Assignment 2:  – Buying Behavior Field StudySummary Report is Due on March 03, 2102

Observation of Buying Behavior – Field Study

This is a group assignment – groups will be the same as of your term report. This assignment requires you to conduct some retail investigation in the field.  Your report should be presented in a summary style (like this description) and should be not more than 1-2 pages long. Please follow the following requirements:--

1. Select one of these categories in this list: a) Cosmetic and Personal Care Productsb) Athletic Equipment c) Footwear d) Electrical Appliances e) Home Entertainmentf) Women’s Apparel

2. Visit one retail store that sells the particular products. It can be in department store, discount store, clothing store, hardware store, electronics store, shoe store, etc.

3. Make observations of consumers buying behavior in the retail store, including manner in which customers make their purchase decision. Use chapter 5 in text book as a guideline for understanding buying behavior process. Please spend at least fifteen minutes watching how people generally approach the products, look at, compare and make their buying decision. Do not communicate or interact with the people you are observing.

4. Write down what you see: -- the characteristics of “typical” consumers in that particular store, the “interesting” consumers you see and the time they spend, how they approach their choices, how they make the decision to buy, and how they interact with the products and sale associates. Also, please write down what time of the day you conduct the observations. How busy is the traffic in the store?

5. Please submit summary style report of 1-2 pages covering the following:a) Describe the stores you chose and explain why you selected them.b) Describe the purchasing behavior of the consumer who spent the longest time in this

process. What exactly did the consumer do? Which departments did the consumer visit? Describe the buyer's interaction with the product, the store environment, and other customers.

c) Describe the purchasing behavior of the consumer who spent the least amount of time in this process. What exactly did the consumer do? Which departments did the consumer visit? Describe the buyer's interaction with the product, the store environment, and other customers.

d) Now describe the purchasing behavior of what you believe was the " typical purchaser " you observed. What exactly did the consumer do? Which departments did the consumer visit? Describe the buyer's interaction with the product, the store environment, and other customers.

6. Each group will share their observations to the class by giving a brief 5 minutes informal presentation of what you find in a story telling format.

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