1.3.5 Understanding the Consumer — Practice Questions

Six original multiple-choice questions on understanding the consumer: primary and secondary research, quantitative and qualitative data, sampling, bias and segmentation.

6 questions Edexcel B A-Level Multiple choice Model answers included

Not read the notes yet? Start with the 1.3.5 Understanding the Consumer revision notes.

1. 1. A business owner carries out the four pieces of research in Table 1 before opening a dog day-care centre.
   Using Table 1, the research that is both primary and qualitative is

   Data interpretation

   Table 1: Research for a planned dog day-care centre

   	What the owner does
   Activity 1	Reads official figures on how many households in the town own a dog
   Activity 2	Holds long one-to-one interviews with six dog owners about what worries them when they leave their dog
   Activity 3	Runs an online poll asking 300 local dog owners how many days a week they would use day care
   Activity 4	Reads reviews that customers have posted online about rival day-care centres

   Select one answer

   A Activity 1.

   B Activity 2.

   C Activity 3.

   D Activity 4.
   Show model answer

   Answer: B (Activity 2.). Primary research is new information the business collects first-hand for its own purpose. Qualitative data is about opinions, feelings and reasons. The interviews are carried out by the owner for this decision, so they are primary, and they explore what worries owners, so the data is qualitative.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • A — Official figures were collected by someone else, so this is secondary. They are also counts, so the data is quantitative.
   • C — The poll is primary, but it asks how many days, which gives numbers. That is quantitative data.
   • D — Reviews give opinions, so the data is qualitative. But they were written by other people for another purpose, which makes this secondary research.

2. 2. A vegan café posts a survey on its own social media page asking: "Would you buy a vegan sausage roll from us for £3?" Of the 400 people who reply, 85% say yes. The main reason these results may overstate demand is that

   Applied reasoning

   Select one answer

   A The data is qualitative, so it cannot be counted.

   B The question pushes people towards answering yes.

   C The sample is made up of the café's own followers.

   D The survey is secondary research, so it is out of date.
   Show model answer

   Answer: C (The sample is made up of the café's own followers.). This is bias in who is asked. People who follow a vegan café's page already like it, so they are far more likely to want its vegan food than the market as a whole. The sample does not stand for everyone who might buy, so the 85% is likely to be much too high.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • A — A yes-or-no answer can be counted, so the data is quantitative: the 85% comes from counting the yes answers.
   • B — The question is plainly worded and gives a price. It does not lead people towards yes.
   • D — The café ran the survey itself, for its own purpose, so this is primary research, and it is new.

3. 3. A firm planning a padel tennis club surveys 400 of the 20,000 adults in a town, chosen to stand for the whole town. 30 of them say they would definitely join at £40 a month. From past launches, the firm expects only half of those who say "definitely" to actually join. Its estimate of the number of members is

   Calculation

   Select one answer

   A 15

   B 750

   C 1,500

   D 3,000
   Show model answer

   Answer: B (750). Scale the sample up to the town, then allow for the gap between saying and buying.
   Share of the sample who would definitely join: 30 ÷ 400 = 7.5%.
   Across the town: 7.5% × 20,000 = 1,500.
   Only half are expected to join: 1,500 ÷ 2 = 750.
   Saying you would buy something is not the same as buying it, which is why the firm adjusts the survey figure down.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • A — This halves the 30 in the sample but never scales up to the town. The sample is there to stand for all 20,000 adults.
   • C — This scales up correctly but forgets that only half of those who say "definitely" are expected to join.
   • D — This reads 30 people as 30% of the sample, giving 6,000 across the town, and then halves it.

4. 4. Two snack makers test a new crisp flavour. Firm X asks 12 people who work in its own office. Firm Y asks 1,200 shoppers in ten different towns. Comparing the two pieces of research, the best conclusion is that

   Applied reasoning

   Select one answer

   A Firm X's results are more likely to be down to chance.

   B Firm X's research cost more and took longer than Y's.

   C Firm Y's results are certain to be free of bias.

   D Firm Y's results will stay accurate as tastes change.
   Show model answer

   Answer: A (Firm X's results are more likely to be down to chance.). The smaller the sample, the more likely it is that the results are down to chance. Twelve people tell Firm X very little; 1,200 shoppers across ten towns give Firm Y results it can rely on more. Firm X's sample is also only its own staff, which adds bias.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • B — The reverse. A bigger sample costs more and takes longer, so Firm Y's research is the expensive one.
   • C — A large sample reduces the role of chance, but bias can still creep in, for example through how a question is worded or what people say.
   • D — Even good research goes out of date as tastes change. A large sample does not protect against that.

5. 5. A car-wash firm offers an £8 basic wash, a £15 wash and wax, and a £60 full valet, each priced for drivers on a different budget. The basis it is using to segment its market is

   Definition in context

   Select one answer

   A Drivers' age and family size.

   B Where drivers live.

   C How much drivers can spend.

   D Drivers' interests and habits.
   Show model answer

   Answer: C (How much drivers can spend.). The three services are the same kind of product at three very different prices: a basic, a standard and a premium version. That is segmentation by income, designing a product for each level of spending, as supermarkets do with value, standard and premium ranges.

   Why the other options are wrong

   • A — That is demographic segmentation. Nothing about the three services is aimed at drivers of a particular age or family size.
   • B — That is geographic segmentation. All three services are offered at the same car wash.
   • D — That is lifestyle segmentation. The services differ in price and level, not in the interests or values they appeal to.

6. 6. A street survey of 500 people chosen at random across a town asks: "Given how few places in town stay open after 6pm, would you welcome a café that does?" 92% say yes. The bias in this research comes mainly from

   Definition in context

   Select one answer

   A Who was asked.

   B The question's wording.

   C What people said.

   D Who read the results.
   Show model answer

   Answer: B (The question's wording.). The question opens by telling people there is a problem, then asks whether they would "welcome" a fix. That pushes them towards yes. Bias from how the question is worded makes the 92% far higher than a neutral question would give, and "welcome" is not the same as "would pay to use".

   Why the other options are wrong

   • A — The 500 people were chosen at random across the town, which is a sound way to pick a sample.
   • C — People do sometimes give the answer they think is wanted, but here the question itself tells them what that answer is. The wording is the main source.
   • D — Nothing in the stem describes how the results were read or used.