An exploration of the use of price match guarantees in UK supermarkets from a consumer perspective.

7/29/2019 An exploration of the use of price match guarantees in UK supermarkets from a consumer perspective.

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An exploration of the use of price match guarantees in UK

supermarkets from a consumer perspective.

D. S. Childs

BA Marketing Management 2012



This Project is submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the

Degree of BA with Honours in Marketing Management at the Manchester

Metropolitan University Business School.

An exploration of the use of price match guarantees in UK supermarkets from a

consumer perspective.

Daniel Stephen Childs

19/3/2012



This Research Project is an original and authentic piece of work by me. I

have fully acknowledged and referenced all secondary sources used. It has

not been presented in whole or in part for assessment elsewhere. I have

read the Examination regulations, and am fully aware of the potential

consequences of any breach of them.

Signed …………………………….

Date ………………………………..



i

Abstract

This research project explored the way in which the introduction of Price Match

Guarantees (PMGs) by UK supermarkets affects consumers. The main objectives

were to discover the impact on consumer‟s price search behaviour and tounderstand the effect on supermarket choice. The study focused specifically on

undergraduate students in order to maximise access and to take advantage of

their insight as newly independent shoppers.

The current academic understanding of PMGs is mainly focused towards the US

market, where research is generally aimed towards non-grocery retail stores. The

literature on PMGs focuses on several key areas including; the effect on price

search, price perception, price knowledge, store choice and the ways that the

PMG is implemented. The knowledge gaps that the research projected aimed to fill

were based around all areas of PMG literature due to there being no prior

research into the phenomenon as it exists in the UK.

The research methodology was designed from a phenomenological philosophy

and had a focus on the generation of qualitative data through the use of in-depth

interviews. A total of four in depth interviews were conducted in order to minimise

the repetition of data and to allow for sufficient time to be spent with each

interviewee. The data was analysed using a form of thematic analysis which

involved creation of codes, themes and ultimately models in order to fully display

the richness of the data.

The research found that the consumers did not follow the same price search

behaviour as the current literature describes due to a higher value placed on time

and a high perceived cost to take advantage of PMGs. The research also showed

that although PMGs may tempt consumers to stores with the offer, there are other

factors such as convenience that are more important to consumers than price.

Overall, the research achieved the objectives that were set and acts as a

foundation for future research in the UK market. It contributes a small but crucial

amount of knowledge to the existing PMG literature and provides the only

consumer focused research into the specific nature of PMGs in the UK market.



ii

Acknowledgements

I would like to first thank my research project tutor Dr Catherine Ashworth for her

support and wonderfully thoughtful insights into the project. Her guidance, interest

and expertise allowed me to engage with and understand the research process ina way that would have otherwise been impossible.

I am extremely grateful to my mum and dad for supporting me throughout my

degree and for always believing in my ability.

A special thank you to my girlfriend, Amy for her love and support during the

stressful times.

Finally, thank you to all my friends for the distractions when it all got too much!



iii

Table of Contents

Abstract................................................................................................................... i

Acknowledgements............................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................. iii

List of Tables ........................................................................................................ vi

List of Figures....................................................................................................... vi

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1

Section 1.0 Background to Research Study ....................................................... 2

1.1 Supermarket Pricing Strategies ...................................................................... 3

1.2 Global Economic Crisis .................................................................................. 3

1.3 Initial Response by Supermarkets .................................................................. 4

1.4 Introduction of Price Match Guarantees ......................................................... 5

1.5 Defining Research Scope............................................................................... 6

1.6 Research Aim ................................................................................................. 8

1.7 Objectives ...................................................................................................... 8

Section 2.0 Literature Review............................................................................... 9

2.1 Overview ...................................................................................................... 10

2.2 Price Search ................................................................................................. 12

2.2.1 Price Search Background ...................................................................... 12

2.2.2 Pre-Purchase Price Search ................................................................... 13

2.2.3 Post-Purchase Price Search .................................................................. 132.2.4 Price Perception .................................................................................... 15

2.2.5 Cost of Price Search .............................................................................. 16

2.3 Claiming the Price Match Guarantee ........................................................... 17

2.3.1 Refund Depth ......................................................................................... 19

2.3.2 Timing .................................................................................................... 20

2.4 Price Match Guarantees as Anti-Competitive............................................... 20

2.5 Analysis of Literature in the context of the UK market ................................. 202.6 Knowledge Gaps .......................................................................................... 22



iv

Section 3.0 Methodology .................................................................................... 24

3.1 Research Process ........................................................................................ 25

3.1.1 Philosophy ............................................................................................. 26

3.1.2 Approach ............................................................................................... 26

3.1.3 Strategy ................................................................................................. 27

3.1.4 Choice ................................................................................................... 27

3.1.5 Time ....................................................................................................... 28

3.1.6 Technique .............................................................................................. 28

3.2 Research Design .......................................................................................... 28

3.2.1 Method ................................................................................................... 29

3.2.1.1 Interview Styles ............................................................................... 29

3.2.1.2 Grand Tour Themes ....................................................................... 30

3.2.1.3 Pilot Interview ................................................................................. 31

3.2.1.4 Final Interview Design .................................................................... 31

3.2.2 Sampling ................................................................................................ 31

3.2.2.1 Sampling Technique ....................................................................... 32

3.2.2.2 Sample Size.................................................................................... 32

3.2.3 Collection and Analysis of data .............................................................. 33

3.2.3.1 Ethics .............................................................................................. 34

3.2.3.2 Data Recording ............................................................................... 34

3.2.3.3 Data Analysis .................................................................................. 35

Section 4.0 Findings and Discussion ................................................................ 38

4.1 Price Search behaviour ................................................................................ 39

4.1.1 Price Knowledge .................................................................................... 40

4.1.2 Cost of Price Search .............................................................................. 41

4.1.3 Post Purchase Price Search .................................................................. 43

4.1.4 Effective Price Match Guarantees ......................................................... 43

4.2 Supermarket Choice .................................................................................... 44

4.2.1 Convenience .......................................................................................... 46

4.2.2 Type of shop .......................................................................................... 46

4.2.3 Trustworthiness of store ........................................................................ 47



v

Section 5.0 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 49

5.1 Meeting Objectives ....................................................................................... 50

5.2 Direction of Future Research ....................................................................... 51

5.3 Implications .................................................................................................. 51

Section 6.0 References ....................................................................................... 53

Section 7.0 Appendix .......................................................................................... 62

7.1 Price Match Guarantees as Anti-Competitive............................................... 63

7.2 Sample Interview Transcript One ................................................................. 65

7.3 Sample Interview Transcript Two ................................................................. 687.4 Sample Interview Coding ............................................................................. 70

Word Count - 12,156



vi

List of Tables

1.1 Comparison of the PMG offerings of ASDA, Sainsbury's and Tesco ............ 6

2.1 Overview of literature reviewed ................................................................... 113.1 Comparative interview types and situations of use. ..................................... 29

3.2 Break down of selected interviewees. .......................................................... 33

3.3 Example of a coded observation. ................................................................. 36

4.1 Quotes describing construction of price knowledge. .................................... 40

4.2 Quotes describing price perception of UK supermarkets. ............................ 41

4.3 Quotes describing purchasing habits. .......................................................... 43

4.4 Comparison of thoughts relating to PMG effectiveness .............................. 444.5 Importance of themes relating to the choice of a store. ................................ 45

4.6 Quotes describing store trustworthiness. ..................................................... 48

List of Figures

1.1 Diagram displaying potential research focus areas ....................................... 7

2.1 Model of PMG Effectiveness in lowering perception of store price .............. 15

2.2 Factors related to claiming the PMG ............................................................ 17

2.3 Effects of reputation and retail environment on perceived service quality ... 18

2.4. Model of PMG effects on consumers .......................................................... 21

2.5. Model of characteristics needed for an effective PMG offering ................... 22

3.1 The research process „onion‟ ....................................................................... 25

3.2 Diagram of „grand tour‟ themes used in the interview design. ...................... 30

3.3 Processes involved in the thematic analysis of data .................................... 36

4.1 Themes involved in price search behaviour ................................................ 39

4.2 Factors identified from research as causing high search costs ................... 42

4.3 Themes involved in store choice ................................................................. 45

4.4 Display of interviewees‟ shopping habits ..................................................... 47



1

Introduction

This research project looks at the consumer reaction to the use of price match

guarantees (PMG) in the retail grocery sector within the United Kingdom (UK). The

use of price match guarantees covering a whole basket of goods is a pricing andmarketing tactic that has not been used before in the UK (Shah 2011). Although it

has, in some instances, been used in the United States and other countries, there

has been limited academic study of PMGs focusing specifically at grocery

shopping. Asda, Sainsbury‟s and Tesco, the three largest supermarkets in the UK,

all now use the tactic therefore, it is in the interests of business academics and the

public to gain an understanding into this process.

The first section will look at the background relating to the research problem,

looking at how, when and why supermarkets first introduced PMGs. In the second

section there will be a review of the literature related to the area of PMGs, an

analysis of this will be used in order to find knowledge gaps in the current

academic understanding. The third section will contain the methodology which will

look at the approach, design and the sampling methods used to undertake the

research. The fourth section will contain an analysis and discussion of the data

collected by the empirical research. The final section will then conclude by looking

at the extent the research objectives were filled and by discussing the impact on

future research in this area.



2

Section 1.0

Background to Research Study



3

This section will examine the precursor of events that led to the implementation of

PMGs by the three leading UK supermarkets; Asda, Sainsbury‟s and Tesco. An

understanding of these events will give the current situation context, allowing for

the literature review to be analysed with this situation taken into consideration.

1.1 Supermarket Pricing Strategies

In terms of general supermarket pricing, one of two main strategies are employed;

everyday low pricing (EDLP) or the offer of temporary price reductions (Lindsey-

Mullikin and Petty 2009; Ellickson and Misra 2006). Wal-Mart is considered one of

the pioneers of EDLP and is the strategy that has been employed by their UK

subsidiary company, Asda (Finch 2009; Ellickson and Misra 2006). Meanwhile,

Sainsbury‟s and Tesco use the strategy of frequent, highly discounted promotions

which are used to offset the high prices on some items by offering large savings

on others (Chakraborty et al 2011).

1.2 Global Economic Crisis

The use of the PMG tactic in supermarkets can trace its roots back to the 2008

global economic crisis. This caused widespread financial losses and resulted in

several economic regions entering a recession; notably North America, the

Eurozone and the UK (Nayyar 2011; Lim and Sng 2011). The crisis was caused by

many inter-related factors which stemmed from the collapse of the 2007 U.S.

housing market bubble; the overvaluation of houses which were sold to consumers

on high mortgages (BBC 2007). By the time the market crashed, these subprime

mortgages had been converted into banking securities, securities that were

worthless when it became apparent that it was impossible for the consumers to

pay them back. The money lost on the securities damaged worldwide banking

systems, forced governments to invest heavily in supporting them and ultimately

caused the global recession due to low market confidence and a lack of liquidity in

the finance markets (Nayyar 2011).

The effects on the public included widespread unemployment, pay freezes, low

interest and high inflation; all of which contributed to dramatically less disposable

income (Nayyar 2011). The immediate reaction of consumers was to attempt to

save money in any way possible causing a large proportion of the general



4

population to become increasingly price sensitive in a relatively small time period

(Valls et al 2011). This affects retailers in the UK grocery market because grocery

shopping has been highlighted in studies such as Valls et al (2011) and Kumcu

and Kaufman (2011) as being the main area in which consumers try to save

money. This happens as consumers focus on value shopping and avoid buying

value added, luxury or branded goods. The overall effect on supermarkets is lower

profits. This is due to the margins being higher on luxury or branded goods than

the cheaper alternatives; in order to maintain profits, higher volumes of sales must

be achieved (Thanassoulis 2009). This leads to the next section that will look at

the response of the grocery retailing industry, from 2008 until present.

1.3 Initial Response by Supermarkets

When the effects of the economic downturn became more apparent and began to

negatively affect consumer spending habits, the three supermarkets each reacted

in their own way. The main threat to all of the supermarkets was from consumers

trading down to one of the discounter supermarkets i.e. Aldi and Lidl (Finch 2009).

This section briefly examines the strategies employed before the PMG tactic was

introduced.

The response of Asda to the higher price sensitivity of consumers and the rise of

discounter supermarkets was to continue the policy of EDLP (Just Food 2008). At

the same time they created a new category of „round pound‟ deals to directly

target the discounters without comprising and offering promotions like Tesco and

Sainsbury's (Finch 2009).

The focus of Sainsbury‟s post-crisis offers was on expanding its range of „basic‟

lines, of which the majority cost less than one pound. This was to react to the mix

of products customers were purchasing while at the same time not sacrificing the

quality associated with the Sainsbury‟s brand (Wilson 2009).

In order to combat the rise of the discount supermarket, Tesco launched an

ambitious campaign to become „Britain‟s largest discounter‟ through the

introduction of „Discount Brands‟ (Whitehead 2008). This involved creating a whole

new line of discount products that mimicked the discount own brand product lines



5

used by Aldi and Lidl, these lines were priced above the „Value‟ range but below

the „Tesco brand‟ range (Just Food 2009).

1.4 Introduction of Price Match Guarantees

Asda was the first of the supermarkets to introduce the price match promise.

Originally launched in late 2010, it was revamped into to its current state at the

start of 2011 and offers to beat its competitors‟ prices by 10% or a refund will be

given (Smithers 2011a). To calculate the price differences, Asda used

independent price checking website mysupermarket, this initially drew criticism

from Morrisions as their prices do not appear on the site (Owen 2011a). This was

fixed by carrying out physical checks of Morrisons‟ prices twice weekly. The

introduction of Asda‟s PMG was widely regarded by the industry as the start of a

new supermarket price war (Chapman 2011; Smithers 2011b; Wood 2011; Owen

2011b).

In February 2011, Tesco responded to the offer Asda had made by introducing

their own PMG. However, they had an immediate problem with their

implementation of the offer. Initially the PMG stated if a competitor was cheaper

than them they would give a refund that was double the difference. This had to be

revoked when it was abused by consumers (Owen 2011c). In September 2011,

Tesco launched a £500 million price drop to support the PMG; this move also

placed their overall pricing strategy more in line with Asda‟s EDLP (Chapman

2011).

The last of the supermarkets to offer a PMG was Sainsbury‟s who introduced

Brand Match in October 2011. Brand Match differs from the offerings of Asda and

Tesco as it only applies to branded products and the refund was given at the point

of purchase; there are no extra steps to get the refund (Smithers 2011b). This

means that there is less work for the consumer in order to claim the refund.

Table 1.1 shows the various ways in which the PMG offerings of Asda,

Sainsbury‟s and Tesco differ. There is a large difference in the offerings available

depending on the focus each supermarket has. For example, Asda‟s offering

focuses on standing out as the cheapest by promising to match the competitors by



6

at least 10%. Its offer also has the largest scope of the three, again highlighting its

clear intention to be viewed as the cheapest supermarket.

Table 1.1 – Comparison of the PMG offerings of ASDA, Sainsbury's and Tesco

Element of PMG offering

RefundType

Min.Purchase

Max.Refund

(onetransaction)

Max.Refund

(per calendar month)

ClaimingCompetitors

includedScope

CheckingSystem

AsdaMatch+10%

8 items n/a £100Nextday

Morrisons,Sainsbury‟s,Tesco andWaitrose

15000products

Mysuper-market

Sainsbury’s Match £20 £10 n/a At

payment Asda and

Tesco

12000BrandedProducts

Brand-view

Tesco Match 1 item £20 £100Nextday

Asda

BrandedProducts

andOwn

labels

Tescopricecheck

Source: Data compiled from Asda (2012), Chapman (2011), Sainsbury’s (2012), Smithers (2011a)

and Tesco (2012).

Even though the claims outlined in the table all differ on various semantics, the

result is the same; the three largest supermarkets in the UK all claim to be able to

be the cheapest in one way or another. An academic understanding of this

process will allow for the effects of PMGs to be explored in relation to a large

market in which no similar research has yet been conducted. The informationgenerated by the research will also be able to be examined alongside the current

academic understanding of PMGs that has originated from a mainly US

perspective.

1.5 Defining Research Scope

As an exploratory study of a new phenomenon, there is the potential for a

research project with a large scope (figure 1.1). However, the research project

must be both realistic in its objectives and fit within certain time/budgetary



7

constraints (Saunders et al 2009). As such, it is necessary to reduce the scope

when exploring consumer perceptions by focusing on a particular group of

consumers. In doing so, the research project will be more achievable. In addition,

future research would be able to follow the process set out in this project to focus

on a different group of consumers.

Figure 1.1 – Diagram displaying potential research focus areas

The consumers that will be focused on in this research project will be

undergraduate students. The reasoning behind this is that the majority of students

will be becoming independent for the first time and needing to budget and shop on

their own. In general, students will have limited funds and therefore may be one of

the most price conscious consumer groups to explore (Valls et al 2011). This

group is also an accessible consumer group for the research project to study and

gain an insight into. Based on this discussion of research scope, the aims and

objectives outlined in the following sections were set.

Explorationof effects

on...

AdvertisingStrategy

Market Prices

InflationStore

Patronage

ConsumerPerceptions



8

1.6 Research Aim

To explore the use of price match guarantees in UK supermarkets from a

consumer perspective with a focus on undergraduate students.

1.7 Objectives

1. To understand the current literature relating to the subject of price match

guarantees in the context of UK supermarket shopping.

2. To investigate how price match guarantees affect the price search

behaviour of undergraduate students in terms of purchase intention.

3. To explore the extent to which price match guarantees can influence

consumer supermarket choice.

The following section will contain a review of the literature related to PMGs.

Understanding the current work will be the first step to creating a methodology that

can effectively contribute new knowledge to this area.



9

Section 2.0

Literature Review



10

This section contains a literature review that looks at various areas related to the

use of price match guarantees (PMGs) as a pricing tactic. This literature will be

used to inform the methodology as well as highlight the areas in which this

research project will enhance the academic understanding of PMGs through the

filling of knowledge gaps.

As an issue of clarity, price match guarantees can also be known as low price

guarantees and price beating guarantees (Moorthy and Zhang 2006). For clarity

the author will be using the term price match guarantee or (PMG).

2.1 Overview

The area of price match guarantees (PMGs) is one that has been researched

extensively in academia (Kukar-Kinney et al 2007a) however; most of the studies

are not specifically focused on grocery retailing. Instead they tend to focus on

other retail operations where the customer is purchasing a single, durable product

as opposed to groceries which are classed as non-durable (Kujala and Johnson

1993). Those studies that have been carried out into retail grocery businesses

have mainly been situated in America such as Hess and Gerstner (1991), Kukar-

Kinney (2005), Biwas et al (2006) and Arbatskaya (2005). Some of the older key

studies that are referred to and built upon by the majority of recent published

literature include work by Stigler (1961) and Kujala and Johnson (1993). The

literature reviewed will not be explicit to the retail grocery market, all literature on

PMGs will be considered, as what happens in other markets is very much

pertinent to understanding the concept as a whole.

The areas explored within the literature include; the effect of PMGs on consumer

price search (Arbatskaya 2005; Kujala and Johnson 1993; Lindsey-Mullikin and

Petty 2009), the effect of PMGs on competition and pricing (Hess and Gerstner

1991; Arbatskaya et al 2004; Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009; Eldin 1997), the

timing of the implementation of the PMG (Kukar-Kinney 2005) and the extent to

which PMGs are effective (Kukar-Kinney and Walters 2003; Hess and Gerstner

1991; Arbatskaya et al 2004).



11

The table (2.1) below shows an overview of the literature and highlights some of

the themes within this academic area.

Table 2.1 – Overview of literature reviewed

Literature Area

P

r i c e M a t c h G u a r a n t e e s

P

r i c e S e a r c h

C

o s t o f P r i c e S e a r c h

P

r i c e K n o w l e d g e

P

r i c e P e r c e p t i o n

A

n t i - C o m p e t i t i v e n e s s

S

t o r e C h o i c e

C

l a i m i n g P M G

R

e f u n d D e p t h

G

r o c e r y R e t a i l S p e c i f i c

C

o n s u m e r P e r s p e c t i v e

U

K M a r k e t

Hess and Gerstner (1991) x x x x x x

Kujala and Johnson (1993) x x x x x

Eldin (1997) x x

Jain and Srivastava (2000) x x x x x x

Degeratu et al (2001) x x x

Srivastava and Lurie (2001) x x x x x x x

Biswas et al (2002) x x x x

Kukar-Kinney and Walters (2003) x x x x x x x

Arbatskaya et al (2004) x x x x

Srivastava and Lurie (2004) x x x x x

Arbatskaya (2005) x x x x x x x

Dutta and Biswas (2005) x x x x

Kukar-Kinney (2005) x x x x x

Biswas et al (2006) x x x x x x

Kukar-Kinney (2006) x x x x x x

Kukar-Kinney and Grewal (2006) x x x

Kukar-Kinney et al (2007a) x x x x x

Kukar-Kinney et al (2007b) x x x x x x x

Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty (2009) x x x x x

Jansen and Parakhonyak (2011) x x x

An analysis of the table shows that there are only a small number of authors who

have studied the issues of PMGs and the timeframe in which the majority of

research was conducted is limited to the years 2000-2009. The inclusion of the

earlier works by Hess and Gerstner (1991), Kujala and Johnson (1993) is because

they are relied upon by the majority of the more recent literature and are specific to

the area of grocery retailing.



12

2.2 Price Search

Within the PMG literature there is a key area looking at consumer behaviour,

focusing more specifically on how the offer (and its implementation) affects the

consumers pre and post purchase price search. The pre purchase price search

process is where a consumer looks for information relating to prices until they feel

they have enough information to make an informed decision (Kujala and Johnson

1993; Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009). The post purchase price search is a

continuation of this process where the consumer continues to search for cheaper

prices after the purchase is made (Arbatskaya 2005; Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty

2009).

2.2.1 Price Search Background

The work by Kujala and Johnson (1993) combines two important disciplines

needed to understand the consumer‟s actions during the price search; economics

and consumer behaviour. Their paper combines these areas and looks at both the

motivating and limiting factors that dictate how the price search happens. The

reason presented in the literature for why the price search takes places is so that

the consumer has a certain level of knowledge on prices before selecting where to

shop. This is built on the work of economist Stigler (1961) who was the first to

relax the assumption of perfect price knowledge, i.e. the consumer does not

simply know what prices are fair and they must search to become informed (Kujala

and Johnson 1993). This view has been challenged by Punj and Staelin (1983)

and Urbany (1986) however; it has been on the basis of durable or higher

involvement purchases, of which groceries are not considered to be a part (Kujala

and Johnson 1993). The papers main findings are that although price search

stems from a consumer wanting to gain knowledge of fair pricing, it is not always

actively used by consumers for habitual purchases. This is because the search

does not need to take place before each shop, instead consumers rely on intuition

and external factors (e.g. news on grain prices or inflation) for when they expect

prices may have changed, a view reinforced by (Srivastava and Lurie 2001).

The limiting factor for discontinuing the price search is when the consumer

reaches a point where the benefit of gaining knowledge exceeds the potential cost

savings produced from conducting it (Kujala and Johnson 1993; Hess and



13

Gerstner 1991; Srivastava and Lurie 2001; Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009).

There is little debate over this fact in the literature; the main debate is over the

effects PMGs have on the ability for the consumer to continue the price search

(Arbatskaya 2005; Srivastava and Lurie 2001) which is looked at in the following

two sections.

2.2.2 Pre-Purchase Price Search

The work by Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty (2009) focuses on the role of price

deception in bargain assurances (BA‟s) in discouraging price search. BA‟s are a

group of marketing tactics that signal a low price of which PMGs are a part of.

They ultimately conclude that BA‟s do discourage both pre and post purchase

price search by indicating that the price advertised is the best possible bargain. An

issue with the study is that it does not conclude on each of the BA types

separately (Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009). Instead, they conclude on the role

that BA‟s in general have on discouraging price search; the extent to which the

PMG is responsible is not specifically discussed in their findings.

However, the findings are consistent with the earlier works of Kujala and Johnson

(1993), Jain and Srivastava (2000) and Arbatskaya (2005). The general

consensus in these three pieces of literature is that the offering of a PMG does

cause the consumer to cut short the pre-purchase price search. Jain and

Srivastava (2000) offer the explanation that this happens due to consumers being

confident at finding generally lower prices at a store with a PMG therefore; the

price search is shortened even when actual prices are not known. This area will be

explored more in the price perception section (2.2.4).

2.2.3 Post-Purchase Price Search

In terms of post purchase price search, Arbatskaya (2005) leads the argument that

the implementation of PMGs is not to shorten the pre-price search but to allow the

consumer to delay the price search until after the purchase. The author presents

the view of “Buy now, search later” (Arbatskaya 2005:28), which is to buy the

product immediately on the promise that it is the lowest price, not from the

consumers own knowledge; this must be gained after the fact.



14

Meanwhile, Jain and Srivastava (2000) describe the post purchase price search as

being one that only exists if the search costs are low. This is because the products

cost and therefore, potential savings are not likely to be high from having the

refund if the PMG offer is taken up. If the search costs are high, the low value

perception from the store offering the PMG is enough to accept the products at the

price that they cost (Srivastava and Lurie 2004; Jain and Srivastava 2000).

A more in depth study by Kukar-Kinney et al (2007b) enhances the knowledge in

this area by further defining the use of post purchase search. Their findings into

the role of price consciousness in PMGs indicated that those consumers who are

more price conscious are likely to continue the search after the purchase (Kukar-

Kinney et al 2007b:219). How the level of price consciousness was measured is

not specifically mentioned in the study. A comparable study by Dutta and Biswas

(2005) which has similar findings to Kukar-Kinney et al (2007b) also fails to show

calculations. However, the methodology for both studies was based on the earlier

work by Lichtenstein et al (1988) which states that the level of a consumers price

recall is directly linked to the price consciousness of that consumer. Therefore, a

consumer who can recall the price of a purchased item successfully would be

classed as a highly price conscious individual. In the future, studies could be

aimed at this area with the focus of discovering general levels of price

consciousness across a population in order to inform other studies.

Overall, the literature generally agrees that PMGs have the effect of cutting down

the time a consumer spends on price search (Kujala and Johnson 1993;

Srivastava and Lurie 2004; Jain and Srivastava 2000) while at the same time

allowing for a reason to continue or defer post-price search (Arbatskaya 2005; Jain

and Srivastava 2000). This impacts retailers as it allows for sales to be made on

the promise of the lower price, even if this price is not the best in the market. It

transfers responsibility for getting the best price to the consumer; those who do not

engage in the post purchase price search benefit the retailer. These issues are

looked in more detail in section 2.3.



15

2.2.4 Price Perception

An important area that links with price search behaviour and store choice is the

differences in price perception that consumers have.

The issue within the literature here is the extent to which PMGs affect the

consumer‟s price perception of store prices. Most authors agree that the existence

of a PMG is enough to convince the consumer that the store is low in price

(Biswas et al 2006; Srivastava and Lurie 2004; Kukar-Kinney and Walters 2003).

However, the situations and conditions that allow this process to work are debated

(Srivastava and Lurie 2004). For instance, Biswas et al (2002) found that the use

of the PMG indicated to the customer that the price was low regardless of other

cues that generally signal higher prices. This means that a store may have all the

indicators of a high price (i.e. location, brand, previous advertising) however, if

they offer a PMG then the consumer will perceive the store to be low in price.

Figure 2.1 – Model of PMG Effectiveness in lowering perception of store price

Adapted from Srivastava and Lurie (2004)

The model above (figure 2.1) challenges the view of Biswas et al (2002) on the

basis of market discipline levels. The study is theoretical in nature and looks at the

effects of consumers perceptions towards other consumer‟s reactions. Simply, if a

consumer believes that many other consumers will take advantage of the PMG,

then there is more chance of the PMG being genuine. This is what creates high

market discipline; the process of multiple consumers claiming a PMG in the

market. Without this, the consumer will not perceive the store price to be low as

they do not believe the PMG on offer to be genuine.

The latest research on this subject is by Biswas et al (2006) who hit back at the

findings of Srivastava and Lurie (2004) on the basis that the work is only a

Uncertain

marketprices

High

marketdiscipline

No internal

priceindication

Effective

PMG



16

theoretical expectation; not as the result of empirical research and disproved it in

their findings. Further empirical research would be needed in this area in order to

verify the findings however, it can still be concluded that PMGs create low price

perception in some cases.

2.2.5 Cost of Price Search

So far, the literature has indicated that the effect that PMGs have on price search

and price perception have a key variable which dictates the extent to which the

PMG tactic will be successful i.e. the cost of the price search (Kukar-Kinney et al

2007a). It is therefore important to understand what factors constitute the cost of

the price search. Search costs are described by Arbatskaya (2005:7):

“Search cost includes the cost of getting informed about actual prices inthe market, the cost of making sure that all restrictions on the product,competitors, and timing of price offers are satisfied, as well as the costof returning to the store and obtaining the refund.”

Kukar-Kinney and Grewal (2006) expand on this definition by stating there are

significant differences between bricks and mortar stores and internet retailers due

to the online environment being perceived to be less reliable.

An example of a variable that has been investigated in detail by Srivastava and

Lurie (2004) is the location of stores in relation to one another. The results show

that where competing stores are located in close proximity then the search costs

are perceived by the customer to be lower; they do not need to travel far in order

to carry out the price search (Srivastava and Lurie 2004:122).

A study by Jansen and Parakhonyak (2011) criticises current consumer search

models on the basis that they assume there is no cost to the price search of

revisiting a store they have already been too. Therefore; after a prolonged price

search, the cost of going back to any store identified as the cheapest will incur

additional search costs. An issue with this study is that its methodology states that

they assume all consumers know market prices, something previously contested

by Stigler (1961) and again by Kujala and Johnson (1993).



17

What these studies do not consider is the use of the internet to compare prices of

retail stores; this massively reduces search costs (Arbatskaya 2005; Degeratu et

al 2001). When considering the popularity of price comparison websites in the UK

(Chakraborty et al 2011; Alexa 2012) and the accessibility of the internet, the

actual cost of price search in the UK may be small. Furthermore, as discussed in

the background section, the types of PMG offers of the UK supermarkets are

implemented in such a way that the hassle costs are very low.

Therefore, the cost of price search is not a major factor; for example, Sainsbury‟s

PMG refund happens at the point of sale which means that the customer does not

need to return to the store. With ASDA and Tesco, even though the customer must

return to the store to claim the price match guarantee they are likely to do so

anyway as part of the weekly shop.

2.3 Claiming the Price Match Guarantee

A separate area of study within the PMG literature looks at the processes and

effects that occur when the consumer actually makes the decision to act upon a

PMG and claim the refund. There is only a small amount of research in the area,

focusing on the effects of refund depth (i.e. amount refunded), the time the PMG is

claimed, its effect on loyalty and willingness to claim.

Figure 2.2 – Factors related to claiming the PMG

Source: Kukar-Kinney and Grewal (2006:12)



18

The study by Kukar-Kinney and Grewal (2006) looks at all the factors involved in

the willingness for consumers to claim the PMG. The model above (figure 2.2)

maps these factors in the theoretical framework that was tested in their research.

The findings in terms of retail environment were that a PMG claimed through the

internet was viewed as less reliable and therefore, more difficult to claim than in a

bricks and mortar store. An issue with the finding is that the study does not take

into consideration the way in which UK shoppers use internet channels, also the

use of internet has grown considerably since the study was conducted

(Chakraborty et al 2011).

The implications for the UK market are that both ASDA and Tesco use the internet

as the primary means for the initial price comparison that then gives the consumer

the voucher for the refund. Sainsbury‟s therefore may have an advantage by

offering the PMG refund in store, if the study was found to be consistent with a UK

perspective. This is therefore an area that must be explored in the different context

in order to create a fuller understanding.

Figure 2.3 – Effects of reputation and retail environment on perceived service quality

Source: Kukar-Kinney and Grewal (2006:16)

The study also showed that internet stores with the highest reputation were slightly

higher than a retail store with the lowest reputation in terms service quality, as

shown is figure 2.3. This has an effect on the perceived likelihood of receiving the



19

refund as shown in figure 2.2 therefore; the effects of the type of channel may not

be high as suggested by the results of difficulty to claim alone.

2.3.1 Refund Depth

An important area relating to the claiming of a PMG offer is the extent or size of

refund that is available; this is referred to as refund depth (Kukar-Kinney and

Walters 2003). This is an important area of the literature to understand as the UK

supermarkets differ in depth, based on both amount refunded and items compared

i.e. ASDA offers 10% price beating offer and Sainsbury‟s restrict the PMG by how

much is spent (only active above £20).

The research by Kukar-Kinney and Walters (2003) is one of the first to explore this

area and does so from a consumer perspective; they criticise the lack of research

into PMGs from the consumer perspective as one reason for the research. The

research has three main findings; a modest refund increases believability of the

PMG offer, an aggressive refund is viewed sceptically and deep refunds raise

perceptions of PMG value. It concludes by stating that the refund depth takes the

strongest role in amongst PMG characteristics when influencing the initial

purchasing decision. The findings however, are contradicted by a later study by

Kukar-Kinney (2006) which suggests that refund depth is not the primary

characteristic, instead scope (i.e. number of items, length and range of the PMG)

was the main variable that influenced initial store choice. If this was to apply to UK

market it would suggest that Tesco and ASDA would be favoured by consumers

therefore, this will be an important area to explore in the research.

The study by Kukar-Kinney (2006) also finds that refund depth has no effect

repeat store purchase behaviour whereas the scope of the offer does. This

suggests that consumer prefer more items, over a longer time period to be

considered as part of the PMG tactic. It also shows a link between scope and

loyalty, suggesting that if used in a certain way PMGs can both attract and keep

consumers. The extent to which this applies in the grocery retail sector now needs

to be discovered in greater depth through exploratory research.



20

2.3.2 Timing

A qualitative consumer focused research study by Kukar-Kinney (2005)

investigated the effects of the timing of refunds; either at the time of purchase or

returning to the store at a later time. The research found that consumers are more

likely to seek the refund at the time of purchase (having already found a cheaper

price). This finding would seem to benefit the model of refund that Sainsbury‟s

offer; the point of sale system compares prices and refunds differences on the

receipt. The issue with the findings is that there are no follow up studies to reaffirm

or challenge the results, this therefore presents another area in which further

exploration through the UK market would benefit the academic understanding of

PMGs.

2.4 Price Match Guarantees as Anti-Competitive

A large area of the existing literature centres on whether the PMG tool promotes

competition or is conducive to price collusion. This area is not directly related to

the objectives and would therefore be a potential area of future research. The

literature review of this area can be found in Appendix 8.1

2.5 Analysis of Literature in the context of the UK market

The ways in which PMGs affect the price search behaviour of the customer are

generally agreed upon by academics. PMGs reduce the time of the price search

because the customer‟s perception is that PMGs are indicators of low store price.

Post-purchase price search is encouraged by the PMG offer, they allow the

consumer to buy with the knowledge that if it is cheaper somewhere else they will

not lose out. The cost of price search affects how long the consumer will search

for the best price; the cost is measured in time, effort and hassle. If the price

search cost is low, consumers will continue to look for the best price for longer

than if it is high. The problem with these conclusions is that they do not take into

account the nature of the UK market; the cost of price search is low in terms of

cost, hassle and time. However, this may be explained by habitual shopping being

less about price search and more about intuition due to the low involvement nature

of the products.



21

When claiming a PMG, there are differences based upon reputation, difficulty and

store quality on the consumer willingness; the channel (internet or retail) has an

effect favouring retail stores. The timing of the refund claim is more often at

purchase and store loyalty is increased by a PMG offer that has a large scope.

None of the literature reviewed looks at the UK retail grocery market; in total only

fiveof the studies look at the grocery market regardless of country. This lack of

specific focus in this area does not mean that the literature is not pertinent. The

main difference between grocery and non-grocery has been examined in the

review on the basis of durable/non-durable goods. The literature examined here

will be used in the next section to inform the methodology and knowledge gaps

outlined in section 1.7.

Figure 2.4 - Model of PMG effects on consumers

Drawn from literature review

The model (figure 2.4) synthesises the effects of PMG on the various elements of

consumer behaviours.

PMG

ShortensPrice Search

IncreasesWillingness

to claimrefund

Lowers PricePreception

IncreasesLoyalty

EncouragesPost

PurchasePrice Search



22

Figure 2.5 - Model of characteristics needed for an effective PMG offering

Drawn from literature review

The model above (figure 2.5) summarises the themes in the literature which

identify the various offerings a PMG must have in order to exert the influence

modelled in figure 2.5.

2.6 Knowledge Gaps

From the literature reviewed it is clear there are many unexplored areas in the use

of price match guarantees. The majority of the research is based on the effectsthat PMG has on the fairness of competition, the effects on price perception, the

type of price search and how PMGs are implemented. Effectively, the majority of

the research is from an industry point of view. There is little empirical research on

the perceptions of consumers towards PMG, just the theoretical implications that

are predicted to happen. Therefore, it is now important to explore the speculative

understandings of PMG by applying them to the UK market and looking at a

consumer perspective.



23

The current literature is also heavily orientated to non-grocery retail markets,

grocery retailing makes for only a small percentage of academic understanding

and there are no studies that look at the UK market. Therefore, the application of

the findings in the literature review to the UK market would constitute contributing

towards filling a knowledge gap and add a new important voice to the knowledge

of PMGs.

The next chapter will take the understanding of the current situation of PMGs and

create a research design that can be used to explore the various themes

highlighted as having insufficient research from a consumer perspective.



24

Section 3.0

Methodology



25

This section will deal with the processes involved in creating a research method

that will allow for the gathering of empirical data with a view to meeting the

objectives described in section 1. The aim of the research is „an exploration of

consumer perceptions regarding the use of price match guarantees in

supermarkets focusing on undergraduate students‟, the methodology therefore,

must adopt a suitable design that can achieve this aim.

3.1 Research Process

The structure for the methodology section is adopted from Saunders et al (2009),

using the figure 3.1 below which shows the „research onion‟ which describes the

research process. By using this format, the reasoning behind the research design

decisions is made clearer, the process begins with the choosing of a philosophy

which then governs the decisions made as the research design is created.

Figure 3.1 – The research process ‘onion’

Adapted from Saunders et al (2009)

Philosophy

Approach

Strategy

Choice

Time

Technique



26

3.1.1 Philosophy

In order to create a research method, the philosophical perspective of the

researcher must first be declared. It is the assumptions attached to research

philosophies that underpin the design of the research and therefore impacts on the

way in which data is gathered (Saunders et al 2009).

The research philosophy adopted for the research study is phenomenology which

is part of an interpretivist or anti-positivist philosophy (Bryman and Bell 2011).

Phenomenology is the prevailing approach in qualitative research in social science

literature (Gummesson 2000) and is described by Taylor and Bogdan (1984:2) as;

“The phenomenologist is committed to understanding solitaryphenomena from the actor‟s own perspective. He or she examines howthe world is experienced. The important reality is what people perceive itto be.”

From an ontology perspective, this means that the researcher understands the

world does not have a single reality; instead this reality is socially constructed and

is subjective (Saunders et al 2009). This is important as the research is an

exploration of a phenomenon that has been observed in the US but not in the UK.

It is the potential for difference in the realities of consumers in the two markets that

will mean this report adds a new area to PMG literature.

In terms of epistemology, acceptable knowledge in the context of this research

study, is based on subjective meanings and social phenomena. The focus of

knowledge is on the details of situations and the reality that exists behind these

details. This stance is taken by those who are critical of scientific models beingapplied to the social world. Therefore, the understanding of knowledge reflects this

position, and there is a different logic and method applied to gathering it (Bryman

and Bell 2011).

3.1.2 Approach

The choice of research approach is important as it creates a more thorough

research design that matches the nature of the research problem and allows for a



27

more informed decision to be made regarding the choices within research design

(Easterby-Smith et al 2008).

There are two principle research approaches; inductive and deductive. The latter

focuses on testing existing theory while the former generates new theory

(Saunders et al 2009). Gummesson (2000) argues that after the initial choice

between inductive and deductive all research become abductive; a combination of

approaches although it is necessary, at first, to choose between the two.

The choice made for the research design is inductive; the primary reasoning

behind this decision is that inductive approaches are more suited to gaining an

understanding of the meanings humans‟ attach to events (Saunders et al 2009).

This is more in line with the choice of research philosophy than the rigid scientific

structure of the deductive approach (Bryman and Bell 2011). As this study is an

exploration of consumer perceptions to a particular phenomenon, the inductive

approach is far more appropriate in allowing the research generated to have

meaning.

3.1.3 Strategy

The research strategy is the way in which the research problem is tackled and

although there is no one „correct‟ strategy, the choice is affected by the inductive

approach taken (Saunders 2009).

In order to most effectively research the aims of the project the chosen strategy

was the in depth method (McCracken 1990). This strategy is a common way to

conduct exploratory research and is a principle tool of qualitative researchers

(Gummesson 2000; Bryman and Bell 2011).

3.1.4 Choice

The choice of research method chosen for the subject is a mono method. This

involves using one method for data collection and a corresponding data analysis

procedure (Bryman and Bell 2011; Saunders et al 2009). A problem with using a

mono-method study is that triangulation cannot be employed. The process of

triangulation is using multiple sources of data in order to reduce bias and increase

the validity of the research results (Saunders et al 2009).



28

However, data triangulation has been criticised as a mainly realist approach; it

indicates that there is one world view and multiple methods looking at that view will

increase research validity (Bryman and Bell 2011). This does not fit with the

phenomenological philosophy and as such, multiple methods would only serve to

confuse the research from its objectives. For example, using a focus group and an

interview would present a social and private reality, this would not triangulate into

increasing the validity of the study‟s results because realities do not mix in that

way.

3.1.5 Time

The time horizon represents the time scale at which the research will look. It is

common for case study strategies to employ a cross sectional time scale as the

interviews are conducted over a short space of time (Saunders et al 2009). The

cross sectional study is also in keeping with the phenomenology philosophy, the

reality of the subjects‟ changes over time therefore in order to understand the

issue as it is now; a narrow timeframe must be used in collecting the data.

3.1.6 Technique

The research technique that is employed by the study is the qualitative approach;

this is chosen because of the exploratory nature which demands insight into “how

people understand the issue or situation” (Jankowicz 1995:173).

The use of qualitative research is also the primary way in which to research from a

phenomenological stance; the „feelings‟ of respondents are what must be

discovered which requires the researcher to directly interact with them

(Gummesson 2000).

3.2 Research Design

This section will take the factors outlined in the research process and describe the

impact on the selection of sampling technique, research method and the way in

which the data is to be analysed.



29

3.2.1 Method

As part of an exploratory in depth approach to the research strategy that focused

on the collection of qualitative research data, the primary research method chosen

for the research design was the use of interviews.

3.2.1.1 Interview Styles

There are several types of interview that can be used in order to generate

qualitative empirical or „real world‟ (Gummesson 2000) data, these include;

structured, semi structured and unstructured (Saunders et al 2009).

Table 3.1 – Comparative interview types and situations of use

Exploratory Descriptive Explanatory

Structured xx x

Semi- Structured x xx

Unstructured xx

xx = more frequent x= less frequent

Source: Saunders et al (2009:323)

As this study is exploratory, the table indicated that the most frequent type of

interview used is the unstructured interview. These interviews are described as

being most effective when the scope of the research is not fully understood; no

predetermined questions are used allowing for a long exploratory interview

(Saunders et al 2009).

However, the literature review gave the researcher a pre-understanding of the

topic; this would be part of their reality during the questioning and create particular

areas of interest that should be focused on (Gummesson 2000). An unstructured

interview would not take advantage of these areas of focus and also creates the

potential for too large a quantity of data to be generated, resulting in a “chaotic

effect” (McCracken 1990:25).



30

The use of semi structured interviews would have allowed for the pre-

understanding to be taken into consideration in creating themes around which

questions would be created (Saunders et al 2009). However, this process is

restrictive and does not allow the interviewee to explore areas that the researcher

may not have considered in the questioning (Bryman and Bell 2011).

3.2.1.2 Grand Tour Themes

The need for a method of questioning that is both adaptable to the interviewee

while at the same time not likely to create large amounts of unnecessary data led

to the use of a guided interview focusing on „grand tour‟ themes (McCracken

1990). The grand tour themes, as shown in figure 3.2, allow the interview to go in

any direction with the questioning based off the interviewee‟s answers (Anderson

1954; Tiessen et al 2004). The themes set out within the interview are used as to

draw appropriate boundaries that keep the focus relevant to the research

objectives.

Figure 3.2 – Diagram of ‘grand tour’ themes used in the interview design

Drawn from literature review.

Theme

Price searchbehaviour

ClaimingPMG refund

PricePerception

Purchaseintentions

Store choice



31

3.2.1.3 Pilot Interview

In order to test how useful this approach would be, a pilot interview was

conducted. The interview relied purely on the grand tour themes as a way to

generate questions; further questions were based off the interviewee‟s answers.

The main issue discovered in the pilot interview was that the pressure of creating

questions based around the grand tour themes, while at the same time remaining

as objective as possible, led to a disjointed interview with too many repeated or

similar questions.

3.2.1.4 Final Interview Design

In order to combat the issues discovered in the pilot interview, an interview road

map was created which was utilised in order to guide the final interviews. This

contained the aforementioned grand tour themes along with potential research

questions based around these core themes.

This technique is highlighted as being a key element of a good interviewing

strategy by McCracken (1990) who describes the road map as a travel itinerary;

there are lots of things to do in the interview and a flexible approach is needed to

ensure that there will be sufficient depth into the important issues. The importance

is that the interview has a direction ensuring it will go somewhere useful to

answering the research question.

As part of this method of interviewing, open questions were employed along with

follow up probing questions. The dual tactic of questioning allows for an initially

detailed response and then a follow up question based off the response that can

then explore the more specific points of interest (McCracken 1990; Saunders et al

2009).

3.2.2 Sampling

This section deals with the decisions made with regards to creating a sample for

the research project. How a sample group is created impacts on the validity and

reliability of the research therefore, justifying the use of particular techniques and

the sample size is important (Saunders et al 2009; Bryman and Bell 2011;

Jankowicz 1995).



32

3.2.2.1 Sampling Technique

The choice of sampling technique has many effects on the validity, cost and extent

of generalizable representation of the sample group. Although there are many

types of sampling to consider, time and cost restraints limit the ability to choose

the more complex probability sampling techniques. These samples consist of

creating a sampling frame of the population from which a sample can then be

taken; this method is generally representative of the population characteristics

(Saunders et al 2009).

The technique that is left is non-probability sampling, although these samples tend

to be less representative, the nature of the study itself is more suited to this type of

sampling (Jankowicz 1995). The non-probability sampling technique that was used

is purposive sampling, with specific focus on typical cases sampling (Henry 1990).

This sample involves the researcher using their judgement to select cases that are

known to be useful and do not represent any extreme (Henry 1990; Saunders et al

2009).

An issue with the sampling technique is that it is unlikely to be generalizable to a

large population (Henry 1990; Saunders et al 2009) however, the generalisation of

social studies is criticised by Gummesson (2000) as being prejudicial and not

conducive to understanding. McCracken (1990) also argues that the sample is not

chosen to represent a part of the larger world; instead it is used to provide an

insight into a particular issue.

3.2.2.2 Sample Size

There has been intense academic debate regarding how large a qualitative

research sample should be (Mason 2010). The most prominent theory research

academics subscribe to is the concept of data saturation. Proposed by Glaser and

Strauss (1967), data saturation is described as “the diminishing marginal

contribution of each additional case” (Gummesson 2000:96). This means after a

certain number of interviews, the contribution of knowledge will not add any more

useful information in understanding the research problem.



33

The point at which a study reaches data saturation is contested but generally

relies on factors regarding the scope of the study and how modest its aims are

(Mason 2010). For instance, Charmaz (2006) suggests that the aims of the

research study are the primary factor in determining when data saturation is

reached. A small study with modest aims is likely to reach a point of data

saturation quicker than a study that spans multiple industries or disciplines.

McCracken (1990) also adds that it is more important to work more closely with a

smaller sample group than to work in a more superficial way with a larger group.

Finally, Creswell (1998) suggests that phenomenological studies should have a

sample between 4 and 25 depending on the objectives of the research.

As the research study was an exploratory study on one market with the

phenomenon in its infancy, the sample size was 4 in depth interviews. This was

predicted to yield sufficient data without wasting time gathering more views than is

necessary in order to provide an initial understanding into the consumer‟s thoughts

on the research problem.

Table 3.2 – Break down of selected interviewees

Interviewee 1 2 3 4

Age 21 24 21 21

Sex M M M F

The interviewees (table 3.2) selected for the research project were all between 21

and 24 year old undergraduate students. They were purposively sampled on the

basis of having a fresh experience grocery shopping due to recently becoming

independent.

3.2.3 Collection and Analysis of Data

This section of the research design discusses the ways in which data was

conducted and how the data was subsequently analysed. It also presents the

ethical considerations involved in the collection of data through interviews.



34

3.2.3.1 Ethics

When conducting research, there are always ethical considerations that must be

taken into consideration regarding the way in which data is collected and the

protection of subsequently collected data (Saunders et al 2009; Bryman and Bell

2011). All interviewees were made aware of the way in which their data would be

used, given notification of interviews being recorded and informed they could stop

the interview at any time. By doing this, the ethics conform to the guidelines set

out as good interview practice by Bryman and Bell (2011), McCracken (1990) and

Saunders et al (2009).

3.2.3.2 Data Recording

The interviews were conducted in a one on one environment in the interviewee‟s

home, this was for the interviewee‟s convenience and in order to make them more

relaxed. Having the interviewees relaxed meant they were likely to contribute a

useful amount of knowledge (Saunders et al 2009).

In the interviews, there was more than one source of data to be generated.

Although, the verbal responses to the questions are the most obvious source of

data, Hall (1959) posits that the nonverbal language has equal importance. This

nonverbal language is made up from behaviours and gestures and is part of a

verbal answer therefore; the mono-method study had the additional method of

observation as a secondary source of data. The use of the phenomenology

philosophy involves understanding not just what people say in the studies but also

the acknowledgment of behavioural attributes (Gummesson 2000). By comparing

the physical actions of the interviewee with the verbal data, the bias in decoding

the verbal was lowered by examining any corresponding physical reactions to the

questions i.e. pauses, puzzled face, defensive posture. This could have been

achieved by video recording the interviews however, many people are put off by

cameras and hiding them would be unethical (Bryman and Bell 2011).

To be able to analyse the verbal responses, it is a commonly recommended

research procedure to transcribe the interview into a written form (Saunders et al

2009; Bryman and Bell 2011; McCracken 1990; Jankowicz 1995). There is

however, debate over who should transcribe the data. Both Saunders et al (2009)



35

and Bryman and Bell (2011) believe that the interview should be transcribed by the

researcher as this allows them to become familiar with the results and makes

subsequent analysis easier. However, McCracken (1990:42) argues that the

transcription should be carried out by a professional as the researcher would

become “frustrated” and have “a familiarity with the data that does not serve the

latter part of the analysis”. In regard to this debate, the research followed the

advice of Saunders et al (2009) and Bryman and Bell (2011) due to the prohibitive

cost of professional transcription services.

3.2.3.3 Data Analysis

The analysis of qualitative data is said to be one of the most demanding aspect of

the research process (Miles 1979:595; Piore 1979). The methods regarding the

analysis of data generated by qualitative research are also far less developed in

academia than the research methods themselves (Boyatzis 1998).

Although there are written methods for the analysis of qualitative data, McCracken

(1990:41) argues that “different problems will require different strategies” which

suggests there is no all-encompassing process. Furthermore, Miles (1979:593)

states that the “analysis of qualitative data is a mysterious, half-formulated art”.

A study by (Sieber 1976) conducted a review of seven respected texts on

qualitative methods finding that none had more than 10% of their pages devoted to

analysis methods. The study also found that there was almost no specific analysis

advice for different types of research methods, i.e. exploratory, explanatory. The

study did find some elements that authors typically agreed on such as the need for

identifying themes and formulating classes of phenomena.

The analysis tool that this research project used is best described as a form of

thematic analysis, derived from methods discussed by Miles (1979) and more

modern texts such as McCracken (1990), Saunders et al (2009) and Bryman and

Bell (2011). This analysis tool is the most commonly used and is also highly

adaptable to specific studies furthermore; it follows the key elements identified by

Sieber (1976) i.e. creation of themes and discovery of phenomena. The specific



36

process that the research study followed is outlined in the diagram (figure 3.3)

below.

Figure 3.3 – Processes involved in the thematic analysis of data

Adapted from McCracken (1990), Miles (1979) and Saunders et al (2009)

The first process in the analysis is to condense the amount of data; transcripts

contain large amounts of information not all of which has a relevance to the

research study (Miles 1979). Furthermore, Gummesson (2000) suggests that it is

a key part of the r esearcher‟s job to be able to compress the data. The process of

condensing data involved reading through the transcript of each interview and

making observations on the content. When a sentence with information that was

relevant to the research project presented itself, a notation was made. By making

these observations, it was also possible to find preliminary associations between

the data (McCracken 1990).

Following on from the first process, the second process involved a coding of the

initial observations into groups based on similar meanings (Saunders et al 2009,

McCracken 1990). This coded data (table 3.3) was then extracted from the original

transcripts in order to display all text that is associated with a particular code i.e.

sentences with expensive, close by.

Table 3.3 – Example of a coded observation

Statement Observed Codes

Cos I'm running quite low on money so I'm

just kind of going for the cheapest option. I

know that there are stores close by butthey‟re too expensive, you know like Spar.

Low - money, cheapest, option, stores -

close by, expensive

Observation Data CodingCreation of

ThemesModeling



37

The third process took the coded data and created a hierarchy of themes in order

to categorize the research (Sieber 1976; Saunders et al 2009; Miles 1979). These

themes made it possible to model what interviewees thought about specific

aspects of the phenomenon (Saunders et al 2009) and also combined all of the

research studies to show agreeing/ disagreeing thoughts (McCracken 1990).

The final step involved modelling the themes that were identified in order to display

what the interviews said about a specific aspect of the research project. This was

then compared to the themes that were identified in the literature review

(McCracken 1990; Saunders et al 2009; Miles 1979). By doing this, the data from

the research could be compared against the current understanding of the

phenomenon (McCracken 1990; Sieber 1976). This allowed for an analysis of the

similarities, differences and new data provided by the research project (Saunders

et al 2009; Bryman and Bell 2011). The following section will present the results

along with a discussion of their impact on the research objectives.



38

Section 4.0

Findings and Discussion



39

This section presents the findings of the in depth interviews that were described in

the previous section. The discussion of the findings will take place simultaneously

in order to best present the ways in which the new empirical data fits in with the

current view of the academic literature on PMGs.

4.1 Price search behaviour

The first primary research objective was to investigate how price match

guarantees affect the price search behaviour of undergraduate students in terms

of purchase intention. This involved looking at the way in which the offer of a PMG

could be said to change the way in which the process of buying a product. The

current literature indicates that price search is shortened by the offer of a PMG

which increases the likeliness of a purchase being made (Arbatskaya 2005;

Srivastava and Lurie 2001).

The analysis of the research discovered several themes that fall under the larger

theme of price search. These themes were created from the analysis and grouping

of codes discovered in the interview transcripts. The diagram below (figure 4.1)

shows the themes that construct the higher „grand tour‟ theme identified from the

literature. Themes that are circled were not discussed in the literature.

Figure 4.1 – Themes involved in price search behaviour

Identified from thematic analysis of interview transcripts

Price Search

PriceKnowledge

Cost of pricesearch

PriceKnowledge

RepeatedPatronage

LearnedBehaviour

Intutition

Cost of PriceSearch

Access toStores

Saving Amount

Value of Time

Post PurcahsePrice Search

Liklihood of Refund

In builtsaving

method

Effective PMG

RefundAmount

Refund

Scope

Claiming



40

The main themes that fall under price search are price knowledge and the cost of

price search, each of these then have several identified themes within. Finally, the

understanding of what makes a PMG effective relates back to the ability for it to

influence the price search behaviour.

4.1.1 Price knowledge

The research discovered that the way in which the interviewees constructed price

knowledge was heavily influenced by the experience of shopping rather than using

any formal means of price searching such as using price comparison sites. All of

the interviewees discussed price knowledge in the sense that prices were learned

through shopping trips rather than by purposely setting out to learn market prices.

The table below shows the responses of interviewees regarding knowing the cost

of products.

Table 4.1 – Quotes describing construction of price knowledge

“You tend to get a feel for the costs of products, you get a basic average of

like how much milk should cost, cheese and stuff… based off experience

really”

“I like, usually buy similar meals each week, after a while you just get an

understanding of how much things cost”

“I don‟t really know. I can only sort of compare against similar products sold in

the same shop. I just go from experience”

“After shopping for a while, you just know the prices of things that you buy, I

don‟t properly look to see if they are good prices but it‟s what I think‟s fair.”

This highlights that the process is more informal and learned over time, using

words such as „feel‟ is very subjective and therefore personal to an individual

reality; this suggests that price knowledge is not a strict concept. This is similar to

the discoveries of Kujala and Johnson (1993) and Srivastava and Lurie (2001) in

that a formal method of price search does not need to take place before each shop

as customers use intuition when purchases are low involvement.



41

The findings also indicated that it was the repeated patronage of a store that

allowed for an understanding of its prices to be gained over time. By visiting the

same store and buying the same or similar products regularly, the consumer is

able to learn the expected cost of the shop over time. The current literature does

not offer this as a way in which price knowledge is gained, instead it looks towards

comparisons of prices between multiple stores as a way of assessing price.

However, an explanation for why the interviewees do not feel the need to compare

between stores is offered in the research.

Table 4.2 – Quotes describing price perception of UK supermarkets

“In general I think supermarkets are very competitive, I think that‟s a major

advantage of being a customer. They are all competing with each other and

you are going to get lower and lower prices at different places.”

In terms of price I think they offer a variety of items to suit every type of

shopper, I suppose in that sense they are can be all similar in price

depending what you buy.

The above quotes indicate that there is a belief that prices in UK supermarket arevery similar even though the interviewees had never actually checked the prices of

them. This explains how they can construct knowledge of product prices without

visiting other stores.

4.1.2 Cost of Price Search

The research showed that price search was not only inhibited by the intuitive price

knowledge process but also because of a perceived high cost of searching. For

example, when asked why they did not search for prices before shopping one

interviewee stated;

“The time it would take to find out information is too much comparedwith the potential few pence of savings”

This is in line with the current academic understanding of price search behaviour

in that high costs deter price searching (Kukar-Kinney et al 2007a; Srivastava and

Lurie 2004). However, the reasons for the perception of a high cost differed with



42

multiple themes identified as being interrelated to the cost of price search; these

are shown in the diagram below.

Figure 4.2 – Factors identified from research as causing high search costs


The limited access to others stores was a reason for a high cost of price search by

half of the interviewees, they only shopped at one local store so perceived a cost

in going to look for prices at other stores that were further away. This finding

supports the literature, particularly Srivastava and Lurie (2004) who discuss store

distance and location as a primary reason for the high cost of price searching. The

size of savings that compared to the cost of searching was another discovery that

has also been identified in literature by multiple authors (Kujala and Johnson 1993;

Hess and Gerstner 1991; Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009).

A factor that the research found to be a construct of high search costs but was not

shown in previous literature is the value of the time that would be spent searching.

The interviewees discussed that searching for prices was simply not worth it

because they placed a high value of their time over money; one interviewee stated

“I value my time more than wasting it trying to recoup a few quid.”

This discovery is important in being able to fully understand how offers like PMGs

are viewed by the consumer. However good an offer may be, the way in which the

Acess toStores

2/4

Value of time

3/4

Size of savings

3/4



43

consumers place value on factors like time and money will have an impact on the

uptake of an offer.

4.1.3 Post Purchase Price Search

The ability for the consumer to continue searching for cheaper prices after the

initial purchase of a product is highlighted by the literature as a key factor of a

PMG offering (Arbatskaya 2005; Kukar-Kinney et al 2007b). However, the

research discovered an important theme that was not present in the literature; the

ability for the consumer to save money by purchasing strategically with an in built

saving method.

Table 4.3 – Quotes describing purchasing habits

“There are some products that I like to go for the brand, things like gravy or

bread. They are things that I‟d normally go for but other things like chicken

breast or mince I find that you might as well go for the cheapest option

because it‟s cheaper and it‟s practically the same product. I mean it might be

less in quality but it‟s still the same thing.”

“Sometimes I go for value if I am wary of money; other times I actually justlike the cheap stuff. I‟d say I mainly go for own brand. Doing that means I

know I'm saving over buying more branded stuff that rips you off.”

By selecting products at different price levels, the consumer has the belief that

they are getting the best deal because of their actions. Searching for cheaper

prices after the purchase would undermine their strategy of purchasing.

4.1.4 Effective Price Match Guarantees

The research also looked at various areas relating to the effectiveness of a PMG,

this is because its effectiveness has a direct impact on its ability to alter behaviour

(Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009). One area that the research looked closely at

was how a PMG can be made more effective in terms of its refund size or

comparison scope. The findings in this area showed that overall, the interviewees

favoured a larger refund rather than a wider offering of comparisons. The quotes

below (table 4.4) illustrate the difference of opinion.



44

Table 4.4 – Comparison of thoughts relating to PMG effectiveness

Effectiveness of PMG

Large Refund Wider Scope

“If I was doing the weekly shop and was

spending say thirty or forty pounds and I knew

that going to a particular place would save me

like five pounds per shop then I‟d go to that

place”.

“If more products were compared and

drove the prices down of my shop that

would be a big factor”.

“Obviously a larger refund is better if I was

going to use the offer.”

“I wouldn‟t even bother using the guarantee

unless I knew it was going to save me loads,

otherwise it‟s a waste of time”.

The comparison of the data clearly shows that a larger refund is the main factor

favoured; the respondent favouring wider scope still mentions that it would be the

effect on price that was desirable. This is supported by the earlier discussion

relating to the cost of price search; as it is perceived to be high then so must the

potential refund in order to justify the initial cost.

The literature relating to this area is restricted to just 2 other studies however, they

both find similar results; a large refund is more attractive to initially convincing the

customer to try a PMG (Kukar-Kinney and Walters 2003, Kukar-Kinney 2006).

4.2 Supermarket Choice

The second primary research objective was to explore the way in which price

match guarantees can change consumer supermarket choice. This involves

looking at the factors that dictate supermarket choice and the way in which a PMG

can influence these.



45

Figure 4.3 – Themes involved in store choice


The themes developed from an analysis of the interview transcripts are presented

in the diagram (figure 4.3). The research discovered factors that related to store

choice and also discovered the importance that the interviewees placed on these

factors. The implication of this is that the PMG cannot have an effect on some of

the factors discovered; while they can influence store choice by offering largerefunds but not by making a store appear near someone. The table (4.5) below

shows the four main themes that were discussed by the interviewees and lists

them by the number of times these themes were mentioned.

Table 4.5 – Importance of themes relating to the choice of a store

Theme Quote Importance

Convenience “If it was local and like pretty convenient then yeh that‟s would

be okay, I don‟t think I‟d save much if I had to go all over just

to save money”

Very High

4/4

Size of

Refund

“Obviously a larger refund is better if I was going to use the

offer.”

High 3/4

Type of Shop “I tend to visit the supermarket every day to pick up bits as

and when I need them.”

High 3/4

Hassle “It takes too long to wait for it to work on the internet, id have

lost my receipt and forgot about doing it the next day”

Medium 2/4

StoreChoice

Location

ClaimingMethod

Trust

Location

Conve-nience

Type of Shop

ClaimingMethod

Amount of Hassle

Refund Size



46

The findings indicate that there are multiple factors with importance that determine

the choice of a store. The findings relating to the size of refund has been

previously discussed in section 4.1.4. The findings relating to the other themes will

discuss below.

4.2.1 Convenience

The convenience of the stores location was the most important factor given by all

of the interviewees in terms of how they determine the store that the use for

shopping. This was not previously considered by the literature and also opens up

a range of possible research into the consumer‟s ability to access stores that offer

PMGs. Some of the literature does discuss elements such as distance and

location of the stores (Srivastava and Lurie 2004; Kukar-Kinney et al 2007a)

however; the themes discovered here suggest that convenience is entirely

separate entity. The strength of convenience as a factor is highlighted by one

quote from an interviewee;

“If I only needed a bottle of milk I would go down to the corner shopand pay a little bit extra. Just because it means I don‟t have to gohalf a mile out of the way.”

This demonstrates that this consumer would pay more for a product that they

knew was overpriced because it was more convenient to do so. Whether another

store has a PMG does not influence the consumer in this situation because they

know that they could save the money but purposely does not do so.

4.2.2 Type of Shop

The research discovered that consumers had two distinct types of shopping; either

weekly or buying as needed. This was not found in any previous literature on

PMGs, indicating there may be potential cultural differences in the way that

consumers purchase groceries. Only one of the interviewees never conducted a

weekly shop while the others all shopped weekly while also buying other items

when needed. The diagram (figure 4.4) below shows this shopping behaviour.



47

Figure 4.4 – Display of interviewees’ shopping habits


The impact of these findings is that consumers were found to only be likely to take

advantage of a PMG if they stood to save a large amount of money, only weekly

shopping is conducive to this. Although the majority of the consumer did go

shopping on a weekly basis, they also they also displayed mixed purchasing

behaviour. The quote below demonstrates the opinion of an interviewee that did

not shop weekly.

“I don‟t do a weekly shop; I just buy products when I need them. I don‟t

think I‟d save enough money for the time spent getting it to be worthwhile.”

The findings of shopping type relate back to the size of the refund and potential to

save money. The consumer does not see the potential for a large enough saving

for them to alter their shopping behaviour.

4.2.3 Trustworthiness of Stores

A separate factor that the research discovered that directly relates to the choice of

store when a PMG is offered is the issue of trust. The literature indicated that there

must be trust in both the retailer as a business and in its ability to deliver on

promises (Kukar-Kinney and Grewal 2006). The research findings were that the

stores were generally trustworthy although each interviewee had a different reasonfor this belief, the table (4.6) below displays these beliefs.

Mixed

3/4

WeeklyShop

3/4

Buy asneeded

1/4



48

Table 4.6 – Quotes describing store trustworthiness

“If they are advertising it in public, like on TV and stuff then yeh I‟d say

they have an obligation to adhere to those terms

“I have no real reason not to believe them. Especially since Sainsbury‟s

have started to give receipts stating how much you saved shopping

there”

“Yeh I‟d say I do believe what they say in their adverts, but I‟m aware

that the stuff they say has been done by marketing people”

The table shows that the one of the interviewees‟ found stores to be honest

because of transparency while the other believed it was due to them being

obligated. The third interviewee did not offer a reason and the fourth did not have

a belief either way. The literature offers a different reason from those discovered in

analysis of the research which is that the reputation of the store is a source of trust

(Kukar-Kinney and Grewal 2006). The findings suggest therefore, that there are

many reasons for a consumer to trust a stores PMG offering but the important

element is that the trust exists.



49

Section 5.0

Conclusion



50

This section concludes the research project by looking at the extent to which the

research aim was achieved and the degree to which the objectives were met. The

implications that the research may have on future studies are discussed, along

with a critical reflection of the issues that the research presents for both

businesses and consumers.

5.1 Meeting Objectives

The first objective was met through secondary research which involved the

discovery and review of literature relating to the issue of PMGs. The literature

showed that there was no previous research into the use of PMGs in the UK

market and that studies into supermarkets in general were very limited. The review

of the literature did allow for the discovery of the key issues and the identification

of knowledge gaps that the study would intend to bridge.

The second objective was tackled through the use of a qualitative research

methodology and research design that allowed for an exploration of the

consumers reality. The research indicated that consumers do not change their

price search behaviour on the offer of a PMG. The primary reasons for this is that

the interviewee‟s price search was very limited due to a perceived high cost of

comparing prices, an intuitive price knowledge process and high value placed on

their time. As the price search was already shortened by these factors, the offer of

a PMG did not shorten the price search process or increase purchase intentions.

The research findings were similar to that of the current literature in that the

general consensus is that price search will not take place when search costs are

high. However, the research did find factors that the literature does not consider

such as the value the consumer places on their time.

The third objective also used qualitative research and was related to the extent to

which PMGs could influence supermarket choice. The research found that

although there are certain ways in which an effective PMG will have an influence

on the consumer, the most important factor in store choice was convenience. This

factor was demonstrated as being the consumer‟s primary concern when choosing

a store, above factors such as refund size, level of trustworthiness the store had.



51

The PMG offer itself cannot change the stores location neither can it make a store

more convenient for the consumer.

The literature suggests that PMGs do have an effect on store choice and although

the research findings do not outright refute this, it does suggest that in the UK

market at least there are other factors that are valued above simply saving money.

5.2 Direction of future research

The research indicates that PMGs are not as successful in influencing purchase

intentions or store choice in the same way the literature suggests that they are in

the US and other countries. As this study only focused on undergraduate students,

an obvious direction for future research would be to discover if these findings are

consistent with other consumer groups. Furthermore, quantitative based studies

could be used in order to discover the extent that the issues identified in this

research exist in the wider market.

The research also found a previously undiscovered theme relating to how

consumers perceive the costs of price search; the value that they place on their

time. This could be an area of research to undertake in the US market to discover

if this phenomenon is unique to the consumers of the UK market or it has been

previously unidentified in US based research.

5.3 Implications

The research findings have many implications on both businesses and consumers

in relation to the use of PMGs. In terms of the implications for business, the

research showed that the key reason for interviewees not using a PMG offer was

the perceived cost of price search. Supermarkets should ensure that they are

drawing the consumers focus to the elements of their PMG offering that make it

easy, quick and cheap to use i.e. Sainsbury‟s offer requiring no further steps by

the consumer.

Furthermore, the research showed that the most effective element of the PMG in

being effective is a large refund depth or the potential for the consumer to save a

meaningful amount. Again because of this, supermarkets that offer a large refund



52

should make this very clear i.e. Asda offering 10% discount over competitors. By

making these points clear in their marketing communications, the businesses are

likely to benefit from increased awareness of those factors consumers care most

about.

Another important finding was that convenience often played a larger role in store

choice than any elements of the PMG that the supermarket has the ability to

control. In order to maximise the uptake of PMG offers, it should be made clear to

consumers that local supermarkets such as Tesco Express of Sainsbury's Local

also offer the PMG and that it is not strictly for use in the large stores. This should

limit the effect of convenience being a major factor by ensuring the consumer

understands that they can have both convenience and the PMG offer.

The main implication of the research for consumers is that it indicates people often

rely on intuition and previous behaviour as cues for what a fair price is. The lack of

price search behaviour, although mainly attributed to the perceived high cost it

entails, may also be related to the process of grocery shopping becoming too

habitual and consumers failing to challenge the supermarkets through offerings

such as PMGs. The research indicates that there is not a high enough level of

involvement in the shopping process, if shoppers were to take more formal

approaches to the process there may be the potential for large savings.



53

Section 6.0

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62

Section 7.0

Appendix



63

7.1 Price Match Guarantees as Anti-Competitive

This is looked at in some depth by Arbatskaya et al (2004) who conduct a

thorough investigation into the issue, looking at 515 different examples of PMG

offers. The research intends to answer the question as to whether PMG‟s are

actually beneficial to the consumer and to what extent some of the offerings

promote anti-competitive practices, it also reviews some of the literature

surrounding that area.

One interesting view provided is that “theorists typically do not distinguish among

the variety of low price guarantees” (Arbatskaya et al 2004:308) which leads to the

confusion of the results of other studies. The main discussion in the paper is of the

perceived anti-competitive nature of PMG‟s which they argue is supported by too

little empirical evidence. The study separated the area of PMG‟s into two main

subsections depending on how the offer was formed; price matching and price

beating. They conclude that PMG‟s do not generally allow for anti-competitive

pricing because in order to do so the hassle cost to the consumer must be low

however, they found that overall 44% of price matching guarantees and 90% of

price beating guarantees did not facilitate collusion of prices. This area was

revisited by Arbatskaya (2005) and again concluded that PMG do not specifically

allow for anti-competitive markets to exist.

The findings presented in Arbatskaya et al (2004) and Arbatskaya (2005) are in

sharp contrast with other studies. The first is Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty (2009)

who look at PMG‟s in the context of bargain assurances, an offer where by the

customer is explicitly told that a price or deal is the best and therefore can cut

short price search. They argue that this often misleads the customer and that in

order for a PMG to not be deceptive; the price comparison made with competitors

should be defined (Lindsey-Mullikin and Petty 2009:67). They also argue that

„when an entire industry uses price matching refunds, the incentive to compete on

price declines‟, a sentiment that is supported by Eldin (1997) and Salop (1986).

This is a clear indication of a belief that PMG‟s are in fact anti-competitive in terms

of collusive pricing.



64

The empirical study by Hess and Gerstner (1991) also conflicts with Arbatskaya et

al (2004) however, there is less emphasis on whether or not the outcome of PMG

should actually be described as anti-competitive. Instead, they conclude that

adoption of PMG‟s helps supermarkets avoid price competition which in turn leads

to generally higher prices. This view is also supported by Srivastava and Lurie

(2001).

Overall, the literature in this area is in debate, this is because much of the work is

not empirical and even where it is, there is no agreement. It is therefore

reasonable to conclude that PMG‟s do have a major effect on competition; the

customer is not going to get the best price if everyone offers the same price. The

degree to which this is anticompetitive is debatable and more applicable to a study

in the area of business economics or business law. Although this research study

will not focus specifically on the area of anti-competitive practices, this is

nonetheless an important area of the literature to understand. The literature will be

used to inform the methodology and it sets the scene for what could be future

issues in the British market: the chance for collusive pricing is increased the longer

that price match guarantees are enforced as more companies begin to follow suit

(Eldin 1997).



65

7.2 Sample Interview Transcript One

Interview Transcript 1M21 – 60/03/2012

Researcher: Could you explain how you decide where to shop for groceries?

Interviewee: Erm…at the moment it‟s based off what‟s cheapest. Cos I'm running

quite low on money so I'm just kind of going for the cheapest option. I know that

there are stores close by but they‟re too expensive, you know like Spar. Too

expensive to afford to buy the weekly shop.

Researcher: Do you ever change the place you shop?

Interviewee: I switch between the Asda in Hulme and the Sainsbury's down the

road. I tend to go to Sainsbury‟s for the location. If I'm passing by I‟ll pop in

otherwise I‟ll go to Asda.

Researcher: Do you shop weekly or do you just purchase the items as you need

them?

Interviewee: If I'm tending to run low on stuff like in the fridge or cupboard, I‟ll run

over and grab stuff, like if I run out of milk. I‟ll go to a shop that‟s nearest and pick

up a few essentials but I won‟t actually do a weekly shop, I‟ll just pick up what I

need at the time.

Researcher: How do you know how much products should cost when grocery

shopping?

Interviewee: Its based off, with living at uni I‟ve shopped at a lot of places like spar

Tesco Sainsbury's Asda and during that time you tend to get a feel for the costs of

products, you get a basic average of like how much milk should cost, cheese and

stuff. After a while, after a couple of years you kind of weigh up where is likely to

be cheaper and you go for those options instead. It‟s basically just comparing,

based off experience really.



66

Researcher: So do you believe that you are quite aware of the general pricing of

products offered in supermarkets?

Interviewee: Yeh I mean I couldnt tell you any prices on the spot, I couldn‟t give

you the price of milk right now but if I was in a shop I‟d know what a good price is.

Researcher: Do you regularly check the price or offers of supermarkets before

engaging in shopping?

Interviewee: No, no I just go off my experience.

Researcher: Is there any particular reason you don‟t take the time to look before

you go?

Interviewee: Personally I find it unnecessary; I‟ll just go to Asda because they offer

you a large enough variety of products to give you the choice of what you are

going to buy. You can buy half decent milk or really cheap milk. So there‟s no point

doing research beforehand.

Researcher: So you don‟t believe searching for prices before going shopping

would be beneficial in finding the lowest priced stores?

Interviewee: I suppose if you went and you were doing a weekly shop erm you

could probably compare a basket. But if you are going around just picking up odds

and ends I don‟t really see much point.

Researcher: If you knew that you had the chance to be given a refund for finding

cheaper prices would you keep looking after you had purchased?

Interviewee: Personally, no. again, I'm just used to shopping where I always shop

and I go f or the cheapest options there. They tend to be the cheapest, I don‟t look

at any other places.

Researcher: Could you explain how you perceive supermarkets in terms of price?



67

Interviewee: In general I think supermarkets are very competitive, I think that‟s a

major advantage of being a customer. They are all competing with each other and

you are going to get lower and lower prices at different places. There are places

like the smaller shops, like Spar that do tend to be expensive but I believe they go

off the convenience factor cos they are usually in really convenient places. But

supermarkets are all pretty similar.

Researcher: So because of the competition, you think that they are all quite

similar?

Interviewee: Yeh, obviously certain things are expensive in some supermarkets

but you could shop cheaply at any of them.

Researcher: How would a supermarket offering to match the price of competitors

change your perception of that cost of products in that supermarket?

Interviewee: The only way that it would change my perception is a combination of

how much it would save, if it was a big enough saving, like more than five or ten

pounds and if it was convenient then I‟d definitely go to that place because I‟d

know it was cheapest.

Researcher: Do you view grocery shopping as a series of individual product

purchases or as a single large purchase?

Interviewee: When I'm picking up the items to buy I tend to think of them

individually, I never really think about how much it will cost overall I just go off the

fact that the cheaper products I get the less expensive my baskets going to be.

Researcher: How do you choose between the items on the shelf?

Interviewee: There are some products that I like to go for the brand, things like

gravy or bread. They are things that I‟d normally go for but other things like

chicken breast or mince I find that you might as well go for the cheapest option

because it‟s cheaper



68

7.3 Sample Interview Transcript Two



Interviewee: I‟d say it‟s mainly based off convenience, as I don‟t have a car at Uni

with me I can only be bothered taking my weeks shopping so far. if I need any

random meals I just buy them wherever‟s closest.

Researcher: What is the most important factor?

Interviewee: just that the shop is within walking distance from home.


Interviewee: Yeh, I‟d rather shop at Tesco or Waitrose when I am at home, but

neither of these are within relevant distance at Uni. If I am buying a random meal I

will buy it anywhere, usually for a treat I buy things from M&S.


them?

Interviewee: I generally do a weekly shop but sometimes still run out of stuff! If I do

I go somewhere near where I am, like if I'm at uni or something.


shopping?

Interviewee: I like, usually buy similar meals each week, after a while you just get

an understanding of how much things cost. Obviously stuff like deals may sway

my decision, and buying different brands if they are on offer.





69

Interviewee: Like I said before really, my weekly shop will be the same price every

week. I think I am aware of how much things usually cost, and obviously the mark

up supermarkets will place on products from stuff I‟ve done at uni.

Researcher: Could you recall the price of items bought in the last shop?

Interviewee: Yeah my last week‟s shop was about £22, and contained £5 in

cheese and £1.40 in potatoes!



Interviewee: Not really, as I can only go to one supermarket there is little point.

Also as I walk around the supermarket the deals are usually well publicised around

the store so I just select the relevant ones to my needs.

Researcher: Do you think spending time searching for information before shopping

will help find the cheapest supermarket?

Interviewee: It can do when you‟re like buying the groceries, but with current petrol

expenses the savings you make in the store may be wiped out by travelling further

than you need to!



Interviewee: No not really, I value my time more than wasting it trying to recoup a

few quid.


Interviewee: Prices are usually cheaper than that of individual stores, I am happy

to pay what I do for the stuff I buy.



70

7.3 Sample Interview Coding



Interviewee: Erm…at the moment it‟s based off what‟s cheapest. Cos I'm running

quite low on money so I'm just kind of going for the cheapest option. I know that

there are stores close by but they‟re too expensive, you know like Spar. Too

expensive to afford to buy the weekly shop.


Interviewee: I switch between the Asda in Hulme and the Sainsbury's down the

road. I tend to go to Sainsbury‟s for the location. If I'm passing by I‟ll pop in

otherwise I‟ll go to Asda.


them?

Interviewee: If I'm tending to run low on stuff like in the fridge or cupboard, I‟ll run

over and grab stuff, like if I run out of milk. I‟ll go to a shop that‟s nearest and pick

up a few essentials but I won‟t actually do a weekly shop, I‟ll just pick up what I

need at the time.


shopping?

Interviewee: Its based off , with living at uni I‟ve shopped at a lot of places like spar

Tesco Sainsbury's Asda and during that time you tend to get a feel for the costs of

products, you get a basic average of like how much milk should cost, cheese and

stuff. After a while, after a couple of years you kind of weigh up where is likely to

be cheaper and you go for those options instead. It‟s basically just comparing,

based off experience really.



71



Interviewee: Yeh I mean I couldnt tell you any prices on the spot, I couldn‟t give

you the price of milk right now but if I was in a shop I‟d know what a good price is.



Interviewee: No, no I just go off my experience.

Researcher: Is there any particular reason you don‟t take the time to look before

you go?

Interviewee: Personally I find it unnecessary; I‟ll just go to Asda because they offer

you a large enough variety of products to give you the choice of what you are

going to buy. You can buy half decent milk or really cheap milk. So there‟s no point

doing research beforehand.

Researcher: So you don‟t believe searching for prices before going shopping

would be beneficial in finding the lowest priced stores?

Interviewee: I suppose if you went and you were doing a weekly shop erm you

could probably compare a basket. But if you are going around just picking up odds

and ends I don‟t really see much point.



Interviewee: Personally, no. again, I'm just used to shopping where I always shop

and I go for the cheapest options there. They tend to be the cheapest, I don‟t look

at any other places.




Interviewee: In general I think supermarkets are very competitive, I think that‟s a

major advantage of being a customer. They are all competing with each other and

you are going to get lower and lower prices at different places. There are places

like the smaller shops, like Spar that do tend to be expensive but I believe they go

off the convenience factor cos they are usually in really convenient places. But

supermarkets are all pretty similar.

Researcher: So because of the competition, you think that they are all quite

similar?

Interviewee: Yeh, obviously certain things are expensive in some supermarkets

but you could shop cheaply at any of them.

Researcher: How would a supermarket offering to match the price of competitors

change your perception of that cost of products in that supermarket?

Interviewee: The only way that it would change my perception is a combination of

how much it would save, if it was a big enough saving, like more than five or ten

pounds and if it was convenient then I‟d definitely go to that place because I‟d

know it was cheapest.

Researcher: Do you view grocery shopping as a series of individual product

purchases or as a single large purchase?

Interviewee: When I'm picking up the items to buy I tend to think of them

individually, I never really think about how much it will cost overall I just go off the

fact that the cheaper products I get the less expensive my baskets going to be.

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An exploration of the use of price match guarantees in UK supermarkets from a consumer perspective.

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