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PEARSON EDEXCEL GCSE
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Brand new and updated
case studies from
real-world businesses
Topic 1.2 Spotting a business opportunity
few people may say that they hate herbs on pizza.
Should that be taken seriously?
The use of data in market
research
Research takes time and money to collect. The key
to success, though, is to interpret its findings. With
quantitative (yes/no) research, it should be easy. There
may be problems, in being sure that the figures mean
what they say, however. For instance, 100 people
may say they prefer a thin base to their pizza, but
can you be sure that the same is true of all pizza
lovers? You can only be sure of the findings if you are
confident that the people who responded are typical
of everyone. If a young Bolton businesswoman asked
100 friends to fill in a questionnaire, the results might
only be meaningful for young people in Bolton, not
the whole market. Needless to say, market research
data has to be reliable to be worthwhile.
Therefore, market research findings are important and
interesting, but need not always be taken seriously.
A confident businessperson may be right to ignore
some research findings, perhaps choosing to build a
business that’s a bit different and may not appeal to
everyone’s tastes.
Talking point sections to
encourage discussion
and develop knowledge
Talking point
Pizza Hut has gone from being the leading pizza
takeaway business to trailing after Domino’s.
How might Pizza Hut use market research to
reboot itself?
Revision essentials
Focus group: a group discussion among people
selected from the target market; it draws on
psychology to provide qualitative insights into
consumer attitudes.
Revision essentials with
key terms and concepts
defined throughout
Primary research: research conducted
first-hand; it is tailored to a company’s specific
needs, for example a quantitative sales
estimate for a brand new chocolate bar.
Qualitative data: in-depth research into the
opinions and views of a small group of potential
or actual customers; it can provide insight into
why consumers buy what they buy.
Quantitative data: factual research among
a large enough sample of people to provide
statistically reliable results, for example a
survey of 500 people aged 15–24 years.
Questionnaires are a useful way to collect
information
Qualitative research is even harder to interpret.
If three or four people in a group discussion feel
strongly about something, so what? For example, a
End-of-chapter
exercises with
questions to test
understanding
9 Market research
End of chapter exercises
1 Use the information in Figure 9.1 on page 46
to calculate what percentage sweet biscuits
have of the whole UK biscuit market.
Secondary research: when a company uses
research that has already been carried out for
general purposes.
2 Outline one way that Center Parcs might use
primary research to find out why a higher
percentage of customers rate Whinfell Forest
as excellent than Woburn Forest.
3 Explain why market research through social
media may prove relatively unreliable.
4 Give two reasons why a young entrepreneur
might use secondary rather than primary
research to help decide whether or not to
open a vegan takeaway.
5 Read the following extract and answer
questions (a) and (b).
48
In autumn 2021, Ferrero launched a range
of three Ferrero Rocher chocolate bars into
the UK market. The Italian company had
spent three years developing the products
and the packaging. It employed 50 people
to test more than 300 recipe combinations
before deciding on the final three. It used
quantitative and qualitative research as part
of its development programme. Focus groups
drew attention to ‘big night-in occasions’ as
an opportunity for getting chocolate lovers
to ‘trade-up to something special’. The three
bars (milk, dark and white chocolate) all have
the Rocher connection with hazelnuts. The
price of £2 per 90 gm bar is significantly above
standard Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.
(a) Explain how the use of quantitative
research might have helped the Ferrero
Rocher team develop the product
recipes.
(b) Explain why qualitative research might
be best for developing the idea of ‘big
night-in occasions’.
Practice questions
ASOS takes on Marks & Spencer
New practice questions
to help students
prepare for exams
In recent years traditional clothes retailer Marks
& Spencer (M&S) has suffered declining sales;
by contrast, online shop ASOS has enjoyed rapid
yearly growth. Many people believed the M&S
problem was its failure to attract shoppers
under the age of 40.
The company announced proudly that it would
use its next shareholders’ meeting to research
the styling and colours for its cardigans; a
business newspaper pointed out that this would
mean a focus group among its 70-year-old
shareholders. Meanwhile, ASOS was using
social media both for research and publicity. It
organised groups of ASOS customers of different
ages to give instant feedback on new clothes
designs and encouraged shoppers to upload
photos of themselves wearing new items –
#AsSeenOnMe – and then monitored comments
on the styles and colours.
The value of ASOS’ modern approach to market
research showed in its share price. In the two
years to August 2021 its shares were up 65 per
cent; M&S shares were down by 24 per cent.
Total: 18 marks
(1)
1 Define ‘focus group’.
2 Outline one possible impact on M&S of its
(2)
focus groups with shareholders.
3 Analyse the impact on ASOS of its approach
(6)
to market research using social media.
4 M&S must find out how to appeal to clothes
buyers under the age of 40. Financial
restrictions mean it must choose between:
◆ Option 1: Qualitative research.
◆ Option 2: Quantitative research.
Justify which one of these options the
company should choose.
(9)
49
Sample pages from Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1)
Business, Third Edition
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New exam-style questions
reflecting the command words
found in the exams
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