A local supermarket has experienced a decline in unit sales and little change in rupee value sales. Profits have almost vanished. The chief executive in searching for ways to revitalize the operation was advised to increase the number of hours the market is open for business. He comes to you for advice in structuring a research problem that will provide relevant information for decision making. Define the problem, taking care to:
·       state the relevant question,
·       enumerate the alternative answers,
·       Clearly define the units of analysis and characteristics of interest.

What are the relevant "states of nature" which would lead to the selection of each alternative answer?