I.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
(i) STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
To study the consumer behaviour and perception of women towards cosmetics brand
with special reference to Lakme’s cosmetic products. The primary objective of the
study is to understand the consumer behaviour by studying how many consumers
actually buy Lakme products.
Our Secondary Objectives are:
• To study the problem with the brand as perceived by customers.
• To identify all the factors that still motivates them to buy Lakme products.

(ii) STATEMENT OF METHODOLOGY

Since, data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on
variables of interest, and in an established and systematic order enabling people to
answer queries, identifying research questions and evaluating the outcomes by:
Quantitative Data i.e. Customer Survey through questionnaire- This data deals
with quantities, values or numbers and is considered to be of a measurable form and
is usually expressed in numerical form, such as length, size, amount, price and even
the duration. This data uses statistics to generate inferences and in turn analyse the
type of data adding credence and credibility to it so that the data becomes more
reliable stating a defined objective.

(iii) STATEMENT OF MAJOR FINDINGS:

After gathering all the primary data, the research is directed in a way that the brand
has a unique and distinguished selling proposition in the Indian market. The research
shows how the choices and perception of the customers affect their buying behaviour
and the motivation factors for Indian customers to buy Lakme products.

(iv) STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS:

While considering and analysing the questionnaire filled by the customers, we will be
concluding their interest in the brand on the basis of the brand’s approach towards
providing economical and wide variety of cosmetics and how do the customers
perceive it to be of value for money. It also concludes how a customer is driven to buy
any product influenced by the brand’s positioning in India.

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II. INTRODUCTION

(i) CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The term consumer behaviour is defined as the behaviour that consumer display in
searching for purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product and services that
they expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer behaviour focuses on how individuals
make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort) on
consumption related items. This includes what they buy, why they buy it, when they
buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how they evaluate
it after the purchase and the impact of such evaluation on future, and how they dispose
of it. The study of consumer behaviour is very important to the marketers because it
enables them to understand and predict the buying behaviour of consumers in the
marketplace.

The Black Box Model

The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics and
consumer responses. The black box model is related to the black box theory of
behaviourism, where the focus is not set on the processes inside a consumer, but the
relation between the stimuli and the response of consumer.

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The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search
is perception. Perception is defined as the process by which an individual receives,
selects, organises and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the
world.

There are 5 stages of a consumer buying process, they are:

 The problem recognition stage, meaning the identification of something a
consumer needs and wants.
 The search for information, which means a customer search for their knowledge
bases or external knowledge sources for information on the product.
 The possibility of alternative options, meaning whether there is another better or
cheaper product available.
 The choice to purchase the product and then finally the actual purchase of the
product.
 The choice of complete process that a consumer will most likely, whether
recognisably or not, go through when they go to buy a product.

(ii) FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The marketers try to understand the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and
the underlying motives for such actions. These motives are the factors that influence
the consumer behavior. These are:
A. Psychological Factors: The human psychology plays a crucial role in designing the
consumer’s preferences and likes or dislikes for a particular product and services.
Some of the important psychological factors are:
✓ Motivation
✓ Perception
✓ Learning
✓ Attitudes and Beliefs

B. Social Factors: The human beings live in a complex social environment wherein
they are surrounded by several people who have different buying behaviours.
Since the man is a social animal who likes to be acceptable by all tries to imitate

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 the behaviours that are socially acceptable. Hence, the social factors influence the
buying behavior of an individual to a great extent. Some of the social factors are:
✓ Family
✓ Reference Groups
✓ Roles and status

C. Cultural Factors: It is believed that an individual learns the set of values,

perceptions, behaviors, and preferences at a very early stage of his childhood from
the people especially, the family and the other key institutions which were around
during his developmental stage. Thus, the behavioral patterns are developed from
the culture where he or she is brought up. Several cultural factors are:
✓ Culture
✓ Subculture
✓ Social Class

D. Personal Factors: There are several factors personal to the individuals that
influence their buying decisions. Some of them are:
✓ Age
✓ Income
✓ Occupation
✓ Lifestyle

E. Economic Factors: The last but not the least is the economic factors which have a
significant influence on the buying decision of an individual. These are:
✓ Personal Income
✓ Family Income
✓ Income Expectations
✓ Consumer Credit
✓ Liquid Assets of the Consumer
✓ Savings

These are some of the underlying factors that influence consumer behaviour, and the
marketer must keep these in mind, so that appropriate strategic marketing decision is
made.
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(iii) INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION
Perception is a cognitive process. Cognitive process involves the way in which people
process / understands that information. Perception is the process through which the
information from outside environment is selected, received, organised and interpreted
to make it meaningful to you. This input of meaningful information results in decisions
and actions.
According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by which an
individual receives information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting
and smelling. The study of these perceptual processes shows that their functioning is
affected by three classes of variables- the objects or events being perceived, the
environment in which perception occurs and the individual doing the perceiving.”

Features of Perception
• Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects a data from
the environment, organizes it, and obtains meaning from it.
• Perception is a psychological process also. The manner in which people perceive
the environment affects his behaviour.
• Perception, being an intellectual and psychological process, becomes a subjective
process and different people may perceive the same situations differently.

Perceptual Selectivity
While selection, certain aspects of stimuli are screened out and others are admitted.
For example: when people read a newspaper, they do not read the entire newspaper
but read only that news which interest them. This is known as perceptual selectivity.
This is caused by variety of factors which may be grouped into two categories:
1. External factor
2. Internal factor

EXTERNAL FACTORS
 NATURE: By nature, we mean, whether the object is visual or auditory, and
whether it involves pictures, people or animals. It is well known that pictures attract
attention more readily than words.

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 LOCATION: The best location of a visual stimulus for attracting attention is in the
center of the page. When this position is not available in the newspaper or a
magazine, a position in the upper portion of a page is more favourable than on in
the lower portion and left-hand side receive more attention than the right-hand side.
 SIZE: Generally, objects of larger or bigger size attract more attention than the
smaller ones. For Example: in an advertisement in newspaper full page spread
attract more attention than a few lines in the classified section.
 INTENSITY: The intensity principle states that more intense the external stimulus
is, the more likely is to be perceived. A loud sound, or bright light is noticed more
as compared to soft sound, or dim light.
 CONTRAST: Contrast is a kind of uniqueness which can be used for attention
getting. Letters of bold types, persons dressed differently than others, buildings of
different colors in the same locality, etc. get more attention.
 MOTION: Motion principle states that a moving object draws more attention as
compared to a stationary object. For Example: commercial on televisions get more
attention than print media.

INTERNAL FACTORS
 SELF-CONCEPT: The way a person views the world depends on the concept or
image he has about himself. People's own characteristics affect the characteristics
which they are likely to see in others. They select only that aspects which they find
match with their characteristics.
 INNER NEEDS: People's perception is determined by their inner needs. People
with different needs select different items to remember or respond to. When people
are not able to satisfy their needs, they are engaged in wishful thinking, which is a
way to satisfy the needs not in real world but imaginary world.
 INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDE: The person tries to fit his attitude (whether positive or
negative) in the situation and perceive something. For Example: if a person always
thinks negative, he thinks that whatever is happening in his life will be negative, he
will perceive everything in the negative way. On the contrary if he thinks positive,
he is an optimistic, he will perceive everything in a positive way.
 INTEREST: If a person is interested in something, he will perceive that thing in a
better way. For Example: children watch television with the good interest and
curiosity, so they perceive quickly whatever is shown in TV.
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 LEARNING EXPERIENCE: People perceive many things differently according to
their learning and experience of the past. If a person has wrong impression or bad
past experience of something, he sees the things negative and he perceive that
thing in only negative way because it is his experience that forces him to perceive
in this way.

(iv) INTRODUCTION TO MOTIVATION

Consumer motivation is an internal state that drives people to identify and buy
products or services that fulfil conscious and unconscious needs or desires. The
fulfilment of those needs can then motivate them to make a repeat purchase or to find
different goods and services to better fulfil those needs.
Motivational Levels
Depending on how important a purchase is to an individual, his motivational levels
may vary from low to high. Influences include familiarity with the purchase, status
factors and overall expense and value. Where fulfilment rewards are low, as with
groceries, motivation levels are also relatively low and involve little decision-making
behavior. Conversely, with a complex, risky and emotionally-charged process such as
buying a new house, the drive to achieve the “right” result is high.
Motivational Behavior
The behavioral aspect of consumer motivation concerns the actions someone takes
before purchasing and consuming goods or services. A person might do a lot of
research--evaluating alternatives, testing and sampling--before making a selection.
She might decide to buy something based on which goods or services most closely
meet and satisfy motivational wants and needs. Marketers aim to gain the most impact
and eventual sales by linking their products and services to clearly defined consumer
needs and by understanding what motivates people to buy.
Motivational Influences
Motivational levels differ greatly between individuals and are influenced by many
external variables. These include the social value of making the “right” decision, beliefs
about brands and alignment of brand values and personal values. If other people are
involved in the decision, their motivation also affects the behavior of the primary
consumer.

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(v) COSMETICS INDUSTRY - STATISTICS & FACTS
In 2016, the global cosmetic market grew an estimated of four percent in comparison
to the previous year. Skincare, hair care, make-up, perfumes, toiletries and
deodorants, and oral cosmetics are the main product categories of the cosmetic
market. Skincare was the leading category, accounting for about 36 percent of the
global market. Hair care products made up a further 23 percent, while make-up
accounted for 18.2 percent in 2016. Skin care has been forecast to remain the most
profitable product category, as its market value is projected to grow by 20.1 billion U.S.
dollars between 2014 and 2019. As of 2016, Asia and Oceania was the industry
leader, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the global market. Between 2016
and 2021, the Asia Pacific mass beauty market is projected to grow by nearly 14.9
billion U.S. dollars in sales.
The Indian cosmetic market, as we see is a stronghold of a few major Indian players
like Lakme and Ponds and has faced a lot of foreign entrants within the last decade.
India is a very price sensitive market and the cosmetics and personal care product
companies had to work out new strategies to suit the budget of Indian customers.

The Indian Cosmetic Industry:

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Top leading Companies in Cosmetics Industry in India:
 M.A.C  REVLON
 L’OREAL  AVON
 MAYBELLIN  NYX
 LAKME  BOBBI BROWN
 COVERGIRL  CLINIQUE
 COLORBAR  CHAMBOR

Consumer's nowadays are well-informed about the offerings across all industries.
Furthermore, many consumers are open to trying new brands and experimenting with
makeup and India has a large market that reaches out to a vast audience. The demand
for beauty and wellness products has risen exponentially. The Indian cosmetic industry
is growing twice as fast as markets in the United States and Europe. India is also the
second largest consumer market in the world. The increasing awareness of beauty
products along with the rise of disposable income is expected to boost the industry
thus making the Indian market extremely important.

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(vi) INTRODUCTION TO LAKME

"AN ALLY TO THE CLASSIC INDIAN WOMAN, THE BRAND INSPIRES A WOMAN
TO EXPRESS THE UNIQUE BEAUTY AND SENSUALITY WITHIN, ENABLING HER
TO REALIZE THE POTENCY OF HER BEAUTY.”
The contemporary Indian beauty expert - Lakmé continuously innovates to offer a wide
range of high performance and world class cosmetics, skincare products, and beauty
salons. Combining international cosmetic technology with an in-depth understanding
of the Indian woman’s needs, Lakmé also offers its consumers a comprehensive
beauty experience through its products that are ideal for a variety of Indian skin tones.

Key Facts
 Lakmé was the country's first cosmetic brand to introduce makeup to Indian women
and takes pride in being the expert on Indian Beauty for over 65 years.
 It is a complete beauty brand spanning colour cosmetics & skin care and extending
to beauty services through the network of Lakmé Beauty Salons.
 Its bond with beauty and fashion is manifested through the Lakmé Fashion Week,
which is now the largest fashion event of its kind in the country.

Vision
The vision statement for LAKME. Hair is a fundamental element of our personality.
Health, wellbeing and the search for our own personal look are the essential values
that guide us towards the hair's natural beauty.

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Purpose and principles
The corporate purpose states that to succeed requires “the highest standards of
corporate behaviour towards everyone they work with, the communities they touch,
and the environment on which they have an impact.
• Always working with integrity
Conducting their operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organisations and environments their business touches has always been at the heart
of their corporate responsibility.
• Positive impact
Lakme aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through the brands, their
commercial operations and relationship, through voluntary contributions, and through
the various other ways in which they engage with society.
• Continuous commitment
They are committed to continuously working on Lakme’s positioning in terms of
personality
LAKME believes that beauty, especially in women remains one of the most
treasured assets for them. The cosmetic industry is moving at a very fast pace
to achieve their business goals and objectives. Lakme is making use of the
expertise and considering the current trend in the cosmetic world to drive the
cosmetic industry to a better tomorrow

(vii) PEOPLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES INVOLVED

The following people are involved in completion of our research-
a) A team of 2 people who carried out the whole research.
b) 55 respondents who uses Lakme products or are familiar with the brand.
Conducting a market survey involved following responsibilities:
a) Planning
b) Coordination
c) Sampling
d) Field work
e) Analysis and Reporting

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(viii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to express our special thanks and gratitude to all those people who were a part
of the survey and have encouraged us throughout our work and helped us complete our
project successfully. W e would like to thank our professor and mentor Mr. Annaji Sarma for
his constant support and guidance throughout our work.
The study has indeed helped us to explore more knowledge avenues related to our topic of
research and we are sure to be benefit through this, in future.

(ix) LITERATURE REVIEW

Perception and Motivation Factors
The term Perception is derived from the Latin perception, meaning, identification, and
interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the
environment across the market (Schacter, Daniel, 2011).
However, perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from
physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs of human body (Goldstein,2009).
According to the author Goldstein (2009) the Perception depends on complex
functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this
processing happens outside one’s conscious awareness. Understanding the
'Consumer Perception' is important because there is a significant impact on consumer
behaviour as the behaviour of consumers is directly proportional to their perceptions
based on previous experiences and judgments upon the products or services they had
used.

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III. ANALYSIS

(i) TYPES OF ANALYSIS

PIE CHARTS
A Pie Chart is a type of graph that displays data in a circular graph. The pieces of the
graph are proportional to the fraction of the whole in each category. In other words,
each slice of the pie is relative to the size of that category in the group as a whole.
This tool made the analysis of results for the research much easier through the pictorial
depiction of data.

BAR CHARTS
A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with
rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent.

The main objective of our report is to analyse the perceived value of Lakme brand by
the customers. In order to analyse this, a data was collected from the customers who
use Lakme products in their day to day chores and their belief about the quality of the
range of Lakme that is available in the market.
The first step was to find out how the customers perceive the positioning of the
products of Lakme and identifying whether customers find value in the product range
of Lakme.

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 CHART 1: BRAND PREFERENCE

The Pie chart depicts a survey taken for 55 women who use cosmetics in the daily
chores and we can infer that:
Maximum number of women i.e. 39 out of 55 prefer Lakme while purchasing
cosmetics, out of the given options.
The second preferred brands are L’oreal and Revlon both having 6 out of 55 people
each who opted for the same.
The least preferred brand among the three is Lotus being preferred by only 4 out of
55 customers.

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 CHART 2: WILLINGNESS TO SPEND ON COSMETICS
From the above bar graph, we can calculate the amount that the people are willing/are
actually paying on cosmetics per month:
Majority of people i.e. 24 out of 55 tend to spend approximately Rs. 500-1000 per
month on their favourite cosmetics and skin care products.
While on the other hand, quietly negligible proportion of people i.e. only 4 out of 55
spend more than Rs. 2000 on cosmetics, per month.

CHART 3: CUSTOMER PERCEPTION ABOUT QUALITY

A considerate number of customers i.e. 34 out of the total 55 women (61.8% of the
total) feel that there are some issues with long lasting stay of Lakme products.

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 What is the reason that motivates you to still buy Lakme
products?

CHART 4: MOTIVATION FACTORS TO BUY LAKME PRODUCTS

Let’s see what individuals believe are the motivation factors to buy from Lakme:
Of the total responses, customers feel that easy availability of the brand’s products
and its economical prices are the driving factors that has impacted their brand
loyalty. All other factors are secondary as perceived by the surveyed customers.

CHART 5: OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVEL FROM THE BRAND

While considering the level of customer satisfaction, we are able to infer the following:
39 out of 55 (i.e. 70.9% of the surveyed customers) are found to be satisfied with the
overall performance of the brand.
Only 2 out of 55 women say that they’re very dissatisfied by the brand’s performance.

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IV. FINDINGS

• As per various other surveys undertaken at a larger scale, Lakme is considered to

be one of the leading cosmetic brands in India owned by the Hindustan Unilever
group.

• It is observed that majority of the respondents i.e. 39 out of 55 respondents that

accounts to 70.9% of the total population taken for the survey are using Lakme
products or prefers Lakme for cosmetics as compared to others. L’oreal and
Revlon takes the second position wherein both the cases, 6 out of 55 people chose
these two brands respectively. Lotus only contributing to 7.3% of customers
preference i.e. only 4 out of 55 surveyed people uses Lotus.

• The research validates that out of 55 people, 24 people spend between Rs. 500 to
Rs. 1000 per month on cosmetic or skin care products and even less than 10%
women (i.e. 4) actually spend more than Rs. 2000. This analysis proves that since
Indians are price sensitive when it comes to observing their buying behaviour. They
do not tend to invest huge amount into products of daily use.

• Since a greater number of women feel that Lakme’s product range lacks in terms
of long-lasting stay against the claims that the brand makes. 34 out of the 55
women that were surveyed feel that Lakme’s makeup tend to get absorbed within
2-3 hours and they have to do the touch-up again and again.

• Despite considering the problem of long-lasting stay, customers are still driven to
keep on buying Lakme’s cosmetics as well as skin and hair care products because
of two major reasons namely, the economical pricing of the brand’s products, and
the easy availability of all kinds of skin and hair care products. These can be said
to be some of the reasons that motivate a customer to be loyal to the brand and
marks Lakme as one of the best customer oriented Indian brands.

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V. SUGGESTIONS

• Lakme has presence in the VFM (Value for money) segment in which it is the
leader. Lakme is the overall market leader in the colour cosmetic segment (lip care
and nail enamel) with a wide range of products and prices but when it comes to
premium market which is growing at the rate of 30%, Revlon is the market leader.
So, with growing demand if Lakme extends its presence in this segment, it will help
the brand in becoming a leader in grooming industry.

• Creating more Collaborative & participative community focused activities will help
the company in building brand image & co-creating growth opportunities.

• Many respondents said that they do not buy Lakme products as it does not provide
a makeup or sunscreen lotion which is to be put only once, since Lakme
sunscreens are not moisture resistant. The brand should work more in creating a
water-resistant sunscreen lotion which could stay all through sweaty days.

• According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the 2nd step of self-

actualization is the fulfilment of the safety needs. Through people feel the need for
being presentable and have good looks, a large number live in an ivory tower and
they procrastinate to take decisions regarding this aspect. It is this dormant aspect
that Lakme should awaken in people and bring about restlessness and unfulfilled
feeling regarding their and their family’s overall physical grooming.

• Its broad portfolio sometimes creates confusion in the mind of the consumers.
Such that, some products are known to be very good but others are ignored
because no differentiation is present for them. It can make the bifurcations into
different segments.

• Understanding what the customer needs will allow the brand to design appropriate
products, determine pricing correctly and increase profitability.

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VI. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

(i) SIGNIFICANCE OF DATA SELECTED

Awareness of the brand: The data collected regarding this will yield us information
about the awareness of the brand (Lakme) within the people of the Hyderabad city.
This will give us a brief insight of the popularity of the brand amongst consumers of
all strata.
Is the Product worth the money: A direct question is being asked about the worth
for the money for merchandise provided by the brand?
The brand we took to research upon is Lakme. They generally target people of all
income groups and brags for its USP to be economical and have kept the prices
decent enough that people do not have to think before buying a Lakme product. The
brand is already popular in INDIA and to expand its roots they need to act according
to this data and responses.
Dependency of brand preference with the Quality of the products:
The quality of the Lakme’s products is perceived to not have a long-lasting stay as
observed in the survey as well. Sometimes the decision made by the customer to
buy from this brand is influenced by the price of the cosmetic products at Lakme.
Since the price and quality together plays a vital role in the sale of the product, it is
very important for the brand to know about the expectations of the customer from
the brand. India is a developing marketplace flourishing with many opportunities; the
Quality can be a game changer in this scenario.

(ii) SOURCES OF DATA

 Primary Source of Data- Primary data is the first-hand data collected by the
researcher himself / herself thus they are original in character, they are collected
for a particular purpose. A well-structured questionnaire was personally
administered to the selected sample to collect the primary data.
 Secondary Source of Data- Secondary data is something, which has already been
collected by some other persons for their purpose and published. External data,
was generated form research books and internet.

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(iii) TYPE OF SURVEY
Qualitative Data - Survey through questionnaire:
• A Survey through questionnaire- A detailed questionnaire with specific questions
was formed to understand the consumer perception about the various factors that
can affect their customer retail experience.
• The questionnaire was filled by the people who are frequent users of Lakme
cosmetic and skincare products, via online mode and the true perception of the
customers was assessed.

(iv) LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODS OF PRESENTING

QUESTIONNAIRE:
Google forms: sometimes the data collected tends to be superficial and not authentic.
Face to face survey: Sometimes the people being surveyed get irritated and
generally very less people pay proper attention to survey agents. This process is trying
and time taking.
Mail survey: This technique is generally considered obsolete since the
communication via mail and post has dropped down with the passage of time and very
less people cares to return the response in this digital world.

(v) INTENT OF THE STUDY

Objective - The main objective of the study is to understand the consumer behaviour
and perception towards Lakme products. Also, to determine their decision-making
process to buy from Lakme.

(vi) DEFINITION OF POPULATION

All the women who buy from the brand and have been using Lakme products from a
long time. Our population consists of women of all age groups.

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(vii) SAMPLE DESIGN AND TECHNIQUE
Definition of a sample unit- Any individual who uses any of Lakme products.
Type of design- In this research, non-probability method of sampling is used. Non-
probability sampling methods offer two potential advantages - convenience and cost.
The main disadvantage is that non-probability sampling methods do not allow you to
estimate the extent to which sample statistics are likely to differ from population
parameters. Only probability sampling methods permit that kind of analysis. It is a
sampling technique where the odds of any member being selected for a sample cannot
be calculated.

(viii) DATA SAMPLING METHOD

 Questionnaire:
After a critical analysis of the aspects upon which data has to be collected, a set of
questions are being prepared keeping in mind the objectives of the research. The
questions are precisely framed to bring out the required data from the person. After
several drafting of the questions are precisely framed to bring out the required data
from the person. After several drafting of the questions a set of questions, orderly
placed one after another is prepare, capable of driving the desired data out. For our
research, we developed a closed ended questionnaire for collecting data.

 Google form:
A Google form containing the questionnaire is being prepared for the survey. After the
preparation of the google form, a link is generated. The link is then circulated through
the social media. This method gives wide visibility to the questionnaire. Candidates fill
up the Google Form online and a copy the responses is then being stored in the
Google drive. The representation of data in tabular form gives clarity about the data
and makes the analysis easier.

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(ix) QUESTIONNAIRE
• A set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the
purpose of survey or statistical study.
• A brief questionnaire was formed with the idea of understanding how a customer
perceives the quality of Lakme and what motivates women to be loyal to the brand.
The questionnaire also included other factors that can affect the customers
perception.
• In order to gauge customers perception special types of questions were used.
Multiple choice questions have been used for the ease of understanding and
convenience of filling the survey for the customers.
• Rating scale questions were incorporated to assess the issue based on a given
dimension, in this case, different factors affecting customer’s retail experience.

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VII. LIMITATIONS

(i) SAMPLE SIZE LIMITATIONS:

A sample size of just 55 customers is too less to draw results from a segment of
population of unknown size. Since the sample size was too small, the analysis is based
on less conclusive results. Thus, the survey lacks strong statistical power. A small
sample size also leads to low reproductivity and an inflated discovery rate, which might
be a limitation in this research. This survey is inclusive of the customers who are
residing in Hyderabad.

(ii) SAMPLE SELECTION LIMITATIONS:

The method of Convenience sampling (A sample that is made up of people who are
easy to reach) was used for this research. We only approached customers of
Hyderabad, specifically the women based on this specific category (Gender). This
sample is only a very small proportion of the entire population of consumers of
cosmetic products. Therefore, research studies with much larger sample size would
be required to ensure appropriate generalization of findings of the study.

(iii) TIME RESTRICTION LIMITATIONS:

The study demanded on field analysis considering all the consumers who have been
using Lakme products which was difficult to analyse in a shorter time span. Since time
restriction was there, we collected the data through surveys by means of
questionnaires (both Online as well as Offline).

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VIII. APPENDIX
(Questionnaire)

24
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS LAKME
PRODUCTS
We are students of National Institute of Fashion Technology Hyderabad, and are conducting a survey to
analyse the driving factors that motivate a customer to buy LAKME products. Your true opinion about the
brand will help us determine how the psychological factors namely PERCEPTION and MOTIVATION affects
the customer's buying behaviour.

* Required

1. Which brand do you prefer when it comes to buying cosmetics? *

Lakme

L'oreal

Revlon

Lotus

2. Approximately, how much do you spend on cosmetics in a month? *

Below Rs. 500

Rs. 500-1000

Rs. 1000-2000

Above Rs. 2000

3. For what purpose do you mainly buy Lakme products? (Select as many options) *

Skin protection

Haircare

Makeup (Eye liner, Lipsticks, Mascara, Foundation, etc.)

Face cleansing treatment

4. If some time, your choice of product is not available at Lakme, what do you do? *

Buy similar product of another brand

Wait for the product to be re-stocked at Lakme because I am brand loyal

5. Do you believe that Lakme compromises in quality in terms of long-lasting stay of products?

Yes

No

6. What is the reason that motivates you to still buy Lakme products? (Select as many options)

Economical

Wide variety of products

Easily available

Shows good results

Trendy

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 7. On a scale of 1-4, rate the following product range of Lakme in terms of application. *

1 (POOR ) 2 (MODERATE ) 3 (GOOD ) 4 (EXCELLENT )

Skin protection products
Haircare products
Makeup
Face cleansing products

8. Overall, what is your level of satisfaction from the products of Lakme? *

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Personal Information
Kindly provide us with your basic personal information so as to validate the authenticity of the data at a later
stage.

9. Name *

10. Age *

Below 18 years

19-30 years

31-40 years

Above 40 years

11. Gender *

Female

Male

12. Contact number *

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REFERANCES
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action; Henry Assael; 1992
• https://bizfluent.com/about-6572429-definition-consumer-motivation.html
• https://www.statista.com/topics/3137/cosmetics-industry/
• http://www.indianmirror.com/indian-industries/cosmetics.html
• https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-of-lakme/

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