The Main Factors of Driving the Uptake of online Shopping Technology in Supermarket World -A Research Based on Musgrave in Ireland

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To fulfil the research objectives, the author reviews existing studies, and these studies help to develop research questions. It has been learnt that online shopping technology receives both praise and criticism. For example, Anupindi et al. (2015) identify that while it is more convenient to purchase online, payment safety becomes a critical issue. Based on this idea, it is necessary for this study to understand how consumers consider online shopping. Therefore, the first research question is:

1, what are the characteristics of online shopping such as its advantages and shortcomings?

From the Literature Review, it can be found that industry environment and changing consumer needs force retailers to make changes on their operation. Based on this idea, it is necessary to look at whether these two factors may influence the sales of supermarket in Ireland. Also, it is interesting to identify other challenges faced by Ireland’s supermarket retailers. Thus, the second research question is:

2, what are the challenges for increasing sales of supermarket in Ireland?

Finally, as aforementioned, while some scholars believe that online shopping technology contributes to higher sales (Kim and Park 2015), some scholars claim that it does not work well for supermarket industry (Kinsey and Senauer 2015). Therefore, the last research question is:

3, what is the relationship between online shopping and increased sales in supermarket in Ireland?

4. Research Method

4.1 Research design

Saunders et al. (2009) introduce three common research designs, which are qualitative, quantitative and mixed research designs. In this study, mixed research design will be used and there are several reasons. Firstly, Steinar (2013) thinks that mixed research can help researchers generate more information so research questions can be better answered. Then, looking at the research questions, it can be found that different data will be required. For example, quantitative data will be needed to understand consumer opinions toward the benefits and shortcomings of online shopping, and qualitative data will be required to understand the challenges for increasing sales in Ireland’s supermarket industry. Thus, the author believes that mixed design is appropriate for this research.

4.2 Data collection method

To collect quantitative data, questionnaire will be used. According to Saunders et al. (2009), questionnaire has several advantages. For example, it usually uses standardized questions, so standardized answers can be generated. This will help researchers better analyse data. In addition, Hakim (2012) demonstrates that questionnaire enables researchers to invite a larger sample size so more information can be gained.

To collect qualitative data, different sources will be used to ensure that enough information will be generated. For example, industry report will be reviewed so the development of Ireland’s supermarket industry can be understood. In addition, Musgrave’s annual report will be also reviewed so its operation, strategy and challenges can be understood.

4.3 Research Samples

This research will adopt purposive non-probability sampling strategy because Saunders et al. (2009) demonstrate that it allows researchers to select samples based on their own judgment. In other words, the author can invite anyone who is considered relevant to this research. The samples of this research will be consumers in Ireland. Considering the fact that anyone may purchase at a supermarket, there will be no requirement on samples’ gender or age. Online questionnaire will be used to save time, and the expected sample size will be 100. It is expected that the future response rate can be higher than 75% so useful findings can be carried out.

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