A STUDY OF CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION

TOWARDS DO-IT-YOURSELF STORES WITH

REFERENCE TO AGRA
 A Project Report on

A STUDY OF CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION

TOWARDS DO-IT-YOURSELF STORES WITH
REFERENCE TO AGRA

Submitted By

ROHITASHWA CHAUHAN
MBA (157647)

Name of Guide
MR. ABHINAV PANDEY
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra

DAYALBAGH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE, AGRA, INDIA

2016
 Certificate

It is certified that Mr. RohitashwaChauhan has carried out the research work
presented in this project entitled “A study of consumer’s perception towards Do-It-
Yourself stores with reference to Agra” for the award of Master of Business
Administration from Dayalbagh Educational Institute under my supervision. The
project embodies result of original work and studies carried out by the student himself
and the contents of the project do not form the basis for the award of any other degree
to the candidate or to anybody else.

Mr. AbhinavPandey
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social Sciences
Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra
 Acknowledgement

This project report on “A study of consumer’s perception towards Do-It-

Yourself stores with reference to Agra” has been possible only because of kind
cooperation lent by many individuals.
I would like to give special thanks to our Director of Dayalbagh Educational
Institute, Agra who gave me a platform to nurture my abilities, and I am very thankful
to myProject guide Mr.Abhinav Pandey, (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social
Sciences, D.E.I.), without whose guidance it would not possible to bring me to this
topic.
At last but not the least, I would like to thank my batch mates and Faculty of
Social Sciences for their constant support and guidance throughout the project
duration.

(RohitashwaChauhan)
Roll No. 157647
 Declaration

This thesis is a presentation of my original research work. Wherever

contributions of others are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with
due reference to the literature, and acknowledgment of collaborative research and
discussions.
The work was done under the guidance of Mr.AbhinavPandey (Assistant
Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, DEI, Agra).

RohitashwaChauhan

[Candidate’s name and signature]

In my capacity as supervisor of the candidate’s thesis, I certify that the above

statements are true to the best of my knowledge.

Mr.AbhinavPandey
[Guide’s name and signature]
Date:
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE i

ACKNOWLDGEMENT ii

DECLARATION iii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS iv

1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. What is DIY? 1
1.2. Why DIY 1
1.3. Indian context 2
1.4. Need of study 3
1.5. Framework for review of literature 3
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3
2.1. Do-It-Yourself 3
2.2. DIY: Marketing 5
2.3. Consumer perception 8

3. OBJECTIVE 11
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11
5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 12
6. CONCLUSION 17

EXHIBITS 18
I- Questionnaire 18
II- Responses 21
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FLOWCHARTS
Flowchart 1: Taxonomical View of Review of Literature …………………………………..3
Flowchart 2: Conceptual Framework of key findings……………………………………….10

FIGURES
Figure 1: Age group………………………………………………………………………….12
Figure 2: Frequency of Purchase…………………………………………………………….13
Figure 3: Purpose of purchasing DIY science materials……………………………………..13

Figure 4: Consumer Perception Factors for DIY Stores……………………………………..14

Figure 5: Items which are not easily available……………………………………………….15

Figure 6: Factor affecting opening of DIY store…………………………………………….16
Figure 7: Medium of Purchase……………………………………………………………….16

TABLES
Table 1: Comparison of DIY market in India and US (with courtesy Tejas@IIMB 2009)…2
Table 2: Age groups………………………………………………………………………….12
1. INTRODUCTION:
1.1 What is DIY?
Do it yourself, also known as DIY, is the method of building, modifying,
or repairing something without the direct aid of experts or professionals. Academic research describes
DIY as behaviors where "individuals engage raw and semi-raw materials and component parts to
produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural
environment (e.g. landscaping)".DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously
categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of
product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment,
community seeking, uniqueness).
The term "do-it-yourself" has been associated with consumers since at least 1912
primarily in the domain of home improvement and maintenance activities. The phrase "do it yourself"
had come into common usage (in standard English) by the 1950s, in reference to the emergence of a
trend of people undertaking home improvement and various other small craft and construction projects
as both a creative-recreational and cost-saving activity.
Subsequently, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning that covers a wide range of
skill sets. DIY is related to the Arts and Crafts movement, in that it offers an alternative to
modernconsumer culture's emphasis on relying on others to satisfy needs. The abbreviation DIY is also
widely used in the military as a way to teach commanders or other types of units to take responsibility,
so that they'd be able to do things themselves just as a preparation for their own future.

1.2 Why DIY?

Given the limited engagement of academic social science with DIY, one of the main
existing sources of intelligence on the field is the market research of Mintel (as per US context).
Finding that over a quarter of adults claim to enjoy DIY, with 8% identifying DIY as a hobby, the
report puzzles over why people prefer to spend time on the labours of DIY rather than more obvious
leisure pursuits, highlighting that it exists as a leisure activity even for those able to afford to employ
someone else to do the work. Motivations for undertaking DIY are indeed diverse. Common wisdom
on the side of industry and retail is that the growth the DIY market has seen since the late 1990s has
been the result of a buoyant housing market combined with the rise of television home makeover and
property development shows.
1.3 Indian context:
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market is different in India. When a market like India booms
in everything from automobiles, roads, buildings including homes and offices and their cleaning and
maintenance -it’s interesting to observe that practically no one does any DIY with the stuff they own.
There is a cleaning person for the car and home; the former is frequently the driver. Any non-arrival of
the cleaning person is treated with a sense of crisis. The automobile and home cleaning product
suppliers try to segment the products they offer based on whether the owner might, on crisis occasions,
sometimes DIY.
As per recent study of student of IIM Bangalore, the Indian DIY market size is estimated
to be approximately US$ 5 billion and it is expected to grow at a rate of 17% over the next three years.
Some of the leading players in the Indian market are ACC, Crompton Greave and Grasim Industries.
The DIY market in India is still in a nascent stage and there are a few distinguishing features between
Indian and the western markets. A comparison of the DIY markets is as shown below:

Table 1: Comparison of DIY market in India and US (with courtesy Tejas@IIMB 2009)
 1.4 Need of study:
In the age of technology and e-commerce when the people even don’t want to move
outside to purchase anything, it would be more interesting to know how many peoples are interested in
do-it-yourself and what the scope for DIY stores specially related to science and technology in Agra
region is.

1.5 Frame work for review of literature:

Taxonomical View of Review of Literature

Consumer perception Co DIY perception towards

doing

DIY Store Doing experiment Technical Marketing

themselves perception perception
towards doing towards doing

Retail Store Online store

perception perception
towards doing towards doing

Flowchart 1: Taxonomical View of Review of Literature

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 . Do-it-Yourself
2.1.1 Matt Watson & Elizabeth Shove 2005. “Doing it yourself? Products,
competence and meaning in the practices of DIY.”Researchgate January
2005

(i) Finding that over a quarter of adults claim to enjoy DIY, with 8% identifying DIY as a hobby,
the report puzzles over why people prefer tospend time on the labours of DIY rather than more
obvious leisure pursuits,highlighting that it exists as a leisure activity even for those able to
afford toemploy someone else to do the work. Motivations for undertaking DIY are indeed
 diverse. Common wisdom on the side of industry and retail is thatthe growth the DIY market
has seen since the late 1990s has been the result of abuoyant housing market combined with
the rise of television home makeover and property development shows.
(ii) In DIY the practical, skilled, integrative work involved most.
(iii) Projects, needs, usefulness and competence have each been identified in different ways as
emerging only from, or taking shape only in, the actual practices which comprise DIY, the
processes of negotiating embodied skills and knowledge together with tools, materials and the
fabric of the house.
(iv) The distinctive character of DIY makes it a uniquely revealing field of social action in which to
explore and test the possibilities of theories of practice to account for the role of integrative and
transformative work, and the active practical role of objects and materials, in understanding
consumption.
2.1.2. G.N.Prabhu, S. Archanaand KunalBhagat. “Are we ready to do-it-yourself?
Exploring DIY opportunities in India” Tejas@IIMB 2009

(i) DIY market in India is still at a nascent stage and there are a few distinguishing features
which differentiate the Indian market from the western markets.
(ii) The most critical consumer perspectives or expectations that influence DIY adoption are
unique needs, labour – both choice and physical, cost savings and pride. Similar factors
for producers have been found to be improving profitability, examining blue oceans,
customer centricity and tackling competition in mature product stages.
(iii) Based on these, a semi-DIY model where a DIYer takes up either choice or physical
labour, and not necessarily both, has been proposed for the Indian scenario. Some of the
potential DIY modes identified are differentiation through up-gradation services, DIY
ideation, customizable toolkits and promotion based DIY.
(iv) Market size of DIY in India is about US $ 5 Billion.
(v) Growth rate is about 17% and growth projection is about 18% upto US $10 bn.
2.2. DIY: Marketing
(A) Retail Store
2.2.1 B. Kusuma, N.Durga Prasad, M.SrinivasaRao 2013. “A Study on
Organized Retailing and Its Challenges and Retail Customer
Services.”Innovative Journal of Business and Management.

(i) Retailing provides an important link between producer and consumer in modern
economy.
(ii) Retail in India is most dynamic industry and represents a huge opportunity for domestic
and international retailers.
(iii) Modern retailing is not a problem to traditional stores as most of the consumers said that
they never stopped visiting kirana stores. They strongly agreed on coexistence of both is
required. Their frequency of going to kirana store is reduced. Modern retailing has miles
to go in India.
(iv) The growth of modern formats has been much slower in India as compared to other
countries and the development of this sector is depends on the presence of regulatory and
structural constraints.
(v) Government has to take care about the existence of organized retail stores in India and
they have to take measures to overcome the challenges. Then the fast growth of
organized retailing can be possible in India.
(vi) 1. The organized retail market is growing at 3.5 % annually. Rapid change with
investments to the tune of US$25 billion is being planned by several Indian and
multinational companies in the next 5 years.
(vii) Organized retail is expected to garner about 16-18 % of the total retail market (US $ 65-
75 billion) in the next 5 years.
(viii) The analysts believe that the sector is likely to show significant growth of over 9% over
the next ten years and also see rapid development in organized retail format with
proportion likely to reach more respectable 25% by 2018. The BMI India report for the
first quarter of 2012 released forecasts that total retail sales with growth from US $
422.09 billion in 2011 to US $ 825.46 billion by 2015.
 2.2.2 Dr. M.Vijay Kumar, M.Gopinath 2012. “Influencing Factors on Retail
Stores” IJMT Vol.2 IISN 2249-1048

(i) It is also seen that discount perception and comparable price perception directly affect
retail store satisfaction.
(ii) In retailing sector where competition is considerably common, the significance of store
image is well known in order to provide competition superiority among retailers.
(iii) Results show that the store image variables and value perception, trust perception and
satisfaction have certain effects on store loyalty of the customers in Hyderabad city.
(iv) It is seen that store atmosphere and product quality have certain effects on value
perception. Besides, service quality was seen to be effective on trust perception.
Comparable price perception and discount perception have no effect on trust and value
perception which are two mediate variables. These variables have direct effects on
satisfaction.
(v) Likewise, value perception has certain direct effects on loyalty. In several research
studies, retail store atmosphere and product quality have been found to be the basic
determinants of customers’ value perception.
(vi) To become loyal to the retail store, customers’ receiving the refund and time and
becoming satisfied have important roles. Moreover, the value perception toward the retail
store directly affects loyalty.
(vii) It is seen that store atmosphere and product quality are the main determinants about value
perception of the retail stores, and the service quality is most effective on trust
perception. As for providing satisfaction, price and discount perceptions are the effective
factors. Therefore, it is seen that low price strategy is a very strong competition tool to
create satisfaction and loyalty.

(B) Online stores:

2.1.3. Chris Dubelaar, AmrikSohal, VedranaSavic. 2004 “Benefits,
impediments and critical success factors in B2C E-business adoption.”
Elsevier Ltd.

A. Six major critical success factors are identified from the B2C case studies.
1. Combining e-business knowledge and value proposition.
2. Replication of offline brand.
3. Building trust.
 4. Measuring performance and value delivery.
5. Customer satisfaction and retention.
6. Monitoring internal processes and competitor activity.
A. The research findings indicate that the majority of companies’ derived benefits that were
oriented on satisfy in customers, improving process effectiveness, increasing company
growth in terms of income, increased learning by customers, and enhancing value
generation
B. obstacles need to be identified, and then minimized through active learning and
collaboration with customers, management, and internal business units
C. Organizations that have successfully adopted business-to-consumer initiatives
demonstrate that a combination of strong customer focus, clearly defined performance
measures for e-business activity and incorporation of those measures in decision making
process, a clear link between value proposition and measures, and incremental
development process of e-business present the critical success factors

2.2.4 Muhammad Umar Sultan and MD NasirUddin, “Attitude towards

Online Shopping”

(i) From demography point of view the results of correlation results of age shows -0,7381 it
indicated that there is a quite strong negative correlation between age and attitude to on-
line shopping, i.e. elderly people are not so keen to shop on-line.
(ii) Correlation is also done on Education to see the trend of online shoppers with different
education level, the results showed -0,95688 which is very high negative correlation
between education and attitudes towards online shopping and would indicate that higher
education makes on-line shopping less attractive.
(iii) The correlation results between income and attitudes towards online shopping is very
weak i.e. -0,1226 , it shows very weak relationship so we cannot conclude anything out
of it.
(iv) The most influencing and attractive factor among all factors is website design/features
with average score of 4,064 , following convenience that is second most influencing
factor with average score 3,96 , time saving with average score 3,28 and security with
average score 3,35 is also important, particularly the security concerns are very important
while shopping online.
 (v) Low price, discount, feedback from precious shoppers, and quality of product and
information are also considered to be important factors.
2.3 Consumer perception towards;
(A) DIY STORE
2.3.1 Marco Wolf & Shaun McQuitty 2011. “Understanding the do-it-yourself consumer:
DIY motivations and outcomes”Researchgate December 2011

(a) Consumers who engage in DIY behavior aremotivated by marketplace evaluations

that include the
a) relative economic benefits
b) lack of product quality
c) lack of product availability
d) need for customization
(b) Consumers who engage in DIY behavior aremotivated by a desire to enhance
aspects of their identity,including:

a) achieving a sense of empowerment

b) constructing an identity as a craftsman
c) being a part of a community
d) a need for uniqueness
(c) The relationship between the decision to DIYand purchases of DIY project materials is
moderated by

a) project planning
b) browsing at DIY retailers
(d) Consumers who engage in DIY behaviour obtain outcomes that include senses of
a) accomplishment
b) control
c) enjoyment

2.3.2 Colin C. Williams: “Lifestyle choice? Evaluating the motives of do-it-yourself (DIY)
consumers”
The
(i) Lifestyle choice is indeed a common primary reason for engaging in DIY activity
(ii) in affluent suburbs, but this is not the case in lower-income areas where issues of
 cost and ease are more commonly cited. Economic necessity remains a chief
influence in lower-income populations.
(iii) For higher-income populations, meanwhile, although engagement in DIY is seen
primarily as a matter of choice, whether or not they engage in such activity is also
very much influenced by economic calculations about what they can afford to
externalise and what needs to be conducted on a DIY basis.
(iv) DIY retailers need to take heed when considering their product range, marketing
strategies and so forth, that DIY consumers are often as strongly influenced by
economic constraints in their decisions to partake in DIY. Beyond the
contemporary fad for believing that such activity is purely some lifestyle choice,
DIY retailers need to retain a grip on the reality that economic factors continue to
assert a major influence on consumer behaviour in the DIY retail market.
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Doing Interest
experiment
Innovative
themselves
CONSUMER Hobby
PERCEPTION
Availability

DIY Store Ease of Purchase

TAXONOMICAL VIEW
OF DIY FRAMEWORK Skills Required

Training & Manuals

Technical
Loyalty
perception
towards
doing Retail Store
Do-It-Yourself perception
towards Repurchase
doing
Marketing
perception
towards
doing

Online store
perception
towards
Ease of Access
doing

Flowchart 2: Conceptual Framework of key findings

 3. OBJECTIVES
3.1. Factors affecting opening of DIY stores in Agra.
3.2. Consumer perception towards DIYstores.

4. Research methodology:
1. Type of Data
Data is taken in two forms Primary and Secondary data. Primary data is of Descriptive type
research design which is collected form personnel in the form of survey questionnaire
& Secondary data is collected form various already published sources such as journals, internet and
books.
2. Data Collection- Survey
3. Sample Area- Research is conducted in Agra Region through e-mails or personal
approach.
4. Type of Questionnaire- Questionnaire is of structured form in which respondents are
instructed to choose one alternative response to limit the number of allowable responses.
5. Research Instruments- Questionnaire & Observation
6. Statistical tools used- Descriptive statistics
7. Sample Size – 50 (minimum)
8. Sampling Technique- Convenience Sampling is used as sampling technique in which
samples are obtained by people that are conveniently available from different age group just
to know their attitude towards science DIY.
5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS:

The present analysis is done on 50 respondents of Agra region. The objective

of the analysis is to find out the awareness and perception of people of Agra towards
Do-it-yourself science stores. It has been seen that in India there is less awareness of
DIY stores as it is very famous concept in western countries to understand the reason
for the above this research was conducted.

5.1 AGE GROUPS

AGE 5-15 15-25 25-35 35-45 Other TOTAL

Particulars

No. Of 8 40 5 2 - 55
responses

Percentage 14.5% 72.7% 9.1% 3.6% - 100%

Table 2: Age groups

Fig. 1: Age group

Age of the customers play an important role in their buying decision and
perception. Most of the interested customers lie in the age between 15-25 and 5-15,
which is 72.7% and 14.5% respectively, because these age groups are more related to
science activities and want to create science stuffs by themselves. This is less in other
 age group as they have rarely this instinct but they used to purchase these products to
either gift or teaching/ demonstration purpose.

Frequency of Purchase

Fig. 2: Frequency of Purchase

Fig.3: Purpose of purchasing DIY science materials

 5.2. Consumer perception:
On the basis of different questions asked to respondents, result came which tells
that there are very less person who really know the concept of Do-It-Yourself stores in
Agra. DIY is a new term for them but there is a need for scientific/technical guidance
(80%). Consumers want a store,especially(15-25) Age group, in which they can get
science related materials with some scientific/technical guidance (fig.4).
On the other hand they (92.6%) also want a store where they can get all materials
at one place because it is generally seen that in Agra city there is no such devoted shop
where anyone can get all materials related to science projects at one place in which
mostly electronic, scientific tools and robotics materials are not easily available that’s
why they want to have such shop where they can get all materials with some guidance
(fig.5).

Consumer Perception Factors for DIY stores

100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
% of respondents
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
awareness need of need of science
technical materials at one
guidance place

Fig.4: Consumer Perception Factors for DIY Stores

 Fig. 5: Items which are not easily available

5.4. Factors affecting opening of DIY store:

There are different factors which affect opening of DIY store as what customer
needs in such shop as nominal price (30.073%), wide range of products (29.367%), need
of such kits with some guidance (27.24%) and how much it is easily accessible to them
(29.93%). (fig.6)
As price is the main factor in most of the cases but still in most of the responses it
is found that they don’t worry about price but they need how much accessible to them
and there must be availability of wide range of product because in most of the cases
customer don’t find all materials at one place and have to wander in search of these
materials in all over the city.
30.50%
30.00%
29.50%
29.00%
28.50%
28.00%
27.50%
27.00%
26.50% Average Percentage of
26.00% Prefernces
25.50%

Fig. 6: Factor affecting opening of DIY store

Other factor noticed that respondents preferred local retail store more than online
medium. The reason given by them that mostly the requirement of these kits id for
school/college projects and for which they have urgency so they can’t wait for delivery
time gap. (fig.7)

Local retail Store Online

28%

72%

Fig. 7: Medium of Purchase

6. CONCLUSION

As per the study it is found that there is very less awareness about DIY concept (29.6%), it is at
nascent stage in Agra, but there is a need in the market. Consumers want to have such stores in
their city. Now as the technology increasing and now these days, kids and teenagers are more
involved in creation and they don’t fear about handling any object. They love to know the basic
mechanism behind every material and in that group there are some who love to do by themselves
and this segment is totally untouched.
This can be done with introducing new concept stores of DIY along with this some
scientific/technical guidance is also required which can be given to them. As in most of the
cities there are Science Centres where visitors can see the science activities. Using this concept
anyone can provide some knowledge about kits and could create curiosity which will be helpful
in increasing future sales.
The one who is aspiring to develop a DIY based science store should also consider some factors
as availability of wide range of products, ease of access to store, and availability of all type of
complete or semi-DIY kits (which require least activity).
Among modes of the DIY store local store is most preferred because of its urgency but one can
start its entrepreneurship with local store with online facility as one can order their product and
could be deliver fast. These findings would be of tremendous assistance to a new entrepreneur
who is aspiring to have new and different start-up, he/she can come up with this idea of DIY
based business model.
EXHIBIT I : QUESTIONNAIRE
EXHIBIT II : RESPONSES