Final Dissertation - Charlie Lennon

TO WHAT EXTENT AND WHY HAS THE POST 2007 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CONTRIBUTED TO THE ADOPTION OF ONLINE GROCERY
SHOPPING
RESEARCH PROJECT
Charlie David Lennon
Submitted for: BA (Hons) Business Studies Bournemouth University
Date of Submission: 22/04/2013
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H
Charlie Lennon
Abstract
This study aims to examine the extent to which the post 2007 economic downturn has contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping with a focus on the main reasons for adoption, the impact of the downturn on the online grocery shopping market and the consumer decision-making process.
The online grocery shopping industry is estimated to be worth 6.3bn in 2012 (Mintel 2012), with the industry expected to continue its speedy growth grocery retailers are focusing more of their attention and resources into their online divisions. With market leaders such as Tesco making decisions to focus on their online capabilities, there is a need for marketers to understand what drives consumers to use the online service.
Using primary and secondary research this research paper identifies some of the key factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping such as the availability of information, comparison of alternatives and convenience of using online grocery shopping. Hypothesis are then formulated and tested to address the research objectives.
Deductive in nature, this study takes a positivist philosophical stance using an exploratory design containing primary and secondary research, using existing literature to generate questions. Quantitative data is collected though online self-administrated questionnaires to generate findings sufficient to answer the research objectives and hypothesis.
The findings of the study indicate that consumers who feel they have been negatively impacted by the economic downturn have adopted online grocery shopping. The findings also state that convenience and the availability of information online are the main influences of adoption. Future recommendations have also been deduced from the findings such as the need for marketers to illustrate the potential cost saving advantages of online grocery shopping.
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to express my deep gratitude to my research supervisor Donald Nordberg, for his patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and helpful critiques of this research project. Donalds guidance throughout this research project has enabled me to develop my academic skills and complete the project to the best of my ability. I would like to thank my family and friends for their continual support throughout my time at university. I would also like to extend my thanks to the staff at Bournemouth University Library for offering me the resources I required to complete this project.
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Table of Contents:
Abstract ........................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................... 3 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................ 7
1.1 Research Rationale ......................................................................................... 7 1.1.1 Background of Research .......................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Context of Research ................................................................................. 7 1.2 Research Aim.................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Research Objectives ....................................................................................... 8 1.3.1 Formulating Research Questions ............................................................. 8 1.3.2 Potential Implications and Benefits of Research ....................................... 9 1.3.3 Research Objectives .............................................................................. 10
2.0 Literature Review ..................................................................................... 11

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The Post 2007 Crisis ..................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Macro Economic Factors ........................................................................ 14 2.2.2 Austerity Measures ................................................................................. 14 2.3 Internet grocery shopping industry ................................................................ 15 2.3.1 Market Players ....................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 Market Overview .................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Recent Advances ................................................................................... 18 2.3.4 Future Growth ........................................................................................ 19 2.4 Consumer Behaviour ..................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 Decision-Making Model .......................................................................... 21 2.4.2 Reasons for Adoption of Online Grocery Shopping................................. 23 2.4.3 Reasons for Slow Adoption of Online Grocery Shopping ........................ 25 2.5 Literature Review Conclusion ........................................................................ 26 2.6 Research Hypothesis .................................................................................... 27
3.0 Methodology ............................................................................................ 29

3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Research Philosophies .................................................................................. 29 3.3 Approaches ................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Research Strategies ...................................................................................... 31 3.5 Time Horizon ................................................................................................. 32 3.6 Data Collection techniques ............................................................................ 32 3.7 Secondary Research ..................................................................................... 33 3.8 Primary Research.......................................................................................... 34 3.9 Questionnaire Design .................................................................................... 34 3.10 Pilot Study ................................................................................................... 35 3.11 Reliability & Validity ..................................................................................... 35 3.12 Population ................................................................................................... 36 3.13 Ethics .......................................................................................................... 36
4.0 Research Findings and Analysis.............................................................. 38 4|Page
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4.1 Findings ........................................................................................................ 38 4.2 Analysis......................................................................................................... 40
5.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 47 6.0 Limitations and Future research Recommendations................................ 48 7.0 Reflection ................................................................................................. 49 8.0 References .............................................................................................. 52 Appendices .................................................................................................... 57 Appendix A. UK CPI Since 2008 ................................................................... 58 Appendix B. Gantt Chart Showing Research Project Timeline ...................... 59 Appendix C. Research Stepping Stones........................................................ 60 Appendix D. Form of Consent to Participate in Research .............................. 61 Appendix E. Definitions and Key Words ........................................................ 62 Appendix F. UK Disposable income and spending on food & drink ............... 64 Appendix G. Online Grocers Profiles ............................................................. 64 Appendix H. Pilot Questionnaire .................................................................... 65 Appendix I. Final Questionnaire with Amendments ....................................... 68 Appendix J. SPSS Data Variable View .......................................................... 72 Appendix K. Research Iterative Review Table ............................................... 73 Appendix L. SPSS Numerical Data View ....................................................... 75 Appendix M. Research Design and Hypothesis Relationship ........................ 76 Appendix N. Cross-tabulation Used OGS vs. Impact of downturn .............. 77 Appendix O. Chi-Square Tests - Usage of OGS vs. Impact of downturn ....... 78 Appendix P. Frequency bar Chart - Usage of OGS vs. Impact of Downturn.. 78 Appendix Q. Frequency bar Chart - Q11 ....................................................... 79 Appendix R. Question 11 Cross-tabulation ................................................. 80 Appendix S. Question 15 Frequency Table ................................................ 81 Appendix T. Question 16 Frequency Table ................................................ 81 Appendix U. Question 14 Frequency Table ................................................ 82 Appendix V. Maslows Hierarchy of needs ..................................................... 82 Appendix W. Learning style survey................................................................ 83 Appendix X. Learning Style Survey Results .................................................. 84 Appendix Y. Personal SWOT Analysis .......................................................... 84 5|Page
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List of Figures
Figure 1 - Research Relevance Tree Figure 2 - 2008 and 1930 GDP UK Figure 3 - UK current account (post war) Figure 4 - Leading online grocers shares of online sales, 2010 and 2011 Figure 5 - Online sales compared to total revenues Figure 6 - UK Household Spending Figure 7 - Online grocery sales and forecast Figure 8 - Consumer information processing model Figure 9 - Post purchase process Figure 10 - Hypothetical Framework Figure 11 - Research Methodologies Figure 12 - Differences between deductive and inductive approaches Figure 13 - Research strategies Figure 14 - Secondary data collection Figure 15 - Stakeholders of Research Project Figure 16 - Hypothesis testing procedure Figure 17 - Adoption of OGS and Impact of Economic Downturn Figure 18 - Age demographic of respondents Figure 19 - Frequencies of contributing factors Figure 20 - Chi-square results Factors vs. Frequency Figure 21 - Contributing factors and frequency of use Figure 22 - Reasons for not using OGS
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Research Rationale
1.1.1 Background of Research An economic crisis developed in 2007 and has been described by many economists as the worst economic crisis since the great depression of the 1930s (Kitromilides 2012). Mortgage securities suddenly collapsed in value as a result of excessive Sub-Prime lending, many financial institutions around the world became undermined. In essence, the world's financial system became severely damaged. The Office for National Statistics commented on the UK economy, stating that: The economy is weaker relative to its prerecession peak than at the corresponding stage of the depression in the early 1930s (Myers 2012), indicating the scale of the economic downturn. The UK economy was declared to be in a double dip recession in the first quarter of 2012 for the first time since the 1970s, after two successive quarters of negative GDP growth (Appendix A). In economic downturns a loss in brand loyalty can induce buy down behaviour (Bowmer 2011). This is when consumers focus their purchasing aims towards cost reduction. It is somewhat contradictory, therefore, that online grocery purchases have increased steadily since 2007 (Mintel 2012). Hays (2011) states that the industry is still in transition, indicating further growth is probable in the near future. This study aims to investigate why the online grocery shopping industry has seen such growth in recent years amidst the economic downturn.
1.1.2 Context of Research This study will investigate how the recent economic downturn has led to an increase in the use of internet grocery shopping and why. To investigate this, the researcher will study consumers online purchasing behaviour. Primary data will be collected to examine reasons why online grocery shopping has seen an increase in adoption since the economic downturn and ways to further increase growth. The consumer decision-making process model Consumer information processing model will be used to aid the understanding of consumers behaviour. Interest in this subject stems from economic knowledge that food and drinks are considered to be a necessity good therefore poses a 7|Page
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high price elasticity of demand (Andreyeva et al. 2010). An economic downturn is usually associated with a decrease in spending. It is interesting, therefore, that online grocery sales have increased steadily during the downturn and continue to grow. Mintel 2012 suggests that by 2017 they estimate that online grocery sales will have risen 79% from 2012s level to 11.2bn. Key words and definitions are outlined in Appendix E, illustrating the parameters of the study.
1.2 Research Aim

To study the extent to which the post 2007 economic downturn has contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping and why. This study also aims to investigate possible future improvements for the industry.
1.3 Research Objectives

1.3.1 Formulating Research Questions A number of studies have been conducted focusing on the deepest point of the UK recession in 2008 (Kitromilides 2012; Kotz 2009; Roger 2012; Shoham 2011). Previous research on e-shopping has been mainly descriptive of online purchase patterns and loyalty to brands; few have been completed in more recent years. An even fewer number of studies are specifically concerned with the adoption of online grocery shopping as a result of an economic downturn. This presents the researcher with a knowledge gap which subsequently led to the formulation of this study.
The researcher has established three research objectives designed to breakdown the research question into manageable, inter-connected objectives. A number of factors have been taken into account whilst formulating the objectives to ensure they were definitive: Can they be connected to existing theory? Are they linked with each other? Are they focused? Do they have potential to make contribution to knowledge? Are they concise? 8|Page
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H 1.3.2 Potential Implications and Benefits of Research
Charlie Lennon
Marketing managers should carefully study steps in decision making to understand how consumers obtain information, how they form beliefs, and what criteria they use to make product choices (Solomon 2006).
After reading Solomon 2006, it is apparent that marketers and marketing managers have a need to understand consumers behaviour. A bespoke opportunity presents itself through the current economic climate to study the impact of an economic downturn on the relatively new e-grocery industry. The researcher sees this as a unique opportunity to contribute academic knowledge in this field. Marketers can tailor promotional strategies to deliver the types of information customers are most likely to desire (Solomon 2006). A large amount of social science literature nds empirical evidence that individuals react more strongly to negative economic developments as opposed to positive developments with equal magnitude (Claggett 1986; Holbrook and Cacioppo 2001; Lau 1985). The main change is one of attitude, consumers have become professional shoppers, according to (Thewlis 2011) shoppers are now checking prices, using deals and voucher sites and swapping money-saving tips on social networking sites. As a result, marketers have been required to alter their strategies; strategies such as investing more capital into OGS, such as Tesco. It is because of this that marketers need to have a comprehensive understanding of why some consumers have adopted OGS in the recent economic downturn. Important also, is knowledge from consumers who havent adopted OGS and what could persuade them to do so. This study aims to answer both knowledge gaps using a quantitative approach. This research study could be implemented by e-grocer marketing managers to assist with the understanding of consumers behaviour within the industry. The study could also be used to aid e-tailers in making strategic changes to their systems and strategies for future improvements. (Teo 2002) suggests 9|Page
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that studies about online consumer purchasing behaviour are needed to help companies perfect all aspects of their online retail strategies.
1.3.3 Research Objectives 1. To critically evaluate the relevant literature exploring the impact of the post 2007 economic downturn on the online grocery industry, and identify gaps in the literature.
2. Conduct primary research to conceive how and why the economic downturn has led to the adoption of online grocery shopping and possible future improvements.
3. Evaluate the collected data to show how and to what extent the post 2007 economic downturn has contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping and future improvements to the industry.
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2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction
A critical review of the literature is necessary to develop a thorough understanding of previous research relating to the research question (Saunders 2003), whereby all qualified research will build upon prior knowledge of a subject matter (Ghauri and Grnhaug 2005b).
This chapter discusses the foundations of research into the post 2007 financial crisis and its relation to the adoption of online grocery shopping. The use of an eclectic mix of sources will be used and presented via a thematic approach, this is when the review is organized around topics or issues rather than chronologically (Guest 2011). There is a broad body of literature in this area, theories and definitions are used to explain the subject area in more detail (Appendix E). Firstly, an overview of the post 2007 economic downturn and the key findings that relate to this study. Secondly, an overview of the online grocery shopping industry and how it has evolved in recent years with predicted future developments for the industry. Thirdly, we discuss consumers behaviour and why they may have adopted online grocery shopping in recent years. Finally, we analyse existing literature discussing why consumers may have not yet adopted online grocery shopping.
The researcher has used a wide variety of sources in the review to increase the validity of the information. It must be taken into account that although these measures were taken, some sources can be subject degrees of bias. Furthermore, sources can be aimed at a number of different audiences, passing through various processes prior to publication. The relevance tree (Figure 1) illustrates the concepts, theories and relationships that will be explored in the literature review giving a structured extension of ideas to the original theory (Collis 2003).
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 1 - Research Relevance Tree
Adapted from: Jankowicz and Saunders et al, 2009
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How and to what extent has the post 2007 economic downturn contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping Consumer behaviour Purchasing behaviour model Reasons for adoption Online grocery industry
Economic Crisis
Key Theorists
Definition
Definition
Macroeconomic indicators Austerity Measures
Market overview
Reasons for slow adoption
Recent Advances
Future growth
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2.2 The Post 2007 Crisis

In 2008 the UK economy entered the most severe recession since the great depression of the 1930s (Dore and Singh 2010). Figure 2 illustrates the depth of the post 2007 downturn in relation to the recession of the 1930s. The fall in GDP is slightly more prolonged in the current 2008-12 economic downturn than in the 1930s (Pettinger 2012). The downturn has had a profound effect on consumer spending. Petev (2011) describes how consumer decisions are a key determinant in economic cycles and how the two are closely related. In a downturn consumer spending tends to decrease, retail sales in the Eurozone fell by 3.1% between May 2007 and May 2008. Figure 2 - 2008 and 1930 GDP UK
Adapted from: ONS, 2012.
An economic downturn can be defined as a period where there is a decline in trade or in the economy (Collin 2006). An alternative definition for an economic downturn is a significant decline in overall economic activity that lasts more than a few months Ortega and P e 2009 . Wendy Liebmann stated that if anyone benefited from the Great recession, it was the food industry (Liebmann 2010). She said that a result of the downturn was that restaurants lost guests as poorer shoppers tried to save money by doing more themselves i.e. cooking at home.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H 2.2.1 Macro Economic Factors
Charlie Lennon
Many macroeconomic factors can determine the depth or severity of a downturn. For instance, the post 2007 economic downturn has been very severe as a result of a credit crunch a shortage of finance , unwillingness of banks to lend money and cost push inflation squee ing households disposable income (J. B. Hall 2008). GDP in the UK economy fell by 6.3% between Q2 of 2008 and Q2 of 2009. This is worse than in the 1990s and 1980s and had a detrimental effect on consumer confidence. In essence this meant the economy as a whole was less productive and was receiving less income. This, coupled with the fact consumers had less disposable income even though the government had slashed interest rates to 0.5% in 2008 from 5% to stimulate the economy, resulted in reducing consumer spending (Gittins and Siuke 2012). Unemployment increased rapidly from 1.62m in February 2008 to 2.47m in July 2009; it has since increased to a peak of 2.68m in November 2011 (ONS 2012b). The reduction in consumer spending was expressed through a reduced cumulative total of monetary value spent. There was not a noticeable change in the volume of sales, which implies that consumers altered their spending decisions rather than reducing the amount they purchased. The reduction in disposable income possibly encouraged consumers to look for ways to save time and money. Rainie (2009) found that people use the internet to cope with a recession, mainly to hunt for bargains, obtain information for purchases and to expand their knowledge.
2.2.2 Austerity Measures Another factor deepening the recession has been the Government's decision to impose austerity measures; in 2010 the conservative-liberal democrat government announced the biggest cuts in spending since World War Two. The plan was to cut 83bn of government spending and axe almost 500,000 public sector workers in an effort to reduce the current account deficit, presented in Figure 3.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 3 - UK current account (post war)
Adapted from: ONS 2011
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The implications for consumers can be overall reduction of disposable income, possibly even job losses leading to further suppressed spending. Studies such as Browne (2012) indicate the potential fallout from the austerity measures on households disposable incomes. The study states that the median (middle) income among households is set to fall in real terms by 4.2% between 2010 11 and 201516, indicating further cost saving measures could be implemented by consumers in years to come. Appendix F shows how real income has fallen in recent years accompanied by relatively flat spending on food and drink, indicating spending habit changes.
2.3 Internet grocery shopping industry

2.3.1 Market Players Businesses that sell groceries online have been coined as e -grocers (Hays 2011). The online grocery industry in the UK can be broken down into five main players (Figure 4). The market share is currently dominated by Tesco with 38.2%, principally due to its first-mover status, meaning they implemented the strategy to pursue online grocery sales before its competitors. J. Sainsbury and Asda have similar market shares of 16.7% and 16.4% respectively, followed by Ocado with 12.2%, a pure-play e-grocer and seller of Waitrose products. Pure-play is when a company invests its resources into only one 15 | P a g e
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line of business, therefore a pure-play e-grocer would only sell grocery products online i.e. would not have a retail outlet like many other grocery retailers (e.g. Tesco, Asda, J. Sainsbury and Waitrose).
J. Sainsbury have reported a 20% increase in online revenue growth in 2011, this is an increase on the 19% growth in 2010 (Mintel 2012). This report also states that Waitrose were another winner in 2011 with 30% growth, reportedly due to an overhaul of their website and extension of their geographical coverage. This is said to have caused Ocado, seller of Waitrose produce, to lose market share (Figure 4). Figure 4 - Leading online grocers shares of online sales, 2010 and 2011
Adapted from Mintel 2012.
2.3.2 Market Overview The UK online grocery market has been estimated to be worth 6.3bn in 2012 (Mintel 2012). Despite the large market value, online sales still only contribute a small amount towards the retailers total revenues (Figure 5). Indicating the industry has large scope for growth as consumers are becoming increasingly connected to the Internet. Between 2006 and 2012 the number of households with internet access increased by 7.1 million (23%) (ONS 2012a). Everimproving web technology constantly increases the speed and ease of internet 16 | P a g e
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shopping (Datamonitor 2010), a contributing factor for the rapid growth of the OGS industry (Figure 7). This growth contradicts the slow growth of household spending in the UK (Figure 6). Liebmann (2010) noted a change in the shopping channels, the internet has become the third most shopped channel each week, indicating a thriving industry set to continue strong growth.
Figure 5 - Online sales compared to total revenues

Adapted from: Mintel 2012.
Appendix G details the main e-grocers profiles, market leader Tesco has access to 98% of UK households and also has the latest order time for next day delivery, possible reasons why they are currently the market leader.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 6 - UK Household Spending
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2.3.3 Recent Advances E-grocers are now providing information as well as products and services. For example Waitrose.com allows consumers to preload a recipe onto the web and place an order for the ingredients of that recipe. Customisation of weekly shopping and frequently ordered product lists are considered benefits to shopping online (Hays 2011). One of the most important advances of electronic commerce is the reduction of search costs invested to find an adequate product (Bakos 1997; Hinz 2010). A good example of this being implemented is the introduction of click and collect by Tesco. This is when consumers can select items they wish to purchase then collect them from a store, allowing customers to check their shop before they pay for it. Once again Tesco were the first movers into this subsection of e-tailing. Tesco say this area is growing rapidly, they are responding by adding 700 new collection points for orders within the next year (Tesco 2012), this is an attempt to turn the information searchers into customers by providing a hybrid of online and physical grocery shopping.
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Despite the obvious growth in the e-grocer industry there is a question of profitability. It is often hard to determine how profitable online grocery sales are as grocers rarely split online and offline sales figures. Ocado, an example of a pure-play business, can be used to illustrate the difficulties of e-tailing. Established in 2002 Ocado has taken until Q4 of 2010 to make a profit-beforetax of 0.3m (Ocado 2010). Tim Steiner, Ocado Chief Executive, comments on the UK online grocery market as still in an early stage of development (Ocado 2010). Indicating their prediction for continued growth of the industry and echoing the thoughts of Hays (2011). Another difficulty is fulfilling the customers orders, consumers have stated that they expect much more from online grocers, personal service at a reasonable cost with timely delivery and few out-of-stocks and miss-picks (Morganosky 2000b). The challenge for retailers is finding a model that enables them to meet consumers expectations profitably as demand grows for online food retailing. This study aims to assist strategic decision-making by e-grocers for future success.
2.3.4 Future Growth With sustained growth during the economic downturn, online grocery sales are predicted to continue to increase (Figure 7) indicating a need for marketers to understand what drives consumers to use online grocery shopping and how can they improve their services to gain market share over their competition.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 7 - Online grocery sales and forecast
Adapted from: Mintel 2012
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Figure 7 indicates that, according to Mintel, by 2017 the market could treble in value. Mintel consumer research indicates that only 10% of respondents do all or most of their grocery shopping online, again, indicating the scope for growth in the industry. Tesco have made a decision to invest less capital into new space for non-food and instead focus more resources on continuing to develop their online capability (Clarke 2013). This indicates a need for e-grocers to make sound strategic decisions when developing their online capabilities, wrong decisions could prove costly and see their competitors take market share from them.
2.4 Consumer Behaviour

This chapter gives an overview of how consumers approach making purchase decisions relating to online grocery shopping. Consumers make decisions on a regular basis regarding the choice, purchase and use of products and services (Blythe 1997). The decision-making process is important not only to the consumer but also to marketers and policymakers in the marketplace (Schiffman et al. 2012). Once understood, policymakers and marketers can focus strategies catering to consumers needs more specifically.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H 2.4.1 Decision-Making Model
Charlie Lennon
Consumer decisions are difficult when there is a large amount of alternatives, especially when they are changing due to advances in technology and competitive pressures (Porter 2012). The consumer is often presented with a trade-off between price and quality; this is common in the e-grocer industry with large amounts of price competition. The versatile nature of the consumer decision-making process has led to a number of research questions being asked, for example: how consumers develop and use strategies for making decisions, how differing amounts of prior knowledge influence consumers decision making and how consumers adapt to different decision settings (Bettman et al. 1993). Consumer decision-making process models can be used to observe consumer behaviour in the e-grocer industry and will be referred to in this study.
We must look at the decision-making process consumers make when presented with the occasion. Decisionmaking models are often complex and involve many stages. One recogni ed model of consumers decision -making process is the Consumer information processing model (Figure 8), often referred to as the traditional model(Boone 2010), this model assumes consumers are cognitive and to a lesser degree emotional. In this model the consumer passes through five stages: problem recognition, information search, evaluation and selection of alternatives, decision implementation, and post-purchase evaluation (Kotler 2008; Matsuno 1997).
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 8 - Consumer information processing model
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Problem Recognition
Information Search
Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives
Decision Implementation
Post-purchase Evaluation
Online grocery retailers focus on information search and evaluation of alternatives (Scholz 2010). The Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives is evident with Ocado increasing its number of Tesco price match products to 7,200. This feature allows customers to purchase products that are on price match from Ocado for the same price that Tesco offer them. This offers customers a wider variety of alternatives to make informed purchasing decisions. The launch of their switch and save which allows consumers to move to lower priced products with improved value as they check-out (Ocado 2010), again, gives the customer more alternatives to make informed decisions with.
Consumers want the information they need to make decisions (Morganosky 2000b), for most customers grocery shopping is a routine activity repeated at regular and frequent time intervals and often involves a wide array of products (Raijas; Rohm 2004). Park (2003) discovered that consumers commitment to an online store is related to the extent to which their information needs are 22 | P a g e
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satisfied. Teo (2002) found consumers like the provision of more information about the products they were buying when purchasing from e-grocers. This, therefore, adheres to the Information Search stage of the traditional decision-making process model. It can be assumed that grocery shopping is a Low involvement purchase decision Figure 9). Therefore a simple evaluation of the products and service received from shopping online contribute to potential repeat purchases.
Figure 9 - Post purchase process Low involvement

Purchase Product Use Disposition Simple Evaluation Repeat Purchase Motivation
Although this model is helpful to show an example of a consumers decision making process, in reality this may not be the case. This study will assess if and why the economic downturn has led consumers to adopt online grocery shopping and why. The decision-making process model can be useful to compare primary research results to the structure of the model. Because of inertia, the felt inability to cope with the manifold changes in the environment, and the effort required for decision making, genuine decisions are made under the impact of strong stimuli. (Katona 1968). Strong stimuli, in this case, are the profound effects of the economic downturn on consumers spending power (real and disposable income).
2.4.2 Reasons for Adoption of Online Grocery Shopping Economic theory indicates that there is a strong link between unpredictable income shocks and consumption (Krueger and Perri 2010). Online grocery shopping appears to have beaten the recession with regards to market expansion. Some reports (Datamonitor 2010) have found that the recent economic downturn has arguably further aided the spread of online shopping. This study aims to evaluate why this is the case and also attempts to study how the industry could expand further.
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After reading Lokken (2003), the journal explains that some of the main reasons why consumers have switched to online grocery shopping in recent years is due to convenience, opinions of online shopping increasing, availability of information and lack of sales pressure. Teo (2002) supports the notion of the availability of information playing a large role in the surge of online grocery sales. The main way in which consumers can reduce risk in purchasing is by increasing their knowledge about the product category (Blythe 1997). Rohm (2004) discovered the adoption of online grocery sales rested with the type of shopper. He found that variety shoppers were more inclined to seek choice and variety in products and that they enjoyed being able to touch and grasp the products they were purchasing, therefore apprehensive to adopt OGS. He also found that convenience shoppers were shopping process apathetic and therefore were more likely to adopt OGS. Consumers are getting used to window shopping online, but cheaper price tags and the easiness of finding deals has increased the incentive of online shopping (Datamonitor 2010).
A recent report by conducted by booz&co states that from a micro economic point of view, technological advances such as OGS is dramatically increasing price transparency for grocery suppliers (Hodson 2012). With grocery shopping the webs the most strongly correlated to voucher usage (Mintel 2011), consumers seem to be searching for the best prices by using egrocers. In a recession, and certainly the 2008 economic crisis, familys incomes are generally reduced. Whether its due to job losses, pay cuts or a loss in the ability to work overtime, family incomes on the whole decline. Consumers have been squeezed at both ends, with inflation pushing prices higher and flat to modest growth in wages, a reduction in real income is the outcome and shoppers are looking for ways to save money on their food bills. Previous reports detailing consumer spending on food and non-alcoholic drinks confirm that consumers are employing strategies to save money on their food bills as a result of the Economic downturn in 2008 (Miller and Branscum 2012), some are turning to OGS to do so. 24 | P a g e
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2.4.3 Reasons for Slow Adoption of Online Grocery Shopping Some studies, (Frambach 1998), and more recently (Geuens 2003; Ring 2001) have found that internet grocery shopping has faced serious difficulties in spreading to consumers. Kaufman-Scarborugh (2002) attempts to explain the low consumer adoption by referring to the presence of transaction obstacles. Obstacles such as slow load times, an inability to locate items, incomplete information, lack of human interaction and missed or late deliveries. He also found that factors such as ease of use, complex procedures and security posed obstacles to adoption. According to Black (2001) consumers who have adopted OGS may simply be more innovative than other consumers. Lockett (1997) suggests innovative consumers share certain characteristics such as better education and higher incomes. This provides interesting information on the adoption of OGS during an economic downturn as real incomes are said reduce during such periods. The Office for National Statistics stated that the growth of Gross Domestic Household Income (GDHI) per head slowed in all regions between 2008-2009, and that growth in real households disposable income 2010. HDI has been subdued in
the last few years, rising by just 0.6% a year on average between 2007 and
Much research in this area has focused mainly on future intentions to carry out OGS (Verhoef 2001), although there are exceptions (Hansen 2005; Morganosky 2000a) very few studies have been concerned with studying consumers who have adopted and are using OGS. Even fewer have studied this during an economic downturn and reasons why they have adopted OGS. Although this study will investigate perceived potential developments of the industry the main focus will be related to if and why the economic downturn has led to the adoption of OGS.
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2.5 Literature Review Conclusion

After reviewing relevant literature we can summarise the findings. It can be said that the current economic situation is challenging for consumers and marketers alike. Although there is large amount of research focusing on the economic downturn and the determinants of OGS, there are limited studies and literature investigating how the post-2007 economic downturn has led to the adoption of OGS. Previous research conducted by the ONS shows that households have been affected unevenly by the downturn (ONS 2010). Studies indicating a reduction in disposable income in the UK (J. B. Hall 2008) provide grounds for research to assess growth of the OGS industry in relation to the economic downturn. Literature evaluated (Datamonitor 2010; Krueger and Perri 2010; Lokken 2003) reveals some determinants of OGS, such as convenience, information, ease of comparison and technological advances. Morganosky (2000b) reported that time saving was also an influential factor in the adoption of OGS. The study conducted by Datamonitor (2010) categorically states that the recent economic downturn contributed to the adoption of OGS, this study aims to investigate why this is the case.
The researcher has studied literature (Park 2003; Scholz 2010; Teo 2002) that suggests OGS is targeted at satisfying the information search and evaluation of alternatives stages of the 5-tier traditional decision-making process model. Studies such as Hinz (2010) and Bakos (1997) suggest that one of the most important advances of electronic commerce is the reduction of search costs invested to find an adequate product, marketers in OGS openly employ strategies to target this consumer need. Literature studied provides sufficient knowledge to use in the data collection stage of the study, reasons for the adoption of OGS can be taken from the literature and statistically tested.
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2.6 Research Hypothesis

An accumulation of prior knowledge and existing literature has led to the proposal of three hypotheses by the researcher that require further analysis through primary research to establish a better understanding of To what extent and why has the post-2007 economic downturn contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping.
Appendix K precisely combines the research objectives, literature review and the hypotheses into a review table. The framework (Figure 10) presents, hypothetically, the relationships between the literature review and hypotheses. The hypotheses are formed as Nulls, allowing the researcher to use primary research results to test against them.
Null Hypotheses 1: There is no relationship between people who have been affected by the economic downturn and the adoption of OGS.
Null Hypotheses 2: There is no evidence to suggest information and alternatives are the most important factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping.
Null Hypotheses 3: There is no evidence to suggest possible future improvements for the industry.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 10 - Hypothetical Framework

H1: There is a relation between people affected by the economic downturn and the adoption of OGS
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Future Growth
Disposable Income Reasons for Adoption
H3: There is evidence to suggest possible future improvements for the industry.
Decision-Making
H2: Improved information and alternatives has led to the adoption of OGS
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3.0 Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The methodology according to (Saunders et al. 2007) is the way you collect your data to answer you research question. Before any research is conducted the importance of looking at the research design is of paramount importance. This section will explain and evaluate the research methods undertaken and relate them within the context of this study. The research paradigm is a perspective that is based on the set of shared assumptions, values, concepts and practices. It contains the research philosophies and methods that will help to understand the research area. Research methods will be evaluated in terms of validity, reliability and limitations. An analysis of reasoning relating to the choice of methods will be included. The research process adopted for the study is illustrated in Appendix C.
3.2 Research Philosophies

The research philosophy relates to the development of knowledge and the nature of that knowledge (Saunders et al. 2007). An ontological philosophy of positivism and an epistemological philosophy of Interpretivism is adopted for the study (Guba 1990), this will create an aggregated approach of how we view knowledge.
Positivism implies a research approach where rigorous empirical techniques are used to discover generalised explanations and laws (Engel 1995). Existing theory has been used to develop research objectives and strategy for this study, therefore a positivist philosophical stance has been adopted and will be applied throughout the research hypotheses (Saunders et al. 2009). With a positivist philosophy predictions can be made on the basis of the previously observed and explained realities and their inter-relationships, therefore previous literature examined in this study will be used to predict reasons for adoption of OGS. An interpretivist philosophy allows the researcher to understand the subjective reality of online grocery shoppers by evaluating their motives, actions and intentions in a way that is meaningful (Saunders et al. 2009). Figure 11 details the research methodology approaches employed. 29 | P a g e
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 11 - Research Methodologies Ontological Positivism Epistemological Interpretivism Exploratory Research
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Research Philosophy
Research Approach
Deductive
Research Strategies
Secondary Research
Primary Research
Literature
Survey
Data Collection Method
Quantitative
Questionnaire
Time Horizons
Cross-sectional
3.3 Approaches
Two approaches are usually associated with research methods, the deductive and inductive method. Figure 12 shows the differences between the two approaches. The researcher uses a deductive approach to research in this study as it can explain causal relationships between variables (Saunders et al. 2009). This fits the research question that is concerned with the cause and effect relationships between the post 2007 economic downturn and the adoption of OGS. Research hypotheses (Chapter 2.6) have been concluded from existing literature and theory; a deductive approach allows these hypotheses to be tested. Saunders et al (2009) states that deductive research is quicker to complete and time schedules are easily predicted and that a deductive approach is also usually associated with primary research methods such as surveys and questionnaires, the single method of data collection for 30 | P a g e
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this study. An inductive approach was deemed unsuitable as it assumes before you can have theory you need observations from which to derive it (Cameron and Price 2009), it therefore contradicts the current philosophy and does not allow for testing existing theories.
Figure 12 - Differences between deductive and inductive approaches

Adapted from: Saunders, M, Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A, 2007.
3.4 Research Strategies

Saunders (2009) states: the survey strategy is usually associated with the deductive approach and therefore is deemed appropriate for this study. A mono-methods approach is used in the study (Figure 13) meaning only one method of primary data collection is employed.
To formulate the research a combination of secondary and primary data is used. Secondary data collection was used to gather knowledge on the subject area, once this was exhausted, primary data was collected (Ghauri and Grnhaug 2005a). The primary data collection consists of a questionnaire which will make up the Survey Method for this study (Sarantakos 2005). This is considered to be a cost-effective means of gathering large amounts of data. The electronic distribution reduces the financial and environmental costs of producing and sending the questionnaires (Cameron and Price 2009). The 31 | P a g e
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quantitative questionnaire will be formulated using previous literature to create the key concepts to investigate; this is typical of a deductive approach. These will be distributed to subjects via email and Facebook, an easy way to contact the sample maximising the return of respondents.
Figure 13 - Research strategies

3.5 Time Horizon

In reality most social research is conducted after the event we are interested in or at a particular point in time (Matthews and Ross 2010). The data collection will be of a cross-sectional nature. Matthews and Ross (2010) also state that we can work with data about past and current experiences to identify cause-and-effect associations. The data is collected at a single defined point in time; this approach is also beneficial due to time constraints on the study. A research plan has been formulated in the form of a Gantt chart (Appendix B).
3.6 Data Collection techniques

The research for this project is made-up of both primary and secondary data. The survey method of questionnaires will be employed. Surveys allow the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way (Saunders et al. 2009). Primary data is collected through self-administrated questionnaires on E-Survey Creator, distributed via 32 | P a g e
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Facebook and email. Questionnaires are deemed appropriate as the quantitative data collected allows analysis of the data in a quantitative method, using descriptive and inferential statistics (Cameron and Price 2009). Before the questionnaire was conducted secondary data in the form of literature was exhausted in order to discover the key concepts in the subject area to investigate further with primary research.
3.7 Secondary Research

Secondary data research has been compiled through a variety of methods. The majority of secondary data is collected from the Bournemouth University library facilities, a wide range of sources were used in this process. Hard copy books, e-books, journals, databases and other online resources such as websites were used. Figure 14 illustrates the variety of secondary data sources available for collection. Other peoples research and published statistics were collected from reliable sources such as The Office for National Statistics, Mintel and appropriate published reports. Figure 14 - Secondary data collection
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3.8 Primary Research

A questionnaire is a general term to include all techniques of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a predetermined order (De Vaus 2002). Questionnaires provide a standardised view, making interpretation straight forward (Brace 2008). Bias is minimised as all respondents answer the same set of questions. Internet selfadministrated questionnaires offer greater control because most users read and respond to their own mail at their personal computer (Witmer 1999). Studies such as Hansen (2005) and Ramachandran (2011) also take key concepts from the literature to test with quantitative methods, utilising a similar approach with the questionnaire as the source of primary data collection. Using this method can ensure validity and reliability of the data collected. This is crucial when time constraints are present within the data collection process; such is the case with this study.
3.9 Questionnaire Design

A self-administrated questionnaire was designed with factual and likert-scale questions used to gather information on respondents attitudes surrounding the subject area.
The questionnaire was designed with only closed questions in order to enhance the comparability of answers with the sample and between this study and others (Blaxter 1996; Bryman 2003).
The questionnaire will involve five point Likert-scale questions with a vertical format, this is to enable pre coded replies for the sections relating to attitudes and opinions, similar to the study by (Ramachandran 2011).
The questionnaire will be distributed via Facebook and email to the population, this ensures the selected respondents complete the questions and not delegate them to someone else (Saunders et al. 2009).
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Self-administered online questionnaires are used for several reasons. Firstly, questionnaires are good at collecting information on facts and opinions from large numbers of respondents; despite having less qualitative depth than some alternatives they are more versatile than most other techniques (Clark 1998). Secondly, self-administered online questionnaires are time and cost efficient, therefore more appealing to respondents. The answers from a web questionnaire are machine-readable and can be stored in a database to be read by a statistics program (SPSS), therefore eradicating the chance of incorrectly transcribing respondents answers. espondents replies from the web self-administered questionnaire are input into excel and then imported into SPSS to statistically examine and analyse the data.
3.10 Pilot Study

Bell (2010) articulates that however pressed for time you are, do your best to give the questionnaire a trial run, as without you have no way of knowing whether your questionnaire will succeed. Due to the nature of the questionnaire, little personal interaction, a pilot questionnaire was conducted to test the suitability, reliability and validity of it. Saunders et al (2009) advocates that a misrepresentation of a question can affect the data collection. The pilot questionnaire was conducted with ten respondents, providing constructive feedback for any necessary changes; illustrated in Appendix H. The researcher believes the pilot questionnaire allowed for a minimisation of bias for the final survey (Appendix I).
3.11 Reliability & Validity

For a measuring technique to be of any use in survey research, it must produce results that are sufficiently accurate and relevant for the operation in hand (Belson 1986). Reliability is concerned with the extent to which your data collection techniques or analysis procedures will yield consistent findings (Saunders et al. 2009). The researcher must take into account that a uniformed response can yield unreliable data. This is when participants have 35 | P a g e
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insufficient knowledge or experience, they may then deliberately guess the answer (Saunders et al. 2009). The survey test will be conducted under repeat conditions in order to produce the same results and increase consistency. The researcher acknowledges that although reliability is important, without consistency the research can become invalid.
3.12 Population
The survey structure will allow for comparisons to be drawn between differing age and income groups. The researcher wants to investigate consumer online grocery-shopping behaviour not offline grocery-shopping behaviour. Therefore, by conducting online surveys we ensure the chosen households are qualified for the study purpose (households with access to the internet either at home or at work/educational institution were included as respondents). This is a similar approach taken by Hansen (2005).
3.13 Ethics
Ethics is concerned with how the research topic is formulated, how the research design is planned and how we collect the data. These should be carried out in a responsible manner. Saunders refers to ethics as the appropriates of your behaviour in relation to the rights of those who become the subject of your work (Saunders et al. 2009). The ethical approach is extended to all stakeholders of the study as shown in Figure 15. A covering letter was included with the questionnaire to explain the purpose of the research and give our assurance of confidentiality and anonymity (Bryman 2003), presented in Appendix D. Similarly to the study by Ramachandran (2011), in order to avoid a pitfall of email surveys, which is authoritative image (Ranchhod 2001), the email letters were signed with the researchers name and contact details.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 15 - Stakeholders of Research Project
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Project Supervisor
Researchers & Community Research Project
Individual Respondents
Organisational Participants
Bournemouth University
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4.0 Research Findings and Analysis

4.1 Findings
This section analyses results from the self-completion internet questionnaire using the research objective as a framework for testing hypothesis set (Chapter 2.6). An analysis of the primary and secondary research will be undertaken to convey whether the results support or oppose the objectives and hypotheses developed from existing literature and research.
Objective 1: To critically evaluate the relevant literature exploring the impact of the post 2007 economic downturn on the online grocery industry.
This objective was investigated via an analysis of the relevant literature and theorists of online grocery shopping to discover the factors considered to have contributed to the adoption of OGS. Consequently, this identified gaps in the literature forming grounds for a hypothetical framework that can be tested to answer the research question using the hypotheses. Appendix M presents the research design and hypothesis relationships used.
The SPSS data (Appendix J) was transformed and re-coded into a numeric format to make it easier to conduct analysis (Appendix L). From this, an analysis of relationships between variables can be carried out through crosstabulation analysis. This is advantageous as cross-tabulation analysis is easily understood by managers who may not be statistically orientated, also the clarity of interpretation provides a stronger link between research results and managerial action (Malhotra and Birks 2005), creating a more valuable for the stakeholders (Figure 15). The chi-square statistic (x2) was used to test the statistical significance of the observed associations in the cross-tabulation analysis. This was selected as it assists in determining whether a systematic association exists between two variables (Malhotra and Birks 2005). This was deemed an appropriate nonparametric test as ordinal data was used (Figure 16). 38 | P a g e
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 16 - Hypothesis testing procedure
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The significance level set for the findings is = 0.05 tested through the chisquare statistic, representing a 95% confidence level. Meaning any findings with p (significance) value higher than 0.05 will be considered to not present a significant enough relationship between the variables to reject the null hypothesis (H0), therefore the null hypothesis will be adopted. 0.05 has been the sacrosanct significance alpha level since 1931 for hypothesis analysis, the alpha level must be selected before you look at the data (Sharpe et al. 2012). This ensures the researcher cannot be accused of finagling the conclusions by tuning the alpha level to suit the results.
To ensure data validity and reliability the chi-square test assumes the expected counts to be greater than 5; this will be tested before validating any relationships as significantly valid and reliable. Another validity test is to ensure the sample is greater than 40 to ensure the x2 test can be used (Shier 2004). Results from the cross-tabulation (Appendix N) show that relationships have been found and that they are significantly valid (Appendix O). The three null hypotheses are evaluated and related to the literature in the next chapter (4.2). 39 | P a g e
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4.2 Analysis
Objective 2: Conduct primary research to conceive how and why the economic downturn has led to the adoption of online grocery shopping and possible future improvements.
To fulfil the second research objective the quantitative results were analysed to enable the researcher to characterise the extent to which the economic downturn has led to the adoption of OGS and why.
Null Hypothesis 1: There is no relationship between people who have been affected by the economic downturn and the adoption of OGS.
From a survey of 100 respondents, 71 (71%) confirmed they had used OGS, 29 (29%) stated that they had not used OGS previously. This gave an indication of the level of adoption before any tests were run as almost of respondents have used OGS. Of the 100 respondents 20% said they strongly agreed that the economic downturn had led to a decrease in their disposable income. 41% said they agreed with this statement, 14% were undecided with 14% also answering disagree and 11% stating that they strongly disagree with the statement. From the output in Appendix N it can be derived that 61% of all respondents stated that they either agree or strongly agree that the economic downturn has decreased their disposable income. These findings echo the thoughts of J. B. Hall (2008) that the economic downturn is squee ing households disposable income.
The researcher used cross-tabulation to understand the relationship between the adoption of OGS and the impact of the economic downturn on respondents. These findings are presented in Appendix N, the non-pragmatic results show that 70.4% of respondents who have used online grocery shopping also answered they either strongly agree or agree when asked if they feel the downturn has led to a decrease in their disposable income. Appendix P illustrates the results of the cross-tabulation as a bar-chart, asserting that OGS has been adopted by people who feel their disposable 40 | P a g e
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income has been reduced, the significance of this relationship is tested through Chi-square statistics (Appendix O). The non-pragmatic test (chi-square) shows that < 0.05 (Figure 17), therefore we reject the null hypothesis, confirming there is a significant relationship between the impact of the economic downturn and the adoption of online grocery shopping. The results from this study concur with the study conducted by Rainie (2009) who stated that people are using the internet to cope with the downturn, mainly to hunt for bargains, obtain information and expand their knowledge. Validity of this test is maintained as there are no expected values below 5, and there are over 40 respondents confirming a significant relationship is present. Figure 17 - Adoption of OGS and Impact of Economic Downturn
It must be noted that 44% of respondents are in the 18-24 age group (Figure 18), this generation are usually associated with a concern for price when purchasing. Possibly resulting in a natural tendency to pursue cost saving strategies such as online grocery shopping. Figure 18 - Age demographic of respondents
7 6 18-24 25-30 17 44 31-40 41-50 7 19 51-60 61+
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Null Hypothesis 2: There is no evidence to suggest information and alternatives are the most important factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping.
Information search and the evaluation and selection of alternatives are stage 2 and 3 of the traditional decision-making process (Kotler 2008; Matsuno 1997). Koltz (2010) states that online grocery retailers focus on the information search and evaluation of alternatives. This null hypothesis aims to investigate whether information and the availability of alternatives are the most important reasons for the adoption of online grocery shopping.
Respondents were given a multiple-selection question (Q11) to assess the contributing factors for their usage of OGS. Figure 19 illustrates the frequency of answers to question 11. Interestingly, 87.1% of respondents who have used OGS selected convenience as an important factor. This supports the views of Lokken (2003) who believed convenience is a strong factor influencing the usage of OGS. Lokken also believed increased information to be a strong contributing factor, in this study 45.7% of respondents selected this category with 48.6% of respondents selecting good for comparing alternatives. Indicating convenience is the most important factor influencing the adoption of OGS. Figure 19 - Frequencies of contributing factors
$Q11 Frequencies Responses N Convenience Saves Time Websites provide more information Q11
a
Percent of Cases
Percent 61 30 32 6 23 13 34 199 30.7% 15.1% 16.1% 3.0% 11.6% 6.5% 17.1% 100.0% 87.1% 42.9% 45.7%
Lack of sales pressure Saves money Easier to find deals Good for comparing alternatives
8.6% 32.9% 18.6% 48.6% 284.3%
Total
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Appendix Q presents the results in a bar-chart format. To test if there are any significant relationships between the adoption of OGS and the contributing variables, cross-tabulations were run against the Q7 How many times have you used OGS results. Appendix R presents a frequency table for the amount of times respondents have used OGS and the contributing factors of adoption. 40% of respondents (28) selected convenience as a contributing factor and 2-5 times, suggesting consumers associate OGS with being convenient. All factors were statistically tested using chi-square to ascertain any significant relationships (Figure 20).
Figure 20 - Chi-square results Factors vs. Frequency

Variable Convenience Saves Time Information Sales Pressure Saves Money Easier to find deals Alternatives Chi-square result 0.256 0.541 0.037 0.681 0.640 0.584 0.248 P p>0.05 p>0.05 p<0.05 p>0.05 p>0.06 p>0.07 p>0.08
Cross-tabulation failed to show any significant relationships between six of the seven variables, however the Websites provide more information variable did return a chi-square result of < 0.05 (0.037). This relationship supports the views of Park (2003) A consumers commitment to an online store is related to the extent to which their information needs are satisfied. Therefore a higher level of information available on e-grocers websites can be associated with a higher rate of adoption. Morganosky (2000b) seconds this notion by stating that consumers want the information they need to make decisions. The availability of alternatives returned a chi-square result of > 0.05 (0.248). Resulting in the null hypothesis being retained (Figure 21) as there is no significant relationship with both information and the availability of alternatives with the adoption of online grocery shopping.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 21 - Contributing factors and frequency of use
Hypothesis Test Summary Null Hypothesis Test Sig 2
There is no evidence to suggest information and alternatives are the most important factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping. Chisquare 0.248
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Decision
Retain the null hypothesis
It must be taken into account that, although the null hypothesis is rejected the relationship between Information and the amount of times respondents have used OGS was significant. This, therefore, indicates the importance of the availability of formation on an e-grocers website, echoing the outlines of the literature analysed (Park, 2003; Morganosky 200b; Teo, 2002).
Null Hypothesis 3: There is no evidence to suggest possible future improvements for the industry.
This null hypothesis aims to make recommendations for future improvements to the OGS industry. Respondents who answered no to question 5 have you ever used online grocery shopping? were asked to complete questions 15 and 16 to ascertain reasons why they have not used OGS and what could persuade them to consider using the service.
Since there is no relationship to be examined, only which is the most popular suggestions for improvement to the industry, simple frequency tables and piecharts can be used for the analysis. Figure 22 presents the reasons for not using OGS (Question 15), the most frequent answer is that consumers prefer to see, touch and feel their groceries, selected by 75.9% of respondents. The second most frequent response is that consumers simply have enough time to physically shop (51.7%) therefore contradicting the convenience attributed to OGS by 87.1% of respondents who have used OGS (Null 2).
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 22 - Reasons for not using OGS
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Question 16 of the survey asks respondents who have not used OGS which factors could persuade them to use it. The frequency of responses (Appendix T) shows that 55.2% of consumers who have not used OGS feel that if it were cheaper they would consider using it. This contradicts question 14 of the survey that asked consumers who have used OGS if they thought it saves them money (Appendix U). 64.8% of respondents agree that it saves them money, indicating that once used, consumers tend to see a saving through using OGS. The researcher feels this presents a need for OGS marketers to advertise the cost-saving benefits of using the service more widely, to encourage sceptics of the service to consider using it.
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Objective 3: Evaluate the collected data to show how and to what extent the post 2007 economic downturn has led to the adoption of internet grocery shopping and future improvements to the industry.
This objective has been completed through the primary findings analysis designed to investigate the extent to which and why the post-2007 economic downturn contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping. Findings have identified and analysed the impact of the downturn on consumers disposable income and their adoption of OGS. Factors considered the most important for the adoption of OGS have also been identified and discussed through the hypothetical framework; this has also led to further areas of possible research and suggestions for the industry.
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5.0 Conclusion
This studies objective was to investigate how and to what extent the post 2007 economic downturn has contributed to the adoption of online grocery shopping. Through studying the determinants of OGS and the relationship of adoption with the downturn, the researcher feels the study fulfils the objectives set in Chapter 1.3.3.
Firstly, the findings from hypothesis 1 discovered there is a relationship between the impact of the downturn and the adoption of OGS (Chapter 4.2), allowing the null hypothesis to be rejected. Results indicated the economic downturn has wholly had a negative impact on consumers disposable income, consequently these consumers have generally adopted OGS supporting literature that suggests the downturn has further aided the growth of OGS (Datamonitor 2010). Furthermore, the research shows there is a relationship between the level of OGS adoption and information as a contributing factor of adoption through hypothesis 2. However, the findings show consumers do not feel the selection of alternatives is an adequate factor of the adoption of OGS.
The research results show a positive relationship between the impact of the economic downturn and the adoption of online grocery shopping, consumers use the service because of its informational and convenience benefits. The research shows respondents who have not used OGS would consider using it if it was cheaper, leading to the recommendation that marketers should ensure consumers are informed of the cost-saving benefits of OGS through advertising.
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6.0 Limitations and Future research Recommendations

There are inevitably some limitations associated with this study. Firstly, this research project used a single respondent as a household representative. Grocery shopping concerns an entire household, this assumes the single respondent provides answers which represent the households opinion (Hansen 2005). Secondly, a longitudinal study rather than a cross-sectional study could have been undertaken, longitudinal research allows for a measurement of change and possibly an explanation of change (Menard 2008), lending itself to a study of consumer behaviour over time such as this one.
It must also be taken into account that a mono-methods approach was used for this study, a multiple method approach could be undertaken to overcome weaknesses associated with using only one method as well as providing scope for a richer approach to data collection, analysis and interpretation (Saunders et al. 2012), possibly providing more validity and reliability in the findings.
The researcher feels that this study provides a solid basis for further research in the area. The key determinants of the adoption of OGS have been identified and a significant relationship between the adoption of OGS and the impact of the economic downturn has been discovered. The limitations mentioned should be kept in mind when analysing the findings and results for future research. However, the researcher does feel this study has contributed to the knowledge in this particular area.
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7.0 Reflection
Reflection in the context of learning is a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciation. (Boud 1985). The reflective process allows me to analyse aspects of the research project and my own learning style, enabling me to adapt and refine myself in order to improve my skills and competencies for the future.
An important issue from the start of the project for me was the selection of the project title. Initially, the chosen title concerned the impact of the economic downturn on the whole of the UK food and drinks retail industry, clearly this was far too broad. I struggled to deviate from the original title as I had completed a review of the literature concerning this topic and assumed a change of title would result in a large amount of extra work. During this time period I was juggling assignments for other units and revision for exams which caused me to become slightly anxious when thinking about the daunting task of completing this research project.
However, after considerable thought and consideration and with the help of my tutor we managed to narrow down the research focus considerably, with this I was determined to complete the project to the best of my ability on the new topic. I chose to investigate the effect the economic downturn had on the online grocery shopping industry, this seemed logical as it was not too far from the original title and allowed for a much more focused study into a contemporary market, this created a project that is more valuable as there is less existing literature concerning the topic.
From this point onwards I felt much more motivated and adopted a proactive approach to completing the project, investing a great deal of time and effort into the final piece. In hindsight, I feel as though I let my other university commitments take too much priority during the early stages of the research project, resulting in a lack of interest in the project. Reflecting back, I should have balanced my time more efficiently and invested more time into the project 49 | P a g e
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and researching what was required from me prior to undertaking any research. My initial rush into the project left me with an unclear approach to completing the project, thankfully my self-drive and motivation enabled me to strive for more. After focusing the research title I felt much more comfortable working on the project, a sense of direction and achievement presented itself when my tutor told me he was happy with the way I was working now, this allowed me to reach the Achievement and Esteem stage within Maslows Hierarchy of needs (Appendix V). Research is about discovery and not knowing the answers before one starts (Moon 2004). With the comments from Moon (2004) in mind, it is easy to understand why a research project such as this may be daunting, generally in my academic life I have known exactly what is expected of me. This project, however, required me to find a suitable research question and the corresponding answers, as a student I have become accustomed to answering questions, not generating them. This initially made me feel uneasy and slightly worried about not completing the project correctly, however, after taking a step back from the project and analysing what I needed to achieve and how I would achieve it, I managed to utilise my natural high work ethic to complete the project.
In order to understand my learning style better, I completed a learning style survey (Appendix W). The survey results recognise me as being in the organising category which implies I am good at adapting and changing to circumstances to solve problems. This is evident in my ability to overcome problems I experienced in the early stages of the project regarding the project title and direction.
Relating my reflection to theory Honey (2006) identifies four types of learning styles that can be analysed using the results of the learning styles survey. The results identify me as a pragmatist, someone who is keen to try new ideas and theories and also likes solving problems. Pragmatists see opportunities as a challenge (Honey 2006), and like to draw conclusions through abstract conceptualisation prior to putting theory into practice. These results confirm my 50 | P a g e
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own thoughts regarding my individual learning style; I enjoy solving problems and am not afraid to try new ideas or theories; What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent Van Gough (1884).
Throughout the data analysis I feel as though I demonstrated my problemsolving abilities as I used all the available resources to understand and complete the task, ensuring I maximised the possibility of achieving the best grade I could. This is typical of my approach to all challenges as I continually attempt to produce work to the best of my ability knowing that my strengths have been employed effectively.
I have also taken into account that pragmatists like to act quickly and confidently on attractive ideas, this can be seen as a weakness as it may result in a rushed piece of work. This is certainly applicable to me in the early stages of this project as I began working on a project title before assessing whether it was suitable. I then realised my mistake and used my skills to solve the problem, typical of a pragmatist. This survey has made me more aware of my strengths and weaknesses associated with learning types; I have completed a SWOT analysis of myself (Appendix Y).
For any similar projects that I may undertake in the future I will take sufficient time to develop to clear and focused strategy from the beginning of the project. This will allow me to complete the project more efficiently and avoid creating any problems for myself. For me to develop in a way to ensure I am successful in the future it is necessary for me to recognise my weaknesses, I can then address them to ensure my continual success and individual development. Upon completion of this project the reflection process has been useful and somewhat difficult, taking a step back and viewing your behaviour from a different perspective takes time and an open-minded approach. I believe I have completed this project to the maximum of my academic capabilities to ensure I am rewarded with a grade that reflects such an approach.
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8.0 References
Andreyeva, T., Long, M. W., and Brownell, K. D., 2010. The impact of food prices on consumption: A systematic review of research on the price elasticity of demand for food. American Journal of Public Health, 100 (2), 216-222. Bakos, Y., 1997. Reducing buyer search cost: Implications for electronic marketplaces. Bell, J., 2010. Doing your research project : A guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. McGraw-Hill Open University Press. Belson, W. A., 1986. Validity in survey research. Gower Publishing. Bettman, J. R., Johnson, E. J., and Payne, J. W., 1993. Consumer decision making. Cambridge University Press. Black, N. J. L., A. Winklhofer, H. Ennew, C., 2001. The adoption of internet financial services: A qualitative study. International journal of retail & distribution management, 29 (8/9), 390-398. Blaxter, L. H., C. Tight, M., 1996. How to research. Blythe, J., 1997. The essence of consumer behaviour. Hertfordshire: Pretice Hall. Boone, M. B. K., D. L., 2010. Contemporary business. 14 ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Boud, D. K., R. Walker, D., 1985. Reflection: Turning experience into learning. New York: kogan Page Ltd. Bowmer, R., 2011. The effects of the recession and brand loyalty and "Buy down" Behaviour: 2011 update. comScore. Brace, I., 2008. Questionnaire design:. 2 ed. London: Replika Press. Browne, J. 2012. Families in an age of austerity, The impact of austerity measures on households with children: Family and parenting institute. Bryman, A. B., E., 2003. Business research methods. Oxford University Press. Business_Dictionary. Definition of economy. Available from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/economy.html [Accessed: 30.01.13]. Business_Directory. 2013. Definition of consumer spending. Business Directory. Cameron, S., and Price, D., 2009. Business research methods : A practical approach / sheila cameron and deborah price. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Claggett, W., 1986. A reexamination of the asymmetry hypothesis: Economic expansions, contractions and congressional elections. Clark, M. R., M. Wood, R.C. Wilkie, E., 1998. Researching and writing dissertations in hospitality and tourism. London: International Thomson Business Press. Clarke, P. Strategic review - tesco. Available from:
www.tescoplc.com/files/reports/ar2012/index.asp?pageid=17 [Accessed: 10/03]. Collin, P. H., 2006. Dictionary of business [electronic resource] / [edited by] p.H. Collin. London : A & C Black, 2006. 4th ed.
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Collis, J. H., R., 2003. Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Datamonitor. 2010. The future of online grocery shopping. De Vaus, D., 2002. Surveys in social research. 5th ed. London: Routledge. Dolan, E. G., 1986. Economics. 4 ed. New York: CBS College Publishing. Dore, M. H. I., and Singh, R. G., 2010. The global financial crisis and the great recession of 2007-2009. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, And Life Sciences, 14 (3), 317-342. Engel, J. F. B., R.D. Miniard P.W., 1995. Consumer behaviour. Florida: Dryden. Ford, A. G., 1971. Income, spending and the price level. Suffolk: Wm. Collins Sons & Co Ltd. Frambach, R. T. B., H.G. Nooteboom, B. Wedel, M., 1998. Adoption of a service innovation in the business market: A empirical test of supply-side variables. Journal of Business Research, 41, 161-174. Geuens, M. B., M. S'jergers, R., 2003. Food retailing, now and in the future: A consumer perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10 (4), 241-251. Ghauri, P., and Grnhaug, K., 2005a. Research methods in business studies: A practical guide 3rd ed.: Pearson Education. Ghauri, P. N., and Grnhaug, K., 2005b. Research methods in business studies : A practical guide / pervez ghauri, kjell grnhaug. Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2005. 3rd ed. Gittins, P., and Siuke, S., 2012. Impact of the recession on household spending. Guba, E. G., 1990. The paradigm dialog / edited by egon g. Guba. Newbury Park, Calif. ; London : Sage Publications, c1990. Guest, G. M. Q., Kathleen M. Namey, Emily M. 2011. Applied thematic analysis (pp. 6-12): SAGE Publications. Hansen, T., 2005. Consumer adoption of online grocery buying: A discriminant analysis. International journal of retail & distribution management, 33 (2), 101-121. Hardwick, P. L., John. Khan, Bahadur. 1999. An introduction to modern economics. 5 ed. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Hays, T. K., P. Malcome De Lopez, V., 2011. Strategies and challenges of internet grocery retailing logistics. Alabama. Hinz, O. E., J., 2010. The impact of search and recommendation systems on sales in electronic commerce. Hodson, N. B., T. Egol, M., 2012. Four forces shaping competition in grocery retailing. booz&co. Holbrook, A. L., Jon A. Krosnick, Penny S. Visser, Wendi L. Gardner, and John T., and Cacioppo. 2001. Attitudes toward presidential candidates and political parties: Initial optimism, inertial first impressions, and a focus on flaws. 930-950. Honey, P. M., A., 2006. The learning styles helper's guide. Berks. J. B. Hall, D. M., 2008. The sub-prime crisis, the credit crunch and bank "Failure" : An assessment of the uk authorities' response. Loughborough University.
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Katona, G., 1968. Consumer behavior: Theory and findings on expectations and aspirations. American Economic Review, 58 (2), 19. Kaufman-Scarborugh, C. K., 2002. E-shopping in a multiple channelenvironment. The Journal of Consumer marketing, 19 (4/5), 333-350. Kitromilides, Y., 2012. The 1929 crash and the great recession of 2008. Challenge (05775132), 55 (1), 5-22. Koo, R. C., 2012. The world in balance sheet recession: Causes, cure, and politics. Real world economics review (21). Kotler, P. K., K.L. 2008. Marketing management. upper Saddle: Prentice Hall. Kotz, D. M., 2009. The financial and economic crisis of 2008: A systemic crisis of neoliberal capitalism. Review of Radical Political Economics, 41 (3), 305-317. Krueger, K., and Perri, P., 2010. How do households respond to income shocks? Kumar, N., and Steenkamp, J.-B. E. M., 2007. Private label strategy : How to meet the store brand challenge. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School ; London : McGraw-Hill [distributor] , c2007. Lau, R. R., 1985. Two explanations for negativity effects in political behaviour. American Journal of Political Science, 119-138. Liebmann, W., 2010. Grocers need to remain vigilant. MMR, 27 (8), 24-86. Lockett, A. L., D., 1997. The adoption of direct banking services. Journal of marketing management, 13, 791-811. Lokken, S. L., 2003. Comparing online and non-online shoppers. Journal of consumer studies, 27, 126-133. Malhotra, N. K., and Birks, D. F., 2005. Marketing research: An applied approach. 2 ed. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Matsuno, K., 1997. Consumers as problem solvers. Babson College. Matthews, B., and Ross, L., 2010. Research methods: A practical guide for the social sciences. New York, NY : Pearson Longman, c2010. 1st ed. Menard, S. W., 2008. Handbook of longitudinal research. 1 ed. Amsterdam: Amsterdam. Miller, C., K., and Branscum, P., 2012. Research article: The effect of a recessionary economy on food choice: Implications for nutrition education. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 44, 100-106. Mintel. Online spending habits - uk - february 2011. Available from: http://academic.mintel.com/display/566836/?highlight=true#hit1 [Accessed: 10/03]. Mintel. Online grocery retailing - uk - september 2012. Available from:
academic.mintel.com/display/636604 [Accessed: 10/03]. Moon, J. A., 2004. A handbook of reflective and experiential learning : Theory and practice. RoutledgeFalmer. Morganosky, M. A., 2000a. Consumer response to online grocery shopping. International journal of retail & distribution management, 28 (1), 17-26.
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Morganosky, M. B., J., 2000b. Consumer response to online grocery shopping. International journal of retail & distribution management, 17-26. Myers, M., 2012. Economic review, april 2012 Ocado. 2010. 2010 annual report. Ocado. ONS. 2010. Family spending: A report on the 2010 living costs and food survey. Newport: Office for National Statistics. ONS. 2012a. Internet access - households and individuals. England: ONS. ONS. Labour market statistics, october 2012. Available from: Office for National Statistics.
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/october-2012/index.html [Accessed: 26.10.12]. Ortega, J. A., and P e , N. M., 2009. Recessions : Prospects and developments. Nova
Science Publishers. Park, C. K., Y., 2003. Identifying key factors affecting consumer purchase behaviour in an online shopping context. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 31, 16-29. Petev, I. D., 2011. Social status and cultural consumption. EUROPEAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW, 27 (4), 548-554. Pettinger, T. Great recession v great depression of 1930s. Available from:
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5214/economics/great-recession-v-greatdepression-of-1930s/ [Accessed: 24.10]. Porter, M., 2012. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review: Harvard. Raijas, A. T., V. K., Critical factors in electronic grocery shopping. Rainie, L. S., Aaron. 2009. The internet and the recession. Washington: PewInternet. Ramachandran, K. K., K. Saravana Kumar, M., 2011. Online shopping in the uk. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 10 (12). Ranchhod, A. Z., F., 2001. Comparing respondents of e-mail and mail surveys: Understanding implications of technology. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 19, 254-262. Ring, L. J. T., D.J., 2001. Viewpoint: The decline and fall of internet grocery retailers. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 29 (6), 266-273. Roger, E. A. F., 2012. The stock market crash of 2008 caused the great recession: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 36, 693-707. Rohm, A. J. S., V., 2004. A typology of online shoppers motivations. Journal of Business Research, 57, 748-757. Sarantakos, S., 2005. Social research. 3 ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Saunders, M., 2003. Research methods for business students. Pearson Education. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A., 2007. Research methods for business students. Fourth ed.: Pearson Education Limited.
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Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A., 2009. Research methods for business students / mark saunders, philip lewis, adrian thornhill. Harlow : Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2009. 5th ed. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A., 2012. Research methods for business students. 6 ed. Harlow: Pearson. Schiffman, L. G., Kanuk, L. L., and Hansen, H., 2012. Consumer behaviour : A european outlook. 2nd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2012. Scholz, M., 2010. Implications of consumer information behaviour to construct utility-based reccommender systems. Germany: University of Passau. Sharpe, N. R., De Veaux, R. D., and Velleman, P. F., 2012. Business statistics. 2nd ed. Boston: Addison Wesley. Shier, R., 2004. Statistics: 1.3 the chi-squared test for two-way tables. Shoham, A., 2011. The global recession issue: Introduction-part i. Thunderbird International Business Review, 53 (2), 109-113. Sloman, J., and Wride, A., 2009. Economics / john sloman, alison wride. Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. 7th ed. Solomon, M. R., 2006. Consumer behaviour. Buying, having, spending. 7 ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Teo, T. S. H., 2002. Attitude toward online shopping and the internet. Behaviour & information technology. Tesco. 2012. Annual report and financial statements 2012. Tesco. Thewlis, S. 2011. As supermarkets change their tactics, supermarket shoppers change theirs, Bitter Wallet (Vol. 2013): Bitter Wallet. Verhoef, P. C. L., F., 2001. Possible determinants of consumers' adoption of electronic grocery shopping in netherlands. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 8, 275285. Witmer, D., 1999. From paper to pen to screen to keyboard: Towards a methodology for survey reearch on the internet. Thousand oaks: CA: Sage.
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Appendices
To what extent and why has the post 2007 economic downturn contributed to the adoption of internet grocery shopping.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix A. UK CPI Since 2008
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The chart below shows the consumer price index for the UK from September 2008 to September 2012. The immediate effect of the downturn is seen with the first dip, after a slow recovery a second dip begins post September 2011. This illustrates the term double-dip recession.
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Appendix B. Gantt Chart Showing Research Project Timeline I created a Gantt chart to enable me to organise my time, this made completing the milestones much easier.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix C. Research Stepping Stones
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix D. Form of Consent to Participate in Research
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix E. Definitions and Key Words
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Definitions & Key Words

Topic Recession Definition A period where there is a decline in trade or in the economy. (Collin 2006) Good and services bought by households in the satisfaction of their needs and wants. It includes non-durables such as food, semidurables such as clothing, and durables such as refrigerators. (Business_Directory 2013) A general decline in the performance of an economy. E.g. reduced GDP Relationship to study The research question is specific to post 2007 downturn and subsequent recession. Consumer spending can be the product of the decision-making process. If the consumer completes the process, spending will be the result.
Consumer spending
Economic downturn
Disposable Income
Economy
Inflation
Real income
Real wages
This study focusses on not just the recessionary period post 2007, but economic downturn as a whole. The income left after tax The amount a consumer and national insurance has to spend or save. have been deducted. Also Tends to have a positive called take-home pay. relationship with (Collin 2006) spending. National income minus direct taxes plus transfer payments (Ford 1971) An entire network of Parameters of the UK producers, distributors, economy, in which the and consumers of goods study is focused. and services in a local, regional, or national community. (Business_Dictionary 2013) The percentage increase If inflation rate is higher in the level of prices over than wage increase, real a 12-month period. income is reduced. (Sloman and Wride 2009) Income measured in terms of how much it can buy you. (Sloman and Wride 2009) wages that have been Real wages give a good 62 | P a g e
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H adjusted for changes in the average prices of goods and services (Dolan 1986) Views people as problem solvers who actively use information from the world around them to master their environment (Solomon 2006) large portion of the private sector is actually minimizing debt instead of maximizing profits following the bursting of a nation-wide asset price bubble (Koo 2012) etailer private labels, often referred to as own labels, store brands, or distributor own brand goods (Kumar and Steenkamp 2007) the cost of borrowing, benefit of saving (Hardwick 1999)
Charlie Lennon indication of the spending power of consumers. The Information processing model assumes consumers are problem solvers (cognitive consumers). Richard Koo states that the UK economy is in a balance sheet recession, where consumers are paying down debt instead of spending. Consumers are increasingly seeking store brands (Kumar and Steenkamp 2007) Indicating a decision process in operation. Direct effect on the amount consumers borrow i.e. lower interest rates equal more spending. Subject and dependent variable of the study.
Cognitive learning theory
Balance sheet recession
Private label
Interest rate
Online Grocery Shopping (OGS)
The act of purchasing groceries over the internet.
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Appendix F. UK Disposable income and spending on food & drink
Appendix G. Online Grocers Profiles
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Appendix H. Pilot Questionnaire A pilot questionnaire was used to test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire before distributing it to respondents. This is to ensure the research objectives and hypotheses are fulfilled. Annotations and changed are illustrated below:
Question 1 & 2. This question was necessary to evaluate the demographics of respondents.
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Question 5. This question was important to be used as a dependent variable. espondents who answer yes will be required to answer questions 7,8,9,10 and 11. espondents who answer no will be required to answer questions 12 and 13.
Question 7. Respondents identified that although they may have previously used OGS, they may not want to use it again as they were not satisfied with the service. Therefore three questions were added to indicate respondents satisfaction and likelihood of using OGS again. These can be seen in the final questionnaire format (Appendix 10).
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Question 11. Respondents were unsure how many answers to tick. Therefore a line stating can choose multiple answers was added in the final questionnaire on questions with more than one possible answer.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix I. Final Questionnaire with Amendments
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Below illustrates the final questionnaire with amendments made as a result of the pilot study (see annotations).
Question 5. espondents who answer yes here are asked to complete questions 7,8,9,10,11,12,13 and 14. espondents who answer no here are asked to complete questions 15 and 16.
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Question 7, 8, 9. Changed from pilot, provides an option for respondents who have used OGS but were not satisfied with it.
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Question 11. Changed from pilot, ensures respondents are aware they can tick more than one answer.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix J. SPSS Data Variable View
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Appendix K. Research Iterative Review Table Research Objectives Literature Review Evidence 1. To critically evaluate the Consumer decisions are a key determinant in economic cycles, the two relevant literature and theorists are closely interlinked (Petev 2011). exploring the impact of the post The food industry have benefited from the Great ecession Liebmann 2007 economic downturn on 2010). the online grocery industry, and The UK OGS market is estimated to be worth 6.3bn (Mintel 2012). identify gaps in the literature. E-grocers are channelling more capital into their online divisions, developing their capabilities for anticipated future growth (Clarke 2013). UK online grocery market is still in an early stage of development (Ocado 2010). 2. Conduct primary research to Strong link between unpredictable income shocks and consumption investigate how and why the (Krueger and Perri 2010). economic down has led to the Datamonitor (2010) the recent economic downturn has further aided the adoption of online grocery spread of online shopping. shopping and possible future The main way in which consumers can reduce risk in purchasing is by improvements. increasing their knowledge about the product category (Blythe 1997). E-grocers are providing more information about products and services on their websites (Hays 2011). Consumers are employing strategies to save money on their food bills as a result of the economic downturn in 2008 (Miller and Branscum 2012). One of the most important advances of electronic commerce is the reduction of search costs invested to find an adequate product (Bakos 1997; Hinz 2010). 3. Evaluate the collected data Marketing managers should carefully study steps in decision making to to show how and to what extent understand how consumers obtain information, how they form beliefs, and the post 2007 economic what criteria they use to make product choices (Solomon 2006).
Hypothesis H1: There is no relationship between people who have been affected by the economic downturn and the adoption of OGS. H2: There is no evidence to suggest information and alternatives are the most important factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping.
H3: There is no evidence to suggest possible 73 | P a g e
BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H downturn has led to the adoption of internet grocery shopping and future improvements to the industry.
Charlie Lennon future improvements for the industry.
Marketers can tailor promotional strategies to deliver the types of information customers are most likely to desire (Solomon 2006). Teo (2002) studies about online consumer purchasing behaviour are needed to help companies perfect all aspects of their online retail strategies.
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix L. SPSS Numerical Data View
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Appendix M. Research Design and Hypothesis Relationship Hypothesis H1: There is no relationship between people who have been affected by the economic downturn and the adoption of OGS. H2: There is no evidence to suggest information and alternatives are the most important factors in the adoption of online grocery shopping. Data Quantitative Survey Question Q6: I believe the economic downturn has led to a decrease of my disposable income. Q7: How many times have you used online grocery shopping? Q11: What are the main reasons why you have used online grocery shopping? Q12: I believe online grocery shopping allows me to make more informed purchasing decisions. Q13: I believe online grocery shopping allows me to evaluate alternatives more easily. Q15: What are the main reasons why you have not used online grocery shopping before? Q16: I would be willing to try online grocery shopping if. Review of Question Design Q6: Likert-scale question used to establish how respondent have been impacted by the economic downturn. Q7: Closed-ended question with one answer to determine the level of adoption of OGS. Q11: Closed-ended question with multiple answers to establish motives for using OGS. Q12: Likert-scale question used to determine respondents attitudes about information as a motive for OGS. Q13: Likert-scale question used to investigate evaluation of alternative as a motive for OGS. Q15: Closed-ended question with multiple answers to understand why respondents have not used OGS. Q16: Closed-ended question with multiple answers to establish recommendations for the OGS industry.
Quantitative
H3: There is no evidence to suggest possible future improvements for the industry.
Quantitative
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Appendix N. Cross-tabulation Used OGS vs. Impact of downturn

Impact of Downturn * Used OGS Cross tabulation Used OGS Yes Count Expected Count Strongly Agree % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total Count 15 14.2 75.0% 21.1% 15.0% No 5 5.8 25.0% 17.2% 5.0% 6 11.9 14.6% 20.7% 6.0% 6 5.1 42.9% 20.7% 6.0% 6 4.1 42.9% 20.7% 6.0% 6 5.2 54.5% 20.7% 6.0% 29 29.0 29.0% 100.0% 29.0% 20 20.0 100.0% 20.0% 20.0% 41 41.0 100.0% 41.0% 41.0% 14 14.0 100.0% 14.0% 14.0% 14 14.0 100.0% 14.0% 14.0% 11 11.0 100.0% 11.0% 11.0% 100 100.0 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Total
70.4%
35 29.1 85.4% 49.3% 35.0% 8 9.9 57.1% 11.3% 8.0% 8 9.9 57.1% 11.3% 8.0% 5 7.8 45.5% 7.0% 5.0% 71 71.0 71.0% 100.0% 71.0%
Expected Count Agree % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total Count Expected Count Impact of Downturn Undecided % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total Count Expected Count Disagree % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total Count Expected Count Strongly Disagree % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total Count Expected Count Total % within Impact of Downturn % within Used OGS % of Total
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Appendix O. Chi-Square Tests - Usage of OGS vs. Impact of downturn

Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 10.362
a
4 4 1
.035 .034 .009
10.398 6.860 100
a. 3 cells (30.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 3.19.
Appendix P. Frequency bar Chart - Usage of OGS vs. Impact of Downturn
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix Q. Frequency bar Chart - Q11
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix R. Question 11 Cross-tabulation
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Factors contributing to the use of OGS Convenience Saves Time Websites provide more information Lack of sales pressure Count % within @7.Timesused Once % within $Q11 % of Total Count % within @7.Timesused 2 - 5 times % within $Q11 % of Total Times Used Count % within @7.Timesused 6 - 10 times % within $Q11 % of Total Count More than 10 times % within @7.Timesused % within $Q11 % of Total Count Total % of Total Percentages and totals are based on respondents. 87.1% 42.9% 45.7% 8.6% 14.8% 12.9% 19 90.5% 31.1% 27.1% 61 13.3% 5.7% 10 47.6% 33.3% 14.3% 30 28.1% 12.9% 8 38.1% 25.0% 11.4% 32 16.7% 1.4% 1 4.8% 16.7% 1.4% 6 9 81.8% 4 36.4% 9 81.8% 1 9.1% 45.9% 40.0% 50.0% 21.4% 43.8% 20.0% 66.7% 5.7% 8.2% 7.1% 28 84.8% 3.3% 1.4% 15 45.5% 3.1% 1.4% 14 42.4% 0.0% 0.0% 4 12.1% 5 100.0% 1 20.0% 1 20.0% 0 0.0%
Total Easier to find deals Good for comparing alternatives 1 2 40.0% 15.4% 2.9% 5 15.2% 38.5% 7.1% 3 27.3% 23.1% 4.3% 3 14.3% 23.1% 4.3% 13 18.6% 2 40.0% 5.9% 2.9% 16 48.5% 47.1% 22.9% 8 72.7% 23.5% 11.4% 8 38.1% 23.5% 11.4% 34 48.6% 30.0% 70 100.0% 15.7% 21 47.1% 11 7.1% 33 5
Saves money
20.0% 4.3% 1.4% 13 39.4% 56.5% 18.6% 3 27.3% 13.0% 4.3% 6 28.6% 26.1% 8.6% 23 32.9%
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Appendix S. Question 15 Frequency Table

$Whynot Frequencies Responses N Inadequate security online Unreliable delivery Hard to locate items online Incomplete information on Why not used OGS
a
Percent of Cases 10.3% 34.5% 20.7% 13.8% 17.2% 75.9% 24.1% 51.7% 248.3%
Percent 3 10 6 4 5 22 7 15 72 4.2% 13.9% 8.3% 5.6% 6.9% 30.6% 9.7% 20.8% 100.0%
websites Lack of human contact Prefer to see groceries Does not save me money Enough time to physically shop
Total a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1.
Appendix T. Question 16 Frequency Table

$May use OGS if Frequencies Responses N Better online security A drive-through pick up service was available It was cheaper There was more information May use if on websites Easier price comparison between e-grocers Easier to use websites More reliable delivery service Total a. Dichotomy group tabulated at value 1. 4 7 16 4 Percent 7.0% 12.3% 28.1% 7.0% Percent of Cases 13.8% 24.1% 55.2% 13.8% 41.4% 17.2% 31.0% 196.6%
12 5 9 57
21.1% 8.8% 15.8% 100.0%
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Appendix U. Question 14 Frequency Table

Saves money Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Valid Disagree Strongly Disagree Total Missing Total System 8 1 71 29 100 8.0 1.0 71.0 29.0 100.0 11.3 1.4 100.0 98.6 100.0 4 46 12 4.0 46.0 12.0 5.6 64.8 16.9 5.6 70.4 87.3
Appendix V. Maslows Hierarchy of needs
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix W. Learning style survey
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BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Appendix X. Learning Style Survey Results
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Appendix Y. Personal SWOT Analysis Strengths

Academic writing Work ethos Communication Information seeker Confidence Organisation Work/Social balance
Weaknesses
Prioritising work High Expectations SPSS software Sometimes act too quickly
Opportunities
Expansion of academic knowledge Using skills to gain a job Pass knowledge on to others.
Threats
Procrastination Word limit Time-scale Work/Education balance
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Final Dissertation - Charlie Lennon

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TO WHAT EXTENT AND WHY HAS THE POST 2007 ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CONTRIBUTED TO THE ADOPTION OF ONLINE GROCERY

Charlie David Lennon

Submitted for: BA (Hons) Business Studies Bournemouth University

Date of Submission: 22/04/2013

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.0 Literature Review ..................................................................................... 11

3.0 Methodology ............................................................................................ 29

4.0 Research Findings and Analysis.............................................................. 38 4|Page

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

4.1 Findings ........................................................................................................ 38 4.2 Analysis......................................................................................................... 40

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

1.2 Research Aim

1.3 Research Objectives

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.0 Literature Review

Macroeconomic indicators Austerity Measures

Reasons for slow adoption

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.2 The Post 2007 Crisis

2.3 Internet grocery shopping industry

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

Figure 5 - Online sales compared to total revenues

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 6 - UK Household Spending

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.4 Consumer Behaviour

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H 2.4.1 Decision-Making Model

Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

Figure 9 - Post purchase process Low involvement

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.5 Literature Review Conclusion

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

2.6 Research Hypothesis

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H Figure 10 - Hypothetical Framework

Disposable Income Reasons for Adoption

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

3.2 Research Philosophies

Data Collection Method

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

Figure 12 - Differences between deductive and inductive approaches

3.4 Research Strategies

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

Figure 13 - Research strategies

3.5 Time Horizon

3.6 Data Collection techniques

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

3.7 Secondary Research

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

3.8 Primary Research

3.9 Questionnaire Design

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

3.10 Pilot Study

3.11 Reliability & Validity

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H

Researchers & Community Research Project

BA (Hons) Business Studies with Economics Level H