Population, Sample Size and Data Collection

Shopping in the North West of England if often part of the trip for a majority of visitors with 71% of visitors going shopping during their trip (Visit Britain, 2013). Of this total figure, 60% shop for clothes or accessories and 43% shop for souvenirs (Visit Britain, 2013).

Statistics from 2013 demonstrated that over 6,000 overseas visitors who stayed only in the North West reported visiting primarily for personal shopping as opposed to visiting this area to take a holiday (Visit Britain, 2013). These findings indicated the popularity of

117 | P a g e cities in the North West of England in attracting international visitors for shopping.

Therefore, three contrasting cases in the North West of England including Manchester, Liverpool and Chester were selected using judgemental sampling based on two criteria (see 12.5.2.1 for participant recruitment process). Using judgemental sampling method (also referred to as purposive sampling), the researcher used her judgement to select cases that will best assist with achieving the research objectives (Saunders et al., 2016).

Additionally, prior marketing research on the urban places helped to inform this decision as outlined below. Judgemental sampling method is often used for very small samples such as in case study research and selecting a sample that is particularly informative (Neuman, 2005). However, the drawback of employing this method is that the sample cannot be statistically representative of the target population (Saunders et al., 2016) and research bias can occur given that the sample is based on the researcher’s judgement.

A justification for the choice of urban shopping destinations is presented below.

Manchester is the second most visited UK city destination for domestic visitors and the third most visited for international visitors (Visit Britain, 2017). Liverpool’s city centre is central to the city’s success as a retail destination and local authorities and major retailers are working together to organise campaigns to entice more people to visit (Invest in Liverpool, 2014). In comparison, Chester attracts more domestic visitors than international visitors (Marketing Cheshire, 2015), although, international tourism is expected to grow due to the Northern Tourism Growth Fund that is establishing consumer awareness in core markets including China, USA, Germany and Australia (CH1 Chester BID, 2017). Specifically, Greater Manchester attracts the most overseas visitors in the North West of England, followed by Merseyside then Cheshire (Visit Britain, 2013).

Manchester city centre (200,000 per annum 2010-2012) and Liverpool city centre (around 170,000) attract most overseas holiday visits and were respectively the fourth and sixth most popular UK cities for overseas holiday visitors in 2012, while Chester attracts around 50,000 holiday visits per year (Visit Britain, 2013).

Moreover, a report by Statista (2016) based on 2014 statistics indicated that Manchester (annual revenue £910 billion) is the second leading retail centre in the UK by annual revenue, while Liverpool ranked sixth (annual revenue of £705 billion). Chester is not on

118 | P a g e this list indicating that it is much smaller in scale in terms of the number of visitors it attracts for retail purposes and overall retail spend. Overall, the three cases are similar in that they are all UK city break destinations; however, Manchester and Liverpool are established within the international market and have a much higher retail spend potential.

By comparison, Chester appeals more to the domestic market and has a much lower retail spend potential, however, it is clear that the city’s marketers are aiming to increase the city’s attractiveness to the international market.

In this part of the study, the population in which the sample has been selected is urban place marketers in urban shopping destinations in the UK. Urban place marketers are concerned with both new and existing shopping visitors’ image perceptions, enhancing the attractiveness of a specific place, and differentiating the city to protect its long-term economic validity (Teller and Elms, 2012; Hart et al., 2007; Runyan and Huddleston, 2006). As outlined in a previous chapter (see 2.2.6), place marketers can include tourism departments or organisations (e.g. DMOs), city councils and BIDs. DMOs are the organisation responsible for the coordination of the complex tourism industry, and they are capable of developing and implementing innovative strategies in response to rapidly evolving marketing and environmental conditions (Ritchie and Crouch, 2003). Given that both DMOs and BIDs are responsible for marketing cities, recruiting a sample of urban place marketers from these organisations seems appropriate for this study.

A convenience sampling technique was employed to identify seven participants, at managerial level or in digital marketing, from this population that could provide useful insights into the topic of research. More specifically, those within managerial roles are responsible for overseeing the marketing activities within the organisation and were perceived to have knowledge and expertise in urban place marketing including the use of digital marketing channels. Additionally, participants in digital marketing roles within the marketing organisations are responsible for developing social media campaigns, web-based campaigns, and potentially developing marketing campaigns using new technologies (e.g. VR) and integrating technologies that enhance the destination experience (e.g. AR).

119 | P a g e Overall, seven interviews were conducted throughout July – August 2017. The interviews were conducted at the urban place marketer’s offices or over the telephone and lasted between 30-40 minutes. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed into a word document within a maximum of three days after the interview was conducted (see 12.7 for interview transcripts).

Table 5.1 portrays the participant profile including participant’s role and main duties according to the interview data, and also the participant number allocated for the analysis.

Participants were provided a code from P1-P7. The coding was allocated in no particular order.

120 | P a g e

DMO To grow the visitor economy, increase brand awareness, entice visitors, increase

expenditure and visitor satisfaction.

P2 Marketing

Manager

DMO To increase visitor number, develop the tourism offer in collaboration with tourism organisations, liaise with

domestic/international audiences and target the consumer market.

P3 Digital Executive DMO To produce digital marketing content and

manage the organisations online presence

DMO Focus on international campaigns in liaison with the local airport and leading airlines.

Manage the Business Tourism market with focus on marketing and promoting the services the organisation offers and try to get business conferences to be held in the city.

P5 Head of Visitor

Economy

DMO To provide strategic guidance and support for tourism organisations across the local area.

P6 Marketing

Manager

DMO To manage visitor campaigns and activities across all digital marketing channels.

P7 Marketing

Manager

BID To ensure the city has visual appeal by collaborating with over 500 tourism

businesses on projects aiming to improve the city centre and develop campaigns for those businesses.

121 | P a g e 5.4.2 Visitors Interviews