MARKETING RESEARCH METHODS

A Study On CUSTOMER PREFERENCE TOWARDS FOOD ITEMS AT BIG BAZAAR, RTC CROSS ROAD

Submitted to,
Dr. Reshmi Thomas

Institute of Public Enterprise Hyderabad

Submitted by, VISHNU VS ROLL NO: 058, PGDM-IB Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad

DECLARATION

I, VISHNU VS, hereby declare that the project work entitled CUSTOMER PREFERENCE
TOWARDS FOOD ITEMS AT BIG BAZAAR, RTC CROSS ROAD is an original work by me.

This is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement, for the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in Management, Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad and it has not formed the basis for any other degree, diploma, association, fellowship or similar title.

VISHNU.VS (1012PGDMIB058)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to thank all the people who have extended their help in various ways during my research work. Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Reshmi Thomas for assigning us this task and for her guidance and help throughout the development of this research work by providing me with required information. I would also like to thank the Institute for providing valuable Databases, Journals which are of great help for me to finish this project. I would like to thank the management of Big Bazaar, R.T.C Cross road for permitting me to collect data in the store. I would also like to thank all the respondents who gave their valuable responses to my Questionnaire. I would like to thank all my friends who helped me in completing my research project well.

ABSTRACT

Customer preference analysis is really a call to action. By understanding the preference formation components and the preference expectation evaluations by group or segment of customers, companies can design response strategies that are truly responsive to vital customer expectations and that differentiate in the marketplace. Indian retail sector is witnessing one of the most hectic Marketing activities of all times. The companies are fighting to win the hearts of customer who is God said by the business tycoons. There is always a first mover advantage in an upcoming sector. In India, that advantage goes to BIG BAZAAR. It has brought about many changes in the buying habits of people. It has created formats, which provide all items under one roof at low rates, or so it claims. The research titled CUSTOMER PREFERENCE TOWARDS
FOOD ITEMS AT BIG BAZAAR helps us to understand the effect of customer preference which

is responsible for attracting customer towards big bazaar This study helpful to top level management to improve the present things of BIG BAZAAR. The report deals with the impact of customer preference which attracting customer towards big bazaar. The research was carried out as per the steps of Marketing Research. The well supportive objectives were set for the study. To meet the objectives primary research was undertaken. The data collection approach adopted was survey research. The instrument used for the data collection was observation & questionnaire. The target respondents were the visitors of BIG BAZAAR, with the sample size of 50 for the study of sales management of the company. Tables & charts were used to translate responses into meaningful information to get the most out of the collected data. Based on those the inferences have been drawn with peer supportive data.

Introduction

Big Bazaar is a chain of shopping malls in India currently with 29 outlets, owned by the Pantaloon Group. It works on the same economy model as Wal-Mart and has had considerable success in many Indian cities and small towns. The idea was pioneered by entrepreneur Kishore Biyani, the head of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. The study was conducted in Big Bazaar RTC cross road
Hyderabad, to know the consumer perception of food bazaar .Big Bazaar is a most preferred shopping destination , with people coming from all walks of life and so is food Bazaar too. To identify the customer perception of food Bazaar is to know the factors that organization. Identifying affect the consumer s perception of the

the consumer perception can help a lot in planning the future management

strategies . To identifying the consumer perception the three variables are taken into account they are price, quality and quantity. To know the response of the customers , questionnaire were distributed to customers of the big bazaar. Here the methodology were used is non-probability sampling and likert scale was used. The tool used for the survey is questionnaire which gives the output in a spreadsheet and

data is analyzed using SPSS. Data which is collected from interviewing the respondent is fed into SPSS. Later this is analyzed to get the result.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Customer preference analysis

Customer preference analysis is the process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Customer preference analysis should be centered on the key concept that customer satisfaction is the main goal. Customer preference analysis can serve as the foundation of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a set of specific actions required to successfully implement a marketing strategy. A strategy consists of a well thought out series of tactics to make a marketing plan more effective. Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives. Plans and objectives are generally tested for measurable results. Customer preference analysis often integrates an organization's marketing goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. Similarly, the various strands of the strategy , which might include advertising, channel marketing, internet marketing, promotion and public relations can be orchestrated. Many companies cascade a strategy throughout an organization, by creating strategy tactics that then become strategy goals for the next level or group. Each one group is expected to take that strategy goal and develop a set of tactics to achieve that goal. This is why it is important to make each strategy goal measurable. Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive.

According to Pankaj Gupta (2006) , Diversity of tastes and preferences affect the customers buying preferences. On the supplier side, sourcing base and efficiency, manpower availability and cost, real estate affects the retail sector. Emerging trends in food retail are increase focus on private labels, rise of organic foods and health and wellness segment.

According to Pooja Srivastav (2002), Retail is being hailed as Indias industry of the future, incited by the countrys huge urban middle class population. Food and grocery is the second-largest segment of the retail industry and the potential for new entrants in this segment is enormous,

particularly in untapped markets like rural and semi-rural areas. Growing at the rate of 30%, the Indian food retail is going to be the major driving force for the retail industry. The paper on

FOOD RETAIL AN EMERGING FACET maps out the Background of food retailing as well as

current scenario catching up the retail front, Up-and-coming multiple formats of food retail.

According to Ikerd in 1990, the US Congress defined sustainable agriculture not only as being environmental sound, but also needing to be economically viable and socially responsible Therefore, it is also useful to become familiar with the socioeconomic impacts of globalized and localized food systems. (Kari's Web Page on Sustainab.

According to Robinson (2002) the local food system is not without its drawbacks. Price premiums for locally produced food has limited the demographic reach of the local food system to those with greater financial security Local food systems are also unable to meet all consumer demands .Fresh produce is often not available year-round and the seasonality of products are more greatly reflected in a local food system.

According to Hendrick (2002) The means by which we acquire our food has seen significant changes over the past 50 years. There has been a vast consolidation of the production, distribution and retailing of food.

According to (Guptill,, Hendrickson ,Kloppenberg (2002) The food retail market has shifted fragmented supply chains and concentrated ownership, in what is commonly known as the global food system

CONCEPTUAL MODEL
Dependent Variable:

The dependent variable is the prime interest of the researcher. The dependent variable is one, which is affected by the independent variables. The variation in the dependent variable can be explained by the variation in the independent variable. Customers preference is identified as dependent variable in this study.

 Customer Preference Independent Variables:

The independent variable is one, which affects the dependent variable in a positive or negative way. Quality, Quantity and Prices are identified as independent variables.  Price  Quantity  Quality

Quantity

Quality

Customers Perception

Price

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This section discusses the sample selection procedure, variables selection, the model used for the research and the statistical techniques employed to find out the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable.

IDENTIFICATION OF VARIABLES:

Customers preference is identified as dependent variable in this study. Quality, Quantity and Prices are identified as independent variables.
SCALE AND MEASUREMENT:

Measurement means assigning numbers or other symbols to characteristics of objects according to certain pre-specified rules. Here, objects are not measured, but some characteristic of it. Thus, consumers are not measured only their perceptions, attitudes, preferences, or other relevant characteristics. To measure Variables, Likert scale is used in which respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement.

According to likert scale, 1 indicates strongly disagree 2 indicates Disagree 3 indicates Neutral 4 indicates Agree 5 indicates Strongly agree

For Example: for a variable Price the item can be measured as Strongly Disagree Prices are less than market prices in Big Bazaar Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

DATA COLLECTION PROCESS

SAMPLING METHODOLOGY Convenience sampling technique is used. It is a type of non probability sampling which involves selection of sample which is readily available and convenient. DATA SET: The source of data for this study is data acquired through questionnaire from customers of Big Bazaar, RTC CROSS ROAD. 50 questionnaires were floated among the respondents and 35 questionnaires were returned. The data is collected from the customers of Big Bazaar, RTC cross road through Questionnaires. Out of ---

No of males: 27 No of Females: 08

HYPOTHESIS

Null Hypothesis: The factors i.e. independent variable has no significant impact on the preference of the food items at Big Bazaar, RTC CROSS ROAD..

Individual Hypothesis: 1. Quality H0: Quality has a significant impact on the customers perception of Big Bazaar. H1: Quality does not have a significant impact on the customers of Big Bazaar.

2. Prices H0: Prices has a significant impact on the customers of Big Bazaar H1: Prices does not have a significant impact on the customers of Big Bazaar

3. Quantity H0: Quantity has a significant impact on the customers of Big Bazaar. H1: Quantity does not have a significant impact on the customers of Big Bazaar.

Instrumentation
The tool used for the survey is questionnaire which gives the output in a spreadsheet and data is analyzed using SPSS. Data which is collected from interviewing the respondent is fed into SPSS. Later this is analyzed to get the result.

FACTOR ANALYSIS
Communalities Initial customerperception price quality quantity 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 Extraction .501 .594 .996 .996

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Total Variance Explained Compo nent 1 2 3 4 Total 2.018 1.070 .912 -2.841E-17 Initial Eigenvalues % of Variance 50.440 26.752 22.808 -7.102E-16 Cumulative % 50.440 77.192 100.000 100.000 Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Total 2.018 1.070 % of Variance 50.440 26.752 Cumulative % 50.440 77.192

Component

1 customerperception price quality quantity -.186 -.018 .996 .996

2 .683 .770 .071 .071

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. a. components extracted.

RELIABILITY For the reliability analysis we have done the process of reliability analysis using SPSS software where in we have selected all the dependent and independent variables values to check their reliability. The result is as follows:

DEPENDENT VARIABLE: CUSTOMER PERCEPTION.

Case Processing Summary N Valid Cases Excluded Total

a

% 85.4 14.6 100.0

Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha .725 N of Items 4

35 6 41

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

As we know that if the Cronbachs alpha is greater than 0.6 the reliability is good and excellent if it is around 0.8 but the data is manipulated if it is 1. So as per Table the Cronbachs Alpha for my research is 0.725 which is reliable.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

a) Price
Case Processing Summary N Cases Valid Excludeda Total 35 6 41 % 85.4 14.6 .518 100.0 a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 3

As we know that if the Cronbachs alpha is greater than 0.6 the reliability is good and excellent if it is around 0.8 but the data is manipulated if it is 1. So the Cronbachs Alpha for my research project is 0.518 which is reliable.

b) Quality
Case Processing Summary N Cases Valid Excluded Total
a

% 35 6 41 85.4 14.6 100.0

Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha .714 N of Items 4

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

As we know that if the Cronbachs alpha is greater than 0.6 the reliability is good and excellent if it is around 0.8 but the data is manipulated if it is 1. So as per the Cronbachs Alpha for my research is 0.714 which is reliable.

C) Quantity

Case Processing Summary Reliability Statistics N Cases Valid Excludeda Total a. 35 6 41 % Cronbach's 85.4 14.6 100.0 Alpha .656 N of Items 4

Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

As we know that if the Cronbachs alpha is greater than 0.6 the reliability is good and excellent if it is around 0.8 but the data is manipulated if it is 1. So as per the Cronbachs Alpha for my research project is 0.656 which is reliable.

T-TEST

Group Statistics gender customerperception male female price male female quality male female quantity male female N 23 12 23 12 23 12 23 12 Mean 3.2717 3.0625 2.9275 3.2222 3.3152 3.3125 13.2609 13.2500 Std. Deviation 1.06843 .98929 1.13688 .92478 1.09029 .99502 4.36117 3.98006 Std. Error Mean .22278 .28558 .23706 .26696 .22734 .28724 .90937 1.14895

REGRESSION
Variables Entered/Removed Variables Model 1 Variables Entered quantity, price
a

Removed

Method . Enter

a. Tolerance = .000 limits reached. Model Summary M o d el 1 a. R .123a R Square .015 Adjusted R Square -.046 Std. Error of the Estimate 1.05588 R Square Change .015 F Change .246 df1 2 df2 32 Sig. F Change .783 Change Statistics

Predictors: (Constant), quantity, price

We perform regression analysis to indicate the relationship between the predictor and dependent variable. The value of adjusted R square should be high. From the above table ( model summary) it can be found that a negative 4.6% relation is obtained and the extent of relationship is 1.5% positive. The model summary included the three independent variables that are price, quality, quantity. The linear combination of the three independent variables is not related to dependent variables that is customer perception. ANOVA ANOVA stands for Analysis of variance. It is a technique to study cause and effect of one more factors on a single dependent variables. Anova is used when independent variables are of nominal scale and the dependent variable is metric .Anova is used to study the effect of multiple factors on the customer preference towards food items at Big Bazaar. Null hypothesis There is no significant difference in the consumer preference and various factors like price, quality and quantity Alternate hypothesis There is a significant difference in the consumer preference and various factors like price, quality and quantity

Model Summary M o d el 1 R .123a R Square .015 Adjusted R Square -.046 Std. Error of the Estimate 1.05588 R Square Change .015 F Change .246 df1 2 df2 32 Sig. F Change .783 Change Statistics

ANOVAb Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares .549 35.676 36.225 df 2 32 34 Mean Square .274 1.115 F .246 Sig. .783a

a. Predictors: (Constant), quantity, price b. Dependent Variable: customerperception Coefficientsa Standardized Unstandardized Coefficients Model 1 (Constant) price quantity B 3.275 .077 -.023 Std. Error .793 .170 .043 .079 -.094 Coefficients Beta t 4.130 .452 -.536 Sig. .000 .654 .596

a. Dependent Variable: customer perception

From the table it shows that, there is no significant level of the independent variable and price has no impact on customer perception. Here alternate hypothesis variable is rejected and null is accepted. For quality significant level is negative so we can say that it does not have a significant impact on D.V. Here alternate hypothesis is rejected and null is accepted.

CONCLUSION . From this research it is identified that price, quality and quantity have no impact over consumer perception. It shows that there are other various factor that influence the customer perception of food products in Big Bazaar, this is because none of the variable are significant. So to increase the consumer demand of the food products in Big Bazaar, the management should concentrate to other independent variables likeAge group, offers of products, variety, availability etc..

QUESTIONNAIRE

4. Please rate the following according to your importance (Please Mark a tick on the relevant fields). Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree Agree

I Prefer to shop at Big Bazaar regularly. I am satisfied when I shop at Big Bazaar I recommend others to shop at Big Bazaar I remember Big Bazaar whenever shopping comes to my mind I prefer shopping at Big Bazaar due to low price I feel that pricing at Big Bazaar is low compared to others I feel that customer preference of Big Bazaar will not be affected by a price hike in their products I think pricing strategy followed by Big Bazaar makes it more preferred All Food Products are fresh in Big Bazaar Big bazaar is strictly quality conscious I never doubt the freshness of food I get at Big Bazaar The quality of products in Big Bazaar is high if we compare with other markets Food Products are available in enough quantity. I feel the quantity which the big bazaar serves to its customers is pretty good I am satisfied with quantity offered for what I pay Any no. of bulk products will be available in Big Bazaar at any given point of time Big Bazaar provides variety of products I prefer Big Bazaar due to variety in products Big Bazaar provides more variety than any others shopping centers When I think of variety of products the first name come to my mind is Big Bazaar Overall shopping experience at Big Bazaar is a) Excellent b) Good c) Satisfactory d) Worst