week classes. The fifth is P 600 which is P 120 daily allowance rate while the sixth is P 900 and P 500 which is P 180 and P 100 daily. The mean of students’ weekly allowance is P 1,158.26. Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Weekly 95 250 5,000 1,158.26 689.237 Allowances Valid N (listwise) 95 A chart of the students demographical characteristic or weekly allowance rates shows that P 1000, P 1500, P 750, P 1250, P 600, P 900 and P 500 are the top six most common weekly allowance rates. The figure is shown below.

10 Number of times a week students eat in Square Canteen All respondents indicated the number of times a week they eat in the Square Canteen allowing no missing or invalid answers to appear in the data sheet of the SPSS. Valid data is 100 percent. Statistics No. of times students eat in Square Canteen N Valid 100 Missing 0 According to survey data, 47 percent of the students eat in the Square Canteen every day, 23 percent eats thrice a week, 18 percent eats twice a week and only 12 percent eats once a week. Almost half of the students eat everyday at the Square Canteen and minority eats once a week in the Square Canteen. There is also none of the students who never eat in the Square Canteen. Complete data from the survey about how many times in a week students of De La Salle University- Dasmariñas eat in the Square Canteen is shown in the table below. No. of times students eat in Square Canteen Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid once 12 12.0 12.0 12.0 twice 19 19.0 19.0 31.0 thrice 23 23.0 23.0 54.0 everyday 46 46.0 46.0 100.0 Total 100 100.0 100.0

11 A chart of the survey data about how many times a week students eat in the Square Canteen is shown in the figure below. A high number of students, as shown in the figure below, eat everyday in the Square Canteen while none of the students who never eat in the Square Canteen. Students eat in the Square canteen on a mean of thrice a week, having 1 for once a day, 2 for twice a day, 3 for thrice a day and 4 for every day. Descriptive Statistics Std. N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation No. of times students 100 1 4 3.03 1.068 eat in Square Canteen Valid N (listwise) 100 Factors that contributes to a good design inside the store The factors that are included in the composition of a good design are wall color, table and chair setup, lighting and spacing. In the survey data, 36.3 percent states wall color as the factor that contributes most to a good design inside the store. Table and chair setup is the second factor that students think contributes to a good design. It is

12 29.8 percent of the survey data, which is not so far from the percentage of wall color. Third is the lighting of the store, which is 24.4 percent of the survey data. Last, but not the least, is the store spacing, which is 9.5 percent of all the survey data. All the answers are valid and complete as sample data were input in the SPSS. Complete survey data is shown in the table below. Case Summary Cases Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent $Contributorsa 100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0% a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Data show that students see wall color as the most important factor that makes a store design good and store spacing as the least of all the factors that can make a store design good. The data is then input as a multiple set of variables in which respondents were able to answer as many contributors which they see can contribute to a good design inside a food stall. $Contributors Frequencies Responses Percent of N Percent Cases factors that wall color 61 36.3% 61.0% contributes to good table and chair setup 50 29.8% 50.0% designa lighting 41 24.4% 41.0% spacing 16 9.5% 16.0% Total 168 100.0% 168.0% a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.

13 Percentage of students whose purchasing decision are influenced by store design Survey data shows that 80 percent of the students are influenced by store design in their purchasing decision and only 20 percent are not influenced by store design in their purchasing decision as shown in the table below. Statistics Store Design influences Purchasing Decision N Valid 100 Missing 0 Store Design influences Purchasing Decision Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Valid no 20 20.0 20.0 20.0 yes 80 80.0 80.0 100.0 Total 100 100.0 100.0 Other factors that influence the students’ purchasing decision According to the survey data, there are 13 factors aside from store design that can affect students’ purchasing decision, food taste being the top in the rank. Food taste is 36 percent of all survey answers on other factors that affect students’ purchasing decision. The second factor that affects students’ purchasing decision the most is price or the affordability of the food, which is 21 percent of all survey answers. The third factor that mostly affects the purchasing decision of students is the number of tables and chairs or the number of people the store can accommodate. It is 9.1 percent of all survey answers. There are only 2 missing values because respondents

14 didn’t indicate their corresponding answer to the question in the survey. There are a total of 98 valid answers to be counted in the frequency. Case Summary Cases Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent $factorsa 98 98.0% 2 2.0% 100 100.0% a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. Complete details of the survey data is shown in the table below. Ambience or the music and mood inside the store are the least of all factors considered. $factors Frequencies Responses Percent of N Percent Cases other ventilation 15 8.1% 15.3% factorsa sanitation and cleanliness 15 8.1% 15.3% food taste 67 36.0% 68.4% nos. of table and chairs 17 9.1% 17.3% price 39 21.0% 39.8% friendly staffs 9 4.8% 9.2% choices and menu 9 4.8% 9.2% good service 3 1.6% 3.1% amount of servings 5 2.7% 5.1% utensils 1 .5% 1.0% food presentation 1 .5% 1.0% place and location 3 1.6% 3.1% ambience 2 1.1% 2.0% Total 186 100.0% 189.8% a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.

15 On the perception of students on store design’s importance and the number of times a week students eat in Square canteen showing their purchasing behavior, there are no missing or invalid sample data entered on the cross tabulated data of the number of times a week students eat in Square Canteen or the students’ purchasing behavior and their perception on the importance of stall design in influencing their purchasing decision. Case Processing Summary Cases Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent No. of times students 100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0% eat in Square Canteen * Perception on Stall Design's Importance For the minority of the respondents, data from the sample show that only 3 out of 12 respondents who eat once in a week in the Square Canteen don’t see stall design important in making purchasing decision and 9 respondents sees it important. However, majority who eats almost every day in the Square Canteen, only 8 out of 46 doesn’t see stall design’s importance while the rest, otherwise. No. of times students eat in Square Canteen * Perception on Stall Design's Importance Crosstabulation Count Perception on Stall Design's Importance no yes Total No. of times once 3 9 12 students eat in twice 5 14 19 Square thrice 4 19 23 Canteen everyday 8 38 46 Total 20 80 100

16 Figure below is a chart of the cross tabulated perception of students on stall design’s importance and student’s purchasing decision measured by the number of times a week they eat in Square Canteen. According to the chart, majority of the students see the importance of stall design in influencing their purchasing decision in the Square Canteen. Hypothesis testing Summary of the linear regression model shows that the independent variable which is student’s perception on stall design’s importance has R value of .085 and R square value of .007. Standard error of this estimate is equal to 1.070.

17 The computation is based on the cross tabulated data of our independent and dependent variable. Summary model is shown in the table below. Model Summary Adjusted R Std. Error of Model R R Square Square the Estimate 1 .085a .007 -.003 1.070 a. Predictors: (Constant), Perception on Stall Design's Importance ANOVA of the dependent variable which is student’s purchasing behavior or number of times to eat in the Square Canteen shows 112.910 Sum of Squares and 99 degree of freedom. This statistical data is useful in the computation of the P-value which will determine the truthfulness of the null hypothesis. ANOVAb Sum of Model Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression .810 1 .810 .708 .402a Residual 112.100 98 1.144 Total 112.910 99 a. Predictors: (Constant), Perception on Stall Design's Importance b. Dependent Variable: No. of times students eat in Square Canteen Co-efficient of the dependent variable shows the slope (B) of the linear regression model as .225 and the standard error as .267. These two statistical data came from the sample survey. This will also be helpful in the computation of the P-value to help the researchers decide in accepting or rejecting null hypothesis.

18 Coefficientsa Unstandardized Standardized 95.0% Confidence Coefficients Coefficients Interval for B Std. Lower Upper Model B Error Beta t Sig. Bound Bound 1 U (Constant) 2.850 .239 11.917 .000 2.375 3.325 s iPerception on .225 .267 .085 .841 .402 -.306 .756 nStall Design's g Importance a. Dependent Variable: No. of times students eat in Square Canteen U Using the linear regression analysis of the statistical spreadsheet SPSS, a standard error of .267, slope of .225, 99 degree of freedom, and test statistics which is slope divided by the standard error was used to compute the P-value or probability of the relationship of De La Salle University- Dasmariñas students’ purchasing behavior and perception on the importance of Square Canteen’s stall design. The test statistic which is 0.843 is then used to compute P-value together with the degree of freedom or df. The P-value computed is P (T < .843) 0.7994. The P-value is then compared with the significance level 0.05 to test the truthfulness of the null hypothesis. The T- test of the P-value shows that the null hypothesis is true since P-value is greater than the significance level 0.05.

19 VIII. Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions 1. Survey data show that 17.9 percent of the first year De La Salle University students have a weekly allowance of P 1,000. Also, 13.7 percent of students have a weekly allowance of P 1,500. The third most common weekly allowance for the students of De La Salle is P 750 a week. The fourth is P 1,250. The fifth is P 600 while the sixth is P 900 and P 500. The mean students’ weekly allowance is P 1,158.26. 2. According to survey data, 47 percent of the students eat in the Square Canteen every day, 23 percent eats thrice a week, 18 percent eats twice a week and only 12 percent eats once a week. Almost half of the students eat everyday at the Square Canteen and minority eats once a week in the Square Canteen. The mean number of times a week students eat in the Square Canteen is thrice a week. 3. In the survey data, 36.3 percent sees wall color as a factor that contributes most to a good design inside the store. Table and chair setup is the second factor that students think contributes to a good design which is 29.8 percent of the survey data. Third is the lighting of the store, which is 24.4 percent of the survey data. Lastly is the store spacing, which is 9.5 percent of all the survey data. Therefore, wall color is what students consider as the number one factor that contributes to a good design. 4. Survey data shows that 80 percent of the students are influenced by store design in their purchasing decision and only 20 percent are not influenced by store design in their purchasing decision as shown in the table below. Therefore, most of the students in De La Salle University- Dasmariñas are influenced by store design in their purchasing decision. 5. According to the survey data, there are 13 factors aside from store design that can affect students’ purchasing decision, food taste being the top in the rank. Food taste is 36 percent of all survey answers on other factors that affect students’ purchasing

20 decision. The second factor that affects students’ purchasing decision is price or the affordability of the food, which is 21 percent of all survey answers. The third factor that affects the purchasing decision of students is the number of tables and chairs or the number of people the store can accommodate. It is 9.1 percent of all survey answers. Other factors that can influence students purchasing decision are ventilation, sanitation and cleanliness, friendly staffs, choices and menu, good service, amount of servings, utensils, food presentation, place and location, and ambience. 6. The P-value computed is P (T < .843) 0.7994. The P-value is then compared with the significance level 0.05 to test the truthfulness of the null hypothesis. The T-test of the P-value shows that the null hypothesis is true since P-value is greater than the significance level 0.05. Therefore, Square Canteen’s food stall design has no direct impact on the purchasing decision of De La Salle University- Dasmariñas students. Recommendations The researchers therefore recommend that University Square Canteen concessionaires should also focus in enhancing food taste, price and adding space for additional tables and chairs to attract customers and attain a positive purchasing response since stall design does not really affect the purchasing decision of students. These top three factors are those which students find to be satisfying their needs and budgets. Canteen manager, therefore, should optimize food taste and offer quality even in a lower price. Also, the success of a food stall is not dependent on one factor alone that’s why food stall manager and food canteen entrepreneurs should focus on different factors that may improve business image or store image. Factors such as store ventilation, sanitation and cleanliness, friendly staffs, choices and menu, good service, amount of servings, utensils, food presentation, place and location, and ambience are other factors store managers should take into consideration in strategizing for a good marketing position for a food or canteen business.

21 IX. Appendix Name: ________________________________________ College: _______________________ Daily Allowance: ________________________________ 1. How many days a week do you go to school? (Check your answer). 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days 2. How many times in a week do you eat in Square Canteen? (Check your answer). Once Twice Thrice Everyday Never 3. Which do you think is the best designed food stall in the Square Canteen? ______________________________________ 4. Based on your answer above, what factor/s inside that stall that you think contributes to its good design? (Check as many boxes you want). Wall color Table and chair setup Lighting Spacing 5. Do you think their design is important in your purchase decision making or eating? (Check your answer). Yes No 6. What other factors aside from store design that you think influences your decision to eat or purchase inside a food stall in the Square Canteen? (Ex. food taste, ventilation, staffs, etc.) ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

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Marketing Research Paper

by Joanne Mae Palad on Dec 08, 2009

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Marketing Research Paper — Document Transcript