Deck 8: Information Gathering and Processing in Retailing

Question 1

Data generated through surveys,observation,experiments,and simulation to address the specific problem or issue under study are ________ data.

A) primary
B) secondary
C) marketing information systems
D) marketing research

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The use of micromarketing is an example of which target marketing strategy?

A) undifferentiated marketing
B) mass marketing
C) concentrated marketing
D) differentiated marketing

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The information needs of retail managers are anticipated,collected,organized,and stored on a continuous basis in ________.

A) a retail information system
B) observation
C) an experiment
D) retail research

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which stage of the marketing research process in retailing is concerned with the development of a clear statement of the topic to be examined?

A) recommendations
B) primary data collection
C) issue (problem) definition
D) implementation

Question 5

Marketing research in retailing involves ________.

A) primary data collection and analysis
B) secondary data collection and analysis
C) the collection and analysis of information relating to specific issues or problems facing a retailer
D) the gathering, storing, and retrieval of data in an orderly manner

Question 6

Using intuition,continuing what was done before,and copying a successful competitor's strategy are examples of ________.

A) retail strategies based on nonsystematic research
B) creative problem solving
C) the marketing concept applied to retailing
D) executive judgment

Question 7

A major benefit to data warehousing is its ________.

A) ability for data access and retrieval at multiple locations
B) low cost
C) continuously being updated
D) ease of use

Question 8

The Universal Product Code (UPC)system allows a retailer to ________.

A) develop a personnel performance system
B) evaluate store managers based on profitability
C) read price information based on the code
D) store and monitor product sales data on an item-by-item basis

Question 9

Which statement concerning the Universal Product Code (UPC)is not correct?

A) The UPC is not readable by humans.
B) The UPC is now the accepted industry standard by food and general merchandise retailers.
C) The UPC symbol also includes price information.
D) With the UPC, cashiers no longer have to enter transactions manually.

Question 10

Data that have already been gathered for purposes other than the problem or issue under study are ________.

A) secondary data
B) primary data
C) marketing research data
D) marketing information systems data

Question 11

A major disadvantage of the use of secondary data is ________.

A) its high cost of data collection
B) its lack of a representative sample
C) that data may be categorized in an unusable fashion
D) its difficulty in tabulation

Question 12

An example of external secondary data is ________.

A) a new market research study conducted by an independent market research company
B) a new market research study conducted by the firm's market research department
C) company-based inventory records
D) annual reports of competitors

Question 13

Retailers and their suppliers regularly exchange information via their computers through the use of ________.

A) retail information systems
B) electronic data interchange
C) data-base management
D) customer relationship marketing programs

Question 14

The procedure to gather,integrate,apply,and store information related to specific subject areas is referred to as ________.

A) data warehousing
B) data mining
C) database management
D) a retail information system

Question 15

Which of these is not a benefit of the use of a retail information system?

A) Opportunities can be foreseen.
B) The initial time and labor investment is low.
C) Crises can be avoided.
D) The elements of a retail strategy can be coordinated.

Question 16

Secondary data can be further broken down into ________ and ________ data.

A) probability; nonprobability
B) internal; external
C) survey; experiments
D) primary; tertiary

Question 17

An example of nonsystematic research in retailing,relating to the effect of a price rise on projected sales,is ________.

A) evaluating sales of sweaters at different price levels in prior years
B) developing an educated "guess" as to demand for sweaters based on current weather conditions
C) interviewing consumers to determine their probability of purchasing sweaters at different prices
D) experimentation with different price levels in matched-pairs of stores

Question 18

An example of internal secondary data is ________.

A) a new market research study conducted by an independent market research company
B) a new market research study conducted by the firm's market research department
C) a retailer's profit-and-loss statements
D) annual reports of competitors

Question 19

An application of data mining is ________.

A) pilferage control
B) sales forecasting
C) micromarketing
D) mass marketing

Question 20

A major advantage of secondary data is the ________.

A) fit with the research topic to be studied
B) immediate availability of data for analysis
C) ability to control the use of questions and the sequence of questions
D) known source and control over data collection

Question 21

A hotel chain found the following profile to exist for its guests: average stay is 2.7 nights,55 percent had a car with them,8 percent watched a pay-per-view television program,and 15 percent purchased a snack item from the in-room refrigerator.Which form of marketing research was the retailer utilizing?

A) a retail information system
B) an experiment
C) simulation
D) observation

Question 22

Disguised surveys are typically used to study consumer ________.

A) demographics
B) lifestyles
C) attitudes
D) reactions to price changes

Question 23

The potential for interviewer bias is greatest in which survey technique?

A) mail survey
B) observation
C) telephone survey
D) personal survey

Question 24

Which of the following is not a survey?

A) personal interviewing
B) customer traffic counts
C) a mail-based questionnaire
D) a telephone-based questionnaire

Question 25

The difference between regular reports and exception reports is based on ________.

A) length
B) the handling of deviations from expected performance
C) cost
D) types of accounts covered

Question 26

Information is systematically gathered from respondents by communicating with them in a(n)________.

A) observation
B) simulation
C) survey
D) experiment

Question 27

In a nondisguised survey,a respondent is told the ________.

A) actual stores being investigated
B) sponsor of the survey
C) actual intent of the study
D) actual name of the market research company conducting the survey

Question 28

Which research technique is able to show cause and effect?

A) survey
B) experiment
C) observation
D) simulation

Question 29

The semantic differential technique uses ________.

A) demographic data
B) nominal scales
C) ratio scales
D) bipolar adjective scales

Question 30

Which does not represent a systematic method of research?

A) pre-testing of a survey to determine potential biases in wording
B) verifying that interviews were actually conducted with selected respondents by use of a telephone
C) use of a nonprobability sample in a legal case involving retail pricing
D) removing potential respondents, who have moved prior to a store being renovated, from a store image survey

Question 31

Sampling of stores,products,or customers in a nonprobability sample is conducted on the basis of ________.

A) judgment or convenience
B) an equal chance of being chosen
C) a known chance of being chosen
D) a table of random digits

Question 32

The major disadvantage of observation is that ________.

A) the sampling is not probability-based
B) attitudes cannot be studied
C) the experiment is contrived
D) the respondent knows that he or she is being measured

Question 33

A major advantage of primary data is that the ________.

A) study is inexpensive
B) methodology is conducted for the current study
C) data are readily available
D) data can always be collected by a single retailer

Question 34

One or more elements of a retail strategy mix are manipulated under controlled conditions in which research technique?

A) observation
B) simulation
C) survey
D) experiment

Question 35

Ongoing studies are made available to many clients for a fee from ________.

A) channel members
B) the U.S. federal government
C) the Business Periodicals Index
D) commercial research houses

Question 36

A small movie theater plans to build a coffee and snack bar that features espresso based on the success of a much larger competitor that features six screens.This strategy represents ________.

A) systematic research
B) nonsystematic research
C) a retail information system
D) single-source data

Question 37

An appliance retailer is classified by consumers as friendly,reliable,moderately attractive,and as providing a relatively good value for the money.The research technique used by the retailer is ________.

A) observation
B) a semantic differential
C) experimentation
D) an online survey

Question 38

A mathematical model is constructed to explain the environment facing a retailer in which research technique?

A) survey
B) experiment
C) observation
D) simulation

Question 39

A form of research in which present behavior or the results of past behavior are noted and recorded is ________.

A) observation
B) survey
C) simulation
D) experimentation

Question 40

A major characteristic of a retail information system is ________.

A) its low cost
B) the use of competitor data
C) the use of verified data from government sources
D) its continuous nature

Question 41

A major concern with a retailer's using internal secondary data as a source of information is the ________.

A) high cost of permissions
B) credibility of the data source
C) data being misleading since it may focus on one time period
D) high cost of data collection

Question 42

A retailer with 1,000 credit accounts has 50 with balances that are past due for over 45 days.How many accounts would be listed in the exception report?

A) 25
B) 45
C) 50
D) The answer cannot be determined based on the information provided.

Question 43

A chain shoe retailer with 100 stores determined that its monthly sales were 12 percent below expectations on the basis of its retail plan.Which represents a clear statement of a topic to be studied in the problem (issue)definition stage of the marketing research process in retailing?

A) Why has overall sales volume declined 12 percent in comparison to the projected sales level?
B) Why has sales volume declined by at least 25 percent over projected levels in some geographic areas versus a gain of 10 percent in others?
C) Have competitors also had lower than anticipated sales?
D) What is actual versus planned sales on each major merchandise classification (men's, ladies, and children's; slipper, dress shoe, casual shoe, and sneaker line) by store?

Question 44

A retailer determined that its monthly sales were 22 percent below expectations on the basis of its retail plan.Which stage of the marketing research process should the retailer be concerned with?

A) making recommendations
B) defining the problem
C) analyzing primary data exception reports
D) implementing findings

Question 45

An advantage of electronic data interchange (EDI)is ________.

A) increased communication between retailers and their suppliers
B) increased communication between retailers and their customers
C) increased speed of data transmission on sales by employee
D) more accurate data due to the modular nature of the transmission process

Question 46

The data collection role of retailers in a distribution channel has been facilitated by ________.

A) the use of UPC and scanners
B) simulation-based studies
C) personal surveys
D) observation

Question 47

The Universal Product Code (UPC)is most widely used in conjunction with ________.

A) inventory management
B) consumer credit-card purchases
C) merchandise returns
D) accounting recordkeeping

Question 48

Which problem definition is most likely to require primary data collection?

A) to determine the average household income level in a county
B) to analyze the percent of high school graduates that plan to go immediately to college
C) to determine the average supermarket purchase by consumers on the basis of family size
D) to determine the percent of households that move in a given year

Question 49

The use of point-of-sale cash registers to study the number of products purchased in the average transaction illustrates ________.

A) internal secondary data
B) external secondary data
C) a survey
D) observation

Question 50

The major difference between marketing research in retailing and a retail information system is that ________.

A) the retail information system stores data
B) the retail information system is continuous
C) marketing research in retailing includes the retail information system process
D) marketing research in retailing does not include inventory-related data

Question 51

A frequent-shopper program is an example of ________.

A) electronic data interchange
B) market research
C) database management
D) data mining

Question 52

An example of an exception report is ________.

A) a report listing customers with overdue credit card balances
B) a quarterly profit-and-loss statement
C) an inventory turnover report by merchandise classification
D) an analysis of profitability by merchandise classification

Question 53

A retailer can generate data on sales by cash versus credit,the average sale,and number of items purchased on the average shopping trip by examining ________.

A) inventory records
B) purchase orders
C) merchandise purchases
D) sales invoices

Question 54

An example of primary data to determine the effect of a 10 percent price increase in sales is information gathered from ________.

A) trade association unpublished research
B) public data which is filed by competitors for federal agencies
C) company sales reports that list sales at different price intervals over time
D) an experiment in which company personnel monitor sales in matched pairs of stores where prices differ by 10 percent on a systematic basis

Question 55

The distinction between internal and external secondary data is based on the ________.

A) purpose of the data collection process (past research or new research project)
B) focus of the data (company or industry)
C) firm collecting the data (government or commercial research house)
D) source of the data (within or outside the firm)

Question 56

The major distinction between primary and secondary data is that primary data are ________.

A) less costly
B) generated by the affected retailer
C) generated specifically for the research project under study
D) conducted at continuous time intervals

Question 57

A retailer has a database of past sales by season,by store,and by merchandise classification.This database is used as a guide in planning and control.The database is an example of ________.

A) internal secondary data
B) external secondary data
C) a survey
D) observation

Question 58

An example of secondary data relating to inventory levels held at each store is information gathered from ________.

A) a physical count of each store's inventory developed especially for the current study
B) a questionnaire sent to store managers on inventory adequacy
C) an experiment conducted to determine what percent of consumers switch brands when their preferred brand is out of stock
D) past management reports developed on the basis of point-of-sale equipment

Question 59

Paperless communication between a retailer and its suppliers has been facilitated by ________.

A) retail information systems
B) UPC-based technology and EDI
C) exception reports
D) database management

Question 60

A retailer uses sophisticated software to evaluate large quantities to uncover emerging trends.This illustrates ________.

A) data warehousing
B) data mining
C) experimentation
D) simulation

Question 61

In studying its image,a retailer discovers that it is,on average,described as being expensive,as having very good service,as stocking conventional "me-too" goods,and as having a conservative fashion orientation.The retailer used which primary research technique?

A) observation
B) sampling
C) semantic differential
D) multi-dimensional scaling

Question 62

A drug store chain customarily sells items,such as nationally advertised film,batteries,and shampoo,at low cost in an attempt to increase store traffic and sales of other merchandise.It seeks to determine the percentage of shoppers that purchased any of these three goods who also bought at least $10 in additional goods on the same shopping trip.This can be determined through an analysis of ________.

A) telephone survey
B) personal survey
C) observation
D) sales invoices

Question 63

A shopping center developer seeks to determine the average turnover of cars in the shopping center.The developer is concerned about whether he or she should impose a parking fee.A sample of cars is monitored in terms of entry and exit times.Which primary research technique was used?

A) survey
B) experimentation
C) observation
D) simulation

Question 64

A retailer wants to study the effect of store brand on customer perception of quality.While the same exact knit shirts are shown to respondents,one-half are labeled with the store's dealer brand and the other half with a nationally advertised manufacturer's brand.Respondents are told to rate the quality of each shirt.They are told that the purpose of the study is to refine the store's quality measurement scale.This illustrates ________.

A) a simulation
B) a disguised survey
C) a nondisguised survey
D) observation

Question 65

Sources of internal secondary data include budgets,sales figures,inventory records,and prior company research.

Question 66

A franchisee needs to determine its sales in a specific geographic area in conjunction with a major legal court case against a franchisor.The retailer should utilize ________.

A) a probability sample
B) a nonprobability sample
C) simulation
D) an experiment

Question 67

Databases can be generated by customer,vendor,and product category.

Question 68

Stores with very similar images on a semantic differential have average scores ________.

A) near each other
B) on different scales
C) far from each other
D) on opposite scales

Question 69

A retailer seeks to conduct a survey.It is important that interviewer bias be minimized.The retailer should utilize which survey technique?

A) observation
B) mail survey
C) telephone survey
D) personal survey

Question 70

Retail information systems can be used by small and large retailers for customer,location,and promotional research purposes.

Question 71

The issue (problem)definition stage of the marketing research process in retailing seeks to clearly describe the research question.

Question 72

Retail information systems have evolved from improving inventory control to be more involved with merchandise ordering,transferring merchandise among stores,and in surveys.

Question 73

Both small and large retailers can outsource their retail information system.

Question 74

Database information can come from both internal and external sources.

Question 75

Which type of consumer behavior can best be studied using observation?

A) the average distance shoppers will travel to shop at a new regional shopping center
B) the average length of time a consumer spends in the cereal aisle of a supermarket
C) the degree of store loyalty
D) the store image of a specialty retailer

Question 76

Micromarketing is an application of data mining.

Question 77

A retailer plans to study store loyalty among a group of respondents that live within normal driving time of its store.The retailer seeks to terminate the data collection process in the early stage of data collection if the store-loyal group of customers approximates 30 percent of respondents.Which survey technique should the retailer utilize?

A) mail survey
B) telephone survey
C) simulation
D) observation

Question 78

The assumption that past trends will continue in the future represents a retail strategy based on systematic research.

Question 79

In an effective retail distribution channel,information flows freely among suppliers,retailers,and final consumers.

Question 80

A retailer wishes to determine how many of its salespeople cross-sell related items.The optimal methodology should utilize ________.

A) an experiment
B) a survey
C) mystery shoppers
D) secondary data