Shopping Preferences in the USA

Posted: September 9th, 2013

Shopping Preferences in the USA

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Shopping Preferences in the USA

Introduction

Americans have a rich shopping culture whether it is clothes, shoes, home appliances, grocery or other luxurious products. The retail industry records huge turnovers in their annual reports. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Shop-by-Shop are among the country’s largest stores. Large corporations have a significant impact on their customers’ choice. It is disputed whether this impact is good or bad. Retail corporations rely on the outlook of their services and consumer preference to attract customers. Shopping preferences among most Americans are influenced by factors like price, trademark, luxury, class and quality. With the introduction of e-retail, retail sales are set to increase by 16% by 2016 according to a Forrester Research, further increasing profits for retail stores (Rueter, 2012). Changes are also reported among the consumer trends with some opting not to shop at stores where the working environment is poor. Majority of students at San Diego State University also shop at large corporations with some citing trademark, reputation of the corporate and advertising as some of their reasons. Some are even relying on garage sales and the farmers market as their main shopping zones. However, there are differences among the students, as some prefer to shop at local stores because of the lowered prices and convenience while others shop for different things at different stores with no specific store in mind. This paper purposes to assert some of the reasons the students prefer the large stores like WalMart and their basis for such choices.

Methods

We conducted a survey in order to find conclusive answers to these crucial questions. Students at San Diego State University were the primary participants. We targeted different students from different class levels, ethnic background and different ages. Participating candidates were of both genders. Students were the ages of 19 and 26 inclusive of international students from Africa, Europe and Asia. Most of the questions sought the opinion of the students. The survey consists of eight questions both closed and open end. The first part of the questionnaire has five questions, which are open. This was done in order to reduce limitations to the correspondent who may have a broader perspective on the topic. Part two of the questionnaire comprised of closed queries using a scale analysis to establish absolute answers. Part one of the questionnaires categorized the respondents into: the year they are in, where they bought their products, their desired store, motives for choice with how often they frequented the store.

One of the questions was a close question on whether or not they preferred to shop at a large corporation. We chose to put a scale of 1-5 to establish how the students rank to highlight their feelings towards WalMart and other similar stores. Five was a representation of complete agreement while one to show total disagreement. The questions included; whether WalMart treat their employees well, if they had cheap and quality products and whether such corporations have everything the participant needs. Final data would be classified on these questions. WalMart was used as the main brand and example because most of the students would identify with it. This method was targeting to express the views of students and their presumption about major corporations and stores like WalMart. Conducting the survey around the school with different people of economic and social backgrounds gives a wide assortment of information. Information obtained through this methodology is also relatively accurate.

Reference

Reuter, T. (February 27 2012). E-Retail Spending to Increase 62% by 2016. Internet Retailer. Retrieved from www.internetretailer.com.