Impact Of Online Shopping Sites On High Street Malls And Shops: A Study

Task 1: Planning the Survey

In the current era, the business organisations function in the competitive environment for which it has become difficult for them to sustain competitive advantage in the market and as a result, decline could be observed in their efficiency levels. Moreover, the management is required to undertake certain decisions associated with all the departments and growth of the organisations. Hence, decisions are required to be undertaken at all levels of management, which include tactical, strategic and operational level. Along with this, without evaluating the market conditions, it becomes difficult for an organisation in undertaking suitable decisions and this might act as hurdle in fulfilling the set targets and objectives (Choy 2014). For this current paper, the high street malls and shops are taken into consideration and the aim is to analyse the impact of online shopping sites on them. This is due to the changes in attitudes, tastes and preferences of the customers in relation to purchase intentions and through this, such malls and shops could undertake suitable decisions (Panneerselvam 2014). This study covers several tasks like designing plan for collecting primary as well as secondary data, survey methodology and others. The overall structure of this assignment is designed in the form of a figure as follows:

Figure 1: Information process chart of the research

(Source: As created by author)

a) Data collection plan:

For making suitable decisions, it is essential for gathering information from primary as well as secondary sources so that the retail firms operating in high street malls and shops could enhance their overall market performance. The focus of these organisations is to differentiate their products and services from the online shopping sites. The primary stress of the management is to improve the efficiency, capture overall growth and steer the top line (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Hence, by considering primary as well as secondary data, the organisations could understand the customer perceptions regarding their shopping behaviours.

Plan for collection of primary data:

In order to gather primary data, the online survey technique has been taken into account and well-structured and close-ended questionnaire has been designed. This would help in understanding the attitudes and tastes of the customers towards their purchasing intentions from the online platforms. The researcher has framed 10 questions including age and gender group of the participants and Likert scale has been used for conducting the overall research. Due to all these primary reasons, the accumulation of primary data is considered highly effective and this would lead to the achievement of intended objectives and targets (Mackey and Gass 2015).

Plan for collection of secondary data:

In order to gather secondary information, references are made from the published books, journals and statistical websites. Moreover, the industry reports are taken into consideration as well to identify the trends of the customers towards online shopping (Flick 2015). All such information accumulated would help the retail stores to undertake effective decisions so that their sales revenues are increased in the market.

b) Survey methodology and sampling frame used:

Task 3: Presenting and Reporting Your Findings

Survey methodology:

In order to carry out the survey effectively, the campus students from various colleges and universities of UK are taken into consideration. The primary goal of conducting this survey is to ascertain the attitudes, behaviours and preferences of the customers towards online shopping in contrast to the retail shops operating in UK (Silverman 2016). Along with this, in order to carry out online survey, the students of UK are contacted via e-mail with the designed set of questions. Hence, with the help of this survey methodology, it is possible to collect suitable primary information which could support in meeting the objective of the research as well (Vaioleti 2016).

Sampling frame:

Sampling frame is related to choosing the sample size from which the data needs to be accumulated. In order to collect information, probability sampling in the form of simple random sampling has been used, in which every student has the equal opportunity of being chosen in order to provide information regarding their choice of platforms for purchasing products (Ledford and Gast 2018). The sample size of 30 students has been chosen irrespective of all ages. Hence, by considering the students of various campuses in UK, exact and up-to-date information could be gathered through which suitable business decisions could be undertaken (Humphries 2017).

c) Questionnaire for data collection:

1. Tick your gender:

• Male
• Female

2. Tick your age group:

• Less than 18 years
• 18-25 years
• 26-35 years
• 36-45 years
• 46 and above

3. Which product(s) do you prefer to shop frequently?

• Groceries
• Cosmetics
• CDs/DVDs
• Clothes
• Computer Products
• Others

4. What platform do you use to purchase products?

• Online shopping sites
• High street shops and malls

5. How often do you use internet in a day?

• Less than one hour
• 1-2 hours
• 2-3 hours
• 3-4 hours
• More than 4 hours

6. Are you satisfied with the pricing structure of the products available in the online shopping sites?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

7. Are you contented with the quality of the products and services provided to you by the online shopping sites?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

8. Do you receive any discount offers more than the retail stores in online shopping sites?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

9. Do you think that the product lines offered by the online shopping sites are diversified in contrast to the traditional retail stores?

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

10. What factors have motivated you to engage in frequent online purchases?

• Availability of diversified range of products
• Product quality
• Pricing structure
• Service delivery
• All of the above

a) Analysis using measures of central tendency:

For evaluating the responses obtained with the help of representative values, certain measures of central tendency are used, which include mean, median and mode.

Particulars	Pricing structure	Product quality	Discount offers	Product lines	Average
Mean	2.23	2.07	2.30	2.20	2.20
Median	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.00	2.00
Mode	2.00	1.00	1.00	2.00	1.50

Table 1: Data analysis using measures of central tendency

(Source: As created by author)

From the above table, mean is used, since it enables in minimising the errors while estimating any specific value in the data set. Along with this, it is the only measure of central tendency, in which the overall deviations from each value from mean is equal to zero. Both the average mean of 2.20 and median of 2.00 indicates the location of the centre of data (Simonsohn, Nelson and Simmons 2017). In this case, it could be stated that every 1 out of two customers lay stress on the above-stated factors to make purchase decision. The modal value depicts that every 1 out of 1.5 students provide adequate importance on product quality and discount offers for making purchase decisions. Due to the slight skewness of the collected data, the mean value of the data set is greater than the median set. Hence, based on the evaluation of the measures of central tendency, it is necessary for the retail stores operating high streets and malls to consider all these factors for maintaining their competitive advantage over the online shopping sites (Wiek and Lang 2016).

Task 4: Software-generated Information to Make Business Decisions

b) Analysis of the survey results:

1. Tick your gender:

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Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
Female	13	43.33%
Male	17	56.67%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 1: Gender of the campus students

(Source: As created by author)

From the above table, it could be evaluated that most of the students that are engaged in purchasing retail products are male in contrast to the female students. Thus, it could be stated that the male students are more interested to purchase retail products from different platforms.

2. Tick your age group:

Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
18-25 years	6	20.00%
26-35 years	11	36.67%
36-45 years	5	16.67%
46 and above	4	13.33%
Less than 18 years	4	13.33%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 2: Age group of the students

(Source: As created by author)

Based on the above table, it could be evaluated that most of the students that purchase retail products from online platforms and malls fall between the age group of 26 years and 35 years. This shows that the mature adults are more prone towards buying the retail products for fulfilling their personal needs and desires.

3. Which product(s) do you prefer to shop frequently?

Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
CDs/DVDs	5	16.67%
Clothes	7	23.33%
Computer Products	4	13.33%
Cosmetics	4	13.33%
Groceries	10	33.33%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 3: Product preference of the students

(Source: As created by author)

From the above table, it has been observed that most of the students are involved in purchasing grocery items from the retail platforms followed by clothes along with CDs and DVDs. This denotes that the retail organisations need to increase the stocks of these products for coping up with the rising customer demand.

4. What platform do you use to purchase products?

Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
High street shops and malls	11	36.67%
Online shopping sites	19	63.33%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 4: Platform used in purchasing products

(Source: As created by author)

In accordance with the above table, it could be observed that most of the respondents use online shopping sites for purchasing retail products. This might be due to the fact that these sites deliver products at the convenient locations of the customers at lower prices and the quality of the products is ensured to meet the requirements of the customers (Baker 2018).

5. How often do you use internet in a day?

Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
1-2 hours	2	6.67%
2-3 hours	6	20.00%
3-4 hours	9	30.00%
Less than one hour	4	13.33%
More than 4 hours	9	30.00%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 5: Time spent on internet in a day

(Source: As created by author)

The above table clearly inherits the fact that majority of the students’ uses internet for above 4 hours in a day. This implies that the students come across various advertisements while surfing the internet and this has attracted their attention to purchase retail goods from the online sites.

6. Are you satisfied with the pricing structure of the products available in the online shopping sites?

7. Are you contented with the quality of the products and services provided to you by the online shopping sites?

8. Do you receive any discount offers more than the retail stores in online shopping sites?

9. Do you think that the product lines offered by the online shopping sites are diversified in contrast to the traditional retail stores?

Particulars	Responses	Responses	Responses	Responses
Strongly Agree	10	12	11	9
Agree	10	10	8	11
Neutral	4	3	5	6
Disagree	5	4	3	3
Strongly Disagree	1	1	3	1

Table 6: Preference of the students in terms of pricing structure, product quality, discount offers and product lines

(Source: As created by author)

From the above table, it is evident that the campus students are highly satisfied with the pricing structure, product quality, discount offers and product lines that the online shopping sites offer to them. This poses a serious problem for the retail stores in relation to their revenue and profit margin, as most of their customers are drawn towards purchasing products from the online platform (Sikavica et al. 2014).

Data Collection Plan

10. What factors have motivated you to engage in frequent online purchases?

Options	Responses	Percentage of responses
All of the above	10	33.33%
Availability of diversified range of products	9	30.00%
Pricing structure	5	16.67%
Product quality	3	10.00%
Service delivery	3	10.00%
Grand Total	30	100.00%

Table 7: Motivational factors for the students

(Source: As created by author)

The above table clearly highlights the fact that presence of wide range of products pricing structure service delivery and product quality play a significant part for buying products from the online platform. Hence, the retail stores in malls and high streets need to focus on redesigning their business strategies for increasing their profit level in future (Gong et al. 2018).

c) Analysis using measures of dispersion:

Particulars	Pricing structure	Product quality	Discount offers	Product lines
Standard Deviation	1.19	1.17	1.34	1.10
Sample Variance	1.43	1.37	1.80	1.20
Range	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00

The measures of dispersion help in understanding the variability in numbers and overall rate through which the elements could be distributed (García-Peñalvo and Conde 2014). Various techniques are present based on which the measure of dispersion of the above factors could be ascertained easily. Moreover, standard deviation and variance are considered as the most beneficial measure, since they would help in identifying the trends and patterns of behaviour of the customers (Stine and Foster 2017). Based on the calculation, it has been found that the standard deviation and variance of all the factors are above 1. A SD above 1 is always risky, since there is a high probability of suffering significant loss, if the expectations of the customers are not matched appropriately. From the above-computed standard deviation and variance, it could be said that if the organisation decides to compromise on any of the above-mentioned factors, drastic impact could be observed in terms of sales revenue. This is because the customers would switch over to the competitors and fall in the profit margin is expected to occur. Another statistical tool used to evaluate the responses is range, which is the difference between maximum value and minimum value in a data set. Since the range value is obtained, it indicates greater dispersion in the data set. Thus, the retail stores operating in UK could focus on enhancing these factors by undertaking appropriate actions to increase their sales margin (Solomon et al. 2014).

d) Use of percentiles, quartiles and correlation coefficient to draw useful conclusion:

Particulars	Pricing structure	Product quality	Discount offers	Product lines
Quartile 1 (25th Percentile)	1	1	1	1
Quartile 3 (75th Percentile)	3	3	3	3
90th Percentile	4	4	4.1	4

	Pricing structure	Product quality	Discount offers	Product lines
Pricing structure	1
Product quality	0.899619941	1
Discount offers	0.728825552	0.77526	1
Product lines	0.832860369	0.82154	0.89541	1

Quartile denotes division of data into groups, in which each group undertakes equal values. In addition, percentile segregates big set of information into 100 identical parts (Ruppert 2014). The quartile computation helps in ascertaining the variability in each stated factor. From the first quartile, it could be stated that all the customers below the 25% data set are satisfied with the overall strategies of the organisations. However, in accordance with the third quartile, it could be stated that every 1 out of 3 customers falling above 75% of the data set feel contended with the organisational strategies. From the above table, it is identified the pricing structure of the online sites are highly effective in meeting the customer expectations. However, by computing 90^th percentile, it has been evaluated that that only 1 out of every 4 customers are not satisfied with the quality of the products. Hence, the retail stores need to come up with innovative strategies for drawing the attention of the customers towards buying their products.

Primary Data Collection Plan

From the correlation coefficient table, it is identified that each factor is strongly related to each other, which implies a decline in one factor would result in decline of other factors as well and vice-versa. Hence, it is necessary for the retail stores to consider all the factors before undertaking relevant financial decisions.

a) Use of graphs for making valid survey conclusion:

From the above figures, it could be found that the male students are more interested to purchase retail products from different platforms. The mature adults are more prone towards buying the retail products for fulfilling their personal needs and desires. Most of the students are involved in purchasing grocery items from the retail platforms followed by clothes along with CDs and DVDs. These sites deliver products at the convenient locations of the customers at lower prices and the quality of the products is ensured to meet the requirements of the customers. The students come across various advertisements while surfing the internet and this has attracted their attention to purchase retail goods from the online sites.

It is evident that the campus students are highly satisfied with the pricing structure, product quality, discount offers and product lines that the online shopping sites offer to them. This poses a serious problem for the retail stores in relation to their revenue and profit margin, as most of their customers are drawn towards purchasing products from the online platform (Sikavica et al. 2014).

b) Trend lines in spreadsheet graphs for showing the level of impact over three-year period:

(Source: Facts 2018)

(Source: Ons.gov.uk 2018)

The above figures are based on secondary data, which are obtained from a statistical website for presenting the trends of the online and store retail sales in the UK market. It has been evaluated that even though the retail stores have generated higher revenues than the online platform. This is because the customers find it convenient to order products by sitting back at their houses. This saves the time to visit the retail outlets for buying products. Along with this, the online products often come up with exciting offers like discounts and gifts, which have driven the online retail sales in the province of UK. The latter is expected to grow at a faster rate than the former due to better service delivery, lower pricing structure and improved product quality.

c) Poster presentation:

d) Formal report for publication:

Based on the above evaluation, a formal report is developed, which is presented as follows:

After critical assessment of the UK retail market, it has been evaluated that that the mature adults are more prone towards buying the retail products for fulfilling their personal needs and desires. It is identified the pricing structure of the online sites are highly effective in meeting the customer expectations. In addition, survey reports reveal that the campus students are highly satisfied with the pricing structure, product quality, discount offers and product lines that the online shopping sites offer to them. This poses a serious problem for the retail stores in relation to their revenue and profit margin, as most of their customers are drawn towards purchasing products from the online platform. It has been evaluated that even though the retail stores have generated higher revenues than the online platform, the latter is expected to grow at a faster rate than the former due to better service delivery, lower pricing structure and improved product quality. Hence, the retail stores need to come up with innovative strategies for drawing the attention of the customers towards buying their products.

Secondary Data Collection Plan

Task 4: Software-generated information to make business decisions

a) Characteristics and role of various management systems in a business:

i/ Transaction processing systems (TPS):

Transaction processing system (TPS) refers to the set of information that processes transaction of data in database system which monitors transaction programs. This system is mainly used for business transactions that involve collection, modification and recovery of transaction data (Lerner et al. 2013).  The main purpose of this system is to keep track on the transaction flow through the enterprise. The characteristics of TPS are explained below:

• Rapid processing response- Quick response along with rapid response is crucial. The speed from input to output occurs in few seconds and hence customers do not wait for long.
• Reliability-As breakdown disrupts the business, failure rate should be low. Back up as well as recovery process are quick (Hillier et al. 2014).
• Inflexibility-Every transaction must be processed in similar way and thereby operation should be standardized. For ensuring this, TPS interfaces are thereby designed for acquiring similar data for every transaction.
• Controlled processing- The processing should support the operations of enterprise. This system enforces as well as maintains responsibilities of the enterprise.

TPS system plays vital role in business, which are discussed below:

• TPS helps in producing information for various types of systems (Della Porta and Diani 2015)
• This system helps the managers to monitor status of all internal  operations as well as the entity’s relation with the external environment
• It helps in recording daily routine transactions that is required for conducting business

ii. Management information systems (MIS):

Management Information System (MIS) refers to the set of system that facilitates management at various levels for making better business decisions by providing vital information to the managers. The characteristics of MIS are explained below:

• Management oriented- The basic characteristic of MIS is that it has been designed top down. This system aids to satisfy information requirement of management.
• Management directed- This system is mainly structured according to directions factored by management. This facilitates in reducing the gap between management expectations from the system actual system (Fombang and Adjasi 2018).
• Integrated- MIS is integrated with operational as well as functional management activities. This integration is required for retrieving vital information.

MIS plays huge role in business, which are discussed below:

• This system provides managers feedback about business performance (Laudon, and Laudon 2016)
• This system provides accurate information that facilitates in decision making
• It facilitates to maintain standards for data and managerial activities
• It aids to forecast future situation of business by analyzing reports of different types of data.

iii. Decision support systems (DSS):

Decision support system is a computer based information system that is used for supporting decision making in a business (Demirkan and Delen 2013). The characteristics of DSS are discussed below:

• It helps to incorporate data as well as framework
• It aids to assist the managers in decision procedure in unstructured task (Biekpe, Cassimon and Mullineux 2017)
• It improves effectiveness of decisions  and support managerial decisions

DSS also plays huge role in businesses, which are explained below:

• This system allows the managers to evaluate risk that is associated with different alternative (Bonczek, Holsapple and Whinston 2014). However, it is useful for high and medium risk business environment.
• It facilitates the managers to make graphical analysis of data
• It also allows the decision makers to recognize appropriate framework for solving several issues (Swift and Piff 2014).

b) Network diagram and critical path:

Critical path is defined as the longest path, which helps in knowing the time needed to complete a project (Siegel 2016).

Figure: Gantt chart
(Source: As created by author)

 

Figure: Critical path of the project
(Source: As created by author)

The critical path for the project is obtained as A-D-E-G-I-J, which needs timeframe of 31 weeks (8 + 6 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 1).

c) Financial tools for decision-making:

Certain financial tools are inherent through it gets easy for the business organisation to understand in which the project funds are to be allocated and this, in turn, helps in effective utilisation of financial resources of the organisation (Titman, Keown and Martin 2017). Any project is dissected based on return and profits, which could be made by investing into the same. These tools take into account discounted as well as non-discounted techniques related to investment. The non-discounted techniques constitute of various methods that take into account the time value of money. Net present value and internal rate of return are the most common methods used in capital budgeting based on which capital decisions are undertaken (Longin 2016).

d) Net present value (NPV) of the project:

e) Internal rate of return (IRR) of the project:

From the above table, it has been found that the NPV for the project is obtained as £7,708.83, while the IRR is obtained as 34.77%. This implies that the business could earn adequate amount of profits by assigning funds in the project (McLean and Zhao 2014). This is because the NPV is positive and the IRR is greater than the cost of capital of 10%. Hence, it could be stated that the techniques selected for choosing the project are acceptable and this has enabled in project selection, which is the significant issue of management (Anderson et al. 2014).

Conclusion:

From the above study, it has been assessed that the retail stores in high streets and malls are experiencing fall in market demand and sales revenue due to the growing popularity of the online shopping sites involved in selling retail products. This is because the online retailers have formulated effective strategies for meeting the need of the target market and it is identified as the crucial reason behind their success. In addition, based on the technique of investment appraisal, it could be found that the project would yield higher return on investment for the business organisation. On the other hand, it has been found that the campus students of UK are likely to buy products at discount offers, as they are contented with the services of the online platforms.

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