AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON CUSTOMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS PET STORE.

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1 AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON CUSTOMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS PET STORE. ABSTRACT R.S.KANIMOZHI 1 Dr.S.SUMA DEVI 2 Assistant Professor, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Peelamedu, Coimbatore. Associate Professor, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Peelamedu, Coimbatore Customer buying behavior is the study of the ways of buying and disposing of goods, services, ideas or, experiences by the individuals groups and organization in order to satisfy their needs and wants. Changing lifestyles in the form of the rise in nuclear families and double income households have encouraged the growth of pet ownership in urban areas of India. Increasingly, pets are being looked upon as companions and members of the family. Pet owners are more willing to spend on pet food and pet care products than ever before. India has emerged as one of the best potential pet care markets in the Asian sub-continent after Japan owing to the changing lifestyles, rise in nuclear families and double income households, which have encouraged the growth of pet ownership in the country. The study revealed that different age groups and household types express their relationship with their pets. It also infers that more female respondents own pets. In the days to come, with pets increasingly being treated as fashion accessories, pet owners, especially in the urban areas, are expected to spend more on their pets. Key words: Pet store, Behavior, Satisfaction, Pet owners Introduction INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH REVIEW Customer buying behavior is the study of the ways of buying and disposing of goods, services, ideas or, experiences by the individuals groups and organization in order to satisfy their needs and wants. It blends elements from Psychology, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Marketing and Economics. It attempts to understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups such as how emotions affect buying behavior. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand people s wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. Pets have always been a craze in US and UK. But this trend has started recently in India. In India pets are getting pampered and petted like never before, the reason behind this increasing popularity of pets is with rapid urbanization of the cities there are a number of single professionals and single parents living alone in huge cities. For the need of security or a desire of companionship, people are commonly found owning pets. Pets seem like perfect companions providing unconditional love and not expecting anything in return. Pets are also considered as fashion accessories in celebrity culture. The pet industry in India has an estimated revenue earning potential of Rs. 350 crores. Out of this around 250 crores is contributed by pet foods and the remaining 100 crores comes from grooming and healthcare sector. India has emerged as one of the best potential pet care markets in the Asian sub-continent after Japan owing to the changing lifestyles, rise in nuclear families and double income households, which have encouraged the growth of pet ownership in the country. According to Euromonitor International, a research firm, the pet industry in India is estimated to grow with an annual growth rate of percent, and is expected to attain a market size of 27 million dollars by the end of this year. Indian pet market is largely dominated by dogs that constitute 80 percent of total pet market followed by cats that make up 15 percent and five percent is made up by birds and fish icmrrjournal@gmail.com

2 Statement of the Problem Pet ownership is growing rapidly with new younger generation, their expectation and demand for customer service has increased as well as options and choices. The attitudes of pet owners about their pets have also changed from the past. Some owners treat their pets like their children, family member, friend, companion or even better now a day. People are more aware of pets and their relationship with their pet animals. Their demand for pets has increased a lot compared to past. So, this has gradually increased the importance of pet shop. Pets are considered as best human companions. Pet retailers business places an impact role in the society nowadays as the demand for the pet products are increased. The study focused on the customers purchase behaviour of pet and pet related product. Scope of the Study The study highlights the Customers Purchase Behavior towards Pet shop in Coimbatore District. It mainly focuses on customers buying behavior towards pets and their satisfaction regarding the product and service provided by the pet shop retailers. The study covers the customers level of satisfaction and awareness about the service provided in the pet shop. It also helps to identify the different problems faced by the customers in the pet shop. Objectives To analyze buying behavior of customers towards pet shop. To study on various services provided by the pet shop. To examine the level of satisfaction and problem towards customers. Research Methodology The research methodology gives an idea about the type of research design, the sampling techniques, the process of data collection and the instrument used for data collection. The survey is to know about the customers buying behavior and level of satisfaction towards pet shop and it lasted for a period of four months (December 2014-March-2015).The researcher aims to measure the level of satisfaction of customers regarding the pet shop. Purposive sampling technique is used to collect the data. The study is under taken in Coimbatore district. The sample size of the study is 200 respondents. The data required for the study has been collected from both the primary data and secondary sources. The following statistical tools have been used to analyze the primary data. Simple percentage, Chi- Square, Weighted average ranking, Factor analysis and Friedman Rank Analysis Hypothesis INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH REVIEW There is no significant difference between personal factors and level of satisfaction.. Limitations The respondents for the study are mainly around Pollachi and Coimbatore area. Data s are collected from only 200 respondents who are having dogs. The study is based on the information provided by the respondents. So the study may be biased icmrrjournal@gmail.com

3 Table :1 Respondents Demographic wise Distribution Variables Particulars Frequency Percentage Age Below 25 Years to 35 Years to 45 Years Above 45 Years Gender Male Female Occupational status Student Housewife Business Professionals Employee Area of residence Rural Urban Education qualification No Formal Education 4 2 School Level Graduation Post-Graduation Monthly income Upto Rs Rs to Rs Rs to Rs AboveRs Martial status Single Married Total Source: primary data The above table shows that, 33% of the respondents belong to the age group of 36 to 45 years,58% of the respondents are female, 26.50% of the respondents are housewife, majority (67%) of the respondents belong to urban area, 57% of the respondents are under graduates, 32.50% of the respondents earn income between Rs to Rs.40000, majority (68.50%) of the respondents are married and 53.50% of the respondents belong to nuclear family. Table : 2 Breed of Dogs Possessed Variables Particulars Frequency Percentage Breed of dog German Sheppard Labrador Pug Rot Wheeler Others Nature of Food Preferred Source: primary data Branded Food Unbranded Food Homemade Food Total icmrrjournal@gmail.com

4 Most of the respondents possess (36.5%) German Sheppard and prefer (59.5%) branded food for their pets. Table: 3 Type of Brand Preferred Type of brand preferred Frequency Percentage Pedigree Drools Royal Canin Eukanuba Total Source: primary data It is known that from the above table that 63.9% of the respondents prefer pedigree brand, 17.6% of the respondents prefer drools brand, 16% of the respondents prefer Royalcanin and 2.5% of the respondents prefer Eukanuba. Table : 4 Source of Information Source of information Frequency Percentage Television Newspaper Magazines 12 6 Friends and Relatives Internet Total Source: primary data It is understood from the above table that 53.5% of the respondents get information through friends and relatives, 15.5% of the respondents get information through television, 14% of the respondents get information through newspaper, and 11% of the respondents get information through internet and 6% of the respondents through magazines. Source: primary data Table : 5 Reason for Selecting - Pet Retailer Reason for selecting the pet retailer Frequency Percentage Nearest Location Good Reputation Variety of Products Good Service Total The above table shows that, 37% of the respondents select pet shop based on nearest location, 27.5% of the respondents select pet shop on the basis of good reputation, 18% of the respondents select pet shop based on good service provided, and 17.5% of the respondents select on the basis of variety of products icmrrjournal@gmail.com

5 Table :6 Nature of Purchase Purchase from pet shop Frequency Percentage Pet Food Pet Services Pet Accessories Pet Health care products All Total Source: Primary data From the table it is clear that, 53.5% of the respondents purchase all pet and pet related products, 20% of the respondents purchase pet food, 12% of the respondents purchase pet health products, 10% of the respondents purchase pet accessories, 4.5% of the respondents purchase pet related services. Chi-square analysis: A chi-square test is used to examine the association between two categorical variables. The below table depicts that to test the level of significant of various personal factors like age, gender, educational qualification, monthly income, residential area, frequency of purchasing a product or service, amount spend for pet, problems faced regarding pet shop with level of satisfaction. Ho: There is no significant difference between personal factors and level of satisfaction. Table : 7 Personal Factors with Level of Satisfaction Particulars Level of Satisfaction Low Moderate High Calculated value Age Gender Educational Qualification INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH REVIEW Below to to Above Male Female No formal education School level Ug.Degree Pg. Degree Table value S NS NS Remarks Monthly Income Up to to to Above S 18 icmrrjournal@gmail.com

6 Residential Area Rural Urban Fortnightly NS Frequency purchasing of Monthly Every months Above months Upto Rs NS Amount Spend for Pets Rs.1001 to Rs.2001 to Above Rs Problems faced Yes Source: computed No NS-Not Significant S-Significant NS NS It is inferred from the above table that the calculated chi- square value is greater than the table value at five percent level, there exists significant relationship between age, monthly income and level of satisfaction. Hence, the null hypothesis is rejected. As the calculated chi- square value is less than the table value at five percent level, there does not exists significant relationship between gender, educational qualification, residential area, frequency of purchasing a product or service, amount spend for pets, problems regarding pet shop with level of satisfaction. Hence, the null hypothesis is accepted. Weighted Average Ranking An average in which each quantity to be averaged is assigned a weight. These weighting determine the relative importance of each quantity on the average. Weighting are the equivalent of having many items with the same value involved in the average icmrrjournal@gmail.com

7 Table : 8 Problems faced with regard to the pet shop Problems R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Total Weighted Rank Faced average High Price I Poor Quality products III Lack of II Service Quality Inconvenient V Shop Non- Availability VI of New Products Lack of IV Sales Promotion Lack of VII Information Source: computed It is clear from the above table that 54 respondents have a problem of high price and ranked as first, 60 respondents have a problem of poor quality products and ranked as three, 48 of them face the problem of lack of service quality and ranked as second, 70 respondents suffer due to inconvenient shop location and ranked as five, 60 of them face the problem of non availability of new products and ranked as six,84 respondents have the problem of sales promotion and ranked as four,77 respondents face the problem of lack of information and ranked as seven. Problem of high price has been given the first rank and last rank is given for lack of information provided. Friedman Ranking Analysis The Friedman test is a non-parametric statistical test developed by the U.S. economist Milton Friedman. Similar to the parametric repeated ANOVA, it is used to detect difference in treatments across multiple test attempts. The procedure involves ranking each row (or block) together, then considering the values of ranks by columns icmrrjournal@gmail.com

8 Aspects Considered Variety Pets Services Offered Price Location the Shop Sales Promotion Quality Products Training Pets Good Deal Veterinary Services Table : 9 Various aspects of Pet Shop with Level of Satisfaction Highly Satisfied Source: computed Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied of Highly Dissatisfied (0.00%) (0.00%) (43.50%) (47.00%) (9.50%) (25.50%) (55.50%) (18.50%) (0.00%) (0.50%) (13.00%) (45.00%) (35.00%) (6.00%) (1.00%) of (32.00%) (31.50%) (27.00%) (9.00%) (0.50%) (11.50%) (34.50%) (38.00%) (11.50%) (4.50%) of (37.00%) (46.00%) (12.50%) (1.50%) (3.00%) to (22.50%) (30.50%) (34.50%) (10.00%) (2.50%) (16.50%) (40.50%) (27.00%) (13.00%) (3.00%) (21.50%) (27.00%) (36.00%) (10.00%) (5.50%) Mean Value From the above table it is clear that 94(47.00%) respondents are dissatisfied with the satisfaction level of variety of pets provided from the pet shop with a mean value of 1.95,111(55.50%) respondents are satisfied by the service provided by the pet shop with mean value of 6.24,90(45.00%) respondents are most satisfied with the price provided at the pet shop and obtained a mean value of 5.18,64(32.00%) respondents are highly satisfied by the location of the pet shop situated with a value of 5.69,76(38.00%) respondents are neutral regarding the sales promotion aspect provided by the pet shop and obtained a value of 4.49,92(46.00%) respondents are satisfied with the quality of products provided by the pet shop by a mean value of 6.64,69(34.50%) respondents are neutral regarding training provided for pets from pet shop with a value of 5.07,81(40.50%) respondents are satisfied by good deal offered by the pet shop with a mean value of 5.02,72(36.00%) respondents are neutral in case of veterinary services rendered by the pet shop with a mean value of 4.72.Respondents are highly satisfied with the quality of products provided by the pet shop and ranked as first with mean value of 6.64.Last rank is given to the variety of pets(1.95) offered by the pet shop icmrrjournal@gmail.com

9 Table : 10 Level of Influencing Factors for Purchase Decision Influencing Factors Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Variety of Products Quality of Products Price of the Products Location of the Shop Discount Offered Sales Promotion Accessibility Service Quality Ambience Hygiene Place Parking Facility Wide Variety of Pets Offers Good Deal Eigen Values % of Variance Explained Cumulative % of Variance Source: computed Communality (h 2 ) From the above table four factors are identified by locating Eigen values greater than unity. From the rotated component matrix table, it can be seen that Offers Good Deal, Ambience Approach, Accessibility, Hygiene Place, Service Quality, Discount Offered, Location of the Shop, Sales Promotion and Parking Facility have a component loading of 0.5 and above. Hence, these four variables form first factor. In factor two and three, Price of the Product and Variety of Products has a component loading of 0.5 and above respectively. In factor four, Quality of Products and Wide Variety of Pets has a component loading of 0.5 and above icmrrjournal@gmail.com

10 Table: 11 Level of Influencing Factors for Purchase Decision - Ranking Based on Factor Analysis Influencing Factors Rank Offers Good Deal 1 Ambience 2 Accessibility 3 Hygiene Place 4 Service Quality 5 Discount Offered 6 Location of the Shop 7 Sales Promotion 8 Price of the Products 9 Variety of Products 10 Wide Variety of Pets 11 Quality of Products 12 Factor one explains , of variation in purchase decision. The second and third factors explain and of variation in their order. Fourth factor explains of variation in purchase decision. The total cumulative percentage of variance explained by all these factors is Table reveals that quality of products and variety of products account for 71% and % variation in influencing purchase decision respectively. Location of Shop 43.00% and Hygiene Place 46.10% are the factors that account for the least variation in influencing purchase decision. Suggestions The advertising is one of the most important factor for increase in the sales of the pet shop products so that as to be enhanced by the pet retailer. Attracting Sales promotion activity like premium, discount will have a greater impact/attraction on the consumers purchasing decision. Price of pets should be reasonable and to maintain the quality of service or product offered. Pet retailer should be aware of all new products and services available in the market. Conclusion Changing lifestyles in the form of the rise in nuclear families and double income households have encouraged the growth of pet ownership in urban areas of India. Increasingly, pets are being looked upon as companions and members of the family. Pet owners are more willing to spend on pet food and pet care products than ever before. The study revealed that different age groups and household types express their relationship with their pets. It also infers that more female respondents own pets. In the days to come, with pets increasingly being treated as fashion accessories, pet owners, 23 icmrrjournal@gmail.com

11 especially in the urban areas, are expected to spend more on their pets. So this made the emergence of new pet business in the economy for the sale of pet and pet related products. Customers tend to seek out products that are safe for their pets and will not have any long-term effect or impact. The sales promotion (discount) is one of the factors that the customers consider when they need or want to purchase products or services especially those regular or daily products such as pet foods and pet accessories. Further, the advertising is also important for the customers to have more information about the pet retailers. Reference : INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH REVIEW San Jose (2008), Pet foods: A Global outlook Changing consumer attitudes and health products boost market for pet foods. Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA), Nancy M. Ridgway, Monika Kukal Kinney, Ket B Monroe, Emily Chambalin (2008), Does excessive buying for self relate to spending on pets? Journal of Business Research, Vol. 61, Issue 5, May 2008, Pg Michael B. Beverland, Francis Farrelly, Elison Ai Ching Lim (2008), Exploring the dark side of pet ownership : status - & control Based pet consumption, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 61, Issue 5, May 2008, Pg Paul W.Clark, Jay B. Page, (2009), Examining role model and information source influence on breed loyalty implications in four important product categories, Journal of Management and Marketing Research, May 2009, Pg Goitom Tesfom & Nancy Birch (2009) Dog adoption decision : Relationship between definition of self and dog breeds choice as mediated by dog breed categorization Department of Management, Eastern Washington University, Gordon D Koslowski (2009) Ruffins pet centre: Strategies for survival against the big dog Department of Business Administration, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Euromonitor International(2010) Pet Care Market grows despite the Economy 15- July Kelly Swanson, (2010) Pet owner Attitudes toward Natural Nutrition Presented by the Nutro company icmrrjournal@gmail.com