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& INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
Vol.1 No. 4, April 2012, ISSN 2277 3630

A STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR WITH RESPECT

TO VARIOUS BRANDS OF SHAMPOO IN NAGPUR CITY
*ANIRUDDHA AKARTE, **DR. AMISHI ARORA
*Lecturer, **Director, Datta Meghe Institute of Management Studies, RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur

ABSTRACT
'Consumer is king' -the statement carries profound truth in it. Today the success of any firm
depends upon the satisfaction of consumers. For satisfying the consumers the firm should know about the behavior of
the consumers. In these circumstances understanding consumer is a very difficult task because of the changing
technology, innovation, and changes in life style. Researchers conducted many research in this area, and they given only
few suggestion, but there is no final conclusion. As per the ideas given by the researchers, there are two factors
influencing the consumers such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It is difficult to classify consumers by conventional
demographic factors and unless their thought process and buying behavior are fully understood, decisions on product
designs and packaging, branding and distribution channels are likely to be misplaced. With the inevitability of change
intimidating large over the horizon, Indian companies must learn from their western counterparts; not only to identify
the sources, timing and direction of the changes likely to affect India, but also the new competencies and perspective
that will enable them to respond to these changes, comprehensively and effectively. This study mainly focus on
understanding the external factors like demographic, social, cultural ,price, quality ,product attributes etc for buying
Shampoo. The market share of any product is highly determined by the purchasing behavior of the consumers.
Following study is conducted by the researcher to find out the behavior of the consumers, to analyze the preference of
consumers, & consumer awareness. Descriptive research design was adopted and the data is collected through primary
and secondary sources. The method adopted for conducting survey is questionnaire and convenient sampling technique
was adopted for selecting the consumers.

Key words: Consumer behavior, Shampoo buying pattern and, Promotion impact

Introduction psychological, and personal factors.

Consumer behavior is stated as the behavior that consumer
display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and Consumer purchase decision
disposing of products, services and ideas that they expect will A decision is the selection of an action from two or more
satisfy their needs. The study of consumer behavior is alternative choices. Consumer decision to purchase the
concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with goods from the available alternative choice is known as
why they buy it, when and how they buy it, and how often "consumer purchase decision". The various options of the
they buy it. It is concerned with learning the specific consumer may be classified into five main types of decisions.
meanings that products hold for consumers. Consumer They are what to buy, how much to buy, where to buy, when
research takes places at every phase of consumption process, to buy, how to buy. The participants in the buying decisions
before the purchase, during the purchase and after the may be classified as the initiator, influencer, decider, buyer
purchase. According to Philip Kotler defined consumer and users. The marketing people should initiate the
behavior as "all psychological, social and physical behavior of participants in the purchase decision to make the purchases
potential customers as they become aware of evaluate, of the product at different marketing strategies. There are
purchase, consume and tell other about products and number of reasons why the study of consumer behavior
services". The scope of consumer behavior includes not only developed as separate discipline. Marketers had long noted
the actual buyer and his act of buying but also various roles that consumer did not always act or react, as marketing
played by different individuals and the influence they exert theory would suggest. The size of the consumer market in
on the final purchase decision .Individual consumer the country was vast and constantly expanding: millions of
behavior is influenced by economic, social, cultural, dollars were being spent on goods and services by millions of

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 ANIRUDDHA AKARTE, DR. AMISHI ARORA

people. Consumer preferences were changing and becoming .Morrison and Roberts (1998) found that consumer's
highly diversified. perception of the fit between a service/product and a channel
is very influential in determining whether they will consider
Review of literature using that channel for a specific service. In fact, perceived fit
Consumer behavior was found to be more important than consumer's
Consumer behavior has been always of great interest to preferences for the distribution method or service.
marketers. The knowledge of consumer behavior helps the
Quality
marketer to understand how consumers think, feel and select
It is our aim to provide the best product for the consumer
from alternatives like products, brands and the like and how
and we believe that if the products have quality the consumer
the consumers are influenced by their environment, the
will pay the price, says Amal pramanic, regional business
reference groups, family, and salespersons and so on. A
director .Oral-B
consumer's buying behavior is influenced by cultural, social,
personal and psychological factors. Most of these factors are Packaging
uncontrollable and beyond the hands of marketers but they Packaging establishes a direct link with the consumers at the
have to be considered while trying to understand the point of purchase as it can very well change the perceptions
complex behavior of the consumers. In this study, the they have for a particular brand. A product has to draw the
researcher emphasizes the importance of lifestyle and its attention of the consumers through an outstanding
impact on the buyer behavior. packaging design. Earlier packaging was considered only a
container to put a product in, but today, research in to the
Consumer Personality Factors right packaging is beginning at the product development
There are two factors mainly influencing the consumers for stage itself. Packaging innovation has been at the heart of
decision making: Risk aversion and innovativeness. Risk Dabur's attempt to rap with the urban consumers. It spends
aversion is a measure of how much consumers need to be large sums annually on packaging research. -"We have been
certain and sure of what they are purchasing (Donthu and laying emphasis on aesthetics, shelf appeal and convenience
Gilliland, 1996).Highly risk adverse consumers need to be for consumer'" says Deepak Manchandra, manager
very certain about what they are buying. Whereas less risk packaging development
adverse consumers can tolerate some risk and uncertainty in
Promotion
their purchases. The second variable, innovativeness, is a
The greatest challenge faced by companies today is holding
global measure which captures the degree to which
and increasing their market share and value. This is always a
consumers are willing to take chances and experiment with
strenuous exercise and one of the tools for the same is
new ways of doing things (Donthu and Gilliand, 1996).The
marketing. There is no specific game rule available for using
shopping motivation literature is abound with various
these marketing tools .The reason is: each promotional tool
measures of individual characteristics (e.g., innovative,
has its own characteristics.
venturesome, cosmopolitan, variety seeking), therefore,
innovativeness and risk aversion were included in this study Familiarity with a channel
to capture several of these traits. Measures by Donthu and Consumer's familiarity with a channel is a measure of the
Gilliland (1996) were used to measure innovativeness and general experience they have with purchasing products
risk aversion. through specific channels (i.e.. catalog, internet, and bricks-
and-mortar retailer). Through frequent use consumers
Perception:
should become accustomed to using the channel, which
Perception is a mental process, whereby an individual selects
reduces their apprehension and anxiety in purchasing
data or information from the environment, organizes it and
products through the channel.
then draws significance or meaning from it.
Brand Awareness
Perceived fit
According to Rossiter and Prey (1987), brand awareness
Perceived fit is an attitudinal measure of how appropriate a
precedes all other steps in the buying process. A brand
certain channel of distribution is for a specific product
attitude cannot be performed, unless a consumer is aware of

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 A STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS BRANDS OF SHAMPOO IN NAGPUR CITY

the brand. In memory theory, brand awareness is positioned comparison, merchandise assortment. The nonfunctional
as a vital first step in building the bundle of associations motives entail: recreation. The purpose of the study is
which are attached to the brand in memory (Stokes, 1985).
1. To examine the external factors influencing purchase
Family influence decisions
A family exerts a complex influence on the behaviors of its 2. To examine the consumer awareness of Shampoo
members. Prior family influence research has focused on 3. To find out how promotional schemes are influencing
intergenerational rather than intergenerational influence in the consumers
consumer generationalisation. As has been compellingly 4. To examine how the product attributes influencing the
demonstrated, parents influence children. Yet, consumption consumer buying Shampoo
domains clearly exist where sibling efforts may also be
Research Methodology:
exerted.
Research methodology is the process of solving the problem
Shopping motives systematically by research. The objective of the study is to
Shopping motives are defined as consumer's wants and solve the problem by using available data.
needs as they relate to outlets at which to shop. Two groups
Sample technique
of motives, functional and nonfunctional, have been
Sample is the fraction of the population; sampling is a
proposed by Sheth (1983). Functional motives are
technique or a method of selection of samples. The
associated with time, place, and possession needs and refer to
researcher in carrying out this research adopted the most
rational aspects of channel choice. Whereas nonfunctional
appropriate sampling technique for research that is the
motives relate to social and emotional reasons for patronage.
simple convenient sampling technique.
The functional motives included: convenience, price
Data analysis and interpretation
Table-1: Demographic Variable

Demographic variable Number of respondents percentage

Age (Years)
46-18 50 25
16-25 70 35
20-30 50 25
30&above 70 35
Gender
Male 130 65
Female 90 45
Educational Qualification
Up to 10+2 60 30
Up to graduation 80 40
PG/Higher education 90 45
Status
Student 90 45
Professional 70 35
House wife 30 15
Businessman 50 25
Monthly income
Below 5000 30 15
Rs.5000-Rs.9000 50 25
Rs.9000-11,000 90 45
Above Rs.11,000 70 35

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 ANIRUDDHA AKARTE, DR. AMISHI ARORA

Table-2: Shampoo Usage Rate Table-5: Awareness of Brands

Usage rate Number of respondents Percentage

Brands Number of respondents Percentage
Yes 170 85
Sunsilk 108 54
No 50 25
clinic plus 50 25
Dabur Vatica 12 06
With a view to find the usage of Shampoo, the data
Ayur 08 04
pertaining to this is presented in table 2 based on this survey
L'Oreal 06 03
85% of the respondents using Shampoo in Nagpur city and
Others 16 08
25% using like shikekai and amla etc.

Table-3: Consumer Brushing Pattern

With a view to find that awareness of Shampoo brand, the
data pertaining to this is presented in table 5. An
Brushing Number of respondents Percentage examination of the table reveals that most of the people
frequency aware of Sunsilk, Clink Plus, Dabur Vatica, Ayur, and
Once 130 65 L'Oreal. Before some time Sunsilk was the generic name for
Twice 70 35 Shampoo, this is the main reason, most of the respondents
Thrice 30 15 (54%) aware of Sunsilk. 25% respondents aware of Clinc
Plus and ,Dabur Vatica, Ayur, & L'Oreal have a awareness
With a view to find the brushing frequency of consumer, the level of 6%,4%,&3% and ( 8%)respondents aware of by
data pertaining to this is presented in table 3. An other brands
examination of the data reveals that 65% of the consumers
washing their hair once, 35% of the consumers washing Table-6: Usage of Shampoo Brands

hair twice, and 15% washing hair thrice. So the frequency of

washing hair was less in Nagpur city, but as per the hair Usage of Number of respondents Percentage
dresser's advice 2 times washing hair is compulsory for brand so far
avoiding hair problem. Normally Indian people are not Two 60 30
giving much importance to hair care, so the share of hair Three 100 50
care industry is less in India when compare to developed More than three 40 20
countries
To identify the usage of different brand, the data pertaining
Table-4: Frequency of Purchase to that is presented in the table 6.An examination of the table
reveals that most of the consumers used 3 brands, two
Per month Number of respondents Percentage brands, and more than 3 brands. Of the respondents 50% of
usage them used 3 brands, 30% of the respondents used 2 brands,
One 50 25 and 20% of them used more than 3 brands.
Two 110 55 Table-7: Hair dresser's Recommendation for Buying Shampoo
More than two 70 35
Hair dresser's Number of Percentage
Recommendation respondents
By having a view to find that frequency of purchasing
I am using Shampoo as per
Shampoo, the data pertaining to this is presented in the
Hair dresser's advice 80 40
table 4. An examination of the table reveals that most of the
Fragrance and color makes
consumers buying Shampoo twice in a month, more than
me to Change brand 60 30
two times in a month, and once in a month. Of the
I am not interested in Hair care 20 10
respondents 55% of them purchase twice, 35% of the
I feel it is a sales
respondents purchase more than twice and 25% of them
promotion technique 40 20
purchase once in a month.

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 A STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS BRANDS OF SHAMPOO IN NAGPUR CITY

With a view to find the hair dresser's recommendation for Table-10: Person who Influenced Consumer to Purchase Shampoo
buying Shampoo, the data pertaining to this is presented in
table 7. Of the total respondents 40% of the respondents are Persons Number of respondents Percentage
ready to accept hair dresser's suggestion, 30% of the Friends 40 20
respondents are changed their brand due to fragrance and Kids 30 15
color, 10% of the respondents are not interested in hair Parents 80 40
care,20% of the respondents felt that this is one of the sales Spouse 40 20
promotion technique backed by the company for increasing Self 10 05
sales.
With a view to find the persons who influenced consumer to
Table-8: Factors Which Makes Consumer to Buy Shampoo purchase Shampoo, the data pertaining to this is presented in
table 10. An examination of the table reveal that, the people
Factors Number of respondents Percentage who influenced more are, parents, friends, spouse, kids and
Price 80 40 self decision. Based on the above data, 15% kids are
Availability 62 31 influencing the
Packaging 30 15 parents for buying particular brand, parents are the main
Others 28 14 deciding authority for buying Shampoo(40%), spouse and
friends are equally influencing (20%) and 5% decide them
With a view to find the reasons to buy Shampoo, the data self.
pertaining to this is presented in table 8. An examination of
the table reveals that, consumers are influenced by the price, Table-11: To Which Mode of Promotion Consumer gets Attracted
availability and Packaging. Of the total respondents 40% of
them influenced by the price, 31% influenced by the Mode of promotion Number of respondents Percentage
availability, 15% influenced by the packaging, and 14% Advertisement 90 45
influenced by other factors Celebrity 50 25
When the respondents were asked to mention the Banner 40 20
factors which motivate them to buy a particular brand of Others 20 10
Shampoo their replies are mostly price and availability.
With a view to find out which mode of promotion consumer
Table-9: Preference of Shampoo gets attracted, the data pertaining to this is presented in table
11.An examination of the table reveals that, most of the
Preference Number of respondents Percentage consumers preferred advertisement, celebrity, banners.
Brand 80 40 Majority of the respondents 45% preferred advertisements,
Quality 60 30 25% of the respondents preferred celebrity endorsements,
Fragrance & color 40 20 20% preferred banners, and 10% preferred other mode of
Others 20 10 promotion. Advertisement creates attention and stimulates
the consumer to buy a particular brand.
With a view to find the reason to buy Shampoo, the data
pertaining to this is presented in table 9.An examination of Table-12: Factors Which Makes Consumer to Buy Shampoo
the table reveals that, most of the consumers preferred
brand, quality, and fragrance & color. In the above table Promotion tools Number of respondents Percentage
40% of the respondents preferred brand name,30% of the Gift 70 35
respondents preferred quality,20% of the respondents Discount 40 20
preferred fragrance & color, and 10% of the respondents Extra quantity 50 25
preferred other factors. Brand name played a vital role in Price off 30 15
selection of Shampoo in Nagpur city. Others 10 05

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 ANIRUDDHA AKARTE, DR. AMISHI ARORA

Conclusion:
By having a view to find the promotion tools preferred by Consumer behavior is not exactly predicted one; somewhat
consumer, the data pertaining to this is presented in table it is predicted with the help of research activity. Starting and
12. An examination of the above data reveals that, most of ending of the survey ends with only one statement 'consumer
the consumers preferred gift, extra quantity, discount, price is king' .So the companies concentrate in analyzing the
off. Above table indicates that, gift attracted more requirement of people thoroughly to satisfy and retaining
respondents(35%) 25% of the respondents preferred extra the consumer. This study revealed that consumer awareness
quantity,20% preferred discounts,15% preferred price off of Shampoo is less in Nagpur city. Hair care market offers
and 5% preferred other tools. Sales promotion tool huge potential as penetration and per capita consumption of
especially gift attracted more respondents. hair care product is very low in India. However, rising per
capita income and increasing awareness is driving demand of
Table-13: Switching to Other Brand hair care products, the hair dresser's population is also low in
India. Manufactures have used advertising campaigns to
Reason for Number of Percentage promote higher consumption of Shampoo. Creating the
switching respondents awareness is a part of social responsibility of the company.
Impact of packaging 20 10 Most of the consumers are ready to accept the suggestion of
Price rise of current brand 32 16 hair dressers. There are some important factors considered
Scheme of brands 36 18 by the consumer for decision making. Brand image,
Advertisement impact 40 20 advertising, and offer play an important role in purchasing
Consumer brand is Shampoo, sometimes based on the offer the consumer
not available 20 10 compare with competitor product and select the best one.
To try new option 28 14 Product attribute also analyzed by the consumer for deciding
Influence by other 24 12 a brand. Switching of one product to other company
product is mainly based on advertisement, brand name,
With a view to find the reasons for switching to other brand packaging availability, and price rise, etc.
, the data pertaining to this is presented in table 13.An So the companies analyze all these factors and find out
examination of the table reveals that, most of the consumers the best suitable tools for promoting their Shampoos in
switches to other brand due to strong advertisement India.
impact; next factor was scheme available with product like
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