Research Review

Research topic

Exploratory study of factors that contribute to the customers be a Costco's membership

Problem
The number of Costco's members in Canada has decreased from 110,000 members per location in 2013 to 65,000 per location in 2015. With only 5 more stores were opened between 2013 to 2015 that's a drop of %37 members on average for each location.

According to the last financial report by Costco. In 2016, 90% of members in the U.S. and Canada renewed their memberships compare to %91 in 2015.

Theoretical Framework
IV: what factors let customers become membership
DV: customers' decision to acquire Costco membership
Example: Huge discounts of products will make people become Costco membership
ID: huge discounts of products
DV: become Costco membership
Relationship: the higher discounts of products, the more people sign in for Costco membership.

1. Literature review
Through literature review, membership fees as an indispensable reason indirectly affect their total profit, but, when Costco announce they will increase membership fees in later future, it will be loss part of members. However, their own brand, Kirkland Signature, in some ways, saves their business because higher product quality and the competitive price had earned customers' trust and loyalty. Also, they start to look for new marketing channel in order to attract more customers shopping online, such as provide express shipping service on order day for their members to retain them stay.

Research Objective

To figure out what factors that influence customers' decision on acquiring Costco membership

Research question
1. What factors that affect people's behavior to become a Costco member?
2. Does lower price is the reason to attractive customer being a member?
3. Does quality is the reason to attractive customer being a member?
4. Dose membership benefit is reason to attractive customer being a member?
5. Will current Costco members renew their membership?

Information needed to answer Research question: IV, DV, and relationship between IV and DV. IV: low product price, high product quality, good customer service, convenient location of Costco, and membership benefits. DV: customers acquire Costco membership.
Where is the Information and who has the information: Costco members and managers from different Costco location have the information or from literature reviews.

How to get the data: we plan to collect information by interviewing managers in different Costco location and surveying Costco members on what factors influence them to be a member( doing a survey) then we will compare and analyze these two kinds of information to find relationship between bot.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pgspr9m08evmafk/Theoretical%20Framework%20Hypothesis%20%20Research%20Design%20Overview.rar?dl=0