Consumer Perceptions Of Pawn Shops
Consumer Perceptions of Pawn Shops
Executive Summary
Over the course of history, pawn shops have been a respectable option for short-term loans. And in today’s volatile economic environment, they can be a saving grace to people who are in need of quick cash but have poor or no credit, no bank account, or no credit card. However, pawn shops are not immune to the effects of the economy, with stiff competition from businesses like payday loans and stringent government regulations. Most notably, they have ongoing image problems, much of which is attributed to how they are portrayed in the media and movies (e.g. Pulp Fiction).
More recently, a highly successful reality television show set in a pawn shop has increased positive visibility for the industry and the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) is hoping to build off of that momentum by undertaking a new promotional campaign. The campaign would have two goals: to improve the image of pawn shops and to get more people to step foot into the stores.
In late summer of 2010, the NPA sought the assistance of a Communication Research masters-level class at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. With help from the class, the NPA would benefit from the findings of multiple, small, qualitative research studies. The information collected could be useful to the NPA in developing messaging and positioning strategies for a national campaign. This report is a result of one of the qualitative research studies performed.
The intent of our study was not to focus on existing pawn shop customers, but rather to gauge general awareness and opinions of pawn shops and their relevance in peoples’ lives. We were aware that our study sample would likely not reflect the average pawn shop customer. The question we had was whether our study sample would represent potential pawn shop customers.
Our study focused on knowledge, experience and perceptions of pawn shops, as well as lending and shopping habits. In our
Executive Summary
Over the course of history, pawn shops have been a respectable option for short-term loans. And in today’s volatile economic environment, they can be a saving grace to people who are in need of quick cash but have poor or no credit, no bank account, or no credit card. However, pawn shops are not immune to the effects of the economy, with stiff competition from businesses like payday loans and stringent government regulations. Most notably, they have ongoing image problems, much of which is attributed to how they are portrayed in the media and movies (e.g. Pulp Fiction).
More recently, a highly successful reality television show set in a pawn shop has increased positive visibility for the industry and the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) is hoping to build off of that momentum by undertaking a new promotional campaign. The campaign would have two goals: to improve the image of pawn shops and to get more people to step foot into the stores.
In late summer of 2010, the NPA sought the assistance of a Communication Research masters-level class at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. With help from the class, the NPA would benefit from the findings of multiple, small, qualitative research studies. The information collected could be useful to the NPA in developing messaging and positioning strategies for a national campaign. This report is a result of one of the qualitative research studies performed.
The intent of our study was not to focus on existing pawn shop customers, but rather to gauge general awareness and opinions of pawn shops and their relevance in peoples’ lives. We were aware that our study sample would likely not reflect the average pawn shop customer. The question we had was whether our study sample would represent potential pawn shop customers.
Our study focused on knowledge, experience and perceptions of pawn shops, as well as lending and shopping habits. In our