URBAN RETAIL STUDIES

CONSUMER
ELECTRONICS
& DURABLES
ORGANIZED RETAIL

By

Parikshit Agarwal | 125

Prashakha Wali | 127
Sahil Avi Kapoor | 136
Shivangini Mukherjee | 142
Shriram S. | 145
Sushant Gupta | 152

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Retail | What is it? ..................................................................................... 2

Retail | How is it classified? ..................................................................... 3
Urban Retail Study | Definitions & Applications ..................................... 4
Consumer Electronics & Durables | The Industry .................................. 6
The Study | Executive Summary .............................................................. 8
The Study | Choice of Stores ................................................................. 12
The Study | Research Methodology ...................................................... 15
The Study | Exit Interview ...................................................................... 18
The Study | Observations ....................................................................... 18
The Study | Behavioural Analysis.......................................................... 22
The Study | Key Insights ........................................................................ 24
The Study | Problems Faced .................................................................. 25
The Study | Conclusion .......................................................................... 26
Future Prospects .................................................................................... 28

RETAIL | WHAT IS IT?

The word retail is believed to have been derived from an old French word, tailler, which
in its literal sense implies to cut off, clip, pare and divide. Its first recorded use for sale
in small quantities can be traced back to the 1433.
Quoting the Oxford Dictionary (2014), the noun retail stands for The sale of goods to
the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale.
Retailers are an integral and the latter most part of any supply chain. A retailer typically
purchases goods in particularly large quantities from a distributor, from the wholesaler or
in some cases directly from the manufacturer. The business then makes profit by selling
the goods to the customer.
Retailing is not necessarily done through fixed locations or a shop. It could be done door
to door, by delivery and of course typically through a brick and mortar store or market.
Since the turn of the millennium, increasing amount of retailing is also being carried out
online through electronic commerce stores, sometimes referred to as click and mortar
stores. These stores then deliver the purchases through courier or other quick delivery
services.
The term retailer also refers to service providers which service the needs of a
considerable number of people.
Shopping mostly implies the act of buying. This could be buying of essential commodities
such as food, clothes, grocery or even for luxury or large durable purchases such as
electronics, consumer durables, furnishings or jewelery. Many people even shop for
entertainment or recreation, which involves window shopping or browsing not necessarily
with the intent of purchase.

RETAIL | HOW IS IT CLASSIFIED?

CLASSIFICATION BY PRODUCTS
Food Products | Require cold storage facilities
Hard or Durable Products | Goods that last long and provide utility over a period of
time. Include automobiles, electrical appliances, consumer electronics, furnishings,
furniture etc.
Soft or Consumable Products | Clothing, footwear, medicines, cosmetics, stationery
etc.
Arts | Bookstores, art galleries, musical instruments, gift shops, handicrafts etc.

CLASSIFICATION BY MARKETING STRATEGY

Department Stores | Stores with a large variety of soft as well as hard goods. These
stores closely resembles a large collection of specialty stores. These stores carry a host
of categories and a large variety at not very high prices. They offer average customer
service facilities.

Discount Stores | Stores that offer a large range of products, but their ultimate selling
proposition (USP) stays their competitive pricing. Such stores mostly retail either less
fashion oriented and more utility oriented brands or their own store brands.

Warehouse Stores | Low cost, high quantity goods

Specialty Stores | Narrow product line with a deep assortment such as apparel stores,
footwear stores, bookstores etc.

Supermarkets | Large, low cost, low margin, high volume stores with self-service
design.

Convenience Stores | Smalls stores located inside or near residential areas, open for
long hours and sell a limited line of high margin goods.

URBAN RETAIL STUDY | DEFINITIONS & APPLICATIONS

Purchase of a product is a sensory process where the consumers see, feel and choose.
To understand shoppers behavior, we must observe them in context rather than in
isolation. Urban Retail Study (URS) uses methods of observational research to gather
insightful information on in-store behavior of shoppers. Observational research (in social
sciences) refers to the process of watching people in context of their natural environment
and carefully recording the manner in which they go about their routine activities. The
information thus gathered is systematically analyzed to extract the knowledge embodied
therein.
Observational research on urban retail shoppers aims at unveiling the factors that affect
purchase decisions - making it important from strategic point of view. These studies also
help us determine the effect of in-store promotional initiatives and point-of-purchase
communication on shoppers.
Qualitative observational research, like any other research, involves defining a research
question(s), identifying the correct theoretical framework within which to answer the
questions, selecting tools and techniques, collecting primary and secondary data,
analyzing data and of course, compiling and reporting the findings.
Urban retail scholars discreetly observe shoppers to collect extensive data on customer
demographics (age, gender, ethnic background), use of lists, influence of co-shoppers or
companions, instant purchases, thoughtful purchases, number of purchases, attitude
towards displays or kiosks, brand preferences, average time spent in store, etc.
This data is analyzed to obtain useful insights on how shoppers manoeuvre around a
store, where lay the dead spaces within a store, whether or not the store lights and
furnishings are having the desired impact on the shoppers, how staff behaviour influences
purchase decisions, and if certain product categories are more susceptible to in-store
influences than others. Observational research helps marketers identify the activities that
make real difference to the bottom line.

As retail continues to evolve and shoppers increasingly turn to online or home-delivery

formats of retailing, traditional retailers must revolutionize the shopping environment to
make shopping an experience as opposed to an activity. Urban retail study helps the
traditional retailing industry know what shoppers want from a store. Retailers should use
these studies to develop the measures which would enhance their business.

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS & DURABLES | INDUSTRY

Consumer durables are electrical and electronic appliances that yield services and utility
over a long period of time. These goods include ACs washing machines, refrigerators,
microwave ovens, television sets and audio video systems. Consumer electronics also
include laptops, personal computers, digital cameras, MP3 players, cellular phones, GPS
automotive gadgets and health monitoring gadgets.
According to the latest figures by India Brand Equity Foundation, India is set to become
the fifth largest consumer of durables in the world; the market is expected to breach the
US$ 12.5 billion figure by FY 15 from US$ 7.3 billion in FY 12.
India Market Breakup | Durables

India Market Size | Durables

FY08
FY09
FY10

Rural,
35%
Urban,
65%

FY11
FY12
FY 15E
0

10

20

30

40

Revenues (US$ Billion)

Source: The India Brand Equity Foundation

Urban markets account for most of the share (65 per cent) of sector revenues in the
consumer durables space in India. The urban demand is projected to increase
exponentially for non-essential products such as LED TVs, laptops and ACs over the next
decade. Meanwhile, rural markets are expected to witness growth in more essential
commodities like refrigerators as well as consumer electronic goods in the coming years.
This can be attributed to the plans of the Government of India to invest heavily in rural
electrification. Demand growth is also likely to accelerate with the ever rising disposable
incomes and easy credit access. The Government of India has recently allowed 100 per

cent FDI in the electronics hardware-manufacturing industry under the automatic route.
The excise duty has also reduced to 6 per cent on LED lamps. Further, the recently
launched Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) Scheme provides multiple
benefits, such as duty waivers and tax incentives to companies replacing imports with
local manufacturing.

THE STUDY | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE CONSUMER DURABLES MARKET IN INDIA
Market Size (13)

295,620,000 units

Per Capita Consumption (13)

0.2 units

CAGR (2013 18)

1.7%

TOP 3 COMPANIES (BY RETAIL VOLUME SHARE)

Samsung

22.6%

Nokia

14.2%

Micromax Informatics Ltd.

10.2%
Source: Euromonitor

THE POSITIVE INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

The organized retail market is expected to grow by 18 20% by the end of 2015.
The growth of the organized retail sector will have a positive impact on the consumer
durables industry.
Fuelled by favourable customer demographics and infrastructural development, the
consumer durables industry is set for sustained growth in the country.
Organized retail has a streamlined supply chain and facilitated increased demand for
high end and branded products.

THE CONSUMER DURABLES | CATEGORIES

Communications

Includes retail sales only of answer machines, fax machines,

Equipment

fixed-line telephones, mobile phone accessories and mobile

phones.

Computer Hardware Includes retail sales only of desktops and laptop computers,
and Software

software, memory sticks, CD packs, hard disks and other data

storage devices, computer peripherals, PDAs, organizers,
calculators, and satellite navigation systems.

Consumer

Includes CD players, DVD players and recorders, hi-fi systems,

Electronics

home theatres, in-car entertainment systems, portable digital

audios, radios, televisions and video recorders, home use and
portable games consoles.

Household

Includes

major

domestic

appliances

(air

conditioners,

Appliances

dishwashers, dryers, freezers, hobs and extractors, microwave

ovens, refrigerators, stoves, vacuum cleaners and washing
machines) plus minor domestic appliances (blenders, coffee
machines, deep fryers, food processors, grills, hair products,
hair trimmers, curling tongs, razors, hand-held mixers, irons,
juicers, kettles, stand mixers, toasters, sunlamps and fans)

Photographic

Includes camcorders, cameras, projectors, camera and

Equipment

camcorder accessories, binoculars and telescopes.

THE RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

Non participatory

Unobtrusive

Exit Interviews

OBJECTIVES
Shopper Centric: To understand shopper behavior, interpret the significance of
shoppers actions and determine how they make purchase decisions.

SHOPPER SEGMENTATION
The shoppers observed may be broadly classified into the following age groups:

20 - 25 years

25 - 35 years

35 years or more

We found that the shopper population comprised of 66% males & 34% females.

Based on our observations, we segmented the shoppers into three categories:

1. Tech Nerds: They were people who knew everything about the product. They were
price conscious & they had already compared prices online before coming up to the
store. They also knew the technical specifications of each of the products as they had
already read up the reviews of the product online. They knew the strengths of each
brand & therefore wanted a demo of each brand. They belonged to the younger
demographic.

2. Brand Conscious: They were people who placed utmost importance on the core
competency of each brand. Apple users vouched for its innovative technology, Sony

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for its amazing designs, Micromax for its price & market understanding & so on. They
mostly relied on reviews by their friends & relatives. They didnt spend a lot of time in
the store as they concentrated on only one brand. Also, they could switch across
different price points in the brand, but not across brands.

3. Product Oriented: These were people who focused most on the utility of the product.
They learnt about the product mostly through advertisements. They generally
comprised for a home utility product like a washing machine or a refrigerator. Such
shoppers spend a lot of time in the stores interacting with the sales persons trying to
learn more about the product. Since the influencers were kids, they often ended up
spending more than had in mind when they entered the store.

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THE STUDY | CHOICE OF STORES

Consumer goods like washing machines, motorcars, TV sets, audio -video systems etc.,
which yield services or utility over time rather than being completely used up at the
moment of consumption can be termed as the consumer durables. Consumer durables
are classified into white goods and brown goods. Most consumer goods are durables to
some degree, and the term is often used in a more restricted sense to denote relatively
expensive, technologically sophisticated goods _ consumer durables such as the
examples given above which implies high involvement at the time of purchase.

IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR BUYING FROM A RETAIL OUTLET

Relationship with the sales person: We have observed high rate of retention of
customer in the retail outlets if the sales person has a cordial relationship with the
customer at the time of purchase.

Choices of Products: Customers are keen on choosing the retail outlets which
offer them a variety of brands and different product mixes of each brand. In todays
world the customers are well informed about the choices they have for a particular
product, hence providing them with variety of choices would be an ideal way to
engage customers to shop.

Financial Transactions: More financial options made available for the consumer,
more he will get engaged. EMI factor is one of important financial transactions that
is being followed in most of the retail outlets and has been pretty successful.

Discounts and other customer offers: Discounts and other offers that can be
offered to customers would be another major factor which would involve customer
and thereby the choice of his/her shop preference would be altered.

Location of the shop: A study has shown that location of a particular shop is a
major factor in the choice of the customer

Parking Facilities and other factors such as ambience of the environment and
other customers in the shopping arena does matter and will affect a customers
choice of the shops.

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RETAIL STORES
We chose two stores for conducting our research. Both the stores were inside busy
malls and stocked multi brand consumer durables.

CROMA RETAIL

Crom is

an Indian retail

chain

for

consumer

electronics

and

durables. Tata

Groups company Infiniti Retail runs Crom stores in India. Infiniti Retail Ltd is a 100%
subsidiary of TATA Sons. Presently, there are a total of 101 Crom stores in 25 cities in
the country. Crom claims offers 6000 products across 8 categories.

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RELIANCE DIGITAL

Reliance Digital is a consumer durables and information technology concept from

Reliance Retail. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, which is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Reliance Industries. The first Reliance Digital Store was opened on 24 April 2007 in
Delhi.]Currently there are around 170 Reliance Digital Stores in around 70 cities in India.

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THE STUDY | RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

We conducted a primary qualitative research into the shoppers behaviour. The methods
of observations adopted by us were unobtrusive observations research backed by
tracking sheets. Non participatory observational research and we also conducted exit
interviews.
We took prior permission from the shop owner explaining to him the purpose of our study.
Building a good relationship with the shop owner was very important for our research
purpose. Our objective was Shopper centric: To understand shopper behaviour, interpret
the significance of shoppers actions and determine how shoppers make purchase
decisions.
One person was stationed at one corner of the shop observing the customers from the
moment they entered the shop till the time they left and the another person was outside
to perform the exit interviews the third person was standing in the parking area in front of
the shop noting down their mannerism before and after they left the shop. Each customer
was evaluated on a pre-determined basis as decided by the group and notes were made
on the tracking sheet. At the bottom, some personal remarks were written depending
upon the behaviour of the customer, like ease and familiarity with the shop, their relations
with the shopkeeper and whether he/she was a first time shopper or a regular shopper.
The objective of the observations were to find out if a particular trend of shopper behaviour
in various retail environments can be located and utilized to Optimize the store setting
and to customize the store environment for maximum ease.

SAMPLE DESIGN
Our sample size was 24. Choice of the customer entering the shop was made on a
random basis irrespective of any demographic segmentation. We have tried to minimize
any kind of segmentation bias by taking a representation from all sections of the society
and of all classes. In the organized sector we got an opportunity to observe all kinds of
customers from children to adults and both the genders were equally involved in our

15

sample. The sample consists of all the shoppers walking into the shop between 2:00 PM
to 6:00 PM on Sunday evening. The accompanying people with the shopper were not
treated separately but the whole group was treated as one. We as a group stationed
ourselves to different parts of the shop, one stood near the cash counter, while one stood
at particular corner and another outside the shop for observing the shoppers behavior.
The person inside the shop could observe how the customers made choices of the
products and the brands and the person outside could observe how long it takes for the
shoppers to decide in entering the shop and what hoardings outside the shop or on what
banners on outer side of the shop, the customers attention fell before entering as well as
he/she was the one taking the exit poll. Hence, we as a group could observed inside as
well as outside behavior of the customers or their group, when they were in groups, as
they came for shopping.

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THE STUDY | EXIT INTERVIEW

We observed the shoppers during their purchasing & asked them a few questions after
they were done shopping. Some of the shoppers were a bit reluctant, so we had to rely
on observation alone. But, the younger shoppers mostly cooperated for a few minutes.
Based on the answers they gave, we could come up with some insights into shopper
categories. These are the broad questions we asked.
Had you decided upon which product to buy before you walked into the store?

Do you have a brand preference in the product category?

Did you avail the services of Credit Card payments or EMI schemes on
payment?

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Did you end up spending more than what you intended before finalizing?

Is design the most important feature you consider before buying a product?

Did you know about the technical specifications of the product pre-hand?

Did you consider the energy rating of the product while purchasing?

Why did you choose a multi brand store over a company store?

Have researched online for product reviews & prices?

Have you considered buying the product online?

Did the sales person influence your final purchase?

Did your final purchase coincide with your initial brand fixation?

THE STUDY | OBSERVATIONS

Two males aged between 25 to 30 years enter the store. They did not carry any
other shopping bags, etc. Both of them were dressed casually. They did not seem
to be in any particular hurry. They paused for some time at a counter displaying
(Samsung) smart phones. They inquired about availability of some more economic
brands from the sales-rep manning the counter. They spoke to each other and the
sales rep in their native language (probably Gujarati) but their occasional use of
English phrases made it easier to follow their conversation. They were probably
comparing the costs to the features of the smartphones on display. The sales rep
tried to interest them in a more economical micromax handset but they seem
unimpressed. One of them frowned. Then they asked to be directed to the counter
of MP3 players. While examining the display of MP 3 players from Phillips, one of
the shoppers expressed concern that there was not sufficient number of colored
variants to choose from. Ultimately they purchased a Phillips GoGEAR MP3 player
worth Rs.1999 and one of them paid using a credit card. One of them kept using
the phrase online price, which we presume was because he had found the online
price to be lesser than the store price. These two shoppers were quite involved in
their purchase and reasonably well informed about the different brands. They also
solicited a lot of information from the sales representatives. They had limited
interaction with the in-store promotions or lightings or fixtures - possibly because
they were more interested in examining specific products in detail.

A gentleman in late thirties walked in while speaking on phone. He was dressed in

a pair of trousers and a half sleeved shirt. He was wearing spectacles. He went
straight to the billing counter/helpdesk and made some enquiries. Then, he went
straight to the refrigerator section, guided by a sales rep. He began to examine a
steel grey double door model of Godrej make. He moved his hand over the front
door a couple of time to feel the texture - we are not so sure why. He looked around
and gesture a sales rep to come over. He began to inquire the sales rep about the
features of the refrigerator. They spoke in their native language but their use of

18

terms like warranty, capacity, etc. conveyed that they were talking about product
features. His expression clouded when he heard the price quote for that model but
ultimately, after much convincing by the sales rep, he decided to go ahead with it.
The product he eventually purchased was a Godrej Eon refrigerator of 240 L
capacity worth Rs.24000. He inquired if it was possible to pay the price in
installments but the store did not support such policy so he paid the amount in full
using a card. He left his address at the store so that the product may be delivered.

A woman aged 35 40 entered the store dressed in a saree. She was

accompanied by a female friend, of the same age. Without consulting or looking
out for a salesman, she walked straight towards the mobile phone counter. She
looked extremely uneasy and conscious, and felt extremely awkward when the
salesman asked her what features she was looking for in a phone. She hurriedly
dialed a number on her phone, and started reading out the names of the phone
available to the person on the other side, along with the price. As she referred to
the person on the phone as beta, it looked like she was talking to her son. The
son directed her as to what she must look for, after which she repeated those
features to the salesman. After having kept the phone, she tested the dummy
phones produced by the salesman, talking with her friend in particularly hushed
tones. After spending a lot of time choosing, she purchased a Karbonn A6 for Rs.
3499/-

A middle aged woman enters the store accompanied by her husband. She asks
the floor assistant for the directions to the Kitchen Appliance section. They walk up
to that zone and start browsing through the appliances there. They were very
particular about the price. The browsing was very general and not product specific.
They discussed about the specifications and their requirements and necessity.
After 20 minutes of looking around they left without buying any appliance.

A man in his 20s walked in the store and went straight to the section which
displayed the external hard disks and other products like optical mouse, pen drives

19

etc. During this time he did glance through the laptop section. He did not look brand
conscious, he was more curious about the price and features of the hard disk. He
kept picking boxes and reading details on itched decided on one of them and
directly walked to the payment counter. He then made a quick payment and left
the store without stopping anywhere.

A single male shopper around 30 years of age, dressed casually entered the shop
alone. He headed straight to the mobile section & enquired about a particular
handset model. He was happy after knowing the discount offer on that particular
brand & purchased it. He spent some time in the television section before moving
out.

A young shopper, around 25 years of age, dressed casually entered the shop into
with a group of friends. They headed to the tablets section where they
contemplated whether to purchase a tablet over a mobile or not. He finally bought
a

tablet

&

also

spent

some

time

in

the

gaming

console

section.

A working professional male, roughly 40 years of age entered the store in office
formals alone. He walked straight to the Samsung mobiles section and asked for
their two flagship models. He spent some time inquiring about the basic features
of the product & made a quick purchase after consulting somebody on the phone.

A young girl possibly a college student entered the store with a couple of friends.
She specified a price range to the sales person & asked him to show all handsets
that fall within that range. This particular group was in an exploratory mood &
stopped

at

many

sections

in

the

shop

before

finally

moving

out.

A housewife dressed in a saree entered the store along with her husband. They
went straight to the water purifier section. They inquired a lot about the prices &
features of the purifiers. They finally settled on one. While the husband made the

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purchase, the wife spent some time checking out the home appliances section

A male around 27-28 years of age entered the store alone looking for a trimmer.
He wanted a value for money deal & spent a lot of time comparing the features &
prices of the products. He asked the sales person if there were any after sales
issues in any of the brands & finally settled on a mid-range Panasonic trimmer that
was available at a discounted price.

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THE STUDY | BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS

In order to understand the purchase pattern of a customer, it is very important to get into
the psyche of the same. There must be certain reasons as to why a customer behaves
the way he does, while making a purchase in a shop. This would require every transaction
made at the outlet to be studied in a detailed manner and be treated distinctively.
To understand shopper mind set, we decided to observe the shopper behaviour while
they shopped. We had talked to the manager of the shop about the study & convinced
him that we would pretend as dummy buyers who might ask an occasional question or
two to replicate authenticity. Apart from this, we also talked to the sales persons about
shopper behaviour & interviewed some of the patrons later too.
We tried to form some patterns in the buying behaviour of the shoppers. Most of them
were first time visitors of the store. Most of the families that visited the store had shopping
bags with them. Youngsters generally entered the store with a couple of friends & their
conversion into sales was often less. The consumer durables category generally involved
well thought of pre meditated purchases. But there were instances when the store offered
bundle pricing, that the shoppers ended up splurging on impulse purchases.

PROMINENT BEHAVIOURAL PATTERNS

Most of the shoppers belonged to the middle class & upper middle class strata of
society. Since both these multi-brand stores were located in posh localities with
many other shopping & entertainment options around, such a demographic was
understandable.

Most of the shoppers above 35 years of age, be it a single working man/woman or

a family, came to store in a car. Since, the stores were located in a mall, they had
ample

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parking

spaces

&

this

was

the

least

of

customer

hassles.

The shopping in this category fell mostly in the pre-meditated segment. Since,
these goods often cost a lot, the shopper was more often than not aware of the
product he wanted to buy. The only impulse purchases were made when the store
offered some attractive promotional schemes.

Since, the shoppers were mostly first time buyers, there was a never too much
conversation between the shopkeeper & the shoppers. The sales persons role
was

more

on

the

lines

of

an

information

bank

&

facilitator.

In case the product bought by the shopper was difficult to carry such as television
set, a washing machine or a refrigerator, the store often arranged for a
complimentary drop service.

For the young tech nerds, the displays & POPs played an important role. The
displays often had the flagship model of the brand being displayed like the S5 for
Samsung mobiles, the LG OLED television etc. They often ended up checking
these products out although they did not result in any conversion into sales. But
when we talked to the shopkeeper later, he said a certain fraction of such shoppers
returned to the store to finally buy the product after finding more about the product
& making up their minds. This was helpful in converting some window shoppers
into potential shoppers.

There were isolated instances when the shopper asked for a particular product but it was
out of stock. The shopkeeper made sure that they told everything about the product to
the shopper & noted their contact details. In case the product was a hot selling one & not
available anywhere else in the market too, the shopper often returned when contacted.

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THE STUDY | KEY INSIGHTS

Following are the conclusions and the insights that we came up with after visiting the
store and observing a good number of people:
Since our focus was completely on consumer durables we found,

While purchasing durables such as LCD TV and washing machines, consumers

ask for promotional schemes. They inquire about exchange offers and compare
the schemes and benefits with different brands.

Any purchase of refrigerator and air conditioner is governed by durability and

energy saving characteristics. Potential customers did inquire about the energy
saver star ratings and checked the capacity or tonnes which would fit to their
budget.

Again, in the purchase of air conditioners the customers do look for after sales
services, which is an important purchasing criteria. Considering the fact that
these electronics require regular follow ups in terms of servicing, cleaning and
spare parts replacements, and this factor becomes very important for the buyers.
Discounts and offers are also made on the membership or registration for
servicing and follow ups.

Product price was an important consideration in the purchase of music systems

and micro wave oven in terms of comparison with other brands and their offers.

In purchase of cell phones, laptops digital cameras and tablets the technology
considerations become important.

While purchasing from organized outlet, consumers prefer availability of all

brands, after sales service, & display.

Consumers who are brand conscious, they are generally not switch over the
brand for the any type of financial or the promotional schemes.

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THE STUDY | PROBLEMS FACED

Most of the customers spoke Gujarati, hence making it difficult to make sense
of what questions they asked the salespersons, or what they conversed among
themselves.

A large portion of the visitors in a multi brand electronics retail store are just
window shoppers, who walk into the shop for recreation. Hence, a lot of time
was wasted in identifying genuine customers.

Staff and management at multi store chains refuse to share any major business
or customer insights.

Most customers of this segment usually have done a major part of the selection
as homework, and thus getting insights as to why they chose what they
purchase is hard to figure out in an unobtrusive research.

The malls were heavily crowded and thus, it was somewhat difficult to closely
monitor customer activities.

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THE STUDY | CONCLUSION

FACTORS AFFECTING PURCHASE DECISIONS | DURABLES
BRAND CONSCIOUSNESS
Some of the users were heavily influenced the brand positioning & image. Such shoppers
were willing to compromise on some of the features as well if they really associated well
with a brand.

PRODUCT PRICE
Shoppers who were utility buyers & focused on value for money brand like Micromax were
very price sensitivity. Such users were not interested in ancillary benefits & wanted their
overall spends to be minimum.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
The tech-nerds were the ones who obsessed over such features the most. Features such
as screen resolution for Television Sets, Capacity & loading mechanism in washing
machines, megapixel in front & rare cameras were the most sought after ones.

EASE OF PAYMENT
There was a segment of aspirational buyers who were stretching their budgets and
therefore wanted to know more about EMI schemes. They were either young
professionals who had just started their careers or families who had caved in to the
demands of their families.

SALES PERSON
When families came in for purchase of the home appliances, the sales person became
an important element in the product selection. His personal insights about a particular
product finally made a lot of difference as he was often their only source of information of
the product.

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ANCILLARY FACILITIES
Such facilities were the primary reason that shoppers viewed the products at multi brand
stores & finally purchased them unorganized retail shops. Such facilities included
applying screen guards, keypad covers, washing machine stands, data for mobile etc.

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SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The scope for future study will be to analyze the behavior of the customer and the
salesman and study of what approach they develop while negotiating and why. The
components of research can be

CUSTOMER POINT OF VIEW

How many shops do a customer actually visit (on an average) before making any
purchase? (Survey based research)

Research done before actually coming to a shop? (Survey based research)

The effect of salesperson's briefing about a product on his customer. For this we
can have an interview customer before the he goes inside a store. This interview
shall cover the intended approach of the customer regarding how he wants to
make a purchase. After the interview, we can have an observational research on
how the customer actually makes his purchase and to what degree is he/she
influenced by the salesperson's briefing about the product.

SALESPERSON POINT OF VIEW

How does a salesperson project products in front of its customer based on the
margin involved for him in it?

How does a salesperson do a visual analysis of the customer he has to handle

and changes his approach based on his analysis of the customer's approach?

How does a salesperson determine the negotiation power of the customer and
thus quotes a price to the customer?

The influence of the customer's extra knowledge (about any product than the
salesperson) on the salesperson's approach of selling the product.

Based on the above research, we can actually analyze the urban retail world from
a completely new perspective and it can help us establishing new patterns in urban
retail, which in future might help us in cashing out more sales for our products.

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