Alabama Retail Association Survey

The Alabama Retail Association Severe Weather Preparedness

Tax-Free Holiday Survey Research Report

Survey Research Methods

Dr. Smith

Nov. 15, 2012

Research and Analysis Conducted by: Brittney Dobbs, Anna Hewlett, Haley Partus and Jessica Smith

Table of Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………….1 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………2-4 Methodology................................................................................................................5-6 Results……………………………………………………………………………………….7-14 Purpose………………………………………………………………………………………...7 Design………………………………………………………………………………………..7-8 Participants………………………………………………………………………………….8-9 Procedure……………………………………………………………………………………...9 Quantitative and Qualitative Results……………………………................................ 9-14 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………15-16 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………………...17 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….17 Reference………………………………………………………………………………………18 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………...19-23

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Abstract

The Alabama Retail Association has the opportunity to benefit from our research of

surveying residents in the state of Alabama. It would be beneficial for the Alabama

Retail Association in preparing for the upcoming severe weather tax-free holiday to

know if residents are aware of whether or not the holiday exists, if they have previously

participated in it, if they know which items are included and if they would participate in

the holiday. The information provided by the surveyed residents in Alabama will allow

the Alabama Retail Association to improve the involvement of Alabamians in the severe

weather tax-free holiday. The survey was distributed randomly via Facebook and email

to a sampling of residents and homeowners in the state of Alabama. We have

determined that there is a lack of knowledge of the severe weather tax-free holiday, and

that residents would be willing to take part of the holiday if they were better informed.

Included in this report are recommendations for how the Alabama Retail Association

can target a larger audience and improve participation in the holiday.

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Literature Review

Alabama Retail Association

The Alabama Retail Association was formed in 1943 to fulfill the need for retailer

representation when public policy was made. Today the Alabama Retail Association is

the top organization for promoting and protecting the interests of retailers in Alabama

and currently represents almost 4,000 members ranging from large national chain

stores to small family-owned establishments. These members have some 6,000

locations statewide and sell food, clothing, furniture and many other products the

consumers of Alabama need. Alabama Retail Association membership accounts for

more than 75 percent of annual retail sales in the state. The primary objective of the

Alabama Retail Association is to lobby the Alabama Legislature and the U.S. Congress

on behalf of retailers, continually monitor legislative activity, and represent retailers on

issues pertaining to them.

Tax-Free Holidays

Alabama has two statewide sales tax holidays: the back-to-school tax holiday

and the severe weather preparedness tax holiday. Retailers are required to participate

in the state’s sales-tax holidays and cannot charge any waived sales taxes on the items

that are legally tax-exempt during the two tax holidays. The Alabama Retail Association

has information on their website for retailers and consumers to prepare for the sales-tax

holidays.

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Severe Weather Preparedness Tax-Free Holiday

Alabama will hold its second severe weather preparedness sales-tax holiday,

Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 through Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The Alabama Retail Association

held the first severe weather tax-free holiday in July 2012. Alabama shoppers can stock

up on common tax-free supplies, such as flashlights, battery-operated radios and non-

perishable food that cost less than $60, and generators that cost less than $1,000.Every

home and business needs these items to prepare for a natural disaster or emergency,

and they can buy them free of sales or use tax during the holiday. Local sales and use

tax may apply in some counties. This year’s Severe Weather Preparedness holiday will

begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, and end at midnight, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013.

Survey Purpose and Participants

The Alabama Retail Association wanted to formulate a survey for residents and

homeowners in the state of Alabama to help understand who takes advantage of the

Severe Weather Preparedness tax-free holiday and why they do so. This will give them

the opportunity to evaluate the holiday to see how it is successful and how they

encourage more participation in the event.

The survey, involving 26 questions, asks Alabama residents about severe

weather emergencies and if they have ever heard of the tax free holiday. The residents

are surveyed after the first tax-free holiday and before the second holiday occurring this

year. With the results, the Alabama Retail Association hopes to make any necessary

changes to improve the tax-free holiday. The survey will answer why residents are not

participating in the holiday and give solutions to the Alabama Retail Association so

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participation can be made easier. The questions will bring awareness to the Severe

Weather Preparedness holiday and encourage participation throughout the state so

residents can plan accordingly for severe weather.

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Methodology

This study of the Alabama Retail Association consisted of a 26-question survey

that was taken by participants using Qualtrics software. In order to form reliable

predictions, we used non-probability sampling based on convenience. We emailed the

survey to 25 people, as well as posted the link to the survey to our Facebook

profiles. From this, we received a total of 84 responses. The goal was to assess the

knowledge of tax-free holidays, specifically the severe weather tax-free holiday, offered

by the Alabama Retail Association.

The building of the survey began after we gained knowledge that the severe

weather tax-free holiday was held in July 2012 and that it was not fully taken advantage

of by Alabama residents as it could have been.

We included a variety of questions, including open-ended questions, closed-

ended questions and Likert scale questions in the survey. We asked six open-ended

questions, three closed-ended questions and nine Likert scale questions. We included

one filter question at the beginning of the survey to determine whether or not the

participants were qualified to be considered for the survey.

This study targeted residents 19 and older in the state of Alabama that live in an

area that is prone to a severe weather emergency. The target age was 19 and above,

as legal adults would be the best population sample of residents in the United States.

We decided that anyone younger than 19 would be less likely to maintain a household

on their own. We concluded that these residents that are less likely to maintain a

household on their own would also be less likely to be the primary buyer for a

household and would not be buying severe weather preparedness items.

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We also only chose to target Alabama residents by county to specifically target

the state of Alabama for the Alabama Retail Association. We decided anyone who lived

outside of Alabama would not be relevant to the study. More specifically, we wanted to

target residents that have already experienced a severe weather emergency because

they would be more likely to take advantage of future severe weather prevention

methods such as the severe weather tax-free holiday. In order to gain more

demographic knowledge about the participants, we created survey questions related to

the size of their family, gender, race and income level.

To better understand the target population, we also asked how they received

news information. We decided to determine the best way to contact Alabama residents

based on their main sources of news gathering. These methods could be traditional

methods like newspapers, radio and television, as well as more contemporary methods

like online news sites or social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter.

The survey was given approximately four months following the first severe

weather tax-free holiday that was held in July 2012 and three months before the next

holiday that will be in February 2013. By using this time frame, we hope to gain

knowledge from participants and non-participants of why or why they did not participate

in the event and if they would be willing to participate in the next one.

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Results

I. Purpose

The Alabama Retail Association needed a way to gain information from Alabama

residents on their knowledge of the severe weather tax-free holiday. This survey was

used to discover if people were aware of the tax-free holiday, the items that would be

included in the holiday and if they would take advantage of the holiday if they knew

about it.

II. Design

The survey questionnaire was divided into four sections which included an

introduction, a body, a demographic section and a conclusion. The survey also included

essential elements such as transitions and instructions that made it easy for

respondents to follow.

There were many different types of questions used. These include a filter

question, scale questions, open-ended questions, close-ended questions, netgraphic

questions and demographic questions. The filter question was used to target a specific

geographic region so that the data would be reliable, valid and more effective for the

Alabama Retail Association to reach a certain audience. The scale questions were used

to gauge respondents’ familiarity and opinions on tax-free holidays in Alabama. The

open-ended questions were used to better understand the participant’s individual

experience or knowledge. The close-ended questions were used to get a definite

response with no opinion.

The netgraphic questions were used to determine the influence that social media

and the Internet have on respondents. We used these questions as a way to determine

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if the respondents use social media or the Internet for shopping or to gain information.

We also wanted to find out which social media sites are used the most and are the most

influential. These questions raise new possibilities for how the Alabama Retail

Association can use social media to improve participation in tax-free holidays by

appealing to participants’ netgraphic preferences.

The demographic questions were used to determine the county, gender, age,

race, size of family and income level of the participants. The demographic questions will

allow the Alabama Retail Association to see who would more likely take advantage of

the holiday and how they can appeal to that audience. The survey was uploaded to

Qualtrics where it was made available by a link for potential participants. See survey in

Appendix A.

III. Participants

There were a total of 84 participants. The participants of the survey were

residents and/or homeowners in the state of Alabama. Participant demographics were

as follows:

Gender: 25 percent male, 75 percent female.

Age group: 53 percent 18 to 25, 19 percent 26 to 35, 10 percent 36 to 45, 10

percent 46 to 59, 8 percent 60 or older.

County: 24 Lee County, 1 Mobile County, 1 Elmore County, 10 Calhoun County,

3 Etowah County, 5 Jefferson County, 1 Montgomery County, 2 Marshall County

and 1 Monroe County.

Race: 97 percent Caucasian, 1 percent Asian, 1 percent Native American

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Family Size: 43 percent 1 to 3 members, 57 percent 4 to 6 members

Income Level: 25 percent under $15,000, 9 percent $16,000-$30,000, 15

percent $31,000-$50,000, 15 percent $51,000-$70,000, 37 percent more than

$70,000

IV. Procedure

The survey was distributed by email to residents in the state of Alabama and posted on

our individual Facebook walls.

V. Quantitative and Qualitative Results

Question 1

Distributed via personal Facebook walls and emails we had a total of 84 respondents

who agreed to accept taking this survey.

Question 2

Have you heard of any of the tax-free holidays in state of Alabama?

# Answer

Response %

1 Yes

62 74%

2 No

22 26%

Total 84 100%

Seventy- four percent of the respondents said have heard of the tax-free holidays in

Alabama and 22 percent have not heard of them.

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Question 3 and 4

Of the 62 people that have heard of the tax-free holidays 35 people did not take

advantage of it and only 25 did take advantage. The people who took advantage of the

tax-free holidays only one took advantage of the severe-weather

Question 5 and 6

Sixty percent of the respondents have encountered a severe weather emergency and

40 percent have not encountered one.

Of the affected population the majority of them were affected by tornadoes or

hurricanes.

Question 7

When surveyed about how aware of what items are necessary to have on hand for a

severe weather emergency, 86 percent were familiar with what items are considered

necessary to have on hand in your house.

Question 8, 9 and 10

Although they are aware of what items are needed and the majority has been affected,

the likelihood of them participating varied.

When asked, “How likely would you be to use a tax-free holiday to purchase severe

weather items?” this is how they responded.

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# Answer

Response %

1 Very Unlikely

4 5%

2 Unlikely

10 13%

3 Somewhat

Unlikely

10 13%

4 Undecided

7 9%

5 Somewhat

Likely

27 35%

6 Likely

8 10%

7 Very Likely

12 15%

Total 78 100%

Although only 44 percent of the respondents thought the severe weather tax-free

holiday would be important another 44 percent remained neutral about the holiday.

Seventy-six percent agreed participating would be beneficial.

Question 11 and 12

The majority of respondents are unaware of which items would be tax free. Although

participants are unaware of the exact items, the majority does know which stores supply

the severe weather materials.

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Netgraphics

This section was used to gauge how respondents use social media and the

Internet in their everyday life. It was also used to discover what their preferences are on

social media and Internet sites and how they use them for shopping online.

Question 13 and 14

Most respondents stated that they would prefer to shop at retail stores to Internet

retailers. When asked, “Do you prefer to shop at Internet retailers over retail stores?” 40

percent were neutral and 40 percent disagreed.

If respondents stated they did shop online, the most popular Internet retailer was

Amazon with 32 shoppers.

Question 15

When asked about social media, of the 68 responses, the most popular social media

site was Facebook. There were 52 respondents that said they use Facebook more than

any other social media site.

Question 16

Although 52 respondents say they use Facebook more than any other social media site

they do not prefer to get their shopping information from any social media sites. When

asked the question, “Which social media site do you get your shopping information

from?” half of respondents said none and 17 said Facebook.

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Question 17

This led us to the next question, “How do you receive your news information?” Of the 73

responses, 31 said television, 32 said the Internet and only 7 said social media.

Question 18

How likely would you be to participate in the severe weather sales tax holiday

online if it were an available option?

# Answer

Response %

1 Very Unlikely

5 7%

2 Unlikely

5 7%

3 Somewhat

Unlikely

12 16%

4 Undecided

13 18%

5 Somewhat

Likely

31 42%

6 Likely

3 4%

7 Very Likely

4 5%

Total 73 100%

Looking at the graph above, we found that of 73 responses, 31 were somewhat likely,

12 were somewhat unlikely and 13 were left undecided.

Question 19

When asked, “How likely would you be to shop at stores that participate in the severe

weather holiday over non-participating stores?” 48 respondents were likely and 12 left

undecided.

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Question 20

The majority of 73 respondents disagreed with the question, “Do you prefer using social

media for online shopping rather than traditional web browsing store websites?” While

40 disagreed, 30 respondents neither agreed nor disagreed.

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Discussion

After looking at the results, we found that 74 percent of survey participants in the

state of Alabama are aware of the tax-free holidays organized by the Alabama Retail

Association. Although they are aware of the holidays, only 40 percent took advantage of

either one. We also found that residents were taking advantage of the back-to-school

tax-free holiday. Only one participant had heard of the severe weather tax-free holiday,

but 44 percent of respondents felt that having the severe weather tax-free holiday was

important or very important and would be somewhat likely to take advantage of the

holiday. Most people have never heard of the severe weather tax-free holiday and our

research shows that if they only knew more about it, they would take advantage of it.

Through our research on severe weather, we found that 64 percent of those that

have encountered severe weather were affected by tornadoes. This would be a great

audience for the Alabama Retail Association to start targeting. Because the majority of

our participants were affected by tornadoes (64 percent), we suggest that the Alabama

Retail Association start targeting the tornado prone areas in the state of Alabama to

take advantage of the severe-weather tax free holiday. We suggest the Alabama Retail

Association target the general public affected by tornadoes in the tornado prone areas,

not just the 64 percent of the participants. Eighty-six percent were familiar or very

familiar in what severe weather items are necessary for protection, however only 22

percent were aware of which items would be tax free. If the audience knew all the items

that were necessary then why would they not know which items would be tax free?

Residents should be notified which items are necessary and which items are tax free so

they can be better protected and participate.

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We found that more than half of the participants would rather receive their news

information from Internet and television sources than any other news source. This is

important so that the Alabama Retail Association will know where to advertise and get

the word out about the holiday.

Although respondents get their news information from social media and the

Internet, they would rather purchase the items in store than online. We believe that by

using the mass media the Alabama Retail Association can better inform residents of the

severe weather tax-free holiday so residents would be more likely to take advantage of

it. By using Facebook, Twitter and television commercials the Alabama Retail

Association can inform residents and homeowners to get them excited and informed

about the holiday to encourage them to participate in stores.

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Recommendations

From our results, we believe that the following will increase the knowledge and

participation of the severe weather tax-free holiday:

Take advantage of the mass media:

o Television commercials, newspaper articles, Internet news articles, a

Facebook group with updated information on participating stores and

pictures, an active Twitter account with reminders of dates and press

releases

Events:

o Participating stores hosting free giveaways with guest appearances by

weather celebrities (For example, James Spann or Jim Cantore)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the survey was a success. We found that residents and

homeowners in the state of Alabama are interested in a severe weather tax-free

holiday. However, they lack enough information to take part in the holiday. Our survey

allowed us to make reliable and valid predictions on ways for the Alabama Retail

Association to make improvements. We have included our opinion on ways we think

residents can learn more about the holiday so they will be more likely to take advantage

of it.

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Reference

Alabama Retail Association. (2012). Retrieved Nov. 1, 2012 from

www.alabamaretail.org.

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Appendix

ARA-Severe Weather Tax-Free Holiday

Q1 As a research methods class at Auburn University, we are working with the Alabama

Retail Association to help them better their severe weather tax-free holiday. We assure

you that you will remain anonymous throughout this survey, which is being used solely

for research purposes. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and you may

stop taking this at any time. The following questions will judge your knowledge and

opinions of the Alabama severe weather tax-free holiday.

Accept (1)

Decline (2)

Q2 Have you heard of any of the tax-free holidays in state of Alabama?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Q3 If yes, did you take advantage of either holiday?

Click to write Choice 1 (1) ____________________

Q4 If so, which one?


Q5 Have you or your family encountered a severe weather emergency?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Q6 What type of severe weather has your family encountered?


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Q7 How familiar are you with the items that are considered necessary to have in your

house for a severe weather emergency?

Very Familiar (1)

Familiar (2)

Neither Familiar or Unfamiliar (3)

Unfamiliar (4)

Very Unfamiliar (5)

Q8 How likely would you be to use a tax-free holiday to purchase severe weather

items?

Very Unlikely (1)

Unlikely (2)

Somewhat Unlikely (3)

Undecided (4)

Somewhat Likely (5)

Likely (6)

Very Likely (7)

Q10 How important do you feel a tax-free holiday is for severe weather items?

Very Important (1)

Important (2)

Neutral (3)

Unimportant (4)

Very Unimportant (5)

Q11 Do you think participating in this holiday is beneficial?

Strongly Agree (1)

Agree (2)

Neither Agree nor Disagree (3)

Disagree (4)

Strongly Disagree (5)

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Q12 Are you aware of which items would be tax-free?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Q13 Do you know which stores supply severe weather materials?

Yes (1)

No (2)

Q14 Do you prefer to shop at Internet retailers over retail stores?

Q15 Where do you shop online?


Q16 Of the social media sites you are a member of, which do you use most?


Q17 Which social media site do you get shopping information from?


Q18 How do you receive your news information?

Television (1)

Radio (2)

Newspaper (3)

Social Media (4)

Internet (5)

Other (Please Specify) (6) ____________________

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Q19 How likely would you be to participate in the severe weather sales tax holiday

online if it were an available option?

Very Unlikely (1)

Unlikely (2)


Undecided (4)

Somewhat Likely (5)

Likely (6)

Very Likely (7)

Q20 How likely would you be to shop at stores that participate in the severe weather

holiday over non-participating stores?

Very Unlikely (1)

Unlikely (2)


Undecided (4)

Somewhat Likely (5)

Likely (6)

Very Likely (7)

Q21 Do you prefer using social media for online shopping rather than traditional web

browsing store websites?

Strongly Agree (1)

Agree (2)

Neither Agree nor Disagree (3)

Disagree (4)

Strongly Disagree (5)

Q22 What is your gender?

Male (1)

Female (2)

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Q23 Please select the age group that fits you.

18-25 (1)

26-35 (2)

36-45 (3)

46-59 (4)

60 or Older (5)

Q24 What county do you live in?


Q25 What is your race?

Caucasian (1)

African American (2)

Asian (3)

Hispanic (4)

Native American (5)

Other (6)

Q26 What is the size of your family?

1-3 (1)

4-6 (2)

7-10 (3)

Other (4)

Q27 What is your income level?

Under $15,000 (1)

$16,000-$30,000 (2)

$31,000-$50,000 (3)

$51,000-$70,000 (4)

More than $70,000 (5)

Documents

Alabama Retail Association Survey