Wal-Mart Research Proposal and Price Perception

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PART I

You can go through the research studies mentioned herein. The following research studies were considered for the selection of the topic:
Research Study 1
According to Click IQ research, 80% of the consumers are aware of the Walmart's Every Day Low Prices strategy and for 90% of the shoppers low prices are important (PR Web, 2012: Sept. 14). Relating this with an earlier research study undertaken by Click IQ, most of the shoppers browse through the physical retail stores but actually purchase the products online as it costs them less (PR Web, 2012: Feb. 15). The research question raised by the study is that whether Walmart is considered to be a lowest priced retailer or this perception has shifted towards online retailers such as Amazon. This question is important for the study because there is a need to identify that whether there is an actual shift in perceptions of the consumers from Walmart being perceived as a low priced retailer to online retailers or a particular retailing site such as Amazon being perceived as a low priced retailer.

Research Study 2
A study on price promotion on brand loyalty for the German Ready to Eat cereal market by Empen, Loy and Weiss (2011) reveals that the stronger brands tend to be promoted less frequently at discount as compared to weaker brands. The study also concludes that the stronger brands have smaller price promotions. Although the study reveals a negative relationship between brand loyalty and price promotion wherein brand loyalty is influenced negatively by price promotions to a greater degree but is relevant because this could be an area of exploration that whether the brand image of a retailer like Walmart who has positioning itself on the basis of Every Day Low Prices can be influenced by this pricing proposition. The question is important to the study because it will help in identifying the strength of price value proposition of the brand "Walmart".

Research Study 3
A study by Villarejo-Ramos and Sanchez Franco (2005) titled "The impact of marketing communication and price promotion on brand equity" reveals that there is a negative impact of price deals offered on the brand equity of a company. Here, the brand equity was represented by the four components - perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand image and all of these components were negatively influenced by the price deals. Therefore, this study poses question if a brand like Walmart itself is built on the price proposition, will this price proposition impact negatively or positively the perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand image. This question is important to know how all these factors have led to strengthening of the brand Walmart that it is influenced or not influenced by the bribery scandal.

Research Study 4
Hanzaee and Farsani (2011) have studied the relationship of Brand Image and Perceived Public Relations on Corporate Loyalty and concluded that when the brand image of a company is favorable, the company's messages have a higher congruence with the consumer perception whereas if the brand image is unfavorable then the company's messages are differing greatly from the consumer perceptions. This is being contradicted with the results of Walmart wherein since the bribery scandal at Mexico has become public the revenues of the company has increased (Clifford, 2012: May 17). This fact contradicts the study by Hanzaee and Farsani (2011) that unfavorable brand image leads to difference in consumer's perception and company's message and raises a question that whether actually Walmart's negative image arising out of bribery scandal has any impact on Walmart's low price message of saving people's money so that they can live better. This question will help in understanding the severity of bribery scandal and its impact on the company's overall perception and the impact of strength of message of low prices.

Research Study 5
A study by Gommans, Krishnan & Sheffold (2001) titled "From Brand Loyalty to E-loyalty: A conceptual framework" identifies the 5 drivers of e-loyalty as Website and Technology, Trust and Security, Value Proposition, Brand Building and Customer Service. The present research draws from this research because another latest research by Click IQ has revealed that the consumers are shopping online although they are browsing through physical retail stores (PR Web, 2012: Feb. 15). This shift to online retailers is due to the availability of products at lower prices on the websites such as Amazon. Since Walmart has positioned itself so strongly with low prices, the shift to online retailers could also indicate the dilution of its image as low priced retailer and if this shift exists, it may be possible that the retailer may be negatively influenced by the bribery scandal and therefore it raises an important question that whether a shift to online retailing is reducing the brand loyalty or affinity towards Walmart.

Research Study 6
A study by Freeman, Nakamura, Prud'homme & Pyman (2011) titled "Walmart Innovation and Productivity: A viewpoint" identifies the Walmart's contribution to the growth of economies worldwide with a specific reference to contribution of retailer to Canadian economy. The study reveals how costs of living is being influenced by Walmart and could be charged for its anti-competitive pricing. This gives rise to a question that how strong an association is between Walmart and low prices as compared to the major competitors. This question is important because the prices have to be analyzed in relation to the competitors and the degree to which Walmart is considered to be synonymous with low prices. This will help in understanding

Research Study 7
As per a research study by Parago, a consumer engagement and incentives company, shoppers have become more price sensitive as 83% of shoppers believe that their purchasing power has decreased and 70% shoppers have become more price sensitive in the last 12 months (Wabler, 2012: n.d). This has raised a question that is the shift to online retailers is due to the reason that consumers have become more price sensitivity although the consumers are still have strong ...