Consumer Behavior Towards Kiosks

Research Objective

We evaluated a market research study involving regret and low variety related to kiosks purchases. We evaluated the results with an SPSS program in order to prove our analysis. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and opinions regarding kiosk retailers. In particular, this study investigates the relationships between risk seeking and attitudes as well as the relationship between gender behavior and low assortment.

Introduction

It is December 23rd and the malls are filled with last minute Christmas shoppers. The shoppers may ask themselves where they are going to shop. Should or shouldn’t they go to their usual department store? The lines are treacherous, and time is definitely an issue the day before Christmas Eve. These last minute shoppers may decide to shop at an easy to access kiosk. From November-December, kiosks earn 80% of their annual profit. Kiosk shopping allows last minute holiday shoppers to buy the gifts they need.

Kiosks have a great impact on consumer behavior. First of all, a kiosk is defined in three different ways according to Ask.com. The definition most valuable to a market research study would be, “a small structure, often open one or more sides, used as a newsstand or booth.” Each year, consumers spend 10 billion dollars on retail products sold at kiosks. These retail products are sold at various kiosks in malls, airports, subway stations, and resorts. Kiosks also have a great impact on consumers because they are easy to access, and consumers can make quick purchases. Kiosks contribute anywhere from 10-15% of a malls annual revenue as well. This generates even more annual income for a mall.

History

The first kiosk was built by the Seljuks, Persians, in the mid 1400’s. The Turkish were the next group to build a kiosk, and that is who he English first encountered a kiosk from the Turkish. The Turkish defined kiosks as “pavilions” and used them as summerhouses. Lady Wortley Montagu adapted the idea of a kiosk to England in the early 1700’s. The English used kiosks in their gardens and parks serving beverages and coffee. Soon after, tourists’ information was available at kiosks in England. The French also adopted the idea and used kiosks to sell newspapers.

Kiosk Growth

The kiosk industry is rapidly growing, especially in North America. One can purchase a wide range of products from a kiosk Sunglasses, cell phones, and even computers can be bought at a kiosk. They are easy to set up and display items as well for the retailer. The following figure illustrates the current as well as the expected growth of kiosk retailers by 2009. By examining this figure, one can understand the major dominance the North American kiosk retail industry has and what great potential it has.

Figure 1: Worldwide Kiosk Installed Base and Projections, 2006-09

Research Method and Design

The research method used for this study was conclusive research. Conclusive research allows a decision maker to conclude, evaluate, and choose the best action to take for a given scenario. Causal research was then used to decide the cause and effect relationship between two of the variables. The cause is measured as an independent variable, and the effect is measured as a dependant variable. In this situation, high risk and low variety were the two variables being evaluated. This type of approach allows the researcher to decide on a conclusion. Causal research will not give a vague conclusion. A multi-item scale was used in this kiosk survey, which measures a range of opinions by a respondent. The scales used in this survey ranged from 1-7 and 1-9.

Each Market Research 400 group was given a specific scenario involving sunglasses purchased at a kiosk. Group 12 was assigned a regret/low variety survey. This written survey was handed out to various respondents to answer questions using their best judgment. The scenario read as follows:

Imagine that Joe is on the market for a new pair of sunglasses. He was just going to buy a new pair of sunglasses at a kiosk in his local mall. The kiosk he chose sells only four brands of sunglasses and about two different styles for each brand. He selected a suitable pair of sunglasses and purchased them from the kiosk. At the time, he was quite happy and satisfied with his purchase decision.

However, a couple of days later, the pair of sunglasses broke unexpectedly. He was quite upset and regrets his choice of retailer. Now, he feels he should have bought a pair of sunglasses from a different retailer instead of the sunglasses kiosk he chose.

Participants

The participants in this study were randomly chosen by the UNLV market researchers. Each researcher chose ten participants to give the survey to. The surveys were given to the respondents at their homes, work, or on campus. Most of the respondents were college students, family members as well as friends of the market researchers. The age range was 19-46 years of age. Also, there were 16 male respondents and 16 female respondents.

Survey Errors

There are certain factors that affected the way in which the respondents answered the market research survey involving kiosks. First of all, one major complaint from numerous respondents was the exact wording of the survey. People felt that they were answering the same question more than once and began to doubt their response to the question. They felt that is was in some way a trick question, and they began to overanalyze a basic question. Also, some respondents did not like the order in which the multi-item scales were set up. The fact that some scales were demonstrated in a 1-7 order and 1-9 flustered some respondents. There should have been consistency with the scale range. Also involving the set-up, several people wanted them to be demonstrated vertically as opposed to horizontally.

Defined Constructs

This survey was categorized by several different constructs. A construct is the characteristic in the survey that must be measured. It allows a researcher to develop a survey that is well organized. The following list involves the constructs used in the survey.

Section I:

1. Attitude