Ethics in Commerce: What You Need to Know

Several attributes affect consumers’ decisions before making any purchases. There are several supermarkets in various towns and every supermarket has its clientele. This means that consumers’ shopping choices are influenced by factors such as; low prices, choice of national versus private labels, ease of parking and loading, fast checkouts, produce quality, convenience, store personnel, advertised “specials” in stock. All the attributes mentioned above have an impact on how I make my choices. I will rank these attributes based on my most attractive attribute to the least. 

Advertised “specials” in stock 

Low prices 

Produce quality 

Services 

Convenience 

Ease of parking and loading 

Store personnel 

Fast checkouts 

Choice of national versus private labels 

I have ranked the attributes based on what would appeal to me, however, the positions change depending on the things I am interested in and what I would want to purchase. My visit to one of the supermarkets in town prompted me to rank their services. I will use the first five attributes to rank my experience at the place. 

Advertised “specials” in stock (5) 

Low prices (6) 

Produce quality (10) 

Services (7) 

Convenience (6) 

Multiply your rank value by their performance value for each and sum the total (Walmart) 

Advertised “specials” in stock (5) x (10) =50 

Low prices (6) x (9) =54 

Produce quality (10) x (8) =80 

Services (7) x (7) =49 

Convenience (6) x (6) =36 

Total = 50 +54+ 80+ 49+ 36 =269 

These is my rating for the second store I visited. 

Advertised “specials” in stock (2) 

Low prices (8) 

Produce quality (10) 

Services (6) 

Convenience (8) 

Multiply your rank value by their performance value for each and sum the total (Whole Foods) 

Advertised “specials” in stock (2) x (10) =20 

Low prices (8) x (9) =64 

Produce quality (10) x (8) =80 

Services (6) x (7) =42 

Convenience (8) x (6) =48 

Total = 20+64+80+42+48 =258 

The results above are for two supermarkets Walmart and Whole Foods. From the results above, it can be seen that Whole Foods has the highest performance value however; this is not necessarily my best store. This is however, my best store in terms of shopping for food items and this may explain the reason it ranks differently. The major difference can be seen in the advertised “specials” in stock performance, which scores a (2) because there were not so many offers during the time of shopping. On the other hand, the store has a high score in terms of convenience. It is convenient for me in the sense that I can easily access the store on my way home and I do not have to struggle to access it. Additionally, I also find it convenient since it is affordable in the sense that I do not have to spend a lot of money on transportation since it is near my residence. I personally prefer shopping at Walmart since it has the “all under one roof” services and goods that are all accessible in the supermarket. It has a wide range of products that I can choose from and this makes it my best choice since I have a one stop. However, when I need more variety in terms of food items, I would prefer Whole Foods any time. Walmart has more offers in stock and this was very attractive to me; the economy is already harsh enough. Additionally, it had a lot of quality produce and this was an added advantage. In terms of convenience, I did not find the store very convenient since it is not in my route and not very accessible to me. In addition, the store does not have ample parking and this is not very convenient especially when I am using a car. This and the score on services offered affected Walmart’s rating, but this does not necessarily mean that the store does not have quality products. 

Many things come in play when it comes to maintaining a business. In this case, both Whole Foods and Walmart needs to pay attention to various attributes to enhance performance. In terms of product placing, Whole Foods should concentrate on having offers on a wide range of goods in the store. This is part of the product mix aspects of business and it needs to be considered to attract more consumers. Additionally, when it comes to pricing, both companies should pay attention to this aspect of business and consider it when pricing basic and luxury items. I believe the companies has an inventory on the fast moving goods and they can use this as leverage when it comes to pricing. Location plays a major role in any business premises. For instance, shops that are located at the center of town tend to have more shoppers compared to shops that are located in malls. Most malls are located away from town and this may not be accessible to all shoppers. Finally, all companies should focus on promoting. Promotion can be done in various ways and both companies need to find what the consumer needs and work their promotion around such information (Kotler, 2013). 

To add on this, both companies need to pay attention to competition and run their businesses with this in mind. Any business cannot be run blindly and it takes skillful managers to look into the market and see what they can introduce or rather improve on. Other than the above-mentioned factors, Walmart and Whole Foods need to survey their market area and find out what they need to do. This means that they can have secrete shoppers who can compare prices, services and quality of products from the various stores (Plank, 2018). They can also use the online space to find reviews on what they need to improve on. In as much as the companies may be up for business, they also need consumers for their business to be successful. If I were in position of power in either of the supermarkets, I would use my expertise to conduct physical surveys and employ the use of questionnaires that will be used to enhance the service additionally. I would have a suggestion box at the till, request clients to leave remarks on what they would like improved, and the products they would want a waiver on. In my experience, I would come up with more promotional events that are less costly and in conjunction with major companies that are looking to promote their activities (Bradley, 2013). I believe it is difficult to have all the attributes mentioned above achieved and more. This is because various factors affect the business environment and at the same time various businesses have various target market; what may be convenient for me will not necessarily be convenient to another. Consumer needs are ever growing and this explains how it is almost impossible to meet all the needs, however, this does not give an excuse for poor performance (Harrison, 2013). Consequently, if the list of attributes increases, it may be difficult to score the companies or rather it may be increasingly difficult to draw constructive comparisons and conclusions since as it is, the business environment is already heated and every major business player is concerned with beating competition and filling business gaps. 

References; 

Bradley, N. L. I. M. U. O. (2013).  Marketing research: Tools and techniques . Oxford University Press. Print. 

Harrison, A. L. (2013).  Business environment in a global context . Oxford University Press. Print. 

Kotler, P. (2013). Kotler on Marketing. The Free Press. New York. Print. 

Plank, P. (2018).  Price and product-mix decisions under different cost systems . Wiesbaden, Germany : Springer Gabler. Print.