A Study on the Purchasing Behaviour of Male and Female Customer

ABSTRACT:

The modern marketing management tries to solve the basic problem of consumers in

the area of consumption. To survive in the market, a firm has to constantly innovating and

understand the latest consumers needs and tastes. It will be extremely useful in exploiting

marketing opportunities and meeting the challenges that the Indian market offers. Today

consumers give more importance on environment friendly products. They are concerned

about health, hygiene and fitness. They prefer natural products. Hence detailed study on

upcoming groups of consumers is essential for any firm and the growth of consumer

protection movement has created an urgent need to understand how consumers make their

consumption and buying decision. More over consumer taste and preferences are ever

changing. The attitude and behaviour of such consumers are different. Men and women work

differently with different type of stimuli and different parameters of evaluation. Women seem

to have satisfaction and find pleasure while they shop. Whereas, men appear to be more

disdain towards shopping. This leads to adopt different marketing strategies by the

manufactures. In order to identify the attitude of consumers regarding purchase the study on ″

THE PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR OF MALE AND FEMALE CONSUMERS ″ has been

conducted.

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 INTRODUCTION

Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at

that time. Different people have different perceptions while they go for shopping. Some just

love to shop and think that’s the best thing to do, which gives them happiness also. Some just

do shopping just to get the necessary items that is their daily use items and don’t find

shopping that much fun. Gender also influences the buying behaviour of a particular person a

lot .There are certain aspects which influence the purchasing decisions of male and female

like their perception ,decision making, thinking etc . In measuring the market view-point, the

assignments of numbers must be made to the observation of the object. Thus some form of

measurement scale was formed by using appropriate Scaling Technique. Scaling technique

was often used to collect opinion of respondents about certain issue. These were the process

of measuring or ordering entities with respect to quantitative or qualitative attributes. A

scaling technique might involve estimating individuals' levels of extraversion, or the

perceived quality of products. Scales were tested for reliability, generalizability, and validity.

Generalizability are the ability of scale to make inferences from a sample about population.

Reliability are the extent to which, scale will produce consistent results. Validation can be,

Internal validation which checks the relation between the individual measures included in the

scale, and the composite scale and external validation checks the relation between the

composite scale and other indicators of the variable, indicators not included in the scale.

Generally, we classify scales into two components – Comparative and Non- comparative

Scales. In Comparative scaling, items are directly In marketing research there were several

types of measurement scales available depending upon the level of measurement – nominal,

ordinal, interval and ratio.

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Nominal – level of measurement where numbers were used as labels to classify objects.

Ordinal – provides information about ordered relationship among objects. Ordinal scale

measures whether an object has more or less of a characteristic than some other object, but

not how much more or less. Another use of ordinal scale was to measure rating of a particular

characteristic. Arbitrary scales are developed or designed by the researcher’s own subjective

selection of items. The researcher first collects few statements or items which he believe are

unambiguous & appropriate to a given topic. Some of these are selected for inclusion in the

measuring instrument & then people are asked to check in a list the statements with which

they agree.

The name of L.L Thurstone is associated with differential scales which have been developed

using consensus scale approach. Under such an approach the selection of items is made by a

panel of judges who evaluate the items of whether they are relevant to the topic area &

unambiguous in implication. After developing the scale, the respondents are asked during the

administration of the scale to check the statement with which they agree. The median value of

the statements that they check is worked out & this establishes their score Or quantifies their

opinion. It may be noted that in the actual instrument the statements are arranged in random

order of scale value. If the values are valid & if the opinionnaire deals with only one attitude

dimension, the typical respondent will choose one or several contiguous items (in term of

scale values ) to reflect his views. However , at times divergence may occur when a statement

appears to trap a different attitude dimension. Such scales are considered most appropriate &

reliable when used for measuring a single attitude.

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Comparison between the Arbitrary & Differential Scales

In case of Arbitrary scale the researcher himself collects few statements or items which he

believes are ambiguous & appropriate to a given topic where as in case of Differential Scales

the selection of the items is made by a panel of judges who evaluate the items in terms of

whether they are relevant to the topic area & ambiguous in implication.

PURCHASE DECISION

Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a purchase

decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. The marketing

organization must facilitate the consumer to act on their purchase intention. The organization

can use a variety of techniques to achieve this. The provisions of credit or payment terms

may be encourage or a sales promotion such as the opportunity to receive a premium or enter

a competition may provide incentives to buy now. The relevant internal psychological

process that is associated with purchase decision integration. Once the integration is

achieved, the organization can influence the purchase decision much more easily.

COMPLEX BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Consumer goes through complex buying behaviour when they are highly involved in a

purchase and aware of significant differences among brands. Consumers are highly. Involved

when the product is expensive, bought infrequently, risky and highly self expensive.

Typically the consumer does not know much about the product category and has much to

learn. For example, a person buying a computer may not know what attribute to look for.

Many of the product features like "16K memory", "disc storage", ″screen resolution″ carry no

meaning to him or her. This buyer will pass through a learning process characterized by first

developing benefits about the product the attitudes, and then making a thoughtful purchase

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choice. The marketer of a high involvement product must understand the information

gathering and evaluation behaviour of high involvement consumers. The marketer needs to

develop strategies that assist the buyer in learning about the attributes of the product class,

their relative importance, and the high standing of the company’s brand on the more

important attribute. The marketer needs to differentiate the brand’s features use mainly print

media and long copy to describe the brand’s acquaintances to influence the brand choice.

Sometimes the consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little difference in the

brands. The high involvement is again based on the fact that the purchase is expensive,

infrequent and risky. In this case the buyer will shop around to learn what is available, but

will buy fairly quickly because brand differences are not pronounced. The buyer may respond

primarily to a good price or to purchase convenience. After the purchase the consumer might

experience dissonance that stems from noticing certain disquieting features of the product or

hearing favorable things about other brands. The consumer will be alert to information that

might justify his or her decision. The consumer will first act, then acquire new beliefs and

end up with a set of attitudes. Here making communications should aim to supply beliefs and

evaluations that help the consumer feel good about his or her brand choice.

HABITUAL BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Many products are bought under conditions of low consumer involvement and the absence of

significant brand differences. Consider the purchase of salt, consumer have little involvement

in this product category. They go to the store and reach for the brand. If they keep reaching

for the same brand, it is out of habit, not strong brand loyalty. There is a good evidence that

consumer have low involvement with most low cost, frequently purchased products.

Consumer behaviour in these cases does not pass through the normal belief⁄ attitude⁄

behaviour sequence. Consumer do not searchextensively for information about the brands,

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evaluate their characteristics and make a weighty decision on which brand to buy. Instead

they are passive recipients of information as they watch television or see print advertisement.

Advertisement repetition creates brand familiarity rather than brand conation. Consumers do

not form a strong attitude towards a brand but select it because it is familiar. After purchase

they may not even evaluate the choice because they are not highly involved with the product.

So the buying process is brand beliefs formed by passive learning, followed by purchase

behaviour, which may be followed by evaluation.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To determine the gender role in purchase of goods.

 To study the spending habits of both male and female consumers.

 To find out more preferable type of goods by both male and female consumers.

 To find out the influencing factors both male and female consumers.

 To make suggestions to improve their purchasing behaviour more efficiently and

effectively

The Primary objective is:

To find out the Gender difference in buying behavior and brand preferences toward back

pack Secondary objectives are:

• Men prefer utility while buying a backpack

• Women prefer color while buying a backpack

• Women prefer design while buying a backpack .

Research Design

The research was designed in both Qualitative as well as Quantitative mode in order to obtain

the required data for the primary and secondary objectives.

Quantitative Phase Description

The Quantitative phase of study was conducted for primary data collection by an online

questionnaire to understand the gender difference in buying behaviour and brand preference

while purchasing a backpack.

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Observational research:

The observation research was carried out in Roshan Bag Mall, Coimbatore where it was

observed that the buying behaviour of men and women in an unobtrusive manner. Following

observations were made:

• Men preferred functionality

• Women preferred design

• Women buy multicolored bags

• Women stress on price factor

Focus Group Discussion

The study focuses on how men and women differ in terms of buying a unisex product, The

study was focused on getting the common trends which men and women consider while

buying a backpack. Thus a focus group discussion among men and women was conducted

separately.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This is an analytical and descriptive study conducted in Mattannur area for the period of three

months and is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected through

questionnaire using convenience sampling method from 30 respondents (15 from urban area

and 15 from rural area). For the analysis percentage (%) analysis is used. Secondary data

were collected from books, websites etc.

DATA COLLECTION APPROACH

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  Primary Data is collected through questionnaire, personal interview and face to face

interaction.

 Secondary data is collected through published material in research paper, Magazines

etc.

 Sample Size: 240 (120 males and 120 females)

 Sampling technique used: Quota sampling

 Tool used: Questionnaire.

HYPOTHESIS

1. H Nul: There is no relationship between gender and Anti-Aging and Anti-Wrinkle

cosmeceutical products.

H Alternate : There is a relationship between gender and Anti-Aging and Anti-Wrinkle

Cosmeceutical products.

2. H Null: There is no relationship between gender and Brand Image of Cosmeceutical

products.

H Alternate: There is a relationship between gender and Brand Image of Cosmeceutical

products.

3. H Null: There is no relationship between gender and Multifunctional Nature of

Cosmeceutical products.

H Alternate: There is a relationship between gender and Multifunctional nature of

Cosmeceutical products.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

Beautifying or decorating the body and the face is considered to be one of the

widespread methods and this activity is not only limited to older people but also gaining

attention of younger generation as well. Paint pigments have been found in archeological

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contexts over 75,000 years old, indicating that people may have decorated themselves with

body paint before they covered their bodies with clothing [6]. In 2008, the YWCA USA

developed a report, Beauty at Any Cost [7], which discussed the consequences of the beauty

obsession on women and girls in America. This report showed that not only does this beauty

obsession result in decreased levels of self-esteem, but it’s also putting a dent in the pocket of

many Americans. The YWMCA reported that $7 billion is spent each year on cosmetics .

According to Cash “the more women appeared to believe in the beautifying effect of

cosmetics, the more makeup they tended to apply on a daily basis.This is the fact that which

is important and is a point of concern for the skin care industry and the companies who are

marketing the cosmetic products. This will help the market players to develop their strategies

accordingly and also give an idea of consumption of cosmetic products by females.“

Cosmetics could play a significant part in increasing attractiveness because they may,

in part, enhance facial symmetry” .When wearing cosmetics women were also assigned

greater earning potential and considered to have more prestigious jobs than when they were

presented without makeup” .

According to the Li and Fung Research Center, the pursuit of beauty and health is no

longer confined to young women only [16].

As males were becoming more conscious about their looks and image in the past few

years that leads to increase in sales of male grooming products by 18 percent globally

between 2006 and 2011 .Male customers have to .

According to data monitor in years 2004-2009 the global men’s toiletries market

grew at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2%. Moreover data monitor group forecasts that

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by 2014, the male toiletries market will reach a value of $22.1 million at global level, leading

to a rise of 22% since 2009.

Author: Arslan Ayub

The authors of the paper have done research on the influence of gender based selling and

consumer buying behaviour. The paper also throws light on advertisements for gender-based selling.

Surveys were conducted with the population consisting of mainly the upper and the middle class

people. According to the survey 65% of both the upper and middle class people surveyed were n

support of the hypothesis. And also out of the 20 females who were interviewed 40% were in support

with the gender based selling while 30% were neutral to it. The result of this paper shows that there is

a positive influence on the consumer buying behaviour in result of the gender-based consumer

targeting.

Gender attitude toward the ad: Gender marketing Author: Eva Kujistermans In this paper, two

commercials are included in the survey, a Coca Cola commercial and a McDonalds commercial. The

Coca-Cola commercial is expected to evoke a more positive attitude amongst women, the McDonalds

commercial is expected to be more appealing to men. Remarkable is the fact that women have a more

positive attitude towards both commercials and attitude differences are largest for the McDonalds

commercial. Mean scores between the two genders significantly differ on twice as many items for the

McDonalds commercial as they do for the Coca Cola commercial. In both cases, women rank all the

positive items higher than by men and men than by women rank all the negative items higher. Even

though the two genders significantly differ in their feelings, judgment and attitude toward

advertisements it seems that for a marketing campaign to be successful, it should be adapted to

women’s preferences and will then appeal to men as well. In the book Marketing to Women Barletta

introduces the Gender Trends Marketing Model, which is based on gender 2015 M. Sathish, Sachin

Menon and Yuvaraaj Mahendran 14 differences between men and women (Barletta, 2006, p.37).

The Gender Trends Model is based on four-star points, which contain the main gender

differences: focus strategies, communication keys, life/time factors and social values. According to

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Barletta, these star points should be aligned with the elements of the marketing mix in order to plan a

successful marketing approach (Barletta, 2006, p.40) this paper talks about the gender attitude toward

the ad and gender marketing.

Analyzing the relationship between consumption values and brand loyalty of young people: A

study on personal care products Authors: Burcu Candan, Sevtap Ünal, Aysel Erciş c One of the most

up to date models that explain consumers’ purchase behavior is the consumption values model

developed by Sheth (1991a) (Pope, 1998:125). By focusing on the consumption values, the theory

explains why consumers buy a product or not, why they prefer one product to another and why they

prefer a specific brand. This theory also includes a wide range of product categories such as physical

and non-physical consumption goods, industrial goods and services (Sheth et al., 1991b:159) Five

basic consumption values that affect consumers’ preference behaviors are named as functional,

emotional, conditional, social and epistemic values. Any or all of the consumption values may affect

the consumer behavior.

According to Sheth et al. (1991), the five basic consumption values are described as the

following: Functional Value: Sheth (1991) claim that customers are initially affected by the functional

value of a product in their preferences; “Price, quality and value” are the main determiners in

consumers’ rational purchase behaviors and product preferences

Social Value: According to Sheth at al (1991), social value is “the benefit that is perceived

and obtained in relation to one social group or several social groups”. Social classes are generally

determined according to “work, education and income status”. Apart from that, classification of social

classes can be made by prestige, status, adopted values etc. (Myers and Bishop 1971:8). Emotional

Value: In the framework of consumer behaviors, emotions can be described as feelings or emotional

reactions against components like “situations, products, advertisements and brands” (Hawkins et al.,

1992:19)

Epistemic Value: Epistemic value can be described as the curiosity that is perceived or

obtained from the product and the benefit that meets the desire and need of innovation (Sheth, 1991a).

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Conditional Value: Conditional value can be described as the benefit that arises as a result of a

specific condition the person who is making a preference comes across and is perceived at that

moment. The factors of “time, place and environment” are considered to be the main determiners in

the identification of conditional factors (Hansen, 1972; Belk, 1974:428) Age and factors influencing

consumer behavior

Author: Catherine Hervine and Etienne Mullet When evaluating a product or service,

consumers seek out information to judge whether that specific product will meet certain criteria. The

main concern of sales providers is how to increase their purchasers' willingness to buy a product. The

authors studied the impact of age on the perceived importance and interaction of 15 International

Academic Research Journal of Business and Management October three factors known to influence

people when buying clothes: price, durability and suitability. A sample of 160 French adults aged 18–

90 rated their likelihood of buying an item of clothing in 27 scenarios, in which three levels (low,

moderate and high) of each of the above three factors were combined in an orthogonal factorial

design. For younger participants, a low price was considered a sufficient reason to buy the item of

clothing. For older participants suitability was a more important factor while for the youngest people,

durability was the most important. With similarity to this study we are planning the study of gender

difference and brand preferences in choosing backpacks.

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 QUESTIONNAIRES

Name Age

1. Gender a)Male b)Female

2. How often do you go for shopping?

a) daily b) Once in a week c) Once in a month d) More than that

3. From where you prefer or like to purchase?

a)Malls b) Shops c) Any other, please specify

___________________________

4. How much time do you spend on shopping?

a) 0-1hr b) 1hr-2hrs c)2hrs-3hrs d) more than that

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5. What is your maximum purchase limit range in general (per month)?

a)RS 500 to 1000 b) RS 1000-2000 c) RS 2000-5000 d)more than 5000

6. Which of the following attributes do you consider while buying new products?

a)Affordable b)Dependable c) Popular & Stylish d) Any other

7. Which of the below things influences you while buying a new product?

a)Newspapers or magazine advertisements

b) Friends or relatives suggestions

c) Any other , please specify

8. Do you check the M.R.P.(Maximum Retail Prices) before buying the products?

a) Yes b) No

9. Do you check the prices, of goods you buy From alternative sources?

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 a) Yes b) No

10. If you find the product is more costly than what you usually spend, would you still

buy it?

a)Yes b) No

11. Do you go for bargaining or you buy the product at the price offered by the shopkeeper?

a) Yes b)No

12. If shopkeeper does not reduce the price would you still buy the peoduct?

a)Yes b) No

13. What percent of discount do you think is appropriate foe buying a new product?

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 a)10%-20% b) 20&-30% c) Mre than 30

14. Do you wait for festival season offers or sale offers?

a) Yes b) No

15. Who influences the purchasing decision in your family?

a) Father b) Mother c) Children

16. How often you go for replacement if in case the product doesn’t suit you after buying?

a) Sometimes b) Everytime c) Doesn’t bother

17. According to you, whose purchasing decision is superior?

a) Male b) Female

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