Data-Driven Consumer Study Assignment
Consumer Insights Assignment #1 – Data-Driven Consumer Study
The purpose of this assignment is to help students understand the value and importance of data in the study of consumer behavior. This is an individual assignment and must be completed entirely on your own.
- Choose a data-driven consumer phenomenon to examine. This phenomenon can be based on one of the following:
- You observe some aspect of consumer behavior for a period of time and record your observations in a systematic way. For example, you observe the process by which consumers choose from among different ice cream flavors at an ice cream store, the activities that commuters do while waiting for their bus/train to arrive at a bus stop/station, or the factors that affect how shoppers choose between the human checkout option or the self-service checkout option at a supermarket.
- You hear or read from the news about a consumer trend or development that has emerged. For example, consumers may have been more likely to shop via their mobile phones rather than in physical stores, use recyclable cups in order to support environmental sustainability in recent years, or prefer to travel solo instead of in groups or with their families for their overseas vacations.
You may define consumer phenomenon broadly or narrowly. Note that as a marketer it is important to understand elements of consumer behavior including awareness, search, information gathering, use, consumption, and even disposal. The phenomenon that you choose to study could apply to all consumers in general or to a particular segment (or segments) of consumers. So be creative. Put yourself in the shoes of a business that is trying to understand and improve some element of its product or service, or a (public) policymaker who is hoping to understand some aspect of people’s daily lives in order to enhance the general well-being of residents.
- Collect primary and/or secondary data to substantiate the consumer phenomenon of your choice. If you choose to collect primary observational data, be prepared to spend at least 30 minutes to observe and make notes. Alternatively, you could collect secondary (or archival) data from published media, company reports, and/or other available sources. If relevant, you could also use both primary and secondary data in your investigation.
Note: If you choose to collect primary observational data in-person, it is imperative that as a representative of the National University of Singapore that you collect data in an ethical manner. You must adhere to safe-distancing regulations as well as respect individuals’ privacy particularly in situations where privacy is expected.
- Write a brief report (no more than 2 double-spaced pages, 12-point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins) that summarizes your observations. This report should contain three elements:
- What was the consumer phenomenon that you chose to study and what was the method that you used in your study?
- What did you learn about the phenomenon?
Provide at least three insights of practical significance (for consumers/managers/policymakers) based on what you learnt from the primary/secondary data that you collected. Your description should include:
- A clear description of the insight (i.e., “what?”)
- Your hypotheses about potential explanations or underlying causes (i.e., “why?”)
- Implications of the insight (e.g., potential solutions or opportunities that consumers/managers/policymakers can implement) (i.e., “so what?”)
- In general, what did you learn about data-driven consumer studies?
For example, you may wish to comment on how you think you may have introduced errors into your study given the method(s) that you used, and how you might conduct your study differently if you were to do it again, perhaps with more resources.