III Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2011

Abstract:  Every day all people interact with many kinds of advertising activity in the supermarkets. Some of the activities provoke people into committing impulse purchases. If the customers are pleased with the goods they purchase in such a manner, they often continue using the brand, thus the customers loyalty being founded by the advertiser through the impulse purchase. The present article aims to study what types of  advertising activities are most well-remembered and potent in making people commit impulse purchases. In frames of the research, a questionnaire has been developed, and the opinions of Krasnoyarsk supermarkets customers have been studied. Based on the research data collected, practical recommendations for advertisers have been formulated.

Keywords: advertising, impulse purchase, questioning, supermarket, customer, loyalty.

Introduction

What advertising means make people commit impulse purchase?

Finding the most efficient media for advertisement placing is a general problem all companies face. New means seem to be added almost daily, the existing media being constantly transformed, and the consumer response to both new and existing advertising means isnt constant either. While the amount of media options increases, advertisers now expect to see the detailed, quantifiable results for their marketing and advertising efforts that demonstrate a positive return on their investments, a positive turn for their brands reputation via increase of its customers loyalty.

Marketers in companies of all sizes and in all industries recognize and invest in advertising as a potential competitive tool. Industry experts point to the fact that company management considers advertising a key to driving sales and building both brand value and market share. To the average person, however, advertising is much less clearly understood or valued. The general public attitude toward advertising is ambivalent. At best, an average man considers advertising amusing, informative, helpful. Advertising often helps consumers to see possibilities and meanings in the goods they buy and in the services they use. It can connect goods and services to the culture and liberate meanings that lie below the surface. Good advertising can turn simple goods into global brands and important cultural possessions. For instance, Coca-Cola introduced advertisement with Santa Claus, and that alone helped to turn this fairytale character into a nearly universally recognized cultural icon resulting in almost the same for the brand itself. This is a good example of how advertisement made the brand recognizable worldwide.

Advertisement has become part of our culture and language. It plays a key role in world trade and in our lives and at the same time it can be entertaining and interesting for customers.

Considering all the versatility of advertisement as well as current competitive conditions one must know how to properly choose advertising means, those being incredibly diverse.

As soon as advertisers think they have a grip on the variety of media available to them, some exchange makes it even more obvious that they dont.

Advertisement on TV, radio and in mass media goes background. More and more of the new advertising means appear almost daily to offer the advertisers new possibilities for arranging their goods advertisement. So, what is the best way to reach ones audience?

There are goods which require some help to be provided for the customers in their choice of this or that brand, and there are goods requiring even more of that since these goods are bought not according to predefined purchase plan but impulsively, right due to the presence of specific means of promotion in the shops, aimed to convince the customers to commit impulse purchases.

 

 

 

Materials and Methods

This paper aims to examine the opinion of supermarket visitors in Krasnoyarsk on the different types of advertising media used in the supermarkets as well as the influence of these media on the customers eagerness to commit impulse buy. The research will be helpful for the advertisers in determining the ways of efficient sales promotion.

To achieve the aims set for this study, the following problems were to be solved in frames of the research.

• 1. Studying different advertising means used in the supermarkets.
• 2. Studying the customers opinion on different advertising means.
• 3. Collecting data on the reasons of committing impulse buy by the customers.
• 4. Determining those advertising means in the supermarkets which are most efficient in stimulating the customers eagerness to commit impulse buy.

There are many definitions of advertising, and this paper will use the most popular definition first suggested by George E. Belch and Michael A. Belch who saw it as follows: advertising is any form of non-personal communication about an organization, product or idea by any identified sponsor.

The following hypothesis has been accepted as a basis for the research: at present, most efficient in stimulating the supermarket customers in Krasnoyarsk to commit impulse buy are non-standard advertising means, those the customers are unfamiliar with, those not fitting in any patterns known to the customers. No less important for such means is their ability to draw positive emotions.

For carrying out the research, the most popular approach (for this type of research) - questioning - has been used. The type of questioning utilized was individual questioning. This type of questioning allows acquiring the research data in short terms. The questioning was carried out in written form and via the Internet. The questioning is a low-cost research method, with both time and financial expenses being minimal. When the described type of questioning is carried out, there is no influence of the interviewer on the respondent. This results in the data acquired being reliable. The questioning has been carried out among the Krasnoyarsk supermarkets customers of different social layers, age and gender. The sampling size is 40 persons.

For carrying out the questioning, a questionnaire has been developed,  including questions on the qualitatively-quantitative characteristics of the research subject:

• - closed non-alternative direct questions;
• - half-closed non-alternative direct questions.

The questionnaire is presented in Appendix 1.

 

Results and Discussion

The customers questioned were asked 11 questions. The data acquired as a result of the questioning allows concluding on the following.

The questioning covered 40 respondents. 20% (8 persons) of those are men, 80% (32 persons) are women. Overwhelming majority of the respondents - 70% (28 persons) - are young people aged between 20 and 30.

The respondents were asked how often they visit supermarkets. More than half of the respondents (60%) visit supermarkets 2 to 3 times per week, 20% of the respondents - once a week and another 20% - every day. The data also indicates how frequently the customers are exposed to the advertisement. To understand the reaction of the respondents on the advertising means presented in the supermarkets, the second question of the questionnaire has been asked.

None of the respondents expressed completely negative reaction, 40% of those being indifferent to any advertisement, 35% turned out to be interested in the information provided by the advertisement, especially when some new events not known to the respondents before occur, and 10% of the respondents appeared to like the advertisement in supermarkets. Based on the acquired data, the following conclusion has been made: visitors of supermarkets in Krasnoyarsk are open communicators to advertising messages. As for the remaining 15% of the respondents, those consider advertisement in the supermarkets stereotyped, not interesting, thus the assumption that these respondents may change their replies if new, interesting advertising means appear in the supermarkets they visit.

The third question was whether the respondents consider the presence of advertisement in supermarkets a necessary option. All the respondents replies were positive. The data indicates that the customers understand the advertisement being an integral part of commerce.

The following question - "What advertising means presented in supermarkets can you recall?" - allows concluding on the advertising means most known to the customers, assuming those means did not remain unnoticed by the customers and were remembered by them. Advertising stickers and constructions on the shelves with goods are the most remembered advertising means, those recollected by the majority of the respondents (75%). More than half of the respondents - 55% - recollected production layout on special platforms in central areas of the supermarkets - the so-called pallet layout. All the other advertising means were also mentioned by the respondents.

Similar results data were acquired for the question concerning advertising activities occurring in the supermarkets.

As for the question whether the respondents happen to buy something they did not plan to buy while going to a supermarket, the majority of the respondents admitted their inclination to the impulse buys.

Respondents replies to question 7 allowed to conclude that the most efficient advertising activity in the supermarkets is "gift for purchase". 45% of the respondents admitted that this kind of advertising activity led to their committing impulse purchase buy. 5% of the respondents mentioned the option "Other: probably something unusual" meaning non-standard advertising activities.

The following three questions were aimed at determining the advertising means most desired by the customers as well as efficient in stimulating impulse buys. The hypothesis on high efficiency of non-standard advertisement in the supermarkets and increased interest of the customers in such advertising means has been confirmed: half of the respondents were confident that such advertisement is appealing for them and they would like to see it in the supermarkets.

 

Conclusion

The research allowed to study customers attitude to different kinds of advertisement in the supermarkets of Krasnoyarsk.

During the research, various advertising means have been analysed affecting the customers decision to commit impulse purchase. The hypothesis on high efficiency of non-standard advertisement in the supermarkets and increased interest of the customers in such advertising means has been confirmed: half of the respondents were confident that such advertisement is appealing for them and they would like to see it in the supermarkets.

Based on the research data collected, the following recommendation for advertisers and advertising agencies can be formulated: to stimulate impulse buys in Krasnoyarsk supermarkets and lay foundation for customers loyalty to the advertised brands, it is appropriate to develop non-standard advertising campaigns including elements of the most efficient advertising activity - gift for purchase.

I myself, working for "ONYX" Marketing Communications, am planning to use the acquired information when making up commercial proposals to the clients.

Appendix 1

Questions and Replies

• 1. How often do you visit supermarkets?
• a) once per month - 0%,
• b) 2-3 times per week - 60%,
• c) once per week - 20%,
• d) every day - 20%.
• 2. What is your attitude towards the advertising means presented in the supermarkets you visit?
• a) I like that there are various kinds of advertisement in the supermarkets - 10%,
• b) Im interested when I see vivid, unusual advertisement in the supermarkets - 35%,
• c) Im indifferent to any kinds of advertisement - 40%,
• d) Advertisement in the supermarkets is stereotyped, nothing new appears there - 15%,
• e) I dislike all advertisement - 0%.
• 3. Do you consider advertisement necessary for all companies and firms?
• a) Yes - 100%,
• b) No - 0%,
• c) Hard to say - 0%
• 4. What advertising means in the supermarkets can you recollect now?
• a) Advertising labels on the shelves - 75%,
• b) Advertising stickers on the floor - 45%,
• c) Goods layout in the middle of the hall - 55%
• d) Advertising posters on the walls - 40%,
• e) Branded individual advertising means - 55%,
• f) Other (probably something unusual) - 10%.
• 5. What types of the advertising activities that you have seen in the supermarkets can you recollect?
• a) Tasting - 24%,
• b) Gift for purchase - 55%,
• c) Sampling - 18%,
• d) Consulting - 16%,
• e) Advertising leaflets handout - 21%,
• f) Other - 0%.
• 6. Does it ever happen that you go to the supermarket to buy some specific goods and suddenly buy something you were not planning to buy?
• a) Yes - 95%,
• b) No - 5%.
• 7. If you happened to commit impulse buys in the past, what kinds of advertising activities made you commit those? (Open question)
• a) Tasting - 9%,
• b) Gift for purchase - 35%,
• c) Sampling - 4%,
• d) Consulting - 9%,
• e) Advertising leaflets handout - 9%,
• f) Other - 5%.
• 8. Would it be interesting for you if instead of seeing standard posters or promoters at the supermarket entrance you were approached by Ded Moroz who would chat with you about the movie he watched on the weekend or by a crazy squirrel on skaters who would ask you how long ago did you eat hazelnuts?
• a) Yes, I like such activities - 50%,
• b) I dont care - 25%,
• c) Its all advertising! Im tired of all the advertising - 15%,
• d) I wouldnt like to meet such nonsense in the supermarkets I visit - 10%.
• 9. What is your opinion, would unusual advertising activities like those described in the previous question promote sales of the products advertised by fairytale characters?
• a) I think so - 60%,
• b) I think not - 25%,
• c) I dont know - 15%.
• 10. Are you male or female?
• a) Male - 8,
• b) Female - 32
• 11. What is your age?
• a) 20-30 - 70%,
• b) 31-40 - 20%,
• c) 41-50 - 20%,

50 and older - 5%.

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