IGNOU Study Notes BRL-002 | Unit-2 (Understanding Shopper and Shoppers Behaviour)

Unit-2 | UNDERSTANDING SHOPPERS AND SHOPPER'S BEHAVIOR
Part-1

Structure

2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Retail Activties
2.3 Consumer's Shopping Behavior Patters
2.4 Factors Affecting Consumer/ Shopper Decision Making Process
2.5 Stages of Counsumer Decision Process
2.6 Types of Consumer Decision Making Process
2.7 Influence of Situational Vaiables on Shopping Behavior
2.8 Consumer Images of Retail Stores.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

After Studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Describe retail activites;
• Explain Consumer's shopping behaviour patterns;
• Illustrate factors that influence consumer / shopper behaviour,
• Explain the consumer decision making processes;
• Identify situational variably which influence shopping behaviour.

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The distinct consumer behavioral segment offer major challenge for not only retailers in Indai but elsewher in the world too. The astitute retailer presents significant opportunities to build necessary competencices that can be leverged for creating a viable business - consumer prepositions. This covers four broad areas as under.

Customer Orientation :-
Where the retailer studies consumer behaviour and buying trends and fulfills those needs.

Goal Orientation :-
The retailer has clear goals and targets to achieve as per a given formulated strategy.

Value driven apprach :-
The retailer makes a careful study of the value of the goods to be sold and its perception in the consumer mind.
Price adn quality and plays an important role here.

Coordinate effort :-
Every activity within the retail space is aligned to a goal to maximize efficiency in servicing the customer and deliver value.

2.2 RETAIL ACTIVITES :-

To fulfill customer needs, retailers undertake various business activites which add value to offerings in their store.
Some of the major activites are given below:

Breaking Bulk:
Breaking Bulk is believed to derive from the french word retaillerre, meaning to cut a piece off.
Trading or retailing at one point of time was consider as mean and depicable profession.

Holding Stock:
Retailers also offer the service of holding stock for manufacturs.
They maintain an inventory that allows for instant availability of the prodcut to the consumers.
The Public Distruibutin System (PDS) is good.

Additional Service:
Providing prodcut guarantees, after sales service and handling customer grievances are some, of the services that add value to the product at the retail point.

Retail Customer Behavior and Role of Service in Retailing

A customer is someone who necessarily buys from the retailers.
A shopper is someone who may or may not buy form the retailer.
Majority of the customers still prefer to purchase through stores.
Stores remain popular because of the following basic reasons:

• Need to touch and feel the product prior to buying.
• It allows social interaction and the opportunity to compare brands at one place.
• It initiates impulse buying by the look and physical feel of the product such as chocolates, snacks and magazines.
• Customers also look for ambience and convenince in shopping.
• Consumer money drives the economy, and retail is where consumers spend their money-such as in boutiques, restaurants, discounts stores, and e-tailers.
• Counsumer shopping behaviour can be understood analyzing factors such as demographic, psychological, or the lifecycle of the consumer.

Retailers must understand their consumer better so that they can both respond to and anticipate their needs proactively.
Some of the major criteria for the right approach to a customer's requirements are:
• Creating the right environment.
• Listening to customer.
• Providing rewards to frequent buyers.
• Realizing the lifetime value of a customer and ensuring loyalty.

2.3 CONSUMER'S SHOPPING BEHAVIOR PATTERNS

→ Consumer behaviour follows no fixed pattern according to behavioral scientists and is therefore very difficult to map.
→ The and effort for buying, using and dispoing goods and services. In retail, marketers are keen to know the consumers shopping behaviour, which involves an understanding of decision variables like when, where, and what to shop.
→ It is important to know what and from where the shoppers shop and the reasons that prompt their the tangible or intangible features necessary to realize to consumer's expectations of benefits.

Personal Factors:
(1) Personality
(2) Role-playing
(3) Diversion
(4) Self gratification
(5) Learning of new trends
(6) Physical activity.
(7) Sensory stimulation

Social Factors:
(1) Social experience outside home
(2) Communication with other's with similar interest
(3) Peer group attraction
(4) Status and authority
(5) Pleasure bargaining

2.4 FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER/SHOPPER DECISION MAKING PROCESS

→ A Counsumer's purchase decision tends to be affected by these four factors :-

(1) Demographic Factors: Demographic factors are unique to a person. It involves identification of who is responsible for the decision making or buying and who is the ulimate consumer.
All stores have fousced themselves on repetive segments based on factors such as age, income family size, gender, occupation, etc.
For example a designer store for Apparel is usually located in an market shopping center or Mall. It cannot succeed in a low-income group residential area.

(2) Psychological Factors: Psychological factors refer to the inner aspects of an individual.
An understanding of consumer's psychological guides the retailer's segmentation strategy.
Cosumers respond differently towards the same retail marketing due to thei respective moties, personality, level of involvement and attitude.

(a) Motives
(b) Perception
(c) Learning
(d) Attitude

(3) Environmental Factors: Environmental factors are both physical and social factors.
The environment factors influence consumer wants, learning, motives etc. which in turn influence affective and cognitive responses and therefore shopping behaviour of the individual.

(4) Social Class: Social status of an individual plays an important role even in determining the frequency of purchase. Majority of the middle class consumers prefer to buy vegetable in the morning for their freshness despite the prices being on the higher side, on the contrary the lower end sections of the society prefer to buy at late evenings to get benefits of low prices.