Methodology

The market research was made in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador during the
month of March 2016. To carry out the market research three tools were
employed for a quantitative and qualitative research. For a quantitative
research, 200 surveys were made in Google Forms, to register the data
digitally and improve the effectiveness in the completion of the surveys by
different age groups. For this tool, it was chosen a demographic starting
from 18 years old and who had a previous supermarket shopping
experience. In this survey eleven questions were asked, concerning the age
group, gender, income level, and habits in the practice of supermarket
shopping.
The second tool for market research was the practice of two focus groups. In
these focus groups the market research was looking for qualitative results
and discussion related to the physical supermarket shopping experience.
The first focus group was made in the UEES library with the participation of
eight people of a demographic group from ages 20-27 years old. Taking in
consideration that the main shoppers in the supermarket industry tend to be
of a higher age, the second focus group was made with participants from
ages 30 and higher. The second focus group was organized in the food court
of a shopping mall, Mall del Sol, where a group of eight participants
accepted to help in the research. The focus group consisted in a moderator,
an assistant moderator, a cameramen and the participants. In each focus
group a set of twelve questions were asked concerning their experience in
the conventional supermarket shopping, and opinions related to a new
service from smartphones for supermarket shopping.
The third tool employed in this market research consisted of two interviews
to experts in the field. For the first interviewer, it would be necessary an
interview to an expert in systems and digital applications. It was organized
an interview with the UEES Faculty of Telecommunications and Electronics
Systems teacher Loana Lema to give her expert opinion of the current
market and the feasibility of creating a supermarket app. For the next
interview, it was chosen an expert in the supermarket industry to give
details related to the market and an opinion for the MiCanasta app. The
interview was made with Christian Santillan, a general manager of a Mi
Comisariato branch supermarket.
To compile information related to the retailing industry in the country, it was
consulted the website Passport from the international organization
Euromonitor International.

Focus Group 1 Results

The first focus group was made in the UEES library with eight participants
with an age range from 20 to 27 years old. For the first question, it was
known that every participant had a smartphone which they use throughout
their daily routines. The participants had different opinions whether they like
to go supermarket shopping or not. While they like to go to shop at
supermarkets, some claimed that the worst part of going to a supermarket

is doing long waiting lines to pay for their groceries. Also some claim that
they do not like going on Sundays because it is the day when most people
usually do groceries shopping, as they take advantage of their free time. In
the other hand, they claimed that the positive aspects of doing supermarket
shopping was choosing from a variety of products and claim they like to do
spontaneous shopping.
The group knew what QR codes are and indicated clearly the use of this tool,
such as helping to identify items and provide an easy access to information.
When asked about if they have done online shopping, only three had done
so; however, most of the participants consider that online shopping is
trustworthy and theres little risk of being hacked thanks to the advances in
internet security, both outside and inside the country. They claimed that
doing shopping through a mobile application would be as well trustworthy.
Participants were asked about how a supermarket smartphone application
would be successful. They claimed that in order to be successful the
application should be specific when portraying each product, by showing
details such as product features, size, expire date. Some participants claim
that it must be considered that one of the representative groups would be
housewives and whether they use the application or not would depend the
success of it.
They were asked their opinion regarding the delivery methods and how
much they would pay for it. The participants claimed that the delivery rate
must be proportional to the distance. While some defined the cost on
average 2 dollars, based on the service provided by Nelson, others claim
that they would pay more if the distance is large. They do not realize that
the service is not provided by large grocery stores. Finally, they think that
should be asked by all payment options, cash, via app, or credit card.
Among the options to be included is that the service be paid before delivery,
but also at-the-door payment to verify that all products arrived as they want
to.

Focus Group 2 Results

The second focus group was made in Mall del Sol, a shopping mall that
includes a supermarket from a positioned company in the Ecuadorian
market. The second group included eight participants, most of them from
ages 30 and higher years old, and most participants were married and have
kids. The income level of most of the participants were low to medium.
While some did not have a smartphone, those that did use frequently apps
of social networks such as Facebook and messaging such as WhatsApp. The
participants claimed that they like to go shopping directly to the
supermarket since they have the option of choosing their groceries and
know about special offers of available products.
In this group most of them do not knew what the QR codes were, but those
who knew about them had use them before and consider them useful to
access links. The worst moment they consider of doing shopping at
supermarkets are the waiting line. Participants usually have a preliminary

list of the items they will buy, which saves them time. Upon hearing about
the possibility of making purchases that are delivered at home, said that
they would not change the purchases made at supermarkets, rather they
would consider it for situations where you do not have time. They consider
the supermarket app idea as a good one, since they claim that could use the
time of shopping for other leisure activities.

Recommendations
Based on the results from the focus groups it is recommended that the
MiCanasta app give the most details for each of the products that will offer
and to show special offers right from the app. This recommendation would
be useful to replace the experience of shopping in a supermarket, but
turning it in a simpler and easier experience right from a smartphone.
Following the results, it is recommended that further focus groups for the
project be organized based on different demographics such as one designed
especially for housewives, to gather information, such as how they would be
encouraged to use an app of this kind. Another focus group can be practiced
once the application begins to be designed in order to gather opinions and
preferences regarding the user interface.

Conclusions
Following the results from the focus group, there is a feasible project in the
creation of the supermarket app. By using this tool, the market research has
provided insights of how the application must be designed to provide the full
supermarket experience right from the app. Much of the application
attraction can be determined by the provision of information such as offers,
product features, specifications and other details. While the population of
consumers aged 50 and up could present more difficulties in replacing
traditional supermarket shopping, there is a potential segment from younger
consumers that could be attracted in using the MiCanasta application.