Project Proposal

for

Studying Buying Behaviour

Of

Fruits in Ahmedabad

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Prof. Toby Mammen Monika Bharara

Nirmal Maloo

Poonam Mehta

Vaishnu Dass
Fruits Production in India:
India now ranks first in the world in the combined production of fruits and vegetables. Out of 370 million
tons of fruit production in the world, India accounts for 30 million tons. The horticultural crops in the
country presently cover 13.6 million hectares of land, i.e. 7 per cent of the gross cropped area and
contribute 18 – 20 per cent of the gross value of India’s agricultural output. India is the largest producer of
mango and banana in the world and has firth position in the production of pineapple and sixth in the
production of orange, tenth in the production of apple. The diverse soil and climatic conditions in the
country makes it possible to cultivate a wide variety of fruits in various parts of the country. All this
shows us the amount of fruits produced in India and shows us the production scenario; this data can be
used to define the horticultural practices of India.

Project Introduction:
The project would be concentrated on studying the buying behavior and consumption pattern of fruits in
local markets of Ahmedabad. The study would consider different attributes in different sets which would
evaluate the overall perception of a consumer which he keeps in mind when buying a fruit. The study
would answer all the questions describing What, When, Why, Where and How different factors contribute
in making the mindset of the consumer.

Objective:
To statistically analyze the dependency of the factors that influence the preferences and perceptions of
consumer while buying fruits.

We will try to strengthen our analysis by answering following questions:

• Is there a difference in consumption of type/variety of fruits amongst based on community,

religion and state etc (i.e. Sindhi, Gujarati, northern, southern)?

• Is there a difference in consumption of type/variety of fruits amongst different income group/SEC

group?

• What are the reasons due to which fruits are consumed differently by different sections of
society?

• What is the level of awareness in terms of nutritional value?

• What is the dependency of seasonal availability of fruits on buying behavior?

• Are people aware of cold storage used for preserving fruits for longer durations?

• What is the attitude of people towards organized and unorganized retail?

• What is the dependency of likelihood of fruits on the place of origin?

• What is the definition of freshness in the according to consumer?

Target Audience
Our target audience would be those people who buy fruits frequently. We have categorized them into
mainly two groups namely male and female based on gender. Females have been classified as working
females and house wives. And then both males and females have been differentiated as graduate and
under-graduate. This has been done to show the impact of education on their buying behavior. House
wives again have been divided into graduate and under graduate.

(Sir, we have a doubt here that can we divide working females also in 2 parts like (grads n under grads)).

Male Female

Household House wives Working Female

Income Graduate Under-Graduate Graduate Under-Graduate

Up to 10,000 40 40 40 40 40

10000-20000 40 40 40 40 40

Above 20000 40 40 40 40 40

We have taken a sample size of 1200 people. We have divided the respondents equally in each segment as
each segment will equally impact on the overall buying behavioral attitude.

Methodology:
PHASE I

First of all exploratory research was conducted to understand the objective of our project completely.

Then various personal interviews were conducted to find the means end chain. With the help of means
end chain we came to know about many attributes and various factors and perceptions which are in the
minds of customers while buying fruits. To mention the attributes precisely we can categorize them in
broadly these categories:

• Attributes Dependent on Sense

These attributes are taste, sound, odour, eating, feel, looks like, package and form. These attributes signify
the extrinsic behavior of the consumer while buying the fruits. The response to these attributes may be
positive, negative or neutral; it all depends on the perception of the consumer.

• Attributes Dependent on Function

When buyers concentrate on attributes like use, preparation and health (nutritive value) benefits he has
some perception which is solely dependent on the functional value of fruits. These attributes would define
various responses like different ways in which fruits can be used, who are the different group of people
who use certain fruits, specific time of consumption, consumption with some other products.
 • Attributes Dependent on Horticulture

In these attributes recording the responses to the awareness of the consumer about the place of origin of
the fruits and method of growing and storing the fruit would be considered. Here we would also take in
consideration the attributes like the place of vending or buying the fruit and also the commonality of the
fruit.

• Attributes Dependent on Economic perception

Price would certainly show the economic dependence on the buying behavior of fruits. Seasonality would
show the availability of the fruit and would certainly be one of the most prominent factors in the price
fluctuations.

• Attributes Dependent on Consumption pattern

Like Quantity would be able to define the amount of fruits consumed by a consumer per day. That would
provide us the data for estimating the future demand, and then time would be able to define the frequency
of buying of fruits and also the attributes relating to the perishability of the fruits etc.

PHASE II

In this phase we would build the sampling plans and questionnaire. The sampling technique we will
follow is convenience sampling. Convenience sampling will be good technique as generally all people
consume fruits irrespective of their income, education level, gender etc, but there is a difference in their
consumption pattern. In convenience sampling our main sample will be households.

Then the questionnaire will be made. In questionnaire we will try to capture all the attributes and
perceptions of customers buying behavior. In the first section we would get the demographic information,
the second section would try to take out and capture the attributes that consumer normally perceive while
buying fruits. We will also use Likert scale to perfectly define the attitude of the consumer while buying
the fruit. The third section would contain questions that would check there awareness levels for different
aspects like nutritional value, cold storage, perishability etc. The questionnaire would be subjected to pilot
testing and then accordingly after making the corrections the final questionnaire would be prepared.

PHASE III

After making a finalized questionnaire we will get to the field to get the questionnaires filled. To work in
field we have allotted ten days in which we would be visiting different wards of Ahmedabad. Once the
questionnaires will be filled we will get all the data needed for our analysis. Then the collected data will
be fed will the help of code sheet for analysis.

PHASE IV

The analysis of the data will be done using techniques like factor analysis, ratio analysis, regression
analysis, discriminant analysis. In factor analysis we will take certain attributes which affect the buying
behavior of customers. Then with the help of factor analysis we will come to know those attributes which
belong together and are uncorrelated with other attributes. Then these combined attributes which from a
single set will be examined to obtain a better understanding of buying behavior. Through various
analytical tools we would try to show different relations and dependencies of various attributes on the
perception on the buying behavior and pattern of consumption of the fruits. We would also try to answer
various questions formulated while building the objectives. Ike through regression analysis we would
show the trend by which one attribute changes due to change in other attribute and so of similar kind.

This is the field work schedule for our primary research which includes the areas which will be covered
by us during this market survey.

No. Area Sample Size

1 Satellite 48

2 Vastrapur 48

3 Bodak dev 48

4 Gurukul 48

5 Memnager 48

6 Drive in 48

7 Naranpura 48

8 Ranip 48

9 Karmchari nagar 48

10 C G road 48

11 Ellis bridge 48

12 Gulbai tekra 48

13 Panchvati 48

14 Ambavadi 48

15 University area 48

16 St. Xavier college 48

17 HL college 48

18 L D engineering 48

19 Jodhpur village 48

20 Vejalpur 48

21 Jivaraj park 48

22 Vasana 48
23 Shahibagh 48

24 Bapunagar 48

25 Maninager 48

Total size 1200

The schedule which we will follow is as follows:

1st July 08 to 5th July 08 Exploratory Research of Consumer Buying Pattern

Gathering Data which would be Defining the Consumer
Profile

6th July 08 to 14th July 08 Secondary Data Collection

Objectives:
Overview of fruits economy of India
Marketing Strategies of fruits
Consumption pattern of different fruits
Identification of various fruit markets

15th July 08 to 15 Aug 08 Research Design

Defining Problem
• 2 days for pilot testing of Preparing the Hypothesis
questionnaires Forming Questionnaires
• 10 days for Data Collection Data Collection
Refine Data
Data Entry in SPSS

16th Aug 08 to 20th Aug 08 Analysis

Statistical Tests
Factor Analysis
Discrete Analysis
Interpretation

21st Aug 08 to 30th Aug08 Project Report

Cost of Field Work (10 days field work)
We will cover 25 areas. The mode of transportation will be auto or bike. We have considered the fare of
auto while calculating the expenses.

Traveling Expenses

Satellite Rs. 20
Vastrapur Rs. 20
BodakDev Rs. 14
Gurukul Rs. 50
Memnagar Rs. 50
Drive in Rs. 50
Naranpura Rs. 80
Ranip Rs. 120
Karmchari Nagar Rs. 120
CG Road Rs. 80
Ellis Bridge Rs. 100
Gulbai tekra Rs. 80
Panchvati Rs. 70
Ambavadi Rs. 60
University area Rs. 90
St. Xavier College Rs. 80
HL College Rs. 80
LD Engineering College Rs. 80
Jodhpur Village Rs. 100
Vejalpur Rs. 70
Jivaraj Park Rs. 70
Vasana Rs. 100
Shahibagh Rs. 160
Bapunagar Rs. 200
Maninagar Rs. 120

Total Traveling Expenses Rs. 2064

Stationary Expenses Rs. 200

Printing Expenses Rs. 3000

Total Expenses Rs. 5264

Limitations

Consumer’s response:
Consumer’s positive response is required for getting appropriate information. Here problem comes when
consumers don’t have enough time to co-operate. As per the consumer’s convenience, we have to ask
them questionnaires.

Selection of appropriate analysis method:

Once collection of data has been done next step is to analyze it. There are various methods for analysis.
The method of analysis will be based on the objective. Wrong method will spoil the whole project
concept.

Time Constraint:
This type of project needs to be done exhaustively but we do not have enough time in our hands to do the
in-depth study as demanded by this project.