Analysis of the category of coffee in retail chains Konzum, Spar and Lidl – Consumer Decision Tree method : Graduate paper

U radu je prikazana važnost upravljanja kategorijama proizvoda unutar maloprodajnih lanaca. Najbitnija stavka je kako prezentirati proizvod, koliki prostor na policama dodijeliti određenom brandu te na koji način promovirati proizvode. Bitno je naučiti i shvatiti na koji način utjecati na potrošače/kupce da se probudi želja za kupnjom određenog proizvoda. Izuzetno bitan je također i odnos između maloprodavača i dobavljača odnosno proizvođača. Ono što se ovakvim načinom želi postići je privući pažnju kupaca kao i ostvariti s njima komunikaciju putem različitih promotivnih aktivnosti. Na ovaj način postiže se bolja konkurentska prednost te je proizvod bliži kupcima u odnosu na druge konkurentske proizvode. Kava je proizvod koji većina ljudi konzumira svakoga dana, barem jednom dnevno. Na neki je način ispijanje kave opuštanje. Stoga je unutar ove kategorije izrazito velika konkurencija kako brandova tako i privatnih marki koje lansiraju maloprodajni lanci. Potrošači imaju veliku naviku kupnje i konzumiranja kave na dnevnoj bazi, što dovodi do toga da se proizvođači konstantno moraju truditi i inovirati svoje proizvode kako bi ostvarili važnu konkurentsku prednost. U radu su analizirani maloprodajni lanci Konzum, Spar i Lidl. Za svaki maloprodajni lanac napravljena je detaljna analiza kada je riječ o kategoriji kave. Analizirane su police, koliko je mjesta i lica dodijeljeno kojemu proizvodu, cijene proizvoda te ponudu veličine pakiranja. Na temelju dobivenih podataka koji su prikupljeni odlaskom u prodavaonice i promatranjem napravljena je usporedba promatranih maloprodajnih lanaca. Usporedba se odnosi na cijene proizvoda unutar promatranih maloprodajnih lanaca, ponudu količine i pakiranja proizvoda te promocijske aktivnosti svakog promatranog maloprodajnog lanca, Proveden je i online anketni upitnik na temelju kojega su se prikupili podaci o preferencijama potrošača unutar kategorije. Ispitivalo se koliko često konzumiraju kavu te koju vrstu kave, u kojemu maloprodajnom lancu najčešće kupuju kavu te što najviše utječe na njihove odluke prilikom kupnje proizvoda.The paper presents the importance of managing product categories within retail chains. The most important item is how to present the product, how much shelf space to allocate to a particular brand, and how to promote the products. It is important to learn and understand how to influence consumers/customers to awaken the desire to buy a particular product. The relationship between retailers and suppliers or manufacturers is also extremely important. What is to be achieved in this way is to attract the attention of customers as well as to communicate with them through various promotional activities. In this way, a better competitive advantage is achieved and the product is closer to customers compared to other competing products. Coffee is a product that most people consume every day, at least once a day. In a way, drinking coffee is relaxing. Therefore, within this category, there is extremely high competition from both brands and private labels launched by retail chains. Consumers have a great habit of buying and consuming coffee daily, which leads to producers having to constantly strive and innovate their products to achieve an important competitive advantage. The paper analyzes the retail chains Konzum, Spar, and Lidl. A detailed analysis was made for each retail chain when it comes to the coffee category. Shelves were analyzed, how many seats and persons were allocated to whom, product prices, and the offer of package size. Based on the obtained data collected by going to stores and observation, a comparison of the observed retail chains was made. The comparison refers to the prices of products within the observed retail chains, the offer of quantity and packaging of products and promotional activities of each observed retail chain, An online survey questionnaire was also conducted, based on which data on consumer preferences within the category were collected. Examined how often they consume coffee and what type of coffee. In which retail chain do they most often buy coffee and what influences their decisions the most when buying products