Focus Group Study: Indoor Tanning

Purpose of the Study

A small tanning salon currently welcomes consumers to the salon for a variety of reasons: from a personally-driven desire to be tanned for one’s own self-esteem or for the purposes of safety when traveling to an exotic locale. Yet the end goal is always the same, to acquire a tanned appearance. The marketing strategy for indoor tanning companies has long capitalized on the value society places on appearance. This value has prevailed in spite of the negative consequences associated with tanning such as premature aging of the skin and skin cancer. That the consumer continues to tan in spite of the possible consequences may be a sign that the tanning industry will prevail in spite of negative media.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between consumers’ attitudes towards and values regarding indoor tanning and their subsequent tanning behaviour. It examines a series of aspects regarding indoor tanning: the purpose behind consumers’ use of the facilities or what motivates them to tan, what they define as quality in the industry, what consumers’ perceptions are regarding both positive benefits and negative consequences of the service and how this then affects the consumers’ (opinions regarding) tanning preferences.

Definition of the Problem

A motivation is something that causes someone to act. In this study the emphasis is on each individual consumer’s motivation to utilize the tanning beds. There are varying levels of motivation, which can be related to the level of involvement in the product or service. Involvement is defined as “a person’s perceived relevance of the [consumption] object based on inherent needs, values and interests” (Zaichkowsky, 1985, p.342). In other words involvement is the level of interest generated by a product or service and it will influence the purchasing-decision behaviour of the consumer. According to this definition the value of the product is therefore not an attribute of