Assignment:
Kyoto Mid town is a compositeur bandistrict o fmodern buildings surrounding a historic Japanese garden. It featuress ophisticated bars, restaurants, shops, artgalleries, a hotel and leafy public spaces. Kyoto Midtown a ims tooff erauniquesh opping experience with a broadselection of outlets thatinclude Japan's first flagship boutiqueand the world's first concept shops. Fromplayful and trend setting boutiquest oprestigious brand svalued the world over, itas pirest o beaplace for people who appreciate the finerthings in life.
In the past few years however, visit o rnumbers have declined. Forthisreason, the management of Kyoto Mid town shopping centre feels tha titis important to develop a better understandin gofits shoppersin order to take the shopping experience to an extlevel. It wants to know what attracts customers to its stores, what customers need whilesh oppingand how they go about shopping. Basedon these in sights, it wants to develop strategies that a reclosely aligned with it scustomers' shopping strategies, need sandpreferences.
The management of the shopping centrehas hired Hoshimi Kusunoki, aninter national full-time MBA student to produce a report complete with practical, hands-on recommendations ready for implementation. Bornand raise dinanupper class family in Yamanote, Hoshimi is familiar with the life style and attitudes of people visiting the Kyoto Midtown shopping center and the high expectations thatt hey have.
Akey aim of Hoshimi'sre search project is to find out what shoppers would need to increase the frequency of shopping at the centre as well as tounderstand how it compares to ther shopping centres in Kyoto competing for customers. Based on preliminary research, Hoshimi has been able to develop the following specific project objectives:
1. To establish the profile of shoppers
2. To understand the ira warenessan dusage of the Midtown Shopping centre
3. To understand how shoppers travel to the shopping centre, how far they have travelled and how frequently they shopthere
4. To explore shopper behavior and understand what they have purchased orhad expected to
purchase andaverage expenditure
1. To understand their expectations to the Midtown shopping centre
2. To understand their attitudes to the Midtown shopping centre
Hoshimi wants to conduct structured face to faceinter views with 100 shoppers at the shopping centre and a competing shopping centre. The inter views will take place during the keyshopping hours across every dayof the week a monga representative sample of participants.
QUESTIONS
1. Hoshimi has planned to carryout structured inter views. How do structured inter views differ from unstructured interviews? Which would be more appropriate for this study and why?
2. What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of using face to face interviews in this situation?
3. The information obtained during interviews should be as free as possible frombias. How can Hoshimim in imi zebias intro duced by the interviewer, the interviewe or the situation?
4. What advice would you give Hoshimi regarding the selection of participants for her interviews?