Changing Consumer Behaviors on Branded Apparels.

A Project Report.
Submitted To: Dr.Anurupa Singh.
Submitted By: Abhishek Gautam, Harsh Kr.Kesarwani, Mohd. Rizwan, Nishant Pal, Priya Singh, P.Suraj.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement.3 Certificate of Oroginality5 Objective..7 Whos a Consumer?........................................................................8 Introduction..10 Indian consumer market landscape...11 Emergence of new consumer.14 Consumer Buying behavior.19 Leadership Condorium21 Consumer purchasing process.23 A last word.28 Methodology.29 Findings and analysis.30 Conclusion..39 Bibliography..40

Acknowledgement
We owe our great thanks to great many people who helped us and supported us for this project. Our deepest thanks to Lecturer, Dr.Anurupa Singh the Guide of the project for guiding and correcting various documents of ours with attention and care. She took the pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed. Our deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Himanshu (Head of Department PGD-IB), IILM-GSM Gr.Noida for his support and guidance. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to our family members and well wishers.

Certificate of Originality.
This is to certify that the project report entitled Changing consumer behavior in branded apparel to IILM-GSM in partial fulfillment, is original work (to the best of my knowledge) carried out by Harsh Kumar Kesarwani, Abhishek Gautam, Priya Singh, P.Suraj, Nishant, Mohd.Rizwan. This report or similar topic has not been submitted for any other examination and does not form part of any other course undergone by the candidates. Project Guide: Dr. Anurupa Singh, IILM-GSM, Gr.Noida.

Changing Consumer Behaviour in Branded Apparels.

Objective
To get to know the preference of people for Branded apparels over the NonBrande ones, and to know the various reasons for the changing consumer behavior in preferring the apparels they are buying. To know the factors which affect the consumers buying behavior.

Who is a Consumer?
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary. In economics and marketing: Typically when business people and economists talk of consumers they are talking about person as consumer, an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision. The consumer is the backbone of the American Retail Sales System. The consumer drives the economy by purchasing goods and services from vendors. In law and politics The law primarily uses the notion of "consumer" in relation to consumer protection laws, and the
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definition of consumer is often restricted to living persons (i.e. not corporations or businesses) and excludes commercial users. A typical legal rationale for protecting the consumer is based on the notion of policing market failures and inefficiencies, such as inequalities of bargaining power between a consumer and a business. As of all potential voters are also consumers, consumer protection takes on a clear political significance. In intelligence studies Within intelligence studies, the concept of "consumer" refers to the political staff consuming and requesting intelligence.

Introduction.
The Indian consumer market has never had it better. Higher disposable incomes, the development of modern urban lifestyles and an increase in consumer awareness have affected buyer behaviour in cities, towns and even rural areas. According to a 2007 report by McKinsey & Co., India is set to grow into the fifth largest consumer market in the world by 2025. Buying power has also expanded to new consumer segments be it the youth or the urban woman. The vast rural hinterland of India is beckoning and the sheer numbers make it impossible to ignore.

The Indian consumer market landscape.

The Indian consumer story is one that has caught the attention of the rest of the world. Rising incomes in the hands of a young population, a growing economy, expansion in the availability of products and services and easy availability of credit all of this has given rise to new consumer segments and a rising acceptability of debt. While consumerism has seen a gradual build-up, what is certain today is that there has been a genuine uptake in consumption. Whether it is apparels, mobile phones, credit cards organized retail, people clearly seem to be spending more, particularly on discretionary items. And the consumer seems to be everywhere, whether it be the large metros, the emerging new cities, the small towns and even rural India. What has emerged in this consumer story is the fact that there is much more homogeneity in the market than ever before; for the first time some patterns
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have begun to emerge in consumer behaviour. There is so much choice today and people do not accept poor service. We cannot make any excuses but need to gear up our systems to provide that level of service.
Narayanan Vaghul, Chairman, ICICI Banking Corporation.

Today, every city has its premium consumers and its middle class consumers and this has put companies into a fix. They now need to craft strategies that address the subtle differences but satisfy each group equally. So what is the Indian consumer market today? It is a market with three segments. The first comprises the top end with the mindset: I pay more to get more, where the purchase is driven by the emotional surplus that the consumer experiences. The second is the mid-level which thinks: I get good value at a reasonable price. More important, however, is the large block at the bottom which says: I pay less and I get less and is totally satisfied with that.
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This is probably a segment that many marketers tend to overlook since they feel that there is no existing demand there. There is a growing realisation today that it is easier to compete in the smaller towns because many of the big brands and their marketing managers and sales teams dont make the effort to travel there. Hence, if one does go there, market share is easy to achieve because even though the overall pie is smaller, there is less competition. Another shift has been the changing dynamics of rural migration to urban centres. As Asif Adil, Diageo, pointed out: I think we are increasingly going to see a reverse shift happening, where people are not going to come to the urban areas in the same kind of numbers that they were migrating before essentially because quality of life and opportunities are improving in smaller towns.

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Emergence of the new consumer.

Understanding the Indian consumer market means understanding its individual segments. Pertinent questions facing Indian marketers today include: Who are the new consumers? What are they spending their money on? From pester power, kids have changed their role to becoming influencers. In the older age group, they have actually become consultants, whom parents turn to for advice during the decision-making process. Rajat Jain, Mobile2Win Three major emerging segments were identified: Kids, the Youth (including the young working singles) and the Urban Indian Woman. These segments have shown a tremendous increase in influencing and driving purchase decisions and hence are huge drivers of change in the consumer market.
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More interestingly, purchases are being driven not by necessity, but to satisfy individual needs. A highpotential emerging market is also the vast rural hinterland, which has its own unique characteristics. Kids: Getting older younger There are 300 million children aged between 414 years in India a vast market by any standards. The role that children play in purchase decisions has changed dramatically in the past 45 years. As Rajat Jain, Mobile2Win described: From pester power, kids have changed their role to becoming influencers. And this is not only in product categories like confectionary and toys, but in larger long-term-use categories such as cars, electronics and even consumer durables like refrigerators and air conditioners, which were, traditionally, decisions taken by parents. Today the roles are reversed, with kids pointing out the pros and cons of purchase decisions to their parents. In fact, in the older age group, kids have actually become consultants, whom parents turn to for advice during the decisionmaking process, One aspect that has contributed to this change is the fact that kids seem to be
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growing older younger a 12-year-olds state of mind today is similar to what a 14-year olds would have been 10 years ago. Due to a higher degree of exposure to the outside world, their awareness levels are rising and as a result, they are clearer about what they want. Youth: Charting their own path With the majority of its population below the age of 25 years, Indias young consumer market is the primary target of every consumer goods company. The trend towards homogeneity is also apparent here, as Shantonu Aditya, UTV explained. In terms of aspiration between SEC A, B, C, D, E there is no difference in the mindset of the younger demographic. The aspirations of the youth are the same, driven primarily by the fact that they are all Internet savvy and this has given them equal access to information. The younger demographic is equally comfortable at home with family and out with friends, which is very interesting because this means that the marketers can address both these needs differently. Shantonu Aditya, UTV
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They are also a unique market. Along with the love for brands and gadgets, they are equally comfortable with Indian values and Indian culture. Life is about visiting religious centres with their parents and then spending the evening with friends at the local club or a similar social venue. As Shantonu Aditya said: They are equally comfortable in both situations, which is very interesting because this means that marketers can address both these needs differently. Indian youth are also very patriotic, not in the classical, preindependence sense but in a modern sense which reflects their pride in being Indian in todays world. As a segment, they are on the whole sensible, very clear about what they want to achieve in their lives and not easily carried away by hype and show. The outsourcing phenomenon in India has been the main driver of this consumer segment. A larger number of younger people now have cash in hand and this combined with increasing brand awareness has resulted in a lot of spending on leisure and personal gratification. The young generation lives for today; the concept of saving for a rainy day is alien to most of them especially
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since the majority of them have not experienced shortages in their lives. This is also a segment constantly on the move mentally and physically. The young do not want to be at home and are spending twice the amount of time outside the house than they would have done a couple of years ago. So, whether they are at a multiplex, a mall or a cyber caf, hanging out with friends is a clear preference. And as Ishan Raina observes: They practice extreme multitasking using a mobile and an iPod as well as surfing the Internet, while chatting with friends. They seem to want to do five things at the same time!.

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Consumer buying behaviour

India has always been a diverse market, with different consumer segments exhibiting varied buying behaviour. As Jacob Kurian explained: We have always had consumers across all social and economic categories and across all towns. The difference is that in the past the lower SEC consumers did not have the same confidence about the future and therefore, if he aspired to something, he saved up until he could afford to buy it. Today, the consumer would rather buy something immediately, even if it means taking credit, rather than save and buy something tomorrow. Thus, there has been a decreasing fear of debt and credit cards have become the new currency. As Nitin Gupta, Mastercard, pointed out: We are talking about growth in spends of 100 per cent plus, year on year. Paradoxically, of the 100 million credit and debit cards in India, 90 per cent have never been used to purchase anything. Total spends on cards in India are of the order of USD 15 billion, which sounds like a reasonable number but is actually only
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3 per cent of family consumption expenditure. In other developed markets this number is around 30 per cent. The interesting point, however, is that this very paradox is actually a huge opportunity and it remains to be seen how consumer companies will take advantage of it. We are talking about growth in spends of 100 per cent plus, year on year. Paradoxically, of the 100 million credit and debit cards in India, 90 per cent have never been used to purchase anything. Nitin Gupta, Mastercard What is important for marketers to understand are the dynamics of this change. What is it that makes Indian consumers spend their money, especially since it is finite and definitely lower than the income of their developed country counterparts? A large part of consumption is currently being driven by emotional discretionary income, enabling people to spend on things beyond basic necessities such as food, education and shelter. But where will they make the trade-offs and what will they spend on? Health or education; fashion or technology? These are the questions that are keeping Indian marketers awake at night.
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The leadership conundrum.

As the consumer market in India grows, niches are developing, raising new challenges for consumer companies. Foremost is the question of leadership. As Anjali Bansal put it: What kind of talent will companies need now that they are selling to a new consumer, an emerging consumer that is not well understood? More importantly, what kind of leadership will be required to manage growth effectively? These questions gain special importance given that companies are increasingly being led by individuals very unlike the majority of their consumers. Urban professionals are hypothesising about rural India and making decisions that affect the lives of the middle class in the small towns. Is this healthy, or should companies be concerned? At the operational level, I feel we need diversity. But at a strategic level, we need the ability to manage diversity, which includes ambiguity. Nitin Gupta, Mastercard
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I think many companies are re-evaluating their talent model, said Subbu Narayanswamy, as they realise that there are very big implications in the kind of talent that one brings into ones company. Common questions that have to be tackled in this dynamic environment are: How does one create more empathy for the woman consumer? For companies, how do they cultivate empathy for ambiguity in their employees? Nitin Gupta captured the point when he said, I think the kind of challenges surrounding talent at the corporate level are different from the challenges for talent at the strategic level. So, at the operational level I feel we need diversity. But at a strategic level, we need the ability to manage diversity, which includes ambiguity. In todays fast-paced world, opportunities are emerging everywhere and therefore a leader needs to deal with and manage diversity, which includes diversity of ideas, diversity of businesses and diversity of talent all of which requires flexibility and the ability to shift and turn with every opportunity.

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Consumer Purchasing Process.

Behind the visible act of making a purchase lies a decision process that must be investigated. The purchase decision process is the stages a buyer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy. Five stages of Consumer Purchasing Behaviour. 1. problem recognition, 2. information search, 3. alternative evaluation, 4. purchase decision, and 5. post-purchase behavior. A. Problem Recognition: Percieving a need Perceiving a difference between a person's ideal and actual situations big enough to trigger a decision. Can be as simple as noticing an empty milk carton or it can be activated by marketing efforts.
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B.

Information Search: Seeking Value

The information search stage clarifies the options open to the consumer and may involve

Internal search

Scanning ones memory to recall previous experiences with products or brands. Often sufficient for frequently purchased products. When past experience or knowledge is insufficient The risk of making a wrong purchase decision is high The cost of gathering information is low.

External search

The primary sources of external information are: 1. Personal sources, such as friends and family. 2. Public sources, including various product-rating organizations such as Consumer Reports. 3. Marketer-dominated sources, such
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as advertising, company websites, and salespeople

C.

Alternative Evaluation

The information search clarifies the problem for the consumer by (1) Suggesting criteria to use for the purchase. (2) Yielding brand names that might meet the criteria. (3) Developing consumer value perception.

A consumer's evaluative criteria represent both o the objective attributes of a brand (such as the cloth and designs of the apparel brand) o the subjective factors (such as prestige). These criteria establish a consumer's evoked set o the group of brands that a consumer would consider acceptable from among all the brands in the product class of which he or she is aware.

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D.

Purchase Decision: Buying Value

From whom to buy

which depends on such considerations o Terms of sale o Past experience buying from the seller o Return policy. which can be influenced by o store atmosphere o time pressure o a sale o pleasantness of the shopping experience.

Three possibilities When to buy

Do not buy

E. Post Purchase Behaviour: Value in Consumption or Use

After buying a product, the consumer compares it with expectations and is either satisfied or dissatisfied. Satisfaction or dissatisfaction affects o consumer value perceptions o consumer communications o repeat-purchase behavior. Many firms work to produce positive postpurchase communications among consumers
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and contribute to relationship building between sellers and buyers.

Cognitive Dissonance. The feelings of postpurchase psychological tension or anxiety a consumer often experiences Firms often use ads or follow-up calls from salespeople in this postpurchase stage to try to convince buyers that they made the right decision.

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A last word.
There is a great deal of optimism surrounding the Indian consumer market. With double-digit growth rates, new consumer segments and an ever increasing range of products and services, the sector seems to have it all. But is the future as buoyant as many people think? While all trends indicate that it is, consumer marketers accept that the industry is faced with a talent crunch and if companies fail to tackle this issue in the present, there will be a huge gap in effective leadership in the future. Tomorrows leaders not only need to understand leadership concepts, but they also need the ability to understand current trends while identifying future opportunities. At the same time, companies need to create internal processes and structures that encourage an entrepreneurial spirit, while giving individuals the time and space to think beyond their immediate action areas. It is only when the individual and the organisation approach this together, that the talent gap will be met and the commercial opportunity will be fully realised.

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Methodology.
Primary data: The primary data of the survey are the opinions of the common people and their awareness, the aim is just to have an analysis on the data for its variance in the responses by the different diversified states of mind which influence the purchasing behavior of the consumer. Secondary data: The secondary data comprises of the data from different sources like:Internet, Newspapers, Magazines and Editorials. Sample Size: 100 people at average. The Questions: The questions in the questionnaire were both open ended and close ended both, with an intention to be neutrally balanced for everyone.

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Findings and Analysis.

I. Have you ever Purchased a Branded Apparel? Clothing Footwear Acessories Never.
Branded Apparel Puchased.

Clothing Footwear Acessories Never

Around 63% people prefer Branded Purchasing.

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II. Which of these statements describe how you are purchasing for clothing? I always purchase Online. I prefer purchasing onsite. Depends on the Availability of time.

Charactics of buying .

online(28%) On-Site(66%) Time Availability(6%)

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III. Which of these statements describe how you purchase for Footwear? I always purchase online. I prefer purchasing on-site. Dont Know.
Footwear Buying.

Online(8%) On-site(86%) Dont Know(6%)

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IV. Which of these factors motivate you during the purchase of branded apparels? Funky Look. Sophisticated sober designs. Color combinations. Designs.

Motivation factor during purchase

Funky Look Sober Color Combos Designs

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V. If you Purchase online for the apparels or footwer how much satisfaction do you get in comparision with on-site purchase? Online purchase is satisfactory enough. Onsite purchase is more satisfactory.

Comparision between online and offline purchase.

Online satisfation level(36%) On-site satisfaction level(64%)

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VI. How good do you feel wearing any branded apparel? Branded Apparel is an identity in its own. Non-branded is also preferred by me. I feel I look good in branded apparels. Depend on the society level.
Branded Apparels Satisfaction

Brand has an Identity(82%) Non-branded pereferred(32%) Feels good in Branded ones.(67%) Depends(20%)

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VII. How often do you Purchase Branded Apparels? Once in six months. Once in 2-3 months. I am a shopping maniac. Never.
Frequency of branded purchasing.

Six months(64%) 2-3 Months(34%) Shopping maniac(20%) never(3%)

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VIII. Do you live in joint family or a nuclear family? Joint Family. Nuclear family.
Types of family.

Joint Family(48%) Nuclear family(52%)

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IX. Being in joint family how much do you prefer Branded Apparels purchase? Non-branded. Branded only. Cant say.

Joint family Prefence.

Non-branded(43%) Branded(34%) Cant say(23%)

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CONCLUSION
The most important factor that motivates online consumers to purchase clothing or footwear is discounted prices (31%). The Shopping behavior shows that 66% people prefer onsite shopping, while 44% of shoppers also indicated purchasing online. About 63% people prefer Branded Apparel purchase. There was a varied response in the frequency of the purchase behaviour of the the people. People have started considerations of brand before any purchase decisions being made by them. The satisfaction level of the purchase being done onsite is much more than the online shopping because of the mind-set of the people to feel the product and try it before shopping. Joint-Families had an average response for both branded and non-branded apparels, while nuclear families prefer branded apparel over the non-branded ones.

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Bibliography.

A. Google Corporate Information(Google, Inc), B. Vivisimo search engine, C. Times of India Crest Edition. D. The Economic Times. E. Business Today Magazine. F. www.google.com G. www.vivisimo.com H. www.wikipedia.com

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Annexure

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Questionnaire
Name :- _____________ Contact No:- __________ Age:- _________ Occupation :- __________ E-mail ID:-____________ Gender:-______________

Have you ever Purchased a Branded Apparel? Clothing Footwear Acessories Never.

Which of these statements describe how you are purchasing for clothing? I always purchase Online. I prefer purchasing onsite. Depends on the Availability of time.

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Which of these statements describe how you purchase for Footwear? I always purchase online. I prefer purchasing on-site. Dont Know.

Which of these factors motivate you during the purchase of branded apparels? Funky Look. Sophisticated sober designs. Color combinations. Designs.

If you Purchase online for the apparels or footwer how much satisfaction do you get in comparision with on-site purchase? Online purchase is satisfactory enough. Onsite purchase is more satisfactory.

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How good do you feel wearing any branded apparel? Branded Apparel is an identity in its own. Non-branded is also preferred by me. I feel I look good in branded apparels. Depend on the society level.

How often do you Purchase Branded Apparels? Once in six months. Once in 2-3 months. I am a shopping maniac. Never Do you live in joint family or a nuclear family? Joint Family. Nuclear family. Being in joint family how much do you prefer Branded Apparels purchase?
Non-branded. Branded only. Cant say.
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