Search

The paper examines the factors influencing consumer buying intention on Instagram, focusing on Gen-Z and Zillennial demographic in India. With the rapid growth of social media platforms, particularly Instagram, businesses are increasingly leveraging these platforms to connect with young consumers and stay updated on current trends. The study aims at identifying effective marketing tools on Instagram that influence the purchasing behavior of Gen-Z and Zillennials in India. Qualitative research was conducted through two focus groups, involving participants from the target demographic. The findings highlight gender differences in purchasing behavior on Instagram and demonstrate the platform's significant impact on impulse buying among Gen-Z and Zillennial consumers. The study also analyzes the influence of various users such as celebrities and bloggers on Instagram and their effective reach in the purchase decision process. Furthermore, the research explores the key influences in the consumer decision-making process among 120 respondents from India. It examines the marketing techniques employed by Instagram and their impact on online product selling. Given that Generation Z is set to become the largest consumer cohort, understanding their digital expectations and tendencies is crucial for brands seeking to tap into this market opportunity. Additionally, Zillennials, a distinct microgeneration between Millennials and Gen Z, exhibit unique characteristics and experiences, making them an appealing target audience for disruptive brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In marketing domain, emotion is an important research topic as it unveils the hidden aspects of consumer psychology that shape consumer behavior. The paper aims to find out whether emotional state of buyers in the pre-purchase stage has influence over the information search process and investigate the predictive power of emotional state over the selection of the evaluation procedures by automobile buyers. It is found that pre-purchase emotional state of automobile consumers has a significant impact on the information search process, and positive pre-purchase emotional state motivates consumers to focus on favorable information (positive review, appealing ads) received during the search process and engage in Heuristic Processing, whereas negative pre-purchase emotional state drives consumers' attention towards unfavorable information (negative reviews, bad experiences of others) and dive into systematic processing. The study will be of help to car marketers in devising marketing communication strategies so as to create an appealing image in the minds of potential consumers and to stand out amidst competition. In addition, it also provides insight into the emotional dimension of consumers' mind, which will aid car marketers in taking well-thought-out marketing decisions to influence consumers' way of processing information while they make final purchase decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to comprehend the causes and outcomes of smartphone applications brand retention among young consumers, specially college students belonging to Gen Y in India. The smartphone applications market is witnessing one of the most competitive market conditions today because of expanded rivalry and change. Thus, it is very important for the marketer/app developer to identify variables that influence the consumer decision-making process in downloading and utilizing smartphone applications (app) brands. On this premise, and based on the insights from marketing and information technology literature, this paper attempts to investigate shoppers' decision rules in downloading/utilizing smartphone application by examining the factors that prompt customer brand engagement and the results with regard to smartphone application brands. PLS was used to analyze 232 completed survey responses out of the 650 collected responses, for testing the validity of the proposed relationship. The findings indicated that all the relationships are statistically significant, increasing the robustness of the research framework proposed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retail investors are becoming increasingly worried about financial investment, which, after many financial crises, makes it challenging for financial service companies in India to devise marketing strategies. This paper provides a review of scientific, peer-reviewed articles that examine the consumer buying behavior towards investment in life insurance, mutual funds and Unit-Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs). The research articles were obtained following a literature search on prominent databases like Web of Science, EBSCO and Google scholar. There are dozens of studies identifying behavioral analysis of retail investors. However, this paper makes an emphasis on the thematic analysis to identify factors and to uncover nuanced findings of retail investment decisions from an Indian perspective. The discussions that the authors present allow seeing how the investment behavior pattern of retail investors is shaping the financial investment discipline. The review's findings are organized to provide a critical diagnosis of existing research and an opportunity to advance in behavioral analysis of retail investors' research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromarketing is a multidisciplinary area encompassing seemingly disparate fields of studies like neuroscience, consumer psychology, consumer economics and marketing. Its application sits on the foundation of consumer neuroscience concepts and it relies upon neuroimaging tools and techniques for its application. Neuromarketing goes beyond the research ability to help marketers put into action the insights generated through neuroimaging tools and techniques. This paper explains the foundation of neuromarketing and its areas of application with a focus on new-age on-demand app-based consumer services. The authors point out that existing research under neuromarketing needs a specific case-in-point approach for app-based services due to their inherent difference from traditional products and services. The authors conclude the paper listing the challenges associated with the application of neuromarketing. The authors have relied on an extensive literature study that spans across the fields of neuroscience, neuromarketing, consumer psychology and buying behavior, and on-demand app-based services. This paper would help marketers fathom the applications of neuromarketing in their respective businesses, leading to efficient consumer profiling, which in turn may lead to better returns on their marketing investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the paradigm shift in retail from brick-and-mortar stores to e-tailing, retail marketers are forced to incorporate different experiential techniques as their survival strategies. Effective marketing communication points are created through atmospheric marketing in retail. Retail organizations have started paying attention to create a positive buying atmosphere that ultimately leads to desired emotional effects in the purchasing behavior of consumers. Though this is a burning topic in the Western markets, not many studies have been conducted on this aspect in India. This current study seeks to explore the relationship between different factors of store ambience that influence consumers' perceptions towards the coffee outlets. Also, this paper provides significant statistical insights on the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian luxury market is seen as 'Next China', but little has been studied about this upcoming luxury market. With the growing number of luxury products for consumers in India, there is a need to understand the factors driving these consumers' luxury purchase behavior. The aim of this paper is to develop and understand the Indian luxury products consumers' buying behavior and test the mediating role of brand attachment between behavioral intention and luxury products actual purchase relationship. The study is based on a survey of real-time luxury consumers who have bought international luxury brands in three categories (Apparels, Footwear and Handbags). Structural equation modeling was applied to test the proposed hypotheses. The results of our study indicate a positive impact of brand attitude on social, functional and personal values, followed by a positive influence on purchase intention, which in turn positively influences actual purchase consumption. Brand attachment was found to partially mediate the relationship between consumer purchase intention towards luxury goods and their actual purchase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the moderating impact of gender on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude towards internet banking, benefits of internet banking, hindrances, as well as the influence of demographic variables on behavioral intention of the customers in the Indian internet banking context. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data from 350 users of internet banking, representing a cross-section of population in terms of gender, age, education, occupation and income. A three-step hierarchical regression was employed to test the proposed research model. The measurement scales were tested for internal consistency of the data through various reliability and validity procedures. The results of this study suggest that the moderating effect of gender on the variables of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, hindrances and the demographic factor of the users, namely, age, is statistically significant. The present study would assist the marketing managers of internet banking to have an augmented understanding of the dimensions that encourage in embracing internet banking usage. The study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the dimensions in persuading the consumers' readiness to accept the usage of internet banking services moderated by gender differences, in the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eating habits of Indians residing in both metros and non-metro cities have undergone a radical change as they no longer wait for a special occasion to eat out. They eat out simply because they wish to experiment, spend free time or just for the love of food. Besides being a place for eating, a restaurant is also a place where people go to socialize and unwind. Customers have increasingly become more sensitive to product and service quality. According to India Food Service Report published in 2016, the food market in 2016 was at ₹3,09,110 cr and the projection for 2021 is ₹4,98,138 cr (NRAI, 2016). It has been observed that despite experimenting with different cuisines and restaurants, there are a select few which are repeatedly patronized by the customers. The reason could be the value perceived in terms of food quality, service, ambience or value for money. This paper attempts to study and categorize the factors which positively affect customers' perceived value for the restaurants visited most frequently by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at studying the smartphone usage among college students in Chennai through a sample survey of 120 respondents. It explores selected aspects related to brand positioning of smartphones and identifies the common sources of information about smartphones, the most important reasons for choosing smartphones and the most common uses to which they are put. It also explores the difference between male and female college students in the context of brand positioning of smartphones. Further, it identifies four factors that influence brand positioning of smartphones through the method of factor analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Servo, a product of Indian oil, was launched as a lubricating product in 1972 in the Indian market. Now, Servo is a super brand and is the leading lubricant brand in the country and maintains a share of about 30% of the market. It also has footprints across the globe and is increasing its presence rapidly. The paper analyzes brand attitude of Servo through Elliot and Percy model of brand equity synthesis. The model is used to study the objective and subjective characteristics of the brand which affect the functional and emotional realm of brand attitude. The objective characteristic of the product is that it is a superior lubricant with cutting-edge technology and high-quality products; and has been able to reposition from its original position of "World-Class Engine Oils" to "World-Class Lubricants". The subjective characteristic of the Servo brand communicates its 'energizing' power. The creative - 'Add Servo Add Life.' highlights the thought - 'Everything that Servo touches, comes to life'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this refinement and evolution-centric marketplace consumers' decision-making process has grasped yet another medium, the medium of Internet, as an alternative channel for shopping. E-tailing is no more an emergent area of nascent organized retailing in India, rather it has leapfrogged and promises to be a multibillion industry in the future. With venture capitalists pouring funds, the sector has made industry and academia sit up and contribute towards its development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of shopper behavior such as convenience, customer service, Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), social networking, and website attributes to examine the influence of these factors on the behavioral intention to buy from online retail stores. The study is based on primary data collected from a sample of 145 respondents from colleges in Greater Noida by using simple random sampling technique. Necessary secondary data is also used to reinforce the model. A structured non-disguised questionnaire is administered and responses are measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical tools like multiple correlations, multiple regressions and ANOVA are used to find out the strength of relationship and degree of association among the variables entered into the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital marketing which has affected every facet of business has not left the Indian car market untouched. It affects consumer behavior to a significant extent right from awareness and evaluation to the post-purchase stage while buying a car. The paper aims to analyze the impact of digital practices being followed by Indian car market players on consumers' buying-decision process. It finds the most preferred digital media channel used by the customers to search for information while buying a car. It also analyzes the demographic profile of the people who use digital channels while buying a car, and attempts to understand the impact of digital marketing communication by car marketers on consumers' buying-decision process. The study is based on primary data collected by administering a structured questionnaire to the car owners in Delhi/NCR area for the period from May 2014 to October 2014. The data is analyzed with the help of statistical techniques like chi-square and t-test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of a project can be measured in different dimensions, the most familiar and well proven ones being time, cost and quality. Completion of scheduled project activities and delivery of the total project in time are very important from the perspective of both the customer and developing organization, while the same done within budget is important from the perspective of the developer. All these accomplishments along with embedding quality into the project lead to the overall success of a project. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) take up most assignments as projects and strive to complete them to the satisfaction of customers in order to maintain a competitive edge. The paper focuses on the criteria to complete the projects within time and budget by surveying and studying national and international projects of a manufacturing SME in Hyderabad, India. The findings provide support for proper utilization of project management tools and control of projects that are lagging behind time and cost in those SMEs which may not be in a position to procure expensive project management tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has been projected as one of the most sought-after retail destinations by many national and international consultancy firms. In the whole retail sector, clothing has emerged as one of the leading segments in terms of growth and a frontrunner in terms of growth in output. Since the beginning of this century, India has witnessed an increase in the number of retail stores in different parts of the country. The emergence of apparel retail stores in smaller cities of the country is definitely an attempt to tap the potential in the market. With the emergence of organized apparel store, apprehensions about the closure of unorganized retail outlets have been expressed. However, the success or failure of any retail outlet depends on the attitude of customers towards it. Hence, this paper attempts to determine the differences in the attitude of consumers towards unorganized apparel retailers and predict the future of unorganized retailers in India by analyzing respondents from Tier I (Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune) and Tier II (Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana) cities of India. 720 respondents (120 from each city) were contacted using snowball sampling technique for filling the questionnaire. However, only 600 questionnaires were found suitable for the purpose of analysis. The study applies Fishbein's model, and the results reveal differences in the attitudes of respondents from both the categories of cities towards unorganized apparel stores. Furthermore, the effects of level of income and family size on buying behavior of the consumers are also determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mall shopping is a buzzword for Indian youth. Mall culture is viewed as a significant change in the life style of Indians, as shopping is no longer an activity of buying things but also viewed as a status symbol and a one-stop retail solution. Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have received greater economic and social contributions from malls and now it is the turn of the the Tier-2 cities like Coimbatore. The coimbatorians are in josh with the advent of two malls and a few more are to come up in the city as they attract them with comfort, entertainment, fashion, food court, window shopping, multibrand portfolio, quality, mall essence, convenience, attractiveness and luxury. This paper focuses on the factors influencing the consumer preference towards malls in Coimbatore. This city is important for its revenue growth, which is nearly twice as much as India's growth, and high frequency of shopping attitude after the advent of malls. The research design is descriptive and primary data were collected using a survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 406 respondents and the sampling method was simple random sampling. The respondents were potential general public shopping in the malls. The data was analyzed using SPSS 17. Paired-t-test, factor analysis, ANOVA and frequencies tests were performed. The results give an insight into the frequency and hours of spending pattern of the shoppers in the malls. A model for mall-mania has also been derived through factor analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitioning from consumption of conventional to eco-friendly products is very rarely a spontaneous decision for consumers. To do so, the consumers need to have enough trust in the 'greenness' of the product and in the claims of manufacturers, as they cannot verify them even after consuming the product. The findings of this study, based on a survey in India, revealed that consumer trust acts as a mediator between awareness of green products and purchase intention. Further, trust also plays a moderating role in the relationship between concern for the environment and purchase behavior of consumers. As the world is striving hard to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this study has practical implications for marketers and policymakers who build strategies and appeals to promote sustainable and responsible consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing consumerism, changing lifestyle of modern consumers, shifting needs, trends and preferences, and the recent Covid-19 pandemic have collectively resulted in mushrooming of e-commerce startups, which has subsequently led to impulsive and unsustainable consumer behavior. For facilitating and enhancing consumer satisfaction and experience 24/7, these e-commerce establishments keep innovating and launching different products and services, easy payment methods like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), instant credit, credit card, etc. to lure consumers. Undoubtedly, the payment industry, in the form of e-wallets, has witnessed a paradigm shift recently owing to digitalization and easy Internet access. There is an increasing trend of impulsive buying among millennials and Gen Z in India currently. The study explores the impact of BNPL schemes on the impulsive buying behavior of millennials and Gen Z. Further, the risks and constraints faced by these popular cohorts are also highlighted in the study. Over 100 millennials and Gen Z were contacted personally as well as via Google Forms for the purpose of data collection. Kruksal-Wallis Test was used for analyzing the data. The findings show that BNPL schemes significantly impact the purchase behavior of millennials and Gen Z. The BNPL ecosystem shows tremendous opportunities for the growth of new fintech startups in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retail is one of the most dynamic and fast-paced upcoming sectors in India with many international, national and regional players. One of the routes to succeed in retail business is to focus on its own brands/store brands/PLs as the financials of retail firms are very sensitive to margins on the brands they sell. Further, PLs also offer retailers greater control over the supply chain, negotiating margins with National Brand (NBs) manufacturers or companies; opportunity to launch customized products; opportunity to launch innovative products, hence to build platform for store loyalty and increase footfalls. As managing PLs is quite critical function, hence they are to be managed professionally. This paper focuses on, determining and comparing customers' attitude towards NBs and PLs with respect to different attributes in two major cities of Gujarat. Further it also discusses the preference pattern of respondents for private label brands in different categories of products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to examine the activities consumers engage in malls, whether the mall culture is gradually gaining acceptance among consumers and the reasons for such acceptance. Modern organized retail has forayed into Kolkata, as is evident in supermarkets and multi-storeyed malls that offer shopping, entertainment and provision for eating under one roof. Retailers and mall managers should be aware of the benefits perceived by consumers at malls, whether consumers are shifting their preference from traditional zone-based buying to shopping in malls and the factors responsible for such change, in order to optimally position themselves. The study finds that primarily in the malls for shopping, consumers prefer eating at food-courts, window shopping and entertainment in the form of movies at multiplexes or video game parlors. They also attend events, promotions, competitions and product launches that are organized in the malls and spend their leisure time with family and friends. Over the period July 2004 to March 2007, the mall culture has gained acceptance and consumers are repeating their visits for successive purchases marked by the increase of regular users at malls. In malls, consumers prefer the air-conditioned environment, availability of several product categories under one roof, quality of service, car parking facilities, ambience, convenience of shopping and the confidence that the store-owner is not cheating. Such lifestyle factors along with the status symbol of being in malls, supplemented with a greater disposable income are the chief reasons that prompt them to the malls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has huge potential in the budget smartphone market, as with a population of around 1.2 billion people, less than one-fourth of the population owns a smartphone. This has drawn in many international players to take advantage of the Indian smartphone market. Understanding customer purchase behavior is very important to marketers, and this paper highlights the important dimensions that attract the customer while making purchase decision for mobile phones. This research concludes that 'hardware specifications' is at the top of the priority list while purchasing mobile phones, followed by marketing communications (including advertisements, brand ambassadors and word of mouth). Additional features (like battery backup, touch screen, expandable memory, sound quality and screen size) and usability features (ease of use, application features and color resolution) come third and fourth respectively. Surprisingly, price (including exchange offers and provision for paying through equated monthly instalments) seems to be the least important consideration when buying a mobile phone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although social issues or social message advertisements are used by brands to influence buying behavior, not much research has been done to evaluate the consumer behavior formed due to such advertisements in India. The study was carried out to investigate the relationship among Attitude Towards Advertisement with a Social Message (ATASM), Attitude Towards Brand (ATB) and Purchase Intention of Customer (PIC). ATB as a mediator between ATASM and PIC was also examined in this study. The proposed model’s interrelationships were investigated using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A quantitative survey was conducted among university students, and the data was gathered via a questionnaire. For the study, an advertisement of an online shopping company was shown to the respondents with a pseudo brand name. To test the hypotheses, 323 students were surveyed. The results confirm that both ATB and PIC are positively affected by ATASM. Also, PIC is positively influenced by ATB formed after watching the advertisement incorporating the social message. The study contributes by introducing a new perspective to the advertising literature. It also equips marketers and advertisers with the knowledge to create commercial advertisements that include a social message. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking has become an essential part of our day-to-day life; reaching a peak during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social media advertising and Social Networking Sites (SNS) provide information, reviews and feedback on branded products. The study investigates the impact of SNS on online purchase intention of branded products. It also investigates the mediatory role of brand attitude in online purchase intention of such products. A sample of 380 respondents from 18 metropolitan cities of India was taken, and 350 responses (92.1% response rate) were used for coding, analyzing and testing the hypothesis. SPSS 20 and AMOS 21 were used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that SNS affect the online purchase intention of branded products. Brand attitude has a partial mediating effect on online purchase intention. The study suggests that companies should keep vigilance on brand image, communication, feedback and reviews of their products on SNS. Negative communication or anti-branding of branded products on SNS affects the purchase intention of consumers negatively. It is very essential to strategically manage the negative communication and anti-branding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to analyze the factors influencing the purchase decision of shoes by the consumers in Kolkata. Individual buyers take different factors into consideration while purchasing any commodity, which is a necessity. The probable factors have been classified into four groups—product, price, place and promotion. Based on the ranks provided to the factors by the respondents, opinion scores have been calculated to evaluate the relative importance of the factors in purchase decision making. This study focuses on whether the importance assigned to the different factors vary across gender and income. Identification of the factors will help the shoe-making companies to tailor their marketing and manufacturing strategies to take advantage of these influences in a way that will satisfy both the consumers and marketers. The paper also helps the companies to clearly understand the consumer behavior, so that they can formulate effective strategies and help develop the company and the industry at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used as a base to predict consumer preferences. However, TAM was primarily used for predicting behavioral intentions of using a service that are more technology prone. Moreover, the different constructs of TAM, particularly Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) have not been properly defined. This paper suggests an extension of TAM, called Service Acceptance Model (SAM), which not only defines the two constructs but also adds one more dimension to predict behavioral intentions of using a service. The framework is tested with data of retail service broking from a global bank with operations in Hyderabad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to check the socioeconomic factors influencing purchase decision making among health insurance policyholders in India. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire given to 170 customers. Data analysis was done through regression with the help of the 170 responses received. The study found that the dependent factor, i.e., health insurance institutional choice, and the independent factors, viz., age, gender, income, marital status, and cover HI, have a significant impact on the decision making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of trust is very important in developing and maintaining a good relationship between the customer and the service provider. Due to the inherent risky nature of financial transactions, it is important to build a relationship with the customer based on trust. The present study is an attempt to empirically analyze the mediating effect of trust on customer satisfaction and loyalty relationship in the Indian banking context. Though many researchers have argued in support of the mediating role of trust in satisfaction-loyalty link, the authors were not able to find such relationship in the context concerned. Although customer satisfaction was found positively related to Benevolence and Credibility-the two trust dimensions-as far as their mediation effect was concerned, it was found absent. Further, it was previously argued that education level affects customers' trust, but in the Indian context, there was no such relationship to be found. In the light of the given outcomes, appropriate strategies concerning decision making in business have been suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian luxury market has evolved in a dynamic manner. Consumers are more and more attracted to luxury fashion brands. The income levels have also risen which has given an opportunity to the consumers as well as the marketers. Luxury fashion brands are not only bought for their functional utility but are also purchased for its social utility as it helps the consumers to raise their social standards. This study attempts to understand the relationship between social comparison, ostentation and media habits. A structured questionnaire is employed to collect the data. Factor analysis and correlation are used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that media habits and ostentation are related to social comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has the largest print market in the world and is growing at a faster rate with the increasing literacy rate. Advertising media spends close to 108 bn on advertising in over 1,000 periodicals published in 18 languages in India. Based on the existing literature about attitudes toward advertising and consumer behavior models, a research framework has been constructed in the present study to illustrate the factors affecting consumer attitudes toward print advertisements (both for magazines and newspapers separately) in Guwahati city. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has been used for statistical analysis. Three positive indicators (amusement, informativeness and credibility) and one negative indicator (nuisance) have been taken for measuring the overall attitude of the respondents. Random as well as convenient sampling has been employed in the study. Although newspapers and magazines are two different vehicles for advertisement, yet both are found to have similar impact on individual's attitude. Perceived amusement, credibility and information are positively related to attitude towards both newspaper and magazine advertisements, while perceived nuisance is not related to individual's attitude towards both newspaper and magazine advertisements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women nowadays have become an integral part of advertisements, both as the consumer and the influencer. Advertisers are usually criticized by the audience for portraying women as stereotypical and decorative objects. The perception of the audience regarding their portrayal in advertisements keeps on changing in its degree and intensity. The objective of the present study is to explore the perception of the audience regarding the portrayal of women in Indian TV advertisements and the differences among them on the basis of their gender, age and level of education. 104 respondents (equal number from both sexes) are randomly selected for the study. The primary data is collected through the survey method with the help of a structured questionnaire. The t-test and one-way ANOVA test, specifically the Tukey's HSD test, are used to explore the perception difference among and within the groups. The findings of the study suggest that there is a statistically significant difference among the respondents' perception on the basis of their gender, age and level of education. The study finds that men and women differ in their perceptions significantly; especially the younger generation (18-19 years and higher secondary qualified group) is found to have a statistically significant different perception in comparison to the other age and level of education groups taken as the subjects of the study, on the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking industry has experienced historic transformation and is advancing rapidly in all areas of financial intermediation. The integration of technology in banking has revolutionized the relationship between the banker and its customers. Some leading banks of India have been largely infusing technology into their services and continuously striving to make a difference through improved service quality. This study attempts to find out the quality dimensions which influence the choice of a bank by a customer. Using descriptive statistics, which represent the relative importance of various quality dimensions studied, and discriminant analysis, which tries to develop a perceptual map based on the perception of customers towards the dimensions of service quality of these leading banks, the objective has been achieved. The study also offers managerial implications and scope for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's consumer-oriented society the utmost concern of the marketers is to know the consumers' decision-making process. Consumer decision making is a process describing how a consumer makes choices. There is a shortage of marketing scales in India and the scales developed in other countries are not necessarily appropriate for use in India. The purpose of this research is to construct a scale to assess the efficacy of consumer decision making. Based on the previous literature, a 19-item scale is constructed, and after checking the various psychometrics of the scale, the scale is reduced to nine items. This scale is constructed on five parameters: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior. Psychometrics of the scale is tested with the help of data collected over two rounds. Using analytical tools like Cronbach's alpha, item to total correlation, t-test and exploratory factor analysis, the author concludes that the scale has desirable, reliable and valid properties and thus could be used by the aspiring researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural marketing has been emphasized as a tool to achieve inclusive sustainability in business, social justice, equality and development of nation. Moreover, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies should understand that urban-rural divide continues to exist. This study is an attempt to understand different aspects of rural consumer behavior on buying of packaged food products. The study aims to identify the factors which are important while purchasing packaged food products. The study also examines the relationship between the factors brought out and demographic factors like age and monthly income. The data is collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample size for the study is 200 respondents. The focal product is a packaged food product sold in rural areas of Ahmedabad district. Analysis has been done using multivariate technique like Factor Analysis followed by ANOVA and post-hoc tests. The study observes that the factors for selecting packaged food include health, convenience, proximity, mood, price, brand, and sensory appeal. Additionally, it is found that three factors, namely, health, convenience and mood, have significant relationship with age, and four factors, namely, health, mood, price and brand, have significant relationship with monthly income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the gap between the expectation and perception of customers in how service of retail banks in Hissar City of Haryana in India is delivered. It mentions the decline of using bank services with increase in age and decrease in annual income. It notes the use of factor analysis in analyzing the responses of customers. It also emphasizes the huge gap between perception and expectation in terms of tangibility dimension of service quality and low in terms of competency.

Consumption is the most fundamental aspect of economic activity and the study of consumption behavior has occupied a preeminent position in the economic literature. The problem can be taken up either at the micro level or at the macro level. The Engel function analysis and demand function analysis are the two important areas in the empirical analysis of consumer behavior. Consumption pattern of a household, in general, is affected by several factors, which may be of economic and non-economic in nature. In this study, the household members are classified into six different categories of age and sex. The households are then categorized into four occupational groups. For the purpose of the study, 600 households have been selected, which include 150 households for each category of occupation type in rural Orissa using cross-section data of the 55th round (1999-2000) collected by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) during its sixth quinquennial survey on consumption expenditure. Singh and Nagar's interactive procedure has been applied to estimate both the 'specific' and 'income' scales taking into account the six age, sex categories of household composition separately for each occupation group relating to nine food item and five non-food item groups. From the study, it is observed that both the scales are higher for adult males and for adolescent boys in the consumption of most of the food and non-food items across all the occupational groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer behavior is an important area of research studies. To evaluate the prospects of any kind of product irrespective of its nature, one should be aware of the behavior of the consumer. If we look into the financial market in general, the research studies have been conducted based on statistical observation, technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Investor's expectation is a very important factor in this regard that needs to be analyzed by all alternative investment avenues. The success of any mutual fund, a popular means of investment, depends on how effectively it has been able to meet the investor's expectation. The present study focuses on measuring the investors' expectation and their preference. It also attempts to gauge the factors that they take into consideration before making any investment in mutual fund as well as the awareness level among individual investors regarding mutual fund investment. The sample survey has been conducted in Kolkata city during the period November 2008-January 2009. A sample of 100 individual mutual fund investors has been surveyed through a pre-tested questionnaire. The individual investors include people who have invested in mutual funds and have some knowledge about the basic terminologies involved with mutual funds. An attempt has been made to identify the factors perceived to be important by the investors before investing in any mutual fund. This study will add value to the body of knowledge in this field, from the point of view of researchers and academicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]