PART TWO

Course Assessment

This is an individual assignment.

Assessment:

Select ONE retailer of your choice. Using your retailer discuss their operational strategy. The following areas must be discussed:

a. Where is the retailer on EITHER the Wheel of Retailing (Brown 1990) or The Big Middle (Levy et al 2005)?
b. Who are your retailer’s core competitors?
c. Store design strategy e.g. How well does the retailer encourage the customer to stay, explore and buy?
d. Product offering – what range or categories of products does the retailer offer to the customer?
e. Customer Segmentation – who are the retailer’s core customer segments?
f. Any other areas that you think are important e.g. the use of technology/ loyalty cards.

Please note:

The report should contain substantial evidence of wider academic reading. A minimum of 20 peer reviewed academic journal articles should be used.

Peer reviewed articles are those found in the Journal of Retailing, for example. If you use the EBSCO database there is a filter on the left-hand side that enable you to restrict the search to peer reviewed articles. You may wish to use additional articles or newspaper reports, to support your discussion. These are not counted as peer reviewed articles. To gain maximum marks you should provide evidence for the statements that you make. This may include applying further retail theory to your chosen retailer.

Word Length:

A maximum of 3000 words – please ensure that the word count is listed on your coursework. There is a 10% allowance either way. This excludes tables, appendices and the reference list.

Report structure

You should structure the assignment as a report with sub-headings indicating your areas of analysis.
There are no specific margin, spacing requirements but you report should be presented in a clear and legible format.

Course Contribution

This assessment is worth 75% of the total course grade.

Assessment:
This coursework is designed to assess:

• Your understanding of modern retailing practice
• Your understanding of how retailers differentiate themselves
• Your understanding of how retailers use their stores and websites to increase the propensity to buy
• Your ability to analyse the possible problems and opportunities encountered by retail organisations

Below please find the marking matrix. This will be used to mark the assignment on canvas.

Layout and structure of the assignment ​​​10 marks

The assignment should be presented using the categories as listed on the coursework handout. The use of graphics/ tables etc is encouraged to support your analysis. Remember that these must be referenced.
The specified word count should be adhered to (+/- 10%).

Use of literature ​​​​​​30 marks

Understanding and using academic literature is a key part of the assessment. At least 20 academic peer-reviewed journal articles should be used throughout the assessment. You will need to use some of the articles from the lectures, so the 20 should be in addition to these. (See Q and A below for further details on using references).

Understanding demonstrated of the chosen company ​10 marks

The assignment should demonstrate a good understanding of how the company operates itself and within its sector. You should demonstrate a good knowledge the company’s retail operations.

Analysis of retail strategy ​​​​​50 marks

Select ONE retailer of your choice. Using your retailer discuss their operational strategy. The following areas must be discussed:

1. Where is the retailer on EITHER the Wheel of Retailing (Brown 1990) or The Big Middle (Levy et al 2005)?
2. Who are your retailer’s core competitors?
3. Store design strategy e.g. How well does the retailer encourage the customer to stay, explore and buy?
4. Product offering – what range or categories of products does the retailer offer to the customer?
5. Customer Segmentation – who are the retailer’s core customer segments?
6. Any other areas that you think are important e.g. the use of technology/ loyalty cards.

I can’t find any references/ theories on retail marketing?

The e-library has a wealth of resources. You can use Google Scholar but make sure that you adjust your settings to add the Birmingham library, so that you can access the articles for free. Please see recommended journals:.

Good databases on the e-library include:
EBSCO – journal articles, has a useful “peer reviewed” filter
Mintel – drills down to very narrow product/ service categories e.g. coffee shops/ Oat cereals
Nexis – a database of newspaper articles from around the world including those behind pay walls

Journal of Marketing Management
European Journal of Marketing
Marketing Research
Psychology and Marketing
Journal of Marketing
Journal of International Marketing
Journal of Services Marketing
Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Service Marketing Quarterly
Journal of Consumer Research
The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research
The Retail Digest
International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management
Advances in Consumer Research
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Journal of Retailing

 
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