1

A Deeper Understanding of
Trader Joes Millennial
Customers
Who Are They, How Does Social Media
Affect Their Purchases and What Could
Draw Them In Store More Often?
Final Report
Prepared For:
Trader Joes Corporation
December 2014

Prepared by:
Ashley Fellows, Julie Gitman, Bryce Lynn, Kyle Tobin and Tara Williams
MarketTools Research Firm

Table of Contents
Executive Summary
04
Introduction
06
Method

07

Results
09
Section One
Overall Demographics
09
Usage Statistics
Usage Statistics: Revenues
12

09

Section Two

13

Limitations

14

Conclusions and Recommendations

15
References

17

Appendices

18

Appendix
19
Appendix
23
Appendix
Appendix
31

A: Data Collection Form

B: Data Tables
C: Codebook
D: Data File

29

Executive Summary
Trader Joes Corporation reached out to MarketTools Research Firm in October
2014 to examine how advertisements and social media influence the brand
perception of Trader Joe's within the millennial market. They were most
interested in learning about the brand perception of individuals between the
ages of 18-23 years old. Our team chose to use a random population within
the Drake University community in Des Moines, Iowa to gather data. Drake
University students have the ability to shop at the Trader Joe's located in
West Des Moines at 6305 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266.
More specifically, we conducted research (1) to investigate the youth
awareness of the Trader Joes brand, (2) to discover the effectiveness of
social media advertising on the brand perception of Trader Joes and (3) to
determine advertising methods that draw this market into the store. The
purpose of our research is to provide Trader Joes with data and
recommendations to determining whether or not an increase in social media
advertising would boost their sales within the millennial market.
Understanding how social media impacts the shopping experience of the
youth market will allow Trader Joes to decide whether utilizing social media
will help them in reaching this target market and earn more revenue.
About the Research. We used a Qualtrics survey to reach a simple random
population of Drake University students between the ages of 18-23 years old.
We received 86 responses to our survey, with a completion rate of 100%.
Everyone that opened and viewed the survey completed the entire thing.
Our response rate was 20.67% based off of who saw the link and clicked into
it. The Drake groups we posted the links into had measurable data of who
saw the survey. We also conducted face to face interviews with the Drake
University population. The completion rate for the 25 face to face interviews
was 100%. The face to face had a response rate of 100% because all
students we randomly selected agreed to participate in the interviews. The
students interviewed were an accurate representation of the demographics
of Drake students. Our overall total response rate was 25.17%.
Key Results

We found that 98% of our respondents had heard of Trader Joes; only
2% had not heard of Trader Joes.
Based on our data collection:
o 27% of respondents never shop at Trader Joes
o 44% shop there less than once a month
o 14% shop there once a month
o 14% shop there 2-3 times a month
o 1% shop there once a week
o 0% shop there 2-3 times a week or daily.
According to the responses from our Qualtrics survey, and given the
option to select all that would apply, 78% of respondents felt that a
closer location would lead them to shop at Trader Joes more often.
57% of respondents felt that lower prices would bring them into Trader
Joes more often. Less than 30% of respondents felt that wider variety,
better quality, or better customer service would draw them in to shop
at Trader Joes more.
Respondents chose which grocery stores to shop at based on:
o Location (39%)
o Price (33%)
o Variety (17%)
o Quality (11%)
Most of our respondents notice advertisements on the following
platforms:
o Facebook (48%)
o Television (17%)
o Email (13%)
o YouTube (9%)
o Twitter (4%)
o Mail (4%)
o Other (5%)
Respondents ranked the stores at which they most frequently shopped
at as follows:
o Hy-Vee (49%)
o Target (37%)
o Dahls (4%)
o Whole Foods (4%)
o Trader Joe's (3%)
*Although Trader Joes was ranked number one only 3% of the time,
they ranked at 23% for a second option and 26% for a third option.
When asked if respondents would prefer one day sales, or daily low
prices, 55% preferred one day sales, and 45% preferred daily low
prices.

Recommendations. We offer the following recommendations based on

these results:

Use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram,

where users can easily share information, will expand the reach for
Trader Joes.
Offer advertisements that bring millennials into the store- as they
continue to hold steady incomes so they will come back to this store
more often.
Create a fearless flyer edition for the 18-23 year old demographic with
target specific products
Offer promotional event around finals time. Include samples of
beverages and snacks.
Open locations closer to college campuses so the 18-23 year old
demographic would have increased awareness of the store. Based on
our results, many of the respondents identified that proximity is
important to them when grocery shopping.
Advertise daily low prices more frequently. Low price is important to
our target market, and will bring in more customers if they are aware.
Analyze companies who have effectively advertised to millennials in
the past, such as Coca Cola, GoPro, and Red Bull as this would aid in
improving future marketing plans.

Introduction
Trader Joes is currently interested in better reaching a younger market (or
millennials), between the ages of 18-23 years old. They would like to
determine if social media advertising will positively affect the brand
perception of Trader Joes to this market. There is currently no paid
advertising in this area, but there are fan based media platforms that are
often viewed.
The test market and test location is located in Des Moines, Iowa. Data
gathering occurred in the Drake University community during the months of
October and November. Gathering and understanding the data we collected
was beneficial for Trader Joes in deciding whether they should begin paid
advertising. To illustrate how Trader Joes started and how they have arrived
at a stage to figure out the proper advertising methods we need to step back
to the beginning.
Back in 1958, Trader Joes went by the name Pronto Markets and opened the
first store in Pasadena, California. Their founder, the original Trader Joe,
6

changed their name to Trader Joes in 1967. From that time, until present,
Trader Joes has been the place to go for quality groceries, local wines, and
unique products that are reasonably priced. The quality and pricing their
products are very important to them, and thats why they created the
Trader Joes brand name which allows them to cut costs and provide
everyday great low prices.
"The mission of Trader Joe's is to give our customers the best food and
beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the
information required to make informed buying decisions. We provide these
with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered
with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company
spirit." which shows just how dedicated Trader Joes is to the values they
hold.
Many of the attributes that Trader Joes has would be very appealing to the
youth market if they were more aware. Currently, Trader Joes does not
extend their budget to any type of social media efforts. Besides their
Fearless Flyer, which is a combination of a newsletter and catalog with a
comical flare, they virtually have no form of paid advertisement. Therefore
conducting research, on whether social media would have a positive effect
on the brand perception with a millennial market, will be crucial for the
future of Trader Joes and their onward marketing plans. Our consulting team
has determined many research problems which that we could investigate.
However, given the time and monetary constraints we choose to hone in on
one: How does advertising and social media influence the brand perception
of grocery shopping at Trader Joes, specifically within the millennial market?
On the following pages, we describe the method used, detail the results of
our data findings, and offer recommendations based on our conclusions.

Method
Research Design. After researching and conducting exploratory research we
found that Trader Joes does much better than its competition in terms of profits
because shoppers believe that they offer a higher quality food while still
maintaining affordable prices.
For many years, Whole Foods dominated in what can be considered the name
brand organic food market. In the recent past, Trader Joes has surpassed all
other national competitors and looks to continue building upon this success.
According to a study conducted by the JLL Investment firm, Trader Joes is valued
at around $1,700 in sales per square foot of a store space while Whole Foods
7

(the next closest competitor) values $900 per square foot. Beyond this the 5
next closest competitors all value between $400-$550, which is 30% of Trader
Joes.
Trader Joes has been able to accomplish this profit for several main reasons.
Firstly, a large majority of their products are exclusive to the Trader Joes brand.
This allows Trader Joes to sell products at their own price point and regulate
costs of production.
Secondly, Trader Joes understands that its customers want a variety of products
and at a low price. They continually release new products which entices
customers through more variation. They do this while sticking to the healthy,
organic products that they are known for. This method helps the brand avoid
any mainstream grocery store stereotypes.
According to a study conducted in 2013 by Market Force, Trader Joes customers
were rated as the most pleased with their shopping experience. The categories
in which the company excelled were customer service and in store experience.
Trader Joes does an exceptional job at making grocery shopping an enjoyable
experience compared to competitors. This entices customers to come back
despite lacking the amount of products that one might find at larger grocery
store chains.
Our study focused on the Des Moines metro area. There is currently one Trader
Joes location within Des Moines. There is also currently only one Whole Foods
(Trader Joes largest primary competitor nationally) in the area. Other
competitors in the Des Moines area include Gateway market, Hy-Vee, Dahls, and
several other smaller companies.
Within the Des Moines market, Hy-Vee is a clear leader amongst grocery sales.
They house a dozen individual stores and their national headquarters is located
in West Des Moines. The second most frequently visited grocery store is Dahls,
who recently filed for bankruptcy. Not being true competitors with these brands
it is difficult to place Trader Joes on this ranking scale. The research that we
conducted shows that Trader Joes is a very well-known brand in Des Moines, but
suffers in popularity due to only having one location which is not conveniently
located for many young adults at Drake University.
We also conducted face to face interviews with 25 college students to examine
their grocery shopping patterns and they are affected by advertising media. The
goal of these in depth interviews was to determine how advertising on various
social media outlets affected consumption patterns of Trader Joes consumers.
Given that Trader Joes doesnt send out paid advertising media we wanted to
determine if this practice would boost the brand and bring in more revenue.
As a result of our exploratory research, we were able to identify how often the
millennial market grocery shops as well as how much they spend during these
8

shopping trips. This research also provided insight into which media outlets had
advertisements that were most viewed by our target audience.
For descriptive research, we collected data from a Qualtrics survey. This survey
allowed us to gain insights into a larger section of our target audience. The
surveys were collected by random members of the target audience and focused
on how often this group buys groceries, how much they spend and how
advertising through social media affects the companys profits of the company.
The interview, questionnaire, codebook and data file are all provided in the
appendix to give more reference as to how the interviews and surveys were
conducted. The questions we gave on the interview ranged from closed to open
ended depending on the answers we were looking to receive. The survey
however, was sent out with all closed ended questions to ensure that there was
no room for coding mistakes when the results were interpreted.

Results
Section One: Determine member demographics and usage patterns.

Overall Demographics:
To get a better idea of the population that we surveyed, we collected some
basic demographic data using both our Qualtrics survey and our face to face
interviews. Our demographic breakdown can be described as follows:
Female (81%)
Male (19%)
18-19 years old (37%)
20-21 years old (50%)
22-23 years old (13%)

The ages of 18-23 year olds was the main demographic we were looking to
draw conclusions from. We pre-screened the age group in the survey and the
interviews to ensure that the demographic was met. We also used screening
questions to make sure the respondents were college students in the Drake
community, either through undergraduate or graduate programs, as this was
part of our sampling frame.
The data tables in Appendix B include more complete statistics and
information regarding our demographics.
Usage Statistics:
In this section, we present the usage statistics from our samples grocery
shopping habits both at Trader Joes and at top competing stores in the area.

Trader Joes Ranking

10

We wanted to get a feel for how millennials perceive the various features of
the Trader Joes brand. The graphic above shows that consumers tend to see
Trader Joes value based off various features of the store. Out of a five scale
ranking, five being the best possible answer, consumers rated how they felt
about each feature.
How Often Do You Shop at Trader Joes

This graphic shows how often our sample population visited the Trader Joes
store. Given the location is relatively far away from the campus, especially
for student that dont have a car, this location hinders how often the
demographic comes to the stores.

11

Do You Typically Shop At The Same Grocery Store

Yes

44%
56%

No

This once again shows how millennials react to brand loyalty. Many
millennials tend to change brands and dont remain loyal to just one store or
product, which is once again demonstrated by the graph above. Knowing this
information can help Trader Joes understand more about how millennials
think and that variety and change is required to keep this target market
returning to the same store multiple times.
Competing Companys Rankings

We asked respondents to rank Whole Foods, HyVee, Trader Joes, Dahls, and
Target in order of which stores they most frequently use. Number one being
the most frequently visited venue and number five being the least. There
are a few factors to consider when viewing this graphic (1) HyVee is the
closest store to the college campus so it is easiest to shop at for student that
dont own cars (2) There is only one Trader Joes location in the Des Moines
area (3) Target is a very popular store among millennials and offers a wide
variety which pulls many away from the typical grocery store environment.
12

Usage Statistics: Revenues

How Much Do You Spend At Trader Joes

Millennials are at the age range where they typically live paycheck to
paycheck so they are not spending above the minimal amount when it
comes to groceries. Given that Trader Joes strives to deliver the best deals
possible, this can help millennials stretch their budgets as much as possible.
The problem we have discovered is that many are not aware of these deals
though so they do come into the stores as often. If we were able to further
display the good deals through advertisements we could generate more
revenue for the company.
What Would Make You Shop and Spend More In Store

13

As also viewed by this graphic, location is the number one factor that
influences customers to shop in store and this is closely followed by price.

Section Two: Investigate how members associated with Trader Joes

Advertisements
How You Noticed Social Media For Trader Joes

15%

Yes
No

85%

This graphic fairly represents how many people would view Trader Joes
advertisements due to the fact that the company only has paid
advertisements in the store. The majority of people shouldnt have seen
advertisements because there were none for them to view. However, for the
people that believed they viewed advertisements this could have been due
to the fan based advertisement and social media posts that spread word of
mouth advertisements for the company.

Where Do You Notice Advertisements Most

14

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Facebook

TV

Email YouTube Twitter

Mail

Millennials tend to be constantly interacting with various forms of social

media. Based on the research conducted, Facebook was the main platform
that this target audience remembered viewing advertisements on. Facebook
does have a larger space for advertisements so this could also affect just
how many people see the ads simply due to size.
Which Media Platforms Do You Connect With Daily
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Facebook

Twitter

Instagram Snapchat

Linkedin

BuzzFeed

As stated previous, millennials are constantly interacting and engaging with

social media platforms. Facebook far outranks any other form of social media
on which interactions occur. Twitter is rising through these ranks as well.
Limitations
There are a few potential limitations that became present during this study.
One was that all responses obtained were from Drake University students.
Although we chose to use this population as our sampling frame it didnt
15

necessarily show an accurate representation of all millennials that buy

groceries. Another limitation was that we utilized a sample population in
Iowa. Trader Joes is a California based company which can affect marketing
strategies. The purchasing choice of a millennial in Iowa might be quite
different than a millennial in California as the needs and wants in these
states are different. The last limitation is the lack of marketing for Trader
Joes. This research was conducted to determine if marketing through social
media platforms would increase profits for this company. Although this threw
a wrench into our original research problems, it did give us an advantage to
see how any change in marketing would affect the companys profits as we
started with a blank marketing slate. If the study were to be conducted again
in the future, we advise that these issues be addressed.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Given that our research was conducted using only one test store, and a simple
random sample within the Drake University community, our results do not offer
a direct course of action for Trader Joe's. Our results provide enough information
for Trader Joes to consider and start contemplating making changes to their
marketing plans and addressing the key issue of, How does advertising and
social media influence the brand perception of grocery shopping at Trader Joes,
specifically within the millennial market?
(1) Determine the needs and wants of millennials for grocery shopping.

Our demographic breakdown can be described as follows:

o Female (81%)
o Male (19%)
o 18-19 years old (37%)
o 20-21 years old (50%)
o 22-23 years old (13%)
Based on our data collection:
o 27% of respondents never shop at Trader Joes
o 44% shop there less than once a month
o 14% shop there once a month
o 14% shop there 2-3 times a month
o 1% shop there once a week
o 0% shop there 2-3 times a week or daily.
Respondents chose which grocery stores to shop at based on:
o Location (39%)
o Price (33%)
o Variety (17%)
16

o Quality (11%)
Respondents ranked the stores at which they most frequently shopped
at as follows:
o Hy-Vee (49%)
o Target (37%)
o Dahls (4%)
o Whole Foods (4%)
o Trader Joe's (3%)
*Although Trader Joes was ranked number one only 3% of the time, they ranked at
23% for a second option and 26% for a third option.

When asked if respondents would prefer one day sales, or daily low
prices, 55% preferred one day sales, and 45% preferred daily low
prices.

According to the responses from our Qualtrics survey, and given the option
to select all that would apply, 78% of respondents felt that a closer location
would lead them to shop at Trader Joes more often. 57% of respondents felt
that lower prices would bring them into Trader Joes more often. Less than
30% of respondents felt that wider variety, better quality, or better customer
service would draw them in to shop at Trader Joes more.
We recommend that Trader Joes should open a location closer to college
campuses and the 18-23 year old demographic. This would increase
awareness of their brand and expand their customer base. Based on our
results, many of the respondents identified that proximity is important to
them when grocery shopping. Trader Joes should also advertise daily low
prices more frequently. Low price is important to our target market, and
will bring in more customers if they are aware of the daily low prices of the
products in the store.
It is equally important for Trader Joes to analyze companies who have
effectively advertised to millennials in the past, such as Coca Cola,
GoPro, and Red Bull. All of these companies have found ways to attract the
youth market in creative and engaging ways. Looking more closely at
companies with successful marketing plans would aid in improving Trader
Joes future marketing plans.
(2) Determine a method to effectively advertise to millennials.

Most of our respondents notice advertisements on the following

platforms:
o Facebook (48%)
o Television (17%)
o Email (13%)
o YouTube (9%)
17

o Twitter (4%)
o Mail (4%)
o Other (5%)
Our respondents connected with one or more of the following forms of social
media on a daily basis: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and
Buzzfeed. Trader Joes can use many of these social media platforms,
specifically Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to encourage a virtual word of
mouth experience. These platforms allow users to easily share
information with people in their network.
Offering advertisements that bring millennials into the store will allow them
to become more brand loyal. As millennials begin to enter the workforce,
and acquire a steady income, they are more likely to shop at a store like
Trader Joes. Creating a Fearless Flyer edition for the 18-23 year old
demographic that has advertisements on products they would be interested
in buying would also be an engaging way to attract millennials.
Advertisements, recipes for unique study snacks, and comical college stories
to do with Trader Joes could be well received by this market. These flyers
could be picked up in store, viewed online, or sent via email.
We would also like to recommend the implementation of a promotional event
to take place at the store. This event could be categorized as an after
hours event from 9:00pm - 10:00pm. It would be solely for college students,
and would take place around finals time. Offering free samples of beverages
and snacks, and advertising it over all social media platforms, would
positively affect the brand perception of Trader Joes.
Trader Joes clearly sees value within social media, which was made evident in
early 2014 when they launched their own social media application. Although the
app was pulled due to low usage, we still believe they could have successful
media advertisements through other more passive social media platforms.
According to our research, Trader Joes largest marketing tool to date is a word
of mouth approach. Social media is the new age form of word of mouth. It allows
for consumers to spread information and opinions with the click of a button
while keeping it all under 140 to hold engagement.
Trader Joes largest competitor Whole Foods was not shy to join the digital world
and has had success across several platforms. Whole Foods social media
accounts currently rack up these impressive statistics 3.98 million Twitter
followers, 1.68 million Facebook likes, and 286,000 Instagram followers.
According to data from Smartblog on social media 85% of Whole Foods Twitter
content is responses to customers, the other 15% is comprised of content and
promotional based efforts.
Trader Joes currently has fan based accounts across all social media platforms
which have a substantial number of followers (56,000 Twitter followers). This
18

number displays an obvious demand for Trader Joes to take the plunge into the
social media realm. With an almost nonexistent marketing budget these tools
would not cause Trader Joes to begin investing more in marketing which may
subsequently lead to higher prices
A social media presence also would serve the purpose of more frequent brand
exposure for shoppers who may visit only a few times a year. Seeing a recipe
may remind them to make an extra shopping trip while out running errands or
even convince a consumer to make a longer commute to purchase Trader Joes
exclusive items; which currently hovers around 85% of the stores inventory.
Lastly, due to substantial evidence we believe it would be an effective marketing
strategy for Trader Joes to become active on social media. From here they could
easily interact with customers who are very loyal to the brand and would help
spread the word about the company without much internal effort. Through
mediums such as Pinterest they could post recipes and meal ideas that would
inspire consumers to buy products exclusive to Trader Joes and to also buy
products that they may typically purchase from competitors.

References
Lutz, Ashley. "How Trader Joe's Sells Twice As Much As Whole Foods."Business
Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 07 Oct. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
Stanchak, Jesse. "How Whole Foods Market Uses Social Media to Keep Its
Marketing Fresh | SmartBlogs." SmartBlogs. N.p., 25 July 2011. Web.
02 Dec. 2014.
Tobak, Steve.10 Secrets to Trader Joes Success. CBSNews. CBS Interactive,
26, Aug. 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
Anderson, George. Why Are Trader Joes Customers The Most Satisfied in
America? Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 July 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
Stein, D. Whole Food vs. Trader Joes: How Do Their Social Media Strategies
Compare? UW TMMBA ENTRE 528. N.p., 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Dec.
2014.
19

Appendices
Appendix A
Data Collection Form

Qualtrics Survey

20

Q1 Place each grocery store in order of most frequently shopped (most frequent at
the top):
______
______
______
______
______

Whole Foods (1)

Hy-Vee (2)
Trader Joe's (3)
Dahl's (4)
Target (5)

Q2 How much do each of the following contribute to where you shop for groceries?
______
______
______
______
______

Location (1)
Price (2)
Variety (3)
Quality (4)
Customer Service (5)

Q3 Have you heard of Trader Joe's?

1. Yes (1)
2. No (2)
Q4 How often do you shop at Trader Joe's?
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Never (1)
Less than Once a Month (2)
Once a Month (3)
2-3 Times a Month (4)
Once a Week (5)
2-3 Times a Week (6)
Daily (7)

21

Q5 How do you feel Trader Joe's does on the following?

______
______
______
______
______

Location (1)
Price (2)
Variety (3)
Quality (4)
Customer Service (5)

Q6 How much do you spend on average per trip to Trader Joe's?

10.$0 (1)
11.$1-24 (2)
12.$25-49 (3)
13.$50-74 (4)
14.$75+ (5)
Q7 What is the first word you think of when you hear "Trader Joe's"?
(Have respondent fill in answer)
Q8 Which of the following would make you shop at Trader Joe's more often? (Check
all that apply)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Closer Location (1)

Lower Prices (2)
Wider Variety (3)
Better Quality (4)
Better Customer Service (5)

Q9 Any last minute comments about Trader Joe's?

(Have respondent fill in answer)
Q10 Which do you identify with?
15.Female (1)
16.Male (2)
Q11 What age group are you in?
17.18-19 (1)
18.20-21 (2)
19.22-23 (3)
20.Other (4)

Face-to-face Interview Questions

Screener for Trader Joe's22

Hello, Im (name) and Im conducting research for my marketing research

class to investigate the influence of social media platforms on Drake
students grocery shopping habits. Would you be interested in participating
in this study? All of your opinions and responses will be kept in confidence.
Thank you for your participation. The interview should take no more than 10
minutes.
1) Do you purchase groceries for you/your household?
Yes
No
2) Do you purchase your groceries in the same store every week? (if
applicable)
Yes
No
3) What draws you in to buy groceries? (is it a need, an advertisement, etc)
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
4) Do social media advertisements affect your grocery shopping decisions?
Yes
No
5) Have you heard of Trader Joe's?
Yes
No
6) If yes, how did you hear about the grocery store?
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
7) If yes, do you think that Trader Joe's is a high quality brand?
Yes
No
8) Have you ever noticed any social media or online advertisements for
Trader Joe's?
Yes
No
9) Would you be more likely to increase shopping at Trader Joe's if they
connected with their customers over social media platforms?
Yes
No
10) Is there specific media or social media that you notice most
advertisements on?
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
11) What social media platforms do you have and connect with daily?
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
12) If you watch television what time and shows do you watch regularly?
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
13) Are you typically annoyed with advertisements?
Yes
23

No
14) What company do you believe advertises well to your generation?
(Have the interviewee answer the question to the best of their ability)
15) Do daily low prices or one day sales bring you into a store more often?
Daily low prices
One day sales
Thank you for your time!

Appendix B
Data Tables

24

25

26

7. What is the first word you think of when

you hear Trader Joes?
Organic/All Natural

25

Expensive

Good Quality

Unique

Food/Grocery Store

Health

Cookie Butter

Hipsters

Options/Variety

Fresh/Clean

Off rand

Not sure

27

Gluten-free

Hawaiian Flowers

Specialty

Different

Awesome

Country

Good Prices

Nice Atmosphere

Cheerful

College Alternative

Vegetarian

Ratchet

Yum

Weird Groceries

Wine

Total Responses

76

28

9. Any last minute comments about Trader

Joes?
Love Trader Joes, prefer it over most grocery
stores!
Yum
If I had a car, I would shop there all the time!
Cookie Butter Yum
I love it
Always good customer service
They should go out of business.
Its awesome! They have the best selection of
desserts!
Wish I went there more often
Not enough variety
I really want to shop there but feel its often
too pricey, especially for college students who
want healthy food!
I actually hate this store
I dont know where one is in the area
I dont really shop there much
Statistic

Value

Total Responses

19

29

30

Appendix C
Codebook

Variable
Name

Description

Response Options

ID

Questionnaire identification number

WHOLE

Comparison shopping frequency at Whole Foods

(1-5, "most shopped at least shopped at")

HYVEE

Comparison shopping frequency at HyVee

(1-5, "most shopped at least shopped at")

TRADER

Comparison shopping frequency at Trader Joe's

(1-5, "most shopped at least shopped at")

DAHLS

Comparison shopping frequency at Dahl's

(1-5, "most shopped at least shopped at")

TARGET

Comparison shopping frequency at Target

(1-5, "most shopped at least shopped at")

LOCATION

Importance of location in grocery store?

(1-5, "not important - very

important")

PRICE

Importance of price in grocery store?

(1-5, "not important - very

important")

VARIETY

Importance of variety in grocery store?

(1-5, "not important - very

important")

QUALITY

Importance of quality in grocery store?

(1-5, "not important - very

important")

SERVICE

Importance of customer service in grocery store?

(1-5, "not important - very

important")

RECOGNITI
ON

Has person heard of Trader Joe's?

1 = yes 2 = no

SHOPHABIT
S

How often shopped at Trader Joe's?

1 = never
2 = less than once a month
3 = once a month
4 = 2-3 times a month
5 = once a week
6 = 2-3 times a week
7 = daily

31

TDLOCATIO
N

How Trader Joe's does in location

(1-5, "poor - excellent")

TDPRICE

How Trader Joe's does in price

(1-5, "poor - excellent")

TDVARIETY

How Trader Joe's does in variety

(1-5, "poor - excellent")

TDQUALITY

How Trader Joe's does in quality

(1-5, "poor - excellent")

TDSERVICE

How Trader Joe's does in customer service

(1-5, "poor - excellent")

AVGSPENT

Average amount spent shopping at Trader Joe's

1 = $0
2 = $1 - 24
3 = $25 - 49
4 = $50 - 74
5 = more than $75

FIRSTWORD

First word that comes to mind hearing Trader

Joe's?

Free Response

CLOSLOCAT
ION

Would a closer location encourage shopping at

Trader Joe's more?

1 = yes 2 = no

LOWPRICE

Would lower prices encourage shopping at Trader

Joe's more?

1 = yes 2 = no

WIDVARIET
Y

Would a wider variety encourage shopping at

Trader Joe's more?

1 = yes 2 = no

BETQUALIT
Y

Would better quality encourage shopping at

Trader Joe's more?

1 = yes 2 = no

BETSERVICE

Would better customer service encourage

shopping at Trader Joe's more?

1 = yes 2 = no

COMMENTS

Any general comments regarding Trader Joe's?

Free Response

GENDER

Who do you identify with?

1 = female 2 = male

AGE

What age group are you in?

1 = 18-19 years old

2 = 20-21 years old
3 = 22-23 years old
4 = other

32

Appendix D
Data File
The data file (Trader Joes Data) for this project has been archived in the
Excel data file attached.

33