MARK2052 Final Report

Client: Harvey Norman

Contents:
1. Problem Discovery Stage
1. Background
2. Literature Review
2. Opportunity Statement
1. Management Decision Problem
2. Marketing Research Problem
3. Research Questions
4. Research Objectives
3. Project Timeline
4. Project Mindmap
5. Research Design and Methodology > details of fieldwork
5.1 Design approaches
5.2 Implementation:
examples and timing schedule
6.
Research Findings
summaries
explanations
focus groups - transcripts in appendices
interviews -transcripts in appendices
surveys - responses in appendices
7.
Discussion of findings in relation to research objectives & Recommendations
8.
Limitations and Recommendations of qualitative research conducted
9.
Further Research - Quantitative Approach (include final survey)
10.
References
11.
Appendices

1. Problem Discovery Stage

1.1 Background
The purpose of this study is to provide guidance for Harvey Norman in regards to
addressing the changing customer expectations within an industry of growing innovative online
retailers and competitors. There is also a particular focus on potential Harvey Norman consumers
in the Australian context and the clients expressed concern for the development of their
furniture line. In order to do so we have to understand the structure and nature of the company
and its history.
Harvey Norman (HN) is a large Australian-based franchise that focuses on retail products
for both the home and the office ranging from electrical, computer & communications, small
appliances, furniture, bedding and Manchester, Home improvements, Lighting and Carpet &
Flooring. They operate in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, Ireland, and Malaysia.
The nature of the franchise business means that store culture varies across the board as
management style depends upon the operator (Harvey Norman Company Profile, 2012).
However, due to the entrepreneurial roots of the business and despite these individual difference,

Harvey Norman launched its own integrated e-commerce website in 2011 followed by a
customised website for mobiles to provide its customers an integrated omni-channel retail
experience.
With ever-changing consumer expectations and increasing competitors due to technology
advancements and globalisation, Harvey Norman is working to fulfill the current consumer
needs and expectations. By adapting the ever-growing technological capabilities, platforms and
mediums to existing consumer behaviour, they aim to make the purchasing process a simple
smooth and mobile process. Another challenge for Harvey Norman in this regards is a current
business belief that furniture products cannot be sold online limiting their market share and
ability to compete with other online furniture retailers.
Amidst this evolving retail landscape, Harvey Norman continue to operate under the
same brand promise that customers can shop with confidence at Harvey Norman, particularly
in regards to quality, value and service and this has been since 1982. Whether these values have
changed for the consumers over time, is something that has to be examined.
1.2 Literature Review
The first major hurdle is for Harvey Norman to consider is how to effectively use their
online channel to aid consumers and motivate them to purchase. Research suggests that there is a
positive correlation between the amount of information available online and positive decisionmaking, up to a certain point where consumers reach a state of information overload (Gao et al.,
2012). Information available is generally categorised as either the quantity of choices or the
quantity of information for individual products. As a result we aim to discover how much
information is ideal for Harvey Norman Customers and what type of information is more
important to have.
Whilst research has been done on online-specific retailers, identifying their high degree
of control, lower prices and ease of use as key strengths (Keen et al., 2004) we have to remember
that Harvey Norman implements both online and in-store retailing. The consequence to this is
that some of the aspects previously identified, such as lower online prices, may not be possible
for HN. There is then the need to differentiate which values are still upheld and if they are
transferrable to an operator that offers both forms of retailing. Salient factors that motivate
consumers to purchase have been identified as price and choosing their preferred format of
shopping (Keen et al., 2004), suggesting that price may be the most important factor if HN offers
both formats. Other research also suggests that interactivity of the two would assist in
differentiating them from the traditional separate businesses (Javadi et al., 2012).
In order to provide a good value proposition to the consumer, Harvey Norman must
understand the Australian consumer attitude towards furniture in general and the important
factors that contribute to each purchase decision. Past research conducted in a number of
countries has suggested that females who buy furniture, weigh each of the factors differently, and
tend to be more thorough in considering things such as price, design and size compared to their
male counterpart (Cho & Yoon, 2009). The identified main factors consist of; price, design,
quality, and country of origin, however, theres no clear cut towards what is the most important
factor. Although, alternate research done by Ponder (2013) and Bednarik (2010) has found that,
quality is the most important factor in choosing furniture. Nevertheless, these researches are
conducted outside of Australia. Consequently we present an analytical framework for
understanding the Australian consumers preference and importance of each the mentioned
factors for furniture purchases.

Since furniture is sometimes expensive and serves mostly as an expression of ones own
identity and personality, an extended decision making process creates the situation where
information search can be quite extensive (Ponder 2013). Undeniably, the internet is a valuable
source of information for consumers as it allows immediate comparison between different
products and brands. Research done by Franklin Furniture Institute of Mississippi State
University had found that, majority of the people look at different products and brands before
actually going to the store. Some even like to browse furniture catalogs even if they arent
planning to buy anything. However, the actual purchasing decision for furniture in online
retailing wasnt popular among the majority.
Research that has been conducted recently in Australia by Euromonitor that identified
that furniture is one of the least appealing products to online shoppers, indicated by low sales
numbers and slow forecasted growth rate (Euromonitor International 2014). In contrast, the
products that do well on online retailing are clothing apparel, computer software, entertainment,
and electronic products. The conflict arises for HN when dealing in multiple product
categories and whether they should approach them differently online. Supplementary study on
Australian online furniture retailing must be conducted to further understand consumer attitudes
and identify reasons why they buy or dont buy furniture from online retailers, potentially
identifying new opportunities for Harvey Norman.

2.

Opportunity Statement

2.1 Management decision problem

Considering the major aspects of the current technological age and Harvey Normans company
structure and history, we have concluded that a suitable management decision problem would be:
How can Harvey Norman update their online and in-store infrastructure in order to
combat emerging e-Commerce savvy competition and evolving customer expectations,
particularly in regards to their furniture department?
2.2 Marketing Research Problems
From a marketing perspective, the management problem can be deconstructed into the
following marketing research problem:
When making either in-store or online purchases, how are current HN consumers
affected by the retailers online presence during their information search evaluation stages.
Are current service provisions addressing customer needs or are there greater
expectations and needs not being met that may influence buying behaviour?
2.3 Research Questions
In order to understand the research problem, it is necessary to explore and understand the
following research questions:
Research question 1: In regards to price, product design, quality and country of origin, what is
the most significant in influencing the consumer purchase decision for furniture at Harvey
Norman in comparison to other furniture retailers?

Research question 2: How does shopping at a physical store for furniture differ from the online
store, in regards to salesperson service, the ability to see and feel the product, delivery options,
and website ease-of-use in determining purchase preference for in-store or online retailing
Research Question 3: Is the layout of Harvey Normans physical stores and online website user
interface reflective of the brand and its brand promise Shop with Confidence? That is, the
confidence of receiving value, quality and service.
Research Question 4: What quality and quantity of information about product specification,
price, stock availability and sample picture is effective for consumers during the
online information search and evaluation stage.
2.4 Marketing Research Objectives
Our objectives for conducting the marketing research according to our research questions are as
follows:
Research objective 1: To identify the influence of price, perceived quality, design, and country
of origin on the consumers decision to buy furniture from Harvey Norman, and how the
consumer position Harvey Norman among its competitor based on those factors.
Research objective 2: To determine consumer attitude toward online and offline furniture
retailing of Harvey Norman and which aspects of the online and retail store are key in influences
consumer preference for shopping in-store or online.
Research objective 3: To determine degree Harvey Norman stores and its website represent the
brand position and identify consumer expected value proposition.
Research objective 4: To determine whether online customers value quality and accurate
information or quantity and more detail when undergoing information search and product
analysis stages for price, product specifications, stock availability and sample pictures.

3.

Project Timeline

The following project timeline serves as a guide for us to complete the required allocated tasks in
order to complete the research in a timely manner:
Week Task

Further Details

Starting
Date

Completion
Date

Group formation

Form groups of 3-5

Assign different roles

14th Aug

14th Aug

Draft Marketing
Research Proposal

Establish context and background

information
Begin secondary data collection
Define decision problem, market
research problem, research questions
and research objectives

15th Aug

21st Aug

Assess primary and secondary data

needs
Draft literature review
Evaluate benefits of expected
information
Establish project timeline
5

Submit Marketing
Research Proposal

Incorporate
Feedback

Discuss proposal feedback

23rd Aug
Revise decision problem, questions and
objectives
Discuss and draft research
methodology, primary data collection
implementation plans, sample survey
Continue secondary data collection
Begin primary data collection with pilot
survey

12th Sep

Complete final
survey

Analyse pilot survey results and revise

accordingly
Finalize survey
Conduct final survey

13th Sep

20th Sep

Continue
collecting primary
data

Continue conducting interviews and fo

cus groups
Record primary data collection

21st Sep

25th Sep

Data Preparation
and Analysis

Analyse data in terms of research

questions and objectives
Create data structures to generate
information
Process research findings

25th Sep

2nd Oct

10

Presentation
Preparation
Complete final
report

Prepare for in-class presentation

Create video presentation

4th Oct

10th Oct

11

Presentation of
findings

Incoporate any feedback for video

11th Oct

12th Oct

22nd Aug

Upload video to moodle.

Finalise and edit final report

22ns Aug

12

4.

Hand in final
report

Project Mindmap

13th Oct

23rd Oct

5.

Research Design and Methodology

5.1 Research Design Approach

Due to the nature of the marketing research problem, our main objectives are to discover
the consumers thought and feelings about Harvey Norman. This falls under the category of
exploratory research and as a result, we have chosen mainly qualitative methods for our research
design. We wanted to use a variety of methods for qualitative research procedures including both
direct and indirect approaches.
Within the direct approach we chose focus groups and in-depth interviews, utilising
open-ended questions and probing techniques. Our indirect method was a survey that combined
qualitative projection techniques such as the completion techniques and construction techniques,
as well as the quantitative approach of scaling. The quantitative approach was added after the
conclusion of focus groups and interviews because we wanted to have a better grasp on the
number of consumers who represented what we discovered in our qualitative research.
5.1 Implementation
Target Market:
For the exploratory research we did not want to restrict our market to any age or gender
bias. Although we mostly asked respondents who have shopped and used Harvey Norman
services and those who fall under Harvey Normans target market of younger male adults.
Focus Groups:
In order for us to better understand how consumers felt, we chose focus groups to allow
us to broaden our ideas conceived through our literature review and our 4 research questions. It
was chosen because it would allow us to explore if these were still relevant in the evolving
market of e-commerce and specifically to Harvey Normans current perceptual position in the
market or if there other factors which were now becoming recognized by consumers.
We understand that the results from our focus group cannot be representative of the
general population but would allow us to generate more alternatives.
Although recommended focus group designs state 8 - 12 people for lengths of 1 hour up
to 3 hours, we chose to alter this to suit our project timeline and moderator capabilities. We
chose to conduct mini focus groups with 5 or 6 participants for 1 hour lengths to make it easier
for the moderator to control the group dynamics as well as easing the scheduling process.
To aid the process of conducting our interviews, we wrote down a basic questionnaire
that our moderators could follow and maintain a standard across all focus groups (Appendix
11.2). These consisted mainly of open ended questions to engage the respondents, although the
moderators would be able to probe more deeply or follow the line of conversation when suitable.
An important factor of conducting focus groups is the ability of the moderator to create a
comfortable atmosphere for respondents by being both objective and personal. Included at the
beginning and end of the questionnaire were sample introductory and conclusive passages
incorporating the style and approach the moderators should take to help respondents feel able to
given their opinions (Appendix 11.2)
The focus groups were implemented over the planned 2.5 week time frame to conduct the
focus groups and interviews. Moderators are asked to record their sessions and are given the
questionnaires as guidelines, although they are encouraged to keep a natural flow of conversation
and are allowed to ask other questions when respondents have brought up ideas that have not
been discussed.

Interviews:
After discovering through focus groups any underlying trends of ideas regarding our
research, we used the in-depth interviews to reduce the bias developed in focus groups and to
probe for reasoning as well as fill in the gaps in our understanding. We wanted our interviews to
feel more personal and relaxed, so interviewers were given the same list of questions as provided
for the focus groups but we had the freedom and flexibility to probe the participants and delve
more deeply into answers.
In order to reduce the friction and forced feelings of the interview, the supplied questions
do not have to be followed in any order and can be altered but must be relevant to the 4 research
questions and objectives. Interviews would be conducted one on one and should last from 15
minutes to 20 minutes. These will be recorded for monitoring and examining relevance of
responses and questions. Interviews would be conducted over the same period as the focus
groups of 2.5 weeks.
Surveys:
As a supplement and preliminary quantitative approach to the research, a pilot survey and
an actual survey would be conducted to gain a sense of validity and reliability of data.
The pilot survey tested the flow of the survey, the difficulty of questions, relevance of
responses and questions. This was done by asking the participants how they felt about the
questions and what they meant afterwards as well as observing difficulty and interest in the
questions. We generated our survey questions relating to individual research objectives and the
pilot survey tested these questions in no specific order and simply followed what was shown in
Appendix 11.4. In total, 5 to 10 pilot surveys would be conducted and based on this, the actual
survey could be generated.
Actual Survey Structure:
Surveys: target of 50 - 75 actual surveys to be conducted within a 1.5 week period, given
that surveys are easier to conduct in higher quantities in a shorter amount of time
We chose a computer-aided survey format including screening questions for participants that
ensured responses were made only from those satisfying certain criteria. For example: only
people who had visited the Harvey Norman website, could answer questions about the websites
usability and interface. see appendix 11.5.1 This was done due as pilot survey participants
commenting that, unless having prior shopping experience at Harvey Norman, some questions
would be impossible to answer.
We structured the flow of the survey to have 4 clearly labelled sections given in this order:
(Appendix 11.5.2)
1. Shopping online at Harvey Norman
2. Shopping in-store at Harvey Norman
3. Online shopping vs in-store shopping preferences
4. Furniture Shopping
This order was chosen as it seemed to provide structure and clarity for consumers to
answer questions about a specific part of their shopping experience rather than in the order of our
research objectives. The first two sections had the screening process mentioned before and were
specifically about Harvey Norman. The last two were questions that required comparisons and
generally longer times to answer.

A combination of completion questions, construction questions and scaled responses.

(Appendix 11.5.3)

6.
Research Findings
Analyses of focus groups, interviews and surveys
Focus groups
The focus groups were effective in generating discussion and obtaining a variety of
opinions and perspectives in a short amount of time. However, often participants were initially
shy and tended to agree with each other, allowing other participants to affect and influence their
answers.
Participants tended to provide more general answers and as a result, often there was a
lack of variation. The focus groups revealed that the main motivation for a consumer to shop
online was the dual factors of convenience and cost-effectiveness. Participants were not limited
be either geographical location or time and could browse and compare prices with ease. Many
participants felt that there was a much larger selection online which meant that they were able to
compare prices more effectively and therefore were able to select the most cost-effective option
( Appendix 11.1A)
However, when posed with the notion of purchasing furniture online nearly all
participants rejected the idea. Personal items such as beds, couches and chairs were less likely to
be purchased online as consumers felt it was necessary to touch and feel the items, testing
them before making a purchase (Appendix 11.1B).
The focus groups further revealed an overwhelming lack of brand awareness in regards to
Harvey Norman. Although all participants had heard of Harvey Norman and knew of the
existence of their online website, few had recently shopped either in-store or online. When
shown the website, many described it in very neutral terms noting that it lacked visual appeal and
was neither interesting nor memorable some even describing them as bland.
Specifically in relation to the Harvey Norman website, the participants felt that they were
slightly overwhelmed and unsure about how to navigate the website. Additionally, many
participants were shocked that important information such as pricing, stock availability and
precise delivery times were unavailable. Furthermore, the images on the website, particularly for
furniture, were inadequate and did not provide a full view of the item. This lack of information
and detail made them feel less confident in purchasing from the Harvey Norman website while
the unreliable information regarding stock availability made it difficult to shop in-store.
Similarly, the participants that had recently shopped in-store commented that there was
nothing particularly striking about the store visually but did notice that the salespeople were
knowledgeable and friendly. The younger participants found that the store lacked the warmth of
IKEA which a participant associated with home (Appendix 11.1C).
Interviews

In comparison to the focus groups, the participants seemed more willing to provide more
personal answers and felt more comfortable going into detail about their personal shopping
habits and the reasons behind them. They also tended to be more emotive in their answers, and
took less time to think before answering.
The most significant finding from the interviews was in regards to Harvey Normans
brand perception, particularly in relation to their competitor IKEA. Although this was briefly
explored in the focus group interviews, one participant in particular revealed that they felt
Harvey Norman did not cater for a younger target market and associated Harvey Norman with
tradition whereas competitors such as IKEA were seen as cool and on-trend.
As a point of significance, the participant felt that consumers themselves were the main
source of marketing for IKEA as they felt it was a brand that they were happy to associate with
and recommend to their friends. On the other hand, when probed about Harvey Norman and their
marketing strategy participants could not easily recall any recent marketing campaigns or efforts
and felt that Harvey Norman possessed very little brand presence in the modern era ( Appendix
11.1D).
In comparison to competitors such as IKEA, consumers perceived Harvey Norman as
being more expensive without a significant increase in the quality of the products. Interestingly,
although Domayne is actually owned by Harvey Norman customers tended to associate the brand
more strongly with furniture and felt the product selection was greater. Although they perceived
Harvey Norman products to be of a high quality, they felt that there was not a large selection in
comparison to other retailers.
The country of origin was deemed unimportant, with many participants commenting that
as the majority of things were now made in Asia (especially China), there was no real perceived
difference in preference based on the country of origin.
The interviews were also effective in drawing out the deeper reasoning behind an
individuals consumption behaviour. One participant believed that digital literacy was perhaps
the most significant factor in influencing whether an individual chose to shop online rather than
in-store (Appendix 11.1E) although they felt that this would change in the near future.
Surveys
A benefit of conducting the survey was the ability to obtain findings that were very
specific to our research questions as they answered targeted questions, which was sometimes lost
in the more free qualitative approaches. As such our findings from the surveys are presented for
each research question
Findings for RQ1:
The surveys show that for the identified factors of price, quality, design and country of
origin of furniture, that there is an increasing trend of importance for the factors of price, quality
and design as seen in Graph 1. Although these three factors are all very important, the graph
suggests that price is the overall factor receiving the least amount of negative responses.

Graph 1.
Finally we see that the country of origin was generally rated in the middle to right,
indicating a generally neutral to negative position of the participants. This may indicate that the
country of origin as a value varies greatly from individual to individual and is not as significant
of a determinator of product choice.

Graph 2
Here, you can see that customers were asked if they preferred Harvey Norman on
different qualities and that for all the qualities asked, Harvey Norman has quite a defined
position of being in the middle to low end of consumer preferences. This is indicated by the peak
in level 3, neutral responses and the number of responses falling in positions 4 and 5 which
indicates a negative preference for Harvey Norman.
Findings for RQ2:
Some questions were asked outside the scope of Harvey Norman and were aimed at
discovering the consumers general preference for furniture retailing online and in-store.

Graph 3
From graph 3 we can see that although the general trend for furniture is that consumers
have a greater preference to shop in-store for furniture. However, when given a specific reason to
choose why to shop in-store, the ability to see and touch the product, respondents chose to shop
in-store at a much greater rate than before. This may indicate the importance of this particular
factor for shopping in-store, or simply show that when given the reason, the consumers are
influenced to see shopping for furniture in-store in a more positive light.
To combat this effect prior to asking for their preference consumers were asked to fill in
the blank with reasons why they preferred to shop for furniture in-store. A variety of answers
were given with the most common regarding touch and feel the product , to try or test run
the product or even just to see the product for visual satisfaction.

Some people felt like it was a quality assurance whilst others were worried about
dimensions being different to online and wanted to get a feel for the dimensions. A few
other factors more scarcely brought up was the fact that furniture is a more long-term purchase
and therefore should be done in-store. The ability to haggle for better prices in-store and even
that in-store shopping offered a better shopping experience.
Here consumers were also asked how important each factor (online services, product
expectations, delivery time, delivery cost and price) was in determining their choice to purchase
products in general online or in-store. These factors were chosen as they were given by our focus
group and interview respondees. Although majority of the responses indicate that there is no
particular factor that has a more significant role to make consumers choose in-store or online
there are slight differences for individual factors.
Price was general a more uniform distribution ranging from 9 to 15 responses for each
level (Appendix 11.6) and had less variance, which probably reflects the fact that price may not
actually be better online or instore. When asked how they felt about prices online and in-store
and which one offered better prices. The pie chart (Appendix 11.7) shows that about half thought
online had better prices and about a quarter for the other categories. When put together, the data
suggests that although more than half believe online prices are better, they are not necessarily
choosing to purchase online. This may have several reasons but it shows the complexity of
decision making processes.
Findings for RQ3:
Number of responses that HAVE visited the Harvey Norman Website: 31 out of 63 so
approximately 50% of participants have actually visited the website.
In graph 4 below we can see that Harvey Normans website is performing in a generally positive
to neutral position in the customers perception.

Graph 4
Numbers of responses that HAVE shopped at Harvey Norman: 48 out of 63, which means 76%
of the participants, have shopped at Harvey Norman.

Graph 5
Graph five shows that the Harvey Norman stores are also fairly even positioned in the middle
upper region of the customers perception. Both of these scenarios show that there is room for
improvement for Harvey Norman both online and in-store.
Findings for RQ4:
For this section, we decided that it would be easiest for consumers to relate and compare the type
of information they desired if we provided them with different types of products. We still wanted
to focus on furniture and as such we chose the categories of beds, office desks and lamps and
also their opinion in general.
The findings show that although there are variances for each product category, the
information that is believed to be the most important to have available changes very little
(Appendix 11.8) and is ranked in order as Price, Sample pictures, product specifications and then
stock availability. The greatest change would be the difference in respondents who value price in
general, switch to valuing product specification when it came to all the different furniture types.
However, when it comes down to accuracy of the information, there is almost an equal
amount of preference for both price and product specifications (Appendix 11.9), if not more for
product specifications.

7.
Discussion of Findings in Relation to Research Objectives &
Recommendations
Research objective 1: To identify the influence of price, perceived quality, design, and country
of origin on the consumers decision to buy furniture from Harvey Norman, and how the
consumer position Harvey Norman among its competitor based on those factors.
All our methods of researched points towards price, quality and design (in that order) as the most
significant in determining whether a consumer would purchase furniture from Harvey Norman.
From what weve seen, Harvey Normans perceptual position in the mind of consumers is one
that sits in the middle, neither cheap, nor too expensive and offering a variety although not as
great as others. This suggests that Harvey Norman should choose at least one of these 3 factors to
differentiate themselves from their competitors and not worry so much about the country of
origin of their products
Research objective 2: To determine consumer attitude toward online and offline furniture
retailing of Harvey Norman and which aspects of the online and retail store are key in influences
consumer preference for shopping in-store or online.
It was revealed from our focus groups and interviews that the most significant factor in
influencing a consumer to shop online was an overwhelming sense of convenience. Participants
felt that they were not limited by geographical location or time and did not have to leave the
comfort of their homes to make a purchase.
The opinion that shopping online led to cheaper purchases as there was more of a chance
to compare prices with competitors although this often came at the cost of quality, was
something that was found across the board. Many of the participants also felt that there was a
much larger selection online than brick-and-mortar retailers such as Harvey Norman. At the end
of the day, price was indeed the most salient factor when consumers had to choose between
online and in-store.
Furthermore, it was found that the nature of the furniture itself was a significant
determinant on whether the consumer purchased the product online or in-store. For example, if
the piece of furniture was to be used long-term, whether it was a decorative item or to be used for
more practical purposes. Personal items such as beds, couches and chairs were less likely to be
purchased online as consumers felt it was necessary to touch and feel the items, testing them
before making a purchase. However, the online store can aid in the consumers evaluation stage
and accurate and well-represented information can aid consumers to choose to browse at Harvey
Norman and eventually make purchases in-store. Other alternatives would be to offer stress free
returns and deliveries, or some method to reduce the barriers and concerns of online shopping.
Research objective 3: To determine degree Harvey Norman stores and its website represent the
brand position and identify consumer expected value proposition.
The focus groups and in-depth interviews revealed an overwhelming lack of brand
awareness in regards to Harvey Norman, meaning that few could accurately say how the store
and the website portrayed the brand. However, the online surveys that were able to target
respondents who have visited the website and the store indicate that the brand promise was better
communicated online than in store. For the in-store sector it appears that the staff service and

knowledge was better perceived despite the fact that service is a part of their brand promise. This
may indicate that people are unaware exactly what their brand promise shop with confidence
entails.
From our research we have a rough picture of where Harvey Normans brand positions is,
as one that is middle ranged, however we feel that there are still consumer expectations that
arent being met. The gap presented between the number of people who position harvey norman
as a neutral option suggests that the customers are not being satisfied by what Harvey Norman is
currently offering both in terms of services and atmosphere.
Research objective 4: To determine whether online customers value quality and accurate
information or quantity and more detail when undergoing information search and product
analysis stages for price, product specifications, stock availability and sample pictures.
Specifically in relation to the Harvey Norman website, the participants felt that they were
inundated with a large amount of irrelevant information whilst important information was
unavailable. This lack of information and detail made them feel less confident in purchasing
from the Harvey Norman website while the unreliable information regarding stock availability
made it difficult to shop in-store.
Our research indicates that there is a greater importance set on price of products, which,
may suggest that Harvey Norman should consider offering prices on all their products online.
When it comes to quality and and accuracy of information, there is a heavier lenience towards
the product specifications. When considering updating the information they provide, these
factors would be the first to consider and then the others factors in decreasing levels of
importance.

8.

Limitations and Recommendations of Research

A limitation of the current study was the small, non-probability sample of convenience.
Due to financial constraints, the study was under-powered. In addition to the small time frame,
the research couldnt reach statistical significance as the research samples were mainly chosen
by convenience as well as the limited number of interviews / focus groups conducted.
Larger number of research participants and their diversity in terms of age, income, or
even qualification would have benefited the research by providing a better indication of the
whole picture. The survey questions could be advised with an additional amount of time, giving
the participants a better understanding of the survey items. Providing incentives such as cash or
gift cards may help to reduce the biases within the result as the respondents would be more
willing to take the research seriously. Furthermore for data reliability, the use of projective
techniques could have allowed for a better understanding of consumer behavior.
Theres also a limited amount of secondary data on online furniture retailing which
suggest a possible error in defining important factors in the research questions. Along with
budget and time constraints, the scope of the project is fairly limited. Further researches on
online furniture retailing should provide better determinants and a larger scope for the future.
Lastly, the research could have gather more sensitive data from the respondents by
having a professional marketing researchers with proper qualifications, training and experience
for primary data collection. As it stands in this research, unqualified researchers were used, this
surely raised the respondents awareness in the light of their privacy and misuse of personal
information.

9.

Directions for Further Research via Quantitative Approach

Due to multiple research constraints mentioned above, its a possibility that further
quantitative research methods could be used to gain supplementary insight into the research
questions. In this research where quantitative research has been conducted using online survey,
we had found that using online communities such as Facebook and forums yield poor result as
the majority doesnt have the incentive to answer the questions truthfully. In the light of our
attempt to gather random sampled result, we suggest that considerable amount of time is required
to conduct an online survey without an incentive. Its also possible to obtain decent random
sampled respondents who are willing to honestly complete the survey with a small compensation
by utilizing the power of crowdsourcing.
For survey questions, future researchers can use this research as a guide to construct and
determine the important determinants for similar research objectives. However, greater amount
and more in-depth survey questions should be used to procure better understandings of consumer
behavior. Its also important to mention that exploratory research may be required as consumer
behavior keeps changing along with the determinants used in this research.
Multiple data analysis technique such as tabulation or regression analysis should be used
to analyse the quantitative data as this research only uses ordinal scaling technique which is
fairly limited in terms of the information provided. For example, regression analysis would help
researcher find relationship among variable such as design liking and price for furniture where
the researchers would understand how the changes in design liking affects the importance of
price in purchasing decision.

10.

References

Cherie Keen, Martin Wetzels Ko de Ruter, Richard Feinberg, E-tailers versus retailers
Which factors determine consumer preferences, Journal of Business research, 2004, S7, pp. 685
- 695
Darley K.W, Blankson. C, Luethge J.D, Toward an integrated framework for online
consumer behaviour and decision making process: a review, Psychology & Marketing, 2010,
Col 27(2), pp. 94 - 116
Javadi.M.H.M, Dolatabadi H.R, Nourbakhsh.M, Pousaeedi A, Asadolllahi A.R, 2012,
An analysis of factors affecting on online shopping behaviour of consumers, Internation
Journal of Marketing Studies, 2012, Vol 5 no.5
Jie Gao, Cheng Zhang, Ke Wang, Sulin Ba, Understanding online purchase decision
making The effects of unconscious thought, information quality, and information quantity,
Decision support Systems, 2012, pp. 772-781

Yoon, S. Y. & Cho, J. Y. 2009, Understanding Furniture Decision Making Process and
Design Preference using Web-Based VR Technology, Annual Conference of IDEC, St. Louis,
Missouri, March, pp. 25-28
Euromonitor International 2014, Internet Retailing in Australia, accessed 20 August
2014 from Passport
IBISWorld 2014, Online Shopping in Australia, accessed 20 August 2014 from
IBISWorld Liveperson 2013, A global in-depth study of the online customer experience,
accessed 20 August 2014,
<http://info.liveperson.com/rs/liveperson/images/LivePerson_Connecting_With_Customers_Rep
ort_UK.pdf>
Ponder, N 2013, Consumer Attitudes and Buying Behavior for Home Furniture,
Franklin Furniture Institute, Mississippi State University, accessed 10 October 2014,
<http://www.ffi.msstate.edu/pdf/consumer_attitudes.pdf>
Bednarik, E 2010, Consumer Behaviour Model on the Furniture Market, Department of
Entrepreneurship and Marketing, University of West Hungary, accessed 10 October 2014,
<http://www.nyme.hu/fileadmin/dokumentumok/fmk/acta_silvatica/cikkek/Vol062010/06_bednarik_pakai_p.pdf>
Franklin Furniture Institute n.d., Understanding the Furniture Purchase Decision,
Mississippi State University, accessed 10 October 2014,
<http://www.ffi.msstate.edu/pdf/highlights0109.pdf>

11.

Appendices

11.1A
Focus Group 1 Transcript
Date: 10/10/14
H: Huwin Li (Female, 19)
S: Salina Lam (Female, 22)
M: Mai Pham (Female, 53)
J: Jeremy Power (Male, 25)
W: Wade Yang (Male, 23)
What do you think are the benefits of online shopping?
H: You dont have to walk. No physical activity
M: The convenience. You can see all of your options in front of you with the click of a finger.
Not limited by geographical location.

J: Its cheaper and you dont have to leave your house. Not limited by where you are
geographically or what time you can shop for people who work or are just busy. If you want to
buy a table, you can get people to deliver it
W: More variety and its cheaper.
11.1B
Focus Group 2 Transcript - excerpt 1
Date : 28th September, 2014
Participants: 5
G: George Chan (Male, 63)
C: Carrie Chiu (Female, 58)
K: Kai Chan (Male, 28)
J: Jasmine Chan (Female, 23)
H: Howard Chan (Male 21)
To what extent do you enjoy shopping for furniture in a physical store such as Harvey
Norman?
G: I like the way we can actually see the furniture, touch it and feel it in the actual stores.
C: Yes I agree with you. The most important part of shopping furniture in store is the way we
can see it. I also like to ask the salespeople lots of questions about the material and where its
made.
J: Howard and I seldom shop furniture ourselves, furniture in our home are mostly bought by our
parents.
To what extent do you enjoy shopping for furniture online?
G: We do not need to drive to stores to get see and think and buy the furniture in physical stores,
it is time consuming compare to shopping it online, we can just do our research online, and
easily finish the transaction by clicking few buttons on the websites. But I dont like that I cant
see it. How do I know how big it is or what it looks like in real life?
C: I have not tried shopping furniture online before, but it does sound much convenient to do it
this way. I would just be worried that I cant really see it. I dont think I would buy a bed online
because you cant tell how comfortable it is by just seeing a picture.
J,H,K : Yeah, we have not bought any furniture online either, but we do agree that shopping
online is kind of convenient, in terms of time.
11.1C
Focus Group 2 Transcript - excerpt 2
If you have visited a Harvey Norman store before, what did you enjoy about the experience?
G: I have been there for few times, since I mostly go to Ikea for furniture haha, um... I think
Harvey Norman can provide us a comfort environment to shop there, but nothing much special in
the stores actually.
C: I have bought furniture there before it is just like the other stores selling furniture, nothing
much special, with a fair enough service provided.
J: I have been there several times before, the stores look tidy and well organised in terms of
different categories, but I haven't shopped furniture there before.

K, H: Same for us, we haven't shopped furniture there before as well.

How does a stores layout affect your purchase decisions?
G: To me the most important factor is to have a clear layout in the store so I can always find the
product I want there.
C: Same.
J: Yes it is important to me as well, moreover, I like to have a feel like Ikea, it feels like shopping
in our home. Its so bright and everything is set out so nicely. Everything I see I think I want it in
my house!
Have you ever visited the Harvey Norman website? If so, what did you think of the user
interface and did it contain the information you were looking for?
J: It looks ok to me, can always get the information I need from there.
C: My husband and I have never been to the website, we actually seldom shop online. But it
looks quite messy to me. Just looking at it now I dont really know where to look.
J: Now that I actually look at it Im pretty shocked that not everything is priced. I would have
thought that it is the first thing they put on.
K: I have been on it briefly and it seems pretty ordinary. Nothing special about it.
G: I actually wanted to buy something from Harvey Norman a long time ago and I remember I
went online but it wasnt good. I couldnt see the price and then when I went to the local store
they didnt even have it. I havent really shopped much there recently though.
11.1D
In-depth Interview 1 transcript - excerpt 1
Date: 2/10/2014
A: Amy Li (Female, 26)
Which online retailer(s) you chose to buy furniture from? Why or why not Harvey Norman?
A: I buy from Ikea a lot or Office Works for chairs and study tables etc. To be honest, I think its
mostly word of mouth. A lot of my friends have products from Ikea and everyone knows Ikea is
cheap and has a lot of cool furniture. I always see friends with things from IKEA and then I feel
like I want them too. Especially when its cheap and affordable. I have looked at Harvey Norman
from time to time, but it wasnt that easy to look at the products properly and they didnt tell you
which stores had what or even costs or anything like that so I didnt really browse for long.
You described Ikea as cool. What image do you feel Harvey Norman projects?
A: I dont knowbut definitely not cool. I havent really heard a lot about Harvey Norman
recently to be honest so I guess I feel its pretty outdated?
Do you think that they need to change their marketing strategy?
A: I mean definitely. The whole idea of marketing is to get people talking about your company
or product or whatever. A big proportion of people these days are online and so obviously to be
successful you need to have some sort of online marketing. I remember Harvey Norman had ads
on TV ages ago but even they were pretty boring. If you look at what ads have been really
successful it tends to be ones that are memorable because theyre really funny or outrageous or
even just stupid. Like the whole red bull makes you fly ads that they had even if they got sued!
11.1E

In-depth Interview 2 transcript - excerpt 1

Date: 4/10/14
J: Jinnu Han (Male, 35)
Do you buy furniture online?
J: Ive bought some things like a table lamp and chairs because its not really something I need to
feel and touch before I buy. Although Im part of the online generation, I still dont feel
completely comfortable buying something as expensive as furniture online.
Do you think age plays a factor in a consumers willingness to purchase online? Do you
think older people less likely to shop online?
J: Yes, of course! If you dont use the Internet a lot and you dont really know how to then
youre definitely less likely to buy online. I cant really imagine my grandparents sitting on the
computer and browsing through websites. I think each generation gets more and more digitally
literate and the rest are kind of left behind.
Do you think this will change in the future?
J: I think so. My mum has recently gotten into online shopping which just goes to show how far
people have come. In a hundred years I think everyone will be online and there wont really be
such a thing as digital natives or anything like that anymore
11.2 Focus Group Questions
Introduction
Welcome, and thankyou for participating in the focus group. I want to ensure you that there are
no correct answer - only your opinions and feelings. You are speaking for other people like
yourself.
Dont worry if you dont know much about a particular topic - just express any opinions you
have about any topic we discuss.
Questions
1. To what extent do you enjoy shopping for furniture in a physical store such as Harvey
Norman?
2. To what extent do you enjoy shopping for furniture online?
3. If you have visited a Harvey Norman store before, what did you enjoy about the
experience?
4. How does store layout affect your purchase decisions?
5. Have you ever visited the Harvey Norman website? If so, what did you think of the user
interface and did it contain the information you were looking for?
6. What do you deem important when shopping for beds in a physical store? When
compared to shopping for beds online, what do you think is important?
7. What do you feel is important when shopping for office desks in a physical store? What
is important for shopping for office desks online?
8. What do you deem important when shopping for lamps in a physical store? What is
important for shopping for lamps online?

9. What would be the determining factor that would influence you to buy a piece of
furniture online rather than in-store? (and vice versa)
10. To what extent do you believe in the brand message Shop with Confidence when
shopping in a Harvey Norman store? What specific factors contribute to you agreeing
with this? What do you think they mean by Shop with Confidence?
11. To what extent do you believe in the brand message Shop with Confidence when
shopping on Harvey Normans website? What specific factors contribute to you agreeing
with this?
12. For beds, office desks, and lamps, how important it is should the retailer provide its
consumer with product specifications and stock availability online?
13. For the same set of products, how important it is should the retailer provide its consumer
with current price and sample pictures of the product? What do you look for?
Recommendations and Final Thoughts
Taking into consideration our discussions, what specific actions would you recommend to
Harvey Norman to help make the furniture shopping experience as easy and enjoyable as
possible, both in-store and online? (probe for clarification of ideas and details - form constructs)
Any last thought, feelings or comments?
Conclusion
Thankyou for participating and sharing your ideas and thoughts.
11.4 Pilot Survey Questions
1. Have you ever shopped at Harvey Norman?
2. Have you ever visited Harvey Normans website?
Please rate on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being very important and 5 being not important, the
following factors:
1. Price is an important factor that affects my decision to purchase a piece of furniture.
2. Compared to other furniture retailers, I think Harvey Normans prices are price
competitive? may have to provide an average price as reference.
3. Product design is an important factor that affects my decision to purchase a piece of
furniture.
4. The furniture offered at Harvey Norman suits more to my liking compared to other
furniture retailers.
5. Product quality is an important factor that affects your purchase decision for furniture.
6. I feel that the furniture range at Harvey Norman is greater than that of other furniture
outlets.
7. The Country of origin is an important factor that affects my decision to choose to
purchase a piece of furniture
8. The furniture offered at Harvey Norman were mostly manufactured at a country I have
positive opinion in.
9. I find the Harvey Norman website is easy to navigate.
10. I feel that the Harvey Norman website is user-friendly.

11. I prefer to shop in-store for furniture rather than online.

12.
13. I prefer to shop in-store for furniture rather than online because I can see and touch the
product.
14. The price of the product plays the largest role in determining whether I buy the product
in-store or online.
15. The delivery cost plays the largest role in determining whether I buy the product in-store
or online.
16. The estimate delivery time of the product plays the largest role in determining whether I
buy the product in-store or online.
17. Offered services of regular phone calls, e-mails, and live chat meet your service
requirements when shopping online.
18. I choose to buy in-store rather than online because I am concerned that the product will
not meet my expectations and will be different to what I imagined.
19. I feel that Harvey Normans store reflects its brand promise Shop with Confidence
20. The store atmosphere make me feel safe and that the brand can be trusted.
21. I trust the Harvey Norman staff is knowledgeable and can be trusted with product
recommendations.
22. Harvey Normans online website reflects its brand promise Shop with Confidence.
23. The online web interface make me feel confident that I will be able to find a quality
product.
24. The online live chat service at Harvey Normans website is an appropriate place to ask
for reliable product recommendation.
25. I can confidently make purchases both in Harvey Normans physical stores and through
their online store.
26. The online website has the same quantity and quality of information available for their
entire products range.
The following questions are based on your online shopping experience and requires you rank,
from most important to least important, the information available online.
If you feel that a factor is equally ranked, you can rank both features the same.
When browsing for the following products online, select, which aspect is the most important feature that you
evaluate the product on.
Beds

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

Office Desks

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

Lamps

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

When browsing for the following products online, select which product you would rather have more detail in
regards to:
Beds

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

Office Desks

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

Lamps

Price

Stock availability

Product specification

Sample Picture

When browsing for the following products online, please select which aspect you would rather have more accurate
information in regards to:
price

Beds

stock availability

Office desks
Beds

Lamps

Office desks

Lamps

product specification

Beds

Office desks

Lamps

Sample pictures

Beds

Office desks

Lamps

When browsing for the following products online, please select which product you would rather have more
accurate information in regards to:
price

Beds

stock availability

Office desks
Beds

Lamps

Office desks

Lamps

product specification

Beds

Office desks

Lamps

Sample pictures

Beds

Office desks

Lamps

When browsing online what is more important to you: The quality and accuracy of the information or access to
greater amounts of information?

Please answer the following question in regards to a little bit about yourself
3.
4.
5.
6.

Your gender?
How old are you?
What is your occupation?
What is the highest educational level you received?

11.5 Actual Survey

11.5.1 - Example of survey interface screening for suitable participants that match criteria

11.5.2 - Example of headings in the Actual Survey

11.5.3 - Examples of different question types

Continuous rating scale

Nominal Scale

Completion technique
Appendix 11.6

Appendix 11.7

Appendix 11.8