AN

ASSIGNMENT
ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

SUBMITTED TO: - SUBMITTED BY: -

Mr. Hemant Kothari Sir Rajshree Verma
Pacific University of Higher Education
Udaipur.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Successful completion of any assignment is the milestone in the life o f every
Management student and the success of this assignment has enhanced in me a great
confidence. A successful and satisfactorily completion of any task is the outcome
of the invaluable aggregate contribution of the different perso nal effort in all the
direction, explicitly or implicitly.
The key to t he acknowledgement of such a different task lies in the hands of Mr.
Kshitij Banerjee Sir. Words are poo r gratitude bearer but I give him oppo rtunity to
offer my sincere thanks to my teacher for his benevolent and expertise guidance
without which this assignment would no t have been completed.
I have also deep gratitude towards
Mr. Kshitij Ba nerjee sir
fo r the guidance he
extended to me during the entire course of work and during my entire assignment.

Last but not the least I would express sincere thanks to my college
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION (IISE)
,
,Lucknow
which has included these types of assignments in their curriculum with
the help of which the students find themselves ready for the corporate life at the
end of the training process.
DECLARATION
I Kumar Sambhav Singh student of ³PGDM - I´ hereby developed this
assignment of ³Consumer Behavio ur´ by myself. This assignment is developed
by me under the guidance of Mr.Kshitij Banerjee sir. I submit this assignment
report for the fulfilment of the III trimester o f the PGDM. This work has not been
submitted in part or full to this any other university for the award of any degree to
the best of my knowled ge.
KUMAR SAMBHAV SINGH
(PGDM.- 3rd Trimester)
IISE
Luck now, (U.P.)
4
ABSTRACT
This assign ment basically deals with the consumer behavior. It would enable the
reader to get an idea about consumer behavior.
How consumer reacts to different obstacles while purchasing any product etc.
Lastly, in this assignment six questions have been included to answer or to make
the reader UNDERSTAND abo ut the consumer behavior.
5
CONTENTS
TOPICS
PAGE NO.
Question 1)
How a company app lies consumer behaviour
information in marketing t heir prod ucts and
Services ?
Question 2)
How did the consumer/customer sense plays an
important role in their shopp ing experiences in the
Retail store ?
Question 3)
What are the various physical obstacles which affect
the consumer/custo mer shopping experiences in the
retail store ?
Question 4)
How do yo u think that the exp eriences provided
by the retail store support their self concept ?
6
Question 5)
What environmental cues created those
Experiences ?
Question 6)
what recommendations would you make to
the retail store based on your experiences
and why ?
7
QUESTIONS ON WHICH THIS
ASSIGNMENT IS BASED
Question 1)
How a company app lies consumer behaviour information in
marketing their products and Services ?
Question 2)
How did the consumer/customer senses plays an important role in
their shopp ing experiences in the Retail store ?
Question 3)
What are the various physical obstacles which affect the
consumer/customer shopp ing experiences in the retail store ?
Question 4)
How do yo u think that the exp eriences provided by the retail store
support their self co ncept ?
Question 5)
What environmental cues created those Experiences ?
8
Question 6)
what recommendations would you make to the retail store based on
your experiences and why ?
9
QUESTION 1) HOW A COMPANY APPLIES CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
INFORMATION IN MARKETING THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ?
ANSWER 1)
Before answering this question, I would like to discuss what is
consumer behaviour and importance o f consumer behaviour information.
The marketing co ncept starts with the identification of consumer needs
and wants. It is very important if we talk about fro m the point view of a marketer.
The consumer behaviour is the result which is caused during t he fulfilment of their
needs and wants.
It is very important for a marketer to understand the vario us factors which makes
the consumer to select a particular brand or reject a particular brand.
Consumer behaviour is the subset of human behavio ur, which is concerned with
the identification of acts of individuals and their relatio n towards their purchase
decisio n.
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The human nature is considers to be co mplex in nature because it is difficult
to understand and it is the human brain which directs the purchase decision.
It creates a ³consumer blackbo x´. The consumer collects the information from
various external sources which includes print med ia or electro nic media or any
other sources of information. This generates stimuli. This stimuli is furt her
mentally processed and results in the purchase decisio n for so metime not to
purchase decision- ³consumer blackbo x´ examp le NECC.
11
CONSUMER BLACKBOX MODEL
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS BUYER'S BLACK BOX
BUYER'S
RESPONSE
Buyer
Decision
Marketing Stimuli Environmental
Stimuli
Characteristics
Process
Problem
recognition
Informat ion
Economic
Attit udes
search
Product cho ice
Product
Technological
Motivation
Alternative
Brand choice
Price
Political
Perceptio ns
evaluation
Dealer choice
Place
Cultural
Personality
Purchase
Purchase timing
Promotion
Demo graphic
Lifestyle
decision
Purchase amo unt
Natural
Knowledge
Post-
purchase
behaviour
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Consumer behaviour is not only related to the study o f what, when,where, how but
it is also concerned with t he repercussion (after sale) which arises when the
prod uct is used by the co nsumers. Example Sharp.co m.
³Consumer behavio ur can be defined as
the process of studying behaviour of the
ultimate customers, individuals and households who uses products and services for
personal consumption´
The consumer behaviour can easily be und erstood by the model of consumer
behaviour on next page.
13
MODEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
SOURCE-
PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING by
Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong
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If we talk abo ut organisations, the stud y of consumer behavio ur informatio n is
applied o n a daily basis. Consu mer behaviour information pro vide managers with
the proper and accurate deliverables to target consumers.
This is useful in the marketing practice to influence consumer behavio ur, which
ideally influences the organisation or a co mpany.
Market ing strategies are based on explicit and/or implicit beliefs about consumer
behaviour informatio n. Exp licit beliefs are assumptions based on the sound
information and research comp leted and is more likely to be successful than those
decisio ns based on intuition (implicit beliefs). Solid consumer behaviour
information is thus seen as a competitive advantage when developing marketing
strategies.
In order to survive in a compet it ive market, an organisation or company must
provide their target consumer wit h more value than their competitions. Custo mer
value is the difference between all the benefits derived from a total product and all
the costs of acquiring those benefits. The difference between the total benefits and
the total costs constitutes consu mer behaviour.
Providing superior consumer values requires the organisation or co mpany to do a
better job of anticipating and react ing to consumer needs than the competitio n
does. This is the essence of a great market ing strategy.
15
An understanding of consumer behaviour information is the basis for marketing
strategy formulation. Consumer¶s reactio ns to the market ing strategy determine
the organisations (co mpany¶s) success or failure. These reactio ns also determine
the success of the consu mers in meeting their needs.
Market segmentat io n plays an important role in developing a marketing strategy
based on consu mer behaviour information. A market segment has a uniq ue need,
organisations that focus solely on the needs of that segment will be able to meet
that segments desires better than an organisation or a company whose prod ucts or
services attempts to meet the needs o f mu ltiple segments.
Market segmentat io n takes into consideration identifying need sets that the
organisation or company is capable, or become capable, of meet ing.
16
Identifying the various need sets typically invo lves consumer information research.
These need sets are associated with co nsumers age, stage in t heir life cycle, gender,
social class. Organisations that segment will ideally focus o n these variables.
Grouping consumers with similar needs, allows for marketers to gro up these
consumers into one segment as far as prod uct features and product image by which
they are concerned about.
Once consumers with similar needs have b een identified, these needs should be
described in terms of the consumers¶ demographics, lifestyle and med ia usage. A
complete understanding of the potential consumers is necessary in order to design
an effective marketing strategy. It is only with such complete understanding o ne
can be sure to have correct ly identified co nsumer needs. Company¶s cannot
communicate effectively with t heir customers if they do not understand t he context
in which their product is purchased or consu med.
Only once an understanding of each segment has been co nsidered, one is able to
select an appropriate target market. This considers the segmentation of t he larger
market on which o ne must focus their marketing efforts on. This decision is based
on the ability to provide the selected segment(s) with superio r customer values at a
profit.
By selecting a target market, one is t hus able to develop a marketing strategy.
A market ing strategy is the answer to t he questio n: How will our company provide
superior customer value to our target market? Formulation o f a consistent
marketing mix is the fo undatio n of an effective marketing strategy that focuses on
the product, price, communicat io n medium, distrib ution ro utes and service
excellence
17
Market ing strategies must thus be designed according to identifying the right
prod uct the consumer needs to satisfy their unmet needs.
This product must be delivered to the consumer at an acceptable price, assuring
quality product for money. Market ing communication includes advert ising, sales
PR and any other signals that promote the product offering. These products must
be available at the right places and at the right time to ensure prod uct distribution.
Service is the auxiliary or peripheral activity that is performed to enhance primary
service of the prod uct and support customer satisfaction.
When we talk abo ut the importance of consumer behaviour we co me to the
following points:
1. Today these informatio ns are very essential for a marketer because the entire
marketing strategies revo lves aro und the consumer behavior information.
The selection of an accurate marketing strategy results in good customer
response towards the prod uct or co mpany.
2. Consumer behaviour informatio n also helps to identify how the custo mers to
be treated in order to get a positive result from them.
3. Consumer behaviour informatio n also helps in taking important and
effective decisions while packaging, labelling, style and prod uct features.
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4. Consumer behaviour informatio n also helps in taking decisions related to
selection of dist ribution channel or selection of method t hrough which the
prod uct can be distrib uted to t he ultimate customers. Examples are ebay and
Chiragdin.
Consumer Information Processing
The consumer information-processing approach aids in understanding consumptive
behavior b y focusing o n the seq uence of mental activit ies that people use in
interpret ing and integrating their enviro nment.
The sequence begins with human perception of external stimuli. Perceptio n is the
process of sensing, selecting, and interpreting stimuli in one's environment. We
begin to perceive an external st imulus as it comes into contact with one of our
sensory receptors²eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or skin. Perception o f external stimuli
influences our behavior even witho ut our conscious knowledge that it is doing so.
Marketers and retailers understand this, and they create products and stores
specifically designed to influence co nsumer behavior.
Fast-foo d chains paint their walls in "hot" colors, such as red, to speed up custo mer
turno ver. Supermarkets steer entering customers directly into t he produce section,
where they can smell and touch the food, stimulating hunger. A hungry sho pper
spends more mo ney.
If we think for a moment about the hundreds of objects, no ises, and smells
surround ing us at this very mo ment. In order to funct ion in this crowded
environment, we choose to perceive certain stimuli while ignoring others. This
process is called selectivity. Select ivity lets us focus our attentio n on t he things
19
that provide meaning for interpreting our environment or on the things that are
relevant to us, while not wasting our li mited information-processing resources on
irrelevant items.
Did you even notice that after you decide on, say, Florida, for yo ur vacation
destination, there seems to be an abundance of ads for Flo rida resorts, airline
promotions for Florida, and articles abo ut Florida restaurants and attractions
everywhere? Coincidence? Not really. There are just as many now as there were
before, only now you are selectively attending to them, whereas yo u previo usly
filtered them out. Marketers continuously struggle to break through the clutter and
grab consumers' attention. Advertising and packaging is designed to grab our
attention through a host of techniq ues, such as the use of co ntrast in colors and
sound, repetition, and contextual placement.
If I ask you t hat did you watched television last night? You may have paid
attention to many o f t he ads you saw during the commercial breaks; you may even
have laughed out loud at a few of them. But how many can you recall today?
Consumers' ability to store, retain, and retrieve product info rmation is critical to a
brand's success. When information is processed, it is held for a very brief time
(less than 1 minute) in wo rking, or short-term, memo ry. If this information is
rehearsed (mentally repeated), it is transferred to long-term memory; if not, the
information is lost and forgotten. Once transferred to long-term memory,
information is encoded or arranged in a way that provides meaning to the
individ ual. Information in long-term memory is constantly reorganized, updated,
and rearranged as new information comes in, or learning takes p lace.
Information-processing theorists represent the storage of information in long-term
memory as a network consisting of nodes (word, idea, or concept) and links
(relat ionships amo ng them). Nodes are connected to each other depending on
whether t here is an association between concepts, with the length of the linkages
representing t he degree of the association.
20
The co mplete network brought to mind when a product is activated is called the
prod uct schema. Knowing the set of associations that consumers retrieve from
long-term memo ry about a particular product or category is critical to a successful
marketing strategy. For new prod ucts or services, marketers must first select the
set of associatio ns they want consumers to have. This is called positio ning the
prod uct, or selecting the brand image. Fo r example Trice's uniq ue positioning as a
"wholeso me junk food" was accomplished by establishing a link between the
concepts
healthful
and
decadent treat.
The brand position is then translated into
clever ads, reinforced on prod uct packaging, and integrated into all promotion and
communication strategies.
Over t ime, a brand's image can fade or beco me diluted and this can be easily
analyzed with the consumer behavior information. Sometimes consumers
associate concepts that are not favorable to a brand. When this occurs, marketers
reposition the brand, using advertising and other marketing too ls to help consumers
create new links to positive association and discard links to the unfavo rab le ones.
For examp le, by rotating such catchy p hrases as "Are your french fries lonely?"
and "Yo ur fish st ick impro vement system" on their ketchup labels, Heinz was able
to reposit ion their ketchup as a more exciting, youth-oriented, and sparky brand.
Strategies for successful brand extensio ns also depend o n the Consu mer behaviour
information. Generally speaking, a brand extension is more likely to be successful
if the set of associations for the extension matches the set of associations of the
core product. Would Lifesavers brand toothpaste sell? Probably not, because the
associations for Lifesavers (sweet, candy, sugar, fruity) are not the same as those
for toot hpaste (mint, clean, noncandy). On the other hand, a Lifesavers brand
sugared children's cereal with colorful, fruity rings has a much better match of
associations
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As we know t hat today t he study of consumer behaviour is very important for a
marketer and it is also important for a marketer to collect the consumer behaviour
information before marketing their products and services.
It is sometimes seen that companies market their products and services without
collecting enough co nsumer behaviour information and analyzing the data
prevalent in recent times as a result of which the product or services fails
miserably.
One of the best examples of not understanding or analyzing co nsumer behavio ur
information was earlier exhibited by Amul company, when they introduced their
packaged milk in Gulf countries under the ord inary packaging as in other parts of
Asian countries. The result was that the packaged milk from Amul was not
accepted in Gulf countries or Gulf people, after this failure Amul collected
consumer behaviour information and came to the conclusion that their product
failed in Gulf countries just because of it¶s packaging colour or colour of packet
and later on they introd uced again their product in green colour packaging and
after this mino r change their product got acceptance in Gulf countries also, because
muslims consider green colo ur as a sacred colour and associated this packaging
with their religion.
Sometimes consumer behaviour infor mation, if used effectively and efficiently
leads to an upper hand form their co mpetitors. It is usually seen that smart
22
companies learn a lesson from the mistakes from t heir competito rs. Here I am
trying to make you understand t his concept with the help of an example.
Few years back µCoca-Cola´ int roduced Co ca-Cola in can and the price decided by
the company for this can was Rs.25 in India and this ³Can´ concept failed
miserably to attract customers towards itself.
After this failure ³Pepsi´ studied the consumer behaviour and also analyzed
consumer behaviour information about the ³can´ concept of ³Coca-Cola´ and they
came to the conclusion that the main reason for the failure of Coca-Cola was only
their strategy. Then Pepsico India Limited stud ied co nsumer behavio ur
information and came to the conclusion that when people in Ind ia spends more
than Rs. 20 on any cold drink t hey always expect a container that they can use
further fir other p urposes such as drink ing water and the ³Can´ concept did not
provide them wit h the container that they can use further after co nsumin g cold
drink. So Pepsi introd uced their ³Can´ for just Rs.15 which got acceptance in
India very easily.
To reap the maximum benefits from data analytics, firms have to invest in the right technology, hire the right
people and develop standardised and robust processes of data collection, data retrieval, data analysis and
strategy implementation.
By:
Vineet Hemrajani. (
Business Analytics Manager
)
As consumer behaviour is the key to success in the marketplace. Companies are
constant ly looking at custo mer behavioural patterns to predict future trends.
Among the many too ls is data analytics. Broadly speaking, data analytics can be
23
described as the process of collecting, analysing and using data (related to
demographic informatio n, past behaviour trends, etc) to better understand and
predict the behaviour o f existing and prospective customers for business decision-
making.
The co mmon too ls used to conduct data analytics range from simple cross
tabulations and segmentation analysis to more sophisticated statistical methods
such as multivariate and logistic regressio n, discriminant analysis and cluster
analysis. In the last few years, optimisat ion tools and machine learning algorithms
such as neural networks and genet ic algorithms have also been used to perform
advanced data analysis.
The recent years have seen increased use of data analytics in driving business
strategies across vario us industries. While the data analytics methods have been
extensively used in FMCG, pharma and telecom companies, their mainstay has
been the consumer finance industry.
The wide scale applicatio ns o f predictive data analytics started almost fo ur decades
ago in the form of cred it scoring models pioneered by Fair, Isaac & Co mpany
(FICO) in the United States. These credit scoring models or scorecards were used
to predict customer default.
With the exponential increase in computing power and app licatio n of information
technology in business processes, mo re and more data analytics techniques and
statistical tools are now being applied for Marketing industry.
But why are businesses increasingly adop ting the use of data analytics in their day-
to-day working? Clearly because it allows these fir ms to pred ict the behaviour of
existing and potent ial custo mers. Empowered with this information, firms are able
to devise suitable strategies to better manage their respective businesses.
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On the marketing side, the use of data analytics in the fo rm of response models
helps companies design and execute cross sell, up sell, deep sell and retention
strategies. In t he long run, creat ive use of past customer data through predictive
modelling helps companies in building powerful and effective analytical CRM
(customer relationship management) platforms.
These analytical CRM p lat forms allow firms to make suitable o ffers to its
custo mers and optimise campaigns thro ugh e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing and
inbound call channels. Experts believe that to reap the maximum benefits from
data analytics, firms have to invest in the right technology, hire the right people
and last but not the least develop standard ised and robust processes of data
collection, data retrieval, data analysis and strategy i mplementat ion.
For example, a co mpany may invest in a separate analytics data mart to capture the
relevant customer data or informatio n. This data are mainly of three types:
demographic, behavioural and contact informatio n. While demo grap hic data refers
to information about customer characteristics like age, income, etc., behavioural
data includes information o f customer's prior perfo rmance like transaction history
and delinquency behaviour. Contact information includes history of prior offers
and contacts made to the custo mer.
Once the data mart is read y, the company needs to build efficient and robust
systems for extracting and analyzing data from the data mart. After the required
data analysis is co mpleted and a suitable strategy using data analytics has been
devised, it is imp ortant to ensure that strategies are implemented efficiently and
accurately.
The implementation o f analytically driven marketing strategies has been rather
`painful' process for most co mpanies. However if the right IT infrastructure exists
and process planning is rigorous then implementation can be accomp lished with
minimal disruption of business processes and limited impact on the company's
resources.
25
After a part icular business strategy (a new marketing campaign) has been
implemented, the companies need to measure the performance of the marketing
strategy and make sure that the results can be tracked effectively fo r future use.
The process of continuous designing, executing, and tracking and allows
companies to `test and learn' and thereby helps them gain a co mpetitive edge.
A team of systems specialists and data analysts is required to develop and maintain
efficient data marts and robust implementation and analysis systems. To conduct
data analytics and business analysts that can effect ively perform strategic analysis
and build predictive models need to be developed for marketing.
For example major financial services firms in India have built internal data
analytics and business intelligence teams of data analysts and statistical modellers
that support marketing activities. A significant number of independent third party
data analytics companies that pro vide end-to-end data analytics solutions have also
mushroomed in the last couple of years. From the above examples of Amul, Coca-
Cola and many other companies it is clear that Co nsumer behavio ur information is
very much needed by the marketers today, in order to frame their marketing
strategies regarding their products and services.
26
QUESTION 2)
HOW DID THE CONSUMER/CUSTOMER SENSES PLAYS AN
IMPORTANT ROLE IN THEIR SHOPPING EXPERIENCES IN THE RETAIL
STORE ?
Answer 2)
Befo re expressing my views on the above questio n, I would like to
throw some light on actual meaning of the retail store.
Retail shop (also called Retail Store) is the smallest unit of retail spectrum. Retail
shops are run fro m residential o r commercial streets or from shopping centres.
Such a retailer buys goods or products in moderate quantity from local stockist,
manufacturers or importers, either directly or thro ugh a wholesaler, and then sells
individ ual items in small quant ities to consumers who are general public or end
user customers.
Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Marketers see retailing as part of their
overall distribution strategy. A retail shop buys in small quantity, but in regular
intervals. Small exporters, new entrants, small manufacturers find this sector very
lucrative as they lack the ability to supply in large quantity because of financial
and lo gistical constraints.
Tho ugh profit per sale may be less co mpared to larger order but t hat gets
compensated by higher percentage o f margin and lower risk.
If we talk about consu mer senses, we find that consumer senses or custo mer senses
plays an important role in their shopping experiences in the retail stores. Here I
would like to make you understand what are consumer senses.
The concept µcusto mer experience or senses¶ was formulated in 1982 by Holb rook
and Hirschman as a new experiential approach to consumer behavior. Until then,
27
the customer was considered to be a rational decisio n-taker, who tried to purchase
the best product from an available selection of prod ucts at a reasonab le price.
Holbroo k and Hirschman, however, stated that in contrast to this rational and
utilitarian approach, some activities were better explained by experiential
approach. A custo mer¶s interactio n with a product, service (and / or shopping
environment) can be intrinsically sat isfying, without t hinking about a product or
service¶s utilitarian functionality. The publications of Holbrook and Hirschman
brought attention to the importance of certain variables (more specifically,
emotions) which were largely neglected until then
.
Since economy and marketing are shifting fro m a goods to a service dominant
logic, creating and directing memorable customer experiences in retail store
environments has become a valuable d ifferent iatio n strategy for retail stores
.
Co mpeting in today¶s global market is becoming increasingly difficult. Since
custo mers nowadays often perceive products and services as homogeneous, retail
stores continuously need to look for different strategies.
Differentiating o neself from the competitor by creating memorable customer
experiences is therefore becoming one of the central objectives of many retail store
environments.
In the current experience eco nomy, customers ask and expect more t han just being
satisfied with the purchased brand or pro duct and the delivered service level.
Instead, they look for perso nal, intuitive relatio nships with brands and retailers
Directing the store¶s retail design towards the creation of memorable customer
experiences by appealing to their senses can contribute to the creation o f such
companyclient relationships. Since customer experiences in retail settings appear
to immerse custo mers at a cognitive, emotional and intuitive level, they can be
considered as a new source for value creation. A retail experience which succeeds
in delivering value to the customer can become the key to lo ng-term retailer
success. While µcustomer/consumer experi ences¶ continually receive more
attention, literature on how to create and direct these experiences often lacks
definitio ns o f central concepts and empirical support.
28
The µcusto mer/consumer experience¶ concept came to limelight with the
publication in 1999 o f Pine & Gilmore¶s book on the Experience Economy. Pine
& Gilmore present experiences as a new offering, which emerges as the next phase
after an economy of commodities, goods and services. Accord ing to their
viewpoint, managers fro m now o n need to focus on creating and direct ing
memorable customer experiences.
Therefore, they describe six different features of an experience.
- First of all, experiences need to be wort h remembering.
- Secondly, experiences need to be focused on an approp riate theme, which
characterizes the retail store and appeals to customers.
- Thirdly, negative elements which can divert custo mers¶ attention from the
experience, need to be removed.
- Fourthly, experiences need to appeal to as many custo mers¶ senses as
possible.
- Fifthly, since every experience is the consequence o f an interaction between
an organized µevent¶ and the (emo tional, mental, physical) co nd it ion of the
custo mer at the time o f the interaction, every experience is personal.
- Finally, Pine & Gil more state that customers need to pay for experiences.
According to their viewpoint, as long as a retail store does not ask a price for
an experience, the experience cannot be considered as a proper economic
offering.
As already discussed consumer/customer senses plays an important ro le in t heir
shopping experience in retail store, I would like to add so me factors that give rise
to consumer/customer senses:
- Custo mer¶s past experiences in the retail store.
- Consumers perceptio n towards retail stores.
- Positive or negative attitudes.
29
The sensory organs like eyes, ears, nose,skin plays a very i mportant role in
consumer senses. With the help of their sensory organs a customer or consumer
evaluates t he qualities and services in the retail store.
If these sensory organs evaluates and gives customers the desired satisfaction then
it results in positive experience about the retail stores however, dissatisfact ion
results in negative experience about the retail stores.
A customer when steps in a retail store, his eyes, ears, nose and skin give him an
idea about the store and the prod uct and services offered b y the store.
A customer¶s five senses play a role in their shopp ing decisio ns. A stereo ought to
sound and look good; a piece of fish should look good and, well, not smell bad; a
restaurant entrée must smell good and taste even better.
It¶s easy to understand how individual op in ions about flavors, scents, sounds, and
appearance wo uld influence customers¶ buying preferences. But until recently,
researchers didn¶t understand the importance of how something feels to a
consumer. They believed that the persuasive role of touch was limited to
providing information about a prod uct¶s attributes.
³Touch can be an almost irresistib le urge for children and adults.
There are several variables that o nly the sense of touch can properly assess like
texture, softness, weight, and temperature. Not surprisingly, any product that can
vary in t hese attrib utes is more likely to lead customers to touch before making a
purchase decision. For examp le, a customer might pick up three different lap tops
to determine which o ne is lightest for t ravel, or press on a pillow to see how firm it
is. In a wine shop you might pick t he most-chilled bottle of beer if you plan to
drink it right away.
30
The first three types of touch fall into the category of ³instru mental,´ where t he
actions of the consumer are directed toward evaluating products and mak ing
purchase decisions. At the first level, a customer is simply touching t he product to
take it to the checkout area. At the next, the consumer may touch a product to
obtain informatio n that isn¶t readily visib le, as when she turns over a box to read a
nutrition label or looks inside a shirt to see what size it is. In both of these
scenarios, obtaining information is not the goal, even though the hands are used in
the act o f learning about t he product.
The third type of touch is geared toward determining product attributes, as
described above. None of custo mer¶s senses can effectively assess weight,
temperature, texture, or softness. The to uch of the fingertips on t he object is
essential to evaluating the product along these criteria.
The fourt h type o f to uch has nothing to do with info rmation gathering at all² yet it
is perhaps the most critical in terms o f its impact on marketing. In this type of
touch, the sensory experience of touching an object is an end unto itself.
Running your hand o ver a cashmere blanket or holding a smooth p iece of pottery
in your hand just for the sake of it is part of the shopp ing experience. It¶s also, we
now k now, closely tied to the purchasing patterns of certain kinds of consumers.
Just as some products warrant more to uching than others to determine quality or
material properties, some co nsumers are more tempted than others to touch them.
Not surprisingly, individuals who rate themselves higher in product jud gments
when they are unable to have physical co ntact with t he object.
Ears also play an important role towards shopping experience in retail sto res, when
a customer hears t hat so mebod y is responding to his call and timely give him the
31
information regarding t he product, custo mer feels very good that he has heard a
good about the product from t he store people itself.
At last I can say that if a retail store wants to progress it should have to take into
considerations of consumer senses or customer senses.
32
QUESTION 3) WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PHYSICAL OBSTACLES WHICH
AFFECT THE CONSUMER/CUSTOMER SHOPPING EXPERIENCES IN THE
RETAIL STORE ?
ANSWER 3)
There
are various p hysical ob stacles present which affect the
consumer/customer shopp ing experience in the retail stores.
Today when so many retail stores are opening up, each one is competing hard for
the customers' money. There are more choices available for co nsumers t han ever
before. In such situation retail stores must develo p business strategies t hat focus
on creating as well as maintaining customers, one by offering custo mers a
differentiated shopping experience. Merchand ising and display are important
issues that need serio us attention in enhancing customer shopp ing experience.
Such b ig retailers spends lot of money in getting high traffic location but if
custo mers/consumers don¶t find anything systematic, unique and attractive, they
may just pass away from the door or if visited will try so me other place to retail
store next time.
Merchand ising is much mo re than simply the arrangement of products on the shelf,
it is also about understanding the way custo mers shop.
33
Hand written boards, posters covering the d oor and walls, lack of light ing, untidy
displays co nvey that retail stores are not serious abo ut their business. So retail
stores need to create an environment that not only attract custo mers but also give
feeling of comfort and satisfaction during shop ping, which act as inducing facto r
for their next visit.
Following are the obstacles that great ly affect the custo mer shopping experience in
the retail stores:
1 Store Front and Windows
:
If the retail store has big front and windows, store should exploit it by p utting
creative displays and offers. It may include sale announcement, about any new
prod uct introd uced, or abo ut new season¶s collection. Any informatio n to be put o n
front should be attractive and in accordance with cultural norms this sho uld attract
custo mer and will result in positive experience towards that specific retail sto re.
34
2) Product placement in store:
A retail store must put the most popular and latest prod ucts in fro nt. New prod ucts
which are attractive and create interest in th e mind o f customers should be put in
the most visible place. A retail store should not try to keep ever thing on d isplay.
Keep the display clutter free this will give customer a satisfaction and this will
result in positive customer experience.
A retail store area can be classified into t hree types:
- main merchand ising
- display
- -cash.
The merchandising area is where customers are visually bombarded wit h products
available for purchase. The cash area is where the final sale takes place and is an
excellent area to place small accessory items that appeal to impulse b uying.
Display spaces sho uld be used to create visual excitement and d raw attention o f
custo mers or consumers. It also gives opportunity to create awareness about the
new prod ucts and varieties available.
35
A retail store should take photos of the display and keep record o f t he product sales
during this existing d isplay. A retail sto re sho uld store this informat ion for future
reference as it can help in evaluating different display styles.
A retail store should give a balance view with respect to colo r as well as size of
item placed. Generally heavy looking items and darker items should be p laced
near the bottom of a disp lay. Placing too many items, or heavy items on one side
create unbalanced view and t his results in negative customer experience.
3) Effective Signage:
Effective is one of the easiest ways to convey message to the custo mers.
Information about store name, pricing, promotions and product information may
all be co nveyed through signage.
Do's for Retail store signage:
1. Visible and legib le
36
2. Emphasize on main message.
3. Place it where it will catch maximum customers' attention.
4. Right amount of information with clarity.
5. Attractive for customers.
6. Simple and contrasting colo r schemes to be easily read.
7. Use trendy and powerful colors.
8. Light should focus o n interior as well as exterior signage.
9. Look it fro m custo mers of po int of view to analyze it.
10 Look for consistency on all store signage.
37
Don'ts for Retail store signage
1. Confusing and misleading messages.
2. Placing too high on store building.
3. Spelling erro rs.
4. Hand written signage.
5. Conveying too much.
4) Lig hting
:
Lighting is very important factor to be considered when it comes to custo mer
shopping experience in retail stores. Proper lighting o n display can catch attention
of custo mer and even arouse interest for the prod uct. Dull lighting can make
custo mers yawn.
38
Light should no t be thrown directly fro m the top; also shadows that spo il the
beauty of display should be avo ided. Lighting should enhance the three
dimensional image o f the product. When d isplay arrangement is changed, lighting
should also be adjusted.
Track lighting can enhance colo rs. Track lighting can be used as accent lighting to
show up specific merchand ise and adding excitement. It can also be used in
illuminating wall d isplays. Ambient lighting is the general lighting, which in many
cases is fluorescent lighting. A retail store can upgrade lighting whenever it is
essential. Retail Store windows can be a good source of lighting.
5) The Store's aroma:
A p leasing aro ma can create a wonderful ambience which adds to the customers'
shopping experience. Many of the stores are using scents to boost retail
performance. It is observed that with a pleasant aroma flowing in the air,
individ ual experiences a flow state which results in spend ing more time in the
store, and thereby they buy more items from the store. A store must create scents
that are consistent with its theme. In a female sectio n the scent should produce a
feminine smell.
39
Scented candles can be used to give special effects to retail store. Which type of
scent to use is a very sensitive issue? Two things need to be considered:
- first, it is consistent with the product type.
- Second, it is as per the preferences and sensitivities of target consumers.
6) Background Music
:
Music is another technique of pleasing the customers. The types of music to be
played again depends on product and target custo mer, for e.g. a retail store selling
trendy cloths and have a yo ung target market, fast and funky music is suitable. In
most ot her cases, music should just give a background effect. Slow music reduces
the pace of human traffic and increases sales.
Music should be just lo ud enough to balance the noise created by customers,
employees and machines.
40
Some other t hat sho uld be kept in mind are:
1. Racks should be placed far enough from each other to allow movements without
touching the racks.
2. A retail store should change in store displays and windows at least every month
during the ho lidays.
3. Use the colors t hat help to set mood and feelings.
4. Magazines can be the best source of ideas for d isplays.
5. A retail store owner sho uld pretend him as a customer and take a look at his
store.
6. Before p lacing the prod ucts, drawing a quick layout can help in visualizing the
plan for retail store design and avoids unnecessary movement o f goods.
7. A retail store should keep the things simple. The customer convenience should
be the ultimate goal.
41
These are some o f the physical obstacles that affect custo mer or consumer¶s
shopping experience in Retail Stores. If the do¶s and do nt¶s are kept in mind a
retail store can remove all the physical obstacles and can have an edge o ver their
competitive retail stores.
42
QUESTION 4) HOW DO YOU THINK THAT THE EXPERIENCES PROVIDE BY
THE RETAIL STORE SUPPORT THEIR SELF CONCEPT ?
ANSWER 4)
Each and every individual has certain self-concepts, which means
that they have certain role models and they want to react and interact according to
their role models. This effect can be seen in their purchase decision also. Their
dressing sense, hair style, and table manners etc. are somewhat influenced by their
role models. There can be contradiction between perceived i mage and actual
image.
Many marketers are now using self concept related to personality- a person¶s self
concept also called self image. The basic self concept premise is that people¶s
possession contributes to and reflect their ident ities, that is, ³We Are What We
Have´.
Thus in order to understand consumer behavio ur, the marketer must first
understand the relationship between consumer self concept and possessions .
43
QUESTION 5) WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL CUES CREATED THOSE
EXPERIENCES ?
ANSWER 5
44
QUESTION 6) WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD YOU MAKE TO THE
RETAIL STORE BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCES AND WHY ?
ANSWER 6)
As far as my p revious experiences were concerned regarding the
retail stores, they were a mixed o ne i.e. goo d and bad. I have visited Spencers,
Vishal Mega Mart and Big Bazar earlier and had a good and bad experiences.
My good experiences include t he availability of each and every thing at one place
and also at a very cheaper rate fo rm the market. As a coin has two faces a retail
store has two faces of , which one is good and another is bad from the prospective
of the customer.
As every Retail store is unique in its way, it is very important for a retail store to
keep the customers attracted towards itself.
Here I am writing down some of the recommendations that should be kept in mind
so that a Retail store can easily attract customers towards itself.
- It is commonly found that many retail stores specially ³Big Bazar´
spends
lot of money in getting high traffic location but it is very painful for the
custo mers to reach that store b y crossing such a high traffic. Customers
don¶t find anything systemat ic, uniq ue and attractive, they may just pass
45
away from the door or if visited will try some other place to shop next time.
So my personal recommendatio n for the retail stores is that not to try to
locate their stores in such a traffic zone for which a customer has to think
again and again before visiting the store.
- Once I visited Spencer and was shocked to see that merchandising was given
more importance than the arrangement o f p roducts o n the shelf. I have also
found a toiletry soap on the beauty soap shelf. I was stunned to see that how
a reputed store can make a blunder mistake like this. So I perso nally
recommend Spencer store to keep an eye on such small things as these small
things can lead to a great flop in the market.
- Many times when I had visited Vishal Mega Mart I found hand written
boards, posters covering the door and walls creating a lack o f lighting and
also resulting in untid y So Vishal Mega Mart need to create an environment
that not only attract customers but also give feeling of comfort and
satisfactio n, which act as inducing factor fo r their next visit.
Here I would like to give some general recommendatio ns that will make the
custo mer shopping experience positive about these stores and these are as follows:
46
Store Front and Windows:
If the store has big front and windows, a retail store should exploit it by
putting creative displays and offers. It may include sale announcement,
about any new pro duct introduced, or about new season¶s collection. Any
information to be put on front should be attractive and in accordance with
cultural norms in order to make customer aware about the schemes and
disco unts.
Product placement in the store:
A retail store must put the most popular and latest prod ucts in fro nt. New
prod ucts which are attractive and create interest in the mind of customers
should be put in the most visible p lace. A store should not try to keep
everything on display. Rather keep the display clutter free.
As a store area can be classified into three types: main merchand ising,
display and cash. The merchandising area is where customers are visually
bombarded with products available for p urchase. The cash area is where the
final sale takes place and is an excellent area to place small accessory items
that appeal to imp ulse buying. Disp lay spaces are used to create visual
excitement and draw attention o f customers. It also gives opportunity to
47
create awareness about t he new pro ducts and varieties availab le.
Take photos of the disp lay and keep record of the product sales during t his
existing display. Save this information for future reference. It can even help
in evaluating different display styles.
A retail store should give a balance view with respect to colo r as well as size
of item p laced. Generally heavy looking items and darker items sho uld be
placed near t he bottom o f a disp lay. Placing too many items, or heavy items
on one side create unbalanced view.
Effective Signage:
It is one o f the easiest ways to convey message to the customers.
Information about store name, pricing, promotions and product information
may all be conveyed thro ugh signage.
Do's for professio nal signage:
1. Visible and legib le
48
2. Emphasize on main message
3. Place it where it will catch maximum customers' attention.
4. Right amount of information with clarity.
5. Attractive for customers.
6. Simple and contrasting colo r schemes to be easily read.
7. Use trendy and powerful colors.
8. Light should focus o n interior as well as exterior signage.
9. Look it fro m custo mers of po int of view to analyze it.
10 Look for consistency on all store signage
49
Lighting
As lighting is also very important factor to be considered. Proper lighting o n
display can catch attention of customer and even arouse interest for the
prod uct. Dull lighting can make customers yawn so a store must avoid using
dull lights.
Light should no t be thrown directly fro m the top; also shadows that spo il the
beauty of display should be avo ided. Lighting should enhance the three
dimensional image o f the product. When d isplay arrangement is changed,
lighting should also be adjusted.
Use of track lighting can enhance co lors. Track lighting can be used as
accent lighting to show up specific merchandise and add ing excitement. It
can also be used in illumi nating wall displays. Ambient lighting is the
general lighting, which in many cases is fluorescent lighting. Upgrade
lighting whenever it is essential. Store windows can be a good source of
lighting.
50
The Store's aroma:
A p leasing aro ma can create a wonderful ambience which adds to the
custo mers' shopping experience for any retail store. Many of the stores are
using scents to boost retail performance. It is observed that with a pleasant
aroma flowing in the air, individual experiences a flow state which results in
spend ing more time in the store, and thereb y they buy more items fro m the
store. A store must create scents that are consistent with its theme. In a
female section t he scent should produce a feminine smell.
Scented candles can be used to give special effects to store. Which type of
scent to use is a very sensitive issue? Two things need to be considered:
- first, it is consistent with the product type.
-Seco nd, it is as per the preferences and sensitivities of target co nsumers.
Music
:
Music is another technique of pleasing the customers. The types of music to be
played again depends on product and target custo mer, for e.g. store selling
trendy cloths and have a yo ung target market, fast and funky music is suitable.
51
In most other cases, music should just give a background effect. Slow music
reduces the pace of human traffic and increases sales.
Music should be just lo ud enough to balance the noise created by customers,
employees and machines.
Some More General Tips:
1. Racks should be placed far enough from each other to allow movements
without touching the racks.
2. Make changes in sto re displays and windows at least every month during t he
holidays.
3. Use the colors t hat help to set mood and feelings.
4. Magazines can be the best source of ideas for d isplays.
5. Pretend you are a custo mer and take a look at your sto re.
52
6. Before p lacing the prod ucts, drawing a quick layout can help in visualizing
the p lan for your design and avoids unnecessary movement of goods.
7. Keep the t hings simple. The custo mer convenience sho uld be the ultimate
goal for a retail store.
These recommendations are the recommendations that have came to my mind from
my past experiences of the different retail stores.
53
BIBLIOGRAPHY
54