secondary research methods used by tesco

Marketing Research for Tesco: Identifying Customer Needs and Preferences

Added on   2023-01-11

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Marketing Operations of Tesco: Roles, Responsibilities, and Interrelationships lg ...

Use of digital marketing in a specific communications strategy lg ..., marketing plan for aldi: strategies for success lg ..., digital sales and marketing: challenges, opportunities, and strategies lg ..., integrated marketing communications for tesco express lg ..., retail theory and practice lg ....

Root out friction in every digital experience, super-charge conversion rates, and optimize digital self-service

Uncover insights from any interaction, deliver AI-powered agent coaching, and reduce cost to serve

Increase revenue and loyalty with real-time insights and recommendations delivered to teams on the ground

Know how your people feel and empower managers to improve employee engagement, productivity, and retention

Take action in the moments that matter most along the employee journey and drive bottom line growth

Whatever they’re are saying, wherever they’re saying it, know exactly what’s going on with your people

Get faster, richer insights with qual and quant tools that make powerful market research available to everyone

Run concept tests, pricing studies, prototyping + more with fast, powerful studies designed by UX research experts

Track your brand performance 24/7 and act quickly to respond to opportunities and challenges in your market

Explore the platform powering Experience Management

• Free Account
• For Digital
• For Customer Care
• For Human Resources
• For Researchers
• Financial Services
• All Industries

Popular Use Cases

• Customer Experience
• Employee Experience
• Net Promoter Score
• Voice of Customer
• Customer Success Hub
• Product Documentation
• Training & Certification
• XM Institute
• Popular Resources
• Customer Stories
• Artificial Intelligence

Market Research

• Partnerships
• Marketplace

The annual gathering of the experience leaders at the world’s iconic brands building breakthrough business results, live in Salt Lake City.

• English/AU & NZ
• Español/Europa
• Español/América Latina
• Português Brasileiro
• REQUEST DEMO
• Experience Management
• Secondary Research

Try Qualtrics for free

Secondary research: definition, methods, & examples.

19 min read This ultimate guide to secondary research helps you understand changes in market trends, customers buying patterns and your competition using existing data sources.

In situations where you’re not involved in the data gathering process ( primary research ), you have to rely on existing information and data to arrive at specific research conclusions or outcomes. This approach is known as secondary research.

In this article, we’re going to explain what secondary research is, how it works, and share some examples of it in practice.

Free eBook: The ultimate guide to conducting market research

What is secondary research?

Secondary research, also known as desk research, is a research method that involves compiling existing data sourced from a variety of channels . This includes internal sources (e.g.in-house research) or, more commonly, external sources (such as government statistics, organizational bodies, and the internet).

Secondary research comes in several formats, such as published datasets, reports, and survey responses , and can also be sourced from websites, libraries, and museums.

The information is usually free — or available at a limited access cost — and gathered using surveys , telephone interviews, observation, face-to-face interviews, and more.

When using secondary research, researchers collect, verify, analyze and incorporate it to help them confirm research goals for the research period.

As well as the above, it can be used to review previous research into an area of interest. Researchers can look for patterns across data spanning several years and identify trends — or use it to verify early hypothesis statements and establish whether it’s worth continuing research into a prospective area.

How to conduct secondary research

There are five key steps to conducting secondary research effectively and efficiently:

1.    Identify and define the research topic

First, understand what you will be researching and define the topic by thinking about the research questions you want to be answered.

Ask yourself: What is the point of conducting this research? Then, ask: What do we want to achieve?

This may indicate an exploratory reason (why something happened) or confirm a hypothesis. The answers may indicate ideas that need primary or secondary research (or a combination) to investigate them.

2.    Find research and existing data sources

If secondary research is needed, think about where you might find the information. This helps you narrow down your secondary sources to those that help you answer your questions. What keywords do you need to use?

Which organizations are closely working on this topic already? Are there any competitors that you need to be aware of?

Create a list of the data sources, information, and people that could help you with your work.

3.    Begin searching and collecting the existing data

Now that you have the list of data sources, start accessing the data and collect the information into an organized system. This may mean you start setting up research journal accounts or making telephone calls to book meetings with third-party research teams to verify the details around data results.

As you search and access information, remember to check the data’s date, the credibility of the source, the relevance of the material to your research topic, and the methodology used by the third-party researchers. Start small and as you gain results, investigate further in the areas that help your research’s aims.

4.    Combine the data and compare the results

When you have your data in one place, you need to understand, filter, order, and combine it intelligently. Data may come in different formats where some data could be unusable, while other information may need to be deleted.

After this, you can start to look at different data sets to see what they tell you. You may find that you need to compare the same datasets over different periods for changes over time or compare different datasets to notice overlaps or trends. Ask yourself: What does this data mean to my research? Does it help or hinder my research?

5.    Analyze your data and explore further

In this last stage of the process, look at the information you have and ask yourself if this answers your original questions for your research. Are there any gaps? Do you understand the information you’ve found? If you feel there is more to cover, repeat the steps and delve deeper into the topic so that you can get all the information you need.

If secondary research can’t provide these answers, consider supplementing your results with data gained from primary research. As you explore further, add to your knowledge and update your findings. This will help you present clear, credible information.

Primary vs secondary research

Unlike secondary research, primary research involves creating data first-hand by directly working with interviewees, target users, or a target market. Primary research focuses on the method for carrying out research, asking questions, and collecting data using approaches such as:

• Interviews (panel, face-to-face or over the phone)
• Questionnaires or surveys
• Focus groups

Using these methods, researchers can get in-depth, targeted responses to questions, making results more accurate and specific to their research goals. However, it does take time to do and administer.

Unlike primary research, secondary research uses existing data, which also includes published results from primary research. Researchers summarize the existing research and use the results to support their research goals.

Both primary and secondary research have their places. Primary research can support the findings found through secondary research (and fill knowledge gaps), while secondary research can be a starting point for further primary research. Because of this, these research methods are often combined for optimal research results that are accurate at both the micro and macro level.

Sources of Secondary Research

There are two types of secondary research sources: internal and external. Internal data refers to in-house data that can be gathered from the researcher’s organization. External data refers to data published outside of and not owned by the researcher’s organization.

Internal data

Internal data is a good first port of call for insights and knowledge, as you may already have relevant information stored in your systems. Because you own this information — and it won’t be available to other researchers — it can give you a competitive edge . Examples of internal data include:

• Database information on sales history and business goal conversions
• Information from website applications and mobile site data
• Customer-generated data on product and service efficiency and use
• Previous research results or supplemental research areas
• Previous campaign results

External data

External data is useful when you: 1) need information on a new topic, 2) want to fill in gaps in your knowledge, or 3) want data that breaks down a population or market for trend and pattern analysis. Examples of external data include:

• Government, non-government agencies, and trade body statistics
• Company reports and research
• Competitor research
• Public library collections
• Textbooks and research journals
• Media stories in newspapers
• Online journals and research sites

Three examples of secondary research methods in action

How and why might you conduct secondary research? Let’s look at a few examples:

1.    Collecting factual information from the internet on a specific topic or market

There are plenty of sites that hold data for people to view and use in their research. For example, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, or Wiley Online Library all provide previous research on a particular topic. Researchers can create free accounts and use the search facilities to look into a topic by keyword, before following the instructions to download or export results for further analysis.

This can be useful for exploring a new market that your organization wants to consider entering. For instance, by viewing the U.S Census Bureau demographic data for that area, you can see what the demographics of your target audience are , and create compelling marketing campaigns accordingly.

2.    Finding out the views of your target audience on a particular topic

If you’re interested in seeing the historical views on a particular topic, for example, attitudes to women’s rights in the US, you can turn to secondary sources.

Textbooks, news articles, reviews, and journal entries can all provide qualitative reports and interviews covering how people discussed women’s rights. There may be multimedia elements like video or documented posters of propaganda showing biased language usage.

By gathering this information, synthesizing it, and evaluating the language, who created it and when it was shared, you can create a timeline of how a topic was discussed over time.

3.    When you want to know the latest thinking on a topic

Educational institutions, such as schools and colleges, create a lot of research-based reports on younger audiences or their academic specialisms. Dissertations from students also can be submitted to research journals, making these places useful places to see the latest insights from a new generation of academics.

Information can be requested — and sometimes academic institutions may want to collaborate and conduct research on your behalf. This can provide key primary data in areas that you want to research, as well as secondary data sources for your research.

Advantages of secondary research

There are several benefits of using secondary research, which we’ve outlined below:

• Easily and readily available data – There is an abundance of readily accessible data sources that have been pre-collected for use, in person at local libraries and online using the internet. This data is usually sorted by filters or can be exported into spreadsheet format, meaning that little technical expertise is needed to access and use the data.
• Faster research speeds – Since the data is already published and in the public arena, you don’t need to collect this information through primary research. This can make the research easier to do and faster, as you can get started with the data quickly.
• Low financial and time costs – Most secondary data sources can be accessed for free or at a small cost to the researcher, so the overall research costs are kept low. In addition, by saving on preliminary research, the time costs for the researcher are kept down as well.
• Secondary data can drive additional research actions – The insights gained can support future research activities (like conducting a follow-up survey or specifying future detailed research topics) or help add value to these activities.
• Secondary data can be useful pre-research insights – Secondary source data can provide pre-research insights and information on effects that can help resolve whether research should be conducted. It can also help highlight knowledge gaps, so subsequent research can consider this.
• Ability to scale up results – Secondary sources can include large datasets (like Census data results across several states) so research results can be scaled up quickly using large secondary data sources.

Disadvantages of secondary research

The disadvantages of secondary research are worth considering in advance of conducting research :

• Secondary research data can be out of date – Secondary sources can be updated regularly, but if you’re exploring the data between two updates, the data can be out of date. Researchers will need to consider whether the data available provides the right research coverage dates, so that insights are accurate and timely, or if the data needs to be updated. Also, fast-moving markets may find secondary data expires very quickly.
• Secondary research needs to be verified and interpreted – Where there’s a lot of data from one source, a researcher needs to review and analyze it. The data may need to be verified against other data sets or your hypotheses for accuracy and to ensure you’re using the right data for your research.
• The researcher has had no control over the secondary research – As the researcher has not been involved in the secondary research, invalid data can affect the results. It’s therefore vital that the methodology and controls are closely reviewed so that the data is collected in a systematic and error-free way.
• Secondary research data is not exclusive – As data sets are commonly available, there is no exclusivity and many researchers can use the same data. This can be problematic where researchers want to have exclusive rights over the research results and risk duplication of research in the future.

When do we conduct secondary research?

Now that you know the basics of secondary research, when do researchers normally conduct secondary research?

It’s often used at the beginning of research, when the researcher is trying to understand the current landscape . In addition, if the research area is new to the researcher, it can form crucial background context to help them understand what information exists already. This can plug knowledge gaps, supplement the researcher’s own learning or add to the research.

Secondary research can also be used in conjunction with primary research. Secondary research can become the formative research that helps pinpoint where further primary research is needed to find out specific information. It can also support or verify the findings from primary research.

You can use secondary research where high levels of control aren’t needed by the researcher, but a lot of knowledge on a topic is required from different angles.

Secondary research should not be used in place of primary research as both are very different and are used for various circumstances.

Questions to ask before conducting secondary research

Before you start your secondary research, ask yourself these questions:

• Is there similar internal data that we have created for a similar area in the past?

If your organization has past research, it’s best to review this work before starting a new project. The older work may provide you with the answers, and give you a starting dataset and context of how your organization approached the research before. However, be mindful that the work is probably out of date and view it with that note in mind. Read through and look for where this helps your research goals or where more work is needed.

• What am I trying to achieve with this research?

When you have clear goals, and understand what you need to achieve, you can look for the perfect type of secondary or primary research to support the aims. Different secondary research data will provide you with different information – for example, looking at news stories to tell you a breakdown of your market’s buying patterns won’t be as useful as internal or external data e-commerce and sales data sources.

• How credible will my research be?

If you are looking for credibility, you want to consider how accurate the research results will need to be, and if you can sacrifice credibility for speed by using secondary sources to get you started. Bear in mind which sources you choose — low-credibility data sites, like political party websites that are highly biased to favor their own party, would skew your results.

• What is the date of the secondary research?

When you’re looking to conduct research, you want the results to be as useful as possible , so using data that is 10 years old won’t be as accurate as using data that was created a year ago. Since a lot can change in a few years, note the date of your research and look for earlier data sets that can tell you a more recent picture of results. One caveat to this is using data collected over a long-term period for comparisons with earlier periods, which can tell you about the rate and direction of change.

• Can the data sources be verified? Does the information you have check out?

If you can’t verify the data by looking at the research methodology, speaking to the original team or cross-checking the facts with other research, it could be hard to be sure that the data is accurate. Think about whether you can use another source, or if it’s worth doing some supplementary primary research to replicate and verify results to help with this issue.

We created a front-to-back guide on conducting market research, The ultimate guide to conducting market research , so you can understand the research journey with confidence.

In it, you’ll learn more about:

• What effective market research looks like
• The use cases for market research
• The most important steps to conducting market research
• And how to take action on your research findings

Download the free guide for a clearer view on secondary research and other key research types for your business.

Related resources

Market intelligence 10 min read, marketing insights 11 min read, ethnographic research 11 min read, qualitative vs quantitative research 13 min read, qualitative research questions 11 min read, qualitative research design 12 min read, primary vs secondary research 14 min read, request demo.

Ready to learn more about Qualtrics?

What is Secondary Research? Types, Methods, Examples

Appinio Research · 20.09.2023 · 13min read

Have you ever wondered how researchers gather valuable insights without conducting new experiments or surveys? That's where secondary research steps in—a powerful approach that allows us to explore existing data and information others collect.

Whether you're a student, a professional, or someone seeking to make informed decisions, understanding the art of secondary research opens doors to a wealth of knowledge.

What is Secondary Research?

Secondary Research refers to the process of gathering and analyzing existing data, information, and knowledge that has been previously collected and compiled by others. This approach allows researchers to leverage available sources, such as articles, reports, and databases, to gain insights, validate hypotheses, and make informed decisions without collecting new data.

Benefits of Secondary Research

Secondary research offers a range of advantages that can significantly enhance your research process and the quality of your findings.

• Time and Cost Efficiency: Secondary research saves time and resources by utilizing existing data sources, eliminating the need for data collection from scratch.
• Wide Range of Data: Secondary research provides access to vast information from various sources, allowing for comprehensive analysis.
• Historical Perspective: Examining past research helps identify trends, changes, and long-term patterns that might not be immediately apparent.
• Reduced Bias: As data is collected by others, there's often less inherent bias than in conducting primary research, where biases might affect data collection.
• Support for Primary Research: Secondary research can lay the foundation for primary research by providing context and insights into gaps in existing knowledge.
• Comparative Analysis : By integrating data from multiple sources, you can conduct robust comparative analyses for more accurate conclusions.
• Benchmarking and Validation: Secondary research aids in benchmarking performance against industry standards and validating hypotheses.

Primary Research vs. Secondary Research

When it comes to research methodologies, primary and secondary research each have their distinct characteristics and advantages. Here's a brief comparison to help you understand the differences.

Primary Research

• Data Source: Involves collecting new data directly from original sources.
• Data Collection: Researchers design and conduct surveys, interviews, experiments, or observations.
• Time and Resources: Typically requires more time, effort, and resources due to data collection.
• Fresh Insights: Provides firsthand, up-to-date information tailored to specific research questions.
• Control: Researchers control the data collection process and can shape methodologies.

Secondary Research

• Data Source: Involves utilizing existing data and information collected by others.
• Data Collection: Researchers search, select, and analyze data from published sources, reports, and databases.
• Time and Resources: Generally more time-efficient and cost-effective as data is already available.
• Existing Knowledge: Utilizes data that has been previously compiled, often providing broader context.
• Less Control: Researchers have limited control over how data was collected originally, if any.

Choosing between primary and secondary research depends on your research objectives, available resources, and the depth of insights you require.

Types of Secondary Research

Secondary research encompasses various types of existing data sources that can provide valuable insights for your research endeavors. Understanding these types can help you choose the most relevant sources for your objectives.

Here are the primary types of secondary research:

Internal Sources

Internal sources consist of data generated within your organization or entity. These sources provide valuable insights into your own operations and performance.

• Company Records and Data: Internal reports, documents, and databases that house information about sales, operations, and customer interactions.
• Sales Reports and Customer Data: Analysis of past sales trends, customer demographics, and purchasing behavior.
• Financial Statements and Annual Reports: Financial data, such as balance sheets and income statements, offer insights into the organization's financial health.

External Sources

External sources encompass data collected and published by entities outside your organization.

These sources offer a broader perspective on various subjects.

• Published Literature and Journals: Scholarly articles, research papers, and academic studies available in journals or online databases.
• Market Research Reports: Reports from market research firms that provide insights into industry trends, consumer behavior, and market forecasts.
• Government and NGO Databases: Data collected and maintained by government agencies and non-governmental organizations, offering demographic, economic, and social information.
• Online Media and News Articles: News outlets and online publications that cover current events, trends, and societal developments.

Each type of secondary research source holds its value and relevance, depending on the nature of your research objectives. Combining these sources lets you understand the subject matter and make informed decisions.

How to Conduct Secondary Research?

Effective secondary research involves a thoughtful and systematic approach that enables you to extract valuable insights from existing data sources. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to navigate the process:

1. Define Your Research Objectives

Before delving into secondary research, clearly define what you aim to achieve. Identify the specific questions you want to answer, the insights you're seeking, and the scope of your research.

2. Identify Relevant Sources

Begin by identifying the most appropriate sources for your research. Consider the nature of your research objectives and the data type you require. Seek out sources such as academic journals, market research reports, official government databases, and reputable news outlets.

3. Evaluate Source Credibility

Ensuring the credibility of your sources is crucial. Evaluate the reliability of each source by assessing factors such as the author's expertise, the publication's reputation, and the objectivity of the information provided. Choose sources that align with your research goals and are free from bias.

4. Extract and Analyze Information

Once you've gathered your sources, carefully extract the relevant information. Take thorough notes, capturing key data points, insights, and any supporting evidence. As you accumulate information, start identifying patterns, trends, and connections across different sources.

5. Synthesize Findings

As you analyze the data, synthesize your findings to draw meaningful conclusions. Compare and contrast information from various sources to identify common themes and discrepancies. This synthesis process allows you to construct a coherent narrative that addresses your research objectives.

6. Address Limitations and Gaps

Acknowledge the limitations and potential gaps in your secondary research. Recognize that secondary data might have inherent biases or be outdated. Where necessary, address these limitations by cross-referencing information or finding additional sources to fill in gaps.

7. Contextualize Your Findings

Contextualization is crucial in deriving actionable insights from your secondary research. Consider the broader context within which the data was collected. How does the information relate to current trends, societal changes, or industry shifts? This contextual understanding enhances the relevance and applicability of your findings.

8. Cite Your Sources

Maintain academic integrity by properly citing the sources you've used for your secondary research. Accurate citations not only give credit to the original authors but also provide a clear trail for readers to access the information themselves.

9. Integrate Secondary and Primary Research (If Applicable)

In some cases, combining secondary and primary research can yield more robust insights. If you've also conducted primary research, consider integrating your secondary findings with your primary data to provide a well-rounded perspective on your research topic.

You can use a market research platform like Appinio to conduct primary research with real-time insights in minutes!

10. Communicate Your Findings

Finally, communicate your findings effectively. Whether it's in an academic paper, a business report, or any other format, present your insights clearly and concisely. Provide context for your conclusions and use visual aids like charts and graphs to enhance understanding.

Remember that conducting secondary research is not just about gathering information—it's about critically analyzing, interpreting, and deriving valuable insights from existing data. By following these steps, you'll navigate the process successfully and contribute to the body of knowledge in your field.

Secondary Research Examples

To better understand how secondary research is applied in various contexts, let's explore a few real-world examples that showcase its versatility and value.

Market Analysis and Trend Forecasting

Imagine you're a marketing strategist tasked with launching a new product in the smartphone industry. By conducting secondary research, you can:

• Access Market Reports: Utilize market research reports to understand consumer preferences, competitive landscape, and growth projections.
• Analyze Trends: Examine past sales data and industry reports to identify trends in smartphone features, design, and user preferences.
• Benchmark Competitors: Compare market share, customer satisfaction, and pricing strategies of key competitors to develop a strategic advantage.
• Forecast Demand: Use historical sales data and market growth predictions to estimate demand for your new product.

Academic Research and Literature Reviews

Suppose you're a student researching climate change's effects on marine ecosystems. Secondary research aids your academic endeavors by:

• Reviewing Existing Studies: Analyze peer-reviewed articles and scientific papers to understand the current state of knowledge on the topic.
• Identifying Knowledge Gaps: Identify areas where further research is needed based on what existing studies still need to cover.
• Comparing Methodologies: Compare research methodologies used by different studies to assess the strengths and limitations of their approaches.
• Synthesizing Insights: Synthesize findings from various studies to form a comprehensive overview of the topic's implications on marine life.

Competitive Landscape Assessment for Business Strategy

Consider you're a business owner looking to expand your restaurant chain to a new location. Secondary research aids your strategic decision-making by:

• Analyzing Demographics: Utilize demographic data from government databases to understand the local population's age, income, and preferences.
• Studying Local Trends: Examine restaurant industry reports to identify the types of cuisines and dining experiences currently popular in the area.
• Understanding Consumer Behavior: Analyze online reviews and social media discussions to gauge customer sentiment towards existing restaurants in the vicinity.
• Assessing Economic Conditions: Access economic reports to evaluate the local economy's stability and potential purchasing power.

These examples illustrate the practical applications of secondary research across various fields to provide a foundation for informed decision-making, deeper understanding, and innovation.

Secondary Research Limitations

While secondary research offers many benefits, it's essential to be aware of its limitations to ensure the validity and reliability of your findings.

• Data Quality and Validity: The accuracy and reliability of secondary data can vary, affecting the credibility of your research.
• Limited Contextual Information: Secondary sources might lack detailed contextual information, making it important to interpret findings within the appropriate context.
• Data Suitability: Existing data might not align perfectly with your research objectives, leading to compromises or incomplete insights.
• Outdated Information: Some sources might provide obsolete information that doesn't accurately reflect current trends or situations.
• Potential Bias: While secondary data is often less biased, biases might still exist in the original data sources, influencing your findings.
• Incompatibility of Data: Combining data from different sources might pose challenges due to variations in definitions, methodologies, or units of measurement.
• Lack of Control: Unlike primary research, you have no control over how data was collected or its quality, potentially affecting your analysis. Understanding these limitations will help you navigate secondary research effectively and make informed decisions based on a well-rounded understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

Secondary research is a valuable tool that businesses can use to their advantage. By tapping into existing data and insights, companies can save time, resources, and effort that would otherwise be spent on primary research. This approach equips decision-makers with a broader understanding of market trends, consumer behaviors, and competitive landscapes. Additionally, benchmarking against industry standards and validating hypotheses empowers businesses to make informed choices that lead to growth and success.

As you navigate the world of secondary research, remember that it's not just about data retrieval—it's about strategic utilization. With a clear grasp of how to access, analyze, and interpret existing information, businesses can stay ahead of the curve, adapt to changing landscapes, and make decisions that are grounded in reliable knowledge.

How to Conduct Secondary Research in Minutes?

In the world of decision-making, having access to real-time consumer insights is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity. That's where Appinio comes in, revolutionizing how businesses gather valuable data for better decision-making. As a real-time market research platform, Appinio empowers companies to tap into the pulse of consumer opinions swiftly and seamlessly.

• Fast Insights: Say goodbye to lengthy research processes. With Appinio, you can transform questions into actionable insights in minutes.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Harness the power of real-time consumer insights to drive your business strategies, allowing you to make informed choices on the fly.
• Seamless Integration: Appinio handles the research and technical complexities, freeing you to focus on what truly matters: making rapid data-driven decisions that propel your business forward.

Join the loop 💌

Be the first to hear about new updates, product news, and data insights. We'll send it all straight to your inbox.

Get the latest market research news straight to your inbox! 💌

Wait, there's more

14.05.2024 | 30min read

Experimental Research: Definition, Types, Design, Examples

07.05.2024 | 29min read

Interval Scale: Definition, Characteristics, Examples

03.05.2024 | 29min read

What is Qualitative Observation? Definition, Types, Examples

• What is Secondary Research? + [Methods & Examples]

In some situations, the researcher may not be directly involved in the data gathering process and instead, would rely on already existing data in order to arrive at research outcomes. This approach to systematic investigation is known as secondary research. 

There are many reasons a researcher may want to make use of already existing data instead of collecting data samples, first-hand. In this article, we will share some of these reasons with you and show you how to conduct secondary research with Formplus. 

What is Secondary  Research?

Secondary research is a common approach to a systematic investigation in which the researcher depends solely on existing data in the course of the research process. This research design involves organizing, collating and analyzing these data samples for valid research conclusions. 

Secondary research is also known as desk research since it involves synthesizing existing data that can be sourced from the internet, peer-reviewed journals , textbooks, government archives, and libraries. What the secondary researcher does is to study already established patterns in previous researches and apply this information to the specific research context. 

Interestingly, secondary research often relies on data provided by primary research and this is why some researches combine both methods of investigation. In this sense, the researcher begins by evaluating and identifying gaps in existing knowledge before adopting primary research to gather new information that will serve his or her research. 

What are Secondary Research Methods?

As already highlighted, secondary research involves data assimilation from different sources, that is, using available research materials instead of creating a new pool of data using primary research methods. Common secondary research methods include data collection through the internet, libraries, archives, schools and organizational reports. 

• Online Data

Online data is data that is gathered via the internet. In recent times, this method has become popular because the internet provides a large pool of both free and paid research resources that can be easily accessed with the click of a button. 

While this method simplifies the data gathering process , the researcher must take care to depend solely on authentic sites when collecting information. In some way, the internet is a virtual aggregation for all other sources of secondary research data. 

• Data from Government and Non-government Archives

You can also gather useful research materials from government and non-government archives and these archives usually contain verifiable information that provides useful insights on varying research contexts. In many cases, you would need to pay a sum to gain access to these data. 

The challenge, however, is that such data is not always readily available due to a number of factors. For instance, some of these materials are described as classified information as such, it would be difficult for researchers to have access to them. 

• Data from Libraries

Research materials can also be accessed through public and private libraries. Think of a library as an information storehouse that contains an aggregation of important information that can serve as valid data in different research contexts. 

Typically, researchers donate several copies of dissertations to public and private libraries; especially in cases of academic research. Also, business directories, newsletters, annual reports and other similar documents that can serve as research data, are gathered and stored in libraries, in both soft and hard copies. 

• Data from Institutions of Learning

Educational facilities like schools, faculties, and colleges are also a great source of secondary data; especially in academic research. This is because a lot of research is carried out in educational institutions more than in other sectors. 

It is relatively easier to obtain research data from educational institutions because these institutions are committed to solving problems and expanding the body of knowledge. You can easily request research materials from educational facilities for the purpose of a literature review. 

Secondary research methods can also be categorized into qualitative and quantitative data collection methods . Quantitative data gathering methods include online questionnaires and surveys, reports about trends plus statistics about different areas of a business or industry.  

Qualitative research methods include relying on previous interviews and data gathered through focus groups which helps an organization to understand the needs of its customers and plan to fulfill these needs. It also helps businesses to measure the level of employee satisfaction with organizational policies. 

When Do We Conduct Secondary Research?

Typically, secondary research is the first step in any systematic investigation. This is because it helps the researcher to understand what research efforts have been made so far and to utilize this knowledge in mapping out a novel direction for his or her investigation. 

For instance, you may want to carry out research into the nature of a respiratory condition with the aim of developing a vaccine. The best place to start is to gather existing research material about the condition which would help to point your research in the right direction. 

When sifting through these pieces of information, you would gain insights into methods and findings from previous researches which would help you define your own research process. Secondary research also helps you to identify knowledge gaps that can serve as the name of your own research. 

Questions to ask before conducting Secondary Research

Since secondary research relies on already existing data, the researcher must take extra care to ensure that he or she utilizes authentic data samples for the research. Falsified data can have a negative impact on the research outcomes; hence, it is important to always carry out resource evaluation by asking a number of questions as highlighted below:

• What is the purpose of the research? Again, it is important for every researcher to clearly define the purpose of the research before proceeding with it. Usually, the research purpose determines the approach that would be adopted. 
• What is my research methodology? After identifying the purpose of the research, the next thing to do is outline the research methodology. This is the point where the researcher chooses to gather data using secondary research methods. 
• What are my expected research outcomes? 
• Who collected the data to be analyzed? Before going on to use secondary data for your research, it is necessary to ascertain the authenticity of the information. This usually affects the data reliability and determines if the researcher can trust the materials.  For instance, data gathered from personal blogs and websites may not be as credible as information obtained from an organization’s website. 
• When was the data collected? Data recency is another factor that must be considered since the recency of data can affect research outcomes. For instance, if you are carrying out research into the number of women who smoke in London, it would not be appropriate for you to make use of information that was gathered 5 years ago unless you plan to do some sort of data comparison. 
• Is the data consistent with other data available from other sources? Always compare and contrast your data with other available research materials as this would help you to identify inconsistencies if any.
• What type of data was collected? Take care to determine if the secondary data aligns with your research goals and objectives. 
• How was the data collected? 

Advantages of Secondary Research

• Easily Accessible With secondary research, data can easily be accessed in no time; especially with the use of the internet. Apart from the internet, there are different data sources available in secondary research like public libraries and archives which are relatively easy to access too. 
• Secondary research is cost-effective and it is not time-consuming. The researcher can cut down on costs because he or she is not directly involved in the data collection process which is also time-consuming. 
• Secondary research helps researchers to identify knowledge gaps which can serve as the basis of further systematic investigation. 
• It is useful for mapping out the scope of research thereby setting the stage for field investigations. When carrying out secondary research, the researchers may find that the exact information they were looking for is already available, thus eliminating the need and expense incurred in carrying out primary research in these areas. 

Disadvantages of Secondary Research  

• Questionable Data: With secondary research, it is hard to determine the authenticity of the data because the researcher is not directly involved in the research process. Invalid data can affect research outcomes negatively hence, it is important for the researcher to take extra care by evaluating the data before making use of it. 
• Generalization: Secondary data is unspecific in nature and may not directly cater to the needs of the researcher. There may not be correlations between the existing data and the research process. 
• Common Data: Research materials in secondary research are not exclusive to an individual or group. This means that everyone has access to the data and there is little or no “information advantage” gained by those who obtain the research.
• It has the risk of outdated research materials. Outdated information may offer little value especially for organizations competing in fast-changing markets.

How to Conduct Online Surveys with Formplus 

Follow these 5 steps to create and administer online surveys for secondary research: 

• Sign into Formplus

In the Formplus builder, you can easily create an online survey for secondary research by dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form. To access the Formplus builder, you will need to create an account on Formplus. 

Once you do this, sign in to your account and click on “Create Form ” to begin. 

• Edit Form Title

Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “Secondary Research Survey”.

• Click on the edit button to edit the form.

• Add Fields: Drag and drop preferred form fields into your form in the Formplus builder inputs column. There are several field input options for questionnaires in the Formplus builder. 
• Edit fields
• Click on “Save”
• Preview form. 
• Customize your Form

With the form customization options in the form builder, you can easily change the outlook of your form and make it more unique and personalized. Formplus allows you to change your form theme, add background images and even change the font according to your needs. 

• Multiple Sharing Options

Formplus offers multiple form sharing options which enables you to easily share your questionnaire with respondents. You can use the direct social media sharing buttons to share your form link to your organization’s social media pages. 

You can send out your survey form as email invitations to your research subjects too. If you wish, you can share your form’s QR code or embed it on your organization’s website for easy access. 

Why Use Formplus as a Secondary Research Tool?

• Simple Form Builder Solution

The Formplus form builder is easy to use and does not require you to have any knowledge in computer programming, unlike other form builders. For instance, you can easily add form fields to your form by dragging and dropping them from the inputs section in the builder. 

In the form builder, you can also modify your fields to be hidden or read-only and you can create smart forms with save and resume options, form lookup, and conditional logic. Formplus also allows you to customize your form by adding preferred background images and your organization’s logo. 

• Over 25 Form Fields

With over 25 versatile form fields available in the form builder, you can easily collect data the way you like. You can receive payments directly in your form by adding payment fields and you can also add file upload fields to allow you receive files in your form too. 

• Offline Form feature

With Formplus, you can collect data from respondents even without internet connectivity . Formplus automatically detects when there is no or poor internet access and allows forms to be filled out and submitted in offline mode. 

Offline form responses are automatically synced with the servers when the internet connection is restored. This feature is extremely useful for field research that may involve sourcing for data in remote and rural areas plus it allows you to scale up on your audience reach. 

• Team and Collaboration

 You can add important collaborators and team members to your shared account so that you all can work on forms and responses together. With the multiple users options, you can assign different roles to team members and you can also grant and limit access to forms and folders. 

This feature works with an audit trail that enables you to track changes and suggestions made to your form as the administrator of the shared account. You can set up permissions to limit access to the account while organizing and monitoring your form(s) effectively. 

• Embeddable Form

Formplus allows you to easily add your form with respondents with the click of a button. For instance, you can directly embed your form in your organization’s web pages by adding Its unique shortcode to your site’s HTML. 

You can also share your form to your social media pages using the social media direct sharing buttons available in the form builder. You can choose to embed the form as an iframe or web pop-up that is easy to fill. 

With Formplus, you can share your form with numerous form respondents in no time. You can invite respondents to fill out your form via email invitation which allows you to also track responses and prevent multiple submissions in your form. 

In addition, you can also share your form link as a QR code so that respondents only need to scan the code to access your form. Our forms have a unique QR code that you can add to your website or print in banners, business cards and the like. 

While secondary research can be cost-effective and time-efficient, it requires the researcher to take extra care in ensuring that the data is authentic and valid. As highlighted earlier, data in secondary research can be sourced through the internet, archives, and libraries, amongst other methods. 

Secondary research is usually the starting point of systematic investigation because it provides the researcher with a background of existing research efforts while identifying knowledge gaps to be filled. This type of research is typically used in science and education. 

It is, however, important to note that secondary research relies on the outcomes of collective primary research data in carrying out its systematic investigation. Hence, the success of your research will depend, to a greater extent, on the quality of data provided by primary research in relation to the research context.

Connect to Formplus, Get Started Now - It's Free!

• primary secondary research differences
• primary secondary research method
• secondary data collection
• secondary research examples
• busayo.longe

You may also like:

Primary vs Secondary Research Methods: 15 Key Differences

Difference between primary and secondary research in definition, examples, data analysis, types, collection methods, advantages etc.

Exploratory Research: What are its Method & Examples?

Overview on exploratory research, examples and methodology. Shows guides on how to conduct exploratory research with online surveys

Recall Bias: Definition, Types, Examples & Mitigation

This article will discuss the impact of recall bias in studies and the best ways to avoid them during research.

What is Pure or Basic Research? + [Examples & Method]

Simple guide on pure or basic research, its methods, characteristics, advantages, and examples in science, medicine, education and psychology

Formplus - For Seamless Data Collection

Collect data the right way with a versatile data collection tool. try formplus and transform your work productivity today..

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team
• Business Studies
• Marketing & Research

How the NHS and Tesco Use Market Research

Business Level 3

Unit 3 – P3/M3

Unit 3 P3 – Section 1

Marketing Research

Marketing research is when you research the market so you can get information about other businesses around the area, the marketing research includes things like what the product is what it’s for and how they are presented, Marketing research is also researching what types of products are good, and in which area’s they will sell well, Marketing research is basically getting data of other business in the same area or same type of business as yours.

-Primary Internal research

Primary research is Information that comes directly from the source that is potential customers. You can compile this information yourself or hire someone else to gather it for you via surveys, focus groups and other methods. Tesco may use primary research by asking for feed back, doing surveys and focus groups to get information from customers about the business and products and way it could be improved, this feedback is gained from the business, people like employee’s, Mystery shoppers,

Internal research is when you collect research from inside of the business and External research is when you go outside of the business to collect information.

The sales figures of Tesco and the NHS could be improved with this research because if the business has the right research they know what to do so they can improve their services, Tesco and the NHS will keep their business figures, and they will also have a central database where they keep their customers data on.

- Primary   External research

Tesco and the NHS will use things like questionnaires to research their services at the business so they have information on how to improve them, they will use their feedback to make changes in the business, They will also give customers and employee’s things like surveys which will include questions on service and things like that in the business, Interviews and focus groups are also used to focus on certain objectives to improve on, they will also have interviews with employee’s, they will set up a focus group where they talk to professional types of people and talk about the product, mystery shoppers will be shoppers sent the external business to research them and later feedback to the business that sent them. NHS will ask questions about things like experience at hospitals, did they have good customer service, was their any risks of infections, where as Tesco ask questions such as if they we’re giving good customer service such as do they like the Tesco brand, how often they spend money at Tesco.

-Secondary Internal research

Secondary Market research that's already compiled and organized for you. Examples of secondary information include reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses within your industry. Tesco can research for secondary marketing research as it is research that has already been done, this research might now always be reliable but it can still be used, further research can be found in places which include libraries, books, annual reports, reports from other business, internet, management, statistics, Internal research is when you collect research from inside of the business and External research is when you go outside of the business to collect information, Tesco will need to keep their

Report on sales so they can tell what they’ve made or lost, they will also have to review previous market research so they can find ways to improve. Where are NHS will have to keep records of number of patients they had visits from at a hospital.

-Secondary External research

This is a preview of the whole essay

Tesco may use things like websites to gain information about other businesses so they can research, they may also use things like trade magazines, books and newspapers because they can gather information from there and research so they can later improve on their services, Industry reports from industry associations can help the business because they can research from it, Government department figures and facts is good a way to research figures and facts from other business so they can find ways to improve on the business, public records such as census data are public records of statistics in from a national to neighborhood level use by government, Tesco wont be able to access census data but the NHS  has access to these records. NHS will also investigate websites from other organizations such as Charities that deal will heart disease. NHS managers will read newspapers and magazines related to health service. The management at NHS will have to look at government department figures on statistics such as population increases/decreases, death rates in area’s of the UK. NHS can also get census data details concerning birth rates and death rates.

-Qualitative

Qualitative research is a method of advertising research that emphasizes the quality of meaning in consumer perceptions and attitudes; for example, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Tesco can use Qualitative research because they will need new ways to advertise their products and ways to improve their advertising techniques. The management within an organization has to analyze the results and make decisions on the outcomes to the interviews or method of research used.

-Quantitative Tesco

Tesco will have to research different figures about their business, they need to also know about customers, when they visit the store and how often, they need to know market figures, competition figures, percentage of market share, answers to surveys, how much a family spends every month, how many staff members leave Tesco and how many stay, and the reason they leave, percentage of customers that use special offers, what percent of the market do different supermarkets own, they use graphs and charts to analyze and make important decisions on the feedback and make changes and improvements.

-Quantitative NHS

NHS would collect figures on infections, death rates, birth rates, accident rate, nurses let staff turn over, how many people for security, rates of abuse, doctors responsible for death of patients, accidents in the hospital, new staff hired, staff leave rate, how many people a doctor will see a day, how much money they get from the government to make sure they can take care of operates/machinery and looking after their patients, do they have to make cuts of figures/funding, laying off staff, they will have to investigate the budget figures to ensure they can pay for the staff, machinery and other expenditure on things like electricity, a lot of NHS hospital’s have to make cuts because of cuts in funding from the government and tax payer.

-Qualitative NHS

They have focus groups for things like new machinery, drugs things that will link to the business, for things like lasers they would have big focus groups, also benefits and draw backs of using the new machinery, and services, the research from the NHS is really important because the answers need to be correct as it could save people’s lives, the NHS will have big groups to test out new products within the NHS for example if a new piece of machinery came out a focus group would have to be put in place to focus on that piece of machinery and test it before it is used in the hospitals, they have focus groups for any new product they release or want to bring into use.

-Qualitative Tesco

Tesco will have focus groups for new products they will be releasing in their store,

Such as the Iphone grocery application, it would have had a focus group to discuss the product, things like reasonable prices, features and how people would use them,

For a example before Tesco released their Iphone grocery application it must have gone through a focus group that must have tested it and found ways to improve on it, when the focus group thought the product was good to be released they would release it for use in the store, they will ask open questions to try to get as much information on what people think of the product before releasing it, the focus groups allow the business to understand what people thing about their prices,

Their products, what to change, customer preferences, opinions, interests, the

Focus groups help Tesco with finding out what the business thinks of their product.

M3 Limitations

Market research can become very expensive because there are many methods as businesses take part in primary and secondary research on a regular basis, companies such as Tesco and NHS will spend millions of pounds on their market research to find out exactly what people want and need in their products.

Huge paperwork costs that occur in a business for example Tesco and the NHS will have to spend money on photocopying of questions, graphs, charts, reports and results; they will have to buy numerous ink cartridges they will have to spend thousands of pounds on advertising and producing booklets on the results.

There are many staffs involved with market research for example all staff need to be trained in order to do the job properly from the staff who ask the questions to the staff who analyze the results to the manages who have to make recommendations with the results, As well as training the staff all the staff need to be recruited this costs money as you have to pay for the Job advert and the expensive human resource staff to employ the correct person with the correct skills to be able to do market research as well as hiring staff to take care of the research then they have to employ other staff who are ICT and Math experts to analyze to results to make sure there are no errors, further staff costs include managers who needs to make recommendations and improvements based on the market research, manages in the NHS and Tesco are paid a lot of money to do this job, therefore there are more costs.

Huge costs when you have to pay for the focus groups they involve loads of professionals who have to be paid at least £30 a hour which has to be paid by the company and they spend a number of hours asking questions which costs the company time which they could use to work at the business, you also need NHS and Tesco interviewers who want their money for asking the questions,

Many hours are spent on market research, this time is spent on things like answering questions, analyzing data, sorting through data, sheets, graphs and tables, The time spent to do market research is out of the business so the business could loose money because of this time being spent on something else, the business uses many hours on Market research as it will talk a lot of time to gather and sort out the  information gathered about market research, Time costs money because when they are taking part in market research they are not in the store which means they cannot sell from the business which means that they could loose out on money due to this, Market research also takes a lot of time because it is very long as you will have to go through research from lots of different areas, Market research takes many hours a day which could be used in a better way, time is also spent training the questioners when the staff could be doing other things.

-Validity of data collected

The data that has been collected by the market researchers must have to be valid to the market they are researching otherwise it will be useless to them, Poor research will not give Tesco and the NHS relevant results in what they want to research, if you are asking wrong questions you will end up getting wrong answers which will not fit in with the business, for example Tesco would not ask questions like, Is Tesco in the top ten hospitals because it is time consuming and cannot help the business in any way because the data collected is invalid.

If Tesco and the NHS don’t use the research correctly they could get the research wrong and make a change in the business that wouldn’t benefit them, all the data they have to collect and use must be valid, This means that Tesco and the NHS must use the correct research in their business so they could make a change that will benefit them.

The information collected must be reliable so Tesco and the NHS can go ahead and make changes in their organisations from the results that came back from the data such as surveys and questions, Tesco and the NHS must make sure that the information is reliable, they can do this by checking multiple surveys to make they are similar and not just ticked or answered at random.

People exaggerate so all data might not be 100% correct so you will have to ask different people so you can get answer from different people which will make the results more stable so the business can use them, Tesco and the NHS must ask a large number of people so they can get the correct research and not false data which they cannot use.

People say that they will do things when they won’t such as saying they will come to the store, and buy the products when they don’t bother which would make it false research/data, Tesco and the NHS must make sure they have researched from a large number of people before they make a certain change because if only one person wants a change and the other million don’t Tesco and the NHS will loose out.

When asking people questions, some people ignore the questions and walk or move away which is time wasting and the questioners don’t get an answer so they don’t get any research, which means they have to get research in other ways, Tesco and the NHS must make sure they are persuasive when asking customers and patients to answer their questions, NHS can ask their questions in the hospital waiting rooms, whereas Tesco can hand out questionnaires with every sale.

The results given must be analyzed correctly because if they analyzer makes a mistake it could cost the business because it wouldn’t match the research given and the business will loose out, Tesco and the NHS must make sure that their research is analyzed correctly so they can make valid changes of things the people actually want to see in the business, not a mistake in the research, Tesco and the NHS must also make sure their questions offer consistency so the responses will be a good quality, high detailed and reliable answers, they must make sure they get these good quality answers so they can get ways to improve on their business.

The customers must understand the questions correctly, because if they don’t they could make the answers or just move onto the next question, if every question isn’t answered it will be harder for the NHS and Tesco to determine results from the market research, Tesco and the NHS must make sure that their questions are clear and understandable by checking them so the people answering the questions will have a easy understanding of answering them.

The questions in the focus groups must be suitable so the people who are answering must understand them, and they must be related to Tesco or the NHS; the business focus groups must be suitable for people to answer, Also the employee’s from Tesco and the NHS must be there to actually work and collect market research, whereas they could be their to get out of work or help, so Tesco and the NHS must ensure that their employee’s are doing the correct jobs so they can earn their money for collecting market research so they can improve their businesses, rather than wasting time getting paid for nothing.

Document Details

• Author Type Student
• Word Count 2676
• Page Count 6
• Level AS and A Level
• Subject Business Studies

Related Essays

Stakeholder for Tesco and NHS

How A Bakery Can Use Market Research

Describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in Tesco and...

Tesco SWOT Analysis

Articles on Tesco

Displaying 1 - 20 of 26 articles.

How supermarkets are changing their branding to make you think they’re cheaper

Melisa Mete , University of Reading

Amazon and Tesco’s checkout-free stores are a niche idea that won’t save the high street

Kokho Jason Sit , University of Portsmouth

If Amazon buys Morrisons, it could be a win for consumers and a major threat to other supermarkets

Michael Benson , Sheffield Hallam University

Plastic and the art of stigmatisation – is something amiss?

Céline Louche , Audencia ; Delphine Gibassier , Audencia , and Jennifer Goodman , Audencia

Climate action helps companies build reputations and attract investors

Rumina Dhalla , University of Guelph

Sainsbury’s and Asda merger: it’s all about market share

Naaguesh Appadu , City, University of London

Tesco has shown it can do recovery but can it now keep pace?

Harminder Singh , Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

Why there’s no such thing as a free coffee – even at high-end supermarkets

Richard West , University of Westminster

Waitrose banks on its middle-class base as supermarkets brace for tough times

Isabelle Szmigin , University of Birmingham

Clash of the consumer titans as Unilever puts price squeeze on Tesco

Joseph McGrath , Liverpool John Moores University

Whatever happened to ‘bans’ on GM produce in British supermarkets?

Vivian Moses , King's College London

Scandals and regulation lead to an auditing merry-go -round

Prem Sikka , University of Essex

What is going on at Tesco?

Leigh Sparks , University of Stirling

Britain’s broken corporate governance regime

Jeroen Veldman , City, University of London and Hugh Willmott , City, University of London

Tesco investigation comes amid calls for greater trust in the City

Atul K. Shah , University of Suffolk

Profits are slashed but Tesco manages at least one thing well

Scott Taylor , University of Birmingham

Should we feel sorry for Tesco? The human cost of cheap food

Dave Watson , University of Essex ; Steffen Böhm , University of Essex , and Zareen Pervez Bharucha , University of Essex

What corporate jets can tell us about a company’s fortunes

Andre Spicer , City, University of London

The race for boardroom diversity is falling at the first hurdle

Alison Wolf , King's College London

New Tesco CEO might enjoy the benefits of a dramatic debut

Related topics.

• Corporate governance
• Sainsbury's
• Supermarkets
• United Kingdom (UK)

Top contributors

Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Bayes Business School, City, University of London

Emeritus Professor of Accounting, University of Essex, University of Essex

Associate Professor, Informatics and Operations, Kingston University

Professor in Organisation & Sustainability, University of Exeter

Senior Research fellow, Anglia Ruskin University

Professor of Technology & Society, Bangor University

Professor of Marketing, University of Birmingham

Professor of Organisational Studies, City, University of London

Adjunct Professor of Law, Northwestern University

Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, King's College London

Lecturer in Organizational Behaviour, University of East Anglia

Reader in Leadership and Organisation Studies, University of Birmingham

Professor of Retail Studies and Deputy Principal, University of Stirling

Professor of Corporate Governance, City, University of London

Visiting Professor of Biotechnology, King's College London

• X (Twitter)
• Unfollow topic Follow topic

Tesco PLC Report

• Published: May 2016

• DESCRIPTION
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• COMPANIES MENTIONED

Tesco PLC is a UK-based global supermarket chain and it has 7817 shops and 517,802 employees around the world. Founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen, Tesco has emerged to become the biggest retailer in the UK and more than 80 million shopping trips are made to Tesco stores each week (Annual Report, 2015). Tesco’s mission statement is “to be the champion for customers – to help everyone who shops with us enjoy a better quality of life and an easier way of living”.

Tesco business strategy can be described as cost leadership with a focus on availability, range and customer service. During the financial year of 2015, the group sales amounted to GBP 69.7 billion with the group trading profit of GBP 1.4 billion, however, the company made a net loss of GBP 6.4 billion during the same period (Annual Report, 2015). Along with market saturation, such a poor financial performance has been caused by a series of scandals that include an overstatement of commercial income by GBP 208 million (Rigby, 2015) and the cases of supplier mistreatment. It has been revealed that the supermarket chain demanded a payment of GBP 1 million from one of its suppliers, L’Oreal (Ahmed, 2015) and the company has been found to delay payment to suppliers in order to improve its operational profit margins in 2014 (Simpson, 2016).

These scandals caused a severe damage to Tesco’s brand image and replacement of the leadership at the top level. The new leadership headed by a new Chairman of the Board John Allan and new CEO Dave Lewis pledged to restore the trust towards the brand via focusing on the core values that had made Tesco popular in the first place.

Tesco PLC Report contains the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis and McKinsey 7S Model on Tesco PLC. Moreover, the report contains analyses of Tesco’s business strategy, leadership and organizational structure and its marketing strategy. The report also discusses the issues of corporate social responsibility.

1. Introduction 2. Business Strategy 3. Leadership 4. Organizational Structure 5. SWOT Analysis 5.1 Strengths 5.2 Weaknesses 5.3 Opportunities 5.4 Threats 6. PESTEL Analysis 6.1 Political Factors 6.2 Economic Factors 6.3 Social Factors 6.4 Technological Factors 6.5 Environmental Factors 6.6 Legal Factors 7. Marketing Strategy 7.1 Marketing Mix 7.2 Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning 7.3 Elements of Tesco Marketing Strategy 7.3.1 Advertising 7.3.2 Sales Promotion 7.3.3 Events & Experiences 7.3.4 Public Relations 7.3.5 Direct Marketing 7.3.6 Personal Selling 8. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 9. Value-Chain Analysis 9.1 Primary Activities 9.2 Support Activities 10. McKinsey 7S Framework 11. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 11.1 CSR Programs and Initiatives 11.2 CSR Criticism 12. Recommendations

List of Figures

Figure 1 Tesco Corporate Governance Structure Figure 2 Tesco organizational structure at store level Figure 3 Changes in Tesco’s profit before tax Figure 4 Changes in the number of Tesco stores worldwide Figure 5 Changes in Tesco advertising budget Figure 6 Tesco Porter’s Five Forces Figure 7 Market share of grocery retail chains in the UK from January 2015 to April 2016 27 Figure 8 Tesco Value Chain Analysis Figure 9 Tesco McKinsey 7S Framework

List of Tables

Table 1 Tesco SWOT analysis Table 2 Tesco segmentation, targeting and positioning for Technika TV Table 3 Tesco CSR performance

British Heart Foundation

Lloyds Banking Group

Sainsbury’s

The Cooperative

Why this report is so cheap? 1. Reports offered in this portal are produced by a small group of academic writers headed by John Dudovski. 2. Our reports are shorter compared to reports produced by large research companies. Company reports are produced to assist with academic works of business students in particular. Therefore, all points that do not relate to academic needs of business students are left out. 3. We do not have huge fixed expenses large research companies do, thus, we are able to deliver reports for a little cost.

How do I receive the report? After completing the payment you will receive a link to the e-mail related to your Pay Pal account or the e-email you entered when specifying bank details. You can download the report via this link. The report is downloaded in PDF format. The link will stay active for 7 days.

How can I use the report to complete my academic assignment/research? Reports offered by research-methodology.net are professionally written samples in their respective areas. Reports are intended to be used as guides and sources of secondary data for reference purposes.

I did not receive the link/I can not download the report? If you have any difficulties with downloading reports you have purchased please e-mail us the details of your purchase. We will send the report to you as an e-mail attachment shortly.

Live revision! Join us for our free exam revision livestreams Watch now →

Reference Library

Collections

• See what's new
• All Resources
• Student Resources
• Assessment Resources
• Teaching Resources
• CPD Courses
• Livestreams

Study notes, videos, interactive activities and more!

Business news, insights and enrichment

Currated collections of free resources

Browse resources by topic

• All Business Resources

Resource Selections

Currated lists of resources

How loyalty cards are used to gather market research data

9th November 2011

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share by Email

According to The Economist you have spies in your wallet if you make use of one of the many ‘loyalty’ cards that are promoted by retailers.

According to the article, although they are often called “loyalty” cards, these rewards cards are not about winning the loyalty of customers. “The real value-added is the data ,” explains the firm which runs Britain’s Nectar card scheme. By cleverly using the information collected when customers’ cards are swiped at checkouts, the companies can offer them well-targeted discounts. Even small shifts in buying habits, multiplied by very large numbers of customers, can provide a welcome boost to profits.

Nectar is Britain’s biggest loyalty programme, with 18m subscribers. Set up in 2002, it has hundreds of member companies, ranging from Sainsbury’s to Expedia (an online travel portal). You can spend your “Nectar points” on everything from food and drink to gadgets and cinema tickets. Tesco and Boots have each set up their own loyalty schemes. Tesco’s Clubcard, launched in 1995, now has 15m members.

At first the expense of setting up and running rewards programmes meant they were affordable only for the largest retailers, or groups of retailers. But as IT costs have fallen, such schemes have multiplied, while becoming an ever more central part of retail firms’ marketing strategies , according to one consultancy.

The success of Clubcard and Nectar in Britain seems to have persuaded several companies to rethink their opposition. Waitrose used to say that loyalty schemes were expensive and intrusive. But it has just started sending out its new “myWaitrose” card to shoppers on its mailing list (while claiming that it is “not another loyalty scheme”). Asda is still resisting however. The firm experimented with reward cards but since being bought by Walmart in 1999 it has stuck to its American owner’s belief that a focus on low prices across the board makes it unnecessary to lure shoppers with discounts. Taking a stab at its big rival, Asda proclaims: “No Clubcard. No gimmicks. Just lower prices every day”.

(In an interesting twist, The Economist also cites some undercover research by a group of students at the London School of Economics. Although Tesco keeps secret how it uses its clubcard, the students carried out a class project in which they made several applications for Tesco car insurance. When they gave the number of an unused Clubcard it earned a 1% discount. When they gave the same personal details but quoted the numbers of heavily used Clubcards, the discounts varied greatly, reaching 18%. This suggests that either the Clubcard truly rewards loyalty, or it provides Tesco with enough background data to judge whether the customer poses a low enough risk to justify a discount on their insurance).

You might also like

Our subjects.

• › Criminology
• › Economics
• › Geography
• › Health & Social Care
• › Psychology
• › Sociology
• › Teaching & learning resources
• › Student revision workshops
• › Online student courses
• › CPD for teachers
• › Livestreams
• › Teaching jobs

Boston House, 214 High Street, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, LS23 6AD Tel: 01937 848885

• › Contact us
• › Terms of use
• › Privacy & cookies

© 2002-2024 Tutor2u Limited. Company Reg no: 04489574. VAT reg no 816865400.