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Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Student Coffee Venue Preferences:
Factors That Influence a College Student’s Decision to Choose a
Specific Coffee Venue
Report II
Christina Pizzella, Kate Sinervo, and Stephanie Vermillion
Boston University
December 8, 2011
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Table of Contents:
I.
II.
Introduction
The Client. The Competition. The Industry
a. The Client
5
b. The Competition
8
c. The Industry
III.
IV.
4
10
Literature Review
a. Scholarly Journals
13
b. Newspapers and Magazines
13
c. Industry and Trade Publications
21
Proposed Predictors
28
V.
Measures
29
VI.
Instrument
38
Methodology
42
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Results
a. Analysis of Measures
44
b. Analysis of Variation of Measures
46
c. Correlations
54
Discussion
a. Summary
X.
58
61
Conclusion and Recommendations
a. Recommendations
62
b. Recommendations for further study
69
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XI.
Assessment
74
XII.
References
77
4
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
I. Introduction
Dunkin’ Donuts wants to increase its college student customer base, specifically
on the Boston University campus. Our research team will answer the follow research
question: What factors influence a college student’s decision to choose a specific coffee
venue? Using our own research, as well as the research of others, we will make informed
recommendations to help Dunkin’ Donuts reach their objective.
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II. The Client. The Competition. The Industry.
The Client
Dunkin’ Donuts is an international doughnut and coffee retailer founded in 1950
in Quincy, Massachusetts by William Rosenberg. Dunkin’ Donuts originally focused on
sales of donuts and other baked goods, however, today over half of Dunkin' Donuts
business is generated from coffee sales, as it is officially America's largest retailer of
coffee-by-the-cup (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011).
Dunkin’ Donuts, now headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, has begun to
expand from its original New England base. While focusing its expansion near its core
markets in the Northeast, Dunkin’ Donuts continues to expand its presence in the MidAtlantic and Southeastern states. Additionally, Dunkin’ Donuts has over 2,600 stores in
30 countries outside of the U.S. From Asia to Latin America, Dunkin’ Donuts serves an
estimated 1.5 billion cups of brewed coffee each year, and over 30 each second (Dunkin’
Donuts, 2011).
Dunkin' Donuts, along with Baskin-Robbins, is owned by Dunkin' Brands Group
Inc., the world's leading franchiser of quick service restaurants serving hot and cold
coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011). As of
the end of 2010, Dunkin' Brands' owned 9,760 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and 6,433
Baskin-Robbins restaurants, whose combined sales reached approximately $7.7 billion
(Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011).
Dunkin’ Donuts customers serve as the foundation for the organization’s praised
advertising campaign, introduced in 2006, America Runs on Dunkin’ (Dunkin’ Donuts,
2011). In addition to local presence in the United States, Dunkin’ Donuts has a strong
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presence internationally, “with nearly 3,000 Dunkin' Donuts locations in 30 countries,
including the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand” (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011).
In 2005, Dunkin’ Donuts rolled out a new restaurant design for all Dunkin’
Donuts restaurants of the future (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011). The modern restaurant design
mixes retro elements inspired by the first Dunkin’ Donuts establishment (Dunkin’
Donuts, 2011). The new layout includes advanced technology to provide customers a
more positive in-restaurant experience. Dunkin’ Donuts is also known around the world
for its quality menu items and dedication to customer service, as a result, the organization
has been ranked No. 1 for customer loyalty in the “Coffee and Doughnuts” in Brand Keys
Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for the past 4 years (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011).
Dunkin’ Donuts’ aim is to “serve high-quality food and beverages at low cost to
busy people on-the-go” (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011). Dunkin’ Donuts offers baked goods,
over 1,000 varieties of donuts, breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, oven-toasted items,
coffee beverages and other hot and cold beverages. Dunkin’ Donuts also offers many
seasonal food items and beverages such as pumpkin, apple and caramel flavored hot and
iced coffees, as well as pumpkin donuts, and donuts with seasonal frostings and sprinkles.
In 2008, Dunkin' Donuts opened its first eco-friendly store in St. Petersburg,
Florida. The eco-friendly store is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) certified and features worm casting, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, and uses
well water for all irrigation (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011). This year, in 2011, Dunkin’ Brands
Group Inc. issued its very first Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which included
information about the nutrition of their products, sustainable sourcing, and support for
local communities through charitable donations to charities like The Jimmy Fund
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("Dunkin' Brands Publishes”, 2011).
Dunkin’ Brand Group Inc. has also established The Dunkin’ Donuts & BaskinRobbins Community Foundation, which focuses its support on three critical issue areas
including neighborhoods, to fulfill critical hunger needs in communities through
partnerships with local food banks and hunger relief organizations, health and wellness of
children, through partnerships with children's hospitals and organizations that support
children's physical activity, and safety of neighborhoods and communities, through
partnerships with organizations to firefighters, public safety officers, and troops at home
and abroad (Dunkin’ Donuts, 2011).
Dunkin’ Donuts engages in minimal promotional events that pertain to young
adults/college students. For example, Dunkin’ Donut sponsors events called “Caught
Cold” days both to promote their iced coffee, and give people, particularly sports fans in
the Boston area, a chance to win Bruins and Patriots tickets, as well as opportunity to
view the with Boston sports championship trophies (“Dunkin’ Donuts; Dunkin’ Donuts
Celebrates”, 2011).
Dunkin’ Donuts also began a new promotion in fall 2011 called “Chance for
StarDDom”, which is a contest to find the “biggest” Dunkin’ Donuts coffee fan by asking
Dunkin’ Donuts lovers to post photographs of themselves on the StarDDom Facebook
page, with descriptions of why they love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (“Dunkin’ Donuts; for
National Coffee Day, 2011). The eventual contest winner, announced in November 2011,
will have an opportunity to appear in a Dunkin’ Donuts advertisement and receive free
Dunkin’ Donuts coffee for a year, along with ten runner-ups (“Dunkin’ Donuts; for
National Coffee Day, 2011). In addition, in August 2011, Dunkin’ Donuts awarded a
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number of $25 thousand scholarships to students in the Philadelphia region (“Dunkin’”,
2011).
In terms of social media, Dunkin’ Donuts has its own corporate website, a
renowned blog, regional Twitter accounts, a Facebook account, as well as featured
YouTube videos. Dunkin’ Donuts uses these social media tools as a way to promote its
brand as well as products and services, advertise special events and offerings, hold
contests, and connect with younger audiences.
On the Boston University campus, there is one Dunkin’ Donuts located inside the
Buick Street Market, which is just off of Commonwealth Avenue at the entrance to the
Student Village residences. This Dunkin’ Donuts is open to all Boston University college
students as well as customers off the street.
The Competition
Dunkin’ Donuts faces much competition both locally, in the Boston area, and
nationally. To be specific in our research, we will focus on the presence of Dunkin’
Donuts and its competitors on and around the Boston University campus. The Boston
University campus has several Dunkin’ Donuts competitors including Starbucks,
Espresso Royal Café, and the City Convenience store.
Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are long-time competitors, and industry research
often directly compares the two. Starbucks has a total of 17,018 stores worldwide and
their mission is to provide gathering places for people to enjoy their coffee (Starbucks
Coffee Company, 2011). They take extensive measures to train their employees to offer
the best services possible to customers, and call their employees the heart of the
“Starbucks Experience” (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011). Starbucks offers whole
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bean coffee, from around the world, as well as Starbucks Reserve Coffee, which
Starbucks chooses from coffee plants worldwide to offer exclusively in their stores. They
also offer VIA Ready Brew coffee packets that come flavored and non-flavored as instant
coffee mix (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011). Starbucks stores offer specialty coffee
drinks, as well as tea and non-coffee drinks, such as lemonade. Starbucks offers seasonal,
limited-time beverages such as the fall-time Pumpkin Spice Latte. They have a food
selection that ranges from fruit cups to pastries. In every U.S. Starbucks coffee shop,
Starbucks offers free Wi-Fi to its customers. Some stores even exhibit entertainment such
as live music for special events (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011).
Espresso Royal Café has a smaller national presence than Starbucks or Dunkin’
Donuts with stores only in the states of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota and Wisconsin. Espresso Royal Cafés are mostly located on or in proximity to
university campuses. Their coffee shops are designed for customers to sit down and stay
while drinking coffee or eating meals (Espresso Royal Café, n.d).
Espresso Royale offers a variety of beverages including coffee, cappuccinos,
lattes and other non-coffee drinks such as lemonade or tea. They also offer a menu
including foods such as breakfast bagel sandwiches, pastries, salads and soups. They
pride themselves on quality customer service and friendly employees (Espresso Royal
Café, n.d).
In contrast The City Convenience Store offers self-serve coffee to its customers,
usually in five to ten varying flavors per day. The store is designed as a convenience store
with no places to sit or drink coffee. City Convenience Stores are open seven days a
week, 24 hours a day. They offer snacks as well as groceries and school supplies to
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customers, unlike traditional coffee shops (City Convenience Store, n.d.).
The Industry
Coffee itself dates back as far as the ninth century, at least in legend, and the first
beans were roasted around A.D. 1000. Coffee had spread to the Near East and Northern
Africa by the thirteenth century (“Coffee”, n.d.). As thousands of Muslim pilgrims visited
Mecca each year, word was carried around the world about the public coffee houses, or
qahveh khanneh, and their delicious beverage (“NCA”, n.d.). By the seventeenth century,
coffee had made its way to Europe and gained the attention of the Catholic Church.
While some clergy men were skeptical of the new beverage, Pope Clement VIII enjoyed
it so much that he gave it Papal approval (“NCA”, n.d.).
Despite coffee’s mixed reviews, coffeehouses started to appear across Europe. “In
Britain, the first coffeehouse was opened in Oxford in 1651 and by 1700 there were 3,000
coffeehouses in London” (“BCA”, n.d.). These coffeehouses became the community
centers for socializing, conversation, and became to be known as “penny universities”,
named for the price of a cup of coffee the time (“NCA”, n.d.).
Around the same time as the first coffeehouse, coffee was brought to New
Amsterdam, or modern day New York. However, tea was still the drink of choice by
colonists until 1773 when King George imposed higher taxes, which resulted in the
Boston Tea Party and an increased popularity in coffee drinking (“NCA”, n.d.).
Coffee’s popularity quickly spread throughout the British and French empires “and by the
end of the eighteenth century, coffee had become one of the world’s most profitable
export crops” (“NCA”, n.d.).
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According to the Massachusetts Travel Journal, the first coffee shop in the United
States was opened in 1676, in Boston. Three hundred years later, in 1950, this
coffeehouse would become the Dunkin’ Donuts franchise, getting its start in Quincy,
Mass (“America’s First”, n.d.).
Through the economic depression of the 1930s, both World Wars, a severe
draught in Brazil in the 1950s, and the Korean War, the price of coffee fluctuated
drastically over this 30-year period. In 1962, the International Coffee Organization was
created to help regulate prices based on the supply and demand of the current markets.
The International Coffee Agreements were amended seven times between 1973 and 2007.
The current agreement is intended to remain in affect for ten years with the possibility of
an eight-year extension. The new agreement added new provisions to protect smaller
coffee producers and increase information, research, and availability of sustainable
business practices (“ICO”, n.d.).
Today, the coffee industry operates about 20,000 stores nationwide and draws in a
combined revenue of $11 billion annually. The top 50 companies in the industry make up
about 70% of the market. “Approximately 20 million people work in the coffee industry
worldwide” (“Overview”, n.d.).
According to data collected from the Coffee Research Organization and the
National Small Business Development Support Center Clearinghouse, 400 billion cups of
coffee are consumed each year, making it the most widely consumed beverage in the
world. However, each day Americans consume over 400 million of those cups, making
them the leading consumers of coffee (“Overview”, n.d.).
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There are two main types of coffee beans: arabica and robusta. Arabica makes up
about 70% of the coffee consumed today and although it contains a lesser amount of
caffeine than robusta, it is considered “better tasting” (“Types”, n.d.). Coffee beans are
further broken down by region or country of origin and blend.
However, the variation in coffee is not only derived from the beans, but from how
they are roasted. “When heat is applied to raw beans, those beans produce and release
oils, and their natural sugars caramelize, contributing to the bean’s colors and flavors”
(“Roasting”, n.d.). Coffee beans have been roasted over open flames and in ovens until
the invention of the larger roasting equipment in the 1800s (“Roasting”, n.d.).
In 1903, Luigi Bezzera, an Italian, designed a way to brew his coffee quicker by
adding pressure to the ground beans. Bezzera created the first “Fast Coffee Machine” or
espresso (which means fast in Italian). He also found that not only did the pressurized
method reduce the brewing time, it actually made a better cup of coffee. “The quick
brewing time allowed the best qualities of the bean to be extracted, avoiding some of the
unfavorable qualities associated with over-extraction” (“Espresso”, n.d.).
Although, Bezzera had no money to market his new machine, Desidero Pavoni
bought the patent rights and introduced espresso-based drinks in Italy (“Espresso”, n.d.).
Coffee is not the only caffeinated beverage sold in coffee shops today. The debate over
which is better for you, coffee or tea, has been an on going debate for centuries. Each has
its medicinal benefits and drawbacks. For example, drinking four cups of black coffee a
day is proven to help prevent diabetes and tea is proven to help fight the onset of
Alzheimer’s. However, coffee discolors teeth and breaks down the enamel and tea is
proven to fight cavities. Also, while coffee suppressed the appetite, tea actually speeds up
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the metabolism aiding in quicker weight loss (“Better”, 2007). The list of medicinal
benefits and/or drawbacks is endless and the medical research is ongoing.
The most recent advancement in the coffee industry is the introduction of the
single-serve home brewing machine. Companies like Keurig, Cuisinart, and Nespresso
offer these machines that use single serve cups of coffee grounds, which are best known
as “pods” or “K-cups”, to brew just one cup of coffee at a time (“Ultimate”, n.d.). The
idea actually dates back to the 1970s, but did not become popular until recent years
(“Ultimate, n.d.). Today, there is a large variety of coffee brands available for these
machines, including companies like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, are starting to enter
the market (“Ultimate”, n.d.).
III. Literature Review
Scholarly Journals
Bradford and Desrochers (2009) studied how companies use scents to influence
consumer behavior. They state that, “with scent, your brain responds before you think”
(p. 142). They also contend that many marketers use scent to draw consumers because it
creates a subconscious, continued purchasing response that no other sense can duplicate.
In 2005, Exxon on the Run convenience stores used coffee scents as a promotional tactic
to highlight their new brewing system. The authors found that the scent marketing
techniques have been successful and vendors use them more often. They also found that
“some scents are capable of evoking responses before the consumer is even conscious of
their presence” (Bradford and Desrochers, 2009, p. 151).
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In another article, Katrinli, Gunay, and Biresselioglu examined how Starbucks
uses corporate social responsibility as a way to gain more customers. Starbucks uses
corporate social responsibility to enhance their reputation, charge a premium price and
create trust among customers (Katrinili, Gunay, Biresselioglu, 2011). Kartinili et al. note
that Starbucks is also dedicated to a sustainability effort to decrease energy used in stores.
They say Starbucks’ social responsibility practices attract consumer loyalty by generating
a positive view of the company (Katrinili, et al., 2011).
Walsh, Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou, and Beatty (2011) found that store atmosphere
plays a large role in customer satisfaction. They note that the emotions and pleasures of
the store environment are “critical mediators of the impact of store-related cognitions on
customer satisfaction and loyalty” (Walsh et al., 2011, p. 8). They also note that the
environmental atmosphere, especially music and aroma, positively affects customers’
emotions. Walsh et al. explained how atmosphere’s importance goes beyond the
customer, to the public through word-of-mouth reviews. With positive public
perceptions, places such as coffee shops will retain customers as well as generate new
customers (Walsh, et. al., 2011).
Luo (2010) studied the use of calorie-postings in Starbucks stores to determine
how they affect customer purchasing. He found that in New York, where Starbucks
posted calories, the Starbucks venues had an advantage over Dunkin’ Donuts, where
calories were not posted. This resulted in a 3% rise in business for New York Starbucks
stores (Luo, 2010). Luo (2010) noted that drinkers did not make fewer purchases; they
adjusted their drink selection. Most of these adjustments were with food purchases.
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A study by Patterson, Scott, and Uncles (2010) presents factors to explain why
Starbucks had to close three quarters of their Australian coffee shops. Patterson, Scott
and Uncles (2010) found that in 2008, Starbucks had to close 61 of its 84 Australian
shops. One reason was that while Australians were initially attracted to Starbucks, they
found that the coffee shops were not unique enough to maintain their business.
Additionally, they found that as Starbucks increased its number of coffee shops, their
customer service decreased with subpar baristas, and therefore, since other coffee shops
had friendly, knowledgeable baristas, many Australians took their business elsewhere
(Patterson, et al., 2010).
Rosenbaum (2006) evaluated the consumer’s need for a third place in his or her
life. Specifically, he looked at the consumer need to have a pub, coffee shop or restaurant
to spend time away from work and home. Rosenbaum (2006) suggests that these places
are necessary for humans. “Some consumers choose to immerse themselves in
commercial establishments, which they transform into significant centers of their lives
and personal experiences” (p. 60). Rosenbaum (2006) also concluded that as people
become emotionally attached to a certain place, they begin to associate that place as
almost a home, thus they are more loyal and return as customers consistently. Previous
research shows that overall this third party desire is prevalent in older generations, but
Rosenbaum (2006) says that it can be generalized to all consumers. He notes that people
view shops as third places if that place provides them a connection with other customers
as well as employees for social support (Rosenbaum, 2006).
In a qualitative research study, conducted to explain contemporary issues of
coffee consumption and lifestyle for coffee house customers in Scotland, Scott (2006),
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found that customers choose to go to coffee houses of certain brands of coffees largely
because they want the sophisticated, chic image that goes along with it. He notes: “The
cup itself becomes a fashion statement with lifestyle connotations” (Scott, 2006, p. 61).
He also deduces that people choose specific coffee venues for their hip and trendy images
in the popular media, specifically 83% of survey respondents stated that lifestyle issues
were important to them in choosing where to get their coffee (Scott, 2006). Scott (2006)
also found that 26% of coffee drinkers believe that coffee brand packaging and
advertising is important to their choice of coffee venue because it allows them to display
to others what they are drinking.
In the same study, Scott (2006) used a survey to determine that females are the
most likely to sit in coffee shops and socialize for long periods of time (Scott, 2006). He
also found that a total of 36% of the women who said they socialized in coffee shops for
long periods of time were students, and 18% were women in senior management
positions. In the same survey, 50% of respondents also claimed that they choose their
coffee shop based on convenience with respect to proximity and socialization (Scott,
2006).
One study by Plog (2005) focused on the recent expansion of Starbucks to
locations in China. The study looked at how Starbucks, with numerous international
expansions, was able to perform an efficient, revenue-building business. In the study,
Plog (2005) discovered that one major reason Starbucks is doing well in China is that the
Chinese people are already well acquainted with American products and therefore are
more willing to buy Starbucks coffee. The author notes that Starbucks has been
successful because “[it] has changed lifestyles of its customers, and it does that in every
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country that it enters” (Plog, 2005, p. 285). Plog (2005) goes on to explain that Starbucks
offers people their own personal space where they can relax, socialize or read in peace,
which is a major reason Starbucks has been so successful.
A study published in 1996 looked at the importance of Starbucks’ employees to
their business with regard to their affect on customer satisfaction. The findings show that
because Starbucks offers competitive employee benefits they help create happy workers.
With happy workers, Starbucks believes that the interaction between worker and
customer is pleasant which overall creates the better customer experience (Anonymous,
1996). Starbucks also believes that to develop the best employees possible, it
is important to invest $1,000 to train each new worker.
Wintrich and Barone (2011) showcased a study on the effectiveness of donationbased research versus discounted prices. The study used survey methodology to examine
the consumer’s tendency to identify with particular groups and relate their social
identities to various causes (Wintrich and Barone, 2011). They found that consumers are
more likely to purchase a certain donation-based brand if the charity associated with the
purchase is reputable. They also found that “committing to an altruistic act provides
consumers with a basis for rationalizing subsequent, indulgent behaviors” (Wintrich and
Barone, 2011, p. 866). They suggest that managers create donation-based promotions that
give money directly to charitable causes that affect their target consumer groups. Overall,
they noticed that interdependent consumers, who identified with various groups that
receive charitable donations, were more likely to participate in donation-based purchases
(Wintrich and Barone, 2011).
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Waxman (2006) studied the factors that would influence a person to spend more
or less time in a coffee shop. She completed her research by observing several coffee
shops, administering surveys and conducting personal interviews and found that there
were five design features that most attracted patrons. The five factors were: cleanliness,
appealing aroma, adequate lighting, comfortable furniture, and a view of outside.
Waxman (2006) obtained positive feedback from her study indicating that each coffee
shop had its own sense of community that attracted various types of patrons based on
their activities and feelings toward that community.
Radder and Huang of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University conducted a study
of South African college students to determine the difference in brand awareness and
recognition in high- and low-involvement products. They chose to survey 300 students
between ages 18 and 25 about their awareness of sportswear brands (high-involvement)
and coffee (low-involvement). Radder and Huang (2008) found that for coffee brand
awareness, in-store and television advertising were the most affective, and that the brands
were more recognizable among the older set of students (25+). The article also referenced
studies that said that most people make their brand preferences between the ages of 15
and 25, so, especially in low-involvement products, it is important to target that age
group. Also, with coffee products, the brand name is far more important than the logo
(Radder & Huang, 2008).
Goldkuhl and Styven (2007) reviewed the role that scent plays in the service
industry. Goldkuhl and Styven found that the presence of a scent is “something that the
customer cannot ignore” and certain scents “can influence customers’ intentions to visit
and return to a store” (Goldkuhl and Styven, 2007, p. 1298). The authors state that smell
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has the potential to directly and positively affect a customers’ choice to purchase
(Goldkuhl, 2007). Based on their findings, they propose that coffee shops and restaurants
try to gain a competitive advantage by using scent in creative ways to “communicate
some kind of information about what is sold” (p. 1298), and to create a sense of
pleasantness about a product or service they offer that will “positively affect [a
customer’s] time spent in a store” (Goldkuhl and Styven, 2007, p. 1299). The authors also
note that scents can be used to evoke memories, and when those memories are pleasant,
customers will want to continue spending time in that purchasing environment, thus
creating brand loyalty.
Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterckx, and Mielants (2005) discuss the importance that
consumers place on the ethical value of a product. Specifically, in the coffee industry,
consumers place high value on fair trade and environmentally friendly products.
Pelsmacker et al. deduce that “American consumers [are] prepared to pay a 6.6 per cent
price premium for environmentally friendly products” (p. 513) yet overall, “label issuers
wanting to promote bio- or eco-products face an up-hill struggle for appreciation by
consumers, while promoting social and fair-trade labels seems to be more top-of-mind
with consumers” (Pelsmacker et al., 2005, p. 526). They found that educated consumers
place high value on fair trade products, ahead of eco-friendly products, while both
educated and uneducated consumers are less likely to purchase items, specifically coffee,
if they are confused about ethics or labeling (Pelsmacker et. al., 2005).
In their field study, d’Astous and Mathieu (2008) found that it is “important to
make sure that consumers are attentive to a concrete message concerning fairly-traded
products for this message to have any impact on purchase behavior” (p. 154). In other
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words, if customers know the difference between fair trade and non-fair trade products,
they will be more likely to purchase the fair trade products, however, if they do not
understand the difference between the two, it will have no impact on their judgment
(d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008). They also determined that to inform consumers about fair
trade products so that they will be interested in buying them, it is best to use forms of
advertisement where the consumer has ample time to read them, such as emails or
brochures, as opposed to commercials or posters in crowded areas where people have
limited viewing time (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008). Lastly, they noted that “consumers
who were told that their peers had some interest in these products, spent more money
than consumers who were not” (p. 155) which they tied to strategies for marketing fair
trade products (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008). They assess that the best marketing
strategy to attract consumers to fair trade products is to use some type of information
about peer consumption (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008).
Another study released by the American Dietetic Association notes the influence
of nutrition information on college student food and beverage purchases (Freedman and
Connors, 2011). The study found that college students are more likely to buy healthy
food or drink from vendors if the nutritional information is specified and/or clearly
labeled as a something that will benefit their health (Freedman and Connors, 2011). The
study also found that the lower the cost of the healthy food or drink with the label, the
larger quantity the college students were willing to purchase. However, when the items
were all priced the same, college student consumers made their purchases based on the
“perceived nutritional benefit, not economics”(Freedman and Connors, 2011, p. 1225).
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Taylor and Long-Tolbert (2002) found that companies that distribute coupons to
people, specifically students who are prior customers to strengthen their relationships
with those customers thus, encouraging them to continue purchasing from that particular
company. They found that prior-customers, in general, were the people more likely to use
or redeem coupons. Also, Taylor and Long-Tolbert determined that coupons led
customers to make certain purchases early or purchase a greater number of items due to
the promotional incentive (Taylor and Long-Tolbert, 2002).
Newspapers and Magazines
The Spartanburg Herald in South Carolina featured an article on a local coffee
house called Interlude, whose largest proportion of customers is college students. This
coffee shop has an atmosphere that targets college students by offering Wi-Fi to
customers, as well as unique sandwich wraps and muffins to supplement their beverage
menu items (Brow, 2008). The coffee house also offers a 10% discount for students
(Brow, 2008). This article is relevant to the research because of its focus on the
atmosphere, menu and discount aspects of the coffee house in relation to the college
students’ choices to purchase coffee that particular venue.
In her magazine article, “Flat out for Business,” Jane Bainbridge discusses the
new coffee industry trend of loyalty cards (2011). She notes that loyalty cards are
becoming a must for coffee shop chains to retain business (Bainbridge 2011). In her
article, she also examines how the younger generation (i.e., college students) is attracted
to coffee shops offering take-away beverage options (Bainbridge 2011).
In her article, “Coffeehouses stir strategies”, Judith Nemes discusses the difficulty
of competing with Starbucks in the coffee industry and addresses ways coffee companies
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can attract customers to purchase coffee at their coffee shops, including changing their
menus to offer unique food and refreshment items (Nemes, 2002). She also suggests that
customers prefer food variety and healthy menu options when choosing a coffee shop
(Nemes, 2002). In addition to menu variation, Nemes suggests that coffee shops
attempting to compete with Starbucks should offer entertainment, including poetry
readings, book club gatherings, low-key meetings or local band performances because
younger customers look for entertainment aspects when choosing a coffee shop (Nemes,
2002).
Industry and Trade Publications
In the trade publication Beverage Industry, the article “Demand for flavors,
customization in brew” details customer trends in the industry and explains that coffee
drinkers are now more than ever seeking convenience when choosing coffee venues
(Sichtermann, 2011). Convenience coffee comes in several forms including ready-todrink coffee, such as the Starbucks Double Shot canned coffee, which can be found in
convenience stores, and single-serve coffee offerings such as the Starbucks Via Ready
Brew, which is a packet mixed with water to create a Starbucks iced coffee anywhere.
RTD (ready-to-drink) coffees and single-serving coffees are easily accessible in grocery
stores, pharmacies, gas stations and convenience stores.
In the Beverage Industry article, “Demand for flavors, customization in brew,”
Sichtermann also notes that another factor for choosing a particular coffee venue is the
ability for customers to customize and create their own personal brews (Sichtermann,
2011). He notes the coffee industry has expanded to include frozen, hot and iced coffees
with flavor shots, and different choices of dairy to put into each cup. This allows
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
23
customers to create unique blends that satisfy their personal tastes. The author states, “As
consumers are able to obtain their favorite beverage the way they want it and when they
want it, coffee consumption will only increase” (Sichtermann, 2011, p. 102).
In their article “BK, McD’s wake up to premium coffee”, Halliday and MaCarthur
further prove the consumer desire for customized coffees. They state that: “Although
Starbucks is the biggest coffeehouse chain, just 20% of its beverage sales are from the
unadulterated coffee cup, and the majority of sales come from blended and espresso
drinks” (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005, p. 14).
This same article notes that many coffee consumers are more price conscious in
choosing coffees, and therefore choose venues such as Dunkin’ Donuts, which have less
expensive, non-flavored coffees. Dunkin’ Donuts controls 17% of the market compared
with McDonald’s at 15% and Starbucks at 6% for non-flavored, basic coffees (Halliday
and MaCarthur, 2005). The authors state, “One reason for the doughnut chain’s
dominance in basic brew is the pocketbook-friendly prices, often 50 cents or less per cup
than Starbucks” (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005, p. 14).
Along these same lines with price, Halliday and MaCarthur note that one reason
Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee venues have such a percentage of the marketplace is because of
their location. Dunkin’ Donuts often locates venues in the blue-collar communities to
attract consumers with their lower prices. Starbucks is beginning to follow this trend as
well (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005).
The Beverage Industry article “Spilling the Beans” details that recently, coffee
consumers have opted for home-brew coffee over purchasing coffee from coffee shops,
as a way to save money (Scott, 2009). “Ground coffee sales increased 6.5%, earning
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
24
more than $2.4 billion for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 4 in supermarkets, drug stores and
mass merchandise outlets” (Scott, 2009, p. 12). They also note that as branded coffee
begins appearing in these places, that customers will recognize and purchase these brands
more frequently. Starbucks has begun mass-producing packaged coffee to sell in their
stores, grocery stores, drug stores and mass retail stores to follow this consumer trend
(Scott, 2009).
The article “BK, McD’s wake up to premium coffee” details that coffee drinkers
are seeking high-quality coffee, not only in the morning to accompany breakfast, but also
during the later morning, lunch and afternoon hours (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005). The
authors state that 84% of coffee drinkers have their fix at breakfast, but with consumers
looking for coffee throughout the day, McDonald’s has adjusted its offerings to serve
premium coffee all hours of the day (Halliday, MaCarthur, 2005).
In the article “Coffee for the Millennial Generation,” the author explains 7Eleven’s decision to revamp its business to attract younger coffee drinkers based on
factors they found that resonate with a younger crowd. The store’s new features include a
coffee bar with a modernized look and functional layout, redesigned cups with coffee
branding and new promotions for a younger crowd (Lisanti, 2010). After restructuring
their coffee bars, 7-Eleven found that more people were spending time at their stores
customizing their drinks, and since the bars had a newer, fresh look they noticed a higher
appeal to the Millennial consumer (Lisanti, 2010).
York (2009) finds that many coffee consumers have been cutting back on fancy,
expensive drinks and have opted for more traditional, affordable coffee drinks (York,
2009). The consumers cutting back are on average between 45 and 54 years old and in
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
25
the lower-income brackets. The cutbacks are affecting companies unevenly, with
Starbucks losing some business, while Dunkin’ Donuts is expanding (York, 2009).
Analysts found that after the economy worsened in 2008, specialty coffee drink
purchases have decreased significantly. Specialty coffee drinks make up more than half
of the coffee industry (York, 2009).
Emily York reports that Advertising Age hired Lightspeed Research to find out
whether the decrease in coffee sales is due to the economy or to New Year’s Resolutions.
The research showed that 90% of participants say they are trying to save money (York,
2009). Most of the survey participants said they have either scaled down to smaller, less
expensive coffee shops or have started brewing at home. Oddly though, “Starbucks has
reported same-store sales down…, Dunkin' Donuts has opened more stores, expanding
the once-regional chain” (York, 2009). However, York notices a “trickle down effect”,
where costumers move down from Starbucks to Dunkin’, the industry may soon see a
further move from Dunkin’ to convenience store chains (York, 2009). She also notes that
all three companies cited in the article are worried about the installation of coffee bars in
McDonald’s restaurants, which is sure to take business away from everyone, due to
pricing (York, 2009).
A newsletter distributed by Wireless News in 2011 details the struggle between
buying virtue, or healthy, foods versus buying vice, or treat-type, foods based on whether
the consumer gets a quantity increase or a discounted price. The study, done at the
University of Utah, “revealed that while the preference for bonus quantity over price
discounts hold for virtue food, the reverse is true for vice foods” (Wireless News, 2011).
David Eccles School of Business researchers, Arul and Himanshu Mishra, conducted an
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
26
experiment at a campus coffee shop. They offered a choice between virtue and vice
options in muffins and cookies to customers leaving the store as either a bonus to what
they already purchased, or at a discounted price. They found that more students took the
low-fat muffin as a bonus item and the cookie at a discounted price. The Mishras
attributed their findings to the “justification factor”, where consumers are more likely to
give into their vices or splurge on their virtues if they can justify it somehow (Wireless
News, 2011).
In an article written for Restaurants and Institutions, Erin Shay looks at the
relationship between students and cart service items, such as coffee, tea and snacks. At
the University of Maryland and Central Michigan University, she found that selling
coffee and food items in convenient locations for students to grab-and-go turned enough
profit to be sustainable. And, the cart did not serve anything the schools’ dining service
already offered or take any business away from traditional dining. She contends that the
addition of these carts and kiosks on campuses will help keep students and faculty on
campus, so they do not leave to find food elsewhere (Shea, 2005).
In her article in the Sacramento Business Journal, Yolanda Cuesta takes a look at
a number of coffeehouses that serve as Starbucks competitors. She assesses that,
“Consumers have not only become more educated about coffee, but they demand higher
quality, excellent service and an opportunity to express their individuality” (Cuesta, 2001,
p. 25). Cuesta quotes the district manager of Java City in her article noting that,
“[People] find their niche or their style of café. Whether it's the small mom-and-pop café,
or the corporate café, once they find what they like they stick with it” (Cuesta, 2001, p.
25). The author also notes that it is important to style a café in a way that attracts the
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
27
surrounding demographic, because the same café can attract consumers differently
depending on what it looks like in comparison with its location (Cuesta, 2001). For
example, if a café is located in a wealthier area of a city, it should have a classier
atmosphere than a lower income area (Cuesta, 2001).
An article entitled, “Coffeehouses brew new-artist promotions”, details the
growing consumer need to discover new musical artists through visits to coffeehouses
(“Coffeehouses”, 2003). According to the article, this consumer need leads to a win-win
situation for local or emerging bands looking to expand their fan bases and coffeehouses
looking to feature new artists and musical performances (“Coffeehouses”, 2003). The
article also contains information about impulse buying and the tendency for consumers to
buy music on a whim if they hear the artist live in a coffeehouse setting versus the radio
(“Coffeehouses”, 2003). Billboard suggests that coffeehouses sell coffeehouse mixes in
the form of CDs, even though they are outdated, to make extra money while meeting
consumer needs to discover new or unique artists (“Coffeehouses”, 2003).
In her article “Coffeehouse talk”, Elizabeth Fuhrman notes that as of the 2009
Mintel reports, consumer trends, with regard to coffee and donut shops, will be in line
with value pricing (Fuhrman, 2009). She notes that the coffee shops that offer cheap
coffee, as well as quick service, will be consumers’ number one choice. Fuhrman also
writes “Eighteen to 34-year-olds are the group that avidly patronize coffeehouses, yet the
group is least likely to be swayed by coffee alone. These consumers are looking for
variety in coffee drinks, other beverages and even the food they buy when they go out”
(Fuhrman, 2009). In other words, it is important to offer a variety of caffeinated and non-
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
caffeinated beverages on a coffeehouse menu to best serve the eighteen to 34 year old
population (Fuhrman, 2009).
IV. Proposed Predictors
Health Variables:
Attitude toward calorie content (Luo, 2010)
Attitude toward nutrition labels (Freedman and Connors, 2011)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Factors:
Emotional involvement with CSR (Katrinili, Gunay, Biresselioglu, 2011)
Importance of donation-based purchases (Wintrich and Barone, 2011)
Importance of the ethical value of product (Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterckx and
Mielants, 2005)
Importance of Fair trade information (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008)
Atmosphere Variables:
Attitude toward store atmosphere (Walsh, Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou, and Beatty,
2011)
Importance of uniqueness (Patterson, Scott and Uncles, 2010)
Attitude toward scents (Bradford and Desrochers, 2009)
Need for personal space to relax, do work (Plog, 2005)
Need for personal space to do work (Plog, 2005)
Importance of Wi-Fi internet (Brow, 2008)
Attitude toward modern design (Lisanti, 2010)
Importance of ambiance (Cuesta, 2001)
Promotional Factors:
Desire for holiday-themed products (McLaughlin, 2004)
Desire for unique food options (Brow, 2008)
Desire for discounted products (Brow, 2008)
Importance of coupon promotions (Taylor and Long-Tolbert, 2002)
Importance of loyalty cards (Bainbridge, 2011, May 04)
Desire for menu variation (Nemes, 2002)
Entertainment Variables:
Desire for new music (“Coffeehouses”, billboard)
Importance of entertainment (Nemes, 2002)
Convenience Factors:
Need for convenience in coffee purchasing (Sichtermann, 2011)
Desire for ready-to-drink coffees (Scott, 2009)
Importance of coffee venue location (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005)
Desire for home-brew coffee availability (Scott, 2009)
28
29
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Importance of coffee availability throughout the day (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005)
Desire for a variety of beverage and food items (Fuhrman, 2009)
Personal Factors:
Desire for third place in life (Rosenbaum, 2006)
Desire to fit into chic, sophisticated lifestyle (Scott, 2006)
Desire to interact with friendly employees (Anonymous, 1996)
Desire to personalize own coffee drink and brew (Sichtermann, 2011), (Halliday and
MaCarthur, 2005)
Importance of lower-priced coffees (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005)
Importance of affordability (York, 2009)
Desire for reasonable prices (Fuhrman, 2009)
Importance of peer persuasion (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008)
V. Measures
Our research team developed original set of predictors for this study (displayed in
section IV) using our literature review of the coffee industry and purchasing habits. This
list of potential predictors included variables related to location (i.e., the importance of
coffee shop proximity to study spaces), store design (i.e., importance of clean physical
facilities), atmosphere, store employees (i.e., the importance of friendly and
knowledgeable employees), menu variety (i.e., importance of numerous menu options),
convenience (i.e., the importance of a bank‘s hours of operation), unique menu options
(i.e., importance of one-of-a-kind menu items), specialty beverage options (i.e., the
importance of seasonal and limited-time-only beverages), posted nutritional information
(i.e., importance of available menu items’ nutrition contents), coupon promotions, loyalty
cards (i.e., impact of loyalty cards on brand loyalty), and other (i.e., the importance of a
coffee shop’s corporate social responsibility).
From this extensive list of 35 potential predictors, our team chose the most
frequently used and most prevalent predictors from past coffee industry and purchasing
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
30
research. In order to better serve our client, our team removed the potential predictors
that were least significant in previous research.
We narrowed down our predictors, which allowed us to implement a study to test
our dependent variable: the likelihood that a student will choose a specific coffee venue
when influenced by certain independent variables (i.e., coffee venue location, etc.). The
final predictors for this study included ten major influencers: location, design,
atmosphere, employees, unique menu options, specialty beverage options, nutritional
information, coupons, loyalty cards, and corporate social responsibility.
We then selected measures from the Marketing Scales Handbook that corresponded
with our list of final predictors. Next, we altered the most relevant scales and measures to
fit our study including Store Image Pleasantness (Brady and Cronin, 2001), Ambience
(Brady and Cronin, 2001), Store Design (Baker, Grewal and Parasuraman, 1994), Store
Images (Signh, 2006), Design (Brady and Cronin, 2001) and Coupon Involvement
(Lichtenstein, Netemeyer, and Burton, 1990).
We also independently developed additional measures including Importance of
Coffee Venue Location, Attitude Toward Store Employees, Importance of Menu Variety,
Importance of Unique Menu Options, Importance of Specialty Beverage Options,
Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional Information, Importance of Loyalty Cards and
Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility.
All of our 35 measures were paired with Likert-type scales with five points. One of
the scales we used was 1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Neutral, 4-Agree, and 5Strongly Agree. The other scale we used was 1-Does Not Describe Me At All, 2-Doesn’t
Really Describe Me, 3-Can’t Really Tell, 4-Sometimes Describes Me, 5-Definitely
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
31
Describes Me.
The construct, Importance of Coffee Venue Location, measured the extent to which
individuals perceive location as important. Location-related variables were pertinent in
past research (Halliday and MaCarthur, 2005; Sichtermann, 2011). The individual
measures were:
 The location of a coffee shop is important to me.
 It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I live.
 It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I take classes.
 It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I study (i.e., dorm, library,
student lounge)
The Attitude Toward Store Design construct measured the extent to which
individuals appreciate store design. We found this construct to be relevant in past
research, as well (Walsh, Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou, and Beatty, 2011). The individual
measures were:
 A coffee shop’s interior design is important to me
 The interior design of a coffee shop attracts my attention
 I prefer a coffee shop with merchandise that appears organized
 I prefer a coffee shop with clean physical facilities
 I prefer a coffee shop with attractive physical facilities
The Importance of Atmosphere construct measured the extent to which individuals
appreciate store atmosphere. This construct was created using predictors that Lisanti
(2010) and Cuesta (2001) identified in their research. This construct’s individual
measures were:
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
32
 A Coffee shop’s atmosphere is important to me
 I prefer a coffee shop that has a pleasant atmosphere
The Attitude Toward Store Employees construct measured the consumer’s
tendency to choose one coffee shop over another based on interactions with store
employees. We drew this construct from predictors identified in a Starbucks corporate
publication (1996); it consisted of the following measures:

It is important to me that a coffee shop has friendly employees

I prefer store employees to greet me courteously when I enter a store

I expect coffee shop employees to be knowledgeable

I expect coffee shop employees to provide service in a timely manner
The Importance of Unique Menu Options measured the extent to which individuals
perceive unique food and beverage options as important. Fuhrman (2009) and Brow
(2008) used these predictors in their research studies. These measures included:
 Unique beverage options are important to me
 Unique food options are important to me
The construct Importance of Specialty Beverage Options measured the extent to
which individuals perceive specialty beverage options as important. These measures
included:

When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase a seasonal beverage

When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase a limited-time-only
beverage
Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional Information on menus measured the extent to
which posted nutritional information affects a customer’s choice to purchase a food or
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
33
beverage item. These measures included:
 I feel that posting nutritional information on menus is important
 When nutritional information is available at a coffee shop, I take it into
consideration when ordering
 Knowing the nutritional contents in my food is important to me
 Knowing the nutritional contents in my beverage is important to me
The construct Importance of Coupon Promotions measured the importance of
coupon promotions in a consumer’s selection of a coffee shop. Taylor and Long-Tolbert
(2002) used this construct in their research. These measures included:
 I use coupons when I purchase coffee
 I have favorite brands, but most of the time I buy the brand I have a coupon for
 I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a coupon
 Coupons have cause me to buy products I normally would not buy
Our Importance of Loyalty Cards construct measured the importance of loyalty
card programs in a consumer’s selection of a coffee shop. Bainbridge (2011) used this
loyalty card construct in past research. The construct’s measures included:

I use loyalty cards when I purchase coffee

I use a coffee shop’s loyalty card every time I make a purchase at that shop

I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a loyalty card

Being a member of one coffee shop loyalty card program makes me less
sensitive to the benefits offered by other coffee shop loyalty card programs
The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility construct measured a
consumer’s tendency to purchase coffee based on a company’s corporate social
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
34
responsibility practices. Katrinili, Gunay and Biresselioglu (2011) used this construct in
their research. This construct’s measures included:

I am likely to buy coffee from a company that helps the global community

I am likely to buy coffee from a company that helps the local community

I am likely to buy coffee from a coffee company that helps the environment
We tested the dependent variable in one of our demographic measures. We asked:
“If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely
would you be to purchase coffee at each of the following?”
Underneath the question, we listed Dunkin’ Donuts and its competitors, first City
Convenience, then Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, and a fill-in-the-blank space labeled
“Other.” We measured the responses to this question using a five-point, Likert-type scale
that included 1-Very Unlikely, 2-Unlikely, 3-Neither Unlikely Nor Likely, 4-Likely to 5Very Likely.
Additionally, we included one question that read, “At which coffee shops do you
currently purchase coffee?” with the options to check City Convenience, Dunkin’
Donuts, Starbucks and “Other.” This question gave us an idea of where most students are
already getting their coffee. After this question, we wanted to test how likely students
would be to switch from one coffee venue to another, so our next question read, “What is
the likelihood that you will switch coffee shops in the next 6 months?” We measured the
responses to this question using a five-point Likert-type scale that included 1-Very
Unlikely, 2-Unlikely, 3-Neither Likely Nor Unlikely, 4-Likely, 5-Very Likely.
We included four questions about demographics, as well. First, we asked
academic level and provided boxes for survey participants to select freshman,
35
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
sophomore, junior, senior, or master’s. Next we asked “How many times a week do you
purchase coffee from a coffee shop” and provided boxes where survey participants could
select 0-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, and 12 or more. Third we asked “How old are you” and
provided a line for the survey participants to write their ages. The last question asked
about gender, we provided survey participants a space to select male or female.
Table 1A: Constructs and Measures
Importance of coffee shop location: The extent to which
individuals perceive location as important.
Strongly
Disagre
e
Disagre
e
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
The location of a coffee shop is important to me.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I
live.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I
take classes.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I
study (i.e. dorm, library, student lounge).
Importance of menu variety: The extent to which
individuals perceive variety of food and beverage options
as important.
A coffee shop’s food choices are important to me.
A coffee shop’s beverage choices are important to
me.
Importance of unique menu options: The extent to which
individuals perceive unique food and beverage options as
important.
Unique beverage options are important to me.
Unique food options are important to me.
Importance of specialty beverage options: The extent to
which individuals perceive specialty beverage options as
important.
When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase
a seasonal beverage.
When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase
a limited-time-only beverage.
36
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Attitude toward posted nutritional information on menus:
The extent to which posted nutritional information affects
a customer’s purchases.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I feel that posting nutritional information on menus
is important.
When nutritional information is available at a coffee
shop, I take it into consideration when ordering.
Knowing the nutritional contents in my food is
important to me.
Knowing the nutritional contents in my beverage is
important to me.
Attitude toward store design: Extent to which individuals
appreciate store design.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongl
y
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongl
y
Agree
A coffee shop’s interior design is important to me.
The interior design of a coffee shop attracts my
attention.
I prefer a coffee shop with merchandise that appears
organized.
I prefer a coffee shop with clean physical facilities.
I prefer a coffee shop with attractive physical
facilities.
Importance of atmosphere: The extent to which
individuals appreciate store atmosphere.
A coffee shop’s atmosphere is important to me.
I prefer a coffee shop that has a pleasant atmosphere.
Importance of coupon promotions: The importance of
coupon promotions in a consumer’s selection of a coffee
shop.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I use coupons when I purchase coffee.
I have favorite brands, but most of the time I buy
the brand I have a coupon for.
I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a
coupon.
Coupons have caused me to buy products I
normally would not buy.
Importance of loyalty cards: The importance of loyalty
card programs in a consumer’s selection of a coffee
37
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
shop.
I use loyalty cards when I purchase coffee.
I use a coffee shop’s loyalty card every time I
make a purchase at that shop.
I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a
loyalty card.
Being a member of one coffee shop loyalty card
program makes me less sensitive to the benefits
offered by other coffee shop loyalty card programs.
Importance of corporate social
responsibility: A consumer’s tendency to
purchase coffee based on a company’s
corporate social responsibility.
I am likely to buy coffee from a
company that helps the global
community.
I am likely to buy coffee from a
company that helps the local
community.
I am likely to buy coffee from a coffee
company that helps the environment.
Does not
describe
me at all
Doesn’t
really
describe me
Can’t
really tell
Sometimes
describes
me
Definitel
y
describes
me
38
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
VI. Instrument
Student Opinion Survey
We are collecting surveys for a graduate research class and are hoping to learn about your experiences with
coffee shops. All answers are anonymous.
Thank you!
1. This section will ask questions about the coffee shops you use. Please check the answer box that
best describes you and only choose one.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
The location of a coffee shop is important to me.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I
live.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I take
classes.
It’s important that a coffee shop is close to where I
study (i.e. dorm, library, student lounge).
2.
This section will ask questions about your preferences for design and atmosphere of coffee
shops. Please choose the box that describes you and only choose one.
*Atmosphere: A special mood or character associated with a place.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agre
e
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agre
e
Strongly
Agree
A coffee shop’s interior design is important to me.
The interior design of a coffee shop attracts my
attention.
I prefer a coffee shop with merchandise that appears
organized.
I prefer a coffee shop with clean physical facilities.
I prefer a coffee shop with attractive physical
facilities.
A coffee shop’s atmosphere is important to me.
I prefer a coffee shop that has a pleasant atmosphere.
3.
This section will ask you about your preferences of coffee shop’s employees. Please choose
the box that describes you and only choose one.
39
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Attitude toward store employees: The consumer’s
tendency to choose one coffee shop over another based
on interactions with store employees.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
It is important to me that a coffee shop has friendly
employees.
I prefer store employees to greet me courteously
when I enter a store.
I expect coffee shop employees to be
knowledgeable.
I expect coffee shop employees to provide service
in a timely manner.
4.
This section will ask questions about menu selections in coffee shops. Please choose the box
that describes you and only choose one.
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Unique beverage options are important to me.
Unique food options are important to me.
When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase
a seasonal beverage.
When visiting a coffee shop, I am likely to purchase
a limited-time-only beverage.
I feel that posting nutritional information on menus
is important.
When nutritional information is available at a coffee
shop, I take it into consideration when ordering.
Knowing the nutritional contents in my food is
important to me.
Knowing the nutritional contents in my beverage is
important to me.
5.
This section will ask questions about loyalty cards and coupons for coffee shops. Please
choose the box that describes you and only choose one.
 Loyalty Cards: A swipe card issued by a chain store to a customer used to record
customer points awarded for money spent in the store.
40
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Feel
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I use coupons when I purchase coffee.
I have favorite brands, but most of the time I buy
the brand I have a coupon for.
I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a
coupon.
Coupons have caused me to buy products I
normally would not buy.
I use loyalty cards when I purchase coffee.
I use a coffee shop’s loyalty card every time I
make a purchase at that shop.
I am more likely to buy brands for which I have a
loyalty card.
Being a member of one coffee shop loyalty card
program makes me less sensitive to the benefits
offered by other coffee shop loyalty card programs.
6.
This section will ask your opinion on a coffee company’s corporate social responsibility,
environmental sustainability and fair trade practices.
*Corporate Social Responsibility: Operating a business in a manner that accounts for the social and
environmental impact created by the business.
* Fair trade: the negotiation of fair prices and certification of producers’ work, the finished products, and
the mechanisms that are used for trade.
Does not
describe me at
all
Doesn’t
really
describe me
Can’t
really tell
Sometimes
describes
me
I am likely to buy coffee from a
company that helps the global
community.
I am likely to buy coffee from a
company that helps the local
community.
I am likely to buy coffee from a coffee
company that helps the environment.
I am likely to buy coffee if it is fair
trade
7.
This section will be asking questions about you and your current coffee usage.
1) At which coffee shops do you currently purchase coffee? Check all that apply.
 City Convenience  Dunkin’ Donuts  Starbucks  Other: ____________
2) What is the likelihood that you will switch coffee shops in the next 6 months? Check one.
 very unlikely  unlikely  neither likely nor unlikely  likely  very likely
Definitely
describes
me
41
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
3) If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely would
you be to purchase coffee at each of the following? Check one for each row.
Very
Unlikely
Unlikely
Neither
Likely Nor
Unlikely
Likely
Very
Likely
City Convenience
Dunkin’ Donuts
Starbucks
Other _______________
4) Which of the following describes your current academic level: Check one.
 Freshman
 Sophomore  Junior
 Senior
 Master’s
5) How many times a week do you purchase coffee from a coffee shop? Check one.
 0-2
 3-5
 6-8
 9-11
 12 or more
6) How old are you? ____________
7) Are you male or female? Check one.
 Male
 Female
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
42
VII. Methodology
Our research team first conducted background research on previous research studies.
We derived potential predictors from those studies for our dependent variable: the factors
that impact a college student’s decision to choose a specific coffee venue. We then
created a list of measures based on our dependent variable, some of which, we adapted
from the Marketing Scales Handbook (1990, 1994, 2001, 2006). Our team developed all
of the other measures on our own. Finally, we defined our constructs and created items to
determine the strength of each measure that influences a college student’s decision to
choose a specific coffee venue.
Next, we administered our 35-measure, self-report survey to a random sample of
college students, during various times and on various days. Due to limited resources, we
administered the survey to students at Boston University, rather than at a variety of
universities, understanding that the Boston University student population is not wholly
reflective of the college student demographic in general.
We administered the first set on November 3, 2011 from 2:30pm to 4:00pm and we
administered the second set on November 8, 2011 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Our
research team passed the surveys out to a random sample of students at Boston
University’s George Sherman Union, a central gathering place for the University’s
college students. We offered candy to student participants as an incentive. Our team tried
to vary the times in which we administered the surveys in order to secure the optimal
level of randomness.
We administered the survey to a total of 100 students, 13 of which were male, and
37 of which were female. Our sample was comprised of people with very similar
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
43
demographic characteristics. The survey respondents were all Boston University students
between the ages of 18 and 36. Our team did not disclose our affiliation with Dunkin’
Donuts.
After we collected the data, we coded the responses with numerical values that we
then subsequently entered into SPSS. We assigned coding scales to fill-in-the- blank
demographic information, which we created in order to make sure that our questions were
exhaustive and given numerical values into SPSS. We then cleaned the data and tested
the reliability of our multiple-item measures. We used Cronbach’s alpha on SPSS to do
this. Measures that were .60 and greater, we considered reliable. All of our measures
were reliable according to their corresponding Cronbach’s alpha scores.
We then used the remaining, reliable measures to calculate the composites. Once
we calculated the composites, we found their averages. Our team ran frequency tests of
these averages in order to extract the percentage of students who displayed certain
qualities. We examined the individual percentages for all responses. For composites
where most respondents agreed or strongly agreed, we added the valid percentages
together.
Our research team then tested the correlations between the dependent and
independent variables. We used Pearson’s coefficient (r) to find the direction and the
strength of each correlation, which helped us understand how applicable these
correlations were to the general college student population. After reviewing the results,
we extracted the strongest predictors for our dependent variable, analyzed the trends
within the predictors, and examined the relations among them.
44
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
VIII. Results
Analysis of Measures
After we collected all of our survey data and entered it into SPSS, we tested the
reliability of each construct and the range of frequencies. The Importance of Coffee
Venue Location construct consisted of four five-point Likert-type questions. Cronbach’s
Alpha reliability for these items was 0.902, indicating excellent reliability. The Attitude
Toward Store Design consisted of five five-point Likert-type questions. Cronbach’s
Alpha reliability for these items was 0.744. The next construct, Importance of
Atmosphere, consisted of two five-point Likert-type questions, with a Cronbach’s Alpha
reliability of 0.794. Students’ Attitude Toward Store Employees consisted of four fivepoint Likert-type questions. It had a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability of 0.697.
Importance of Unique Menu Options consisted of two five-point Likert-type
questions. Cronbach‘s alpha reliability for these items was 0.701. The two five-point
Likert-type questions that made up the Importance of Specialty Beverage Options
construct had a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability of 0.886. Our next construct, Attitude
Toward Posted Nutritional Information on Menus, consisted of four five-point Likerttype questions Cronbach‘s Alpha reliability of this construct was 0.943. The Importance
of Coupon Promotions consisted of four five-point Likert-type questions. Cronbach’s
Alpha reliability for this construct was 0.835. The Importance of Loyalty Cards construct
consisted of four five-point Likert-type questions and had a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability
of 0.89. The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility construct, which consisted of
four five-point Likert-type questions, had a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability of 0.929.
45
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Table 2A: Reliability of Constructs
CRONBACH'S
ALPHA
NUMBER OF
ITEMS
Importance of coffee shop location
0.902 (excellent)
4
Attitude toward store design
0.744 (very good)
5
Importance of atmosphere
0.794 (very good)
2
0.697 (good)
4
Importance of unique menu options
0.701 (very good)
2
Importance of specialty beverage options
0.886 (excellent)
2
Attitude toward posted nutritional
information on menus
0.943 (excellent)
4
Importance of coupon promotions:
0.835 (excellent)
4
Importance of loyalty cards
0.89 (excellent)
4
Importance of corporate social
responsibility
0.929 (excellent)
4
CONSTRUCTS
Attitude toward store employees
46
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Analysis of Variation of Measures
Our team developed 10 multiple-measure predictors. All 10 predictors had a
reliable Cronbach’s Alpha Score; the lowest score was .697. For the 10 multiple-measure
predictors, we used the SPSS program to generate frequency, as well as mean, median
and mode. All measures were scored using the five-point Likert-type scale.
Frequency Distribution, Sampling Error and Mean/Median/Mode of MultiItem Measures
Importance of Coffee
Shop Location
We had 100 valid responses for the
predictor Importance of Coffee Shop
Very
Unimportant
Location. The 5-point Likert-type
Unimportnat
scale ranged from 1-Strongly
Neutral
Important
Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The
mean score was 4.15, the median
was 4.00 and the mode was 5.00,
correlating with Strongly Agree. Two (2%) respondents answered Strongly Disagree; 3
(3%) answered Disagree; and 24 (24%) of respondents chose Neutral. We had 47 (47%)
respondents that answered Agree and 24 (24%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 71
(71%) chose Agree and Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee
consumers value coffee shop location as highly important.
47
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
The predictor Attitude Toward
Attitude Toward Store
Design
Store Design had 100 valid
responses. Again, the 5-point
Very Possitive
Likert-type scale ranged from 1-
Positive
Neutral
Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly
Negative
Agree. The mean score for this
Very Negative
predictor was 4.14, the median
was 4.00 and the mode was 4.00, correlating with Agree. This predictor was in the Agree
range. We had 0 (0%) respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 1 (1%) that
answered Disagree; and 37 (37%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 57 (57%)
respondents that answered Agree and 5 (5%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 62
(62%) chose Agree and Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee
consumers value store design as moderately important.
Importance of
Atmosphere
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Our predictor Importance of
Atmosphere had 100 valid
responses. The 5-point Likert-type
scale ranged from 1-Strongly
Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The
mean score for this predictor was -
Unimportant
4.14, the median was 4.00 and the
mode was 4.00, correlating with Agree. This predictor was in the Agree range. We had 0
(0%) respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 0 (0%) that answered Disagree; and
48
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
24 (24%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 54 (54%) respondents that
answered Agree and 22 (22%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 76 (76%) chose
Agree and Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee consumers value
atmosphere as important.
With the predictor Attitude
Attitude Toward Store
Employees
Very Important
Important
Toward Store Employees, we had
100 valid responses. The 5-point
Likert-type scale ranged from 1Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly
Neutral
Agree. The mean score for this
Unimportant
predictor was 4.07, the median
was 4.00 and the mode was 4.00, correlating with Agree. This predictor was in the Agree
range. We had 0 (0%) respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 2 (2%) that
answered Disagree; and 30 (30%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 58 (58%)
respondents that answered Agree and (10%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 68
(68%) chose Agree and Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee
consumers value store employees as moderately important when choosing a coffee shop.
The predictor Importance of Unique Menu Options had 100 valid responses. The 5point Likert-type scale ranged from 1-Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree. The mean
score for this predictor was 3.48, the median was 3.50 and the mode was 3.00, correlating
with Neutral. We had 0 (0%) respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 7 (7%) that
49
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Importance of Unique
Menu Options
Very Important
answered Disagree; and 61 (61%) of
respondents that answered Neutral.
We had 27 (27%) respondents that
answered Agree and 5 (5%) that
Important
answered Strongly Agree. In total,
Neutral
32 (32%) chose Agree and Strongly
Unimportant
Agree. These results indicate that
coffee consumer students are very
neutral to the importance of unique menu options when choosing a coffee shop.
We had 100 valid responses for
our predictor Importance of
Importance of Specialty
Menu Options
Specialty Menu Options. The 5-
Very Important
point Likert-type scale ranged
Important
from 1-Strongly Disagree to 5-
Neutral
Strongly Agree. The mean score
Unimportant
for this predictor was 3.41, the
median was 3.50 and the mode was 3.00, correlating with Neutral. We had 2 (2%)
respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 19 (19%) that answered Disagree; and 40
(40%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 30 (30%) respondents that answered
Agree and 9 (9%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 39 (39%) chose Agree and
Strongly Agree Disagree. These results indicate that student coffee consumers are neutral
50
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
toward specialty menu options, leaning toward valuing specialty menu options as
important.
Attitude Toward Posted
Nutritional
Information
Very Positive
Positive
Neutral
Negative
Very Negative
The predictor Attitude Toward
Posted Nutritional Information on
Menus had 100 valid responses.
The 5-point Likert-type scale
ranged from 1-Strongly Disagree
to 5-Strongly Agree. The mean
score for this predictor was 3.85,
the median was 4.00 and the mode was 4.00, correlating with Agree. We had 3 (3%)
respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 12 (12%) that answered Disagree; and 22
(22%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 43 (43%) respondents that answered
Agree and 20 (20%) that chose Strongly Agree. In total, 63 (63%) chose Agree and
Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee consumers value posted
nutritional information as important when choosing a coffee venue.
Importance of Coupon
Promotion
Very Important
Important
Neutral
Unimportant
We had 100 valid responses for
the predictor Importance of
Coupon Promotions. The 5-point
Likert-type scale ranged from 1Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly
Agree. The mean score for this
51
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
predictor was 2.65, the median was 2.50, and the mode was 2.00, correlating with
Disagree. We had 13 (13%) respondents that answered Strongly Disagree; 49 (49%) that
answered Disagree; and 31 (31%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 6 (6%)
respondents that answered Agree and 1 (1%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 7
(7%) chose Agree and Strongly Agree These results indicate that student coffee
consumers are less likely to choose a coffee venue based on coupon promotions.
Importance of Loyalty
Cards
The predictor Importance of
Loyalty Cards had 100 valid
Very Important
responses. Again, the 5-point
Important
Likert-type scale ranged from 1-
Neutral
Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly
Unimportant
Agree. The mean score for this
predictor was 2.94, the median
was 2.88 and the mode was 2.00, correlating with Disagree. We had 3 (3%) respondents
that answered Strongly Disagree; 47 (47%) that answered Disagree; and 33 (33%)
respondents that answered Neutral. We had 11 (11%) respondents that answered Agree
and 6 (6%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 17 (17%) chose Agree and Strongly
Agree. These results indicate that student coffee consumers are less likely to choose
coffee venues based on their loyalty card programs.
We had 100 valid responses for the predictor Importance of Corporate Social
Responsibility. The 5-point Likert-type scale ranged from 1-Strongly Disagree to 5-
52
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Importance of
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Strongly Agree. The mean score
for this predictor was 3.58, the
median was 3.75 and the mode was
Very Important
4.00, correlating with Neutral to
Important
Agree. We had 3 (3%) respondents
Neutral
that answered Strongly Disagree;
13 (13%) that answered Disagree;
and 35 (35%) respondents that answered Neutral. We had 41 (41%) respondents that
answered Agree and 8 (8%) that answered Strongly Agree. In total, 49 (49%) chose
Agree and Strongly Agree. These results indicate that student coffee consumers value
corporate social responsibility as moderately important when choosing coffee venues.
Table 4A: Analysis of Variation of Multi -Item Measures
PREDICTOR
Importance of coffee shop location
N
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Attitude toward store design
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of atmosphere
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Attitude toward store employees
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of unique menu options
100
FREQUENCY
2 (2%)- Strongly Disagree
3 (3%)- Disagree
24 (24%)- Neutral
47 (47%)- Agree
24 (24%)- Strongly Agree
71 (71%)
0- Strongly Disagree
1 (1%)- Disagree
37 (37%)- Neutral
57 (57%)- Agree
5 (5%)- Strongly Agree
62 (62%)
0- Strongly Disagree
0- Disagree
24 (24%)- Neutral
54 (54%)- Agree
22 (22%)- Strongly Agree
76 (76%)
0- Strongly Disagree
2 (2%)- Disagree
30 (30%)- Neutral
58 (58%)- Agree
10 (10%)- Strongly Agree
68 (68%)
0- Strongly Disagree
7 (7%)- Disagree
MEAN
4.15
MEDIAN
4.00
MODE
5.00
3.98
4.00
4.00
4.14
4.00
4.00
4.07
4.00
4.00
3.48
3.50
3.00
53
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of specialty beverage options
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Attitude toward posted nutritional
information on menus
100
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of coupon promotions
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of loyalty cards
100
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Importance of corporate social
responsibility
Agree and Strongly Agree combined:
Demographic- related questions:
Which of the following describes your
current academic level?
100
100
How old are you?
100
Are you a male or female?
100
61 (61%)- Neutral
27 (27%)- Agree
5 (5%)- Strongly Agree
32 (32%)
2 (2%)- Strongly Disagree
19 (19%)- Disagree
40 (40%)- Neutral
30 (30%)- Agree
9 (9%)- Strongly Agree
39 (39%)
3 (3%)- Strongly Disagree
12 (12%)- Disagree
22 (22%)- Neutral
43 (43%)- Agree
20 (20%)- Strongly Agree
63 (63%)
13 (13%)- Strongly Disagree
49 (49%)- Disagree
31 (31%)- Neutral
6 (6%)- Agree
1 (1%)- Strongly Agree
7 (7%)
3 (3%)- Strongly Disagree
47 (47%)- Disagree
33 (33%)- Neutral
11 (11%)- Agree
6 (6%)- Strongly Agree
17 (17%)
3 (3%)- Strongly Disagree
13 (13%)- Disagree
35 (35%)- Neutral
41 (41%)- Agree
8 (8%)- Strongly Agree
49 (49%)
1 (1%)- Freshman
58 (58%)- Sophomore
27 (27%)- Junior
5 (5%)-Senior
9 (9%)-Master’s
3 (3%)- 18 years old
47 (47%)- 19 years old
30 (30%)- 20 years old
10 (10%)- 21 years old
5 (5%)- 22 years old
2 (2%)- 23 years old
1 (1%)- 24 years old
1 (1%)- 30 years old
1 (1%)- 36 years old
13 (13%)- Male
87 (87%)- Female
3.41
3.50
3.00
3.85
4.00
4.00
2.65
2.50
2.00
2.94
2.88
2.0
3.58
3.75
4.00
2.63
2.00
(Sophomo
re)
2.00
(Sopho
more)
20.03
19.50
19.00
n/a
n/a
n/a
Predictors Ranked by High Positive Responses
We generated the frequency distribution to help us determine what factors were
more important than others. We found that the single most important factor was
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
54
Importance of Atmosphere, with 76% of respondents who Agreed or Strongly Agreed.
The second most important was Importance of Coffee Shop Location with 71% who
Agreed or Strongly Agreed. Attitude Toward Store Employees was third with 68% who
Agreed or Strongly Agreed, followed by fourth, Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional
Information with 63% who Agreed or Strongly Agreed. Next was Attitude Toward Store
Design with 62% Agreed or Strongly Agreed, followed by sixth, Importance of Corporate
Social Responsibility with 49% Agreed or Strongly Agreed.
The seventh most important factor was Importance of Specialty Beverage Options
with 39% who Agreed or Strongly Agreed and next, Importance of Unique Menu Options
with 32% who Agreed or Strongly Agreed. The least important factors were Importance
of Loyalty Cards at 17% who Agreed or Strongly Agreed and last, Importance of Coupon
Promotions at 7% who Agreed or Strongly Agreed.
Correlations
We used the SPSS software to measure correlations of the strength and the
direction of the relationships between the dependent variables and the independent
variables (Pearson product moment co-efficient, (r)). We ran the correlations, the first
was: “If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how
likely would you be to purchase coffee at each of the following…?” The answer choice
for this question included our client, Dunkin’ Donuts, along with our two major
competitors, City Convenience and Starbucks. We ran these three answer choices
(dependent variables) with our 10 predictors (independent variables) on the SPSS
program.
After we ran these correlations, we found that the measure, “If you were to make a
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
55
decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely would you be to purchase
coffee at City Convenience” had a relationship with three of our predictors; two positive
relationships and one inverse relationship. These predictors were Importance of Specialty
Menu Options, Importance of Unique Menu Options, and Attitude Toward Store
Employees. We found that the relationship between students who purchase coffee and
our construct, the Importance of Specialty Beverage Options, was moderate, with a score
of r = .29 and a probability of p =.003. The correlation for Importance of Unique Menu
Options also had a moderate score of r= .278 and a probability of p=.005. And the
correlation for Attitude Toward Store Employees had a moderate inverse relationship
with a score of r= -.227 and a probability of .023. This indicates that respondents choose
to purchase coffee at City Convenience because of, most importantly, their specialty
beverage options and also their unique menu options. Respondents also did not factor
store employees into their choices to purchase coffee from City Convenience.
Our second dependent variable measure, “If you were to make a decision about
purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely would you be to purchase coffee at
Starbucks,” had a positive relationship with three of our predictors. These predictors
include Importance of Coffee Shop Location, Attitude Toward Store Employees and
Attitude Toward Store Design.
The independent variable, Importance of Coffee Shop Location, had a moderately
strong relationship with a score of r= .279 and a probability of p= .005. The independent
variable, Attitude Toward Store Employees, had a weak relationship, approaching
statistical significance, with a score of r= .189 and a probability of p= .06. Also, the
independent variable, Attitude Toward Store Design, had a moderate score, approaching
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
56
statistical significance, of r= .18 and a probability of p= .073. This indicates a strong
correlation between location and a respondent’s choice to go to Starbucks to purchase
coffee. Respondents were also moderately likely to choose to purchase coffee from
Starbucks based on store design, and a weak correlation suggests that students are
potentially likely to choose Starbucks based on its employees.
The third dependent variable, “If you were to make a decision about purchasing
coffee from a shop today, how likely would you be to purchase coffee at Dunkin’
Donuts” had two positive relationships and one inverse relationship, as well, with three of
our predictors/independent variables. These predictors include Importance of
Atmosphere, Importance of Coupon Promotions, and Importance of Specialty Beverage
Options.
The predictor Importance of Atmosphere had a moderate inverse relationship, with
a score of r= -.295 and a probability of p= .003. The Importance of Coupon Promotions
had a moderately positive relationship, with a score of r= .294 and a probability of p=
.003. Another predictor, Importance of Specialty Beverage Options, had a moderate
relationship, with a score of .204 and a probability of p= .042. These findings indicate
that students do not choose to purchase coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts based on store
atmosphere, but based on coupon promotions and specialty beverage options.
Table 5A-5C: Correlations between 10 predictors and dependent variable, “If you were
to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely would
you be to purchase coffee at each of the following?” Listed by coffee venue, in rank of
highest correlation to lowest.
A. “If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how
likely would you be to purchase coffee at City Convenience?”
57
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Probability trend
wouldn't project to
population (p)
r
Predictor
Importance of Specialty Menu Options
Importance of Unique Menu Options
Attitude Toward Store Employees
Importance of Coffee Shop Location
Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional
Information
Importance of Coupon Promotions
Importance of Corporate Social
Responsibility
Importance of Loyalty Cards
Importance of Atmosphere
Attitude Toward StoreDesign
0.29
0.278
-0.227
0.112
0.003
0.005
0.023
0.265
0.079
0.058
0.436
0.564
-0.004
-0.021
-0.127
-0.147
0.996
0.834
0.207
0.144
B. “If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how
likely would you be to purchase coffee at Starbucks?”
Predictor
Importance of Location
Attitude Toward Store Employees
Attitude Toward Store Design
Importance of Loyalty Cards
Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional Info
Importance of Specialty Menu Options
Importance of Atmosphere
Importance of Corporate Social
Responsibility
Importance of Coupon Promotions
Importance of Unique Menu Options
Probability trend
wouldn't project to
population (p)
r
0.279
0.189
0.18
0.131
0.103
0.093
0.055
0.005
0.06
0.073
0.193
0.309
0.358
0.588
0.047
0.032
0.016
0.642
0.752
0.871
C. “If you were to make a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how
likely would you be to purchase coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts?”
Predictor
Importance of Atmosphere
Importance of Coupon Promotions
Importance of Specialty Menu Options
Probability trend
wouldn't project to
population (p)
r
-0.295
0.294
0.204
0.003
0.003
0.042
58
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
Importance of Location
Importance of Loyalty Cards
Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional
Information
Importance of Corporate Social
Responsibility
Attitude Toward Store Employees
Importance of Unique Menu Options
Attitude Toward Store Design
0.06
0.019
0.555
0.851
0
0.999
-0.03
-0.066
-0.079
-0.166
0.764
0.515
0.434
0.1
IX. Discussion
Dependent variable
Our research team observed a number of features and tendencies regarding coffee
purchasing habits in our student population. A composite of 53% of students surveyed
were likely to purchase coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts, while in comparison a composite of
81% were likely to purchase coffee from Starbucks, the leading industry competitor. The
survey indicated that 52% were likely to purchase coffee from City Convenience as well,
making it almost even with Dunkin’ Donuts.
The results also allowed our team to capture and describe a student’s likelihood to
switch coffee shops. Overall, a composite of merely 8% of student survey respondents
said they were actually willing to switch coffee shops in the next six months. The results
of the survey showed that 64% of student survey respondents were unlikely to switch
their coffee shops, and 28% were neutral.
The results also indicated that respondents who are likely to choose a particular
coffee venue over another found the following factors to be very important: location,
atmosphere, specialty beverage options and coupons. Also, these respondents believed
that they were moderately affected by unique menu options and store employee
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
59
interactions.
Demographics
The demographic results allowed our team to understand the major characteristics
of our respondents. Our survey respondents were primarily undergraduate females
between the ages of 18 and 36, with the highest concentration of female respondents ages
19 and 20. A majority of our respondents were sophomores and fewer freshmen, junior,
senior and master’s students.
Predictors
For our predictor Importance of Coffee Shop Location we found that the vast
majority of students felt that coffee shop location was an important factor in their
choosing of a particular coffee venue. This is consistent with the findings of Halliday and
MaCarthur (2005). It also coincides with Shea’s research that finds selling coffee and
food items in locations convenient to students is profitable (2005). Importance of Coffee
Shop Location also directly correlated with a student’s choice of Starbucks as their coffee
venue, making it an even more important predictor.
Respondents also indicated that Importance of Atmosphere was an important factor
in choosing a certain coffee venue over another. This result was consistent with Walsh,
Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou and Beatty’s research, which proved store atmosphere is very
connected with customer satisfaction and loyalty (2011). We also found that the predictor,
Attitude Toward Store Design, was important to students when choosing a coffee venue.
This coincides with Waxman’s research that design features including cleanliness,
lighting and comfortable furniture influence people to frequent certain coffee shops
(2006). This predictor was not as important as atmosphere, though.
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
60
Our predictor Importance of Specialty Menu Options was also a relatively
important factor in a student’s choice of coffee venue. The article in the Spartanburg
Herald coincides with this result, as the article details how a coffee house, which targets
college students, offers unique and specialty menu options to successfully attract students
(2008). While the Importance of Specialty Menu Options was only moderately important
to students, it directly correlated with a student’s choice to purchase coffee at City
Convenience, making it an important factor in choosing a coffee venue.
Our predictor Importance of Coupon Promotion was of neutral importance to a
student’s choice of coffee venue. This result is slightly inconsistent with Taylor and
Long-Tolbert’s study, which indicated that coupons enticed customers to purchase items
or a larger number of items due to promotional incentives (2002). This predictor was
directly correlated to a student’s choice to purchase coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, making it
important for choice of coffee venue. Our predictor Importance of Loyalty Cards was
also proven moderately important to students, but had no correlation to a student’s choice
of a particular coffee venue.
Our predictor Attitude Toward Posted Nutritional Information was moderately
important to a student’s decision to choose a particular coffee venue. This is consistent
with Freedman and Connors’ study, which indicates the high influence of nutritional
information on college students’ choices regarding food and beverages (2011).
Through our research, we also found that the predictor Attitude Toward Store
Employees had a moderately high level of importance for students when choosing a
coffee venue. This is consistent with the article we mention in our literature review
published in 1996, which indicates that Starbucks’ employees are crucial to their business
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
61
(Anonymous, 1996).
Our predictor Importance of Unique Menu Options turned out to be of neutral
importance for a student when he or she chooses a specific coffee venue. This is
inconsistent with the article from our literature review about how a South Carolina coffee
shop uses unique sandwiches and muffins to attract customers (Brow, 2008). Apparently
only the specialty beverage items were deemed important to student respondents.
Our last predictor Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility proved to be of
neutral importance to students. This is inconsistent with Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterckx
and Mielants’ study, which indicated that consumers view the ethical value of a product
as very important, especially in the coffee industry (2005). It is also inconsistent with
Wintrich and Barone’s study about the high effectiveness of corporations using donationbased products.
Summary
Dunkin’ Donuts does not have as large of a presence on Boston University’s
campus as its main competitor, Starbucks, and has nearly the same percentage of
customers as another competitor, City Convenience. Starbucks has about 1/4 the number
of student customers as Dunkin’ Donuts and City Convenience, according to our survey
results. We found through our survey that the majority of students were not likely to
switch coffee venues in the next six months.
Our correlation results indicated that students view coffee shop location as
important, which is why many students choose to purchase coffee at Starbucks. The
predictor Importance of Atmosphere was also important, but had an inverse relationship
with students who purchase coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, indicating that students were not
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
62
likely to choose Dunkin’ Donuts based on its atmosphere. This represents a potential area
of growth for Dunkin’ Donuts. Additionally, our predictor, Importance of Coupon
Promotions, was important, not so much based on the survey findings but in correlation
to a student’s choice to purchase coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts based on coupon promotions.
The last predictor we looked at was Importance of Specialty Beverage Options, which
was only relatively important to students based on the survey, but had a strong correlation
to a student’s choice to purchase coffee at City Convenience. While other factors were
relatively important, these four had the strongest correlations with students’ choices to
purchase coffee at particular coffee venues.
X. Conclusions and Recommendations
Recommendations
Our research from this study indicates that while Dunkin’ Donuts has a moderate
student consumer base, it is far behind its largest competition, Starbucks. While the
majority of students we surveyed said they would not be likely to switch coffee venues in
the next six months, we have developed several recommendations that could attract new
student customers.
From our study, we found that a main draw to Starbucks is location. Therefore, if
Dunkin’ Donuts becomes more convenient for students, we believe Dunkin’ Donuts can
attract more customers that usually purchase coffee at Starbucks. Also, we can attract
City Convenience’s customers, who purchase coffee based on specialty beverage options,
by offering unique, specialty beverage options at Dunkin’ Donuts.
Our research also indicated a correlation between coupon promotions and the
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
63
tendency for respondents to purchase coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. By continuing to provide
coupon promotions, Dunkin’ Donuts can also retain its current customers. Additionally,
the inverse correlation between Dunkin’ Donuts and atmosphere indicates that college
students do not go to Dunkin’ Donuts if they want a good atmosphere. Therefore, we
believe that if Dunkin’ Donuts alters the store atmosphere, including design (which was
important to 62% of students) and overall ambience, they can attract new customers.
Additionally, we came across several areas that we will recommend for further
study.
Atmosphere: After compiling our survey results, we found an inverse
relationship between store atmosphere and Dunkin’ Donuts, which indicates that students
who are looking for a coffee venue with a good atmosphere will not choose Dunkin’
Donuts. Therefore, if Dunkin’ Donuts revamps its atmosphere, it is likely to attract more
customers. This is why we have several recommendations involving store atmosphere.
Currently, Dunkin’ Donuts does not offer a sit-down coffee shop atmosphere. It is
focused on getting customers in and out quickly, with few places to sit and enjoy coffee
and food. According to Walsh, Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou and Beatty’s research,
atmosphere is directly connected with customer satisfaction and retaining loyal customers
(2011). Atmosphere as a whole includes ambience, cleanliness and store design (which
we tested, and found was important to 62% of students).
With these research results, as well as past research, we decided on the following
four recommendations to increase Dunkin’ Donuts’ base of student customers. First, we
recommend altering Dunkin’ Donuts’ interior design to have a retro, 1950’s theme that
resembles the original Dunkin’ Donuts interior. By redeveloping the Dunkin’ Donuts
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
64
stores and creating excitement surrounding a new Dunkin’ Donuts look, Dunkin’ Donuts
will gain media publicity, as well as draw in new customers excited about the 1950’s
theme. This will give the Dunkin’ Donuts stores a better overall setting where customers
will want to sit and soak in the retro theme and designs.
We also recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts provide comfortable seating for
students. Waxman found that one of the most important parts of a coffee shop’s
atmosphere is comfortable seating (2006). With comfortable seating, students will most
likely frequent Dunkin’ Donuts, as well as stay there after they purchase a beverage or
meal. When students need to study for classes, they tend to go where they are able to sit
and study for an extended time period. If Dunkin’ Donuts offers more comfortable
seating, students will be more likely to choose Dunkin’ Donuts as their coffee venue, and
purchase Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and food.
In addition to providing students with better seating in order for them to choose
Dunkin’ Donuts and stay there, we recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts promote the fact that
each store is equipped with Wi-Fi. This will help the overall Dunkin’ Donuts goals of
gaining a larger student customer base by offering an atmosphere conducive to studying,
especially with Wi-Fi for customers.
To further promote the studying atmosphere, we recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts
installs outlets or charging stations, for laptops and mobile devices, near tables and
booths. This will attract student customers who need to charge their laptops while they
study and complete school assignments.
As Walsh, Shiu, Hassan, Michaelidou and Beatty found in their research, if a
coffee shop has a better overall atmosphere, customers are more likely to be satisfied and
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
65
willing to come back (2011). If Dunkin’ Donuts combines a new, exciting retro store
design with a student focus, they will gain new student customers.
Coupon Promotions: Our research also indicated that coupon promotions are
directly and strongly correlated with students choosing to purchase Dunkin’ Donuts. It
had a direct correlation with a student’s choice to purchase coffee specifically at Dunkin’
Donuts versus one of their competitors. Dunkin’ Donuts should continue to draw in
customers by using new coupon promotions. According to Taylor and Long-Tolbert’s
research, coupons entice customers to purchase new items or purchase more items due to
promotions (2002). Currently, Dunkin’ Donuts sends coupons in the mail to customers.
We recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts develop new coupon promotions to attract student
customers.
One recommendation for Dunkin’ Donuts with regard to coupon promotions is to
develop universal coupons redeemable at all franchise store locations. Since Dunkin’
Donuts stores are franchised, often coupons only work at certain stores. But, if Dunkin’
Donuts develops coupons that can be redeemed at all stores, it will be easier for
customers, including student customers, to use coupons. They will also be more likely to
use coupons if they can be redeemed at the most convenient store, especially when there
is a time concern.
We also recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts have a representative dress as a
recognizable seasonal character to represent a seasonal beverage (i.e., the pumpkin from
Pumpkin Spice coffee), and hand out coupons on BU’s campus for the particular
specialty beverage. Using representatives as seasonal characters will promote the
products as well as create excitement surrounding seasonal beverages, which our research
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
66
showed was an important indicator for students choosing coffee venues. Additionally,
having the representative hand out coupons for seasonal beverages will entice students to
try new beverages. As Taylor and Long-Tolbert discovered, coupons will make students
more wiling to try new beverages (2002).
Similar to the previous recommendation, we also recommend that Dunkin’
Donuts have a representative distribute coupons on college campuses twice per month.
These coupons will make students more likely to try Dunkin’ Donuts, especially the
discounted menu items, and will develop new, brand-loyal student customers. Handing
out coupons directly on college campuses will also directly reach our target student
audience.
We also recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts create a mobile application entitled
“DDU” (Dunkin’ Donuts University) for students to download on mobile phones and
tablets. The app will include exclusive student offers, to further entice students to choose
Dunkin’ Donuts as their preferred coffee venue. The app will also have the capability to
register and store scanned QR codes from Dunkin’ Donuts coupons distributed by
representatives or featured in local advertisements. The DDU app will store all coupons
in one place so students have to use their mobile devices for discounts instead of keeping
track of paper coupons. Offering a simple way to use coupons will further entice students
to engage in using coupons and purchasing coffee and food from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Our last coupon promotion recommendation is that stores offer scratch-off
coupons for point of purchase discounts in on-campus Dunkin’ Donuts stores. We
recommend that as students check out and pay for their orders, they receive scratch-off
coupon tickets that they can use for future purchases. These scratch-off tickets will also
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
67
have QR codes that students can scan and store in the DDU app, to use at their
convenience. This will entice students to return to a local store to use their coupon. As
Taylor and Long-Tolbert (2011) suggest, it will also make students more willing to try
new products, therefore building the Dunkin’ Donuts student customer base.
Specialty Beverage Options: Through our research, our team found that survey
respondents look specifically for specialty beverage options when choosing a coffee
venue. These tend to include menu items such as seasonal drinks and non-coffee
beverage options. We developed six recommendations based on this research.
Based on the premise of Dunkin’ Donuts’ current “Chance for StarDDom”
contest promotion, our team recommends Dunkin’ Donuts host a contest entitled “Design
your DDrink,” where participants design a specialty drink of their own creation with an
opportunity for the most creative or popular entry to be sold in Dunkin’ Donuts stores
across the country. We suggest that this contest be primarily promoted through social
media to reach our targeted audience of college students.
We also recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts allocate a percentage of their corporate
marketing budget toward creating television commercials to promote popular seasonal
beverages. These commercials will raise awareness and create excitement among
customers and potential customers about new flavors that are only available for a limited
amount of time.
With the increasing popularity of single-serve coffee home-brewing machines and
the convenience of buying coffee in larger quantities for groups, our team recommends
that Dunkin’ Donuts offer their seasonal flavors in K-cups for home brewing and “Box
o’Joe” for larger groups. Currently, only basic flavors of Dunkin’ Donuts coffees are
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
68
offered in these ways, but we believe offering a variety of favors, as well as limited-timeonly and seasonal flavors, will bring in new customers as well as drive sales of the
already popular “Box o’Joe” and K-cup options. For the home brewer without the singleserve machine, it will be beneficial for Dunkin’ Donuts to offer their seasonal and
limited-time-only flavors in 24 oz. big bags of loose grounds for conventional, home
coffee brewers.
Through our research, our team found that not all college students drink coffee on
a daily basis. We believe it will be beneficial for Dunkin’ Donuts to expand their
selection of non-caffeinated beverage and tea options. This includes seasonal flavors for
iced and hot teas, smoothies, hot chocolates, and ciders. In doing so, Dunkin’ Donuts will
attract the non-coffee drinking population.
Location: Our team found that store location, with regard to proximity to busy
student areas on campus, is very important. We have come up with five recommendations
to remedy this concern. First, our team recommends that Dunkin’ Donuts open more
stores on or near the Boston University campus, including class buildings, the student
union, libraries, and dorms. According to our own research, more students prefer
Starbucks because of its proximity to regularly visited student areas on campus. In order
to compete with Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts needs to open more locations on and near
BU’s campus. Currently, there is only one Dunkin’ Donuts store located inside the Buick
Street Market, which is just off of Commonwealth Avenue at the entrance to the Student
Village residences.
Although our recommendations do not include lower prices, and Dunkin’ Donuts’
products are already more reasonably priced compared to competitors, the study by
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
69
Halliday and McCarther (2005) shows the importance of placing Dunkin’ Donuts in
proximity to the specific customer group it is trying to reach. In the study, Dunkin’
Donuts opened stores in traditionally blue-collar communities to attract customers with
lower priced items. The same principle applies to student populations as well.
In instances where it is not possible to open new physical Dunkin’ Donuts stores
inside of buildings with high student traffic, our team recommends that Dunkin’ Donuts
launch a series of food truck services. This will make it possible to park close to the high
traffic areas and add convenience for students walking to and from class, the library,
and/or dorms. The added convenience, and quick service, that a food truck provides will
attract students to visit existing Dunkin’ Donuts store locations. Shae’s research supports
the idea of food cart services with regard to on-campus purchase convenience,
specifically of food and beverage items (2005).
To increase convenience and give students better accessibility to existing Dunkin’
Donuts locations, our team recommends that Dunkin’ Donuts work with universities and
schools to be included on campus maps and mobile application maps. This will allow
students to easily find the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts location using readily available
resources. In addition to presence on existing university mobile applications, our team
recommends adding a store locator to the above-mentioned “DDU” application, to allow
students to find the closest Dunkin’ Donuts store locations both on and off campus.
Recommendations for further study
Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: Although our study tested attitudes
toward corporate social responsibility, it did not specifically test respondents’ attitudes
toward a coffee shop’s charitable contributions or promotion of a social cause,
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
70
involvement with environmentally-friendly practices or promotion of fair trade practices
as separate constructs. Our previous research noted the importance of donation based
purchases with regard to coffee shops (Wintrich and Barone, 2011), as well as the
importance of the ethical value of a product (Pelsmacker, Janssens, Sterckx and Mielants,
2005) and distribution of fair trade information (d’Astous and Mathieu, 2008). Although
our previous research did not focus on environmentally-friendly practices with relevance
to corporate social responsibility, with the growing popularity of the green movement,
our team advises that further research study the importance of these factors to college
students. If people pay more attention to the environment and social causes, their
attitudes toward coffee shops may be different.
Store Employees: Although a majority of respondents in this study felt neutral
toward store employees, a study of Starbucks, the leading industry competitor to Dunkin’
Donuts, showed that people have a great desire to interact with friendly store employees
(Anonymous, 1996). It is important for Dunkin’ Donuts to conduct further research on
the impact of the college student consumer’s attitude toward store employees in relation
to their choice of coffee venue. We believe that future studies should concentrate on the
effects of high quality of service, employee friendliness and knowledge of products and
whether or not these factors actually affect where a student chooses to purchase coffee.
Loyalty Card Programs: Our study only touched upon the importance of coffee
shop loyalty card programs. Further research could be done to study different types of
loyalty card programs, and college students’ preferences in terms of program offerings.
Past studies, such as Bainbridge, 2011, indicate that loyalty card programs are a coffee
industry norm and have an effect on a consumer’s choice to purchase coffee at a
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
71
particular venue.
Nutritional Information: Although our study only touched upon the importance
of attitude toward nutrition labels, the results of our survey indicated a potential factor for
further research. As there was no direct correlation between a college student’s choice to
purchase coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts with regard to nutritional information, a majority
of survey respondents said they found nutritional information at least somewhat
important. Recent studies, such as Luo, 2010 and Freedman and Connors, 2011 indicate
that display of nutritional information and healthy menu options have growing effect on a
consumer’s choice to purchase coffee at a particular venue. Our research team
recommends that future studies investigate the importance of nutrition labels, calorie
content and healthy menu options with regard to students’ choices to purchase coffee
from particular coffee venues.
Menu Variety: Our study did not test respondents’ desires for menu variation with
respect to their choice of where to purchase coffee. Previous research noted the
importance of menu variation in consumers’ choices of where to purchase coffee (Nemes,
2002). Our research group recommends that further research examine the importance of
menu variation with regard to college students’ coffee purchasing habits as specialty
beverage options, a specific category of menu items, had a direct correlation with a
college student’s choice to purchase coffee from a particular coffee venue.
Scent: Our study did not test respondents’ attitudes toward scents in relation to
their choices to purchase coffee from particular coffee venues because of the direct
relation of scent to subconscious choice to purchase coffee. Previous research noted the
importance of scent with regard to the purchasing habits of food and beverage consumers
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Student Coffee Venue Preferences
(Bradford and Desrochers, 2009). Since college students would not be able to
consciously indicate their awareness of food and beverage scents in relation to coffee
purchases, it would be important for Dunkin’ Donuts to further study the effect of the
scent of food and beverage items on college students’ choices to purchase coffee at a
particular coffee venue using experimental methods.
Entertainment: Our study did not test the importance of entertainment with
regard to respondents’ choices to purchase coffee from a particular coffee venue.
Previous research, studies such as Nemes, 2002, and articles like the one in our literature
review published in 2003, note the importance of new music and entertainment offerings
at coffee venues with regard to the coffee purchasing habits of college students. We
recommend that Dunkin’ Donuts further study the importance of entertainment with
regard to a student’s choice to purchase coffee from a particular coffee venue.
Table 6A: Recommendations
MAJOR INFLUENCER
Atmosphere
RECOMMENDATIONS




Coupons



Alter Dunkin’ Donuts’ interior to have
a retro 1950’s theme that resembles
the original Dunkin’ Donuts interior
Provide comfortable seating for
students
Promote Wi-Fi in Dunkin’ Donuts
stores
Install outlet plugs or charging stations
near tables and booths
Develop universal coupons to be
redeemed at all franchise store
locations
Distribute coupons in college student
orientation packets
Have Dunkin’ Donuts representative
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Student Coffee Venue Preferences



Specialty Beverage Options






Location





dress as a recognizable seasonal
character to advertise seasonal drinks
and hand out coupons for seasonal
beverages
Distribute coupons personally to
students on college campuses two
times per month
Create a mobile application entitled
“DDU” for college students to offer
exclusive coupons, and coupons via
QR codes
Offer scratch-off coupons for point of
purchase discounts in on-campus
Dunkin’ Donuts stores
Host a contest entitled “Design your
DDrink” via social media
Allocate marketing budget to create
commercials for seasonal beverages
Offer “Box o’ Joe” coffee in seasonal
flavors
Create K-cups in seasonal flavors
Offer 24 oz. big bag coffees in
seasonal flavors
Offer specialty beverage options for
non-caffeinated beverages and teas
Open Dunkin’ Donuts stores on or
near Boston University campus
buildings including class buildings,
student union, library, dorm buildings
Launch food truck services
Work with schools to get on campus
maps and mobile applications
Specifically place Dunkin’ Donuts
promotional materials in and around
locations of closest proximity to the
Dunkin’ Donuts stores
Add a Dunkin’ Donuts locator to
“DDU” mobile application for
students to locate the closest Dunkin’
Donuts store
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
74
XI. Assessment
Measures
After conducting our literature review and evaluating the most important predictors
that influence coffee purchasing behavior, we compiled our list of the top ten predictors.
After this we used the Marketing Scales Handbook to find measures for our predictors.
The Marketing Scales Handbook only had suitable predictors for Attitude Toward Store
Design and Importance of Atmosphere that fit within these predictors’ constructs.
Because of this, we decided to create our own measures to correspond with the remaining
predictors. Using Cronbach’s alpha, we found that our measures were all very reliable
(.70 or greater). None of our measures were unreliable.
We were restrained in our survey due to time and resources, so we were only able
to explore the top ten predictors we found to be most prevalent in previous research. With
more time and resources, we would have liked to test attitudes toward other predictors we
found less prevalent in our background research, including scents, menu variety and
entertainment.
Since all of our measures proved to be reliable, we are confident in the results we
generated from our survey.
Instrument
We used a 35-measure self-report survey, with three demographic questions and
three single-item questions to give us a background on where students currently
purchased their coffee, and whether or not they would be likely to switch coffee venues.
We sampled students entering the George Sherman Union on November 3, 2011 from
2:30pm to 4:00pm and November 8, 2011 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Since students
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75
were in a rush to and from class, and in between eating lunch and class, we may have
gotten hurried responses with imperfect responses to certain measures.
We constructed the survey in sections, with the instructions for each section
directly above the measures, so the repondents could understand how to complete the
survey. This ensured the students knew what they were being asked at all times and
would not mark an unintentional answer, except for the restrictions such as hurried
students listed above. We used an easy-to-read, reasonably-sized font with enough
spacing to make the measures clear and readable. We had no more than five measures per
section.
Our largest problem involved the fill in the blank “other” section, which was listed
under “at which coffee shops do you currently purchase coffee” and “If you were to make
a decision about purchasing coffee from a shop today, how likely would you be to
purchase coffee at each of the following?” with a blank to fill in the particular name of
the coffee venue. Our problem was that many did not fill that section in, and others filled
in a wide array of responses, including the most interesting, “wa-wa” which is not even a
coffee venue. We ended up disregarding the “other” section and focusing on our three
main coffee venues, Dunkin’ Donuts, City Convenience and Starbucks.
Methodology
Due to time and resource limitations, we were unable to get more than 100 surveys
completed, which may have been why we had a larger majority of females than males, or
a majority of 19-20 year-old students. Had we been able to survey more students, we may
have been able to collect more general results relating to all college students, not just the
demographics we surveyed. Had we handed out the survey in places other than the GSU,
Student Coffee Venue Preferences
76
where a majority of freshmen and sophomore students use their meal plans, we may have
gotten a wider variation of respondent demographics.
Had we performed focus groups before creating the survey, we may have been able
to get a better idea of where students tend to purchase coffee on BU’s campus. Our
literature review indicated that Dunkin’ Donuts’ largest competition was Starbucks, but
had we talked one-on-one with students, we may have learned about other coffee venues
that attract student consumers that we did not propose in our study. We also could have
used focus groups to learn what students value as important when choosing coffee
venues, and then tested those findings in our survey. If we were to perform our research
over again, we would conduct a focus group prior to the survey in order to test all
possible factors that influence a college student’s decision to choose a specific coffee
venue.
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Student Coffee Venue Preferences
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