a study on consumer behaviour towards selected fast moving consumer goods in coimbatore city

www.iseeadyar.org/ijid.htm Research article

Indian Journal of Education and Information Management

500

Vol:1 Issue:11 November2012 ISSN:2277-5374

A study on consumer behaviour towards selected fast moving consumer goods in Coimbatore city

Dr. S. Mahalingam1, P. Nandha Kumar2

1Associate Professor, Bharathiar School of Management and Entrepreneur Development, 2Research Scholar, Bharathiar School of Management and Entrepreneur Development, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.

E-Mail: [email protected], [email protected] Theconsumerbahaviourplaysanimportantroleinmarketing.Thisinfluencedbyvariousfactors.Inthechangingglobal

scenariowefindthatconsumersneedsandwantstobuyaproductalsochangeswithit.InthisstudytitledAStudyonConsumer

BehaviourtowardsSelectedFastMovingConsumerGoodsinCoimbatoreCitytheresearcherhasassessedthesocio-economicpro-

file,shoppingpatternconsumerandfoundoutthefactorsinfluencingtheconsumertopurchasetheselectedFMCGproducts.The

primarydatarequiredforthestudyforcollectedthroughquestionairewhichwasdistributedto400sampleschoosenfromcoimbatore

city.Thetoolsusedforanalysisarepercentageanalysis,garrettrankingandchi-square.Fromthisstudyitwasfoundthatmostof

theconsumersareinfluencedbybrandandqualityinpurchaseofFMCGproducts.Therebytherasearcherhassuggestedtoimprove

thequalityinFMCGproductthroughproductdevelopmentandexternalmonitoring.Keywords: Consumer behaviour, FMCG product , Socio-economic profile of consumer, Factors influencing.

1. Introduction Consumerbehaviourcanbedefinedasthedecision-makingprocessandphysicalactivityinvolvedinacquiring,evaluat-

ing,usinganddisposingofgoodsandservices.Thisdefinitionclearlybringsoutthatitisnotjustthebuyingofgoods/servicesthat

receivesattentioninconsumerbehaviourbut,theprocessstartsmuchbeforethegoodshavebeenacquiredorbought.Thestudyof

consumerbehaviouristhestudyofhowindividualsmakedecisionstospendtheiravailableresources(time,effort,money)oncon-

sumptionrelateditem.Itincludesthestudyofwhattheybuyit,wheretheybuyit,howoftentheybuyitandhowoftentheyuseit.

Itisimportanttoknowhowconsumerreactstowardsdifferentproductfeatures,price,andadvertisement,inordertoensurestrong

competitiveadvantage.Allofusareconsumers.Weconsumethingsofdailyuse.Wealsoconsumeandbuytheseproductsaccord-

ingtoourneeds,preferencesandbuyingpower.Insomesocietiesthereisalotofaffluenceand,thesesocietiescanaffordtobuyin

greaterquantitiesandatshorterintervals.Inpoorsocieties,theconsumercanbarelymeethisbarestneeds.

FastMovingConsumerGoods(FMCG)goodsarepopularlynamedasconsumerpackagedgoods.Itemsinthiscategoryin-

cludeallconsumables(otherthangroceries/pulses)thatpeoplebuyatregularintervals.Themostcommoninthislistaretoiletsoaps,

detergents,shampoos,toothpaste,shavingproducts,shoepolish,packagedfoodstuff,andhouseholdaccessoriesandextendstocer-

tainelectronicgoods.Theseitemsaremeantfordailyuseoffrequentconsumptionandhaveahighreturn.Thesectorisdividedinto

twodistinctsegments-thepremiumsegmentcateringmostlytotheurbanuppermiddleclassandthepopularsegmentwithpricesas

lowas40%ofthepremiumsegment.Therapidlygrowingeconomy,increasingper-capitaincomes,andrisingtrendofurbanization,

theFMCGmarketinIndiaisexpectedtofurtherexpandtoRs1,80,000croreby2015.TheIndianFMCGsectorwithamarketsize

ofUSD14.8billionisthefourthlargestsectorintheeconomy.TheFMCGmarketissettodoublefromUSD14.7billionin2008-09

toUSD30billionin2012.

1.1 Objectives of the study

Toanalysethesocio-economicprofileofthesamplerespondentsandtheirshoppingpattern.

ToassessthefactorsinfluencingtheconsumertopurchasetheselectedFMCGproducts.

1.2 Need of the study TheFMCGsectorshowstremendousgrowthlastfewyears.Comparetoothersectorsinvestorsprefertomaketheirinvestmentinthis

sectoronly.HoweverthereishighgrowthtendencyforFMCGsectoritfacessomedifficultiesinachievingtheirdestination.Hence

thepurposeofthisstudyistoidentifytheforcethatinfluenceonconsumershoppingpatternparticularlyinCoimbatore.BecauseCo-

imbatorereferredasthesouthIndianmansitterwheremostoftheindustrypeoplelivingthatwhyselectedtheFMCGproductstudy.

501Research article www.iseeadyar.org/ijid.htm

Indian Journal of Education and Information Management Vol:1 Issue:11 November2012 ISSN:2277-5374

1.3 Scope of the study ThepresentstudytargetofCoimbatorecityconsumers,understandingtheirbehaviourhelpstoidentifythepreferenceinflu-

enceofbrandintheirpurchasedecisionetconthepurchaseofparticularFMCGproduct.Theinsightwillhelpthemanufacturesto

adoptnewstrategieswhichwouldhelpnotonlytoattractnewcustomerbutalsothemaintaintheloyaltyoftheexistingcustomer,as

inthepresentcompetitivescenariotheconsumerarepreparedtochoosetheirrightproductnotonlybasedontheirneedsbutalsoon

thebasicofpersonalinterestshownbythemanufacturesonthem.

1.4 Limitations of the study

1. TheresearchconcentrateswithonlyfewFMCGlikeapaste,soapandshampoo.

2. 400respondentsaretakenforthestudy.withtheincomeinsamplesizetheresultmayvary.

2. Review of Literature C. Muthuvelayutham (2012)inhisstudytitledTheStudyofConsumerBrandLoyaltyonFMCG-CosmeticProductswithSpecialReferencetoMaduraianalyzestherelationshipbetweendemographicvariablesonthebrandloyaltyoftheconsumers

andtriestoidentifytheconsumersswitchingfactorsinrespectedselectedproductcategory.Thisstudyisessentiallyacorrelation

study.Arandomlyselectedsampleof600fromTamilNaduState,SouthIndia,particularlyMadurai,Tuticorin,Kanyakumaridistricts

wereselectedtoanalyze.Toindicatetheamountofcorrelationbetweenthevariables,Chi-squaretestwasusedinthisstudy.Results

showthatamongthevariablesage,educationlevelandgenderhavethemostsignificantimpactonconsumersbrandloyalty.

B.V.N.G. Chandrasekhar (2012)inhisstudyConsumerBuyingBehaviourandBrandLoyaltyinRuralMarkets:FMCG,aimstostudybrandloyaltyofvariousbrandsinruralmarketsandidentifythepresenceandtheimportanceoflocalbrands.Thepri-

marydatawascollectedthroughaquestionnaire.Thisstudywasconductedonasampleof60respondentsinthevillagessatanapalli,

tadipattriandmallapur.

SURESH BHAGWAT(2011)inhisearticleFMCGMarketstocontributeinIndianruralEconomyperspectiveinglobaleraThisstudyfocusestheireffortsonempoweringtheruralconsumerwiththelatesttrendsandtechnologyandteachesthemways

toimprovetheirstandardofliving.

GIHAN WIJESUNDERA (2010)inthisarticleFactorsinfluencingthedemandofbeautysoapamongfemaleconsumersinthegreaterColomboregion Purposeofthisstudyistoexplorehowthemarketingmix&demographicalfactorsinfluencethebrandpreference&purchasingbehaviorofbeautysoapamongthefemaleconsumersinthegreaterColomboregion.Theresults

indicatedthattherewerestatisticalrelationshipsbetweenprice,product,education,occupationandbandpreferenceandtherewasno

statisticalrelationshipbetweenplace,promotion,age,incomelevel,maritalstatus,skintype,socialfactors,andsubstituteproduct

withthebrandpreference.

Thustheresearchconcludesthattheprice,product,education&occupationareonlyhavingastatisticalrelationshipwith

thebrandpreferenceoffemaleconsumersinthegreaterColomboregion.

NUNTASAREE SUKAT (2009)inthisarticleAmodelofmaleconsumerbehaviourinbuyingskincareproductsinThai-landThestudypurposeoftheresearchwasevaluatedinsomedepththephenomenaofmaleconsumerbehaviourinbuyingskincare

productsinThailand.Inordertocopewiththeresearchpurpose,FishbeinandAjzenstheoryofreasonedactionmodelisemployed

asatheoreticalframeworkandmodifiedbyaddingtheself-imageconstruct.TheresearchobjectivewasfindouttheTowhatextent

dobeliefsinproductattribute,self-image,Normativeinfluences,andattitudestowardapplyingskincareproducts,affectThaimale

consumerspurchaseintentionandpurchasebehaviourinbuyingskincareproducts.Theresearcherwasfindouttheresultorconfirm

thatbeliefs,self-image,normativeinfluences,andattitudeshaveimpactsonpurchaseintentionandpurchasebehaviourinbuying

skincareproductsamongBangkokmaleconsumers.Themodifiedtheoryofreasonedactionisappropriatetoexplainmaleconsumer

behaviourinthepurchaseofspecificcosmeticproductintheThaisetting.

3. Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design ThisresearchisdescriptiveinnatureasthestudyaimstofindouttheconsumerbehaviouraboutFMCGproduct.Thestudyiscarried

outthenaturalisticobservationandsurveyquestioning,whichareattributesofdescriptiveresearch.



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3.2 Data Collection technique Collectionofdataforthepurposeoftheresearchstudyisintheformofprimarydataandsecondarydata,asthestudybeing

empiricalinnature.Primarydataincludesexpertssuggestions,executivesopinion,face-to-faceinterviews,andsurveyquestion-

naires.QuestionnaireswerecollectedbasedonthesamplingtechniquefromconsumerbehaviourabouttheFMCGsproduct.

The interviews that took takeplacewith theconsumer.Further, secondarydatasources includefocusgroup transcripts,

observationrecords,researchrelateddocuments,publishedbooks,article,newspapers,published,andunpublishedresearchworkof

various institutions.

3.3 Designing the Questionnaire Questionnaireisdesignedbytheresearcherinsuchawaythatthereareseveralquestionsdesignedonthebasisofscaling

namelyLikertScaleswhichhavefivescaleslikestronglyagree,agree,neutral,disagree,stronglydisagree.Thisenablestherespond-

enttoanswerthequestionsinastructuredmannerbychoosingoneoptionamongthefiveoptions.Itprovidesasenseofcomfortby

choosingthepreciseanswers.Eachconstructhasminimumfivesubconstructsrelatedtothekeyfactorofthemainconstruct

3.4 Sampling Design ThesamplingtechniqueinvolvedisConvenientSampling.ThisstudyconductedinvariousplaceinCoimbatorecityandas

thepopulationisveryhightheresearchercouldntconductacensusstudy.Duetotimeconstraintconvenientsamplewasfollowed.

3.5 Sample size of the study 3.5.1 Sample size identification

HerearetheformulasusedinourSampleSizeCalculator:

*SampleSize Ss= Z 2*(P)*(1-P) C2

Where:

Z=Zvalue(e.g.1.96for95%confidencelevel)

p=percentagepickingachoice,expressedasdecimal

(.5usedforsamplesizeneeded)

c=confidenceinterval,expressedasdecimal(e.g.,.04=4)

DetermineSampleSizeConfidenceLevel: 95%99%

ConfidenceInterval: 0.5%#Population:2633170Sample size needed384 *Sources:(ResearchmethodologymethodsandtechniquesbyC.R.Kothari) #Sources:Thecensus2011isthe15thnationalcensussurveyconductedbythecensusorganizationofIndia.

Mr.C.Chandramouliisthecommissioner&registrargeneraloftheIndian2011census.

3.6 Statistical tool appliedQuestionnairesweredistributedand400sampleswerecollectedfromtheconsumer.Theverbaldatainthesequestionnaireswere

transformedintonumericaldatausingasoftwareapplicationcalledPASWstatistics18.Further,allthequestionnaireswereentered

asvaluesanddifferentstatisticaltoolslikePercentageAnalysis,MeanScore,GarrettScore,PearsonChi-Square(Table1).

Table 1.1General Profile of the Respondent

S.No Particulars Classification Frequency Percentage

1 Gender Male Female212188

5347



S.No Particulars Classification Frequency Percentage

2 Age

18-2829-3839-4849-58

1321249054

33312214

3 Educational Level

No formal EducationSchool EducationUGPGAbove PG

51121629526

22840237

4 Monthly Income

Below Rs.5000Rs.5000 - Rs.15000Rs.15001 - Rs.25000Above Rs.25000

10100104186

3252646

Total 400 100Source: Primary Data

4. Analysis, Interpretation and Conclusion. Fromtheabovetable1.1itisinferredthatmajorityofrespondentsaremale(53%)andbelongtotheagegroup18-28(33%).

Majorityofrespondentshavecompletedtheirhighereducation(40.5%)andearnmonthlyincomeAboveRs.25,000(46.5%).

4.1 Present Brand of tooth paste of Respondents

Table 1.2 Present brand of paste of respondents Chart 1.2 Present brand of Toothpaste of respondents

Theabovetable1.2showtheFMCGproductswhichwasusedbytherespondents.Itcanbeconcludedfromthetablethat

majorityoftherespondentsusedtheColgatebrand.

S.No Name of the Product Frequency Percentage

1 Close-up 62 15.52 Colgate 216 54.03 Dabur 39 9.84 Himalaya 17 4.35 Pepsodent 54 13.56 Vicco 12 3.0Total 400 100.0Source: Primary Data



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4.2 Present Brand of toilet soap of Respondents Table 1.3 Present brand of soap of respondents Chart 1.3 Present brand of Toilet Soap of respondents

Theabovetable1.3showtheFMCGproductswhichwasusedbytherespondents.Itcanbeconcludedfromthetablethat

majorityoftherespondentsusedthehammanbrand(Fig1.3).

4.3 Present Brand of Shampoo of Respondents

Table 1.4 Present brand of shampoo of respondents Chart 1.4 Present brand of shampoo of respondents

Theabove table1.4 show theFMCGproductswhichwasusedby the respondents. It canbeconcluded from the table

1.5showsthatthebuyingdecisionstheFMCGproducts.Itcanbeobservedformthetablethatmajorityoftherespondentsareopined

thatbrandnamewhichrankedasfirstbythemwithGarrettscoreas62.36.ThecompanymoreconcentratestheFMCGproductsbrand

name,qualityandpricetotheconsumer.Itcanbeconcludedfromtheabovetablethatmajorityoftherespondentsareopinedthat

brandnamewasthefirstrankofbuyingdecision.

4.4 Age of respondents and their agreeability that vital role played by FMCG brand adverstiment influences the consumers to buy the brand 4.4.1 ToothpasteNullhypothesis:ThereisnosignificancerelationshipbetweenageandAdvertisementsInfluencingonconsumerbehavior.

Alternative hypothesis: There is significance relationship between age and Advertisements Influencing on consumerbehavior.


1 Cinthol 56 14.02 Dettol 46 11.53 Dove 57 14.34 Hammam 105 26.35 lifebuoy 46 11.66 Lux 39 9.87 Pears 40 10.08 vivel 11 2.8Total 400 100Source: Primary Data


1 All clear 25 6.32 Clinic + 77 19.33 Dove 93 23.34 Head&Shoulder 71 17.85 Himalaya 26 6.56 Pantene 47 11.87 Sun Silk 61 15.3Total 400 100Source: Primary Data



Table 1.5 FACTORS INFLUENCING BUYING DECISION OF RESPONDENT IN REGARD TO TOOTHPASTE AND TOILET SOAP AND SHAMPOO

4.4.2 Toilet soapNullhypothesis:ThereisnosignificancerelationshipbetweenageandAdvertisementsInfluencingonconsumerbehavior.Alternativehypothesis:ThereissignificancerelationshipbetweenageandAdvertisementsInfluencingonconsumerbehavior

4.4.3 Shampoo

Nullhypothesis:ThereisnosignificancerelationshipbetweenageandAdvertisementsInfluencingonconsumerbehavior.Alternativehypothesis:ThereissignificancerelationshipbetweenageandAdvertisementsInfluencingonconsumerbehavior

Table 1.6 Showing the relationship between age of respondents and their agreeability that adverstiment influences the consumers to buy the brand

S.No

Name of the productFactors influencing

Toothpaste Toilet soap Shampoo

Garrett Score Rank Garrett Score Rank

Garrett Score Rank

1 Brand name 62.36 1 62.67 1 62.83 1

2 Quality 57.02 2 57.07 2 56.50 3

3 Price 54.79 4 55.01 4 57.21 2

4 Easy Availability 53.37 5 53.27 5 52.18 5

5 Quantity 55.13 3 55.04 3 55.27 4

6 Package 49.88 6 50.33 6 49.02 6

7 Trade Name 45.60 7 46.02 7 47.42 7

8 Date of manufacturing 43.42 8 42.28 8 43.62 8

9 Transparent 40.57 9 39.39 9 39.46 9

10 Affordabilirty 36.43 10 36.68 10 36.86 10

Source: Primary Data

Products Name of the analyses Value dfAsymp. Sig.

(2-sided)

Toothpaste Pearson Chi-Square 23.598 16 .099

Soap Pearson Chi-Square 22.774 16 .120Shampoo Pearson Chi-Square 24.701 16 .075Source: Primary Data



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Fromthetable1.6itisnotedthatP-value(0.099)isgreatthen0.05,hencethenullhypothesisisaccepted.Itisinferredthe

ageofrespondentandadvertisementswatchinghavenorelationwiththeirperceptionaboutthetoothpaste,soaptableitisnotedthat

P-value(0.120)isgreatthen0.05,hencethenullhypothesisisaccepted.Itisinferredtheageofrespondentandwatchingadvertise-

mentshavenorelationwiththeirperceptionaboutthesoapandshampootableitisnotedthatP-value(0.075)isgreatthen0.05,hence

thenullhypothesisisaccepted.Itisinferredtheageofrespondentandadvertisementswatchinghavenorelationwiththeirperception

about the shampoo.

5. Summary of findings, Suggestions and Conclusion Thoughthestudyisrelatingtobahaviourofconsumers,mostoftheconsumersareinfluencedbybrandandqualityinpur-

chaseofFMCG.Ifthecompaniesadoptthefollowingsuggestions,theycanperformwellinthemarketwiththehighmarketshare.

Quality in FMCG products may be achieved through acquiring training in business development, quality productdevelopment,andmarketingexternalmonitoringofquality

For improving effectiveness of the scheme the management should focus on proper timing of launching scheme,communicationandtransparencyregardingsalespromotionschemes.

Glanceatawidevarietyofdirectandindirectcompetitorstogaugewhereyourpricefalls.

Use life cycle analysis to select the best pricing policy for satisfying anticipated customer trends andwinningmarketapprovalandmarketsharegrowth.

Use scientific product classification analysis to determine the optimal pricing strategy according to buyer behaviouralconstantsobservedinspecificproductcategorytypes.

Increasethenumberoflayersbetweenthecompanyandthecustomer.

Increasethenumberofpartnersinthelayer

FMCGsshouldcreateimpressionofbeingpremiumforagivenprice

Introducedifferentpackagedesignandsizetoattractthecustomers.

AdoptUnusualSalesPointMarketingStrategy.

5.4.1 Conclusion It is concluded from this study thatFMCGsector isgrowingandwill continues togrowvery fast.The futures for theFMCGsectorlookextremelyencouraging.Thesectorhavingundergoneastructuralchangeisallsettoemergestrongerinfuture.

TheFMCGmarketremainshighlyfragmentedwithalmosthalfofthemarketrepresentingbranduppackagehomemadeproduct.

This presents a tremendous opportunity for themarkets of branded product.The study on the consumer behaviour towards the

productsofFMCGhasreceivedapivotalpositioninthemarketforpaste,soap,shampooalthoughtherearemanycompetitorsinthe

market.FMCGwasabletomaintainholditstoprankprovidingqualityproductatreasonablepricetoconsumer.Qualityisthemain

motivatingfactorfortheconsumertobuytheproductofFMCG.Introductionofnewproductsinthemarkettosatisfytheconsumer

isalsoanimportancereasonforFMCGstoholdthetopintheconsumermarket.ItclearsfromthestudythatFMCGacquireamajor

shareintheconsumergoodsmarketthemanufactureastoprovidequalitygoodsatreasonableprice.

6. References1 Muthuvelayutham(2012)TheStudyofConsumerBrandLoyaltyonFMCG-CosmeticProductswithSpecialReferencetoMadurai.EuropeanJournalofScientificResearchISSN1450-216XVol.71No.1(2012),pp.127-143.

2 Chandrasekhar(2012)ConsumerBuyingBehaviourandBrandLoyaltyinRuralMarkets:FMCG.IOSRJournalofBusinessandManagement(IOSRJBM)ISSN:2278-487XVolume3,Issue2(July-Aug.2012),PP50-67.

3 SureshBhagwat(2011)FMCGMarketstocontributeinIndianruralEconomyperspectiveinglobalera.HalfyearlyVision



researchreviewresearchjournalvol.I,issue.I,June2011toNov.2011,ISSN2250-169.

4 GihanWijesundera(2010)FactorsinfluencingthedemandofbeautysoapamongfemaleconsumersinthegreaterColomboregion.ICBI2010-UniversityofKelaniya,SriLanka.

5 NuntasareeSukat(April2009)inthisarticleAmodelofmaleconsumerbehaviourinbuyingskincareproductsinThailand. ABACJournalVol.29,No.1(January-April2009,pp.39-52).

WEBSITES

www.springerlink.com

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ConsumerBehaviour&MarketingResearch,SujaRNair,HimalayPublishingHouse,1st.Edition,2004.

ConsumerBehaviour,ICFAIUniversity,May-2005.

ConsumerBehaviour,LeonG.Schiffman&LeslieLazarKanuk,PHI-EEE,9th.Edition,2006.

a study on consumer behaviour towards selected fast moving consumer goods in coimbatore city

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