Students Hosted by Decathlon & Conduct Market Research at The Hub
6th June 2026
On 5th of June 2026, Year 12 BTEC Business students visited The Hub Karen as part of a marketing and market research trip. They took part in an online meeting with a marketing and sales representative from Decathlon. The representative explained how Decathlon uses market research to find out information about customers’ needs and use that information to make decisions with regards to the business. Students were taught that there are two different ways of carrying out market research; primary and secondary. Examples of primary research methods are surveys, questionnaires, interviews and observation; examples of secondary research methods are market reports and industry data. The importance of doing research for businesses to produce better products, give better customer service and to keep a competitive edge in the retail market was summed up by the representative during the meeting.
After the meeting with Decathlon, the students had approximately one hour to explore ‘The Hub, Karen’ and gather their own data by way of observation and research activity. Students were able to observe how customers behave, examine the layout of stores, view all the promotional displays available in each of the stores, and explore the different ways that various businesses attract customers and keep them engaged. This hands-on opportunity to collect data and apply the knowledge learned from the Decathlon meeting helped the students take the information they learned in the classroom and apply it to real-world experiences as well as their upcoming PSA. The trip was a great tool for demonstrating how businesses operate and how important market research is in creating successful marketing and sales strategies.
Tanisha Shah & Sundurai Kariuki
