Introduction

As a group the retail store that we chose to analyse is Woolworths. Woolworths

South Africa consists of full-line fashion, home and beauty stores, many of which
incorporate a premium food retail offering. Woolworths operates 218 full line stores
and 430 food stand-alone stores in South Africa, with 64 throughout the rest of
Africa.
 Woolworth’s retail communication: Firstly, let’s look at what retail
communication is and the importance of retail communication. Retail
communication is when retailers conduct programmes to inform customers
about their products, services and also about the retail store. The main aim for
retail communication is to increase customer traffic and of course to increase
the sales of the company. The purpose of retail communication is to provide a
great service/customer service and shopping experience for their customers.

Not only can the company communicate with its customers but also the
customers can communicate with the company and giving feedback on their
shopping experience. Customers can provide feedback by taking part in
surveys, in store and online, sending an email or they can talk to the store’s
manager directly. By allowing and expanding ways for customers to reach out
is also a way to improve the business as the customer will let you know what
they like, what they don’t like and they would suggest ways on how a
company can improve. With this, companies can understand their customers
and will be able to satisfy them knowing what is it that they like and dislike.

Now the type of communication that Woolworths has used is the paid
impersonal communication such as advertising mostly television commercials,
sales promotions, gifts and product-related discounts where Woolworths has
developed a rewards program where customers make savings after
purchasing from specific stores. They also make use of print media, they
developed the Fresh Magazine which offers tips and information on different
types of company products. Lastly, they also have a company website and
social media platforms. The website allows customers to access a lot of useful
content. This also allows customers to shop online without leaving their
house.

A detailed plan of the marketing communication strategies is essential and it

increases the ways to communicate with targeted customers effectively. It
also increases brand awareness. In order for Woolworths to attract more
customers, they should have sale promotions more often and also try not to
just focus only on their target market, they should also try to attract other
customers too.
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 Customer behaviour: This is the analysis of individuals, groups or

organizations and all activities related to the purchase, use and disposal of
goods and services, and how the customer’s emotions, attitudes and
preferences affect buying behaviour. The consumer behaviour looks into sole
qualities such as demographics and personality lifestyles in an attempt to
understand the customer’s wants and consumption. Also looked into are the
influences on the customer, from family, friends and reference groups.

It has been said that there are three factors that influence the consumer
behaviour and these factors are: personal factors such as the person’s likes
and interests, psychological factors such as person’s perceptions and social
factors such as friends and family.

There are also four main types on consumer behaviour:

-Complex buying behaviour, this type is when customers are purchasing an

expensive product that is not bought often. These customers are very much
involved in the buying process as they do their research before buying.

-Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour, the customer is very much involved

in the purchasing process but cannot tell the difference between different
brands.

-Habitual buying behaviour, this is when the customer is not as involved in the
product or brand. No brand loyalty.

-Variety seeking behaviour, when the customer buys different products

because they seek variety.

Studying consumer behaviour and understanding the consumer behaviour is

important for a business to become successful. The marketer has to study
consumer behaviour by providing value and customer satisfaction. They also
need to understand the factors that are changing so that the marketing efforts
can be arranged accordingly. Understanding consumer behaviour does not
only create or increase customers but it also keeps customers. Understanding
the customer’s behaviour helps to understand what makes customers to
purchase a product.

Now it has been shown that Woolworth’s customers remain the most satisfied.
Woolworths seems to focus on a larger, neighbourhood-based supermarket to
attract the big, family shop. Mostly female shoppers shop at Woolworths.
There are several reasons why customers prefer shopping at Woolworths
rather than other retail stores, and some reasons are: Located close to home,
 in convenient location, the customers already know the store layout,
Woolworths has products that most customers like, they have a wide range of
products/it is labelled as the one-stop shop, has quality fresh food and mostly
for customer service.

We feel like Woolworths will always be the number one place for customers
as their products are of high quality. Shopping at Woolies is easy and very
much desirable and they also provide a high level of service.

 Stakeholder management: