49

MY OBSERVATIONS
Syed Hyder Roll number 189 Fabindia is a well-established brand with branches all over India and even abroad.We visited Fabindia, DP Road branch, Pune in the afternoon between 11am-3 pm.A few personal observations regarding the store were that the ambience was veryenriching. Gave an ethnic feel and also the sales people were warm and friendly. Consumer behavior: The footfall during that span between 11am-3 pm was less but continuous in the store.There was an eclectic mix of people.The layout of the store was such that there was a single entry cum exit point and therewere cash counters near the entry/exit. Just next to that portion was the furniture andaccessories section, also there were smaller goods, edible items etc next to that section.Further, there was an imitation jewelry section, a few more of furniture and furnitureaccessories and then finally the garments and apparels section.In my observation, majority of the people who came to the store just glanced through allthe aforementioned sections and went straight to the garments and apparels section. Theymade their first tryouts or purchases in the garments, apparels section and then moved onto other sections.Many of the customers were repeat customers and quite satisfied by the available items.The sales persons knew their regular customers well and coordinated quite well. After making their purchases at the garments section, these customers then went on to other sections in the order of the layout of the store. Few went on to buy the upholstery, linen,mats, jewelry etc.There was a group of foreigners as well who seemed quite at ease with Fabindia andlooked like repeat customers as they were dressed in Fabindia products.There were a few first time visitors as well who seemed to be students. They didnt makeany significant purchases but went about scanning the place and seemed bemused by theoverall ambience of the store. They could convert into potential repeat customers, as theyseemed satisfied with the Fabindia experience.A major observation is that Fabindia has a huge appeal in garments and apparels sector.They have also been smart in planning the layout well so that the customers actuallyglance over other products as well on the way to the garments section. 50

MY OBSERVATIONS
Pooja Udaikumar Roll number 200

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processesthey use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas tosatisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.On visiting the Fabindia store there were a few observations regarding consumer behavior that I inferred:Culture: The products offered at Fabindia are intrinsically Indian in nature and their strongest advantage is probably playing the culture card. Aligning themselves in terms of textile, design and colors to appeal to the Indian sensibilities, they have positionedthemselves as the premium one-stop shop for people looking for good quality Indian products. Another point of interest was that the store is quite popular with tourists whoview it as a brand to get Indian products with the quality assurance of an internationallyrenowned brand name.Ambience: It is understood that consumers benefit form stores that are designedeffectively to promote efficient shopping. The ambience of the store was airy, open andinviting. Harmonious and earthy, it is designed to appeal to the senses. The very dcor was true to the Fabindia look and feel.Service: Perhaps standout bone of contention with the store was in terms of the service personnel. The attire of the service personnel clashed inconsistently with the store look and feel and brand identity as a whole. I observed that the personnel could connect withthe consumers more if they were aligned to the brand identity themselves.I noticed that the service personnel found it difficult to communicate with the foreignnationals that walked into the store. Being the brand that they are, Fabindia could benefitfrom working on the communication skills of their service staff, eliniating potentialmiscommunication because of language barriers.Demographics: Most of the consumers could be could be categorized into middle classand upper middle class, middle aged who have advanced in their career hence beinghighly earning women or students with meager income but with aspirational purpose tovisit the store. Factors such as income, nature of ones profession and level of educationare important factors to compute such a complex variable. I also realized that there weresecond-generation loyalists of the brand. While the final decision of the product to be purchased lay in the hands of the user, the choice of the brand was usually a familydecision. 51Decision Making: Purchase patterns of the consumers were mostly need based. Consumer involvement was relatively high at the point of purchase, when it came to apparel andhome products. The personal care and organic products were more impulsive purchasesin nature, being positioned near the cash counter at the exit point of the store. At timesconsumers seemed to wrestle with clash between the quality versus price issue especiallywhen it came to the jewelry and accessories.Attitudes: A composite of consumer beliefs about, feelings about, and behavioralintentions within the context of marketing, towards the brand that is Fabindia. It wasobserved that the general attitude was positive. Although it was a

common understandingthat the quality of the goods was waning, there were brand loyalists who maintained their positive stand towards the brand.Discussed above was the operant framework within which the interpretation of consumer

behavior was taken into account.

It all starts with the customer In business, this has always been true. But now a new breed of customer is dictating a new set of terms in the dynamic between buyers and sellers. Customers approach a sale empowered by technology and transparency, with more extensive information from more sources than ever before. They expect to engage with companies when and how they want, in person, online and on the go. And they want these methods to tie together seamlessly. The smarter commerce opportunity Smarter commerce (PDF, 803KB) recognizes that the sale is just one aspect of the experience. As with traditional commerce, the customer is at the center of all operations. Smarter commerce turns customer insight into action, enabling new business processes that help companies buy, market, sell and service their products and services.
Building a Smarter Planet

See Smarter Commerce in action. Watch the video (00:04:29) Read IDC's report on IBM Smarter Commerce(187KB)

We're here to help Contact us

Buy: expanding the procurement view Even with dozens of manufacturing and distribution centers and hundreds of retail, wholesale and Internet resellers, an office equipment manufacturer maintains complete visibility of its inventory and sales channels. Using a rules-based order management system, the company can forecast inventory, manage demand and coordinate distribution and sourcing throughout its partner network. As a result, its customers enjoy an order fulfillment rate of nearly 100 percent. New approaches to the sourcing, procurement and distribution of goods and materialsfrom supplier and trading partner platforms to supply chain visibility toolsenable supply chain decision makers to synchronize supply to demand and gain better control over inevitable disruptions.

An IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) study, New Rules for a New Decade(PDF, 1.24MB), surveyed more than 650 procurement and supply chain executives and found that companies are putting a priority on visibility, integration with partners and other capabilities that can enable smarter commerce approaches. Learn about key solutions for the buying phase of the commerce cycle Market: personalizing the message A global financial services firm uses behavioral analytics to give its customers what they want: real-time, personalized promotions through their media of choice. Studying the way customers use the web, email, phone and social networks to research and buy enables the firm to provide instant, targeted offers that yield high response, conversion and revenue rates. With powerful analytics and coordinated cross-channel marketing, personalized campaigns have become even more precise, and can be delivered through the most effective channels for each customer. Marketers are closer than ever to speaking directly to customers about products and services and delivering the best offer, automatically, with a more complete understanding of how customers interact and respond to their brands. A 2011 IBV study, From Social Media to Social CRM(PDF, 1.24MB), underscores a perception gap between marketers and their customers and why their customers interact with their brand, specifically through social media. Customers cite tangible valuediscounts and purchasingas the top two social media activities they seek out from their trusted brands. Just feeling connected to or interacting with a brand is not enough for customers. Learn about key solutions for the marketing phase of the commerce cycle

Sell: going where the customer is A retailer has taken its brand wherever a customer might be shopping: on partner websites, social networks, blogs or mobile stores. Whatever the starting pointreading a friends product review on Facebook, browsing an affiliates site or searching a catalog on their smart phone the customer sees consistent offers and merchandising. The study Capitalizing on the Smarter Consumer (US) found that 49 percent of consumers use two or more shopping channels during a single purchase. Smarter commerce opens up customer options, such as checking product availability on the spot, and designating the best shipping location, essentially enabling customers to order anywhere and pick up anywhere. And its not just about selling to consumers. Companies with B2B models can offer accountspecific catalogs, contract-based pricing, complex product configuration and powerful order orchestration processes. Learn about key solutions for the selling phase of the commerce cycle Service: a winning follow-through A regional telecommunications provider applies predictive modeling and analytics to better serve and retain its customers. Using advanced data models, customers are scored monthly on their propensity to switch providers. This information gives client service managers a chance to contact high-propensity customers proactively and resolve any issues before the customer switches to the competition. Smarter commerce doesn't end at the sale. A reputation for excellent customer care in the months and years following purchase can be a strong selling point. Executives charged with customer service are using customer insights to predict service needs. From synchronizing product installation and warranty to managing and tracking returns more efficiently, smoother operations mean a better customer experience.

Because, after all, commerce starts withand exists thanks tothe customer. Learn about key solutions for the servicing phase of the commerce cycle

Personality Straits of Fabindia Consumers Personality of an individual reflects individual differences. Personality is an important tool of consumer behaviour as it helps in categorisation of consumers into different groups on basisof their traits.Fab India has a brand personality conveying traditions, stability, sticking to your roots,appraising Indian factor, social responsiveness so people whose personality conforms tothese traits are likely to be brand loyal to Fab India.Even the color of the logo of Fab India i.e. RED is chosento convey Indianness, since red is a holy color of India.Moreover red conveys royal, richness, ethnic so peoplewhose personality coincides with these traits are the targetof the brand. This color further strengthens the brand personality of Fab India as a HandicraftOutlet.According to Non-Freudian Personality theory, Fab India focuses on people with detatchedpersonalities , what ever be the latest trend in western wear they still go for centuries oldChanderi prints. Such individuals are independent, self reliant, and want to be free fromobligations.According to Trait theory, Fab India focuses on people who are

High on consumer ethnocentrism

, i.e. such customers are more rigid and attractedtowards their culture.

Verbalisers (prefer written and verbal information) rather than visualizers (prefer only visual information of product). Usually Fab India consumers are aware of thehistory or belonging or at least worth of the piece they are purchasing.

High in NC (Need for cognition) are more responsive to product related descriptionand are more responsive to written message, while customers who are low in NC aremore influenced with the glamour associated by the product rather than stressing onknowing what actually the product is.

High on consumer materialism as their customers seek their possessions for greater personal satisfaction. They want to have a unique collection of possessions like KotaDoria fro Rajasthan, Bidri work from Andhra Pradesh.

Highly dogmatic since these customers are more likely to prefer traditionalalternatives over traditional products.

Low on consumer innovativeness as they are more likely to stick to their favourite prints or fabrics or even styles. A person who is loyal to Lucknawi Chickankari is lesslikely to accept deviations from traditional chikan kari.
21

As per Maslows hierarchy the Consumers of Fabindia fall in stage of esteem where self esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others guide the consumer behaviours. Figure 5: Represents the Maslows Need Hierarchy
22