Introduction
“Nothing good comes easy” is a common saying that is used in almost every speech. Japadog can actually attest to this, having grown from a simple food stand to a cross national store. This success may be attributed to various factors which will be discussed later. Japadog therefore is the main focus in this paper, which examines how the environment and consumer behaviour affects Japadog’s operations.
Company Description
As the name suggests, Japadog literally means Japanese hotdogs. This is because compared with the regular hotdog, and in comparison with the common condiments known to Americans, the Japadog hotdogs are made using Japanese condiments.
Japadog kicked off in Vancouver and solely sells hotdogs. It was established by Japanese descents. In a city like the BC which is largely multiracial, the Japanese hotdogs adds to variety. This is beneficial to Vancouver as the diversified needs of the customers are met. As earlier mentioned, Japadog started out as a small cart vendor and has now grown to join the league of successful mobile food vendors.
Demographic
Food street vending is a common phenomenon in Vancouver due to its wide sidewalks. The food street vending business is large enough and entails an array of products ranging from fruits, hotdogs, and roast chestnuts.
More and more street vending businesses are being encouraged meaning more and more hotdog business stands will be set up. Initially, it was difficult for the Japadog business to gain recognition and essence in America but currently, it is a people’s favourite joint with long queues.
According to the Vancouver Economic Development Commission (2009), Vancouver downtown has over 50,000 daytime employees. The whole of downtown peninsula has around 145,000 employees. The fact that Vancouver downtown is still developing and growing, more people are presumed to move here. Therefore, the demand for hotdogs is likely to increase and so is business.
Socio-cultural
Hotdog is a socially and culturally accepted snack in the American world. Therefore, the Japadog faces less resistance. The Japadog hotdogs however are an improved version of the commonly known regular hotdog, since Japanese ingredients have been incorporated. All the same, the regular hotdog without Japanese toppings is still reserved and can be provided upon request. The predominant people are English-speaking (Vancouver Economic Development Commission, 2009).
This is bound to have a mixed effect on the Japadog because some may like the hotdogs, others may not and others may just be okay with it. The Japanese ingredients differ from the American ones and this may affect the taste perception as well as a person’s future desire to buy from Japadog.
Competitive
In addition to selling regular hotdogs, Japadog made an improvement on this hotdog using Japanese ingredients. This was a commendable innovation that sought to create a varied taste.
Just like in any beginning business, the perception at first was not so good but time has changed all that. The addition of Japanese ingredients became an intriguing factor for most of the customers and as they continued to love it, more and more people started lining up to get a taste of the Japadog hotdogs.
The major competitors of Japadog like dougiedog also offer a bewildering array of condiments that the Americans are more familiar with, and they have freshly prepared or delivered buns. The dougiedog hotdog vendors use condiments favourable to the Americans to innovate their hotdogs. In addition, they make personal deliveries.
Technological
E-commerce is something that Japadog could incorporate into its business owing to the fact that it has its own website. Doing e-commerce therefore would be much easier. This would help to minimise the long queues since it would include direct delivery to customers. In addition, this would give all people from within Vancouver the chance to access the Japadog delicacies. Japadog would greatly benefit since its customer base as well as its sales would increase.
Economic Situation
According to British Columbia statistics (2012), the economy of BC is not expected to grow rapidly. Future growth is forecasted at 2.8% compared with 2012’s 3%. The overall unemployment rate has been shown to rise to 7%. This could be attributed to the growing population in the area.
Regardless of this growing population, a commensurate rise in unemployment is not promising for Japadog. This is because if more people are unemployed, then it means that the dependency level goes high and the hotdog business may be negatively affected.
Regulatory
Vancouver embraces and appreciates diversity in food. Therefore, the innovation of the Japanese hotdogs was a plus not only for the Japadog business but for the community as well. The integration of the Japanese culture into the American was a distinct example of appreciation among cultures. In addition, the Japadog business contributes to attainment of food security in the region (Vancouver Food Policy Council, 2007).
Influences on Consumer Behaviour
Psychological
The pleasure and satisfaction derived from eating the Japanese hotdogs are some major factors that influence consumer behaviour. The euphoria of the senses like taste influences the consumer into going back to Japadog to buy more of the Japanese hotdogs.
The consumer who does not derive any pleasure by eating the Japanese hotdogs will not go back again to buy them. Pleasure and euphoria greatly determine the liking of a product. In addition, they are greatly interlinked with the other psychological factor: satisfaction.
When one is happy or derives pleasure in something, they will most likely be psychologically content.
Therefore, the psychological satisfaction that one derives upon eating the Japanese hotdogs prompts them to go back to the stand again and again. The converse is also true.
A consumer will buy a hotdog out of a need, and the feelings will come into play. These feelings are mainly governed by one’s beliefs and attitudes.
One’s beliefs and attitudes towards Japadog will influence the consumer to buy or not buy these Japanese hotdogs.
Socio-Cultural
Class
One’s social cadre in society greatly influences their purchasing power. The middle and high class people are likely to buy less affordable delicacies such as hotdogs irrespective of the condiments compared with the low class people. The British Columbia statistics show that more people lack jobs hence, more people lack the purchasing power. This being the case, it means less business for Japadog.
Buyer Culture
The buyer culture greatly influences the purchasing power of the consumers. In Vancouver for example, there is a positive attitude towards other cultures therefore the buyer culture here is very open-minded. Such a culture has a positive influence on consumer behaviour because buyers are not restricted from buying from certain vendors. Buyer cultures which are confined to their own culture will not likely buy from other cultures.
This is the case with organizational culture. In an organization that mainly orders Japadog’s hotdogs as their snack meals, new employees will be influenced to eat from Japadog. This has a positive influence on Japadog since more customers means a larger market base.
Networking and Peer Influence
When a peer or some other person starts talking of how the Japanese hotdogs are tasty, the people listening to this may tend to try these hotdogs out. Some consumers greatly rely on what their friends tell them about a particular product. In addition, when people are in a crowd they tend to influence one another to buy a particular product. A large crowd means more business compared with a small crowd.
Situational
When one is in a certain place and they are really hungry, they will go to the nearest food vendor. It also happens when people are in a certain social place since they have to buy from the food vendor who is right next to them.
Another situational factor is when one is going about their business and the sweet aroma of a food really catches their attention, regardless of whether they are hungry or not. If they were just passing and there were no sweet aroma, then their interest would not be piqued and they would not have to buy the food delicacy.
Also, large queues influence consumer behaviour. This is because long queues are associated with popularity thus when a certain shop is crowded, the notion created is that it has the best products or offers affordable services. Therefore, a person will choose to make a queue compared with buying from a shop with less customers crowding around it. The effect derived from these situational factors is positive but minimal.
References
BritishColumbia. (2011). Economic Indicators. Web.
Vancouver Economic Development Commission. (2009). Downtown Vancouver (DVBIA): Neighbourhood profile. Web.
Vancouver Food Policy Council. (2007). Vancouver food charter: context and background. Web.