Based on the claims made on the 5 Hour Energy website, the hypothesized characteristics of the people I expect to be buying the product are the age between 14 and 55, male gender prevailing, and most importantly, these are the people that engage in the night time activities or need an extra energy boost for other specific purposes (5-hours Energy, 2016). For instance, these are the students who have to go to the studies after the party. Another group of customers is people that have to stay up at night for the working goals. I estimate that the best sales of this product take place during the early morning hours and the late evening hours. In addition, I assume that people’s choices are highly affected by the marketers’ efforts, and, in fact, the beverage value for the body is greatly exaggerated, whereas potential hazards are concealed. The purpose of this research is to define the components of a 5 Hour Energy drink, to show its positive and negative aspects, define the groups of people that mostly consume it, and describe one typical location where this product is sold.
After hypothesis formulation and company website overview, I went to Walmart to continue my research. The store is located in an urban area in the small town of Moorestown, New Jersey. There are not many stores around. Most people come by a car while some other customers come on foot. The number of people visiting is over 200. The crowd’s demographic characteristics are (1) age between 15 and 60; (2) male visitors are 60%; (3) visitors under the age of 45 are 55%. The investigation mostly carries the character of the time allocation research, as it determines the overall customer’s behavior according to certain time frames.
The 5 Hour Energy shots are placed in the visible area, along with the other energy drinks. I was observing the overall situation for 15 minutes in the early morning at 7 a.m. According to my observation, a few male visitors bought the shot, while some of them even purchased a few shots. The first 5 ingredients of Five-hour Energy are taurine, citicoline, phenylalanine, caffeine, and tyrosine. The three vitamins that the drink contains are B6, B12, and B9. The daily value of these vitamins for an individual varies based on age and gender. This number can range from 0.1 to 1.7 mg. The manufacturers state that the vitamin dosage in the drink is safe (5-hours Energy, 2016). The shot’s weight is equal to 2-ounces. The cost of 1 ounce of the drink is from $1 to $1.5, depending on the retailer margin. As it can be seen on the bottle, the company that produces 5 Hour Energy products claims that their energetic shots are completely safe and cause no health damage. The drink appears to be effective for those who have a complicated and oversaturated schedule. It was proved multiple times that this energy drink significantly increases the level of vitality and activity, even if exhaustion is too strong.
The average 5 Hour Energy shot costs $2.25. It would be reasonable to compare it to other similar energetic drinks. In this respect, Red Bull can be mentioned, which contains caffeine, sugar, taurine, and B-group of vitamins such as B 12. The price for 12 ounces Red Bull is $2.62, and thus for one ounce, it is a little over 20 cents. Red Bull is widely advertised in the mass media. It is renowned as the most popular energy drinks brand all over the world. This fact and the low price make me as well other buyers shift the choice to this product. Besides, Red Bull manufacturers make an emphasis on its super vitamin boost for the body. However, research indicates that the human organism is not capable of processing more than the daily limit of either water- or fat-soluble vitamins, and thus, the extra amount exists the body unused (McCance, Huether, Brashers, & Rote, 2013). Therefore, I come up with the hypothesis that people take so many vitamins only under the influence of outreach in the advertising, but in essence, this huge amount plays no beneficial role for the body.
In conclusion, this observational research project presented me with an opportunity to imagine what stands behind the scholars’ work. I enjoyed observational investigations to study the buyers’ behavior. My hypothesis appeared to be justified by the seen picture. I found that people make their purchasing choices based on the information spread by the marketers, and this information is not always trustworthy and can be misrepresented to formulate the wrong impression on the buyers and affect their consumer behavior. Research indicated that in spite of the positive effects on activity and productivity that could be achieved thanks to the 5 Hour Energy shots, there are unpleasant moments that question the safety of that product. There were many indications of health issues because of the 5 Hour Energy drinks consumption. For people with metabolism and cardiovascular, the amount of caffeine that is present in the shot could be dangerous.
References
5-hours Energy. (2016). Product facts. Web.
McCance, K. L., Huether, S. E., Brashers, V. L., & Rote, N. S. (2013). Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.