Question about Action Research for my Methodology section

So I'm working on my thesis for my MSM, specifically my methodology section and I'm trying to define my research process. I conducted research (both quantitative and qualitative) in hopes of identifying the cause of a retail company's decline in profits and how it relates to their marketing. This was done out of my own choice and is related to my personal interest in retail marketing. My question is: Is it considered action research if I was not an employee of /contracted by the retailer to conduct this research, but am voluntarily conducting it to try and solve their problem?