A/ Assignment Recap

●      Choose a real physical store

●      Analyze situational analysis of the store

●      Depending on those analysis, determining what is good, what is not good

●      Depending on not-so-good thing, provide recommendations

Suggested structure:

1. Introduction
2. Situational Influences Analysis

1)     Physical surrounding

2)     Social surrounding

3)     Temporal influences

4)     Task definition

5)     Antecedent Stage

3. Recommendation

B/ Keyword Explanation

●      Situational Influence: Temporary conditions that affect consumers' behaviors (product display, light, music, staff's energy,...). It includes 5 dimensions below

●      Physical surrounding: The ambience, layout, and design of a store or shopping area. For example:

○      Types of customers in the store

○      Queues and crowding

○      Whether the consumer is likely to be known by others/recognised

○      Whether there are high-profile people/celebrities shopping at that store

○      Whether the product will be consumed privately or in the presence of others

●      Social surrounding: People in the surroundings affect consumer behavior. For example:

○      A son going shopping with mother can influence her purchase.

●      Temporal influences: Time factors affect consumer behavior. For example:

○      The product is seasonal

○      The product is urgently required (snack between lectures)

○      Time available for shopping limited/excess

●      Task definition: A specific purpose to select & shop for a product. For example:

○      Is the product utilitarian or used as a status symbol?

○      Is it a gift, or for oneself?

○      Must the product be long-lasting/tough, or decorative? (an everyday watch or a dress watch)

○      Is the product intended for several uses? (a family computer for study and for internet access)

●      Antecedent states: moods and conditions when buying. For example:

○      Mood:

■      Feeling sad triggers buying sweets or seeing a funny movie

■      Feeling rejected triggers buying games software

○      Momentary conditions

■      Can’t eat ice cream because teeth hurt

■      Can’t buy a book because the credit card was left at home

■      Buy more groceries because you are hungry before shopping

C/ Detailed guidance

I/ Introduction

Choosing a store:

●      You should choose a store, which the brand is not so famous, because a popular brand will have fewer things to recommend. You are highly recommended to choose a local brand store.

●      On the other hand, do not choose a too “lowkey brand”, as you are difficult to find information on the Internet

Note that:

●      You only need to keep the information that is highly relevant to the theme/issue of the assignment, and you mentioned in the body paragraphs.

●      From General to Specific. You should introduce the big thing first, then use appropriate connecting sentences to introduce smaller things. For example in this case: Store => Store’s product => Target Audiences

●      The last sentence of the introduction should have a particular link to the content of the body, or the topic of the whole Assignment. Relevant and Consistent is KEY

Instructions:

- Chosen Brand/Product & Meaning of the Brand Name

- Brand Story

- Business Situation in the Vietnam Market (briefly recap on the number of physical stores, e-commerce availability, the number of customers per year, revenue, market share, ...)

→ Select one store for a survey, stating the reasons clearly (as it is the first store, it has the clearest brand concept, the most beautiful store, and the highest customer traffic).

Example:

Haidilao, the pioneer of the Chinese hot pot catering sector, has achieved outstanding success in its business operations. Established in 1994 in Sichuan, China, Haidilao has quickly expanded to 1597 outlets in this country and overseas markets (Haidilao 2019). It has gained popularity and won the customer’s heart by providing outstanding service, fresh ingredients, and gratifying customer experience. Haidilao officially launched its operations in Vietnam in 2019 and swiftly opened more restaurant locations in major cities such as Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (Dang 2021).

●      This is a pretty good intro, as it follows the rules: General to Specific. The introduction talked about the background & originality of Haidilao first, its products, then mentioned it in the Vietnam market. Another good point is that the introduction has diverse references, not collected purely from its main website.

●      However, as the guideline said that “choosing 1 physical store”, this intro could be improved further by stating clearly which store the author chose. By doing that, the intro is much clearer and aligns with what the guideline requires.