PRODUCT OR SERVICES

Product Or Services

Product Or Services

Question 01: Identify and Describe Three Factors That Affect The Demand For This Product Or Service

The lifestyles of today's society are very different to that of 20 or even 10 years ago. Technological advancements, changing household structures, multicultural societies as well as changing social norms and values have resulted in shifting demand for all types of consumer goods. Food has not been excluded from this evolution. In fact, the set of attributes now demanded from any food product is extensive. Understanding demand and Supply and who is demanding what is not as simple as examining demographic characteristics; rather one has to examine lifestyles and what is driving changing lifestyles. The increased demand for convenience foods illustrates the impact of changing lifestyles on demand. Convenience-related quality is linked to more than just the time spent in the kitchen—it covers time and effort (mental and physical) spent purchasing, storing, preparing and consuming food. (Gofton , 2004, 159)

The British market is a particularly important destination for Irish food exports. The UK convenience market is currently valued at £24.9bn, an increase of 4% on 2005. The UK convenience sector is forecast to reach a market value of between 27.3 and £33.9 bn by the end of 2011. (Furey, McIlveen, Strugnell, & Armstrong , 2000)

CONVENIENCE FOOD

Consumer demand for convenience foods is bringing rapid growth microwave, toaster and retort food processing sectors, offering significant opportunities for exporters.

This demand for easy-to-prepare foods is expected to continue as more women enter the work force, more households purchase microwaves and toaster ovens, more single people continue to live alone and more families eat at different times of the day due to busy schedules.

In 1993, sales of microwave products reached an estimated $387 million, up 36 percent from the previous year's 39-percent growth.

Toaster oven food sales, although not as great as microwave sales, reached an estimated $371 million in 1993, up 20 percent from 1992. Retort food sales topped a staggering $1.7 billion in 1993, up 18 percent from the year before. (Gofton , 2004, 152)

Consumer demand for convenience foods has spurred growth in the retort-packaged food market as well. Originally developed for camping, these products have gained wide acceptance in UK due to improved technology and quality. The most popular retort product in world is prepared curry, which accounts for nearly 50 percent of total production, followed by pasta sauce and soup. The demand is increasing day by day and increase in future. (Furey, McIlveen, Strugnell, & Armstrong , 2000)

PRODUCTS PURCHASED ON THE INTERNET

It has been reported in prior research that many factors influence the choice between a retail store and the in-home shopping method such as mail/phone order and the Internet. Some of which include socio-economic and demographic factors; perceived purchase risk; product type and distribution methods; personal traits or characteristics and shopping or delivery time. Other factors include intrusiveness; confrontation and contact control; manufacturer or brand reputation; type and source of the offer; price and refund or exchange ...