PROJECT REPORT ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION AT BIGBAZAR AT LB.

NAGAR

SUBMITED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUREMENT FOR THE 2nd SEMESTER MBA PROGRAMME

BY Anjani and Nileema Roll No 109R1E0002 & 109R1E0007

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY KUKATPALLY, HYDERABAD 500072

ON: INTRODUCTI

Retail Industries In India

India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. Of the 12 million retail outlets present in the country, nearly 5 million sell food and related products. Thought the market has been dominated by unorganized players, the entry of domestic and international organized players is set to change the scenario.

Organized retail segment has been growing at a blistering pace, exceeding all previous estimates. According to a study by Deloitte Haskins and Sells, organised retail has increased its share from 8 per cent of total retail sales in 2007 to 10 per cent in 2008. The fastest growing segments have been the wholesale cash and carry stores (150 per cent) followed by supermarkets (100 per cent) and hypermarkets (75-80 per cent). Further, it estimates the organised segment to account for 25 per cent of the total sales by 2011.

India retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8% and contributing to over 10% of the country's GDP. Retail industry in India is expected to rise 25% yearly being driven by strong income growth, changing lifestyles, and favourable demographic patterns. It is expected that by 2016 modern retail industry in India will be worth US$ 175- 200 billion. India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries with revenue expected in 2008 to amount US$ 350 billion and is increasing at a rate of 5% yearly. A further increase of 7-8% is expected in the industry of retail in India by growth in consumerism in urban areas, rising incomes, and a steep rise in rural consumption. It has further been predicted that the retailing industry in India will amount to US$ 21.5 billion by 2010 from the current size of US$ 7.5

billion.

Shopping in India has witnessed a revolution with the change in the consumer buying behaviour and the whole format of shopping also altering. Industry of retail in India which has become modern can be seen from the fact that there are multi- stored malls, huge shopping centres, and sprawling complexes which offer food, shopping, and entertainment all under the same roof. India retail industry is expanding itself most aggressively; as a result a great demand for real estate is being created. Indian retailers preferred means of expansion is to expand to other regions and to increase the number of their outlets in a city. It is expected that by 2010, India may have 600 new shopping centres. India retail industry is progressing well and for this to continue retailers as well as the Indian government will have to make a combined effort.

PROFILE OF BIG BAZZAR

Big Bazaar is not just another hypermarket. It caters to every need of a family. Where Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian customers. At Big Bazaar, one can get the best products at the best prices that is what they guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods and much more at prices that will surprise you. And this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar plans to add much more to complete the shopping experience. Food is the main shopped for category in this store.

Parent Company:Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, is Indias leading retailer that operates multiple retail formats in both the value and lifestyle segment of the Indian consumer market.

LINES OF BUSINESS OF THE ABOVE STORE:E-tailing Food Fashion Home Solution General Merchandise Leisure and Entertainment Wellness and Beauty Books and Music Sampling:Sample Size 75 custom ers/cons Sam ple Unit Consumers umers

in the age group 18 to 50 yea rs

Scop e

and

U ses :

1. It will extend Bangalo re.

to the actual

field study of these

outlets

in

2. It will give inf ormat ion to prospective cus tom ers.

3. Help us ga in independent pe rcept ion of the outlets

know ledge identifie d.

about

the con sum er

4. The stu dy can help the companies inf orm on. ati

get additional

resea rch

5. It facilit ates eval uation of brand name and custom er

satisfact ion.

10 | P a g e

FORM AT OF THE QUESTION NAIRE EMP LOYE D:

Dear Cus tom er, I am a stud ent of VGIH, conduct ing a stu dy on the cus tom er pe rcept ion and Satisfactio n in retail outlet in LB.Nagar Big

Bazza r. Please fill in the fo llowing que stionnai re to he lp me in my Survey .

NAME:..

OCCUPATION:

AGE:

18-28 .

28-38 .

38-48 .

48-58 .

GENDER:

Male

Fem ale .

1) How often do you shop? a) Once a week . b) Fortnightly. c) Once a m onth

2) Which of the following st ores do you shop at?

Big Bazaar others (spec ify)

Shopp er's Stop

Marks & Spencer

11 | P a g e

3) W hat do you mos tly shop for at the m entioned a) Clothing. b) Acces sories. c) Groceries Oth ers (speci fy)

st ores?

4) Why do you prefer mentioned store ? a) Yes. b) No.

to shop in Big Ba zaar at

the above-

5) Rank your prefe rences for shopping: a) P roximity. c) B rand. e) S tore Lay out. 6) Does advertising decisi ons? a) Yes. b) No. 7) Which form of promotio n do you think is most effective? a) P rint. Indicate b) TV. c) Rad io and promotion b) Qua lity. d) Price. f) On e-stop sh opping. influence your shopping

your s a t i s f a c t i o n level based on the foll owing for the foll owing st ores:

Param eters

R etail O utlet Big Bazaar

Un sat isfi ed Satisfied Ed

Highly Satisfied

Not Visited

12 | P a g e

ANALYSIS AND INTERP RE TATIO N:

The tools and m ethods gather data of data collect ion identified earlier were employed to

on the consumer p ercepti on on Big Bazaa r.The on graphs in the fol lowing pages. The data is analyzed. The data is then

data accrued,

especia lly from the interviews and depicted tabulated

and quest ionnai res circulate d, are tabulated thus ga the red and and relevant sc rutinized

inter pretat ions are drawn. The major object ives of analysis 1. To evaluate 2. Examine of data are:

and enh ance da ta quality

effects of other relev ant fact ors

3. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATIO, 4. LEVEL OF SATISFACTION, 5. CAUSES OF DISATISFACTION, 6. CUSTOMER RESPONSES REGARDING SERVICES.

13 | P a g e

The data collect ion plan, including w as designed and pre-tested activities protocol we re monito red

proced ures, ins trum ents, data

and forms, collection and

to m axim ize

acc urac y. All data collect ion and resolve missing and m ain tained be detected;

to en sure adherence to the to minimize the outset

and to prompt actions

ques tionable d a. M at oni toring procedu res were instituted at throughout the stud y, since the faster irregul arities can

the great er the likeli hood that they can be resolved in a satisfac tory m ann er and the soone r preven tive meas ures can be instit uted. A ge of the respondents

Age 18-28 28-38 38-48 48-58 58-65

Total 37 16 8 9 5 75 Age of Respondents

Perc ent ag e 49.33% 21.33% 10.67% 12.00% 6.67% 100%

14 | P a g e

Age of Respondents

6.6 12.00% 7% 1828 10.6 7% 49. 33 % 2838 3848 4858 5865 21.33%

From the abov e, eviden t.

tabl e, Of the

bar graph

and

pie

chart

de picted the

the dis tributi on of the populat ion under stu dy is 75 res pondents who answ ered ages fell th at their in the

quest ionnai re, 37 indicated categ ory 18-28 ye ars.

This accounts for 49.33% of the res pondents . Of the 75 res pondents 5 indicated that the ir year s. This accounts subsequent res pondents 38-48, who answ ered the quest ionnai re, only ages fell in the category 58-65 for 6.67% of the resp ondents from the on responses tha t, an who fall in and the the

this age group. It is evident ta bulatio n

averag e,

can be cate gorized 18-28, 28-38,

in the foll owing descendi ng 48-58,

order of age groups:

15 | P a g e

and 65.

58-

Interpretation

: ap proa ched, 75 people agreed to fill in the is aim ed at that visit the st ores the resp ons es to

Of the consum ers analyzing

quest ionnai re and this specific question.

This question

the dis tributi on of ages of the population and intervie w. By analysing

und er stud y. The age groups laid befo re the responde nt have been the result of observation the dem graphics o this quest ion, I, as a resea rch er, as well as com panie s, can ide ntify of the population that visit retail outlets. of res pondents falls in the age group 18-28. It can who visit retail outlets half of the po pulatio n

The hi ghest num ber be deduced

that m ost of the consum ers

regul arly are the youth. They m ke up almost a who shop at reta il st ores.

The rest of the populat ion who vis it the retail outlets under study can be listed in the fol lowing descending sen ior citizens. order of di stribu tion the age group, and worki ng age group, the old er age grou p, the middle

It is not surpris ing that the youth most frequent W hat is unexpected, m iddle

malls and retail st ores.

however , is the fact that more people who fall into be applied to

the old er age group visit the retail st ores than those who fall in the age group. Then agai n, this dedu ction cannot size of the sam ple und er stud y. the enti re po pulatio n of Bangalo re. The disp arity can be a tributed t to the sm all

Q. 2) G ender

of the respondents: Gender Male Fem ale Total 35 40 75 Perc ent ag e 46.67% 53.33% 100%

1 | Page 7

Gender of Respondents
41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 Male Female 35 40

No of Respondents

Gender of Respondents

Female 53.33%

M a l e 4 6 . 6 7 %

18 | P a g e

Data Collected

Consum ers st ud y. Ana ly sis From the

were asked to indicate

their

gende r. The object

of

this

quest ion is to understan d the dem ographics

of the po pulatio n und er

tabl e,

bar graph consum ers

and

pie

chart

de picted

abov e,

the

dis tributi on of the

is evident.

Of the 75 responden ts who This acc ounts for 53.33% und er st ud y. re, the rest under stud y. ta bulatio n that

answ ered the quest ionnai re, 40 were fem ale. of the res pondents , almost Of the 75 respo ndents

half of the population

who an swe red the questionnai

35 we re m ale. This accounts for 46.67% of the population It is evident the num ber resp ondents Of the from the responses of fem ale and the subsequent

respo ndents

was high er than that of the m ale

in the populat ion under st udy. Interpretation ap proa ched, be tween 75 people This agreed question to fill is in the at

consum ers

quest ionnai re and this specific identi fying the to com panie s, can wom en wh o distribution this

question.

aimed

the two gend ers and ,a resea rch er, in the number as

how many well as

of them visit the retail stores under st udy. By analysing quest ion, I as ide ntify the distrib ution

the res ponses of m en and

1 | Pag 9 e visit the retail outlets and in min d. were fem ale, as is depicted by the ap propriate decisions can be m ade

keeping these num bers The highest num ber

of res pondents

graph and ch art presented

abov e. The number res pondents .

of m ale res pondents

was less com red to the fem pa ale

Two deduct ions can be made from the above data collected: on e, mo re women visit retail outlets help the companies and studies. stores than wom en especially m en, than men. Two, more women are in undertaking can target more fut ure decisi ons retail and the to

willing to fill out quest ionn ai res and take a survey than m n. This can e and rese archers com panies by Since mo re women can be inf erred to visit

their offerings

m keting strategies ar custom ers

in two area s. Reta il outlets c an appeal offe ring

products gea red

towa rds wome n. They can provide a sh opping

experience that wom en are particu larly a tracted to. t Another way th at retail as against cus tom ers. attracts chains can use the above have that a data is to appeal of pote ntial m en that

to the m en rathe r than the women. Since, fewer men visit retail stores wome n, the companies By providing products and by providing a large base shopping are gea red towa rds exp erience the ir cus tom er base.

m en, the retail cha ins can expand

20 | P a g e

Q. 3)

H ow often do you sh p? o

Fre quency Once a week For tnightl y Once a mon th

Total 14 27 34 75

Perc ent ag e 18.67% 36.00% 45.33% 100%

2 | Page 1

How often do you shop?

40 35 34 27

No of Respondents

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Once a week 14

Fortnightly Frequency

Once a month

Data collected
Consumers approached were asked their frequency in visits to the shops. The frequency points furnished were: once a week, fortnightly and once a month. These frequency points were identified by observation and interview as the average times that consumers shop.

22 | P a g e

.Ana lysis
From the eviden t. tabl e, Of the bar graph and pie chart de picted is the a

abov e, the frequency

of shopping

of the respo ndents who answ ered shopped once of

75 res pondents for 45.33%

quest ionnai re, 34 indicated mont h. This accounts

th at they

the res pondents ,

who visit shops including retail stores once a m nth. o

Of

the

75

respo ndents re,

who 14

an swe red indicated for

the that they

questionnai shopped

once a wee k. This accounts

18.67% of the respondents, st ores once every week. It is evident from the

who visit sh ops, malls or retail responses on of an shopping listed in and the subsequent ave rage, among the foll owing and Once a

ta bulatio n tha t, the frequency the week. res pondents

can be

descen ding order: Once a month,

Fortnightly,

2 | Pag 3 e Interpretation Of the consum ers ap proa ched, 75 people This visit agreed question sh ops to fill is in the at

quest ionnai re and this specific und erstand ing products analysing a custom er The highest respo ndent

question.

aim ed

how frequ ently consumers the result of

and buy their

or avail of the ir se rvices. The frequency have been the respo nses to this question, I as

points laid befo re the and intervie w. By a number of tim es

obser vation

,resea rch er, as well as com panies,

can identi fy the

is likely to shop in a mont hs tim e. responses have been attributed to once a m th on a

sh opping . It can be

deduced

that consum ers

who shop only once

month look to buy groceries a m th. on to Such may cus tom ers not be this

and other essentials look open m ket, ar to to buy retail to on

to last them a mont h. in those who shop once

The refore, retail ou tlets have tough custom ers custom ers Hence, st rategies custom ers Consum ers diffe rent

in bulk. Moreove r, such wi th new liking very hand, to loya l pose can very be stores. a outlets must be put in place

exp erimenting

captu re tha attract t .

them Once they profess a . turn out

cer tain store, they

who shop once a week, cha llenges to retail a high disposable and a tracted t this segm ent, and update

the oth er Such

st ores.

cus tom ers

presumed to have or fashion products. be entertained W hen ta rgeting stock every week,

income and may buy more lifestyle they must continually at stores. new be able to get

Since they shop so frequently, com panies m ust

to m ke repe at purchases a their m keting strategies ar

continu ousl y.

24 | P a g e

Q. 4) W hat do you m ostly

shop

at B Ba zzar ? ig

D etai ls Clot hing Acces sories Groceries O thers

Total 33 12 25 3 75

Perc ent ag e 44.00% 16.00% 33.33% 4.00% 100%

2 | Page 5

What do you mostly shop for at the ab ov e mentioned store ? 35 30

No of Respondents

33 25

25 20 15 10 5 0 Clo th in g 12

3 A ccessories Groce rie s Item s Others

Data C ollected Consum ers products earlie r. observation app roached they m ostly The types and of interview we re as ked to for indicate the were types of

shopped

at the st ores they presented These products popular m ost

had selected Clothi ng, that

products as the

Acces sories , Groceries

and others.

were ide ntified by products

con sum ers shop for frequentl y.

26 | P a g e

Ana ly sis From the products tabl e, frequently bar graph shopped and pie chart de picted abov e, the that

for by consum ers

is eviden t. Of the

75 resp ondents they essentially

who answ ered the quest ionnai re, 33 indicated shopped

for clothing at the st ore they had indicated

ea rlier. This accounts for 44.00% of the res pondents . Of the indicated indicated appl iances. imp ortance 75 res pondents other products who they answ ered frequently the quest ionnai re, only shop for at the 3

st ores

ea rlier. This accounts for 4.00% of the res pondents , who gave to products such as home furnishi ngs, book s, and kitchen

It is evident con sum ers, following O ther s.

from the responses on an average,

and the subsequent frequently shop for Grocerie s,

ta bulatio n th at products Access ories, in the and

descending

order: Clothing,

2 | P a g 7 e

Interpretation

Of

the

consum ers

ap proa ched, consum ers

75 people

agreed

to fill

in

the

quest ionnai re and this specific question. identi fying the products The product observation we, the attractions The categ ories laid

This question

is aim ed a t are the resu lt of question,

shop for frequently at retail outlets.

bef ore the res pondent as com panie s, off ered. indi cate for that a

and intervie w. By anal ysing the resp onses to this rese archer s, as well of products and services of res ponses ou tlets

can identi fy the m ain

high number visit is

large number outlet

of can

con sum ers Accou trement provide.

retail the hottest

clothes/d resses/ap parel. any retail that the visit retail

sell ing item that indicated

One- third of the res pondents

outlets to purch ase grocerie s. To the retail that stores, the provide ab ove tabulated resp onses lead to a very good. Retail

important outlets

result. Clothi ng is the fastest

mov ing con sum er

app arel can see a hi gher

rate of turnover and

sales volume. Howev er, the representative size ap proached above consists results of only cannot 75 be assum ed who to be were

of the entire population of Bangalo re cit y. The sam ple res pondents , on a random basis as they visited the retail outlets .

28 | P a g e

Q. 5) W hy do you cho os Big Bazz ar ? e

Factors Quality Fashion Affordabili ty Variety All under one roof Brand nam e Service Store atm osph ere Loyalty Proximity

Total 20 5 10 4 10 11 4 3 5 3 75

Perc ent ag e 26.67% 6.67% 13.33% 5.33% 13.33% 14.67% 5.33% 4.00% 6.67% 4.00% 100%

Why do you shop at the above store?

No of Respondents

2 5 20 20 1 5 1 0 5 0

10 10 11 5 4 4 3 5 3

F a c t o r s

Why do you shop at the above store? Store atm os phere, 4.00% Service, 5.33% Br an d na m e, 14.67% Loyalty, 6.67% Proxim ity, 4.00% Quality, 26.67%

Fas hion, 6.67%

All un de r on e ro of, 13. 33 %

Af Variety, fo 5.33% rd a bi lit y, 1 3 . 3 3 %

Dat a C oll ecte d Consum ers question responses app roached to indicate we re as ked an open-ended a particu lar

the reas ons they select

store to shop at as aga inst any other retail outlet. The ir were recorded and a broad idea of the factors shopping and buying decisi ons was form ed. that influence

A n a l y s i s The respo nses impact their of the interview ees shopping decisi on and consum ers they in and result have find their

been broadly categ orised

into 10 fact ors that

choos ing one store over ano the r. From the include: tabl e, bar graph and pie chart de picted

abov e, the influenc ing factors Quality,

are eviden t. The reas ons

Fashion, Affordability , name, Of

Varie ty,

All products

und er

one roof, Br and

Servic e, Store atm osphe re, Loy alty, and Pro xim y. it 75 respo ndents specific who an swe red This the questionnai for re, 20 the

the

replied that choose respondent s,

quality of the products stores. say ing who replied

is generally accounts w as quali ty

the main reason they 26.67% of the rea son why they

to shop at

shopped at the st ore indicated Of the 75 respo ndents st ore

earlie r. who an swe red that the questionnai to their of the re, 3

an swe red

that

atm osphe re 3 replied

contr ibuted proxim ity

shopping

decisi on, while another a big rol e. This accounts

store played

for 4.00% of the respo ndents,

in each case.

Interpretation Of the consum ers ap proa ched, 75 people This the as to the analysing agreed question to fill is in the at

quest ionnai re and this specific getting direct cus tom er feedback shopping quest ion, biggest we, the decisi on. By resea rch ers,

question.

aim ed to

fac tors that influence res ponses

their this

as well as com panies,

can identi fy the

fac tors that influence

the consum ers

in favo uring one st ore over

other s, direct from the horses m out h. If set in descending order of influence as indicated by the

con sum ers,

the fac tors can be listed

as: Qualit y, Brand nam e,

Affordabili ty,

All

products

und er

one

roof,

Fashion,

Loyalty,

Servic e, Variet y, Proximity, and St ore atm phe re. os From the tabl e, graph and chart custom ers deciding give value to a great depicted ab ove, it of is evident fac tors that when or

ma ny number and weak

which st ore to shop at. It would be prudent st rong to/f rom their stores. for shopping:

on the part of the

com pa ny to iden tify their drive aw ay custom ers

area s, which attract

Q. 6) R ank your preferences

D etai ls Quality Brand Price Store layo ut Proximity One-s top shop

Total 23 11 16 6 5 14 75

Perc ent ag e 30.67% 14.67% 21.33% 8.00% 6.67% 18.66% 100%

Data collected Consum ers app roa ched we re as ked to rank their prefe rences on a scale pref erences when choosing to shop at particular be fore them we re

of 1 to 6 of their

stores. The prefe rence points placed

Quality, Brand, Price, St ore La yout, Proximity , One-stop shop. These prefe rence poin ts we re identified by obs ervation and interview as the m ost popular reas ons that beget the attraction of con sum ers and act as inducem ents to shop at particular st ores.

32 | P a g e

Preferences for Shopping

Onestop sho p, 18.66% P r o x i m i t y , 6 . 6 7 % St or e la yo ut, 8 . 0 0 %

Quality, 30.67%

Brand, 14.67%

ta C ollected

Price, 21.33%

33 | P a g e

Ana ly sis From the tabl e, bar graph Of the 75 res pondents imp ortance accounts to quality and pie chart de picted abov e, the

prefe rence po ints of con sum ers is eviden t. who answ ered when choosing the quest ionnai re, 23 give first which st ore to shop at. This

for 30.67% of the res pondents , wh o gave rank #1 to Qual ity . who answ ered the quest ionnai re, only 5 gave choosing wh ere to

Of the 75 res pondents first importa nce #1 to Proximit y. It is evident con sum ers, descendi ng shop at. This accounts

to proximity

of the store when

for 6.67% of the res pondents , w ho gave rank

from the responses on an average, order of a tractio n: t

and the subsequent Quali ty,

ta bulatio n th at

rank the

prefe rence points in the foll owing Price, and One- stop shop,

Brand, St ore Layou t, and Proximit y. Interpretation Of the consum ers ap proa ched, elem ents 75 people This agreed question have been to fill is the in the at The

quest ionnai re and this specific und erstand ing w hat prefe rence points observation

question. attract

aim ed m ost.

the co nsum er the responses

laid bef ore the res pondent as well as com panies,

the result of

and intervie w. By analysing the consum ers and the

to this quest ion,

we, the resea rch ers, fac tors that influence The hi ghest

can identi fy the biggest

in favo uring one st ore over other s. highest ranking have been

responses

attributed

to quality of the products on sale. W hen choosing to shop at

a particul ar st ore, or wh en favo uring one st ore over the

oth ers, it is seen that m ost consum ers quality The of the products on offe r. criteria that influence

m ke this decision a

based on the

next

the

consum ers

in

favouring

particular

store over oth ers are (in desc ending

orde r) Pric e, One-

stop shop, Brand, Store layou t, and Pro xim y. it Alt hough it is said that the most important things in retail are

Location , locatio n, and locatio n, from the consum ers big roles in the decisi on making process. Q. 7) Do advertisem ent and prom otion

point of vie w,

proximity is of little conc ern. The quality, price and variety of goods play

influence

your

shopping

decision? D etai ls Yes No Total 33 42 75 Perc ent ag e 44.00% 56.00% 100%

Data C ollected

Consum ers promotional

app roached activities

we re influence

as ked their

if

adver tise ments decisi ons. activities

and This

shopping

quest ion was an swe red by 75 consum er that appe ar in any/all types sales, coup on s, gifts, free products et c.

s. Adv ertisem ents

refer to those refer to

of m edi a. Promotional

35 | P a g e

Do advertisement and promotion influence your shopping decision?

No 56.00%

Y e s 4 4 . 0 0 %

A n a l y s i s From the on that the tabl e, psyche bar graph of con sum ers have and is pie chart Of de picted the 75 when

abov e, the influence respo ndents

of advertisem ents

and promot ions

eviden t. or

who an swe red the quest ionnai re, 42 replied little no effect for 56.00% of the

advertisem ents

decidi ng wh ere to shop at. This accounts respondent s, who indicated Of the 75 respo ndents re, 33 over

the choice No. who an swe red that the advertisements decisi on when This the who indicated

questionnai

replied

and promot ional activities favo uring one st ore accounts

do affect their other s.

for 44.00% of the respo ndents,

36 | P a g e

choice Y e s .

Interpretation Of the consum ers the ap proa ched, effect of 75 people This advertisem ents agreed question and to fill is in the at

quest ionnai re and this specific und erstand ing activities how have far on the psyche advertisem ents,

question.

aim ed

promotional

of the co nsum ers.

The object

is also to anal yze

prom tions and oth er m keting stra tegies o ar and buying behavio ur of consum ers. as and m keting ar

an im pact

on the shopping

By ana lysing the respo nses to this quest ion, I as a , the resea rcher, well as com panies, cam pa igns translate on into sales. can identi fy the effect of advertising the con sum ers m inds and how far advertisem ents

From the con sum ers, res pondents promotional

ta bulated it do is not

data evident give

depicted that m uch a

above slightly

and

res ponses

of

the of and th at their

high er

number

imp ortance do

to advert ise ments who indicated an im ct on pa have

act ivities.

The num ber

of resp ondents

advertisements and prom otional

activities

shopping decis ions was slightly lesse r. This indicates of that and although m ost are not consum ers swayed are aware a slightly by the of the

adver tise ments pe rcen tage strategies

promotio nal cam paig ns,

higher

con sumers

mar keti ng

instituted

by the com panies.

This is activities res ponses

no t, however , to say that have no bearing only indi cate the

advertisem ents

and

prom tional o

on the m inds

of the con sumers at al l. The serve to keep the brand sales. The products a tracting t sold and reta ining

th at advertisem ents biggest impa ct on

in reten tion alt hough at the stores have custom ers .

they do not gu arantee

Q. 8) W hich

form of advertisem ent D etai ls Print TV Rad io

do you think is m ost effective? Total 28 40 7 75 Perc ent ag e 37.33% 53.33% 9.34% 100%

Consum ers thought

app roached

we re as ked which form of advert ise ment they This ques tion was an swe red by of adv ertising and were restricted to three

was m ost effective.

75 consum ers. were the

The m hods et result of

Telev ision, Print and Radio. The opti ons laid bef ore the res pondents observation interview as being the most popul ar which the consum ers Ana ly sis From the effectiveness con sum ers means is tabl e, of bar graph Of and pie of chart de picted abov e, the identi fy as means of adver tising .

the variou s m odes eviden t. th at the

advertisin g on the psy che of wh o an swe red the for

the 75 respo ndents

question nai re, 40 indicated of advertising

televisi on is the m ost effective

for a store. This accounts

53.33% of the res pondents , who indi cated the choice TV.

Of the indicated

75 res pondents that the

who

answ ered

the means

quest ionnai re, only who indicated

radio is an effective

in advertisin g to the

consum ers.

This accounts for 9.34% of the

respo ndents,

the choice Rad io. It is evident are classified and Radi o. Interpretation Of the consum ers the ap proa ched, effectiveness is also to m edia these 75 people This of analyze percolate the how agreed question three far to fill is in the at of the from the graph and ch art presented above th t, in the a m edia

min ds of the consum ers,

the effectiveness

of the three kinds of

as fol lows (in the

descendi ng order): Televisi on, Print,

quest ionnai re and this specific und erstand ing advertising. broadcast con sum ers. By analysing well und erstand sales. From the con sum ers, ta bulated data as the resp onses com panies, which media is The object through

question.

aim ed

m eans minds of

advertisem ents

into the

to this question, can the identi fy media more

we, the rese arche rs, as the effectiveness This helps and attracts of to more

adver tise ments through

identified. influential

depicted is the

above m st o

and

res ponses

of

the of

it is evident that the m ajority advertisin g

of the res pondents effective

feel that

televisi on

means

advertising.

This

is

indi cative

in

spite

of

large

number

of This is radio into

com e rcials that the public is bom rded with. m ba The res pondents indi cative sale s. Thus, it can be surm ised to rea ch the co nsum er and print media, Q. 9) Indi ca te that when advertising, more effective m edia of adver tise ments give very little credit to radio advertisem ents. the fact th at m ost of the pu blic igno re or else th at radio advertising does not translate

and persuade

them to buy are the televisi on

more so than rad io advertisin g. your satisfaction level based on the given

param eters

for the B Ba zzar : ig

Stor E

Unsat isfie d T otal % 26.67 %

Satisfied T otal 43 % 57.33 %

Highly Satisfied T otal 10 % 13.33 %

Never Visited T otal 2 % 2.67 %

Total T otal 75 %

Big Bazz ar 20

1 00%

Data collected: Conisfactionsumers asked about their approach and sat three stores cove red in this st udy. This an swe red by 75 con sum ers. The satisfaction scale com prised of four ranks Unsatisfie d, Satisfie d, isfaction question with was the

High ly Satisfied

and Never Visited.

4 | Page 1

Satisfaction

level

Satisfaction Levels with Big Bazaar Neve r Unsatisf ied, 26.67% Visite d, 2 . 6 ta C ollected 7 % sum ers ap proa ched we re as ked about their sat isfac Satisf ied, 57.33% Highl y Satis f ied, 13.33%

A n a l y s i s From the tabl e, bar graph and pie ch art with the

de picted 43 indicated

above,

satisfact ion

levels

ab ove 75 respo ndents

who an swe red the quest ionnai re,

a sa tisfactor y resp onse towa rds Big Bazaar,

and 2 had not visited the st ore.

Inte rpre tatio n Of the in levels the question consum ers is aim ed ap proa ched, this 75 people specific agreed to fill question. the This sat isfaction

quest ionnai re and

at und erstand ing und er

of the consum ers

42 | P a g e

study quality

Big Bazzar. stra tegies, etc .,

The

object brand

is also imag e,

to

analyze

how

far

the and

m keting ar satisfact ion. By analysing as on the

advertisem ents, perception

layout,

con tribute

towa rds

consum er

the resp onses to this question, can identi fy helps

we, the rese arche rs, as well the effectiveness of variety etc ., the current and the

com panies, target

adver tise ment s, locatio n, br and, price, con sumers. This percepti on level s. data depicted consumer about

promot ion, product to und erstand Big Bazzar

corresponding satisfaction From the con sum ers, satisfied ta bulated

above

and

res ponses

of

the are are

it is evident that a good num ber

of target consum ers the re are those who

with the st ores at large. However, m ket tha the com ar t panies

unsatisfied or who have never visited the store at al l. Such co nsum ers form the potential m ust strive to attract . wi th the

Th ere are al so quite a few resp ondents reta il ch ains. It is im perative They can modi fy and consum ers The ab ove apply the

who were highly satisfied sam e a tracti ons t

for the stores to find out why this is so. towa rds the

who are less satisfied. table and graph about give Big a wo rms Bazzar. This eye -view of the can help the have been.

con sum er

perception

m keters under stand how effective ar

the ir strategies

4 | Pag 3 e A ly na sis

From the pie ch art depicted are evident. Of the 57.33% indicate

above,

satisfaction

levels

wi th Big Bazaar this quest ion,

75 consum ers

who an swe red with Big Bazaa r.

that they are satisfied

Of the 75 res pondents , who indicated Baza ar, 26.67% the total indicated num ber

their satisfaction indicated Bazaa r. that

levels

wi th Big they

that they are unsatisfied Big

with Big Bazaa r. Of And 2.67%

of resp ondent s, 13.33%

we re highly satisfied wi th this questio nnai re.

indicated that they had not visited the st ore up to the date

of filling in

Interpretation Of the

: ap proa ched, the above 75 agreed to The fill aim in of the this feel

consum ers

quest ionnai re

and answ er

quest ion.

quest ion is to underst and the level of satisfaction wi th rega rds to the retail chain Big Bazaa r.

that consum ers

As is evid ent from the pie ch art presented half of the respondent s indicated on e-eighth store. with the that Bazaa r, while alm ost indicated

ab ove, a little more than they are satisfied one-fourth with Big of the

that they are high ly satisfied almost

However ,

4 | Pag 4 e num ber of respo ndents indi cated that they we re unsatisfied with

Big Bazaa r.

This goes not

to show that

alt hough m ust

Big

Bazaar

m ay

have

an overa ll

goodwill from the consum ers, do ing righ t. Big Bazaar

the re are still som things that they are e identi fy exa ctly what the problem

areas are and m ust ad dress them quickly and swiftly.

The above pie ch art shows that almost the categ ory of potential cus tom ers. steps to a tract these co nsum t ers.

30% of the respo ndents fall into Big Baza ar must take effective

4 | Pag 5 e

FINDINGS AND SUGG ESTIONS

In the surveys, their su bsequent ga the red int ervi ews and shopping and the stu dy conducted ab ove, I came ac ross the

ma ny fact ors that influence findings

the consum ers suggestions

pe rcept ion of a store and we offer to com panies based

and buyin g de cisions. He re, I present

on the data ga the red and analyzed Respo ndents categ ories, were asked to choose am ong five age group The age I

viz., 18-2 8, 28-3 8, 38-48, 48-58 and 58-65 yea rs. By analysing of the res ponses po pulatio n to this that

groups were iden tified as key factors decis ions of consum ers. dem ographics outlets .

im pac ting shopping and purchase question, the visit retail

as, a rese arche r, as well as com panie s, can identi fy the

It is not surpris ing that the youth most frequent W hat is unexpected, the old er age m iddle

malls and retail st ores.

however , is the fact that more people who fall into again, this deduction cannot be applied to the entire

group visit the retail st ores than those who fall in the

age group. Then

population of Bangalore. The disparity can be attributed to the small size of the sample under study. Consumers were also asked to indicate their gender. The object of this question is to understand the demographics of the population under study. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the distribution in the number of men and women who visit the retail outlets and appropriate decisions can be made keeping these numbers in mind.

4 | Pag 6 e The highest number of respondents were female, as is depicted by the graph and chart presented above. The number of male respondents was less compared to the female respondents. Two deductions can be made from the above data collected: one, more women visit retail outlets than men. Two, more women are willing to fill out questionnaires and take a survey than men. This can help the companies and researchers in undertaking future decisions and studies. Since more women can be inferred to visit retail stores than men, companies can target their offerings and marketing strategies in two areas. Retail outlets can appeal to the women customers by offering more products geared especially towards women. They can provide a shopping experience that women are particularly attracted to.

Another way that retail chains can use the above data is to appeal to the men rather than the women. Since, fewer men visit retail stores as against women, the companies have a large base of potential customers. By providing products that are geared towards men and by providing a shopping experience that attracts men, the retail chains can expand their customer base. Consumers approached were asked about their frequency in visits to shops. The frequency points furnished were: Once a week, Fortnightly, and Once a month. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the number of times a customer is likely to shop in a months time. The highest responses have been attributed to once a month shopping. It can be deduced that consumers who shop only once a month look to buy groceries and other essentials to last them a month. Therefore, retail outlets have tough

4 | Pag 7 e customers in those who shop once a month. Such customers look to buy in bulk. Moreover, such customers may not be open to experimenting with new stores. Hence, to capture this market, retail outlets must put in place strategies that attract them. Once they profess a liking to a certain store, they turn out to be very loyal customers. Consumers who shop once a week, on the other hand, pose very different challenges to retail stores. Such customers can be presumed to have a high disposable income and may buy more lifestyle or fashion products. Since they shop so frequently, they must continually be entertained and attracted to make repeat purchases at stores. When targeting this segment, companies must be able to get new stock every week, and update their marketing strategies continuously. Consumers approached were asked which stores they shopped at frequently. The retail store brands placed before them were Big Bazaar, Shoppers Stop, Marks & Spencer, and others. By analysing the responses to this question, I as, a researcher, as well as companies, can identify customer preferences among the varied choices of stores, and can calculate how much market share they hold. The highest number of responses has been attributed to Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar attracts people of many income groups, and offers products that appeal to a wide array of consumers. The other stores can be ranked in descending order of preference or frequency of visits as: Shoppers Stop, Others, and Marks & Spencer. It can be deduced from the above figures that the category Others was indicated by more number of respondents than those who indicated they frequent Marks & Spencer. This may be because Marks & Spencer targets only the elite classes in a city where a higher percentage of the population belong to the middle income group.

4 | Pag 8 e In analyzing the other stores that consumers frequent, outlets such as Westside, Monday to Sunday, More, Central etc., featured. This indicates that more people frequent stores that cater to the middle income group. This is not to say that Marks & Spencer has no customer base. However, they may be unable to generate a high volume of repeat sales. Consumers approached were asked to indicate the types of products they mostly shopped for at the stores they had selected earlier. The types of products presented were Clothing, Accessories, Groceries and others. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the main attractions of products and services offered. The high number of responses indicate that a large number of consumers visit retail outlets for clothes/dresses/apparel. Accoutrement is the hottest selling item that any retail outlet can provide. One-third of the respondents indicated that the visit retail outlets to purchase groceries. To the retail stores, the above tabulated responses lead to a very important result. Clothing is the fastest moving consumer good. Retail outlets that provide apparel can see a higher rate of turnover and sales volume. However, the above results cannot be assumed to be representative of the entire population of Bangalore city. The sample size consists of only 75 respondents, who were approached on a random basis as they visited the retail outlets. Consumers approached were asked an open-ended question to indicate the reasons they select a particular store to shop at as against any other retail outlet. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the biggest factors that influence the consumers in favouring one store over others, direct from the horses mouth.

4 | Pag 9 e If set in descending order of influence as indicated by the consumers, the factors can be listed as: Quality, Brand name, Affordability, All products under one roof, Fashion, Loyalty, Service, Variety, Proximity, and Store atmosphere. From the table, graph and chart depicted above, it is evident that customers give value to a great many number of factors when deciding which store to shop at. It would be prudent on the part of the company to identify their strong and weak areas, which attract or drive away customers to/from their stores. Consumers approached were asked to rank their preferences on a scale of 1 to 6 of their preferences when choosing to shop at particular stores. The preference points placed before them were Quality, Brand, Price, Store Layout, Proximity, One-stop shop. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the biggest factors that influence the consumers in favouring one store over others. The highest responses and the highest ranking have been attributed to quality of the products on sale. When choosing to shop at a particular store, or when favouring one store over the others, it is seen that most consumers make this decision based on the quality of the products on offer. The next criteria that influence the consumers in favouring a particular store over others are (in descending order) Price, One-stop shop, Brand, Store layout, and Proximity. Although it is said that the most important things in retail are Location, location, and location, from the consumers point of view, proximity is of little concern. The quality, price and variety of goods play big roles in the decision making process.

5 | Pag 0 e Consumers approached were asked if advertisements and promotional activities influence their shopping decisions. By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the effect of advertising and marketing campaigns on the consumers minds and how far advertisements translate into sales. From the tabulated data depicted above and responses of the consumers, it is evident that a slightly higher number of respondents do not give much importance to advertisements and promotional activities. The number of respondents who indicated that advertisements and promotional activities do have an impact on their shopping decisions was slightly lesser. This indicates that although most consumers are aware of the advertisements and promotional campaigns, a slightly higher percentage of consumers are not swayed by the marketing strategies instituted by the companies. This is not, however, to say that advertisements and promotional activities have no bearing on the minds of the consumers at all. The responses only indicate that advertisements serve to keep the brand in retention although they do not guarantee sales. The products sold at the stores have the biggest impact on attracting and retaining customers. Consumers approached were asked which form of advertisement they thought was most effective. The methods of advertising were restricted to three Television, Print and Radio. By analysing the responses to this question, I as, a the researcher, as well as companies, can identify the effectiveness of advertisements through the media identified. From the tabulated data depicted above and responses of the consumers, it is evident that the majority of the respondents feel that television advertising is the

5 | Pag 1 e most effective means of advertising. This is indicative in spite of large number of commercials that the public is bombarded with. The respondents give very little credit to radio advertisements. This is indicative of the fact that most of the public ignore radio advertisements or else that radio advertising does not translate into sales. Thus, it can be surmised that when advertising, more effective media to reach the consumer and persuade them to buy are the television and print media, more so than radio advertising. Consumers approached were asked about their satisfaction covered in this study. The satisfaction scale of Big Bazzar comprised of four ranks Unsatisfied, Satisfied, Highly Satisfied and Never Visited. The object is also to analyze how far the marketing strategies, brand image, advertisements, layout, quality etc., contribute towards consumer perception and satisfaction.

By analysing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can identify the effectiveness of advertisements, location, brand, price, promotion, product variety etc., on the target consumers. This helps to understand the current consumer perception of the three stores identified and the corresponding satisfaction levels. From the tabulated data depicted above and responses of the consumers, it is evident that a good number of target consumers are satisfied with the stores at large. However, there are those who are unsatisfied or who have never visited the store at all. Such consumers form the potential market that the companies must strive to attract.

5 | Pag 2 e There are also quite a few respondents who were highly satisfied with the retail chains. It is imperative for the stores to find out why this is so. They can modify and apply the same attractions towards the consumers who are less satisfied. The above table and graph give a worms eye-view of the consumer perception of the three stores. This can help the marketers understand how effective their strategies have been. A little more than half of the respondents indicated that they are satisfied with Big Bazaar, while almost one-eighth indicated that they are highly satisfied with the store. However, almost one-fourth of the number of respondents indicated that they were unsatisfied with Big Bazaar. This goes to show that although Big Bazaar may have an overall goodwill from the consumers, there are still some things that they are not doing right. Big Bazaar must identify exactly what the problem areas are and must address them quickly and swiftly. The above pie chart shows that almost 30% of the respondents fall into the category of potential customers. Big Bazaar must take effective steps to attract these consumers.

5 | Page 3

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION BIG BAZAAR

Pros:

1.

Variet y: diffe rent custom ers .

Big prices

Baza ar and

offers diffe rent

wide variety qualities

of

products m ost of

of its

satis fying

2. Quality: Providing

quality at low prices and having diffe rent types is another adv antage.

of products for diffe rent income custom ers

3. Price: As noted the prices of the m ain attractions ranges and 4. Location: The location heart the

and offers in Big Bazaar products

have been one are very

and rea sons for its po pulari ty. The price offe red

satis fying to the custom ers. of Big Bazaar has been m ainly in the to both the fig ure w hich have has also

of the city or in the out ski rts giving a chance has end orsed very popular other fam ous person alities techniques

City and the pe ople living outside the city to sho p. 5. Advertisements: Big bazaar like M S Dhoni the and outdo or

attracted and

a lot of custom ers.

This has resulted advertising

in increase of sale

helped Big Bazaa r.

5 | Page 4 6. M iddle middle im pact and cla ss appeal: Considering cla ss families in has the fact that the re are a lot Big baza ar in getting has had a huge prices, quality incom e the m iddle

Indi a, helped

on the middle strategy

class

sect ion of Ind ia, the

sales

groups get ting attracted 7. Attra ctive sales: Big bazaar

towards Big Bazaa r. has been kn own for its great sale has had long lines of people waiting The refore, the sales that Big sales in a huge w ay

and great offer s. Big bazaar Bazaar due

to get into the sto re for the sale. has had has inc reased to the sales

and offer s, thus this has been one of the

of the big bazzar.

5 | Page 5 Di sadv a ta es n g :

1. Sto re layout: The store layout and the ass ortment of goods is not the best at Big Bazaa r, as the quantity and assor tment of H ence at tim es cus tom ers of goods sold is mo re the goods in the . st ore is the arrangem ent greatest.

find it hard to find what they aim more toward the s

requi re, this lea ds to dissatisfaction of custom ers 2. Lower qual ity of goods: As Big bazaar middle quality, custom ers income prefer group, the better

qua lity of goods is not of the highest would maki ng to the price, ab ove, the m ain groups, The

and this is som im et es a dis advanta ge as som e qua lity to sea rch for diffe rent place s.

3. Does not appeal to the elite: As m entioned custom ers are m iddle incom e

and a few high incom e a higher

elite do not like to shop at Big Bazaar lower and they brand, 4. would prefer

as the qu ality of goods is price and get a better

this de creases sales from the elite class . The staff recruited queues which m kes a is not very well trained and tim e visit to m ove, the store this mo re on the nor them

Not accla imed for ve ry good service: Big Baza ar is not known for high class service. the irrita tes seldom billing customers take a long

5. Lower quali ty of goods: As the sore is trying to concentrate m iddle branded, 6. incom e group the type quality of products and m ost m ost sup erio r of the tim es

used is not of the

this m ay dissatis fy cer tain custom ers queues Due and lower quality leads to factors m entioned this is not a to

Cons umer satisfaction: Long dissati sfaction ab ove Big Bazaar positive of custom ers. shoppers

are not always satisfied,

for the st ore.

PHOTOS: