Volume 3 Issue 6 February Original Paper

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1 Original Paper Volume 3 Issue 6 February 2016 International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research ISSN: A Study Of Consumer Buying Behaviour On Durable Goods In Tuticorin City Paper ID IJIFR/ V3/ E6/ 020 Page No Subject Area Commerce Keywords Consumer Behaviour, Consumer Awareness, Durable Goods 1 st Dr. A. Arumugam 2 nd M. Josephine Rebecca Associate Professor, Department Of Commerce V.O.Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi- Tamil Nadu Research Scholar, Department Of Commerce V.O.Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi- Tamil Nadu Abstract Understanding consumer behaviour is the key to success in the marketplace. Companies are constantly looking at customer behavioural patterns to predict future trends. In the domain of evolutionary economics, consumers are seen as active agents following rules of behaviour, fairly easy to follow and carry out because they need only a limited amount of information and ability of elaboration. Creating new problem to consumer and resultant needs is to create a new ideal state, which in turn is a way to increase sales, albeit a questionably ethical one. This article describes the consumer buying behaviour of durable goods. The most obvious implication is that systematic variation in consumer awareness can help with changes in product choice based on factors influencing purchase and the initial degree of satisfaction and involvement. Such explanatory power provides a powerful tool for those interested in employing customer satisfaction as a predictor of profit, choice, repurchase behaviour or market share. 1. INTRODUCTION Consumer behaviour or buyer behaviour has attained increasingly importance in a consumer oriented marketing planning and management. The study of consumer behaviour is an attempt to understand what the consumer want, why they want and when Available online through Published On: February 23,

2 they want. Clear understanding of the buying behaviour of consumer has become a great necessity in modern marketing system, because success or failure ultimately depends upon the buying behaviour of the target customers considered individually or a group. Therefore in order to undertake the marketing programmed among different segment markets, the marketing management must find out the various factors that influences in buying decisions of the consumer. The subject of buying behaviour is relatively a new discipline of the study of marketing. It has now become the centre topic of modern marketing since the ultimate aim of marketing is consumer satisfaction and profit making. 1.1 Definitions Consumer behaviour can be defined as the decision-making process and physical activity involved in acquiring, evaluating, using and disposing of goods and services. Buyer behaviour may be defined as that behaviour exhibited by people in planning, purchasing and using economic goods and service in the satisfaction of their wants. In economics, a durable good or a hard good is a good that does not quickly wear out or more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. 2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Consumer behaviour is the process of decision making and acquiring, evaluating, using and disposing of goods and services. It is the study of how individual customers make decisions to spend their time, money and effort on consumption related with a particular goods or service. In the modern business world, due to the development of science and technology many new brands are introduced in the market every year. But the entire product does not satisfy the consumers; very few products are capturing the market. With modern retail growing fast in the country the buying behaviour of consumer in changing and becoming more complex, because the purchase decision of consumer largely depends on price, quality, taste, availability of product and so on. Hence the researcher has made an attempt to study the consumer buying behaviour of durable goods and their awareness level in Tuticorin city. 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Kim et al 1, in their study on Cross Cultural Consumer s, Needs and Purchase Behaviour indicated that the consumer s decision to buy a particular brand was affected by different factors. Aside from functional benefits he/she may choose their particular brand to express his/her personality, social status, affiliation or to fulfil desire for newness. 1 Kim, O. J., Forsythe, S., Moon. J. S (2002) Cross Cultural Consumer s. Needs and Purchase Behaviour, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume.19 No.6 pp

3 Pushpavanam 2, in her article, Consumer Awareness seeks to trace the genesis of the Consumer movement and awareness in India to analyze the scenario of the post independence till now discusses the spread and depth of consumer awareness in today s India and projects the prospective growth and development in this area in the next few decades. Losarwar 3 made analyze of Consumer Behaviour towards Durable Goods: a Study with reference to Marathwada region of Maharashtra state. Selected durable goods taken for the study included television, washing machine, refrigerator, mixer and fan. The respondents were fully aware about the different brands of television (34.52%) washing machine (29.50%) refrigerator (32.50%) mixer (36.50%) and fan (56.00%). Majority of consumers purchased the televisions, washing machine, refrigerators from authorized dealers and mixes and fans from retailers. They concluded that Company s advertisement, reputation, price and quality of the product were the important factors influenced the choice of consumer durables. Dr. Diviya Harian 4 in her article, Awareness of Consumers regarding the Rights, Responsibilities and Consumer Protection Act 1986, explored and identified consumer awareness regarding responsibilities and consumers rights in Consumer Protection Act, She conclude that only a very few consumers were fully aware about rights, responsibilities and Consumer protection Act. Hence, it is necessary to educate them on their rights and responsibilities of consumers, to make them vigilant rational and aware buyers. 4. OBJECTIVES To analyze factors influencing respondents in the choice of consumer durables. To study the level of consumer awareness of the respondents. 5. HYPOTHESIS There is no significant difference between the age and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. There is no significant difference between the gender and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. There is no significant difference between the educational qualification and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. There is no significant difference between the marital status and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. 2 Pushpavanam (1997), Consumer Awareness, New Jersey Tamil Sangam USA/Indian pp:30 3 Losarwar, S.G., 2002, Consumer Behaviour towards Durable Products: A study with reference to Marathwada region of Maharastra state, Indian Journal of marketing Volume 32, pp Dr. Diviya Harian, Awareness of Consumers regarding their Rights, Responsibilities and Consumer Protection Act 1986, Indian Journal of Marketing, volume-30,no.1, Jan 2000 pp

4 There is no significant difference between the occupation and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. There is no significant difference between the income and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. There is no significant difference between the nature of family and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. 6. METHODOLOGY The study is mainly based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data required for the study was collected from 120 consumers in Thoothukudi through questionnaire. The questionnaire for this study was constructed by the researcher. Secondary data has been collected from books, published articles and websites of the company, journals and magazines. The researcher has adopted the method of convenience sampling for selecting 120 sample respondents. The collected data were classified, tabulated and analysed by using the statistical tools like percentage analysis, ranking method using weighted average mean and chi square test. The results obtained from the analysis of data are discussed as under. 7. FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMERS IN THE CHOICE OF DURABLES Several factors influence the choice of durable goods such as durability, brand image, price, after sale service, easy availability and so on. An attempt has been made to rank the factors influencing them in the choice of consumer durable goods. The weighted arithmetic mean has been used to rank the factors. The respondents were asked to rank the factors influencing them in the choice of durables on a given scale 1 to 9 computing total score. Weights have been assigned to various degree of opinion as first rank is given nine points, the second rank is given eight points, third rank is given seven points and similarly the last position of ninth rank is given one point. By multiplying these weights with corresponding number of respondents give individual score. The summation of the individual score gives a total score of each factor. The total score is divided by the total number of respondents to arrive at the weighted average mean. Thus the weighted average mean is used to rank the various factors influencing the choice of durables. 1: Calculation of weighted arithmetic mean for factor influencing consumers in the choice of durables Factors influencing in Weighted Cost choice of durables Durability Brand Image Percentage

5 Price After Sale Service Warrantee and Guarantee Easy Availability Status Symbol Advertisement Network Dealers Network : Rank of the factors influencing consumer in their choice of durable Factors influencing in Choice of Durables Weighted Arithmetic Mean Ranks Durability 6.67 II Brand image 6.55 III Price 7.67 I After sale service 4.93 VI Warrantee and guarantee 5.38 V Easy availability 5.43 IV Status symbol 3.2 VIII Advertisement network 3.57 VII Dealers network 2.67 IX The table shows that the price is the first important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods, durability is the second important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods, brand image is the third important factor influencing the choice durables followed by easy availability as the fourth important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods. The next highly ranked factor found to be warrantee and guarantee as the fifth important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durables and after sale service is the sixth important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods. This is followed by advertisement the seventh important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods, status symbol is the eighth important factor influencing the choice of the durables and eventually dealer s network is the ninth important factor influencing the choice of the consumer durable goods. 1944

6 8. LEVEL OF CONSUMER AWARENESS WHILE PURCHASING THE DURABLE GOODS Consumer awareness is the practice where consumers are aware of what they are buying. This relates to price, benefits of products, potential scams and other alternatives to name brand products. Consumers should research items thoroughly before purchasing them in order to know exactly what they are buying and what to expect. Consumer awareness is foremost a marketing term referring to the consumers right to be aware of the product they purchase, but also an ethical conduct for those responsible of the production and distribution of the goods. Due to some impediments such as illiteracy, ignorance, indifferent attitudes and lengthy legal procedures consumers in India are a victim of exploitation in the form of substandard goods and services, false guarantee, exorbitant prices and fraudulent tactics. Creating consumer awareness is a big task in our vast country. Protection and promotion of consumer rights and interest is the vital function of the Government in any economy. In spite of all the efforts taken by the state and central government, NGO s, private and public sectors the level of consumer awareness is not up to the mark. Therefore consumers must be made aware of their existing rights which are 1. Right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services, which are hazardous to life and property? 2. Right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods as to protect the consumers against unfair trade practises. 3. Right to be assured wherever possible of access to variety of goods and services at competitive price. 4. Right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumers welfare. 5. Right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers and 6. Right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life. 9. CHI SQUARE TEST There are several independent variables which are designed as the factor influencing the level of consumer awareness and practical execution of buying behaviour while purchasing. The researcher has taken age of the respondents, gender, educational qualification, marital status, occupation, income and nature of the family as independent variables. The relationship between the dependent and independent variables has been studied by using the Chi square test. It is calculated with the formula χ 2 = Ʃ, O = observed frequency, E = expected frequency, Expected frequency =, D = degree of freedom, D = (row-1) (column-1) 1945

7 The respondents are classified into those having low, moderate and high level of consumer awareness based on the score using X+ 0.5 classification. The respondents having scores less than or equal to X-0.5σ (arithmetic mean standard deviation) are classified as having low level of awareness and those having score above X+0.5 are classified as having high level of consumer awareness. The consumers having score in between X+ 0.5 and X-0.5 are classified as having medium level of consumer awareness. 3: Age Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Age Less than Above ** ** - nificant at 1% level At 5% level of significance, for 6 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (15.154) is more than the table, the null hypothesis is a rejected. Hence there is a significant difference between the age and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durables. 4: Gender Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Gender Male Female Ns As 5% level of significance, for 2 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (5.893) is less than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the gender of the respondents and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing durables. 5: Educational Qualification Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Education SSLC HSC Degree Professional Others Ns 1946

8 At 5% level of significance, for 6 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (14.416) is less than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the educational qualification and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. 6: Marital Status Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Status Unmarried Married Ns As 5% level of significance, for 2 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (3.513) is less than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the marital status and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing consumer durable goods. 7: Occupation Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Chi-square Occupation Government Employee Private Employee ** Businessmen Pensioners At 5% level of significance, for 6 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (10.957) is more than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the occupation and the level of consumer awareness while purchasing durable goods. 8: Income Of The Respondents And Of Consumer Awareness Income BelowRs HSC Degree Professional Ns Others At 5% level of significance, for 6 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (14.589) is less than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the income group and their level of consumer awareness while purchasing durable goods. 1947

9 Family ISSN: : Nature Of The Family And Of Consumer Awareness Joint Nuclear Ns As 5% level of significance, for 2 degree of freedom the table is Since the calculated (4.082) is less than the table, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence there is no significant difference between the nature of family and their level of consumer awareness while purchasing durable goods. 10. SUGGESTIONS Durable purchase decision, being expensive, high involvement and less frequency of purchase in nature, are likely to experience extensive information processing by the consumers. Thus a host of factors influencing the behavioural pattern of the durable buyers encompasses the selection of a specific one among the available brands. Brand consciousness among the purchaser of the consumer durables is an important trend found in the study. Consumers prefer high d consumer durables of well established brands. The marketers and manufactures of the consumer durables must try to convert the brand consciousness into brand loyalty for their well established brands. The consumer behaviour in this direction should be properly exploited by manufactures and dealers to maximize their sales. Advertisement is the vital tool as well as a powerful communication force. Marketers of durable goods must concentrate more on television advertisement, because of its versatile impact through its undivided attention of viewers; influence the consumers in choice of durables. As a significant instrument in the marketing mix, advertising attempts at moulding the attitudes and behaviour of people in favour of products and services. In addition to it, there is a need to generate consumer awareness on large scale about basic aspects such as maximum retail price (MRP), Indian standard institute (ISI) mark on products and expiry dates, hallmarking of gold jewellery etc act as a good framework to evaluate consumers buying decision process. The purchase decisions of the respondents are influenced considerably by the price-factor. Concessions in the price, price reductions, discounts sale, gifts and offers have become common practices. The buyers of consumer durables should try to avail of these benefits, whenever they are available. However, the buyers of such goods should not take without considering the quality and performance aspects of these higher products. 1948

10 Awareness regarding the availability of timely and adequate service facility is required. Manufacturers of expensive durables must provide after sale service facilities through their dealer network which forms a part of the overall sales package which in turn boost the potential consumers before deciding their final purchase. 11. CONCLUSION The market for the durable goods is becoming more competitive nowadays. The producer of the consumer durable goods should understand interest of the consumers. The essence of marketing is an exchange of goods and services, intending to satisfy human needs and wants. A sincere effort has to be made to extract the facts about buying behaviour which may be of great importance to the marketers by making aware of the factors that persuade a consumer. It is inferred that highly influencing factors in the choice of durables was price and durability followed by brand image. Such a behavioural pattern is even obvious from the sample belonging to economically backward region. Therefore the consumers in general have provided utmost regard to the price factor while purchasing expensive products. Of equal importance is the brand image often interpreted as quality of the product which impelled crucially in the purchase behaviour? Marketers should make an endeavour to fill the gap between consumer requirements and manufacture of durable goods. Consumer durables are characterized more by age group of below thirty years regarding high unit cost, long life and consequently low frequently of purchase. Hence, potential consumer who are in the age group of thirty to forty and above fifty is likely to seek more information and give more thought to the purchase of consumer durables than non-durables where the risk is considerably less and decision does not entail much less even if a mistake is made. Hence all information regarding the products and their usages must be provided to the buyers objectively and user friendly of the durable goods. The success of consumer awareness depends upon the consumer involvement. Though consumers are aware of goods they purchase to some extent, yet, continuous effort is to be taken to make consumers aware of and have a full knowledge of goods they purchase. So that necessary steps must be taken to provide full information of goods to the consumers. Therefore the producer of durable products should understand consumer interest much to find higher sale of their products. 12. REFERENCES [1] R.S.N. Pillai and Babavathi, Modern Marketing, Published by S. Chand & Company Pvt. L td, New Delhi [2] Krishna Naik. C.N & Venugopal Reddy, Comsumer Behaviour, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi [3] M. Nasrin Sulthana & Dr. M. Sakthivel Murugan, A Study on Consumer Buying Behaviour of Home Appliances with reference to LG Product. Indian Journal of Marketing, 2011, pp

11 [4] Phillip kotler, Marketing Management, Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, [5] Kuldeep. H. Jobanputra, Global Marketing And Consumer Decision Making, Paradise Publishers, Jaipur,