Namaste: A Marketing Research Analysis of a Local Retailer

Fall 2019 Marketing Research Class

14 December 2018

Executive Summary
 As a senior marketing research class, we were tasked with the responsibility of

conducting research analysis for local retailer, Namaste. When we first talked with Ann, there

were five questions she wanted answered: how to drive more followers on social media, finding

other forms of advertisements, how to boost online sales, how to increase sales margins, and how

to get more people in the store and raise awareness to new markets.

Our class was split up into three analysis groups, quantitative research, qualitative

research, and competitive research. The quantitative analysis group was tasked with creating an

online survey to send out to non-current customers in search of a new target market. They set out

to find a new target market for Namaste by diving into the age group of 18-24 years old. The

quantitative group wanted to better understand this age groups’ shopping tendencies to

understand how to appeal to this market. The qualitative analysis group was responsible for

conducting interviews and focus groups for current and non-current customers to understand

feelings toward local retailers and knowledge of athleisure wear. They conducted observational

research by going in store and sending in secret shoppers. A major part of their research was

conducting one-on-one interviews on current and non-current customers. This was completed to

further understand what factors persuade customers to buy and what is important when choosing

a retailer. The competitive analysis group evaluated and analyzed Namaste’s competitors to

determine what Namaste succeeds at and what makes them stand out. They determined

competitors and compared and contrasted store locations and hours, social media, and pricing

information to prove that pricing is aligned with competition.

From our research, we were able to conclude eight main findings: people prefer to shop

on weekends, there is a lack of awareness of Namaste and athleisure wear, people are willing to

spend more money locally, brand is an important factor, prices are aligned with competition,
inconsistent social media usage in comparison to competition, people prefer spacious store

layout, and each customer is different. From these conclusions our recommendations include the

following: Extend store hours – Extending hours will create flexibility for potential target

market. From our findings, it was shown that customers tend to shop on the weekends therefore,

extending weekend shopping hours will allow for more time to spend in store. Increase social

media and advertising presence – all of Namaste’s competitors post on social media at least once

or twice per day. They post on Facebook and Instagram stories and they have the ability to shop

directly from social media accounts. Brand ambassadors – having brand ambassadors is a great

way to get word out to new customers. They can showcase items from Namaste and educate their

followers. Updating the website – before the website revamp, Namaste can engage their

followers without selling. This can be done by creating blog posts and showing outfits of the

month on the website. After the revamp, customers should have the ability to online shop on the

website and have access to that as well from social media accounts. College night for students –

Namaste can heavily advertise on college campuses in the area and show college students what

Namaste and the Millwork district have to offer. They can target families while they are in town

by hosting events on family weekends and move in weekends. Have advertisements that reflect

overall target market – Namaste can appeal to different target markets by utilizing different

advertising mediums accordingly. If Namaste is trying to reach out to their older audience from

ages 45 and up, they should utilize more print media. If they are trying to target the younger

target market, they should push advertisements on social media.

Introduction
Quantitative Group Section:

The quantitative group is tasked with better understanding current and potential

customers through data. To achieve this we created a survey and set group objectives around

three main focuses, with the first being on behaviors. Our objectives under this focus were to

determine things such as the frequency people shop for clothes, the distance they’d be willing to

travel for clothes, when they prefer to shop, and discover where customers prefer to shop. The

second focus was on awareness, where we aimed to determine what’s important for customers

when choosing a retailer, find where they hear about stores, and to measure the importance of

brands in buying decisions. The last focus was on attitudes, trying determine such things as

customer’s feelings toward shopping local, the importance of a brand’s social responsibility,

customer likes and dislikes, and to discover the importance of a customer’s shopping experience.

The qualitative group also saw it necessary to further explore the idea of a younger potential

market for Namaste. To account for this, we push our survey more aggressively towards a

younger demographic aged 18-24 years old. Through a push towards a new potential market and

our focuses on behavior, awareness, and attitudes, we hope to provide Namaste with data and

recommendations to help them gain a greater understanding of their current and potential

customers.

Qualitative Group Section:

The qualitative group consisted of Molly Kimbro, Sam Guyton, Josh Ruggles, Cory

Wernimont, Hannah Massari, and Bella Barios. Our group was responsible for learning more

about current and non-current customers of Namaste Athleisure Wear, not necessarily from a

statistics standpoint, but by answering the question “Why?”. Why do individuals shop at
Namaste? Why do they not shop there? We sought to find the answers to these questions in

detail by generating stories from both customers and non-current customers. We broke our

group goals down into three different segments including Satisfaction, Behavior, and Awareness.

For Satisfaction, our objective was simple: to measure overall customer satisfaction. For

Behavior, our objectives included determining what factors persuade customers to buy,

determine what is important when choosing a retailer, and determine if the location of Namaste

affects customers likelihood to shop in store versus online with competitors. For Awareness, our

objective was again very simple: to measure the overall awareness of Namaste Athleisure Wear

and the Millwork District as a whole.

Competitive Group Section:

Namaste Athleisure Wear is a recently new retail store that sells casual and comfortable

clothing that can be worn for exercise and everyday wear. They carry many high quality, fashion

forward pieces with designs that allow for functionality and style. Namaste has reached out to

Loras College students to gain more insight and advice on how to improve their marketing

strategies to attract more customers. We researched Namaste’s competitors and compared many

different aspects of each of the retail stores whether it is online or in their physical stores. We

used a combination of observational research and comparative research to determine our

conclusions and recommendations.

Methodology

1) Research Design -

Quantitative Group Section:

 As the quantitative group, our main task was building the questionnaire. To start our

research we created a wide variety of objectives that were focused around behavior, attitudes,

and awareness of Namaste. Our main goal of the questionnaire was simple, to find out exactly

what could be improved about the current store to make it as successful as possible moving

forward. We decided that finding a new potential market of younger individuals would be most

beneficial for the store so we targeted people between the ages of 18-24 years old to participate

in our research. In addition, we focused our questions toward potential new customers and

examined what consumers were looking for in a store that they would choose to shop. By doing

this, we were able to establish a few very important takeaways from our research. Once we

decided the direction that we were going to go with the questionnaire, our group used a software

called Qualtrics to create our final questionnaire. Qualtrics also played an essential part in

attaining our final data that we used to establish all of our findings and recommendations.

Qualitative Group Section:

As the qualitative group our main point of emphasis was to interview both customers and

non customers to find out their feelings about Namaste and shopping in general. Our main focus

during our variety of interviews was to get a story whether it be beneficial to Namaste or just

shopping awareness in general. After doing several interviews with both customers and non

customers we discovered several new viewpoints and tips that would potentially help Namaste

grow as a business. We really tried to focus all the interviews around athleisure wear that has

become a high demand within the last year. During the process we also created a focus group of

seven students to try in see if Namaste had the potential to fulfill a younger target market with

the products they are selling.The main purpose of the focus group was: store awareness, brand
awareness, location and prices willingness. Overall we received great feedback from all

interviews and tended to match up with what we predicted as a group early on after our original

Namasthe visit.

Competitive Group Section:

As the Competitive Analysis group we created a plan to research and observe Namaste’s

identified competitors. In order to collect data, we looked at different brands, store hours, social

media pages, locations, pricing, websites, and advertising. Through these observations, we found

Namaste’s strengths and weaknesses compared to their competitors. This allowed our group to

look at what Namaste succeeds at and where there is room for improvement when looking at

Namaste versus their competitors. We also decided to analyze how Namaste stands out from

their competitors in order for our competitiveµ analysis group to understand what Namaste is

doing well and how they should continue to do those things well versus what Namaste needs to

improve on. In order to fully assess Namaste as a company, we conducted a SWOT analysis to

analyze Namaste’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. From those observations we

were able to compare Namaste and their competitors based on different brands, store hours,

social media, locations, pricing, websites, and advertising.

2) Sample Design

Quantitative Group Section:

Our overall goal was to get our questionnaire out to as many people as possible and get

back as much feedback as we could in order to create the strongest findings. In order to attain

that goal we decided that sending it out through each of our social media pages, as well as
sending out a link to the entire student body at Loras would be our best bet to get respondents

and gain awareness of Namaste. As previously stated, our decision early on in the research

process was to discover a new, younger potential client base for Namaste. We made this choice

because we saw that young people in Dubuque were not only abundant, but also interested in

being prospective Namaste customers. Based upon this we saw that young people between the

ages of 18-24 gave us the best potential for high levels of results and findings through the

questionnaire.

Qualitative Group Section:

As the qualitative group, we made it our goal to find as many stories as we could from as

many different people as we could. While we believe that the current target market of Namaste

is middle-aged to older women, we also believe that they are missing a large target market that

could greatly improve the overall success of the company - college students. In today’s world,

college students don’t all show up to class wearing shirt and tie, blue jeans, or what would be

considered formal clothing. Instead, many college students wear athletic apparel, and because of

this, we decided to include both older women and college students in the participation of our

interviews and focus group.

For current customers, we were unfortunately only able to get in touch with two people

who have shopped at the store. Because of the small amount of customers that we could get in

touch with, it did not matter to us who was a part of this interview. However, we were lucky

enough that one of the individuals is a mother in her 20s and the other is an older woman. The

mother lives in Dubuque, and the older woman is a mother and grandmother who lives in
Chicago and only visits Dubuque when she is visiting her grandsons. These two women capture

different demographics and gave us differing opinions on their experiences with Namaste.

For our non-current customers, we chose to interview ten different people. Each member

of our group interviewed 1-2 people and collected as much data as possible. For these

interviews, we spoke with older women, older men, and college-aged students. These older

women and men included grandparents and parents, single adults, and people living in Dubuque

and people living in other parts of the country. Again, we wanted to capture differing

viewpoints, but for non-current customers we also wanted to include men to see what they

thought of athleisure apparel and the store Namaste.

For our focus group, we decided to hone in on the target market that we believe Namaste

is missing - college students. Our focus group consisted of 7 students, 5 girls and 2 boys ranging

from college freshmen to college seniors.

As seen in the presentation the qualitative group asked an assortment of questions about

Namaste to try and get a story from the individuals that were being interviewed. We wanted to

get a detailed story about how they feel about the products and other offerings offer by Namaste.

When it came to asking some of the question, we also used probing questions. Probing questions

are questions that dig deeper into the answer of what the interviewee gave us just to get a better

understanding of the story they are trying to portray. A lot of people get the qualitative process

and the quantitative process mixed up. The quantitative process has to do with the number side

of thing, for example; how many people shop at Namaste, how many people like certain brands

they provide and so on and so forth. Qualitative research come from observation of the non-

numeric data. Qualitative research looks for story’s and the menacing be hide them, for example

symbols, experiences, brand preference and things of that nature. The qualitative group as I
stated before is trying to pry the story from the interviewee. This help us and the employees see

how the customer values the experience they received from Namaste. The finding that come

from these question help better determine what changes should be made inside the store for other

customers to have a great experience the next time they enter Namaste.

The questions below were asked to the current customers to gain a better understanding

of how the customers feel about Namaste and what they like about it. Here are the questions we

asked current customers and non-current customers:

1. How did you hear about Namaste?

2. How do you feel about Namaste? Why?

3. What vibe to you receive when entering Namaste?

4. How do you feel about the quality of products provided by Namaste?

5. Do you think the quality of the product is worth the price? Why?

6. Would you recommended Namaste to a friend? Why?

7. Why or why not would you recommend Namaste to a friend?

8. Which products to you stick out to you the most? Why?

9. What brand do you buy the most? Why?

10. When do you wear products from Namaste and what do you do while wearing them?

11. How often do you shop at Namaste?

12. What three words come to mind when you think of Namaste?

13. What comes to mind when you think of Namaste’s price?

The questions below were asked to the non-customers basically to find out what the new about

know and then to help increase their knowledge and awareness about Namaste.
1. Have you ever heard of Namaste?

2. Which stores do you typically shop at when shopping for clothes? Why?

3. If you had the choice of shopping at a chain store versus a local business, which would

you choose? Why?

4. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere you would shop in

the future? Why or why not?

5. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere your mother or aunts

may shop? Why or why not?

6. What price range are you willing to pay when shopping for athleisure wear?

7. Would you be more likely to shop using the online store or would actually want to go

into the store if you were to shop at Namaste? What is the determining factor on this decision?

8. Do you shop by brands? If so, does a store’s variety in the brands they offer influence

your shopping behavior?

9. After learning more about Namaste, how do you feel about the store’s brand in general?

Competitive Group Section:

When determining Namaste’s competitors, we turned to Ann to give us a list of

Namaste’s biggest competitors. The retailers included Active Endeavors (Davenport, Iowa) ,

Athleta (Madison, Wisconsin), LuluLemon (Iowa City, Iowa), Dick’s Sporting Goods (Dubuque,

Iowa), Scheels (Iowa City, Iowa), and Von Maur (Iowa City, Iowa). After conducting

observational research, we found that Von Maur is not suitable to compare to Namaste due to the

fact that it is a large department store that carries high end, professional clothing and it does not
have a significant athleisure wear department. After understanding Namaste’s competitors, we

were able to determine how to compare and contrast Namaste to its competitors.

3) Data Collection

Quantitative Group Section:

We built a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions focusing on new customers who had

not shopped at Namaste before. We asked questions regarding multiple different facets involved

in shopping and social media usage. Our biggest takeaways came from questions about

willingness to shop in store vs. online, willingness to travel to shop, and the time of day and

week that are preferred for shopping. We also asked about willingness to spend more money for

higher quality products, the importance of brand names, and likelihood to spend more money on

brands that support nonprofit efforts. In addition, we questioned our respondents about their

social media usage and the importance of a credible website for a store such as Namaste. By

using a software called Qualtrics we were able to put together the questionnaire, send it out

through various mediums, and eventually collect all of our data. The software we used kept

track of and collected all of the data that we would eventually use to create all of our findings.

Qualitative Group Section:

As seen in the presentation the qualitative group asked an assortment of questions about

Namaste to try and get a story from the individuals that were being interviewed. We wanted to

get a detailed story about how they feel about the products and other offerings offer by Namaste.

When it came to asking some of the question, we also used probing questions. Probing questions

are questions that dig deeper into the answer of what the interviewee gave us just to get a better
understanding of the story they are trying to portray. A lot of people get the qualitative process

and the quantitative process mixed up. The quantitative process has to do with the number side

of thing, for example; how many people shop at Namaste, how many people like certain brands

they provide and so on and so forth. Qualitative research come from observation of the non-

numeric data. Qualitative research looks for story’s and the menacing be hide them, for example

symbols, experiences, brand preference and things of that nature. The qualitative group as I

stated before is trying to pry the story from the interviewee. This help us and the employees see

how the customer values the experience they received from Namaste. The finding that come

from these question help better determine what changes should be made inside the store for other

customers to have a great experience the next time they enter Namaste.

Here are the questions we asked current customers and non-current customer:

The questions below were asked to the current customers basically to get a better understanding

of how the customers feel about Namaste and what they like about it.

1. How did you hear about Namaste?

2. How do you feel about Namaste? Why?

3. What vibe to you receive when entering Namaste?

4. How do you feel about the quality of products provided by Namaste?

5. Do you think the quality of the product is worth the price? Why?

6. Would you recommended Namaste to a friend? Why?

7. Why or why not would you recommend Namaste to a friend?

8. Which products to you stick out to you the most? Why?

9. What brand do you buy the most? Why?

10. When do you wear products from Namaste and what do you do while wearing them?
11. How often do you shop at Namaste?

12. What three words come to mind when you think of Namaste?

13. What comes to mind when you think of Namaste’s price?

The questions below were asked to the non-customers basically to find out what the new about

know and then to help increase their knowledge and awareness about Namaste

1. Have you ever heard of Namaste?

2. Which stores do you typically shop at when shopping for clothes? Why?

3. If you had the choice of shopping at a chain store versus a local business, which would

you choose? Why?

4. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere you would shop in

the future? Why or why not?

5. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere your mother or aunts

may shop? Why or why not?

6. What price range are you willing to pay when shopping for athleisure wear?

7. Would you be more likely to shop using the online store or would actually want to go

into the store if you were to shop at Namaste? What is the determining factor on this decision?

8. Do you shop by brands? If so, does a store’s variety in the brands they offer influence

your shopping behavior?

9. After learning more about Namaste, how do you feel about the store’s brand in general? Commented [1]: This was in the previous section, do
we want it twice? Maybe we don't even care anymore :)

Competitive Group Section:

From a competitive standpoint, we collected data from different aspects of competing

companies specifically using the retail mix, which includes physical facilities, merchandise,
price, promotions, and service. Of these topics, we first honed in on price. From initial

information via Namaste’s owner, perception of the store’s price-points were expensive clothing,

so information was gathered about competing stores to shed light on true price comparisons

between alternative purchasing options and Namaste. This was collected by averaging each

competitor’s price on products similar to Namaste’s (leggings, shirts, sweatshirts, jackets,

sweaters, and accessories) and comparing it to Namaste’s average product prices.

Another aspect we gathered data on was physical stores. Giving key location analysis of

the competition in relation to Namaste’s store location could be a very important factor in a

consumer’s decision making process and could aid in future geographical decisions based on this

data. Next, we took a look within the physical store and observed merchandising and store

layouts as far as what are they sell and how are things arranged and organized. Looking at

components that helped or harmed the customer experience and ability to purchase could play a

key role in what a customer buys, how they shop, and how much they purchase while in the

store.

Transitioning from that, we looked at promotion. This piece of the retail mix was split

into two parts: in-store, and online. In-store promotions were analyzed regarding signage for the

store and brands sold within, promotional deals, as well as rewards customers received that may

influence purchasing decisions. Capturing data on promotion aids in showing why consumers

buy regularly with competitive alternatives, and how they’re choosing to increase their sales in

comparison to Namaste’s tactics. Online promotion covers a wide variety of different parts

essentially under the two umbrellas of social media, and website marketing. Social media

covered essentials such as followers, likes, frequency of posts, and tactics used. The website

component is comprised of things within the website such as layout, organization, special online
deals, and memberships. Additionally we hit on accessibility of the website and channels used to

get more website traffic. All these moving parts of promotion in comparison with Namaste have

a big impact on awareness, brand equity, and influencing sales.

Lastly, we touched on service in store. Connections between Namaste and competing

stores in store experience that cater to customer needs can be an essential point in retail sales and

potential recurring customers for a retail store. All of this data was collected from content

analysis and observation, giving first-hand experience that translates from user to real data to be

analyzed.

4) Analysis

Quantitative Group Section:

As the quantitative group, we used our questionnaire results to learn about what shoppers

and potential new customers are looking for in a place to shop. We came to the conclusion that

there were a few different areas that we proved to be very successful yet there were also a few

that could have been improved. First, we believe that we could have pushed the questionnaire out

to more people, which in turn would have benefited us with more respondents. Although more

responses are always going to be sought after, we still believe that getting our questionnaire out

to about 200 people gave us back very helpful results. In addition, allowing the questionnaire

more time to get responses would have benefited our research greatly by allowing more

respondents.

Next, we believe that attempting to attract a new market to the store proved to be very

advantageous. It was made clear, prior to beginning our research that Namaste has a limited

group of regular shoppers that in past attempts were somewhat difficult to reach. Based on this
we made the executive decision that a new market needed to be reached out to during the course

of our research. Like previously stated that market was younger people who had interest in

athleisure wear and similar clothing options. After completing our study, we proved that this

was a good idea and ended up being favorable for our results because of the high response rate of

people from that particular demographic. By avoiding reaching out to people that are already

shoppers at Namaste we believe that we added a abundant amount of added awareness to the

community.

Qualitative Group Section:

As the quantitative group we did several different things in an effort to gain more

knowledge about what both current and non-current customers look for when shopping.

Throughout our research we conducted customer and non-customer interviews, had several

secret shoppers look at the store, held a focus group of college students, and formed a word

cloud based off of words people first thought of when they heard the word Namaste. Some of

these research efforts worked better than others. We originally began our research with a focus

on both current customers and non-customers equally. Throughout the project we shifted that

focus more towards non-customers due to having a larger number of people in that segment

respond to the interviews. Having a large number of non-customer interviews was good because

we were able to find data on what Namaste could do to potentially attract more customers.

Ideally it would have worked better if we could have had a more even number of current and

non-current customer interviews completed in order to have a better comparison of the data. In

general, conducting interviews worked well and was a good step for us to take in getting basic

data for the project.

 The idea of having secret shoppers was for us to send six people into the store and then

later discuss with them their experience and their thoughts on the overall atmosphere of the store

at their first visit. This idea worked well and was helpful in getting more data from people who

had actually visited Namaste as opposed to non-current customers. It was important for us to

analyze the overall atmosphere of the store and see how actual customers felt when they were in

the store setting. Sending secret shoppers gave us an honest look into the customer viewpoint.

Secret shoppers was a successful idea for the project.

The word cloud consisted of the top words people thought of when they first heard the

word Namaste. This visual was put together to show the owners of Namaste how people view

the store when they first hear the name of it. All of the words that were collected during this

research were positive. This was a successful aspect to incorporate into the research because it

shows that positive rather than negative words are the ones people usually relate to the store

name Namaste.

One part of our research which worked well but would be done differently if the project

was to be redone was the focus group. The intention of having a focus group was to bring out

college student’s opinions in a group setting and hopefully collect stories regarding the

participating students’ shopping habits. A good turnout of participants resulted in a lot of useful

data being collected from the focus group. If the project were to be redone, however, the focus

group would be a big more organized in terms of finding participants and asking questions to

prompt better insights or stories.

In general, all of the research efforts done by the qualitative group were successful in

some way. The most successful ways research was done was through non-customer interviews,

secret shoppers, and the word cloud. The current customer interviews were not extremely
successful but were not necessarily unsuccessful because we did manage to collect some

interviews from the customer market segment. The focus group was successful but not as

successful as we wanted.

Competitive Group Section:

The Competitive Analysis was conducted through a set of observations determined in our

research plan. The observations were selected for a couple of reasons. First, because all the

competitors could be compared to Namaste through the selected elements. Second, these

elements lined up with the questions that the owners of Namaste had for the research to answer.

The observations included store hours, what brands are available, store layout, website, prices,

social media, and advertisements.

A few of these observations were easily accessed online, like store hours, websites, and

social media. Other observations, like available brands, store layout, prices, and advertisements

had to be accessed other ways either in-store or through other sources. The research collected

from the online observations helped us to understand some of the logistical strengths and

weaknesses of each store remotely, but it did not provide an idea of the atmosphere or strategies

of the competitors. Because of this, the research shifted to other observations that required store

visits or other research strategies.

Visiting the stores, making phone calls, and analyzing advertising enriched the research,

but it was difficult to obtain some of this information because of the location of the identified

competitors. Many of the competitors had locations that were over an hour away from Dubuque,

so it required group members to plan visits ahead of time and do more in depth research of those

locations.
 Overall, the observations added tremendously to the research collected by the

Quantitative and Qualitative groups. However, if the research were conducted again, it would be

good to have secret shoppers go to the competitors and collect information. Adding this element

to the initial research design would have allowed for collection of data regarding the

personalized experience of each store. The personalized experience sets Namaste apart. The data

collected provided us with information on the tangible aspects of each store, but the intangible

aspects, like customer service and store atmosphere were not tested. The information collected is

a well-rounded analysis of Namaste versus their competitors, but future research could add secret

shoppers to further add to the data.

 Results

Quantitative Group Section:

1 - I prefer shopping for clothing in-store rather than online.

# Answer % Count

1 Strongly agree 30.81% 61

2 Agree 41.92% 83

3 Neutral 19.70% 39

4 Disagree 7.07% 14

5 Strongly disagree 0.51% 1

 Total 100% 198

2 - When shopping for clothing, the location of the store is a determining factor.

# Answer % Count

1 Strongly agree 10.61% 21

2 Agree 53.03% 105

3 Neutral 27.78% 55

4 Disagree 8.08% 16

5 Strongly disagree 0.51% 1

Total 100% 198

3 - What is the greatest distance you are willing to travel to shop for clothing?

# Answer % Count

1 0-15 min 9.60% 19

2 16-30 min 27.27% 54

3 31-45 min 20.20% 40

4 46-60 min 20.71% 41

5 61+ min 22.22% 44

 6 I do not shop in-store 0.00% 0

Total 100% 198

4 - I am willing to spend more if I have an assisted/personal shopping experience.

# Answer % Count

1 Very likely 2.53% 5

2 Likely 13.13% 26

3 Somewhat likely 29.29% 58

4 Somewhat unlikely 20.20% 40

5 Unlikely 28.28% 56
 6 Very unlikely 6.57% 13

Total 100% 198

5 - I am willing to spend more money to shop local and support small businesses in my

community.

# Answer % Count

1 Yes 62.63% 124

2 No 37.37% 74

Total 100% 198

6 - Shopping at stores that are socially responsible and/or support nonprofit organizations

is important to me.

# Answer % Count

1 Strongly agree 11.17% 22

2 Agree 32.99% 65

3 Neutral 49.75% 98

4 Disagree 4.57% 9

5 Strongly disagree 1.52% 3

 Total 100% 197

7 - How likely are you to spend more money on brands that support nonprofit efforts

locally, nationally, and globally?

8 - How important are the brand names when you are shopping for clothing?

# Answer % Count

1 Very Important 6.25% 12

2 Important 30.21% 58

3 Neutral 35.94% 69

4 Not Important 22.40% 43

5 Not Very Important 5.21% 10

Total 100% 192

9 - Are you active on social media?

# Answer % Count

1 Constantly using 21.21% 42

2 Few hours a day 58.08% 115

3 Few times a week 15.15% 30

4 Rarely 4.55% 9

5 Never 1.01% 2
 Total 100% 198

10- Are you more likely to shop at a new store if the website seems credible?
11 - On a scale of 1-10, (10 being very important and 1 being not important) how important

is it to you to look at a website prior to visiting the store?

# Answer % Count

0 0 8.16% 16

1 1 9.18% 18

2 2 9.69% 19

3 3 8.67% 17

4 4 10.20% 20

5 5 16.33% 32

6 6 13.78% 27

7 7 10.20% 20

8 8 9.69% 19

9 9 1.02% 2

10 10 3.06% 6
 Total 100% 196

12 - How often do you shop for clothing?

# Answer % Count

1 1-2 times per month 44.44% 88

2 3-4 times per month 18.18% 36

3 5-6 times per month 7.58% 15

4 7 + times per month 3.54% 7

5 I do not shop that often for clothing 26.26% 52

 Total 100% 198

13 - In general, when are you most likely to shop for clothing?

14 - Do you read the newspaper on a regular basis?
15- How do you hear about clothing stores/specialty shops?

16 - I am willing to pay a high price for a high quality piece of apparel.

 # Answer % Count

1 Strongly agree 11.68% 23

2 Agree 46.19% 91

3 Neutral 32.49% 64

4 Disagree 8.63% 17

5 Strongly disagree 1.02% 2

Total 100% 197

17- I am more likely to shop at stores that carry men's and women's clothing.
 # Answer % Count

1 More likely 6.60% 13

2 Likely 25.89% 51

3 Neutral 59.90% 118

4 Unlikely 7.11% 14

5 More unlikely 0.51% 1

Total 100% 197

18 - The majority of my wardrobe is-

 # Answer % Count

1 Business Casual 9.14% 18

2 Professional Attire 2.03% 4

3 Athletic Apparel 27.92% 55

4 Simple/Classic Apparel 27.92% 55

5 Jean Casual 21.83% 43

6 Lounging Apparel (sweatpants/sweatshirts) 11.17% 22

Total 100% 197

19 - What are the important characteristics you look for when buying clothing?
20 - I have heard people talk about athleisure lifestyle pieces of clothing.
 # Answer % Count

1 Yes 73.10% 144

2 No 26.90% 53

Total 100% 197

21 - I am familiar with athleisure clothing brands.

 # Answer % Count

1 Very Strongly Agree 16.24% 32

2 Strongly Agree 24.37% 48

3 Slightly Agree 28.43% 56

4 Slightly Disagree 8.63% 17

5 Strongly Disagree 10.15% 20

6 Very Strongly Disagree 12.18% 24

Total 100% 197

22 - How often do you wear athleisure (Casual comfortable everyday) lifestyle pieces?
 # Answer % Count

1 Everyday 20.30% 40

2 5-6 times a week 30.46% 60

3 3-4 times a week 21.32% 42

4 1-2 times a week 20.30% 40

5 Never 7.61% 15

Total 100% 197

23 - What are three reasons you would recommend a clothing store to someone?
24 - What are three reasons you would NOT recommend a clothing store to someone?
 The quantitative results provided valuable feedback for the potential target market of the

age range 18-24. It was found that most potential customers prefer to shop for clothing in-store

rather than online. Because of this, it was found that consumers are more willing to travel

greater distances. However, one of the major determining factors of shopping to consumers

appeared to be the location. So although consumers are willing to travel to shop in-store, the

actual location of the store itself may determine if customers are willing to shop.

Based on the new potential target market, it was found that having an assisted or more

personal shopping experience was not a determining factor for one's willingness to spend money

while shopping.

One of the ways Namaste gives back to the community and to others is by supporting

brands that give back. The results from the survey show that consumers are more willing to

spend more money on brands that support nonprofit efforts locally, nationally, and globally. It

was also found that consumers are more willing to shop local and support small businesses in

their community, such as Namaste.

When focusing on the age group, 18-24 years old, the data suggested that consumers are
willing to shop at a new store when the company website is credible. Along with this target

market, social media can be used to aware new potential customers or keeping current customers

engaged.

Although the age group 18-24 years old may only shop one to two times a month, it was

found that they do almost all of their shopping on the weekends. It was found that from the

potential target market, consumers are willing to purchase higher end clothing depending on the

quality.

Qualitative Group Section:

Non Customer Interviews

1. Have you ever heard of Namaste?

A1-Yes, it is located downtown Dubuque

A2-Yes, I have

A3-No, I have not

A4- No, I have not

A5- No

A6- No, I haven’t

A7- No

A8- No

A9- No

A10- No

2. Which stores do you typically shop at when shopping for clothes? Why?

A1-Dicks and Old Navy. I like shopping at Dicks because it has big name brands and high end

clothing and I like shopping at Old Navy because it is discounted and has lower prices.

A2- It just depends on what I am looking for, but I mostly shop at stores like Kohl’s, TJ Maxx,

or Marshalls because they usually have good deals.

A3- It depends on what type of clothing I’m looking for, if it’s athletic clothing then I will

probably go to Dicks.

A4- I typically shop at stores like White House Black Market or Athleta.

A5- Target, Amazon, and online boutique because they are cheap and convenient

A6- Any store at my local mall in Illinois - good stores, wide variety, and I can browse different

options.

A7- Target, Lululemon, and Amazon because they’re cheaper and have online availability.
A8- I usually shop at Kohls, Macys, JC Penny, Forever 21, Rue 21, and Charlotte Ruse, because

their clothes are cheap and cute.

A9- I typically shop at TJ Maxx or Target because they have decent quality clothes at a

reasonable price.

A10- Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Hollister, American Eagle, and Adidas because these stores have

clothes that are cute, comfortable, and they match my style.

3. If you had the choice of shopping at a chain store versus a local business, which would

you choose? Why?

A1-A chain store because they typically have deals.

A2-It just depends on the price honestly, probably a chain store though, because I feel that some

of their products would be cheaper than at a local store.

A3- Just depends on what each store has to offer and the prices of the products because when I

shop for clothes I am somewhat picky and also kinds cheap.

A4- If I liked both stores equally, I would probably shop at a local business because they tend to

have more unique items. The positive to chain stores is that the price is usually cheaper, but I

prefer helping local businesses.

A5- Chain because they are reliable and less expensive, usually.

A6- Chain because they have more to offer and are more well known.

A7- Chain because they are less expensive.

A8- I would choose a chain store because they have a more variety of clothes.

A9- Currently, I would choose a chain store because they’re cheaper. I would like to support

local businesses, but I am a broke college student so I can’t.

A10- Chain store because I’ll have a background of what they sell and the quality of the

products.

4. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere you would shop in

the future? Why or why not?

A1-Yes, maybe in 10 to 15 years when I have enough money to support local.

A2- Not really since I’m not the type to spend that much money on clothes.

A3- Maybe, it all just depends on the prices of the items. I would consider shopping at this store

just to check it out. If it was a place that I liked.

A4-I am sure that I would return as I am always looking for things to do when I visit my children

at Loras College.

A5- Probably not because it is too expensive.

A6- Possibly, but I don’t have a car in Dubuque, but I definitely would look.

A7- Probably not because it sounds too expensive and I would rather shop online.

A8- No because I think their clothes are overpriced and I can find clothes with the same quality

at a different store for a lower price.

A9- Yes, because they have cute clothes.

A10- Yes, they sell clothes that I like and from brands I know.

5. After learning more about Namaste, do you think this is somewhere your mother or

aunts may shop? Why or why not?

A1- Yes, my mom likes to support locally and if I tell her about it she would probably support

them.
A2- My mom might shop their because she likes to buy clothes and things that they sell at

Namaste.

A3- I don’t think my mother would shop here only because she wouldn’t want to pay for as

much as they are offered at, but it is somewhere my sisters would shop.

A4- I don’t think that my mother would shop here. She isn’t into athleisure wear, so I don’t think

that she fits this target segment.

A5- Yes, they can afford it and it would be somewhere they could go and make a day of.

A6- Yes, it sounds like their style and price range.

A7- I would probably look, but I am not super into brand name.

A8- No, for the same reasons I mentioned in my last response.

A9- Probably not because they usually don’t wear that kind of clothing and because of their

price. I don’t think they would even shop there for me.

A10- Yes, because my mom and aunt usually shop wherever I tell them to buy clothes if I had a

good experience at the place.

6. What price range are you willing to pay when shopping for athleisure wear?

A1-$40-120

A2-I just depends on the product, and what I need the product for, for example if it like dress

clothes I would be will to pay a little more for them than other items.

A3- It all depends on the product I am searching for, and how comfortable it is.

A4- I would pay around $50 for a pair of yoga pants or something along the lines of that. I

would pay $75 for nicer jackets.

A5- Up to $30 to $40.

A6- If it is good quality I will buy. I have some Lululemon, but also wear Victoria’s Secret or

Nike. $40-$100

A7- $20-$30

A8- I am willing to spend around $60 overall.

A9- I would probably set a limit of $150, but for example I would be willing to pay $50 for

sweater, but not for a pair of leggings.

A10- $20- $250

7. Would you be more likely to shop using the online store or would actually want to go

into the store if you were to shop at Namaste? What is the determining factor on this

decision?

A1-I would rather go into the store and try on the actual product and see how it fits.

A2-I would probably want to use the online store, so I wouldn’t have to leave my house.

A3- I would rather go into the store. I’m the type of person who likes to touch the product and

see how it feels.

A4- For me personally, I would prefer to shop online. I prefer this because it is easier to shop at

home because of things such as weather or free time. I do most of my shopping online at night,

and it doesn’t look like Namaste is open at night.

A5- Would want to shop in store to be able to try things on.

A6- In store to browse and feel the items in person.

A7- In store if it is cheap and worth it with a big selection.

A8- I would rather go to the store so I can try the clothes on and see how they are in person.
A9- I would shop online because I can usually find more sizes online and it lets me know if it is

in stock.

A10- I would like to go in person because If it’s my first time there buying with them I want to

go check how the place looks like and all they offer.

8. Do you shop by brands? If so, does a store’s variety in the brands they offer influence

your shopping behavior?

A1-I shop for high end brands like Nike products at Dicks. I shop at Old Navy for deals. Brands

don’t influence where I shop.

A2- I don’t really shop by brands I just find a product that I like and if I like it the brand really

doesn’t matter very much.

A3- I don’t shop by brands, if I like the product then it doesn’t really matter what brand it is.

A4- Most of the time, I shop by brands because I am familiar with them and I know the quality.

Having a variety in brands is obviously helpful because more choices makes the shopping

experience better. I like Nike and Under Armour when it comes to yoga pants.

A5- Yes and yes.

A6- Yes & No, if looking for something in particular I will go seek it.

A7- No

A8- Yes, I do shop by brands and yes, because I want a store with more variety.

A9- Yes, and yes, because I like to have options.

A10- I do and I am influenced in a positive way since it gives me more variety to pick from.
9. After learning more about Namaste, how do you feel about the store’s brand in

general?

A1-I feel they have a few big name brands for women, but for men I have never heard of any of

the brands they sell. I feel they have lots of brands for women and not men.

A2-I don’t feel I would shop at Namaste because I don’t feel I would pay for the items because

of how high they are priced.

A3- I feel that it is still developing, but I would like to check out the store and all they offer

eventually.

A4- It sounds like a store that is very much like Athleta, so I would like to check it out at some

point. I think this is a store that I would like, but I wish that the hours were different. I usually

come up for my kids’ games, so the fact that they are closed after 5 makes shopping there

difficult for me, even if it sounds like a store that I would be interested.

A5- I feel like they are expensive and upscale.

A6- Sounds intriguing and worth a look.

A7- I probably won’t go because it’s not my style and it’s too pricy.

A8- I think that they have cute stuff, but they are overpriced.

A9- I like the name of the store, I like the clothes they sell, and I like the vibe of the brand.

A10- I like it and I would like to go see it and see what I can find.

We analyzed the data we collected to come to conclusions about how and why people

shop. In terms of satisfaction, we found that the current customers of Namaste are very satisfied

and therefore very loyal to the store. We found that good prices, good quality items, and good

customer service are all factors which can contribute to a customer’s positive opinion of a store

and influence them to continue returning as customers. Having a variety of brands, which is
something Namaste has, also influences where a person will choose to shop. In addition, we

found that if the shopper knows the quality of the item they are purchasing will be high, they are

willing to pay a higher amount. This also relates to Namaste because while the prices at

Namaste tend to be on the more expensive side, the quality of the products is high as well. In our

research of the awareness non-customers had for Namaste, we found that most people were not

aware of the store. The people who were aware of the store had usually heard of it through word

of mouth rather than through marketing efforts done by Namaste. We concluded from this that

there is a lack of marketing and advertising happening with Namaste.

Competitive Group Section:

Brands Carried by Namaste:

- Lolë (Live Out Loud Everyday) is a Canadian athletic apparel designer based in

Montreal. They have been in business for 16 years by providing their customers with

modern activewear for on the go fashion.

- MPG (Mondetta Performance Gear) is a line of sportswear clothing that combines the

functionality of activewear and fashion within the Mondetta Clothing Company.

Mondetta is also a Canadian born company based in Winnipeg, and has three main

divisions: Mondetta, MPG, and private label.

- Patagonia is an American company that markets sustainable outdoor clothing to men,

women, and children. Originally a company that sells climbing gear, they have

transformed into one of the most popular outdoor clothing brands.

 - Love Your Melon is a hat and apparel company that donates 50% of its profits to children

with pediatric cancer in the U.S. It was started by two University of St. Thomas students.

Athleta LuLuLem Active Dick's Sporting Scheels Namaste

on Endeavors Goods

Athleta √

LuLuLem √

on

Lole √ √ √

MPG √

Patagonia √ √ √ √

Love Your √

Melon

Able √
Vuori √

Carve √ √

Designs

Pistil √ √

Toad & Co √ √

Joah √

Brown

Sorel √ √ √

North Face √ √ √

The Iowa √

Wave

Hard Tail √

Forever

Beyond √

Yoga

Alo Yoga √
Shape √ √ √

Activewea

Tonia √

DeBellis

- Able sells leather goods, handmade jewelry, denim, clothing, and footwear. All of their

products are produced by women in Ethiopia, Mexico, Peru, or Nashville, Tennessee.

Able provides women who are in extreme poverty with jobs, so that they do not have to

resort to prostitution as a means of supporting themselves and their families.

- Vuori is a west coast company that makes everyday athletic wear. The clothing allows

customers to move comfortably and sweat in them, all while doing their everyday

activities.

- Carve Designs began as a company that sold rash guards and board shorts for surfers in

2003. They have now grown in a beach wear company. They offer surf, swim, balance,

and lifestyle clothing for real women. They aim to prove the functionality can be

fashionable.

- Pistil creates accessories for people in the active lifestyle with a high focus on function,

but also with a deep consideration for fashion. The products list includes beanies,

headbands, scarves, belts, handwear, bags, caps, visors, and hats.

- Toad & Co are the creators of socially and environmentally friendly clothing which can

be used as exercise apparel or a night out on the town. 100% of cotton used in the Toad &

Co company is either certified organic or recycled cotton.

- Joah Brown created her clothing company that emphasizes the importance of comfort in

2014. She was inspired by going into her husbands closet and enving all of the oversized

sweatshirts, flannels, tank tops, sweatpants, and cotton t-shirts. Her comfortable clothing

designs can be easily worn out as everyday clothing and just change your shoes to head to

your daily workout.

- Sorel is a footwear company that combines felt, wool and high quality leather to create

functional and fashionable boots for the new generation.

- NorthFace is arguably the most recognizable American outdoor product company. It

specializes in outerwear, fleece, coats, shirts, footwear, backpacks, tents and sleeping

bags. North Face also sponsors many professional athletes.

- The Iowa Wave raises money for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s

Hospital. However on the Iowa Wave website is claims that you can only find the shirts

at your local Hy-Vee, Von Maur, and Scheels.

- Hard Tail Forever is an activewear company that celebrates female athleticism. Their

clothes are all made in the United States and are dedicated to empowering women to

break the stereotypes and achieve their dreams.

- Beyond Yoga produces luxury athleisure wear that can easily transition from workout

clothes to a fun night out. Beyond Yoga produces so much more than just yoga clothing,

but clothing that customers can wear anytime without any hassle.
 - Alo Yoga is 100% sweatshop free and eco-aware. Alo Yoga sells yoga clothing with a

twist. Their clothing is a woman’s daily go-to choice. Many celebrities can be seen

wearing Alo Yoga’s products on instagram and in their daily lives.

- Shape Activewear was based off of a woman’s fitness magazine called Shape. The total

circulation of the magazine in 2011 was 1,568,055. The purpose of the magazine was

have models that looked healthy rather than sexy. Shape Activewear caters to all shapes

and sizes.

- Tonia DeBellis is a Canadian clothing company that creates hoodies, jackets and tunics

for active lifestyles, everyday wear, work and home.

Analysis of Pricing:

Contrary to popular belief, Namaste’s prices are about average or even a little less than

some of their competing stores. When conducting research to determine the average prices of the

various items, it was difficult to differentiate the athleisure wear clothing and the non-athleisure

wear. Namaste’s competitors sell a variety of different products and none of them had a section
in the store or on the website that was categorized as athleisure wear. All of their competitors

claim to sell activewear. Scheels shoe selection was extremely diverse, but did not have a wide

variety of shoes that could be considered athleisure wear. Overall, Namaste’s prices are similar

to those competing in the same market, even though they are perceived as more expensive by the

consumers.

Store Hours Analysis:

Many store hours are determined by a wide range of factors, such as employee schedules,

technology, and operating costs versus sales. Stores may also feel a competitive pressure to have

extended hours. Active Endeavors, Athleta, Lululemon, Scheels, and Dick’s Sporting Goods all

have hours that extend past the typical time that people get off of work, so that they may want to

come into the store and shop a bit. They also all have online stores that allows customers to

purchase their products 24/7. Namaste’s hours are very limited. They are only open during the

time that most people are working on the weekdays and are even more restricted on the

weekends.
Social Media Analysis:

When conducting research for Namaste’s social media and the competitors, we analyzed

the social media of the Dubuque Dick’s Sporting Goods, Madison Athleta, and Iowa City
Lululemon. Each of the stores had a Facebook account for a specific location. Namaste has 1,600

likes on their Facebook page which helps to define reach and indicate audience response.

Facebook likes are very important to small businesses. However, not all of the likes on Facebook

are potential customers - some aren’t a good fit. Overtime, they may become a good fit or they

may know someone who is a good fit. Active Endeavors, Lululemon, and Scheel’s do not have a

Facebook page dedicated to each location, so the results are a little skewed because they are big

chain stores that have a large amount of likes.

Competitors’ Online Reviews:

After researching Athleta’s reviews on Yelp, it was found that overall customers had a

positive experience shopping there. One of the biggest positive characteristics that made Athleta

stand out from competitors was the return policy that is in effect in Athleta’s stores. Many

customers compared Athleta to Lululemon however, one customer noted that Athleta has more

casual wear compared to Lululemon.

As well as Athleta, Lululemon had overall positive reviews but for a different reason.

Most of the customers noted the exceptional customer service they experienced in store.

Customer enjoy the added bonus services offered by Lululemon such as free alterations for pants

and weekend workout classes. Added services such as these, keep customers interested, satisfied,

and they are more likely to come back. High quality customer service is one of Namaste’s

biggest strengths and one way to excel this strength is to offer more added services such as

Lululemon.

Active Endeavors had all positive reviews except one detailed review in particular. One

customer expressed their frustration for not being greeted or helped right away by the employees
working at the time. They had also expressed the store was crammed therefore they could not

differentiate the sections of the store. This example is something that makes Namaste stand out

from their competitors. Customers who shop at Namaste rave about the instore shopping

experience.

Dick’s Sporting Goods overall had positive ratings on reviews. While the rating was

overall satisfactory, many customers that wrote reviews expressed their feelings about the poor

customer service. Since Dick’s Sporting Goods is a large retailer, customers do not get the same

in-store experience when shopping. Customers typically receive a personalized shopping

experience when buying clothes from a small, local retailer.

Contrary from Dick’s Sporting Goods, Scheel’s prides themselves on providing excellent

customer service skills to their guests. Some online reviews read, Scheel’s customer service was

the best they ever had. This is very similar to what Namaste has to offer except that Scheel’s is a

very large retailer. This is something that could potentially pose a threat to Namaste because

customers can receive excellent customer service and buy athleisure wear at a lower price.

Website Analysis:

Active Endeavors’ website features a couple wearing Patagonia and NorthFace products

in the snow to show how warm and comfortable their apparel is. As the winter season is

approaching, Active Endeavors is heavily emphasizing the warm clothing and accessories that

they have for sale. Some of the subcategories under the Men’s tab are insulated jackets, fleece

jackets, and shell jackets as well as gloves & mittens, head & neck gear. It is also sorted by

activity such as running, hiking, camping, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. Their website is

easy to navigate with the option to sign up for exclusive offers and deals from the home page.
 Scheels’ website’s layout is set up like a flyer. When first entering the website, the

customer is greeted with a picture of a parent and his two children holding Christmas presents.

All throughout the first page of the website, snowflakes and the theme of Christmas can be seen.

On the bottom, an advertisement of the 12 days of Christmas in which customers can win a lot of

different giveaways. In the bottom left corner, an icon appears to allows customers to be able to

chat with an employee of Scheels if they have any questions or concerns. They also emphasize

gift cards, Scheels Visa Cards, and the ability to create a Scheels account.

Dick’s Sporting Goods website is very organized and features all of the deals first and

transitions into new arrivals, top selling and most popular products. When accessing Dick’s

website, a pop up for $25 off your purchase of $100 or more is the first thing that appears and

customers can either click on the deal or they have to exit the deal to get to the website. Dick’s

Deals of the Day and the Winter Warm Up event is emphasized on as you scroll further down on

their first page.

Athleta organizes most of their clothing by activity on the website as well as by the

typical categories such as tops, bottoms, accessories, shoes, and sale. Athleta also features their

brand ambassadors who receive 30% off of all Athleta apparel. Many of the photos are of young

women in different yoga poses wearing Athleta clothing.They also offer special deals for online

purchases.

Lululemon features different tabs across the top of their website which include: women,

men, girls, collections, community, and gift ideas. One thing that makes Lululemon’s website

unique is under the community tab, one of the subcategories is stories. Stories are the up-close

and personal videos and interviews that give a behind the scenes look at the individuals who

make up Lululemon’s collective. Also under the Community tab is information about their
SweatLife campaign. The SweatLife says that sometimes it takes a little more than gear to get

out and get moving. These stories are all about giving you that extra kick in the (stretchy) pants

so that you can go out and live SweatLife.

Namaste’s website first greets its potential customers with a section where they are able

to type in their information to get special deals. However, once the customer has their name and

email address entered, there is nowhere for them to submit it, forcing them to close the pop up

and continue on with their website browse without the special deals promised. The shopping bag

in the upper right hand corner is a little confusing to some because they are assuming that you

are able to buy some of the clothes from Namaste online, however that is not the case. Namaste

is currently making their clothing and apparel available online, but is still a work in progress.

The About Us tab is very beneficial to the website because it tells the audience about what

happened and is happening behind the scenes of Namaste and to learn more about Anne.

Store Layout:

Athleta

Looking into an Athleta store, customers see very bright articles of clothing throughout

the store. Many point of purchase displays are tailored to the customers’ likes. Athleta is more

focused on yoga than Namaste and have some mannequins in different yoga poses and

sequences. Many Athleta locations are in shopping malls which makes it convenient for

customers to shop. Most of the time, when consumers go to shopping malls, they are there for

extended periods of time. This gives them the chance to shop around at different stores. It may

be easier for some customers to buy speciality athleisure wear pieces if they are already in the

shopping mall shopping for other items. Athleta’s typical store hours are from ten o’clock in the
morning to nine o’clock at night. The athleisure wear target market consists mainly of working

adults. The longer store hours give consumers the ability to shop for longer periods of time and

they are able to shop after normal work hours. The downfall of this store being located in a mall

is that consumers can get distracted by other stores or noise going on around them. Since Athleta

is a large chain, consumers also may not receive individualized customer service as they would

at a small scale boutique.

Scheels

Scheels is a very large sporting goods store and there is a wide variety throughout. The

store is two levels high and has a range of sections from hunting, fishing, outdoor wear, outdoor

gear, watersports, multiple sport sections, bikes, camping, then it expands to the downstairs

which is clothing such as sportswear, activewear, womens nice clothing such as high end brands

of yoga pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, and also a huge shoe section. The shoe section ranges from

everyday wear to sports shoes and dress shoes as well. When looking at their womens athleisure

wear, Scheels has a large women's section full of different popular brands such as nike, adidas,

patagonia, champion, etc. The atmosphere in Scheels is comfortable and helpful. There are sales

associates everywhere in each section ready to help you try on your favorite brand of clothing.

Particularly there is a dressing room near the women's athleisure and dressier clothing area. All

of the sales associates are extremely helpful when it comes to pulling nice and comfortable

brands of yoga pants off the shelves for their customers. Overall, Scheels workers pride

themselves on customer service. In their eyes, the customer is always right and they do

everything in their power to give every single customer that walks in there, the same enjoyable

experience every visit.

Lululemon

Lululemon originally opened as a yoga studio in Vancouver, Canada in 1998, but has

grown to sell yoga clothing in over 380 stores worldwide. The layout of Lululemon stores uses

the loyalty of their customers and scarcity to their advantage. Lululemon stores are very small

and their products go through very quick life cycles. The company is aiming to get the customers

to buy their products at full price before their short life cycle ends and is no longer available for

purchase. One of the product lines called, “Paris Pink”, was estimated to have a life cycle of two

months, but rather sold out in one week. The company provides customers with a relaxing

feeling once they step foot through the doors of the store. The calming colors of the clothing

hanging on the wood panelled walls and folded on wooden tables give off a clean and warm

feeling.

Namaste

Namaste is in a unique location compared to their competitors. Located in the historic

millwork district, Namaste customers get a unique shopping experience they cannot get at other

athleisure wear stores. Namaste has an atmosphere that makes customers feel calm, relaxed, and

comfortable. The instore experience customers get when they shop is an important factor as to

what sets Namaste apart from their competitors. Since Namaste is a small, local business, the

staff is able to create meaningful relationships with their regular customers. The store itself has a

rustic and light look.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

 Dick’s Sporting Goods is a store that has an extremely wide variety of things from

hunting guns to women’s yoga clothing. The enormous chain store’s customer service offering is

nothing compared to a small local business. It is typically hard to find an employee to help you

answer a question. The employee’s knowledge is not extensive on every department because so

many different things are sold in the store. In Dick’s, the women’s yoga apparel can typically be

found intermixed in the women’s athletic wear section and is hard to differentiate which is yoga

apparel and which is athletic wear. No where on Dick’s website or in the store do they mention

athleisure wear, but they do advertise their yoga apparel and athletic apparel.

Active Endeavors

Active Endeavors is arguably the biggest competitor to Namaste because they carry a lot

of the same brands. They have two store locations, Davenport and Iowa City. The stores have a

very clean look to them. The storefront is completely glass so that the customers can see

everything that is happening in the store. It also allows the store managers to display some of the

newest arrivals on the mannequins in the windows. Gridwall panels line some of the walls to

maximize the amount of space to display merchandise. The purpose of the store is for people to

get outdoors and explore more of nature and that is what the inside of the store is trying to

replicate. The natural look from the wooden fixtures and the minimalist atmosphere.

Advertising Analysis:

Namaste has a variety of competitors that each use their advertisements to attract their

target audience, and show what products they have. Based on the advertisements, each

competitor uses color schemes, images, and slogans or descriptions that make them stand out.

Additionally, locations of these advertisements is key to their success.

Namaste:

Namaste’s advertisements are centered around a comfortable lifestyle. Other competitors’

posts show models working out or doing yoga to show how the clothing performs. Many of

Namaste’s advertisements are women in professional clothing in a big city. Namaste is dedicated

to promoting a comfortable lifestyle in business and personal life, however it does not seem that

many of these advertisements would appeal to their target market of middle-age women.

Namaste publishes their advertisements in Her magazine, Business Times, Julien’s

Journal, and Territory Times. These are all specialized publications that reach populations in the

Dubuque area. However, these advertisements often will not reach younger audiences, or more

people than who currently receive the publications. Her magazine, Julien’s Journal, and the

Territory Times are available online. The specialized publications are only in Dubuque, and may

not reach potential customers.

Athleta
 Each Athleta store has their own Facebook page. The Madison location’s includes a

calendar of the store events, hours, and link to the Madison Athleta’s Twitter. This advertisement

is an example of a typical ad that can be found on their social media outlets. The ads are geared

towards young, active women. The apparel is specifically designed for yoga and other athletic

activities. On the company’s YouTube page, the videos focus on the store managers and the

many different uses for their product.

Lululemon
 People who need clothing specifically for yoga is the prime market for Lululemon and

their advertising reflects that. They also are promoting the health of your mind and body. Yoga is

more than a physical activity to take part in. Lululemon calls their customers, yogis. Yogis are a

practitioner of yoga. Yoga, aerobics, pilates, and zumba are growing and the demand for

merchandise is increasing. Lululemon is maximizing their potential in the market to increase the

profits for the company.

Active Endeavors

Active Endeavors’ advertisements are emphasizing the outdoors with merchandise that is

comfortable, versatile, and warm. The recent ads from Active Endeavors are geared towards

staying warm in the cold winter months. They advertise to people who love the outdoors and are

outside for long periods of time and need to stay warm.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

Advertisements from Dick’s Sporting Goods are made for an athletic audience by

showcasing sports like football, golf, hunting, tennis, and more. Some of the ads are merchandise

that represents a specific team like the advertisements pictured above. Not many of their ads are

geared towards women or even athleisure wear at all. The colors used by Dick’s indicates the

athletic audience, specifically targeting men.

Conclusions

According to our results, we found many correlations among our different research

methods. Each group set key objectives to discover what factors are important to a customer

when shopping. Our main objectives revolved around customer satisfaction, awareness, behavior
and attitudes. We found common themes intertwined throughout our research results. Five main

results were apparent in our findings.

In general, we found the majority of people prefer to shop on the weekends. This is

particularly important to the new target market ages 18-24, due to the lack of flexibility in their

schedules. Next, we discovered there is a lack of awareness of not only the products Namaste

offers, but the actual store itself in the Greater Dubuque Area. We believe the reason behind this

is due to the lack of consistency when using social media as an advertising tool as well as the up

and coming location of the millwork district where Namaste is located. Our questionnaire

revealed that young adults are willing to spend more money on quality clothing sold from local

retailers. We found this especially interesting since we originally thought we would see a

majority of this market shopping online and at chain retailers. The Qualitative Research group

did discover a swing toward those interviewed preferring online and chain retailers over

shopping local. This was inconsistent with what the Quantitative research discovered. According

to the questionnaire, a large majority of shoppers are willing to spend more money for quality

clothing from local retailers. We attribute this to the way the question was asked and the setting

in which it was asked. Another inconsistency we found within the research was regarding the

importance of brands and the impact they have on the buying behaviors of shoppers. According

to the Quantitative group, brand is not a determining factor when choosing a retailer or when

purchasing clothing. Whereas the Qualitative research discovered the same group of individuals

do prioritize brands of clothing. We attribute this to the way the question was asked and the

setting in which it was asked. Finally, we concluded that the prices Namaste has their products

set at are very similar if not the same as their direct and indirect competitors. This along with

those stated above are critical misconceptions we will address in the recommendations.
 Recommendations

Based off of our research, we were able to further understand what Namaste can improve

upon. Our results led us to include the following recommendations. Extend store hours –

Extending hours will create flexibility for potential target market. From our findings, it was

shown that customers tend to shop on the weekends therefore, extending weekend shopping

hours will allow for more time to spend in store. Increase social media and advertising presence

– all of Namaste’s competitors post on social media at least once or twice per day. They post on

Facebook and Instagram stories and they have the ability to shop directly from social media

accounts. Brand ambassadors – having brand ambassadors is a great way to get word out to new

customers. They can showcase items from Namaste and educate their followers. Updating the

website – before the website revamp, Namaste can engage their followers without selling. This

can be done by creating blog posts and showing outfits of the month on the website. After the

revamp, customers should have the ability to online shop on the website and have access to that

as well from social media accounts. College night for students – Namaste can heavily advertise

on college campuses in the area and show college students what Namaste and the Millwork

district have to offer. They can target families while they are in town by hosting events on family

weekends and move in weekends. Have advertisements that reflect overall target market –

Namaste can appeal to different target markets by utilizing different advertising mediums

accordingly. If Namaste is trying to reach out to their older audience from ages 45 and up, they

should utilize more print media. If they are trying to target the younger target market, they

should push advertisements on social media.