marketing research project - ipooch product launch

Market Research Report for:

Prepared for Dr. Hill

Prepared by:

Vickie Smith

Michelle Swallick

Al Almeida

Nicholas Sinko

Mike Dzioba

December 21, 2006

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Pet Product Research, Inc. 99 Normal Avenue (973) 555-0001 Montclair, NJ 07010 Fax (973) 555-0002 November 19, 2006 Mr. Mike Hilltop, President iPawd Enterprises 666 Dog Avenue West Orange, NJ 00000 Subject: Market Research Report for iPooch! Dear Mr. Hilltop: Enclosed is the market research report for iPooch! that you requested. In your request, you asked for a study to determine if your iPooch! product should go to market. This research study was approved on October 1, 2006 and is now completed. The results from the survey data collected were conclusive. You might want to do an actual usage study once the product is out in the real world. The project’s results are extremely informative and should be considered when structuring future studies. It will give you a general idea of what to expect about attitudes regarding the iPooch! product concept. We are grateful to iPawd Enterprises for giving us an opportunity for conducting a primary research study on iPooch! Feel free to contact us for clarification of this report, or if any questions arise. Please keep us up to date with your decisions after reviewing this report. Sincerely,

__________________ ___________________ _________________

Vickie Smith Michelle Swallick Al Almeida

__________________ ___________________

Nicholas Sinko Mike Dzioba

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter of Transmittal ................................................................................................2 Table of Contents.....................................................................................................3 Executive Summary.................................................................................................4 Survey Results .........................................................................................................7 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................10 Conclusions, Limitations & Recommendations ....................................................24 Appendices.............................................................................................................26 Questionnaire SPSS Printouts Open-Ended Questions Responses iPooch! product concept photos Slide visuals Bibliography

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

The US is a nation of animal lovers and pet owners. Of the over 63 million US households which own some kind of pet (over 60% of all US households), dogs are found in 39%, according to a 2002 survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. Pet owners spend more per year on pet products and supplies than on pet food. Sales of pet products rose from $28.5 billion in 2001 to $35.9 billion in 2005. The pet products and services business is almost independent of the state of the economy – Americans treat their pets as family members and do not scrimp on caring for them. Americans are becoming well known for treating animals like humans. iPawd Enterprise’s mission is to enter the booming luxury dog accessory market with their high-tech product concept. Consumer demand for pet apparel and accessories is a trend evident across the range of retailers -- online specialty outlets, such as PamperedPuppycom, retail pet stores such as PetSmart and PetCo, and even large department stores such as Macys which launched its second pet department in Philadelphia earlier this year. The special relationship between dog owners and their pets is the subject of many studies on the sharing of human interests with dogs. Behavior studies show that dogs are affected by the type of music they are hearing. 65% of pet owners have admitted singing and/or dancing for their pets. Why not share music? Over 33 million Americans are using digital media players (DMPs). Apple Computer’s iPod holds over 75% of the marketshare in this market. Sales of an estimated 172 million units in 2006 are projected to go to almost 215 million units in 2007. DMP Accessories accounted for over $412 million in sales for the first 9 months of 2005, up over 370% from the same period in 2004. iPawd Enterprises is planning to bring the iPooch! to market within 2 years. The purpose of this study is to learn if there is enough of a positive attitude about the product to go further in their mission. This information will be used by iPawd Enterprises to make decisions regarding how they want to focus future research initiatives. An exploratory research study was conducted in the Northern NJ area for iPawd Enterprises which consisted of primary data gathering. iPawd Enterprises needed an inexpensive, convenient and efficient way of collecting data about dog owners’ attitudes towards purchasing the iPooch! product concept. Respondents were selected by convenience sampling. The study was designed to determine the iPawd’s feasibility of marketing a new high-tech dog product to those who use DMPs and also own dogs, developing a new segment to the expanding luxury dog accessory market. Meeting the criteria of being a dog owner AND owning a digital media player would need to be satisfied before proceeding with our questionnaire for the iPooch! product concept. One hundred completed surveys were collected, and SPSS Statistical Analysis software was used to analyze the results. A variety of tests were used to analyze the data, including an

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Independent Sample T-Test, Oneway ANova, and Univariate Analysis. Cross-tabulation was also used to generate results that will be reflected in our final reporting. PRODUCT CONCEPT

The iPooch! is high-tech dog accessory that will allow dog owners to listen to their digital media player along with their dog. The digital media player attaches with a mini plug, for compatibility with a variety of digital media players. The iPooch! is a waterproof pouch that fastens to the dog’s collar, housing the DMP. iPooch! has an external speaker, known as the patented “woofer,” through which the media will be heard. There are no external wires.

RESULTS

Although there were no actual attitudinal differences between our subjects (gender, age, income, dog size) and the consequences, we still found that overall there are significant attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences but just not between each subject. We also discovered that there is a significant attitudinal difference across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes The actual findings included that there was an overall positive attitude towards the iPooch! concept. CONCLUSIONS After conducting our study, we found that there was a positive attitude overall across the 11 consequences about iPooch! We determine that there is enough interest in iPooch! to go to market, however, more research is needed at this time. Please see the following limitations section in the survey results portion of this report for a discussion on this. RECOMMENDATIONS Prior to bringing iPooch! to market, a few things should be considered. This research was conducted to clarify an ambiguous problem, “Are people interested in iPooch!” This question needs to be addressed before a great deal of money is invested in manufacturing and bringing the product to market. The results of this report are not intended to provide conclusive evidence from which to determine a particular cause of action. It should be noted that subsequent research will be required to provide such conclusive evidence. Future research should be directed to a target audience about specific objectives. The research objectives should be reidentified which will in turn delineate the type of information that should be collected and it will provide the framework for the scope of the new study. In the research study, one objective should be to see how the attitudes are AFTER the consumers have actually used it. Once problems have been identified through this research, they will be ready to be solved.

Secondary data should also be collected on other competitors, such as other luxury dog accessories. Some of the ideas that are implemented can be useful and adopted by iPawd

Enterprises. This data can be gathered quicker and at a lower cost than primary data. The new research study should be conducted more scientifically to obtain the results needed to make business-related decisions. Also, ordinal and interval data questions

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should be asked to help in analyzing the data. A larger sample size and a random sample technique should be used in order to obtain meaningful data. The new survey should

address questions that were left out of this study.

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IPAWD ENTERPRISES SURVEY RESULTS INTRODUCTION Consumer demand for pet apparel and accessories is a trend evident across the range of retailers -- online specialty outlets, such as PamperedPuppycom, retail pet stores such as PetSmart and PetCo, and even large department stores such as Macys which launched its second pet department in Philadelphia earlier this year. The special relationship between dog owners and their pets is the subject of many studies on the sharing of human interests with dogs. Behavior studies show that dogs are affected by the type of music they are hearing. 65% of pet owners have admitted singing and/or dancing for their pets. Why not share music? Over 33 million Americans are using digital media players (DMPs). Apple Computer’s iPod holds over 75% of the marketshare in this market. Sales of an estimated 172 million units in 2006 are projected to go to almost 215 million units in 2007. DMP Accessories accounted for over $412 million in sales for the first 9 months of 2005, up over 370% from the same period in 2004. The purpose of this study is to learn more about people’s attitudes toward the iPooch! product concept to see if it was feasible to go to market. iPawd Enterprises has contracted Pet Product Research, Inc. to conduct an exploratory study in order to determine the market potential of the iPooch! digital media player carrier for the dog and their owners. This information will be used by iPawd Enterprises to get an idea of general attitude towards the iPooch! product concept and to make decisions regarding how they want to focus future research projects. OBJECTIVES Several key areas were identifies when determining the boundaries of this study. The following describe the specific research objectives: Determining if there is a positive purchase intent for iPooch!, what attitudes would drive that behavior, and answering the management decision problem “Should iPooch! go to market?” METHODOLOGY

In choosing our population of interest, we determined that two criteria would need to be satisfied for eligibility to participate in the research study: Owners of both a dog AND a digital media player. Both of those criteria would need to be satisfied before proceeding with our questionnaire for the iPooch! product concept. Pet Product research conducted an exploratory research study in the Northern New Jersey area for iPawd Enterprises that consisted of primary data gathering. The opinions of this specific population were necessary in order to satisfy our research objectives. We chose to use a self-administered questionnaire for our primary data research. The surveyor was present to explain things to the respondent and clarify responses to open-ended questions, if necessary. Our sampling frame is from the population of Northern NJ. Currently the

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population of Essex County, where our research was conducted, is approximately 793,000. However, we will focus our attention to a more convenient sample size. We chose to use a nonprobability sample on the basis of convenience and the appeal of lower costs. We chose a mall intercept method, intercepting every 10th person that was entering PetSmart on Route 23, Wayne, NY to create a more random sample. We determined that a sample size of 100 would be sufficient in our determination if iPooch! should go to market. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Several key areas were identified when determining the boundaries of this study. The following were the specific research objectives: Determining if there is a positive purchase intent for iPooch!, what attitudes would drive that behavior, answering the management decision problem “Should iPooch! go to market?”. We came up with ten (10) hypotheses for responding to the management decision problem: HYPOTHESES

Ho1 There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners. Ha1 There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners. Ho2 There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and gender. Ha2 There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and gender. Ho3 There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and age. Ha3 There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and age. Ho4 There are no attitudinal difference towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and income. Ha4 There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and income. Ho5 There are no attitudinal differences across towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and dog size. Ha5 There are attitudinal differences across towards purchasing ipooch among dog owners and dog size. Ho6 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences.

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Ha6 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences. Ho7 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and gender. Ha7 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and gender. Ho8 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and age. Ho8 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and age. Ho9 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and income. Ha9 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and income. Ho10 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and dog size. Ha10 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and dog size. Ho 11 There are no attitudinal differences across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes. Ha 11 There are attitudinal differences across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes. QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

Using Fishbein’s attitude-toward-the behavior model, as this model seems to correspond more closely to actual behavior than does the attitude-toward-object model, revealing more about the act of purchasing iPooch! This is depicted by the following equation: Where Attitude(beh) is a separately assessed overall measure of effect for or against carrying out a specific action or behavior: bi is the strength of the belief that an ith specific action will lead to a specific outcome; and Σ indicates that there are n salient outcomes over which the b and e combinations are summated. Demographic data was collected at the end of the questionnaire, including gender, age, income and dog size. Two open-ended questions were included at the end of the survey to include as a bonus for iPawd in their continuing research and development for the product to uncover if there was anything in particular that the respondent liked about the concept and if they had any concerns.

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DATA ANALYSIS

100 completed surveys were successfully collected, with minimal response omissions. After collecting our data, we will analyze the responses to the surveys by running the tests through SPSS Statistical Analysis Software. The surveys were validated, coded and entered according to standard data analysis procedure. A variety of tests were used to analyze the data, including an Independent Sample T-Test, Oneway ANova, and Univariate Analysis. Cross-tabulation was also used to generate results that will be reflected in our final reporting.

GUIDELINE This diagram was arranged according to the scores of the 11 attitude questions in our survey, with 1 being “Very Important,” and 5 being “Very unimportant.” The lower the score, the more positive an attitude that they have shown towards i-pooch for that consequence (i.e. innovativeness, comfort, etc.) We used this guideline to measure if there was a significant finding relating to attitude to measure against the stacked tests that we ran, which showed a cumulative total for each attitude by creating 11 new variables. If the cumulative score had not gone beyond (99), we can conclude that there was a positive attitude towards the iPooch! consequence. However if the cumulative total was beyond 135, we concluded that this participant had a negative attitude towards the iPooch! consequence. If the sum of the cumulative responses to the consequence was between (99 – 135), we would have to conclude that this there is an indifferent attitude, neither positive or negative outlook. The neutral and negative are being treated equally, as marketing researchers, we are looking at the cumulative scores less than 99, which would be in the positive zone.

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ATTITUDES TOWARDS PURCHASING IPOOCH!

Hypothesis

Ho1: There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners. Ha1: There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners One-sample t-test:

Out of the one hundred possible attitudinal surveys, 84 contained valid responses, and 16 are missing. The mean average of these attitudinal purchases was 74.2 which is below the 99 test value, indicating that there is positive mean average of iPooch! in dog owners. After conducting the independent sample t- test, we concluded that there are attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners, we reject the null.

One-Sample Statistics

N Mean Std.

Deviation

Std. Error Mean

attitudes towards purchasing iPooch!

84 74.1786 33.22148 3.62476

One-Sample Test

Test Value = 99

95% Confidence Interval of the

Difference

t df Sig. (2-tailed)

Mean Differenc

e Lower Upper


-6.848 83 .000 -24.82143 -32.0309 -17.6119

GENDER

Hypothesis

Ho2: There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and gender. Ha2: There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and gender.

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Independent Sample T Test:

Out of 39 valid male responses the mean average was 77.2. Out of a valid 44 female responses there was a mean average of 71.7. Both have a positive attitude towards iPooch! After conducting the independent sample t- test, we concluded that there are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and gender, and we retain the null.

Group Statistics

Gender N Mean Std.

Deviation

Std. Error Mean

Male 39 77.1795 43.30241 6.93393 attitudes towards purchasing iPooch!

Female 44 71.7273 21.37741 3.22277

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AGE COHORT

Hypothesis

Ho3: There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and age. Ha3: There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and age. One-Way Anova Test:

After conducting a one way ANOVA we observed that the age cohort of 25-34 had the most positive mean attitude out of all five age cohorts and 55 and above had the lowest positive mean attitude. After conducting the test we found there are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and age, and we retain the null.


Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups

5272.046 4 1318.012 1.235 .303

Within Groups 83250.918

78 1067.319

Total 88522.964

82

55+45-5435-4425-34Less than 25

Age Group

90.00

85.00

80.00

75.00

70.00

65.00

60.00

Mean

of

att

itu

de

s t

ow

ard

s p

urs

hasin

g ip

oo

ch

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Over $95,000$80,000-$95,000$65,001-$80,000$50,001-$65,000$35,001-$50,000Under $35,000

Household Income

95.00

90.00

85.00

80.00

75.00

70.00

65.00

60.00

Mean

of

att

itu

de

s t

ow

ard

s p

urs

ha

sin

g ip

oo

ch

INCOME

Hypothesis

Ho4: There are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and income. Ha4: There are attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and income.

One Way Anova Test:

After conducting the one way ANOVA test we observed that the income class of 50,001-65,000 had the highest positive mean attitude toward purchasing the iPooch! and the 35,001-50,000 had the lowest positive mean attitude towards purchasing the iPooch!. However, we concluded that there are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and income, and we retain the null.


Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups

7836.413 5 1567.283 1.470 .210


74 1066.318

Total 86743.950

79

15

LargeMediumSmall

Size of Dog

85.00

80.00

75.00

70.00

65.00

Mea

n o

f att

itu

des

to

ward

s p

urs

has

ing

ip

oo

ch

DOG SIZE

Hypothesis

Ho5: There are no attitudinal differences across towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and dog size. Ha5: There are attitudinal differences across towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and dog size. One-Way Anova Test:

After conducting a one way ANOVA test we observed that owners of small canines had the highest positive mean attitude. The least positive mean attitude came from the medium sized canine group. However, we concluded that there are no attitudinal differences towards purchasing iPooch! among dog owners and dog size, and we retain the null.


Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups

5172.628 2 2586.314 2.344 .103


78 1103.217

Total 91223.580

80

16

would be fun to use

while walking my

dog

would cost more than i am willing to spend

would draw negative

attention to my dog

would make my dog less responsive

to me

would make my dog less distracted by other

dogs

would make me feel

confident that it is

waterproof

would draw positive

attention to me

looks like it would break

easy

is an innovative concept

would be enjoyable to listen to with

my dog

would be comfortable for my dog

to wear

Consequence type

3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25

2.00

1.75

Mean

of

Co

nseq

ue

nce

s

ATTITUDINAL DIFFERENCES ACROSS THE 11 CONSEQUENCES

Hypothesis

Ho6 There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences. Ha6 There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences. One Way Anova Test:

After conducting a one way ANOVA test, we found that the consequence of dog comfort while wearing iPooch! had the highest positive mean. The concept of innovativeness had the lowest positive mean consequence. After conducting the one way ANOVA we found there are significant attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences. The null hypothesis was rejected, and we conclude that a difference does exist.

Consequences

Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups

97.874 10 9.787 8.327 .000

Within Groups 1259.995 1072 1.175 Total 1357.869 1082

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FemaleMale

Gender Stacked

2.325

2.30

2.275

Es

tim

ate

d M

arg

inal M

ea

ns

Estimated Marginal Means of Consequences

GENDER STACK

Hypothesis

Ho7: There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and gender. Ha7: There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and gender.

Univariate Analysis Of Variance Test:

By conducting the univariate analysis of variance test, we observed that females have a more positive attitude towards the iPooch! concept. We concluded that there are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and gender.

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable: Consequences

Source

Type III Sum of Squares df

Mean Square F Sig.

Corrected Model 111.508(a) 21 5.310 4.483 .000 Intercept

5672.284 1 5672.284 4788.57

7 .000

ComTyp 97.372 10 9.737 8.220 .000 genstacked 1.326 1 1.326 1.119 .290 ComTyp * genstacked

11.182 10 1.118 .944 .492

Error 1243.772 1050 1.185 Total 7028.000 1072 Corrected Total 1355.280 1071

a R Squared = .082 (Adjusted R Squared = .064)

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55+45-5435-4425-34Less than 25

Age Group Stacked

2.60

2.50

2.40

2.30

2.20

2.10

2.00

Esti

ma

ted

Marg

ina

l M

ean

s


AGE COHORT STACK

Hypothesis

Ho8: There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and age. Ha8: There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and age.


By conducting the univariate analysis of variance test, we observed the estimated marginal means of consequences pertaining to the age cohort stack. We observed that the 25-34 age cohort has the highest favorable attitude toward the iPooch! concept. The 55+ has the lowest positive favorable attitude toward the iPooch! concept. Even though we observed this we still concluded that there are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and age, and we retain the null. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects


Source


Mean Square F Sig.


4074.817 1 4074.817 3544.25

2 .000

ConType 106.537 10 10.654 9.267 .000 agestack 36.362 4 9.090 7.907 .000 ConType * agestack

34.157 40 .854 .743 .880



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would be fun to

use while

walking my dog

would cost more than i am

willing to spend

would draw

negative attention

to my dog

would make

my dog less

responsive to me

would make

my dog less

distracted by other dogs

would make

me feel confident that it

is waterpr

oof

would draw

positive attention

to me

looks like it would break easy

is an innovati

ve concept

would be

enjoyable to

listen to with my

dog

would be

comfortable for my dog to wear

Consequence type

4.00

3.50

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

Esti

mate

d M

arg

ina

l M

ean

s

55+

45-54

35-44

25-34

Less than 25

Age Group Stacked


INCOME STACK

Hypothesis

Ho9: There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and income. Ho9: There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and income. Univariate Analysis Of Variance Test:

By conducting the univariate analysis of variance test, we observed that the estimated marginal means of consequences pertaining to income . We found that the income class of 50,001-65,000 had the highest positive mean attitude toward purchasing the iPooch! The 35,001-50,000 had the lowest positive mean attitude towards purchasing the iPooch!. We conclude that there are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and income, and we retain the null.

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Over $95,000$80,001-$95,000$65,001-$80,000$50,001-$65,000$35,000-$50,000Under $35,000

Income Stacked

2.60

2.50

2.40

2.30

2.20

2.10

2.00

Est

imat

ed M

arg

inal

Mea

ns


Tests of Between-Subjects Effects


Source


Mean Square F Sig.


5025.125 1 5025.125 4468.83

5 .000

ConType 95.637 10 9.564 8.505 .000 incomestack 24.960 5 4.992 4.439 .001 ConType * incomestack

47.592 50 .952 .846 .767



would be fun to

use while

walking my dog

would cost more than i am

willing to spend

would draw

negative attention to my dog

would make

my dog less

responsive to me

would make

my dog less

distracted by other dogs

would make

me feel confident that it

is waterpr

oof

would draw

positive attention to me

looks like it would break easy

is an innovati

ve concept

would be

enjoyable to

listen to with my

dog

would be

comfortable for my dog to wear

Consequence type

3.50

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

Es

tim

ate

d M

arg

inal M

ean

s

Over $95,000

$80,001-$95,000

$65,001-$80,000

$50,001-$65,000

$35,000-$50,000

Under $35,000

Income Stacked


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LargeMediumSmall

Size of Dog Stacked

2.50

2.40

2.30

2.20

Es

tim

ate

d M

arg

ina

l M

ea

ns


DOG SIZE STACK

Hypothesis

Ho10: There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and dog size Ha10: There are attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and dog size.


By conducting the univariate analysis of variance test, we observed that owners of large canines had the highest positive mean attitude. The least positive mean attitude came from the medium sized canine group. There are no attitudinal differences across the 11 consequences and dog size, and we retain the null. Tests of Between-Subjects Effects


Source


Mean Square F Sig.


5356.346 1 5356.346 4498.89

1 .000

ConType 98.235 10 9.823 8.251 .000 sizestack 16.364 2 8.182 6.872 .001 ConType * sizestack

15.351 20 .768 .645 .881



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Negative or neutral attitudePositive attitude

Positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes

80

60

40

20

0

Fre

qu

en

cy

Positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes

CUMULATIVE ATTITUDES * POSITIVE ATTITUDES VERSUS NEGATIVE

AND NEUTRAL ATTITUDES

Hypothesis Ho 11 There is no significant attitudinal difference across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes. Ha 11 There is a significant attitudinal difference across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes. Cross-Tabulation: This was the final test we ran to determine if there was enough of a cumulative positive attitude towards iPooch! to conclude if iPawd Enterprises should or should not proceed to market with iPooch! This is the sum of all collected attitudes responses to our attitude questions from our marketing research project. We compared the cumulative results, as either totally positive (below 99), or indifferent/negative (above 99), compared with the guideline chart. We had to create another variable that would identify a particular participant’s weighted score as (1) for positive or (2) for either negative or neutral. We then conducted a frequency and cross tabulation to dissect our results. As you can see we had a total of 84 valid responses out of 100. To indicate if a weighted sum attitude average was missing, we labeled it with a -9. We found that out of the valid 84 attitudes, 76 had a positive response towards purchasing the iPooch! This makes up 90.5% of all attitudes, versus 9.5% of negative or neutral attitudes purchasing the iPooch! which had a valid count of 8. We conclude that there is a significant attitudinal difference across the cumulative 11 attitude consequences in relation to positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes, and we reject the null.

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Cumulative attitudes * Positive attitudes versus negative and neutral attitudes

Cross-tabulation

Positive attitudes versus negative

and neutral attitudes

Positive

attitude

Negative or

neutral attitude Total

Count 76 0 76 Expected Count

68.8 7.2 76.0

Positive attitudes towards purchasing IPooch

% of Total 90.5% .0% 90.5% Count 0 8 8 Expected Count

7.2 .8 8.0

Cumulative attitudes

Negative or neutral attitudes towards purchasing IPooch

% of Total .0% 9.5% 9.5%

Count 76 8 84 Expected Count

76.0 8.0 84.0

Total

% of Total 90.5% 9.5%

100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Exact Sig. (2-sided)

Exact Sig. (1-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

84.000(b)

1 .000

Continuity Correction(a)

72.796 1 .000

Likelihood Ratio 52.835 1 .000 Fisher's Exact Test

.000 .000

Linear-by-Linear Association

83.000 1 .000

N of Valid Cases 84

a Computed only for a 2x2 table b 1 cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .76.

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CONCLUSIONS

After conducting our study, we found that there was a positive attitude overall across the 11 consequences about iPooch! We also received many questions and comments through the use of the open-ended questions that were provided on the questionnaire. There were many comments regarding the dog’s safety and health, including things like “it will hurt my dog’s ears” and “will it be comfortable for my dog to wear?” There were also many comments on how much the iPooch! actually is considering that a price was not stated on the questionnaire. On the other hand, we also received positive comments on the sleek style and versatility of the iPooch! and how “cute” it is. We determine that there is enough interest in iPooch! to go to market, however, more research is needed at this time. Please see the following limitations section for a discussion on this.

LIMITATIONS As with any research project, this one had several limitations. One very important limitation had to do with budget. As a result of limited resources, the methodology used to collect the data was hindered. The selection of respondents was obtained by convenience sampling because of this reason. Since this sampling method was used, projecting the results beyond the specific sample is inappropriate and unscientific. Another problem had to do with the sample size. Originally, we had chosen a sample size of 250 for this research project, but because of budget limitations, we were limited to obtaining 100 completed questionnaires. If a larger sample size were used, this may have generated more significant statistical findings. Other problems that were encountered had to do with respondent error. Nonresponse error was encountered minimally. This could have been eliminated if the interviewer checked the survey for completeness. We were gracious when intercepting respondents who sacrificed their time to participate in our survey, when on their way to make a purchase at PetSmart. Limitations might also include that some of the questions might have been falsified or answered with a certain slant. Those questions that were misunderstood could also yield biased answers. Because this was an exploratory research survey for a new company, iPawd, the intentions of subjects who have little knowledge or who have not yet made any purchase plans cannot be expected to accurately predict their purchase behavior of a luxury dog product concept. More questions are needed involving the characteristics of peoples’ dogs and getting at the underlying notion of why people would purchase iPooch. We might want to uncover what breeds of dogs are more likely to be owned by people who have a positive attitude towards purchasing iPooch!, how many dogs they own, what kind of digital media player do they own, etc. Quantitative Research alone has its limitations, as more in-depth analysis should be done through qualitative research. By seeing how the product works in action, and speaking to people in a focus group setting, more would be revealed than just an open-ended question at the end of a survey.

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RECOMMENDATIONS Prior to bringing iPooch! to market, a few things should be considered. This research was conducted to clarify an ambiguous problem, “Are people interested in iPooch!” This question needs to be addressed before a great deal of money is invested in manufacturing a bringing the product to market. The results of this report are not intended to provide conclusive evidence from which to determine a particular cause of action. It should be noted that subsequent research will be required to provide such conclusive evidence. Future research should be directed to a target audience about specific objectives. The research objectives should be reidentified which will in turn delineate the type of information that should be collected and it will provide the framework for the scope of the new study. In the research study, one objective should be to see how the attitudes are AFTER the consumers have actually used it. Once problems have been identified through this research, they will be ready to be solved. Secondary data should also be collected on other competitors, such as other luxury dog accessories. Some of the ideas that are implemented can be useful and adopted by iPawd Enterprises. This data can be gathered quicker and at a lower cost than primary data. The new research study should be conducted more scientifically to obtain the results needed to make business-related decisions. Also, ordinal and interval data questions should be asked to help in analyzing the data. A larger sample size and a random sample technique should be used in order to obtain meaningful data. The new survey should address questions that were left out of this study.

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APPENDICES (See separate pdf files)

Questionnaire

SPSS Printouts

Open Ended Questions Responses

Slide visuals Bibliography

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References

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Research. Volume 26, p. 385-391 Brass, L. (December 2005) Developing the purrfect product. Knox News. Retrieved from: www.knews.com Chamberlin, G. (August 2005) Pet Lovers Spend Millions Annually on Their Precious. San

Diego Daily Transcript. Retrieved from: http://www.sddt.com/Commentary/article.cfm?Commentary_ID=10&SourceCode=20050819tbc Crossen, C. (December 2003) Bowsers Get the Bling Bling; Whether They Like it Or Not From Owners in Holiday Mood.” Wall Street Journal Archives Retrieved from: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/pqdweb?index=1&sid=1&srchmode=1&vinst Dale, S. (2005) Pet Owner Survey Reveals Strong Bond Between People and Their Pets. Goodnewsforpets.com Retrieved from: http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/Articles.asp?ID=90 Dillon, M. (January 2004) Global Market for Luxury Dog Products. Dillin Media LLC

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Week. p. 32 Pets Can Drive. (March 2000) American Demographics. p. 10, 12. Randerson, J. (October 2002) Dogs Prefer Back to Britney. Newsscientist.com Retrieved from: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2962&print=true Sanders, C. (1990) The Animal ‘Other’: Self Definition, Social Identity and Companion Animmals. Advances in Consumer Research. Volume 17, p. 662-668

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Stick It In Your Ear Again, Study on Safe Levels of Music Listening. (October 26, 2006) Gadgetbloggers. Retrieved from: http://www.gadgetbloggers.com/2006/10/23/stick-it-in-your-ear-again-study-on-safe-levels-of-music-listening/ The Musical Preferences of Your Pets… CBC Continuous Music Network. Retrieved from: http://www.galaxie.ca/en/2/faitsinsolites.html

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