The
topic that I am interested in writing about for my final paper is a combination
of two things: 1) I would like to research more into the salty snack industry
as I will be working in marketing at Frito-Lay after graduation and 2) I am
really fascinated by the topic of consumer survey response bias or acquiescence
bias. Specifically, I want to look into
the question about why consumers in surveys say that they want to eat healthier
but in reality they still purchase items that are less healthy for them? Are there reasons specific to salty snacks
that consumers opt for non-organic or low-fat options? Have organic or low-fat campaigns in this
segment been as successful as forecasted?
How can consumers be segmented and targeted (when buying this category)
if they aren’t realistic in marketing surveys?
How can I use this information to make sure that innovations or new
products at Frito-Lay are successful – and not just created based on consumer
survey data?
One
reason that the topic of consumer response bias is interesting to me is that I experienced
it first hand in my last job. When I was
working in the camera’s department at Target in 2007 there was a period where “green”
was very popular. The electronics
division decided to put together an endcap of products that were either green
or included green packaging/promotions.
The decision to move forward with this was based on consumers responding
that they would pay more for items that were environmentally conscious. What ended up happening was a disaster –
every single item on the endcap undersold forecast, resulting in overstocks,
excess markdowns, and poorly turning SKUs.
This experience definitely made me question consumer accuracy or lying
on surveys. It also made me more cautious
of moving forward with “trends” in the industry without more solid proof. I think it would be really interesting to
apply this to what I will be dealing with at Frito-Lay so that I don’t make the
same mistake again.
This
topic is connected to what we are studying in this course because it deals with
understanding the consumer, their motivations, and using survey data to make
decisions. While we are conducting
primary research for our Nordstrom project it will be important to be aware of
the response bias issue and try to prevent our findings from being swayed. Response bias is particularly important when
it comes to issues of health because most humans want to think of themselves as
more healthful than they are. I think it
is a really interesting phenomena and worth understanding further.
I
pulled a few articles from Business Source Complete as well as reports from
Mintel about this topic. I had some
difficulty finding articles specific to salty snacks, but I definitely found a
lot of resources about eating patterns, healthy snacking, and attitudes towards
salty foods. I also found a few articles
that overview response bias at a high level.
One
interesting scientific article I found about this topic was published on PubMed.Gov,
stating that social desirability bias in self-reports is a factor in having
differing outcomes of surveys vs. behavior.
Another scientific article showed the results of a study on social-bias,
stating that they observed a large downward bias in reporting food intake
related to social desirability score. (Source: Oxford Journals)
Another
interesting article debated the pros and cons of Frito-Lay Sun Chips compostable
bags. The bags were around for about a
year and discontinued in October of 2010 due to the loud nature of the
bag. It is an interesting viewpoint on
offering a product that is better for the environment (which is what people
claim they want) but people can’t get past the noise associated with the
bag. It questions people’s priorities –
what they say they want vs. what they actually buy (or complain about).
The
biggest challenge for this paper will be connecting the general research on
healthy eating reporting bias with specific products for Frito-Lay, but I do
think that the topic will be helpful in my career in the near term and long
term. I would definitely appreciate any guidance,
feedback or references that anyone has.
Sources:
Mintel:
Chips, Pretzels and Corn
Snacks - US - January 2012
Healthy
Snacking Consumer (The) - US - December 2011
Natural
and Organic Food and Beverage: The Consumer - US - November 2011
Attitudes Toward
Sodium and High Fructose Corn Syrup Reduction - US - August 2010
Pachucki
M, Jacques P, Christakis N. Social Network Concordance in Food Choice Among
Spouses, Friends, and Siblings. American Journal Of Public Health
[serial online]. November 2011;101(11):2170-2177. Available from: Business
Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 22, 2012.
MARTIN
W, ENGELLAND B, COLLIER J. ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ACQUIESCENCE RESPONSE BIAS
ON MARKETING DATA. Marketing Management Journal [serial online].
Spring2011 2011;21(1):31-46. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich,
MA. Accessed February 22, 2012.
Martin
W, Engelland B, Collier J. Summary Brief: Hiding True Attitudes: A Critical
Assessment of Acquiescence Response Bias and its Effects on Marketing Data. Society
For Marketing Advances Proceedings [serial online]. January 2009;:159-160.
Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 22,
2012.
