2

customers concerning their personal, behavioral, and psychological profiles.

Specifically, the researchers would want to answer the following questions that affect the

purchasing behavior of the customers:

1.   What are the personal profiles of the customers?

2.   What are the behavioral profiles of the customers?

3.   What are the psychological profiles of the customers?

1.2 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would help owners and managers in determining the

profiles of their customers in terms of the personal, behavioral and psychological aspects

in order to create an effective and efficient marketing strategy that might lead to customer

loyalty, thereby generating greater return on investment.

This study would also benefit customers in terms of better services provided by

the milk tea shops.  The response of the customers would help the management of the

milk tea shops to know the concerns and problems of their customers.  Thus, helping the

management provide better services to them and take appropriate action toward it.

Based on the existing literatures available, this study is the first in terms of

customer profiling of milk tea shops in Iligan City.  Thus, this study will add to the

existing literature on customer profiling. This study will also serve as reference and basis

for future researchers with a similar topic.  Moreover, this study could help marketing

students understand the importance of customer profiling as a marketing strategy. This

will give them an idea on how to conduct the customer profiling and what are the data

needed for an effective profiling of the customers as a strategy in improving business

sales.  This could also serve as an actual sample of customer profiling in their lessons.
 3

1.3 Objectives and Limitations of the Study

1.3.1 Objectives of the study

The general objective of the study is to know the customer’s profile of the five

selected milk tea shops in Iligan City.  Specifically, this study aims to:

1.) Determine the personal profile of the customers of the five selected milk tea shops in

Iligan City, namely: Infinitea,Zen Tea, Te Amo, I Love Milk Tea (Tibanga) and I Love

Milk Tea (Poblacion) in terms of the following:  

a. Age;

b. Sex;

c. Civil status;

d. Occupation; and

e. Monthly allowance/ income

2.) Know the behavioral profile of the customers of the five selected milk tea shops in

Iligan City, namely: Infinitea,Zen Tea, Te Amo, I Love Milk Tea (Tibanga) and I Love

Milk Tea (Poblacion) in terms of the following:

a. Time of drinking milk tea;

b. Type of milk tea purchase; and

c. Ways of drinking milk tea

3.) Determine the psychological profile of the customers of the five selected milk tea

shops in Iligan City, namely: Infinitea, Zentea, Te amo, I Love Milk Tea (Tibanga) and I

Love Milk Tea (Poblacion) in terms of the following:

a. Regularity of visit;
 4

b. Amount spent in purchasing milk tea;

c. Reasons in purchasing milk tea; and

d. Satisfaction in purchasing milk tea.

1.3.2 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The coverage of this study focused on the profiles of the customers who visited

and purchased products in the five milk tea shops in Iligan City, namely: Infinitea

(located in G/F Maria Goretti residences, Barangay San Miguel), Zen Tea (located in De

Leon Street Poblacion), Te Amo (located in Mariano Badelles Sr. Street Poblacion), I

love Milk Tea (located in Tibanga) and I Love Milk Tea (located in Poblacion).  The

profiles of the customers collected were in 3 parts: personal, behavioral and

psychological. For the social profile, it was not included since it was already incorporated

in the personal profile such as roles and status while for the cultural profile, it was

replaced with behavioral profile since the factors under it are more inclined on the

behavior of a person such as time, type and ways of drinking milk tea.

The researchers limited the respondents for each milk tea shop to only thirty

randomly selected customers due to time and money constraints.  The number of

respondents are limited only to thirty because the researchers based it on how large a

particular shop can accommodate. These respondents were selected through convenient

sampling method which is also known as the availability method since it depends on the

availability of both the researchers and the customers themselves.

For the behavioral profile of the customers with regard to the time of milk tea

consumption, it was up to the customers to choose the time preference they want because

their time of eating may not be the same for the other customers.  In terms of the rarely
 5

option in the regularity of visit, which is still under the behavioral profile, it is only

limited to special or important occasions that require customers to visit the milk tea shop

such as meet-ups, get-together, negotiations, and meetings.

1.4 Methodology

A descriptive method was used in this study to detail more on the people

involved. Data were gathered through the adapted survey questionnaire from the study of

Lee & Vega (2014).  In the computation of these data, percentages and weighted mean

were used for the behavioral and psychological profiles. Moreover, Likert scale and

descriptive rating and cut-off scores were also used to interpret the data gathered for the

reasons and satisfaction in purchasing milk teas found in the psychological profile.  Only

a total of 150 customers (30 per shop) who served as respondents were given

questionnaires since a convenience sampling method were implemented in this study.

1.5 Definition of Terms

The following are the definitions for the terms that were used in this study.

Age is a part of the personal profile of the customers which helps in determining

their specific age bracket in a milk tea shop.

Amount spent in purchasing milk tea is under psychological profile of the customers

that deals with the sum of money spent for obtaining milk tea that ranges from Php50 to

Php100, Php101 to Php200, Php201 to Php300, Php301 to Php400, Php401 to Php500

and Php500 above.

Behavioral profile are the information related to the customers’ behaviour in

purchasing milk tea in terms of time, type and ways of drinking milk tea.
 6

Civil status is found in the personal profile of the customers which helps the

researchers know whether the customers are single or married.

Customers are the randomly selected respondents who buy milk tea product in the 5

shops identified in Iligan City: Infinitea, Zentea, Te amo, I love milk tea (Tibanga) and I

love milk tea (Poblacion).

Customer profile is the profile of the customers of the 5 selected milk tea shops in

Iligan City that would be obtained from the randomly picked milk tea shop customers

which is divided into 3 categories: personal, behavioral and psychological.

Employee is an option in the occupational profile of the customers which refers to

those people who have a job but did not graduate at a college level.

Milk tea shops are the establishments where the customer profiles are gathered.

These are Infinitea (located in G/F Maria Goretti residences, Barangay San Miguel), Zen

Tea (located in De Leon Street Poblacion), Te Amo (located in Mariano Badelles Sr.

Street Poblacion), I love Milk Tea (located in Tibanga) and I Love Milk Tea (located in

Poblacion).

Monthly income/allowance is under personal profile of customers that determine the

amount of money they have monthly to relate it with the amount spent in purchasing milk

tea.

Occupation is part of the personal profile of customers that determine their work as

of the moment such as student, entrepreneurship, professional, employee and others.

Others refers to the response of the customers in terms of their occupation, time of

drinking milk tea, type of drinking milk tea and regularity of visit to the milk tea shop

other than the choices provided in the survey questionnaires.

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Personal profile includes the customers’ information such as age, sex, civil status,

occupation and monthly income/allowance.

Professional is an option in the occupational profile of the customers which refers to

those people who graduated their college degrees and have a work related on their

specialized skills.

Psychological profile of the customers are the information regarding their regularity

of visit, amount spent in purchasing, reason in purchasing and satisfaction in purchasing

milk tea.

Reasons in purchasing milk tea is a component in the psychological profile of

customers that deals with their reasons why they purchase milk tea such as for

entertainment, act as refreshment, good quality of taste, thirst quencher, alternative for

soft drinks and bandwagon state of mind which are answerable by agree, strongly agree,

disagree and strongly disagree.

Regularity of visit is an element in the psychological profile of customers which

helps determine how often they visit the milk tea shops and are classified as rarely, once

a day, more than once a day, once a week, twice a week, once a month, twice a month

and others.

Satisfaction in purchasing milk tea is part of the psychological profile of the

customers to alleviate milk tea shop owners in assessing whether to improve their milk

teas or not since this part includes the satisfaction level of customers in terms of the milk

teas’ flavor, varieties, availability, price, visual packaging, advertisement, service size,

store appearance, location convenience and overall quality.

 8

Sex is under personal profile of customers which determine the customer as male or

female.

Time of drinking milk tea is part of the behavioral profile of customers that

determine whether they drink their milk tea at breakfast, A.M snack, lunch, P.M. snack

and others. The customers were given the freewill to choose their preferred time.

Type of drinking milk tea is found in the behavioral profile of customers which help

determine their preferred amount of tea in their milk teas such as 25%, 50%, 75% and

100%.

Ways of drinking milk tea is under the behavioral profile of customers that deals

with how the customers prefer their milk tea, it could be either hot or cold.
9
 10

The data in Figure 2.1 shows the number of tea rooms all over the Philippines

based on the 5 cities in each main island namely Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. For

Luzon, the data were gathered from Quezon City, Manila, Lipa City, Cavite and

SanFernando City.  In Visayas, the data were accumulated from Bacolod City, Mandaue

City, Lapu-lapu City, Dumaguete City and Ilo-ilo City.  For the data presented in

Mindanao, it is based on the following cities: Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga,

Ozamis, and Davao.  The data collected were based on the statistics given by the website

of Hey Cafe as of 2017.

In an article by Mead (2014), milk tea shops in the Philippines are primary in

business for those looking to make money by serving this beverage to others.  There are a

lot of tea shops around the country at the moment, yet demand does not show any signs

of abating. In fact, even the smaller shops can boast of raking in the profits for around

200-300 sold drinks in a single day. This is according to Popular Household Names Inc.

(2016), a popular supplier for bubble tea related products in the Philippines.

The stability of the demand for the product is really what businessmen consider

when putting up a new enterprise and one cannot complain about the demand for milk tea

in that aspect according to Mead (2014).  Its endurance despite the many pessimistic

assumptions predicting its imminent downfall as a demand can be explained by

comparing its clientele to that of cafes. Part of the reason coffee shops have succeeded

all around the world is that they have built for themselves a loyal clientele who come to

the stores every day and make purchase of a product (Mead, 2014).
 11

A number of start-up businesses make the mistake of kick-starting their marketing

with a new website or with flyers without considering who their customers are.  They do

not have a clear and effective marketing strategy and adding the two scenarios stated

earlier brings farther to the main purpose (Fielding, 2015). Marketing is a highly

competitive environment in today’s world and consumers these days are demanding and

discerning.   They produce more data and at the same time demand a better level of

service. They expect relevancy of messaging and a good customer experience (Experian,

2014).

Experian (2014) stated that the customer is the key here.  Improving their

experience leads to a more efficient and effective marketing which will gain loyalty and

greater return on investment. Moreover, creating a customer profile is integral in

providing a differentiated experience and a more appealing offer to attract and retain the

best customers.

As stated by Carmichael et al., (2016), customer profiles are ‘customer types’

generated to represent the typical users of a product.  It is also used in helping the project

team make customer centered decisions without confusing the scope of the project with

personal opinion.  In addition, Carmichael et al., (2016) stated that customer profiling

should be undertaken to provide information for the management about the customers to

allow project decisions to be made from the typical user’s perspective, or to assist the

management in making customer-centered design decisions, which might result in a

product or service that meets the customer’s needs and expectations.

“For instance, Timberland, a shoe apparel brand owned by VF Corporation, faced

a problem regarding who to target for their products for the last few years.  The company,
 12

which started in 1955 as the Abington Shoe Company before becoming Timberland in

1978, sent signals to customer that by turns indicated it was a boot brand, or a casual

apparel brand, or an outdoor outerwear brand for hardcore adventurers.  The marketing

identity crisis ultimately confused customer, failing to make clear enough what products

Timberland really offers. Because of this customer confusion, the VF Corporation gave

Timberland resources to conduct a well-funded, deep dive market research.  Armed with

that muscle, Timberland undertook a three-year study, conducting long interviews with

18,000 consumers in eight countries. Its conclusion states that Timberland's target

customers should be what it calls "outdoor lifestylers," or city dwellers who like the

outdoors but want footwear that have more style than purely outdoor brands.  Therefore

in 2013, Timberland re-launched its North American apparel business, armed with VF's

enormous production, distribution and sourcing firepower which resulted to a 15%

increase in their sales for footwear from 13%” (Wahba, 2015).

Mullan (2016) stated that the adviser of Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ray

Jones, said that the information gathered from customers makes it easier to distinguish

the reason they buy from the shops.  He also said that the more information one can get

from his or her customers, the easier it is to spot opportunities to sell to them new

products resulting to a higher profit just like what happened to Timberland shoe Apparel

Company.  In line with this, in a study on validating service convenience in the Indian

retail context, Aagja et al., (2011) stated that managers should focus on shoppers who

perceive higher level of service convenience from malls, as they are more likely to

patronize by way of the word of mouth or increasing their visit or purchase frequency.
 13

They found this out through customer profiling and SERVCON, a research instrument in

measuring service convenience.

Furthermore, customer retention is not enough for a company or any

establishments.  They spend millions trying to understand and influence their customers

however, this does not increase their loyalty.  In order to influence the customers, they

should dig deeper than merely finding out whether they like the products or services

offered (Coyles & Gokey, 2002).  They stated that, using the profiles of the customers

enables and helps the company to gain new insights. The profile highlights the different

tactics required to manage each segment and the need of the company to carry out a range

of actions to reach all of their customers.  The profile also helps the management to base

their loyalty-building priorities on the size of each opportunity (Coyles & Gokey, 2002).

Experian (2014) stated that profiling customers enables drawing insights on most

valuable customers, least valuable customers and greatest opportunities and one way in

doing this is through segmentation.  Segmentation refers to a process of dividing a large

unit into various small units which have more or less similar or related characteristics

such as taste, demands and preferences.  Furthermore, there are 5 bases in segmentation:

gender, age group, income, marital status and occupation (MSG Experts, 2008).  This

segmentation will be the basis in the conduct of customer profiling since Experian (2015)

stated that in connecting consumers’ traits, characteristics and behaviors effectively,

marketers utilize this customer profile data to know target customers and prepare project

decisions in favor to the customers.

The 3 types of market segmentation include psychographic, behavioristic and

geographic.  Psychographic segmentation is based on the lifestyle of the individuals.  The

 14

individual’s attitude, interest, value help the marketers to classify them into small groups.

Behavioristic segmentation is the loyalty of the customers towards a particular brand help

the marketers to classify them into smaller groups, each group comprising of individuals

loyalty (strangers, butterflies, true friends, and barnacles) towards a particular brand.

Geographic Segmentation refers to the classification of market into various geographical

areas (Experian 2015).

Table 2.1 Market Segmentation Table

Geographic Variables
-          Region                                         - State Size
-          Urban, Suburban, Rural                   - Market Density
-          City Size                                        - Climate
-          Country Size                                    - Terrain

Psychographic Variables
-          Personality Attributes
-          Motives
-          Lifestyles

Behavioristic Variables
-          Volume Usage                                    - Brand Loyalty
-          End Use                                        - Price Sensitivity
-          Benefit Expectations
Note. This table is adapted from the Market Segmentation Variables & Characteristics,
by N. Kokemuller, 2016.
Source: Kokemuller (2016)

According to Kokemuller (2016), lifestyles and psychographics segmentation is

an approach that places emphasis on the shared activities, interests and behaviors of

particular customers.  Along with activities, lifestyle segmentation is based on

characteristics such as shared interests, opinions, attitudes and values of customers

(Kokemuller, 2016). For instance, Kokemuller (2016) stated an example wherein fishing

bait and tackle shop would likely target customers based on their similar interests and

attitudes toward fishing.  This approach makes more sense given widespread
 15

demographic traits among fishing and outdoor enthusiasts. Still, according to this author,

one of the simplest and most common segmentation strategies for small businesses is

based on geography. Also, having a broad customer based in a local, regional, national

or international location, can be a factor in investing geographic marketing.  Size,

population, density, and climate factors are also classified in the geographic

segmentation, together with region or location.

Kokemuller (2016) also added that targeting a rural market of 10,000 customers is

much different than targeting an urban market of 100,000 customers, for instance.  In

terms of behavioristic segmentation, the company target customers based on their interest

or experience with the company or products. With this, company’s market segments

have shared familiarity with company’s products.  The segmentation includes usage,

loyalty, prospect or customer statuses are common characteristics. For instance, car

companies often use benefits segmentation to target a broad market looking for different

benefits, such as economy, performance, luxury or status.  Targeting new prospects is

also distinct from targeting brand-loyal customers.

Customer profiling shows just how important it is to have analytics, data, and

processes in place to know and ensure that marketers can keep track of their customers

and what they want from the business so that the business can provide services that best

suit them.  Knowing who the customers are enables you to market productively wherein

one can attract his or her customers based on what they want.

Demographics are the statistical component of marketing used to identify

population segments by specific characteristics.  Whether small or large, businesses need

a targeted approach to consumers. Demographics affect all the choices a business owner
 16

makes in developing a marketing plan.  Using demographics gives you a head start in

understanding your market (Sessoms, 2017).

Age Education

Gender Race
Demographic
Segmentation
Family Size Religion

Ethnicity Income

Figure 2.2 Demographic Segmentation Model

Source: Gigli (2003).

According to Gigli (2003), demographic segmentation is a market segmentation

according to age, race, religion, gender, family size, ethnicity, income, and education.

Demographics can be segmented into several markets to help an organization target its

consumers more accurately. With this type of segmentation, an organization can

categorize the needs of consumers.  For instance, a mobile device tech provider might

target a market of male consumers whose age ranges from 18 to 24 who are also in

college or have a college degree and a salary ranging from $35,000 to $60,000.

Consumer taste and preferences have become complex nowadays (Lee & Vega

2014).  Companies are now focusing in improving and perfecting the product due to the

notion that if the company can provide a product that will completely suite the profile of

the customers, people will buy the products.  The ultimate goal of a marketer is to satisfy

the customers to have regular customers and create customer loyalty (Lee & Vega, 2014).
 17

According to Kotler’s Model of Consumer Buying Behaviour (2008), there are 4

characteristics that are going to affect the buying behavior of a customer; psychological,

personal, social and cultural.  Psychological deals with the motivation, perception,

learning, beliefs and attitudes to provide another insight for a better understanding of the

mind of a buyer.  Personal deals with the factors such as age and life-cycle stage,

occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle, personality and self-concept.  Social is

where reference groups, family, roles and status belongs.  Lastly, cultural and this

includes culture, subculture and social class system (Lee & Vega, 2014).

Psychological
- Motivation
- Perception
- Learning
- Beliefs
- Attitudes
Social Personal
- Reference Groups Kotler’s Model of - Life-Cycle Stage
- Family - Occupation
Consumer Behavior (2008)
- Roles - Economic
Circumstances
- Status
- Lifestyle
Cultural - Personality or Self-
Concept
- Culture
- Subculture
- Social Class System

Figure 2.3 Kotler’s Model of Consumer Buying Behavior

Source: Kotler and Armstrong (2008).
 18

According to Srivastava (2012) there are five personal factors affecting the

consumer behavior.  Age/Life Cycle Stage deals with the buyer’s choice which is related

to age and family life cycle. Family life cycle might be:

 Bachelor – young or single people not living at home with few financial

burdens, recreation oriented and fashion opinion leaders.

 Newly Married Couple – Young couple or couple with no children.

 Full Nest I – couple with children under six years old.

 Full Nest II – couple with children and the youngest one is above six years

old.

 Full Nest III – old married couple with dependent children.

 Empty Nest I – old married couples with children but are not living with

them.

 Empty Nest II – same with Empty Nest I but are older.

 Solitary Survivor – already retired people

Occupation includes the person’s occupation influences to his/her consumption

pattern.  For the Economic Circumstances, it might deal with spendable incomes, savings

and assets, debts or personal income.  Lifestyle covers the pattern of living in the world

by a person which is expressed in that person’s activities, interests and opinions.

Personality or Self-Concept encompasses how the distinct personality of a customer

influences his/her buying behavior since people have different personalities.  Self-

concept on the other hand is somehow relatable (Srivastava, 2012).

There are 3 cultural factors affecting a consumer’s behavior.  Culture is one.  It is

defined by the value systems, perceptions, preferences and behavior, the determinant of
 19

the person’s wants and needs.  Subculture is another.  It is the sub level of culture that

provides a more specific identification and socialization for its members.  It includes state

of region and religion. Lastly is the social class.  It is the presentation of social

satisfaction.  Social classes are relatively homogenous & enduring division in a society,

which is hierarchically ordered & whose members share similar values, interests &

behavior (Srivastava, 2012).

Still, according to Srivastava (2012), social factors affecting the behavior of the

consumers is also composed of three factors.  One is the reference groups.  It consists of

all the groups that have a direct and indirect influence on a person’s behavior.  It is either

membership group which can be a person’s family, friend, neighbors and even co-

workers, aspirational group in which it is the group where a person would like to belong

or dissociate group which is the group that values one’s rejects.  Next, is the family.  This

is the most important customer buying organization in the society (Srivastava 2012).

Each buyer has two families namely the family of orientation (parents/siblings) and the

family of procreation (spouse/children).  Lastly, are the roles or the activities that a

person is expected to perform and statuses or the position carried by each role.

There are also empirical studies supporting customer profiling. Published

empirical researches on Customer Profiling include the studies of Lee & Vega (2014),

Mina (2014), Siopa et al., (2015), and Mintel (2015).

        Lee & Vega (2014) conducted a study on profiling the personal, cultural, social

and psychological behavior of its customers.  The factors were measured in terms of

personal, cultural, social and psychological influences to its customers. The researchers

used descriptive method in terms of percentages, weighted mean and Likert scale in the
 20

data analysis.  The study had selected 200 respondents conveniently, one for each milk

teashop: Cha Time and Zen Tea. Survey questionnaires were used to gather the profiles

of the customers.

The results show that most of the respondents in CHA TIME are females while in

ZEN TEA are males.  Forty-four percent of the respondents in CHA TIME and sixty-six

percent of the respondents in ZEN TEA are college students with no income, only

allowance, with their age ranging from 19 – 24 years old since both milk tea shops are

located near the vicinity of different schools.  For the cultural profile, both of the

respondents of both milk tea shops drink milk tea during snack time after lunch and

prefer green tea to be added in their milk tea and cold rather than hot (Lee & Vega

2014).

The result on the social profile shows that respondents of both milk tea shops got

their idea of visiting such shop from their friends/peers.  The most effective marketing

form of advertisement is the word of mouth. Both of the milk tea shops’ respondents

answered that they want to be with their friends/peers when drinking milk tea (Lee &

Vega 2014).

For the psychological profile of the respondents in terms of the regularity of visit,

the respondents of both milk teashops answered that they go to these shops once or twice

a week and are willing to spend P50 – P100 from their allowance since they are still

students who does not have a monthly income.  Both milk tea shops’ respondents suggest

that Cha Time and Zen Tea should have an innovation of new varieties of milk tea.

Furthermore, Lee & Vega (2014) discussed that respondents patronize milk teas because

of their taste and their value as refreshments. Respondents also said that flavor/taste,
 21

varieties, availability, price and nutritional value, serving size and its overall quality are

very important factors for consumption.

There is also another study about milk tea houses conducted by Mina (2014).

This study focuses on the popularity of milk tea houses as perceived by selected

customers in Makati, Philippines.  Mina (2014) selected in this study 2 milk tea houses

namely Cha Time and Gong Cha. This study used the Purposive Sampling Technique in

selecting their respondents.  The customers were assessed using questionnaires in terms

of personal profile, product assessment, service assessment, reasons of the popularity of

milk tea, common problems of milk tea houses, and suggestions to further improve the

milk tea house.

Results of this study showed that majority of the respondents were female

gathering 78% of the population while the male respondents gathered 22% (Mina, 2014).

Fifty-six percent also of these respondents were from the age bracket 16 – 19 years old.

It is also showed in this study that almost all of these respondents were single and are

currently college students.  Almost 3/5 of the respondents also has a monthly

income/allowance worth P5, 000 - P10, 000.

In terms of the results in the assessment of products, Chatime garnered a weighted

mean of 4.32 while Gong Cha garnered 4.16 in product quality.  In terms of the price of

the product, Chatime garnered a weighted mean of 4.02, while Gong Cha garnered 3.74.

A mean of 4.28 is garnered by Cha Time while Gong Cha garnered 4.3 in terms of the

taste of the product.  In terms of the variety of menu of the product, Chatime garnered

weighted mean of 4.26, while Gong Cha garnered 4.22.

 22

With regards to the service assessment on both Cha Time and Gong Cha, results

showed that the respondents were all very satisfied as shown in their verbal interpretation

in terms of the promptness of the milk tea houses, disciplinary attitude of staff handling

customers, and hospitality.

The results in the reasons of the popularity of milk tea showed also that the

respondents of Cha Time were all satisfied in terms of quality of milk tea, affordability,

hospitality of staff, originality of the product, location of the milk tea house, well-trained

staff, ambiance of the milk tea house and variety of menu flavors while in Gong Cha, the

customers were satisfied of all the reasons except for the quality of milk tea, originality of

the product and variety of menu flavors.

        Another empirical study on Customer profiling is that of Siopa et al., (2015)

which focuses on the variables which influence the preference of Portuguese customers in

terms of restaurants.  A survey questionnaire was developed to collect data. The

restaurant attributes were measured on a seven-point Likert scale, where 7 was defined as

“strongly agree” and 1 as “strongly disagree”.  A total of 622 customers of 10 typical

Portuguese restaurants, located in the North (Guimarães and Porto), Center (Aveiro,

Coimbra, Leiria, Caldas da Rainha, Peniche and Lisboa) and South of the country (Évora

and Vilamoura) were surveyed by the researchers.

In analyzing the data gathered in the study of Siopa et al., (2015), Cronbach alpha

coefficient was used in the study to assess the reliability of the scales of the Likert Scale.

Pearson and Spearman coefficient was also used in terms of studying bivariate

correlations. Moreover, statistical tool used in analyzing data is the independent-samples

 23

t-test and one-way analysis of variance ANOVA to compare groups.  IBM SPSS

Statistical software was used to perform the analysis.

The results showed that all of variables are significant and the Pearson coefficient

ranged from 0.4 to 0.6.  The correlations for the variables age, academic education and

income were investigated using the Spearman rho coefficient.  Moreover, Siopa et al.,

(2015) found out that there were no significant differences in the attribute scores for the

different groups of customers who were divided into four groups according to their

marital status.  Also, it showed that there were no significant differences for customers

per motivation.

Mintel (2015) also investigated the consumer’s profile like age, ethnicity, sex,

socio-economic status and so on to evaluate the variables that influence customers’

restaurant selection.  The research included UK market intelligence report and

quantitative consumer survey data. Mintel (2015) reviewed and analyzed the quantitative

consumer survey data from the existing house market intelligence reports that focused on

the chicken and the burger bars foodservice market. In doing such, the researcher used

the method of online survey.

According to the result of the survey that was conducted by Mintel (2015),

visiting to a gourmet burger bar shows no significant difference by gender.  Also, young

people or the teenagers tend to frequently visit a certain gourmet burger bar than adult

consumers because older people less likely to enjoy dining outside than the younger ones.

In terms of household incomes, 4% of the respondents in the research with a gross annual

household income of less than fifty thousand Euros have visited such restaurant. This

indicates that noticeably higher prices are barriers to some consumers.  The location can
 24

also be a factor of an establishment in a business. Similar to the study of Mintel (2015),

businesses established in the urban areas in London are more likely to be visited by

compared to those in the suburban or in the villages and rural locations.  Gourmet bars

have the most profitable consumers when it comes to people whose age ranges from

sixteen to thirty-four years old. Next is that those people who has higher incomes and

whose incomes are not below fifty thousand Euros are most likely the people who has

visited already a gourmet burger bar.   And lastly, the researcher concluded that

Londoners and people from the urban community in Europe are the ones that are

frequently visiting such burger shop.

Milk tea is not the only beverage in the world that best suits tropical countries but

coffees as well.  Coffee is a luxury drink consumed by people all over the world, just like

milk tea. It has a relaxing effect to the consumer as it relieves stress.  According to the

results of the study of Demura et al., (2013), the coffee consumption rate was

significantly higher in males (50.8%) than in females (32.8%).  The results of this study

demonstrated that young males drink coffee more than young females. Among those

who avoided coffee consumption, females disliked its taste more than males.
25
 26

customers, there is something in common among the particular age groups. This is the

same for the sex factor, it is also essential to know the most dominant sex of your target

market because it matters greatly in a business.  For instance, according to a magazine,

Financial Money Tips (2013), female customers tend to pay more attention in finer

details while men tend to pay more attention on the price and their satisfaction on the

product, therefore positioning the product should be based on the dominant sex since both

sexes have different wants and expectations.  For the civil status, it is also important for

the business to know it since it will affect the buying power of the consumers because of

the roles the customers take in their families. The occupation and monthly income or

allowance are related and are necessary to know, since through these the business will be

able to know the financial capability of the customers. Thus, creating a more fitting

pricing strategy.

        Behavioral profile includes the customers’ time of drinking milk tea, type of milk

tea purchase and ways of drinking milk tea.  These variables were included in the survey

questionnaires because these determine the behavior of the market and help the

management of each milk tea shop spot opportunities to sell to them new products

resulting to a higher profit (Mullan, 2016).

        In the psychological profile, it covers customers’ regularity of visit, amount spent

in purchasing, reasons of purchasing, and satisfaction level of purchasing milk tea. In the

survey questionnaires, these were incorporated based on the adapted questionnaires from

Lee & Vega (2014), since it determines how the customers perceived the milk tea shops

which is the main objective in having this psychological profile.

 27

        The suggestions and recommendations of the customers of the milk tea shops

were also gathered because through these the establishments would have an insight on the

customers’ further wants and needs on the services that they provide and the products that

they offer.

In analyzing the gathered data, descriptive statistics using percentages, weighted

mean, descriptive rating and cut-off scores, and Likert Scale were used. Percentage was

used to know and compute the percentage of the respondents who have similar answers

and this method was used in the personal and behavioral profiles of the customers.

Formula for Percentage

f
% =∑ ∗100
n
(2.1)
where % is percentage
∑is summation
f is frequency
nis number of
respondents

Weighted mean was used in finding the average of the total respondents who have

similar answers in the behavioral and psychological profiles.  This descriptive statistics

was used as a helping tool for analyzing the data of this study. Weighted mean was

computed through multiplying first the number of respondents who have similar answers

(F) to its corresponding weights (x).  Then, the results of the first computations were

added in order to get the weighted score. Lastly, the weighted score was divided to the

total number of respondents (n) in a milk tea shop

 28

Formula for Weighted Mean

fx
Weighted Mean = ∑
n
(2.2)
where ∑ is summation
f is frequency
xis weight of the response
nis number of respondents
After the weighted mean was computed, Likert Scale was used to interpret these

numerical values.  This was used to show what lies behind these numbers and how it is

related to this study. This statistical tool has 4 scales ranging from strongly agree, agree,

disagree, and strongly disagree.  This will be used in the psychological profile of the

respondents particularly in their reasons of purchasing milk teas.

Table 3.1The Likert Scale

Mean Value Weighted Mean Verbal Interpretation
3.25 – 4.00 4 Strongly Agree
2.50 – 3.24 3 Agree
1.75 – 2.49 2 Disagree
1.00 – 1.74 1 Strongly Disagree
Source: Lee & Vega (2014)

The descriptive ratings and cut off scores is used to determine the respondents’

level of satisfaction in purchasing milk teas on the selected milk tea shops in Iligan City.

Unlike Likert scale, this statistical tool has five scales ranging from very satisfied,

satisfied, neither satisfied nor least satisfied, least satisfied, and not satisfied.
 29

Table 3.2Descriptive Rating and Cut off Score Table

Descriptive Ratings Verbal Interpretation Cut-off Scores

5 Very Satisfied 4.20 – 5.00

4 Satisfied 3.40 – 4.19

3 Neither Satisfied nor Least Satisfied 2.60 – 3.39

2 Least Satisfied 1.80 – 2.59

1 Not Satisfied 1.00 – 1.79

Source: Molina & Venenoso (1999)

In order to know if the survey used in this study is reliable, the researchers have

used Lee Chronbach’s reliability test which is called the Chronbach’s Alpha.  This

measures the reliability of the Likert Scale survey and tells you if the test is accurately

measuring the variable interest of the participants of the survey.

Table 3.3Chronbach’s Alpha Interpretation

Cronbach’s Alpha Internal Consistency
 ≥ 0.9 Excellent
0.9 >  ≥ 0.8 Good
0.8 >  ≥ 0.7 Acceptable
0.7 >  ≥ 0.6 Questionable
0.6 >  ≥ 0.5 Poor
0.5 >  Unacceptable

Source: Tavakol & Dennick (2011)

In order to obtain the data needed in the study, survey questionnaires were given

to 30 customers for each of the milk tea shops: Infinitea, Zen Tea, Te amo,I love Milk

Tea (Tibanga) and I love Milk Tea (Poblacion).  There were a total number of 150

customers who served as respondents for this study. The number of respondents was

determined through the convenience sampling method and this method was based on the

availability of both the researchers and the customers of the milk tea shops.
 30

The survey questionnaires included the customer’s personal, psychological and

behavioral profiles.  The personal profiles include the name, age, gender, allowance and

marital status of the customers. The behavioral profiles of the customers include the

customers’ choice of milk tea, time of drinking milk tea, and ways of drinking milk tea.

In terms of the psychological profiles of the customers, it includes the regularity of visit

in the milk tea shop, amount spent in purchasing products inside the milk tea shop,

reason(s) in purchasing products from the milk tea shops, and satisfactory rates in the

purchase of products.  This survey questionnaire was adapted from the questionnaire

produced by Lee & Vega (2014). However, instead of using the all the four factors

which are personal, cultural, social, and psychological, the researchers in this study have

only used personal, behavioral, and psychological profiling.

31
 32

Table 4.1Age Profile of the Customers

Age Group Infinitea Zentea Teamo I love Milk Tea I love Milk Tea Total
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)

f % f % f % f % f % f %

13 – 15 1 3.3 4 12.9 1 3.5 0 0 0 0 6 3.9

16 – 18 14 45.2 9 29.1 17 58.6 4 13.3 7 22.6 51 33.5

19 – 21 7 22.5 11 35.5 7 24.1 23 76.7 17 54.9 65 42.8

22 – 24 7 22.5 5 16.1 1 3.5 2 6.7 4 12.9 19 12.5

25 – 27 0 0 1 3.2 0 0 0 0 1 3.2 2 1.3

28 – 30 2 6.5 1 3.2 1 3.5 0 0 1 3.2 5 3.3

31 and 0 0 0 0 1 3.5 0 0 1 3.2 2 1.3

above

No 0 0 0 0 1 3.5 1 3.3 0 0 2 1.3

response

Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

It is evident in Table 4.1 that 19-21 has the highest percentage in terms of the age

profile of the customers.  This result is almost similar to the results of Lee & Vega (2014)

which is 19-24 years old but is different to the results of Mina (2014) which is 16-19

years old.  But then, regardless of their numerical values, both belong to the age bracket

for younger people which is 14-25 years old. According to Financial Money Tips

Magazine (2013), individuals who belong to this age bracket likes to purchase products

that screams “hip and current” in a sense wherein product packaging really makes a

difference.

The results also showed that older people less likely visits the shop, probably

because according to the life cycle theory in economics by Franco Modigliani in 1957,

people’s consumption depends on their life stages and as for older people, they tend to

spend their incomes more on medicines and health care.

 33

For the sex profiles, three-quarters (74.3%) of the customers of the five selected

milk tea shops are female and approximately a quarter (23.7%) of them are male as

shown in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2Sex Profiles of the Customers

Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
Sex f % f % f % f % f % f %
Female 25 80.6 24 77.4 19 65.5 24 80 21 67.7 113 74.3
Male 6 19.4 6 19.4 9 31.1 5 16.7 10 32.3 36 23.7
No 0 0 1 3.2 1 3.4 1 3.3 0 0 3 2
Response
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

Results showed that in terms of the sex profiles of the customers, females

dominates males in visiting the milk tea shops.  The researchers observed that these milk

tea shops are located near computer shops such as G-7 internet cafes. And according to

Statista (2017), statistics on Philippine gamers in terms of gender shows that males have

higher number than females from the age bracket 10-35 years old.  Thus, the researchers

can say that the domination of female customers is that most of the male population

invest more on computer games than spending their time in milk tea shops.

A study conducted by Demura et al., (2013) can also provide additional

information about the considerable number of females in milk tea shops compared to that

of males.  According to the study, young males drink coffee more than young females.

Among those who avoided coffee consumption are females who disliked its taste than the

males.  A survey was even conducted in 1,189 young people (567 males aged 19.3 ± 1.5

years; 622 females aged 19.1 ± 1.2 years) and according to their results, the coffee

consumption rate was significantly higher in males (50.8%) than in females (32.8%).

Results also showed that 17.4% of the total population are females who drink tea which is
 34

higher compared to the 6.18% of the males who drink tea which explains why females

also dominate in these milk tea shops in this study.

For occupation profiles, majority of the customers of the five milk tea shops are

students with a total percentage of 80.3%.  Less than 10% of each occupation is an

entrepreneur, a professional, an employee, and an unemployed (0.7%, 8.6%, 6.6%, and

3.8%, respectively).  Those other occupations which do not belong to the profiles of the

customers in terms of their occupation classified as student, entrepreneurship,

professional and employee are classified as others as shown in Table 4.3.  In general,

students gained the most percentage while entrepreneurship had the least number of

percentages.

Table 4.3Occupational Profile of the Customers

Occupation Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Student 27 90 23 74.2 25 80.6 20 64.6 27 93.2 12 80.
2 3
Entrepreneur 0 0 0 0 1 3.2 0 0 0 0 1 0.7
-ship
Professional 0 0 4 12.9 3 9.9 5 16.1 1 3.4 13 8.6
Employee 1 3.3 1 3.2 3 9.9 5 16.1 0 0 10 6.6
Others 1 3.3 3 9.7 0 0 1 3.2 1 3.4 6 3.8
Total 29 96.6 31 100 32 103.6 31 100 29 100 15 100
2

Since most of the customers are still teens and are in their early 20’s, results have

shown that majority of the customers of each milk tea shop are still students with a

corresponding overall percentage of 80.3% which is similar to both related empirical

studies of Lee & Vega (2014) and Mina (2014).  Also, the student patrons has the highest

percentage of consumption because the location of the shops are near the two of the most
 35

populated schools in Iligan City namely: Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of

Technology and St. Michael’s College.

The profiles of the customers in terms of their civil status, either single or

married, are presented in Table 4.4.  It is evident that majority of the total customers

(94%) of the milk tea shops are single. Only a minute proportion of the customers (5.3%)

are married.

Table 4.4Civil Status Profile of the Customers

Civil Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Status Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Single 31 100 28 90.3 28 96.5 27 90 29 93.5 143 94
Married 0 0 3 9.7 1 3.5 2 6.7 2 6.5 8 5.3
No 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3.3 0 0 1 0.7
Response
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 96.7 31 100 152 100

Since the results showed that majority of the respondents are students therefore it

is understandable that the single civil status has the highest percentage because most of

them are still studying and it is a rare case where students are married at such a young

age.

For the monthly income or allowance of the respondents of the milk tea shop

shown in Table 4.5, the lowest bracket is Php1, 000 to Php2, 000 while the highest range

is Php8, 001 and above.  The income range with the highest percentage is Php1, 000 to

Php2, 000 followed by Php2, 001 to Php3, 000, Php3, 001 to Php4, 000, Php8, 000 and

above, Php4, 001 to Php5, 000, Php5, 001 to Php6, 000, and Php7, 001 to Php8, 000.  In

addition, one-fourth (25%) of the total respondents of the five selected milk tea shops did

not respond when asked about their monthly income/allowance.

 36

Table 4.5Monthly Income/Allowance Profile of the Customers

Income/ Infinitea Zentea TeAmo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Allowance Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
P1,000 – 5 16.1 8 25.8 15 51.7 8 26.7 12 38.7 48 31.6
2,000
P2,001 – 8 25.8 4 12.9 2 6.9 3 10 2 6.5 19 12.5
3,000
P3,001 – 1 3.2 3 9.7 2 6.9 4 13.3 6 19.4 16 10.5
4,000
P4,001 – 2 6.5 1 3.2 2 6.9 3 10 1 3.2 9 5.9
5,000
P5,001 – 0 0 2 6.5 1 3.4 1 3.3 1 3.2 5 3.3
6,000
P6,001 – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7,000
P7,001 – 1 3.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9.7 4 2.6
8,000
P8,001 and 5 16.1 2 6.5 3 10.3 2 6.7 1 3.2 13 8.6
above
No 9 29.1 11 35.4 4 14.9 9 30 5 16.1 38 25
Response
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

B. Behavioral Profiles of Customers

The behavioral profiles of customers comprise the time of drinking milk tea, type

of milk tea purchase and ways of drinking milk tea of the customers.

The behavioral profile of the respondents in terms of their time in drinking milk

tea include: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and others (according to

their own preference).   It is observed that most of the respondents choose the afternoon

snack as their time for drinking milk tea which has a percentage of just over three

quarters (75.8%) of the total respondents. Less than one in ten (9.8%) choose lunch and a

minority (1.9%) answered breakfast and morning snack as their preferred time of

drinking milk tea.  There are respondents who specified that they do not have specific

time in drinking milk tea that is 10.6% of the total respondents.

 37

Table 4.6Time of Drinking Milk Tea

Time of Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Drinking Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Breakfast 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3.3 2 6.5 3 1.9
A.M. 3 9.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1.9
Snack
Lunch 2 6.5 5 16.1 4 13.8 2 6.7 2 6.5 15 9.8
P.M. 24 77.3 23 74.2 25 86.2 19 63.3 24 77.4 115 75.8
Snack
Others 2 6.5 3 9.7 0 0 8 26.7 3 9.6 16 10.6
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

Similar to both Lee & Vega (2014) and Mina (2014), this study also shows that

the customers of the milk tea shops prefer to purchase milk tea during the afternoon

snack time  since most classes of the students end around 3:00 afternoon and besides,

most of these shops open at 10 am or 1 afternoon such as Zentea and Infinitea.

Some customers checked others as time of drinking milk tea on the questionnaire

since according to them, they only went there when they are looking for a place to study

and whenever they want to go out of their homes because milk tea shops provide an

ambiance that make customers feel relaxed, unlike their homes.  Moreover, some of these

milk tea shops have free Wi-Fi connections which is the reason of the students who

frequented these places. Another reason is that they only go to milk tea shops when there

are mini gatherings with their friends, merely because prices in these establishments are

relatively cheap and it coincides with their budget for the month.  Also, there are varieties

of products and flavors to choose from, so it is a very engaging place for small gatherings

and bonding moments. Moreover, these customers go to milk tea shops when they feel

like doing so and when they only have free time because these people are still students.

They still do not have all the time even when they like to go there.  In addition, college

students have their free time in between their classes for about an hour or half an hour
 38

and milk tea shops are located near schools, so they prefer to stay there, since it is only a

walking distance, and unwind for a short period of time.

        With regard to the type of milk tea purchased by customers in Table 4.7, there

were five choices given to the customers. In terms of the tea content, it contains: 25%,

50%, 75% and 100% tea.  Moreover, the customers were also given the option to choose

others if the tea content of the product they bought does not correspond to the previously

mentioned percentages. As a whole, most of the customers prefer having milk teas

containing 50% tea which took up more than a third (37.5%) of the overall number of

respondents of all the milk tea shops covered in this study.  Those who prefer 75% tea

content accounted for 28.3% while those who want to drink with 25% and 100% tea

content approximated 16.4% and 15.8%, respectively. In addition, there are 2% of the

customers who prefer to drink other tea content.

Table 4.7Type of Milk Tea Purchase in terms of Tea-content

Type of Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Milk Tea Tea Tea
Purchase (Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
25% 5 16.1 2 6.5 11 37.9 3 10.3 4 12.9 25 16.4
50% 13 41.9 12 38.7 7 24.1 8 26.7 17 54.8 57 37.5
75% 9 29.1 12 38.7 6 20.7 9 30 7 22.6 43 28.3
100% 3 9.7 4 12.9 5 17.3 9 30 3 9.7 24 15.8
Others 1 3.2 1 3.2 0 0 1 3 0 0 3 2
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

The results in Table 4.7, results showed that customers prefer the milk tea with

50% tea since teas are not that mouth-watering due to its unsweetened taste.  Despite this,

teas contain antioxidant properties such as flavonoids and enhances the strength of the

immune system (Jacobson et al., 2009), the customers still want it in their drinks. Also,

milk is added to this beverage which makes it more appealing to the millennial and

generation Y too.
 39

        The behavioral profile of the customers in terms of how they usually drink their

milk teas is classified into either hot or cold. It is visibly reflected in table 4.8 that 96.1%

of the customers of all milk tea shops preferred cold milk tea over hot milk tea.

Table 4.8Ways of Drinking Milk Tea of the Customers

Ways of Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
Drinkin Tea Tea
g Milk (Tibanga) (Poblacion)
Tea
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Hot 3 9.7 1 3.2 0 0 1 3.3 1 3.2 6 3.9
Cold 28 90.3 30 96.8 29 100 29 96.7 30 96.8 146 96.1
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

According to Mead (2014), Filipinos truly love cold drinks. The country has a

tropical climate and people turn naturally to chilled beverages to ease the heat from the

high temperatures of the areas.  This explains that even coffee shops in the country note

that chilled and shaken products sell better than hot ones around the clock (Mead, 2014).

This also explains that almost all of the customers in milk tea shops prefer cold milk tea

rather than the hot milk tea.

C. Psychological Profiles of Customers

The psychological profiles of customers include the customers’ regularity of visit,

amount spent in purchasing milk tea, reasons of purchasing milk tea, and satisfaction

level of purchasing milk tea. The discussion is still in terms of their frequencies and

percentages.

        In terms of the respondents’ regularity of visit, it shows that most of the

respondents (28.1%) visited the shop twice a week followed by those who rarely visited

the shop (26.1%).  Compared to once a month which has a percentage of 12.4%, once a

week has a lower proportion with an 11.8%. A very small number of respondents (6.6%)

answered the “others” option not given in the choices for the regularity of visit.  Both
 40

“once a day” and “twice a month” options got 6.5% while “more than once a day” got

1.3% which is the lowest in proportion.

Table 4. 9Regularity of Visit of the Customers

Regularit Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total
y of Visit Tea Tea
(Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
Rarely 8 25.8 3 9.6 16 55.2 5 16.7 8 25.8 40 26.1
Once a 0 0 3 9.6 1 3.4 6 20 0 0 10 6.5
day
More than 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.7 0 0 2 1.3
once a day
Once a 2 6.5 4 13.3 2 6.9 4 13.3 6 20 18 11.8
week
Twice a 13 41.9 12 38.1 6 20.8 7 23.3 5 16.1 43 28.1
week
Once a 6 20 4 13.3 1 3.4 0 0 8 25.8 19 12.4
month
Twice a 0 0 2 6.5 2 6.9 4 13.3 2 6.5 10 6.5
month
Others 2 6.5 3 9.6 1 3.4 2 6.7 2 6.5 10 6.6
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100

Since most of the customers are still students, they cannot go to these shops daily

which is relevant to the outcome of “twice a week” as the highest in percentage for the

regularity of visit.  Another reason is that these customers only go to milk tea shops

whenever they want to or when they have some spare time.

In terms of a customer’s amount in spending on milk tea, it clearly shows that

approximately 3/4 (72.3%) of the customers spent around Php50 to Php100 and 19.1% of

them spent Php101 to Php200.  A very small number of customers spent Php301 to

Php400 (5.3%) and Php201 to Php300 (3.3%). No respondent spent Php401 and above.

Amount in Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk Total

Purchasin Tea Tea
g Milk Tea (Tibanga) (Poblacion)
f % f % f % f % f % f %
 41

P50-100 17 54.8 19 61.3 24 82.8 21 70 29 93.6 110 72.3

P101-200 12 38.8 8 25.8 1 3.4 7 23.4 1 3.2 29 19.1
P201-300 1 3.2 1 3.2 2 6.9 1 3.3 0 0 5 3.3
P301-400 1 3.2 3 9.7 2 6.9 1 3.3 1 3.2 8 5.3
P401-500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
P500 and 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
above
Total 31 100 31 100 29 100 30 100 31 100 152 100
Table 4.10 Amount Spent in Purchasing

Just like the study of Lee & Vega (2014), this study also exhibits the same result

regarding the amount in purchasing milk tea which is PhP50–100 since they only get

PhP1, 000-2, 000 as their monthly allowance.  With such low amount of money per

month, one should not expect the frequency of visit to be more than a week to these milk

tea shops. A number of less than twice a week visits are understandable.

In the case of their milk tea purchase, there were six reasons given to the

customers.    These reasons were for entertainment, refreshments, good quality of taste,

thirst quencher, alternative for soft drinks, and bandwagon state of mind.  In answering,

the customers were given four choices: agree, strongly agree, disagree, and strongly

disagree with a corresponding numerical value of 4, 3, 2 and 1, respectively. The

resulting weighted mean of these numerical values were interpreted using the Likert

scale. A Chronbach Alpha was also done by the researchers to know the reliability of the

questionnaire and it resulted to 0.87 which is a good internal consistency. This means that

the questionnaires is reliable enough to be used in the study.

 42

Reasons in Purcha Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk  I love Milk 

sing Milk Tea Tea  Tea

(Tibanga)  (Poblacion)
For entertainment Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree
Act as refreshment Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree
Good quality of Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Strongly Agree
taste
Thirst quencher Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Agree Strongly Agree
Alternative for soft  Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree Agree Strongly Agree
drinks
Bandwagon state of  Agree Agree Agree Disagree Agree
mind
Table 4.11Reasons in Purchasing Milk Tea of the Customers

Based on the data in Table 4.11, it shows that the customers agreed that

purchasing milk tea is for entertainment.  The customers frequented the milk tea shops to

hang out with their friends in order for them to be entertained. These respondents as well

opt for the “strongly agree” response when it comes to milk teas as refreshments.  This is

consistent with Mead’s (2014) claim that Philippines is a tropical country wherein we

need chilled beverages in order to feel refreshed and to ease the heat surrounding us.

The response “strongly agree” was also opted by the participants for the milk teas

having a good quality of taste.  This is because milk tea shops offer varieties of flavor in

order to appeal to the taste and preferences of the customers which is why the quality of

the milk teas is always good for the customers.   In averaging, the reason “thirst

quencher” and “alternative for soft drinks” were strongly agreed on by the customers.

Milk tea can be an alternative for soft drinks mainly because teas contain health benefits

that are good for our body, especially to our immune system as Jacobson et al., (2009)

stated.  Lastly, for the reason “bandwagon state of mind”, the customers agreed and
 43

disagreed because purchasing milk tea does not mean that they want to be in with the

trend at the moment.

For the milk tea shop’s level of satisfaction, the overall quality of the product and

service such as flavor, varieties, availability, price, visual packaging, advertisement, the

size of the product, the appearance of the store, and its location have great influences and

are relevant to the decision and satisfaction of the customers.  For the satisfaction level of

the customers of the milk tea shops, most of them in each of the shops rated their

experience as very satisfied with mean range from 4.20 to 5.00. Hence, the researchers

can say that the customers are highly satisfied with the products and services of these

milk tea shops just like the results of the study conducted by Mina (2014).

Table 4.12Satisfaction Level of Purchasing Milk Tea of the Customers

Reasons Infinitea Zentea Te Amo I love Milk I love Milk
 Tea  Tea 
 (Tibanga) (Poblacion)
Flavor Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied
Varieties Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied
Availability Very Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied
Price Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Neither Satisfied
Visual Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied
 Packaging
Advertise- Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied
ment
Service Size Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied
Store Appea- Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied
rance
Location  Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied
Convenience
Overall  Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied Very Satisfied
Quality
       

After evaluating the milk tea shops, the customers left some suggestions and

recommendation.  Generally, the customers want the milk tea shops to have a relaxing

ambiance and to expand their shops in order to have a more comfortable space.  They
 44

also want the milk tea shops to cater more snacks other than sweets and stronger wireless

fidelity connection. For instance, customers in Infinitea want to have more available

seats, vacant tables and extra snacks that are not too sweet.  Moreover, they want the

shop to have more space and a much stronger Wi-Fi connection. They also recommend

the management to consider the demands of the people and should focus more on

improving the quality taste of the most favored flavor. For Zentea, customers suggest to

serve more snacks which complement milk tea such as fries, burgers and slices of pizza.

One customer also suggested that the management should venture on something new

such as exotic kind of milk tea flavor wherein the ingredients that should be used are

healthier for the body such as the inclusion of herbswhich is backed up by research

studies. Just like Infinitea, Zentea customers want the shop to have a more convenient

space for them to enjoy their stay.

        One concern of the customers in Te Amo is that milk tea prices should be more

customer friendly while maintaining its good quality.  They also recommend having a

much lesser ice to be put into their drinks and that they should offer varieties of service

sizes. Just like the previous shops, they also want the shop to have a strong Wi-Fi

connection.  One customer suggested that the one who is making the milk tea should ask

first the customer’s preference as to the amount of sugar to be put into their drinks. In I

love milk tea (Tibanga), a faster service is recommended.  More space and branches are

also recommended by the customers. The customers also want the shop to reduce the

amount of sugar to be put into their milk teas since one customer wrote that the drink is

too sweet even though it has the lowest sugar level.  For I love milk tea (Poblacion), the

same with the previous shops, the customers recommended the place to have enough
 45

space for the customers. Moreover, they suggested that more promotions such as sales

promotion and promos should be catered by the milk tea shop.  More branches of the

shop is also recommended to the management.

       
46
 47

prefer having their milk teas cold. Also, it showed that most of the customers want to

have an equal amount of sugar and tea on their drinks.

For their psychological profiles, findings showed that these customers often go to

these milk tea shops twice a week and spend PhP50-100 worth of purchase since they

have limited financial resources.  It was also concluded that most of the customers agree

and strongly agree that the reasons for their purchase in milk tea shops are for

entertainment, refreshments, good quality taste, a thirst quencher, an alternative for soft

drinks, and a bandwagon state of mind.  It also showed in the results of this study that the

customers were satisfied and very satisfied with the flavor, varieties, availability, price,

visual packaging, advertisement, service size, store appearance, location convenience and

its overall quality since their weighted mean ranges from 3.40 to 5.00.

Most of the customers in each milk tea shops suggested and recommended to

have more space for them and more seats and tables for a more comfortable stay.  And to

enjoy their stay more, the customers suggested that shops should provide Wi-Fi or

upgrade their currently used Wi-Fi to fiber optics.  For each milk tea shop, having some

add-on snacks that complement with milk teas should be taken into consideration for the

customers.  Also, it was suggested that the staff should ask first as to the amount of sugar

to be added into the customers’ milk teas before making it and to be more customer-

friendly in order to gain their loyalty.  Some of the customers also requested for more

sales promotions, more store branches within the city, and to maintain good quality of

products for a budget-friendly price, since their source of purchasing the products are

quite limited.
 48

5.2 Recommendations

For the future researchers who would be using this study as reference, it is

recommended to survey their selected customers for a day in order to save time, money

and effort. It is also recommended to conduct a study on all the existing milk tea shops

here in Iligan City to have a wider range of data and results.

For the owners of these entities, it is recommended to use the data gathered in this

study as basis for improving their milk tea shops and products to achieve customer

satisfaction and retention that might lead to customer loyalty and the building up of

customer relationships.  It is also recommended for the management to allow decisions to

be made from these profiles in order to make customer-centred design decisions to meet

the needs and expectations of the customers.

Based on the results of this study, it is recommended to the milk tea shop owners

to focus more on the wants of customers whose ages range from 19-21 years since they

dominate all the selected milk tea shops.  As majority of the customers are students with

limited amount of monthly income/allowance, the primary recommendation is to create

products with an ideal price ranging from Php50-Php100. Also, the preferred time of

drinking milk tea of the customers is during the afternoon snack time, therefore it is more

convenient to open the shops at 10 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon in order to save

time, effort, and utility expenses.

 49

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 52

APPENDICES

Appendix A Request Letter to the Department of Trade and Industry

Republic of the Philippines Integrated Developmental School

Mindanao State University ILIGAN INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY
Iligan City 9200 Tel. (063) 221 – 4050 to 55 fax no. (063) 3516173
Philippines http: /// www.msuiit.edu.phe-mail: msuii@ccl.msuiit.edu.ph

March 10, 2017

Dr. Ruel B. Paclipan
Provincial Director
Department of Trade and Industry, Lanaodel Norte

Dear Dr. Paclipan

Greetings of peace!
We are Grade 11 Accounting and Business Management (ABM) students of Mindanao
State University-Iligan Institute of Technology-Integrated Developmental School (MSU-IIT-
IDS). Currently, we are enrolled with Research in Daily Life 1 and proposing a study entitled
“Personal, Psychological and Behavioral Profiling of Customers in Selected Milk Tea Shops in
Iligan City”.
To be able to complete our proposal, we would like to request the following data from your
office:
1. Number of milk tea shops in Iligan City
2. Location of each milk tea shop
3. Name of owners
4. Other information on sales/revenues. Number of employees and the like

Rest assured that all the data gathered shall strictly be used for academic purposes only.
Hoping for your positive response;

Respectfully,
NOVE JANE C. ZURITA JASMINE NICOLE M. REQUINO
Student Student

Noted by:
LADY LOU M. D’LONSOD GRACE P. LIWANAG
Research Adviser IDS-ABM Coordinator
 53

Appendix B Request Letter to the Owner/s of the Milk Tea Shops

Republic of the Philippines Integrated Develomental School

Mindanao State University ILIGAN INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY
Iligan City 9200 Tel. (063) 221 – 4050 to 55 fax no. (063) 3516173
Philippines http: /// www.msuiit.edu.phe-mail: msuii@ccl.msuiit.edu.ph

April , 2017

To whom it may Concern:

Greetings of peace!
We are Grade 11 Accounting and Business Management (ABM) students of
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology-Integrated Developmental
School (MSU-IIT IDS). We are currently enrolled with a subject of “Research in Daily
Life 1”. This course requires us to submit a research proposal as a final output. And we
will be proposing a research entitled “Personal, Psychological, and Behavioral Profiling
of Customers in Selected Milk Tea Shops in Iligan City”.
Your establishment is chosen as one of the scope of our study. And with this, we would
like to request for your permission that will allow us to:
1. Conduct a pre-testing of our questionnaire with your customers.

2. Conduct the actual data questionnaire by the next semester to complete our study.

Rest assured that all the data gathered shall strictly be used for academic purposes only.
Hoping for your positive response;

Respectfully,
NOVE JANE C. ZURITA JASMINE NICOLE M. REQUINO
Student Student

Noted by:

LADY LOU M. D’LONSOD GRACE P. LIWANAG

Research Adviser IDS-ABM Coordinator
 54

Appendix C Informed Consent

Republic of the Philippines Integrated Developmental School

Mindanao State University ILIGAN INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY
Iligan City 9200 Tel. (063) 221 – 4050 to 55 fax no. (063) 3516173
Philippines http: /// www.msuiit.edu.phe-mail: msuii@ccl.msuiit.edu.ph

To whom it may Concern:

Greetings of peace!
We are Grade 11 Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) students of
Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology-Integrated Developmental
School (MSU-IIT IDS). We are currently enrolled with a subject of “Research in Daily
Life 1” for ABM students. One of the requirements for this course is a research. With
this, we will be proposing a study entitled “Profiling of Personal, Psychological and
Behavioral Factors on Customers of Selected Milk Tea Shops in Iligan City”. The target
respondents are the customers of ZenteaIligan, Infinitea, Tea Time, Te amo, and the 2
branches of I Love Milk tea.
As customers in one of these shops, we humbly ask permission from you to be
one of our respondents in this study. Rest assured that all the data gathered shall strictly
be used for academic purposes only and will be held confidential.
Hoping for your positive response.

Respectfully,

NOVE JANE C. ZURITA JASMINE NICOLE M. REQUINO

Student Student
________________________________________________

I, __________________________________, would answer the following questions as a

participant for the study “Consumer Profiling on Milk Tea Shops in Iligan City”.
_______________________________
Signature of Respondent