Business Commons^™

Hello Kitty's Long-Standing Cross-Cultural Popularity In The United States And Japan, Melanie Matchette

Honors Theses

Hello Kitty’s success is unique in that the character is popular across the world and has been popular for decades. This paper seeks to determine how Sanrio has gained and maintained success in both the United States and Japan despite their differences in consumers. I will explore the differences and similarities in marketing strategies employed in each country. I develop themes that attempt to explain the success of marketing techniques unique to each country as well as marketing techniques that worked for both countries.

After exploring the reasons behind marketing success in each country, I determine what Sanrio could do …

Marketing Ideas That Could Improve Adoptions And Reduce Return Rates Of Dogs In Shelters In The State Of Michigan, Bryan Klemett

Honors Theses

Dogs have always been something that attracts people’s attention. It is hard to decide whether it is their fur, their cuteness, or their personality that makes them lovable. The area I chose to conduct my research is in marketing. Since dogs are man’s best friend, what other better way is there to do a thesis than on something so lovable? This research entails marketing ideas that could increase adoption rates while reducing return rates of animals at shelters in the State of Michigan.

I chose this topic because as it is stated earlier, I am a dog lover. I have …

The Cult Of Cultural Consumption In The United States: How Class Stratification Shapes The Social Realms Of Consumer Brand Perception, Nelligan Rose Boff

Honors Theses

An individual’s social position shapes taste culture as it pertains to fashion and branding. The purpose of this research is to develop more knowledge on who or what social factors are driving consumer’s perception of the brands they want, or don’t want to buy. The perspective of consumption seems to transcend self-interest alone and this thesis aims to analyze the extension of that transcendence. Brands are not merely relating to consumers through a relationship of functional need, but also interfere and are driven by social relationships between consumers. There is evidence that suggest that consumers might interact with brands that …

Modeling Mobile Website Usability, J Matt Hamil

Honors Theses

Smartphones have become a prevalent part of today’s society. Smartphone users have begun using their phones to make purchases on the mobile web. This study focused on usability characteristics of mobile websites of large retail companies. The aim of this study was to conduct quantitative analyses building upon previous usability research both in the e-commerce and m-commerce realm. A sample population was obtained from a convenience sample recruited from a social media and email campaign. Respondents were asked to visit an assigned website and find three products for a friend, family member, or significant other. The data were analyzed quantitatively …

Emotions Involved In Shopping At The Airport, Alexis D. Tymkiw

Honors Theses

This paper examines the emotional motivations that drive consumers to shop at airport retailers. Airport retailing is a rapidly growing segment as airports continue to expand retail areas and the number of passengers increase each year. With larger retail areas, airports are beginning to resemble shopping areas. However, with higher prices and consumers experiencing time and space constraints, the airport is a very unique shopping environment. This paper explored two unique emotional motivations for shopping at airports: (1) to escape the stress of travel and (2) to eliminate boredom. Analysis of the in-depth interviews led to the development of four …

Becoming Our Parents: A Proposed Investigation Into Family Influence In Consumer Behavior, Katie E. Bowman

Honors Theses

Relationships between children and parents have been studied for years across multiple disciplines. Family ties affect countless decisions made throughout the world, making this study relevant to multiple researchers. The need to understand these family influences is particularly important within the business world. Because sales are the goal, being able to comprehend why a consumer purchases one product over the rest of its competition is crucial. This paper is focused specifically on the relationships between parents and their children and how that relationship affects the consumer behavior of the children. These relationships are being studied through intergenerational consumer patterns including …

Anxiety In The Aisle: A Multi-Channel Study Of The Incongruence Between Wine Consumption And Wine Shopping, Brianna Amat

Honors Theses

The wine industry is extremely fragmented with few manufacturers holding a substantial market share while contending with each other for limited shelf space and shoppers. At the same time, the large selection of wines available challenges retailers and manufacturers to make wine selection and purchase as pleasant and convenient as possible for shoppers.

Retail stores, referred to as “off-premise” are the predominant outlet for purchasing alcohol. Shoppers are exposed to a wide variety of prices, bottle sizes, grape variety, etc., but the traditional in-store displays lack in the most important information for shoppers — how to navigate the aisle and …