A local store located in downtown Houston has been in the business of selling sports equipment for several years. They sell a wide variety of products, helping them spread their sales throughout the year and minimizing the seasonality effect. For instance, their best-selling product category in October is ski boots, but as the weather gets warmer, their sales shift toward hiking boots and camping tents. This store also sells online, accounting for about 35% of their total revenue. There are several local competitors within 20 miles. The sports equipment market is expanding, but the store manager believes the store performance has declined over the past few quarters. The stores manager has reached out to you for help, and you agreed to conduct market research for this store. There is a problem, and something must be done!

he store manager also provides historical data of sales, promotions (discount & deals), advertising, and average $ amount that customers purchased over the last 12 quarters. Based on this data and assuming that the revenue decline is not a result of competition,

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	Q7	Q8	Q9	Q10	Q11	Q12
Sale ($M)	1.310	1.403	1.503	1.609	1.724	1.846	1.809	1.755	1.772	1.701	1.633	1.568
Promotions ($k)	257	277	279	269	281	283	275	280	276	281	283	284
Advertising ($k)	78	80	83	85	88	90	93	96	99	102	105	108
Average purchase ($)	71	73	81	83	71	73	82	83	71	75	83	82

Discuss the factors that influence whether or not marketing research for this store is needed.