factors affecting consumer decision making while purchasing a shirt

Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while Purchasing a Shirt

Term Paper on

“Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while Purchasing a Shirt”

Submitted to: Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury

Chairperson & Professor Business Administration East West University

Submitted By: 1. Md. Rezaur Rahman (2008‐2‐10‐018)

2. Shati Itminan (2008‐2‐10‐121) 3. Syed Junayedul Haque (2008‐2‐10‐246)

4. S.M. Farhad (2008‐2‐10‐285)

Date of Submission: 17th August, 2011.

17th August, 2011

Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury Chairperson & Professor Business Administration East West University Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh Subject: Submission of term paper on “Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while Purchasing a Shirt” Dear Sir, Here is the term paper we, three group members were assigned to work for the assignment on “Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while Purchasing a Shirt” as the final term paper for the course “MKT 414”. During group work, we found it quite absorbing and enjoyable to work with the practical aspects of marketing research. As a result, the group participation was maximum and the outcome was quite productive. Due to the scarcity of secondary data and the time constraints and other problems, we have tried our best to make the project as logical as we could. Therefore, we would be obliged if you please accept this assignment. If any further assistance are needed please contact us. Sincerely yours,

Md. Rezaur Rahman ……………………………..

Shati Itminan ………………………………………..

Syed Junayedul Haque…………………………..

S.M. Farhad…………………………………………..

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Page Executive Summary iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 Origin of the Report 5 1.2 Objectives of the Study 6 1.3 Methodology 6 1.4 Limitations of the Study 6

2.0 RELATIVE CONSTRUCTS OF THE STUDY 7

3.0 OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 10

4.0 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY 11 4.1 Influence of Quality 11 4.2 Influence of Brand Image 11 4.3 Influence of Fashion 12 4.4 Influence of Availability 12 4.5 Influence of Price 12 5.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 13

5.1 Presets 13 5.2 Sample 13 5.3 Data Collection Method and Procedure 15 5.4 Measurement of the Variables 16

6.0 RESULTS 17

7.0 DISCUSSION 19

8.0 CONCLUSION 21

9.0 LIMITATION AND FUTURE RESEARCH 22

APPENDIX

A. Internal Consistency Test 23 B. R2 values 28 C. Regression Analysis 29 D. References 30 E. Sample Questionnaire 31

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Marketing Research paper, Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while

Purchasing a Shirt is the most important addition to the practical application of theoretical

knowledge and experience on real research aspects of Marketing. This is really a delightful

experience.

It is amazing and fascinating finding so many dependable people around, who have given

necessary guidelines and advices while formulating this paper. Learning what determines a

good employer, the team remains ever grateful to them, who all have helped to write this

report. We also extend our acknowledgement to all those, who helped us by answering our

queries pertinent to the data collection of our report.

A special debt is due to our instructor Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, our respected

faculty for the valuable guidance in the preparation of this report. We have been immensely

benefited from his valuable guidance in the process of understanding and preparing this report.

Without his active support, continuous encouragement, and constructive criticism, probably it

would not be possible to write an informative and objective report. His active assistance in

working out a framework for the paper has helped to complete the assignment within given

time.

We also acknowledge the contributions of the librarian of East West University, 43 Mohakhali,

C/A, Dhaka‐1212 for allowing us to utilize their library facilities.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Although shirt was an item of men's underwear

until the twentieth century, today it is one of most popular form of man's garment. Shirts can

be of different kind’s like‐ camp shirt, formal shirt, sports shirt etc. Shirts are almost ubiquitous

with their uncountable variations. However, among the myriad kinds of shirts, consumers often

stick to some definite ones. This study focuses on analysis of the factors that affect a consumer

while making purchase decision of a shirt. The five factors we considered, here are: Quality,

Brand Image, Fashion, Availability and Price of the shirt.

Both primary and secondary data has been used. Primary data were collected from the direct

responses from the sample size of 70 comprised of person of different demographics. Because

of the conclusive nature of the research, primarily we used quantitative questioning (on 5 scale

likert scale) in the surveys. For the secondary data, different established theories and articles

was reviewed. An exploratory research with some respondents were also conducted to gain the

practical insights of this research and to get the prime factors that affect consumers while

purchasing a shirt. SPSS 19 was used for regression analysis and to measure the significance of

independent variables on the dependent variable.

After doing the required statistical operations, we got the finding. It was revealed that, only

brand image and price of the shirt have significant effect on consumer’s decision making

process. The other three variables: quality, fashion and availability are not significant and thus

rejected. So the result is, only brand image and price have a direct positive relationship with

consumer decision making while purchasing a shirt.

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Shirts are bought for everyday or occasional use for people anywhere in the world. In our

country, shirts are mainly used by men, not women. The issues regarding consumer preference

in buying a shirt involves price of the product, quality of the shirt, brand image of the shirt,

convenience of the store and fashion consciousness of the individual customer.

Customer behavior study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the

three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Consumer behavior is influenced by:

demographics, psychographics (lifestyle), personality, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs,

and feelings.

Consumer behavior concern with consumer need consumer actions in the direction of satisfying

needs leads to his behavior of every individual depend on thinking. Consumer decision making

is a process that intertwines various stimuli towards the purchase decision. Marketers all over

the world are trying to find out what factors are responsible for the final decision for an

individual.

We have come across several prior researches done in t‐shirt segment but hardly find anything

regarding shirts. We think those researches will help us doing our job. This study will find the

significance of factors that affect consumers to purchase a shirt.

1.1 Origin of the Report

The main purpose of the study is to fulfill the requirements of Marketing Research (MKT 414) as

the part of our BBA program bearing 3 credits. As the students of Marketing Management, we

were assigned by our course instructor Dr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury to involve in this

study. The course MKT 414 as well as this report helps a student to get necessary knowledge

which is very useful for the students majoring in Marketing.

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1.2 Objectives of the Study

Broad Objective

The main objective of this term paper is to get the practical insight of the techniques and

strategies of conducting a marketing research project.

Specific Objectives

To identify the underlying factors that affect consumers to choose a shirt.

1.3 Methodology

The research is basically both exploratory and conclusive in nature. In the first place, an

interview with one of the top managers of BG was held. Secondly, a set of questionnaire were

prepared and distributed among the HR managers. Based on the data given by them, analysis

was done. Finally with the help of secondary data, the report is completed.

Primary data

1. Questionnaire Survey

Secondary Data

1. Previous research of the same nature.

1.4 Limitations of the Study

• Time constraints were one of the most important factors that imposed restrictions on

conducting the study extensively.

• Scarcity of Secondary Data

• Our sample size was small

• Cost constraints.

• Lack of experience of the group members

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2.0 RELATIVE CONSTRUCTS OF THE STUDY

The relative constructs of the study are: Quality, Brand Image, Fashion, Availability and Price.

Quality

Perceived product quality is perhaps one of the most important constructs in marketing. In

recentyears, perceived quality has been the subject of considerable interest by both

practitioners and researchers, mainly in services marketing. Moreover, the relationships

between these constructs for goods rather than services have not been studied extensively in

marketing.

Perceived quality has attracted the interest of practitioners and researchers because of a belief

in its beneficial effects on marketing performance. Indeed, the belief that high perceived

quality leads to repeated purchases is the bedrock of any business. Thus a better

understanding of the relationship between perceived product quality and product

involvement, consumer satisfaction and purchase intentions may help academics develop a

model of consumer decision making for goods. It may also provide practitioners with

indications as to where best to devote marketing attention and scarce corporate resources.

Brand Image

Brand is a name in every consumer’s mind and it is characterized by a noticeable name or

symbol which can differentiate the goods and services from the rivals’. In addition to a specific

brand name, a brand is also composed of products, packaging, promotion, advertising, as

well as its overall presentation .From the consumers’ perspective, brand is a guarantor of

reliability and quality in consumer products (Roman et al., 2005). Added to this, consumers

would like to buy and use brand‐name products with a view to highlight their personality

in different situational contexts.

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Nowadays, consumers have a wide range of choice to choose from when they enter a shopping

mall. It is found that consumers’ emotions are one of the major determinants which affect

their buying behavior. According to some research on shopping habits, nearly one‐fourth of the

respondents are likely to impulse‐buy clothes and accessories.When deciding which products to

purchase, consumers would have their preferences, which are developed in accordance with

their perceptions towards the brand. Successful branding could make consumers aware of the

presence of the brand and hence could increase the chance of buying the company’s products

and services.

Fashion

Fashion system combines quick response production capabilities with enhanced product design

capabilities to both design “hot” products that capture the latest consumer trends and

exploit minimal production lead times to match supply with uncertain demand.

The purchase intention for fashion and designer apparel is stimulated among consumers in the

social contexts. The distinctiveness of fashion features (e.g., designer brand, celebrity

endorsement, media reviews) that are consistently associated with emotional expressions

plays the strongest role in the buying behavior among consumers. Some studies suggest that

the perception of a person on his personality is a distinctive and salient trait that differentiates

behavior. Individuals who have high social standing and are one of the principal drivers of

consumer behavior towards fashion apparel is the dominance of social interactions. The

involvement of consumers in fashion products depends not only on their own perceptions but

also on peers’ response to their personality and change proneness .The relation between

clothes and identity is perceived by the consumers from the perspective of their values

generated in various social interactions. Consumers get involved in exhibiting fashion and

lifestyle as an aesthetic way of presenting their personality. Hence, clothing is often considered

as an opportunity for communicating a new order of identity of a person.

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Availability

Availability is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers seeking out convenient

product solutions, and some research claims store loyalty is fading as the customer "propensity

for promiscuity" grows. The research found German shoppers are the most likely to substitute

stores if a product is out‐of‐stock, with over one in two claiming this is a response to

availability issues. The majority of shoppers across the EU also admit to switching shop if they

cannot find key products they need.

A large proportion of items the consumer believes to be "sold‐out" are actually in‐store but in

a new location, while many missing products were never on the store inventory in the first

place. While it is important to go back to basics and ensure the retail team works to iron out

these in‐store problems. Staff motivation, collaborative retail and supply partnerships,

inventory accuracy, retail‐ready packaging (RRP), reducing product ranges and increasing the

use of RFID (radio frequency identification) technology are all vital for perfecting the art of

supply. Retail and shelf ready packaging has been one of the latest developments to assist the

availability issue, speeding up the delivery of goods from factory to shelf.

Price

Price for a product or service has a very significant effect on how the consumer behaves. If

consumers believe that the charged price is lower than competitors it could cause a major spike

in sales. But if the price is significantly higher than expected, the response can be disappointing.

In either case a change in price could produce unexpected results when it comes to consumer

buying behavior.

Often price could affect consumer behavior. Lowering or initially setting a lower price than

expected can have a different set of effects on a consumer. In one case, a price‐conscious

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consumer is grateful for a price break and will possibly stock up on the item at the low price. In

other cases, the consumer could become suspicious of the low price and assume it means the

product is of a lower quality.

Due to the potentially unexpected effects of price on consumers, price often affects

significantly on consumers decision making process. Making a change to the price of a product

or service is very risky, so do so with caution and after much consideration. Customers exhibit a

complex kind of behavior with the effect of price. Setting high price sometimes signal good

quality and lower price means low quality. However, consumer’s purchase ability increases as

the price decreases.

3.0 OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This research gave the opportunity to dig into the specific issues that a consumer assesses while

purchasing a shirt. This topic will provide the insight to learn the influences of behavioral

variables of the consumers which in turn lead to the purchasing decision. Perspective like the

effect of brand image, fashion and style will be brought into the topic. Finally, the findings of

the result will be used to make theories and shared to the different retailers and wholesalers of

shirts.

The principle objective of this report was to identify when, why, how, and where people do or

do not buy a shirt. This study also dealt with the variables that affect the consumer purchasing

decision. The weight and significance of the variables were measured as well.

The broad research question is:

“What are the factors that affect a consumer while purchasing a shirt?”

This broad question will be narrowed down into five specific questions. And they are:

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1. Does quality have an influence on consumer while purchasing a shirt?

2. Does brand image have an influence on consumer while purchasing a shirt?

3. Does fashion has an influence on consumer while purchasing a shirt?

4. Does availability have an influence on consumer while purchasing a shirt?

5. Does price have an influence on consumer while purchasing a shirt?

4.0 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

The hypothesis used to test the positive or negative effect of the independent variables on

consumer’s purchase decision is:

4.1 Influence of Quality

Quality is one of the prime factors that affect consumers in a purchase decision. Consumers

today don’t generally buy just a brand or product rather, he/she purchase all the benefit

associated with it. And quality is the totality of the features that the product offers. If the

product is associated with high‐perceived quality, consumers trust a brand and the brand’s

preference is also get augmented. We tried to measure whether quality of shirts are significant

to the consumers or not. In our study, our first hypothesis is about the influence of quality. And

the hypothesis is:

H1: Quality of the shirt has a direct positive influence on consumers purchase decision.

4.2 Influence of Brand Image

Often brand images reinforce the consumers to make a purchase decision. Brand value is one of

the important factors in marketing today. Top brand names have a dominating and significant

influence in evaluating a brand. In case of purchasing shirt, we tried to appraise the effect of

brand image. In our study, the second hypothesis is about the influence of brand image. And

the hypothesis is:

H2: If consumer’s perception of brand image of the shirt is more favorable, their evaluation of a

shirt is positive.

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4.3 Influence of Fashion

Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person. The

pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men's

fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex and

changing. The current fashion, celebrity influences lure the consumers to purchase fashionable

shirts. We tried to identify the relative importance of fashion for consumers in purchasing a

shirt. So, the third hypothesis is about the influence of fashion. And the hypothesis is:

H3: Consumers are influenced by current fashion while purchasing a shirt.

4.4 Influence of Availability

For the products that are not that much significant and require less consumer involvement,

consumers usually purchase those from the available sources. Instead of going to a distant

shop, they purchase from the nearest outlets. In our study, we tried to measure whether

consumers purchase shirts that are nearly available to them or not. So, the fourth hypothesis is

about the influence of availability. And the hypothesis is:

H4: Consumers purchase a shirt that is widely and conveniently available to them.

4.5 Influence of Price

A growing body of literature indicates that consumers do not always attend to, know, and

remember actual prices of products; instead, they encode prices in ways that are meaningful to

them (e.g., cheap versus expensive). Therefore, perceived price is not equivalent to objective

price. However, we included price in our study to get insight about their impact on consumers

decision making. So the last hypothesis is:

H5: Price (higher vs. lower) has a direct positive effect on consumer’s evaluation of a shirt.

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5.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is a cause and effect survey aimed at measuring the factors that affects one consumer

while purchasing a shirt. The study also determines the significance of each factor. Survey

method has been used for this study. The presets, the sampling method, data collection

method and procedure and all the dependent measures used in this study are discussed below.

5.1 Presets

To determine the factors that have influence on a consumer’s purchase decision, an exploratory

research had been conducted. On the research, the respondents were asked to write down the

important factors they consider in choosing a shirt. A convenient sample of 15 students had

been used. From the survey, we got the independent variables (Price, Quality, Brand Image,

Availability & Fashion) for our research.

Again, another sample of 15 students was asked to write down the important factor they

considered in the last shirt they purchased. This helped to get insight in the significance of the

affecting factors.

5.2 Sample

The sample was heterogeneous. We had five independent variables in our study. Hence, a total

of 70 responses were collected from students, businessmen and service holders having

different income level and from different age group. Most of the responses were collected from

students as it was convenient to us and also because we did not assume that it will have an

adverse affect on data collected.

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Moreover, most of the respondents were

male (e.g. there are 17% female

respondents) because we thought that as

majority of the buyers of shirts in our

country are males; it will help us identify the

answers in an efficient manner. Although

there is an increasing trend among women

to wear shirts and they can always buy shirts

for their male relatives or acquaintances,

and we assumed they have sufficient

knowledge on the matter.

In our survey, we found that majority of the

respondents lie within a certain age range

and most of them have a certain income

range because the survey was heavily

dominated by undergraduates.

Since, majority of the respondents were

students, 51% of them had income below

5000. 29% had income level of 5000‐15000,

10% had 15000‐30000, 9% had income level

of 30000‐45000 and only 1% had income

above 45000.

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83% of the respondents were students, 4%

were businessman, 6% were govt. job

holder, 7% were private job holder. All the

respondents fell under these 4 professional

dimensions.

5.3 Data Collection Method and Procedure

In this study, a questionnaire served as a data gathering instrument. The surface page of the

questionnaire told the respondents about the purposes of the study. The subsequent two pages

contained one filter questions, twenty Likert chart questions and four demographic questions.

A five point Likert scale had been used. There were five questions about the dependent variable

and fifteen questions were asked to measure the five independent variables: Price, Quality,

Brand Image, Availability & Fashion. To measure the each independent variable, three specific

questions had been asked respectively. Questions used to check the subject’s demographics

like age, gender, income level and profession presented in the last page of the questionnaire.

Most respondents spent less than 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

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5.4 Measurement of the Variables

The Likert scale that had been used here had total 20 questions, 5 for the dependent variables,

and the rest 15 for five independent variables. The reliability or the internal consistency of the

questions had been measured Cronbach coefficient alpha using the statistical software SPSS.

The minimum acceptable range for primary research has to be more than 0.5.

Cronbach alpha of the five dependent variable was .396, however, after deducting the fourth

dependent variable scale the alpha value turned .5 which was acceptable (See the Apendix A).

In the case of quality, the alpha value was .38 , however, after deducting 3rd quality scale, the

alpha value turned into .54 (See the Apendix A).

The questions regarding brand image had alpha value of .12. After deducting the second

question of the brand image, the alpha value turned into .624 (See the Apendix A).

The Cronbach alpha value for the variable Fashion was .5 which was acceptable and all the

questions related to fashion were taken into consideration (See the Apendix A).

Availability had alpha value of .443 and after deducting the 1st question related to availability,

the Cronbach alpha value turned into .552 (See the Apendix A).

However, a puzzling result was found in the case of price. Here the initial alpha value was .14

and it couldn’t be more than .275 by deducting any scales of price. So, the regression model

had been run taking each of the scales (R1, R2,R3). The R2 value for the regression model were,

.156, .17 and .219 respectively. Since using P3, the regression model was most strong, P3 was

used in regression. (See the Appendix B)

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Summary of the Reliability Measurement

Dimensions Number of Items Alpha Value

Dependent Variable 4 .5

Quality 2 .54

Brand Image 2 624

Fashion 3 .5

Availability 2 .552

Price 1 ‐

Table:1

Here, all the alpha values were between .5 to .624. The qualitative analysis support for the

importance of the variables thought to affect consumers purchase decision. Hence, to deal with

these variables more deeply, we estimated a regression model motivated by the hypothesis.

6.0 RESULTS

The independent variables which were hypothesized are listed on table 2. The first variable is

the quality of the shirt (H1), the following variables are‐ brand image of the shirt (H2), current

fashion (H3), Availability of the shirt (H4) and the Price of the shirt (H5). The regression analysis

of the 70 subjects and the five independent variables are reported in table 2. (See Apendix C)

Independent

Variables

Standardized

Regression

Coefficients

Regression

Coefficients

t‐value p‐value

Quality .054 .112 .481 .632

Brand Image .360 .311 2.99 .004

Fashion ‐.111 ‐.119 ‐0.9 .372

Availability ‐.167 ‐.115 ‐1.486 .142

Price .259 .175 2.268 .027

Table: 2 (A Regression Model of the Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while

Purchasing a Shirt)

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Sample size = 70

Adjusted R2 = 0.219

H1 predicts that the quality of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. Table 2 shows that quality influences consumers to purchase shirts positively.

However, this is not significant. (Here, β value = .054, P=.632). So, this hypothesis is not

accepted.

H2 predicts that the brand image of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers

purchasing decision. Table 2 shows that brand image influences consumers to purchase shirts

positively. And this is also significant. (Here, β value = .360, P=.004). So, this hypothesis is

accepted.

H3 predicts that the current fashion has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. Table 2 shows that fashion negatively influences consumers to purchase shirts.

Moreover, this is not significant. (Here, β value = ‐.111, P=.142). So, this hypothesis is not

accepted.

H4 predicts that the availability of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers

purchasing decision. Table 2 shows that availability has a negative impact on influencing

consumers to purchase shirts. However, this is not significant. (Here, β value = ‐.167, P=.142).

So, this hypothesis is not accepted.

H5 predicts that the price of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. Table 2 shows that price influences consumers to purchase shirts positively. And this is

also significant. (Here, β value = .259, P=.027). So, this hypothesis is accepted. However, it is to

be noted that, this variable was not reliable, so we took only one scale instead of averaging.

Hence, although this variable was accepted, it has not reliability.

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7.0 DISCUSSION

Effect of Quality

H1 predicts that the quality of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. The result shows, β value = .054, P=.632. This variable does not have significant

influence on the consumers purchase decision. Sometimes, the definition of quality gets

distorted and offset by some other extraneous variables like, celebrity influence, words of

mouth and price. The sample we chose didn’t put much weight on quality as a determinant of

purchase.

Effect of Brand Image

H2 predicts that the brand image of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers

purchasing decision. The result shows that brand image influences consumers to purchase

shirts positively. And this is also significant. (Here, β value = .360, P=.004). Today marketer

heavily depends on creating brand value. Consumers today often go after established brand

images regardless of the quality and price. Our sample voted brand image significantly.

Effect of Fashion

H3 predicts that the current fashion has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. The result shows, β value = ‐.111, P=.142. This variable does not have significant

influence on the consumers purchase decision. The result we got was negative. Since our

sample was heterogeneous, respondents exhibited a diversified view and opinion regarding

fashion. Our sample was reluctant to accept fashion as a prime factor. Rather they focused

more on brand image and price of the shirt.

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Effect of Availability

H4 predicts that the availability of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers

purchasing decision. The result shows, β value = ‐.167, P=.142. The findings prove that, people

today are reluctant to purchase shirts that are available to them. They are willing to travel a

long distance to purchase their desired shirt. Thanks to the means of easy communication,

today people are getting the chance to buy their shirts from distant places even from abroad.

So, it clearly prove that, availability does not have an effect on consumers decision making

process.

Effect of Price

H5 predicts that the price of the shirt has a positive influence on the consumers purchasing

decision. The result shows, β value = .259, P=.027. Price has significant and positive relation

with consumer’s decision making process. Today, in the 21st century, the definition of price

became distorted. Gone are those days, when consumers bought the products having the least

value. Today, as we got from our sample, they would to pay premium price for their desired

shirt.

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8.0 CONCLUSION

In our study, consumer decision making process for purchasing a shirt was tested by using five

independent variables. The research was done to identify which factors have significant

influence on the matter. The five independent variables are Brand Image, Quality, Availability,

Fashion and Price.

The results of the study show that Brand Image and Price have a positive and significant

influence on consumer decision making. Perhaps, consumers prefer a better branded shirt than

a non branded shirt. They don’t mind paying more money for a shirt that has a good brand

name. However, contradictory results occurred when we found out that Fashion has negative

influence on purchase though it was not significant. The reason might be that most people are

resistant for a change in their dress up; they want majority of population to adopt the change

before trying it on themselves. Moreover, we found that Quality of a shirt has positive

influence but it was insignificant. The reason might be that most of our respondents were

students and they are happy as long as they have purchased a shirt that has a good brand

name. They don’t mind the quality of the shirt as a good brand does not always mean excellent

quality. In addition, we found that availability has a negative influence on people but it is

insignificant. The reason might be that, people go to their desired shop to purchase a shirt no

matter how far it is as it has an effect on their life style.

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9.0 LIMITATION AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Although we have conducted our survey on people with various professions, it was heavily

dominated by students. As a result we did not get a clear idea of the overall market. Had we not

conducted most of our surveys on students, the results might have differed. The regression

model showed a comparatively low which means effect of other variables (Extraneous

Variables) are important for the decision making process of consumers. So, we strongly suggest

that future research should be done on more samples other than students.

We have failed to include more independent variables such as lighting effects of the shop,

Music playing on the background, Store size, Crowd, Behavior of sales personnel, Viral

marketing, word of influence etc. We could not include these hypothesizes because of lack of

time and as this is our first research we thought it would be wise to stick with as less variables

as possible. Future research should include all the possible variables for a better answer to the

phenomenon.

Our study proved that Quality, Fashion and Availability have less significant effect on consumer

decision making while purchasing a shirt. Future research should find appropriate reasons to

back our findings. We think that it would be vital to the managers of the shops which sell shirts.

Another vital limitation of this study is the overall reliability of the scales. Our Chronbach alpha

ranges from .5 to .624, which is not that much reliable. It means that, either our questionnaire

was not that much reliable or the respondents lacked consistency or adequate knowledge.

Moreover, scale no 3 (P3) of the variable price was taken directly in the regression model. So

the result we got in this specific variable got distorted a bit.

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Appendix

A. Internal Consistency Test

1. Dependent Variable

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.396 5

Item‐Total Statistics

Scale Mean if Item Deleted

Scale Variance if Item Deleted

Corrected Item‐Total Correlation

Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Dep1 13.4857 5.094 .294 .274Dep2 13.9571 5.056 .223 .325Dep3 13.7714 4.063 .492 .074Dep4 13.4571 6.687 ‐.054 .500Dep5 14.3000 5.517 .092 .435

After deducting dependent variable 4 , we got


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.500 4






Dep1 9.7000 4.561 .323 .406Dep2 10.1714 4.550 .239 .477Dep3 9.9857 3.753 .467 .255Dep5 10.5143 4.688 .173 .542

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2. Independent variable 2.1 Quality


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.380 3






Q1 7.7429 1.904 .218 .300Q2 7.7000 1.459 .384 ‐.061a

Q3 7.7000 1.981 .093 .540

After deducting Q3,


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.540 2

2.2 Brand Image


Cronbach's

Alpha N of Items

.120 3

25

Item-Total Statistics

Scale Mean if

Item Deleted

Scale Variance

if Item Deleted

Corrected Item-

Total

Correlation

Cronbach's

Alpha if Item

Deleted

B1 6.4429 2.337 .138 -.106a

B2 6.8286 2.521 -.116 .624

B3 6.9286 2.386 .252 -.303a

After deducting B2


Cronbach's

Alpha N of Items

.624 2

26

2.3 Fashion


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.500 3






F1 7.3714 1.802 .363 .315F2 6.5429 2.455 .241 .514F3 6.7429 2.107 .353 .340

2.4 Availability


Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.433 3






A1 6.8143 2.675 .137 .552A2 6.9286 2.357 .272 .318A3 6.8571 1.979 .395 .069

After deducting A1,


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Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.552 2

2.5 Price Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha

N of Items

.140 3






P1 7.0571 1.823 .097 .034P2 5.9714 1.883 .119 ‐.009a

P3 6.4857 1.790 .008 .275

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B. R2 values using P1,P2,P3 respectively

Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .395a .156 .090 .66543

a. Predictors: (Constant), P1, Availability, Quality, BrandImage, Fashion

Model Summary



1 .412a .170 .105 .65991

a. Predictors: (Constant), Quality, BrandImage, P2, Availability, Fashion

Model Summary



1 .468a .219 .158 .64021


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C. Regression Analysis

Variables Entered/Removedb

Model Variables Entered

Variables Removed Method

1 P3, Availability, Quality, BrandImage, Fashion

. Enter

a. All requested variables entered. b. Dependent Variable: DVariable

Model Summary



1 .468a .219 .158 .64021


Coefficientsa

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t Sig. B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 2.315 .675 3.432 .001

BrandImage .311 .104 .360 2.990 .004

Fashion ‐.119 .132 ‐.111 ‐.900 .372

Availability ‐.115 .077 ‐.167 ‐1.486 .142

Quality .054 .112 .054 .481 .632

P3 .175 .077 .259 2.268 .027

a. Dependent Variable: DVariable

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D. References

1. N.K Malhotra , S. Dash , “Marketing Research”, 6th edition. 2. P. Kotler , “Marketing Management”, 12th edition. 3. Consumer Reports’ Online Clothing Shopping Survey (http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2008/10/ll‐bean‐zappos‐and‐lands‐end‐standout‐in‐consumer‐reports‐online‐clothing‐shopping‐survey.html) 4. A Case Study of Clothing Market (http://www.khea.or.kr/InternationalJournal/2003/4‐1/5.PDF) 5. Price : http://www.warc.com/Pages/Taxonomy/Results.aspx?SubjectRef=172&Filter=All

6. Importance of Brand Names to Customers: http://www.itchybrainscentral.com/brand‐names‐importance‐customers‐research.html

7. Availability Heuristic: http://heuristics.behaviouralfinance.net/availability/

8. Quality: Quality and Consumer Decision Making in the Market for Health Insurance and Health Care Services: http://mcr.sagepub.com/content/66/1_suppl/28S.short

9. Consumer behavior: http://www‐rohan.sdsu.edu/~renglish/370/notes/chapt05/

10. Brand Awareness Effects on Consumer Decision Making for a Common, Repeat Purchase Product:: A Replication: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296398000708

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E. Sample Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Dear respondents, we the undersigned students of East West University, are conducting a research on “Factors Affecting Consumer’s Decision Making while Purchasing a Shirt” for partial requirement of the course “Marketing Research” (MKT 414). We assure you that all the data provided in the questionnaire will be kept confidential and used for academic purpose only. Your co-operation is highly appreciated.

1. Md. Rezaur Rahman (2008-2-10-018) 2. Shati Itminan (2008-2-10-121) 3. Syed Junayedul Haque (2008-2-10-246) 4. S.M. Farhad (2008-2-10-285)

Please turn the page and continue.

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1. Have you ever bought a shirt? (If your answer is “no”, don’t proceed, please return the questionnaire)

a) Yes b) No

Please answer the following questions by putting tick ( ) mark on your agreement level.

Strongly Agree

(5)

Agree

(4)

Neutral

(3)

Disagree

(2)

Strongly Disagree

(1) 2. Last time I bought a shirt, I only considered the Quality of the shirt

3. Last time I bought a shirt, I only considered the Brand Image of the shirt

4. Last time I bought a shirt, I only considered the Price of the shirt

5. Last time I bought a shirt, I only considered the current Fashion

6. Last time I bought a shirt, I only considered the Availability of the shirt

7. Durability of shirts are my primary concern 8. I love a shirt that is comfortable 9. I always prefer the best quality in material 10. My social status is increased when I wear branded shirts

11. I never purchase shirts from footpath 12. Wearing branded shirts make me unique in the crowd

13. I prefer high priced shirts 14. I always pay premium price if the quality is ensured

15. I buy more shirts if there is discount 16. I am the first to try out the latest fashion 17. I am influenced by the clothing of my favorite celebrity

18. I look good wearing fashionable shirts 19. I always go to the nearest shop to buy shirts 20. I prefer purchasing shirts, if there is wide variety in the stores

21. The bigger the store is the easier it is for me to purchase shirts

Please turn the page and continue.

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22. Gender?

a) Male b) Female

23. Age?

a) Below 18 b) 18-23 c) 24-28 d) 29-35 e) Above 35

24. Monthly Income?

a) Below 5000 tk b) 5000tk - 15000tk c) 15000tk - 30000tk d) 30000tk – 45000tk e) 45000tk above

25. Profession? a) Student b) Businessman c) Government job holder d) Private job holder e) Other ………….

Thank you for your participation.

factors affecting consumer decision making while purchasing a shirt

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