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Learning Centre Code:1875

A Project Report
On
“ANALYSIS OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF
CONSUMER WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO KANPUR CITY
Submitted by
Shiv Kumar Gaur
MBA
ENR. NO. 520869880

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For the Degree of MBA

Of Sikkim Manipal University,India

Distance Education Wing

Sikkim Manipal University
Distance Education wing, Syndicate House
Manipal-576119
 Student Declaration

I hear by declare that the Project report Entitled

“ANALYSIS OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMER

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KANPUR CITY

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MBA to

Sikkim Manipal University, India, is my original work and not subitted for the
award of any other Degree, Diploma,fellowship, or any other similar titlle or
prizes

Shiv Kumar Gaur

ENR. NO. 520869880
 EXAMINERS’S CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that dissertation titled “ANALYSIS OF BUYING

BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMER WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
KANPUR CITY

SUBMITTED BY Shiv Kumar Gaur in partial fulfillment of the requirement

for the award of degree of MBA of Sikkim Manipal University and is bonafied
record of the work done by him.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

University study Centre Certificate

 This is to certify that the project entitled “ANALYSIS OF BUYING
BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMER WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
KANPUR CITY

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MBA of Sikkim Manipal University, India. subitted for the award of any
other Degree, Diploma,fellowship, or any other similar titlle or prizes

Roopesh upadhyay
Head
Lcearning centre

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 I am deeply indebted to Mr. Sanjay Mitra my research
guide, the MULTI MANAGEMENT INFOTECH, Kanpur without his
help completion of the project was highly impossible.

I take this opportunity as privilege to articulate my deep sense

of gratefulness to ANALYSIS OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMER
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO KANPUR CITY
for their timely help and positive encouragement. It was a
pleasure to work with these people and some other project
trainees as a team and a family.

I would like to acknowledge all my family members,

relatives, and friends for their help and encouragement.

Place : KANPUR

Date : Shiv Kumar

Gaur
PREFACE

Retailing accounts for about 15 to 20 percent of employment in many

development countries. The retailing business is amount the largest employers in

most countries. For the most part, the retailing arena in post-independence India

has remained in the unorganized sector, and largely untouched by corporate

business principles.

This situation started to change is slowly in the 1980s, When India first

began opening up its economy. Textiles, which included companies like Bombay

Dyeing, Raymond, S Kumar’s and Grasim, was the first sector to see the

emergence of retailing chains. Titan maker of premium watches successfully

created a retailing concept in hitherto uncharted territory in India, by establishing

its series of elegant showrooms. These examples were however, few and far

between, from the mid eighties to the early nineties. There was nevertheless a

common thread running through this early retail make over. This was the

increasing dissatisfaction of the Indian manufactures with the prevailing retail

environment. The 200-500 square feet, over – the counter retails outlets with

poorly designed interiors, were not the ideal surrounding for placing a brand on

which a marketer would otherwise be spending a lot of effort and resources.

 The latter half of the increase has seen a fresh wave of entrants in the

retailing business. This time round, it is not the adventurous or innovative

manufacturer looking for one more avenues to build brand equity. These are pure

retailers who have no serious plans for getting into manufacturing. These new

retailer aims to live or die within the confines of their retails offerings. And this

time, it is not just textile or garment sellers.

There are entrants in various files of commerce – Food world and

Subhiksha in food and FMCD, Planet M, Music world, Music café, Fast Forward

and Groove in music : Crossword. Fountainhead and Navneet in books, Viveks

and Vijay Sales, through old hands in the consumer durables game, plan to

expand at a rapid pace. The scenario is similar for some existing players like

Niligiri’s or Arvind Brands, who seem to have decided that this is the time to be

up and running. The oil companies no longer want to stick to inflammables.

However, garments still remain a favored spot for big players. Glob us and

Lifestyle have offerings that rival international standards. Then there are those

who want it all under one roof, so you are not at cross purposes when you enter a

Crossroads in Mumbai or an Ansals Plaza in Delhi, Yes, and the syndrome is not

in India as well.
 WHY STUDY RETAILING
So far, it has been seen that retailing is a vital and involuntary action

performed by the living structure of the market economy (as opposed to the case

in a barter economy). In a barter economy, barter transactions take place between

consumers themselves. Consumers interact directly whereas in a centralized

market economy, transactions taking place at a larger scale (both in terms of

volume and variety) necessitate an interface between the manufacturers and final

consumers. Hence we reinforce the fact that retailing is not a new deal. This

industry is extant as an interface between production and consumption, from

times immemorial, benefiting us – consumers or producers in the various ways

discussed above.

My study concentrates on organized retailing, which consists of shopping

malls, markets, chain stores, and like. In the last few years a shift occurred in

India from individual retail outlets owned separately and managed distinctively

to professionally managed retailing. This is an industry, which has now started

attracting better investments and talent. Things changed primarily because of the

rising expectations of Indian consumers and the corporate responding quickly.

Today, the industry (in India) seems to be functioning somewhere between the
accelerated development and maturity stages, with high growth rates, intense

competition and moderate profitability.

In order to get an idea of the magnitude of the issue we are dealing with,

we look at the international scenario. During 1992, the largest 100 retailers in the

world generated over $1.1 trillion in revenues.

Retailing is the second largest industry in the world, one of the largest

employers of the world and an index of economic growth. In India there are

about 5 million retail outlets varying in sizes and nomenclatures. India has the

highest number of retail outlets per capita in the world but has the lowest retail

space per capita in the world (2 ft / person). Out of these 5 million outlets 96%

are smaller than 500 sq. ft. in area 3. There are about 3 million outlets in India’s

3700 designated towns and more than 6,00,000 villages. About 350 million

people live, within one-minute walk of these retail shops.

According to retail census conducted by market researcher ORG-MARK,

Rs. 4,79,568 crore worth of products were sold through these 5 million retail

outlets.

Manufacturers owned and retail chain stores are springing up in urban

areas to market consumer goods to the middle class in a much similar style as

malls around the globe. At present about 8% of the Indian population is

employed in the retailing industry as against 20% in USA. As India moves

towards the service oriented economy, a rise in this percentage is expected. The

number of the retail outlets is growing at about 8.5% annually in the urban areas
and in towns with population between 1,00,000 to 1 million; the growth rate is

about 4.5%

According to Kurt Association, a global management consulting firm,

organized retailing seems all set to power ahead from Rs. 5000 crore currently to

about Rs. 30,000 crore in next five years. A.T. Kearney reports that organized

retailing will account for about 20% of the total $8 trillion retail market in India

in the next 5-7 years as against 1-2% today.

Consumer Spend by 2005 (in Rs. crore)

Unorganised Retailing : 7,08,836

Organized Retailing :

Food and grocery 5,956

Non food 23,886

In India, organized retailing is catching up fast. Yet retailing is to be

recognized as full-fledged industry in the India. Organized retailing is bound to

grow tremendously provided the right marketing strategies are adopted.

Even though the big retail chains are concentrating on the upper segment

and selling products at higher prices like Crossroads, Akbarally’s and Shopper’s

Stop, retail stores are sprouting that cater to the needs of the middle class. With a

huge middle class population, the retailers like RPG’s Food World are tapping

this market. The market is flooded with products – branded and unbranded.

The customers are in a dilemma as to pick which one! The organized retail

chains, display all the products and the most attractive product catches the
customer attention. Gone are the days of customer loyalty increasing number of

products of similar quality hitting the market? Differentiation plays the lead role.

According to Mr. Simon Bell of A.T. Kearney, there is a close relation between

the growth of brands and the growth of the organized retailing. “Companies

selling branded products prefer to have big and organized retail outlets such as

supermarkets where there can be differentiated from unbranded products” he

opines. India is going through that phase in retailing, which the US experience in

80s and early 90s. From product based shopping, the importance has shifted to

experience based shopping.

The customers of the 21st century would expect to pick his / her own

products from an array of choices rather than asking the local kirana wallas to

deliver a list of monthly groceries. Thus the way of distribution of products has

gained importance in the past decade.

 WHAT IS RETAILING
“Retailing consists of those business activities, which are involved, in the

sale of goods or services to consumers for their personal, family or household

use”. It is the final stage in the distribution process for goods and services from

manufacturers to final consumers.

Final
Consumer

Wholesa
Retaile
Manufactu
ler
r rer

Retailing involves :

• INTERPRETING NEEDS OF THE CONSUMERS

• DEVELOPING GOOD ASSORTMENTS OF MERCHANDISE

• PRESENTING THEM IN EFFECTIVE MANNER SO THAT

CONSUMERS FIND IT EASY AND ATTRACTIVE TO BUY.

Retailing differs from marketing in the sense that is refers to only those

activities, which are related to marketing goods and / or services to final

consumers for personal, family or household use. Whereas marketing, according

to American Marketing Association, refers to “the process of planning and

executive the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and
services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational

objectives.”

Organizational buyers purchase in order to perform a task or sell a product

effectively, efficiently and at a profit. They could be industrial buyers or

intermediary buyers. Industrial buyers are those who purchase goods and

services to be used in or to air manufacturing process. Intermediary buyers are

those (i.e. wholesalers and retailers) who buy merchandise for resale. Retailers

include street vendors, local supermarkets, department stores, restaurants, hotels,

barbershops, airlines and even bike and car showrooms. Still retailing may or

may not involve the use of a physical location. Mail and telephone orders, direct

selling to consumers in their homes and offices and vending machines all fall

within the purview of retailing. In addition to it, retailing may or may not

involve a “retailer”. Manufacturers, importers, non-profit firms and wholesalers

are acing as retailers when they sell goods and / or services to final consumers.

Whatever the form of retailing, a retail marketing strategy defines the

execution of the marketing process and facilitation of customer satisfaction. This

retail marketing strategy involves selecting a retail target market (i.e. the

carefully / exactly identified group of final consumers that a retailer seeks to

satisfy) and then implementing the corresponding retail marketing mix (i.e. a

combination of product, price, promotion and distribution strategies that will

satisfy the retail target market). The elements of the marketing mix encompass
the facets shown in the table below. The table depicts consumer service as the

crux of the whole activity.

THE INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

Hence, commencing the study of retailing industry, we must first look at its

structure – what the retailing industry is made up of, what is looks like. The

structure of the retailing industry can be studies from two perspectives –

according to the form of ownership of various retail units or according to

the strategy mix that various retailers adopt.

Based on the form of ownership, various types of retailers comprising the

retailing industry are described below :

1. An unaffiliated or independent retailer is one who owns and

operates only one retail outlet. A family mostly owns it with high

dependence on the owner, thus affecting long run success and

employee morale. He is supposed to have a friendly personalized

image and his offering reflects the tastes and preferences of its owners

and customers. Kirana shops are very good examples of such retailers.

2. A Chain retailer or corporate retail chain owns and operates

multiple retail outlets (store units) under common ownership. Most

chains have well defined management philosophies, which tend to be

solid overall strategies. These contribute towards limiting the

 independence of the local owners of the individual units who, in

addition, lack commitment also.

Consistent strategies with reference to store hours, product assortment,

prices, sales personnel, promotion and other policies must be maintained

throughout all branches in order to project a particular image to the chain. This

calls for centralized decision making which in turn result in difficulties for

individual units in adapting to local needs of the target markets.

There also exist associations of independent retailers, which are formed in

order to compete more effectively with corporate chain stores. They enjoy

benefits of a corporate chain while still maintaining status of individual owners.

These associations could be formed with other retailers (known as co-operative

chains), with sponsorship by a wholesaler (known as voluntary chains) rather

than by the retailers themselves or by franchise agreements sponsored by

manufacturers or distributors (known as dealers) or by service firms (known as

franchisees.)

3. A Franchise system results from a contractual agreement between a

franchiser and a retailer franchisee, thus allowing the franchisee to

conduct a given form of business under an established name as per a

particular business format in return for an initial fee and a percentage

of monthly gross sales as royalty. It helps franchise to create national

or international presence quickly and with similar investments (than

 required by the franchise alone for creating such a presence

independently).

There are some key questions that a franchisee must answer while

evaluating franchisee opportunity :

• Does the franchise have a strong chance of competing in his community?

• Does the franchise have potential for further growth or does its success

depend on a fad?

• Will franchise ownership be an advantage in the business he is considering

or could he do as well on his own.

• What is the company’s attitude towards –

Development of new products, franchisee termination and renewal, and

territorial protection for existing franchisees?

4. A Leased Department (LD) is a department in a retail store that is

rented to an outside party. If the existing store is well known, with a

large number of steady customers, it becomes easier for the LD to

generate immediate sales. It operates in categories on the fringe of the

store’s major product lines and it must be taken care that it is not a

parasite and does not live off the traffic generated by other parts of the

store. Thus goods or services lines that it can offer may be restricted.

Apart from this, various requirements are imposed to ensure overall

consistency and co-ordination.

 5. Vertical Marketing System (VMS) is comprised of all the levels of

business along a channel of distribution (Refer to Fig. 1) In an

independent VMS, there are three levels of independently owned

businesses – manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Such a system is

most beneficial if manufacturers, and / or retailers are small, intensive

distribution is sought and customers are widely distributed.

In a partially integrated VMS, two independently owned businesses (most

likely a manufacturer and retailer) along a channel perform all production and
distribution functions without the aid of the third i.e. wholesaler. This type of
systems most appropriate distribution is sought and existing wholesalers are too
expensive or unavailable.
Through a fully integrated VMS, a single firm performs all production and
distribution functions without the aid of any other firms. A fully integrated VMS
enables a firm to have total control over its strategy, to have direct contact with
final consumers, to have higher retail markups without raising prices (by
eliminating channel members), to be self sufficient and not rely on others and to
have exclusively over the goods and services offered.
6. Consumer – Co-operatives are retail firms owned by their respective
customer members. In such co-operative arrangements, groups of
consumers invest in the co-operative, receive stock certificates, elect
officers, manage operations and share the profits or savings that accrue.
Consumer Co-operatives come into existence with the purpose (of some
consumers) of operating stores as well or better than traditional retailers, of
getting control over prices, of saving money by substituting their own
 labour or of getting access to healthful, environmentally safe plots, not
available from traditional stores.

INDUSTRY PLAYERS

What is the reason that big groups like Tatas, ITC, Piramal Enterprises and

S. Kumars are putting huge amounts of money into retailing?

The answer is very simple. Now, just a couple large organized retailers are

in the market whose turnover crosses Rs. 100 crore. And in this sector anything

above 25 crore counts you as a major player. Consultants like A.t. Kearney have

predicted that by year 2005 retailing will be worth Rs. 1,60,000 crore in India.

Table 1 give an overview of the main players in this sector along with their

expansion plans :
 Table 1 : India’s Large Retailers
Company Turn Outlets Space (in Expansion Plans (to be
over (in sqft) achieved by 2002)
Rs.
Crores)
RPG 156 27 Food world 2 200 000 50 Food World 8 Music
Music World 4 World 18 Health & Glow
Spencer’s outlets for total turnover of
Outlets 23.75 crores per month
Shopper’s 130 1 each in 100 000 15-17 outlets if FIPB
Stop Mumbai, approves Foreign Equity
Bangalore,
Hyderabad,
Delhi, Jaipur
Vivek & 90 8 in Chennai 3 in 100 000 10 stores in Chennai and
Co. Banglore 1 in Bangalore 7 in Hyderabad,
Salem Vishakapatnam &
Vijayawada
Nilgiris 76 17 Supermarkets 80 000 4 outlets 30% growth in
14 Cakeshops terms of turnover 289
stores by 2007
Pantaloon 60 12 stores 40 90 000 11 superstores
franchises
NANZ 40 15 Supermarkets 70 100 N.A.
Vitan 25 11 Departmental 50 000 25 Outlets 100 crore
Stores turnover
Crosswor 16 Bookstores in 27 000 25 stores
D Ahmedabad,
Delhi, Mumbai,
Pune, Goa,
Nasik
Landmark N.A. 1 in Chennai and 18 000 Plans to open Mall in
Coimbatore Calcutta with Emami
Kemp N.A. 2 stores in 125 000 Kemp City retailing cum
Chain of Bangalore entertainment
Stores development, over 200
 acres
Charagh N.A. Mumbai store 10 000 Will remain single
Din location store
Source : “Rushing into Retailing” Business World, 31 May, 1999

FACTORS BEHIND THE CHANGE

What’s deriving the change?

There are some concrete factors:

• Economic Progress: The rate of growth in Indian has gradually picked up

in the last two decades. In the eighties it breached the so-called Hindu rate

of growth and reached 5 percent levels, by the end of the nineties even this

was considered unacceptable. During at least 3 of the last 5 years the gross

domestic products has grown over the 7 percent levels. The government is

pushing for 8 percent over the next few years. Various international

leaders visiting India have expressed consensus over India’s this higher

rate of growth is bound to have an effect on the buying power and

disposable incomes.

• Urbanization : Rising prosperity and population inevitably drive this

trend. Thesis true of India as well. The number of towns with population

of more than 10 lakhs continues to increase as do the size of already large

towns. These are the segments of interest to retailing aspirates is the

ascending traffic congestion levels. India’s automobile sales have

 multiplied in the 1990’s. The net result is overcrowded towns and parking

hassles. One-stop shops become the places of choice in such a scenario.

• Consumerism : Consumers the world over have their aspirations and

India consumers are no different. In the past 3 years, when the economy

was not doing very well consumer durables sales in India were coasting at

close to 20 percent growth levels. He music industry followed the same

pattern. Driving this trend was media and cable TV proliferation, which

have been growing at a fast clip for a few years not. The resultant

exposure to new ideas and desires are fuelling consumer demand.

• Brand Profusion : There has been an explosion of branded goods as a

corollary to the receptive conditions created by the above mentioned

trends. In the 1980s, there was just one brand of salt in the Indian market –

Tata Salt oils used to be sold losses till a few years ago. Now there are at

least ten known brands of oil and in more variations than Indians have

ever used in the last few hundred years. Pack size proliferation is another

trend. This year, the shelves of retail supermarket find six brands of salt.

Just about every respectable brand in the world in consumer durable has

operations in India. Numerous garment brands have appeared in the last 2

to 3 years. These need shelf space and display.

• Cheaper real estate : Real estate is the largest fixed investment for a

retailer. In the last few years real estate prices have tumbled. According to
 most real estate consultants prices could now be bottoming out. So this

could be a good time to enter the organized retail market.

The conditions for organized retailing in India appear to have built up

favorably. But is it really an attractive proposition? As some practitioners are

already showing, pure retailers can make money in India. However, the models

will be deferent in different segments and the break even times may differ

Shoppers “Stop’s Mumbai store is a successful operation. There is no reason

why this cannot be replicated in Delhi or Banglore. There always been shops in

large Indian cities that are extremely profitable.

A Benzer in Mumbai, a Vijaylakshmi in Bangalore or a Nalli’s in

Chennai are examples. The music business can be lucrative, if early indication

is anything to go by. There are high margins and high volumes in this business.

Food and consumer durables are tougher segments. In consumer durables, Vijay

Sales or Vivek have expanded in the last 4 to 5 years without external. Though

food retailing has yet to yield profitable operator, Food world and Subhiksha

present exciting possibilities. They are both growing at explosive rates Food

world hopes to break even in the next 2 years.

Many Indian formats are working at respectable operating parameters.

Food world operates at 18-20 stock turns per year or an effective inventory of

15-20 days. Subhiksha on the other hand, operates on 33-34 stock turns per

annum which mean an effective inventory of only 10-11 days. They plan to bring

this down further. Department stores work at 2.5-3 stock turns per year. The
international standard is 4-5 stock- turns per annum. All leading retailer have put

is substantial investments in information technology (IT). Both forms of retailing

– super markets and department stores – can have sufficiently profitable

operations in Indian conditions, if they can achieve a certain minimum sales

level. The question then appears to be of critical mass and consumer acceptance.

“Do Consumes want this change?”

Customers will opt walk that extra mile to the organized retailer if retailer if they

perceive any specific benefits. So far they have been getting by swimmingly

with the existing neighborhood kirana or the cloth merchant. The retailers will

have to offer perceptible advantages for the consumer to make that specific trip.

The new breed of retailers clearly understands this. They have identified a few

key planks.

• One - Stop shop or convenience Brand proliferation traffic congestions

and busy lifestyles are trends that make such an offering appealing to the

consumers Garments and consumer durable are natural businesses for this

plank. In consumer durables, research has repeatedly shown that consumer

want multi-brand outlets.

• Ambiance or experience Consumers want to combine shopping with

entertainment. This is a theme repeatedly emerging in the late 1990s

Crossroads understands this. So does Planet M. Big kid’s keep which was

probity ahead of its time targeted this long ago?

• Price This will be most powerful magnet to drive footfalls. If you can

undercut successfully then market share will follow. This strategy has

worked wonderfully in affluent countries as the success of Wal- Mart or

the European hypermarkets show. We have been this is Indonesia,

Thailand and Taiwan, and it is now happening in China. While

hypermarkets remain distant possibility in India, Subhiksha is clearly

showing that nothing works like price. This is the strategy all food

retailers will have to follow.

• Service Consumer durables surveys indicate that consumers are confused

about brand benefits. A well –informed sales staff would then be a

competitive advantage. No consumer durables retailer really has that yet in

India. So service can be a big differentiator in this difficult market sector.

It can work in other segments of retailing as well; Leading retailers in any

segment of retailing worldwide swear by good service Indian retailers

have already ignored this issue.

 THE INDIAN CONSUMER

“What we buy and why we by”

Understanding customer through socioeconomic or psychographic studies is
critical for retail chains. What do such studies say about India.
Dualities are omnipresent – In the natural world or in commerce Capital –
Profits owner-employee, liabilities-assets are common binaries from the
commercial world. The retailer consumer duality is one such close partnership.
The consumer is therefore central to many issues about organized retail. Is
the India market ready for organized retail? This is the 100 store question facing
many new and prospective entrants today. Consumer in sights are necessary to
arrive at any judgment on this for those already in business or in the process of
entering consumer knowledge is key to business strategy, including decision like
locations store size and form a, merchandise, break-even period and thus even
funding strategy.
This chapter looks at two issues- measurements of the Indian consumer
markets and techniques employed by retailer to gather consumer knowledge.
Macroeconomic data is an important indicator of a country’s attractiveness.
Beyond this one needs to look at state or city specific data. Even this may not be
enough for retailer to make market entry decisions. At this state a retailer needs
to top market research methodologies to get precise information. MR techniques
are also more relevant once the retailer is in business. Some techniques for
existing business are also discussed the chapter on Customer Relationship
Management.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Macro economic and household information gives a picture of consumer

buying power or the wallet size. The retail also needs to understand many more

issues about a consumer before he can take various strategic decisions like

location, store format or merchandise mix. For example, knowing where and

when a customer buys has implication on location and format Similarly

promotional strategy could be made better if the retailer had idea of the decision

making process could be made better if the retailer had idea of the decision

making process could be of the consumer. Among readily visible trends in urban

India is the increasing acceptance of casual clothing among urban Indian women.

Even the alliance at the work place has become for more relaxed about casual

wear. The Eastern influence has been heightened with the entry of a large

number of multinational corporation (MNCs) Friday wear has almost become a

corporate philosophy. In line with this trend, Allen Solly has introduced their

collection of casual office wear.

Most garment companies have originated a range of sold and bright plains

in shirt, to tap into the informal work wear ethic.

Commuting times have increased in large towns. This would indicate a

need for one-stop which could translate into a multi-brand large format store or a
mall. With the increasing trend towards nuclear families the average family size,

especially in metros in declining. In fact empty nesters an American terms for

parents whose children have grown up and have left home and who are saving

for retirement are rapidly becoming a common phenomena in Indian metros.

Such a customer might prefer the convenience of home delivery or direct

marketing.

Some of these trends are also clearly visible in the late study

commissioned by KSA Technopak on the Indian Consumer.

 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

1. To find out the difference in the services offered by a traditional store

vis a vis a Mall.

2. To find out the demographic profile of the consumer visiting traditional

store vis a vis Mall.

3. To find out the factors which motivate consumers to buy from a Mall

rather than from a traditional store..

4. To find out the change in the average monthly expenditure of consumer

while they make purchase from a mall in comparison to a traditional

store.

5. To find out the impact of Mall Culture on the buying behaviour of

Agra consumer.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research

problem. It comprises of the various steps adopted by researcher along with the

logic behind it. According to Hudson “All progress is born of inquiry. Doubt

is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry and inquiry leads

to inventions”.

Research Type : Descriptive research

Universe : All the people of the city of Agra who buy any

product / services from a Mall or a traditional

store.

Sample Unit : A person of the city of the city of Agra who buy

any product / services from a Mall or a traditional

store.

Sample Size : 100

Type of Data : Primary Data

Secondary Data

Questionnaire

Various Retail Web Sites

Tools : Personal Interview

Sampling Method: Judgement and Convenience

 CURRENT SCENARIO IN INDIA
As in other economies, retailing is big employer in India. Authentic

figures are however not available. Of urban adults 6.6 percent are shop owners,

according to the National Readership Survey (NRS)-2000. Assuming that each

urban shop-owner employs at least one assistant on an average then the total

direct employment in this sector in urban India is 13 percent of urban adults.

Two people per shop as urban average is a conservative figure course, in

rural areas, employment in retailing is bound to be lower. According to the NRS-

99, 2 percent of the adult rural population is shop-owners. Given rural

employment as 5 percent the national average for employment by the retailing

sector could work out to around 8-10 percent of the adult population. Retailing

share in the actual work force would be much higher in the range 15-20 percent.

This is because 45 percent of Indian adult population does not work. A large part

of this 45 percent would comprise women and senior citizens.

The corporate entries into retailing or expansion by some longtime

retailers like Nilgiri’s Nallis or Vivek are just about a drop in the retailing ocean

in India Overall the retailing business is highly fragmented.

The Indian retail market is large, but very highly fragmented with virtually

no large retailer or retail chains. According to ORG-MARG CORE 00 Retail

Audit the total number or retail outlets in the country was close to 10 million in

2000.
 A NEW SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
However, disadvantages of allowing FDI in retail are significant. While

Wal-Mart may boost exports and buy directly from farmers, invest in food

processing and raise standards of agricultural products, it would affect livelihood

of 15 million small retailers acting as middlemen. Though this sector is largely

unorganized, they constitute 98 percent of the country’s retail trading and

contribute to 11 percent of GDP. With Wal-Mart’s entry, many of these retailers

will be rendered unemployed.

A country wilting under pressures of unemployment will find it hard to

suppress the ensuing social tension.

Global retail giants would recruit people who are educated and skilled.

Small time retailers might not stand a chance. Moreover, the retail houses may

be capital rather than labour-intensive. How is one to assume that retail giants

would source products from India and raise its exports? They may source from

low wage countries like Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal or China. How can one be

sure that they would invest in food processing and help Indian farmers to sell

their produce directly to them and earn a better price? What happens when

farmers are unable to meet exact specifications and their produce is rejected? All

these questions need to be addressed before a decision is taken.

However, it is absurd to believe that once branded products enter the

market, unbranded products enter the market, unbranded products will lose their
demand base. The Indian market is not integrated or homogenous. It caters to

different income groups. Such an argument is baseless.

The government’s decision to allow 51 percent equity in single brand

retailing to foreigners, after much deliberation, confirms that it is quite cautious

in its approach to opening up retailing. It knows domestic retailers’ interest need

to be considered. Hence, providing some lead time to local players to

consolidation their position seems to be the best option.

MALL MANIA
In the second great wave of expansion, malls his small-town India even as they

become gigantic concrete amusement parks for the middle class in metros. These

shoppertainment centres are changing the way India shops and sells.

343
malls to be built in India by 2007
__________________________________
87.7 m
sq ft mall area in India by 2007
__________________________________

12.8 m
sq ft mall space in non-metros
__________________________________
1.5 m
sq ft mega mall being built in Noida
__________________________________
60,000
footfalls on weekends in large malls
__________________________________
93
malls planned for 14 major cities
__________________________________
54
total malls to come up in Delhi in two years
__________________________________
23
new malls in Pune by 2007
__________________________________
In all metros, major and minor, across the country, the shopping mall is changing

lifestyles and landscapes. If the mall is undergoing a second wave of expansion

and reinvention in Mumbai and Bangalore, then its arrival in cities like

Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar has led to a rethink of established business

norms. In their varying shapes, sizes and descriptions, malls promise to change

the way India does shopping. At the peak of the Puja season in Kolkata this year,

the alleys of the city’s iconic New Market were far from crowded. There was not

a single serpentine queue to be found.

Given an alternative, Kolkata’s citizenry had chosen to go elsewhere –to

the mall which has turned shopping from an ordeal to an outing, and become a

community hub where families congregate, entertain themselves and also buy

things. Kolkata’s Forum Mall, Nashik’s Big Bazaar, Velocity in Indore and

Mumbai’s Inorbit are the flagships of India’s booming mall culture. Vikas Jain, a

32-year-old garment exporter from Ludhiana, visits the newly inaugurated Ansal

Plaza once in five days. “Visiting a mall has become a family outing with

entertainment, shopping and eating all under one roof,” he says.

As the awareness and share of organized retail grows, developers are

rushing to keep up with the demand. By 2007, 22 new malls will be added to

Mumbai’s current tally of 10 operational malls, while the National Capital

Region will see 18 new malls. The Indian consumer is, perhaps for the first time,

king, and promoters know it.

 A mall’s strategy depends on its catchment area and the demographics it

serves. Forum in Kolkata is located on Elgin Road, an upmarket shopping area in

the middle of the city, and houses tenants like Shoppers’ Stop and the INOX

multiplex. Another Kolkata mall Metropolis on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass,

which is chock-a-block with middle-and lower-income group housing colonies,

sells itself as the inexpensive mall experience. Its biggest tenant is Big Bazaar.

The big-city malls’ other hook is parking. Bangalore’s Garuda Mall has

succeeded not only because of its stores but also because of its mega car park,

which takes in 1,000 cars. Says D.G. Uday, CEO of Garuda Mall: “Consumers

want a comfortable environment that offers shopper-tainment – a combination of

shopping and entertainment. “The Phoenix Mills shopping mall in an old textile

mill area in central Mumbai has proved so popular, thanks to its mix of high-and

low-end brands, and options in both food and shopping, that the parking space

made available initially has proved inadequate. Now shoppers weave their way

past the construction site of multi-storey car park.

Drawing crows is, however, not the same as drawing profits. When a mall

opens most of the visitors are window shoppers. Mall in India have had to take

this in their stride and be innovative. In the first phase, investors bought mall

space from developers, especially in Gurgaon, at a premium, in the hope of

making a killing. That resulted in empty retail spaces and poor customer traffic.

Says the CEO of a retail brand, which is a big anchor tenant in most malls:

“Gurgaon is a mess.”
 “Today, customers take air-conditioning and parking facilities as basic.

Value for money has changed to value for time. This makes quality of service on

time very important,” he says.

Leased mall space gives businesses a better chance of making profits. The

mall locks in the tenant for at least three year and big anchor tenants, like

multiplexes and chains like Shopper’s Stop and Westside, for a longer period.

Every mall needs its anchors, which are its biggest draw. They could be a

superstore like Big Bazaar multiplexes like Delhi’s PVRS. The “anchor” is

meant to give a pull in return visits, stable footfalls and revenues. When the

INOX opened at Kolkata’s Forum, it changed the economics of the mall.

According to Manoj Bhatia of INOX, “Expenditure increased by 30 percent and

rentals doubled.” You get everything for everyone under one roof, she says.

According to a KPMG study, retail sales of consumer goods in India are

expected to rise from Rs. 15,02,900 crore in 2004 to Rs. 27,70,400 crore by

2009. Organized retail is still at a nascent stage in India but there are some

pointers to the major growth areas. It is estimated that in 2003, the Indian

consumer spent 41 percent of his disposable income on groceries. It is, therefore,

easy to understand why malls, which have hypermarkets like Big Bazaar and

Shoprite as their anchors, tend to do better than others.

Getting people to a mall once is easy. Getting them to return and spend

money depends on a mall promoter’s ability to produce a good mix of shop-

pertainment. As footfalls increase so does the size of the mall – from a modest
2,00,000 sqft, the major metros are now witness to the second wave of mall

development. There is more than one contender for the title of India’s biggest

mall and whoever owns it will know it is modest by global standards. The size of

an Indian mall is between 1,00,000 sq ft and 7,00,000 sq ft, while the malls in

the US start at 5,00,000 sq ft. Of the Indian malls, the Inorbit Mall at Malad in

sub-urban Mumbai is considered a destination mall because it has a

hypermarket, many international and indigenous retail brands apart from a

multiplex and a very popular food court. The mall gets about one million

footfalls in a month and 30 per cent of its revenue comes from entertainment

activities. An Inorbit mall will also open in Ahmedabad soon.

Events,, promotions and competitions are fast becoming an integral part of

the mall experience and festivals like Karwa Chauth, Dussehara, Diwali and

Christmas are celebrated with a splash. To keep the buzz alive, malls regularly

organize events like DJ wars, product launches, concerts and beauty

competitions in the atrium. Garuda Mall in Bangalore has launched a 90-day

festival and the bumper prize is a Mercedes Benz.

The mall boom has created its own economy, its own brands and its own

brand of fun. The future may include both the large mega mall and the smaller

specialty mall. At the focus of this churning is the Indian consumer. The

shopping experience for him will, to borrow from the title of a rock album,

become bigger, better, faster, more.

 OUTLOOK
“FUTURE SHOP BIG BOYS ARE COMING”

The new entrants in the India retail signify the beginning of the retail revolution.

Organized retail is the next Big Thing to watch out for in Corporate India.

Consumer numbers in India can fill more than just heavyweight telephone

directories. Yet retailing here is one business that has seen few avatars apart

from its traditional Mom and Pop, or bania-bhaji, manifestations. A slow process

of evolution has begun since the mid-eighties, with manufactures getting into the

retailing act. The ‘nineties’ have witnessed a further level of transformation.

Retailing for organized business. The pure retailer is now starting to emerge.

In contrast, big boys clearly dominate the retailing business in developed

countries. Wal-Mart of the US and Metro of Germany are among the world’s

largest retail organizations. Developed markets also tend to be more

concentrated. The top 50 grocers account for 72 percent of Europe’s groceries

trade.

Will organized business come to Indian retailing too? As noted earlier,

ETIG believes that the answer to this will depend to a large extent on whether

organized retail can indeed be a profitable business in India. It appears that

retailing does offer sufficient returns for organized business. An average

supermarket chain easily achieves a 25 percent return on employed capital

(RoCE). A department store chain could expect about 17 percent RoCE. Industry
sources assert that a well-managed business can give better returns in both forms

of business.

These rates of return are attractive. They are better than cost of funds and

also better than many other businesses in India. This means, big business is

likely to look at organized retail in a serious fashion. This is what to be

happening too, given the way most large business houses in India are

formulating plans for retailing.

INDIA NEEDS FDI IN RETAIL

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in retailing in opposed by many. Under the A B
Vajpayee regime, it was disallowed because a vocal lobby of Hindu traders
spread the fear that it would spell down to small shopkeepers. Today, even West
Bengal chief minister Buddhaded Bhattacharjee, other wide “market-savvy”, and
not very Hindu, opposes FDI in retailing. Perhaps a little economic analysis of
retailing, especially in poor countries, will clear the air.
To start with, let us take an astonishing statistic (and this is an industry
statistic, and not the handiwork of any government bureau): 70% of shampoo
sold in India comes in little sachets. This reveals a lot about the nature of market,
especially in developing countries, and is something that Lord Peter Bauer noted
a long time ago.
The distributional chain, of which retailing occupies the final position, is
engaged in “the breaking down of bulk”: Goods leave the factory gates in
containers (bulk) while the final customer departs with just a little sachet from
the retailer. Now, as Lord Bauer observed, this process of “breaking down bulk”
is inordinately long in developing countries because most people buy their needs
on a daily basis, being unable to invest in buying a month’s groceries at one shot.
Lord Bauer, who pioneered the study of what we now call the “informal sector”,
noted how in India people often buy loose cigarettes. In Africa, he found, even
match-sticks are sold loose. He reported on the armies of small traders that cater
to the needs of the poor so well, and he marveled at how statisticians never
mention, in their reports, how millions and millions of small traders exist in rural
areas: They over-report “agriculture”.
Retail supermarkets, the world over, shrink the distributional chain. They
buy in bulk and sell cheaper than small retailers, thereby passing off significant
economic gains to the consumer. They make the distributional chain
economically efficient. But there are strong reasons to believe that in India, they
will not be able to mine what CK Prahalad called “the gold at the bottom of the
pyramid”. While big-time retailing will definitely succeed in India, and bring
with it great benefits to middle and upper class consumers (and associated spin-
offs like real estate development), the armies of small traders who “break down
bulk” even further to cater to the numberless masses will continue to thrive.
Supermarkets will typically cater to car-owners who buy up a month’s supplies
at a time. They will buy big bottles of shampoo, cartons of cigarettes, and big
sacks of rice. The small traders will sell product in little sachets, loose cigarettes,
half-a-kilo of rice, and so on. Their numbers will flourish and grow.
Even in rich nations, small traders manage to compete very effectively
with supermarket chains. In London, almost every “corner shop” is owned by an
Indian. We are the shopkeepers to “a nation of shopkeepers”! it does not behove
a nation of such splendid shopkeepers to fear foreign supermarkets.
The upshot of it all, of course, is that for the nation to progress, efficiency
gains in distribution are a must inordinately long distributional chains make trade
slow, expensive and cumbersome. As India progresses, it is vital that this chain
see shrinkage. What could very well work in the interests of both the small
traders as well as their poor customers are wholesale supermarkets, like
Bangalore’s Metro Cash & Carry, which caters to small traders and has therefore
located its sprawling stores outside the main city. Such wholesale supermarkets
will enable small traders to increase their margins and also pass on some of their
gains to the final customers.
The distributional chain will shrink, but not at the cost of the small traders.
Rather, it is the inefficient wholesalers and sub-wholesalers who will see a loss
of business. Wholesale supermarkets will be able to mine “the gold at the bottom
of the pyramid” : but their product mix will vary immensely from retail
supermarkets.
In either case, in all our cities today, wholesale markets are invariably in
part of the “old city” : Congested and inaccessible. The real estate development
that will accompany FDI in retail as well as wholesale trade will make it possible
for a redrawing of city maps, with all these supermarkets sprouting all around the
periphery. This process of rebuilding the civic architecture around which urban
commerce works will give us a golden opportunity to get thins right for once as
far as city trade and traffic management is concerned.
We can learn lessons from Seoul, where wholesale supermarkets stay open
all night, enabling small traders to come in from the surrounds after the evening
rush and depart with their wares before the morning rush hour.
If at all the government is genuinely concerned about “small traders”, then
it should implement policies that make them invulnerable to the hafta brigade
that milks them of their surpluses. Like every other Indian, they too need the
state off their backs.

CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR RETAILING

Organized retailing is not a bed of roses for the big players also. In

addition to the advent of Internet, various issues glare at retailing some of them

are :
Human Resource :

Big retail shops do not confine their target segments for employees to

undergraduates. Shoppers stop broke the myth of MBAs not wanting to go into

the retailing career. Cross Roads and Spencer also hire MBAs to manage their

chains. However there still exists a gap between the supply and demand of

professionals. Mr. Goenka, Chairman RPG Group, hopes that one of the greatest

challenges facing modern retailing in India is the availability of trained

personnel. In order to address the problem RPG Group has set up a national

retail Institute in Chennai, which offers a variety of courses in retail management

for frontline, supervisory and managerial post.

Retaining the human resources is also a major challenge for these big

retailers. The bigwigs like Crossroads offer high compensation and create a

cohesive environment that makes an employee proud to be a part of such big

retail chains.

Space and Infrastructure :

To establish a retail shop/ Mall, the real estate and the infrastructure are

very vital. The expenditure and availability on both the accounts do hinder the

growth of the retail chain. The land ceiling restrictions and other state

restrictions on land use have prevented the growth of efficient retailing in the
cities. An average investment of about Rs. 5 crore is required to establish a mall

and that explains the rush of big companies into this business. Small and

individual retailers find it difficult to pour in that much of investment. In

addition to the initial investment, to combat e-tailing, expenditure has to be

incurred on technological side. This makes the retail projects less attractive for

the individual players.

Consumer Mindset Towards Discount Stores :

In India the concept of discount stores like Wall-Mart, at which genuine,

defect free international brands are available at 50% discount, is yet to catch on.

Still, The major section of customers is conservative and choosy and prefers to

go to a known retail shop than opt for a discount store. Very few discount stores

like SM2, Mumbai are at present operational. Its reach is confined to major

cities. Breaking the conventional mindset of the Indian consumers that discount

stores do not sell inferior goods will take some time.

Rural Market – How To Penetrate?

Penetration into the rural market is what big retailers have to concentrate

on for growth. Attracting rural markets will be different from that of the urban

market. For example detergent cakes are preferred to powder and coconut oil in

bottle to sachets in the rural areas. The rural consumer are different from the
urban consumers as they are more price sensitive and their quantity of

consumption would be less as their share of wallet for shopping along with

entertainment is delineated. Food and agricultural inputs dominate the rural

consumers list and whatever is left would be used to fulfill aspiration needs.

Customers in the rural area are not urbanites without money. He has a distinct

identity and value system. One more challenge in the rural market is that

shopping habits vary according to seasons. During harvest time, the spending of

a rural consumer increases compares to other times. However, penetration of

television, increasing literacy levels, mobility between rural and urban areas and

telecommunication (STD Services) have increased their awareness towards

branded products and entertainment. Customized retail shops would be a big

success in the rural areas too if the right strategies are adopted.

GUESSTIMATING THE POTENTIAL

Is the market, then, up for grabs? But it must be pointed out that there is

no consensus among market watchers and researchers on the potential for

organized business in retailing. Skeptics abound who believes that chain stores

cannot compete with the entrenched fragmented competition, particularly in food

and personal products, the largest segment of the consumer shopping basket.
There are really not enough players in the supermarket business for the business

itself to provide a direct answer to the cynics. Food world and Subhiksha are yet

to break even. Nilgiri’s has a large own brand portfolio, which entails higher

margins.

Since organized retailing has a higher cost structure because of larger

manpower requirements and bigger investments in interiors and technology- it

needs higher turnover than existing fragmented stores for each its stores. In fact,

this is the entire premises of organized retail, which aims to achieve higher sales

by offering customers a better deal in one or more of the following disciplines.

➢ Ambience

➢ Service

➢ Product assortment

➢ Prices

The assumption upon which a Food world or a Globus chain is setup is

that, give the right advantage, a customer would prefer to travel that little extra

distance from his/her friendly neighborhood store. Outlets like Shoppers Stop,

Cross World and Planet M in Mumbai, and Food world or Subhiksha in Chennai,

already provide that chain stores can attract more than the threshold level of

customers. The reason that some of these chains have yet to be break even

possibly owes to the fact that they are currently in a stage of rapid expansion.

Each of these has fairly successful individual stores, which shows that they can

be financially viable in spite of larger cost commitments.

 Like most organized business, retailing is also scale-department. A

grocery chain, for example, will need to invest in developing vendors. It would

also build its own supply chain with perhaps a few trucks and distribution

centers. It would invest in computer hardware and software to keep close to real

time tabs on inventory to be able to turn it around fast. All these investments

need time and a certain scale to start paying off. Says Raghu Pillai, Managing

Director, Food World, ‘A turnover of Rs. 300 crore and at least 75 stores

would steer us towards a break-even stage.

Organized retail will really some into its own when a few chains,

particularly in the food genre, like Food world, reach a threshold size. That is

when the efficiencies of organized business would start reaching the customer.

For instance, most large retailers in the developed world have built their

successes on low consumer prices. In other words, retailer have led, at times

forced, higher efficiencies from manufacturers or even supply chain processes, to

the benefit of the consumer. Indian retailers are beginning to offer below MRP

prices in food. Garments chains are selling in house label products that offer

branded goods quality at lower prices. There is no reason to believe that these

are transitory promotional practices by retailers. Once these practices become

widespread and customers get hooked, which is likely to the case, organized

retail will overcome its critical hurdle of achieving a higher number of customer

footfalls to achieve profitability. Typically, this can lead to ‘virtuous circle’.

Higher turnover can enable a chain to cut prices further, which leads to even

better customer response.

Findings and Analysis

The following results emerged out of the survey.

(1) As the results indicate the number of people visiting the malls have a
larger proportion of males in comparison to the females with
percentage figures of males 60% and females 40%.

(2) People falling in the age group of 18 – 25 years has the largest
proportion as visitors with the percentage of 41%. Remaining
categories of age group had percentage figures as follows : Upto 18
years-14%; 18 25 years – 41%; 25 35 years – 23%; 35 50 years 14%
above 50 years – 8%.
(3) The third factor taken up was occupation of the visitors and the results
declare that service class people and students were the one who visit
the malls most with percentage of 40% and 35% respectively. Other
occupational aspects covered were business people, retired people and
housewives and their proportions were 16%, 3% and 6% respectively.
(4) Monthly family income survey revealed that families falling in the
income group of Rs. 10,000-25,000 were coming to malls more in
comparison to the families in other income categories defined (Figure).
The percentage figures for this class are as under : Upto Rs 10,000 :-
17%; Rs. 10,000-25,000 :- 45; Rs. 25,000-50,000 :- 28% Rs. 50,000
and above :- 10%.
(5) Malls have become a symbol of affluent life style became evident from
the responses as 32% people market it as one of the reasons to visit
malls (figure). This was clubbed with convenience of getting most
things under the same roof along with good environment and service.
The various reasons for visiting the malls as rated by the customers
are : life style-32%, convenience-29%, good service-21%, ambience-
20%, quality of items-20%, social influence-13%.
(6) A measure of frequency of visits indicated that most people visit the
malls once in a month. Next in row were those who would visit the
malls once in a week. Quite a number of people also said that there was
no specific reason or frequency and they visited the malls as and when
required. The percentage distribution of the frequency of visits came
out to be as.
(7) Convenience in shopping is giving malls an edge over the general
scattered market where customers had to visit different places to make
their purchases while at the malls they are getting most of their
household items at the same corner. Malls are also emerging as a good
place to hang around or pass time whenever you are free. The visitors
of the malls whose percentage ranged as high as 20% established this
(figure). Multiplex and upcoming branded food joints were also pulling
visitors towards the malls as it was providing them variety at the same
place. One factor, which was not included in the questionnaire but was
told by many is that the malls are also a suitable place for love birds as
they can roam freely without spending much and without being
 bothered by anyone. The proportion of visitors responding this was
about 19%. Also became known that malls were being used as a
complete day out / picnic spot where you could spend time, eat, enjoy,
watch movies, shop and be merry (Figure).

(8) It was also discovered that the branded items were a preferable
purchase in comparison to the unbranded items while there was a good
percentage of people who would purchase both branded as well as
unbranded items (figure). People also disclosed that the branded
products range carried by malls was larger in comparison to the general
shops but in the case of unbranded products the prices were more in the
same comparison.
(9) An insight in the amount of money spent in each visit disclosed that
most customers spent an amount ranging Upto Rs. 500- 17%; from Rs.
500-1000, the percentage of such people was 36%. The figures that
followed were:- Rs. 1000-2000-34%; and Rs. 2000 and above 13%.
(10) Customers were also driven to the malls by the sales schemes that
would come from time to time. Though the category of people who
always come to the malls during such schemes was only 15% and those
who never get affected by these was 20%. The highest percentage 45%
is of people who sometimes take note of these schemes and visit malls
during that time. Such schemes also affect the amount spent in
purchases, as people tend to purchase more to make best use of
opportunities available particularly in the household item category
where the consumption is on regular basis.
(11) A comparison of the products available at the malls with those at the
general market revealed strong opinions of customers regarding price,
quality, variety and service provided.
(12) But the way no coins is with a single side, similarly the well-developed
consumer friendly malls even suffer from shortcomings and
drawbacks. Digging inside this aspect several problems were also
reported by the consumers. Rush at the cash counters in the wee hours
and the generally huge crowd topped the list of problems with as high
as 96% and 89% people reporting it. Though the malls have all the
consumer friendly arrangements but the multi-storeyed and complex
structures often leave consumers confused about the utilities, a huge
82% people reported requirement of maps and guidelines in the malls.
Parking followed the list of severe problems with 80% people facing
parking space problem and 71% people complaining about the massive
time consumed during entry and exit of vehicles. Unavailability of
washrooms on all the floors was the next in sequence with 64% people
reporting it, followed by problems of sitting arrangement and drinking
water, which were brought into notice by 63% and 62% visitors
respectively 60% of the people coming to malls also complained about
the absence of any medical facilities or even chemist shops in the
malls, and for even small health problems they had to rush out. Some
48% visitors also reported small sizes of the lifts. Quite a good number
of people (44%) were also worried about the lack of proper security
systems and the vulnerability of malls towards any antisocial elements
who can be a threat to the otherwise comfortable environment. Some
people (22%) also said that the malls are becoming a centre for the neo
rich and do not accommodate the lower income group customers for
whom there were no products.

PROBLEMS
 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

(i) Biasness in data due to secondary information.

(ii) Study limited to Agra and nearby area.

(iii) There is no positive initiative taken by the respondent.

 CONCLUSION

Finding good quality, variety and service under the same roof along with

other facilities of time pass and entertainment, clubbed with ambience and life

style, the customers are moving fast and in number towards these malls and are

willingly ready to pay higher prices for the facilities. The malls are gradually

becoming a package of activities instead of segregation. This is the reason why

this culture has clicked the customers so well and so fast. If the problems that are

being faced by the consumers are dealt properly, even higher proportions of

visitors can be attracted. The fast track way, mall culture is picking up, if

managed properly, the brick and mortar stores will have a new face very soon

with lot of style and fresheness.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.timesofindia.com

2. www.hindustantimes.com

3. www.indiatoday.com

4. www.indiatimes.com

5. www.projecthubs.com

6. Outlook magazines

7. Documents on retail market

8. www.lycos.com

9. Major shopping web portals

10. Philip Kotler : Marketing Management

11. Berry Bermon : Retail Management

12. C.R. Kothari : Research Methodology

 CHAPTER PLAN

Chapter – 1 : Introduction

Chapter – 2 : Research Objective and research methodology.

Chapter – 3 : Retail industry: Present scenario

Chapter – 4 :

✔ Data analysis and interpretation

✔ Data Collection

✔ Questionnaire

Chapter – 5 :

✔ Findings and suggestions

✔ Limitation

Chapter – 6 :

✔ Conclusion

✔ Bibliography

✔ Annexure
 QUESTIONNAIRE

1- Name of the respondent?

2- Sex?
(a) Male (b) Female
3- Age?
 (a) Up to 18 (b) 18 – 25
(c) 25-35 (d) 35 – 35 (e) 50 & above
4- Occupation?
(a) Student (b) Service
(c) Business (d) Retired (e) House wife
5- Marital Status?
(a) Unmarried (b) Married
6- What is your Monthly income?
(a) Upto Rs. 10000 (b) Rs. 10000 – 25000
(c) Rs. 25000 – 50000 (d) Rs. 50000 & above
7- No. of earning members in your family?
(a) 1 (b) 2
(c) 3 (d) Above 3
8- Reason to Visits Malls?
(a) Convenience (b) Ambience
(c) Life style (d) Good Service
(e) Quality of Items (f) Social Influence

9- Purpose of your visit to Mall / Economic Departmental Store?

(a) Shopping (b) day out
(c) Hangout (d) movies
(e) Restaurants (e) dating

10- Frequency of your visits?

(a) Once a week (b) Twice a week
 (c) Thrice a week (d) Once a month
(e) As you need (f) occasionally
11- Which Item you mostly purchase?
(a) Household items (b) cosmetics
(c) Jewellery (d) Garments
(e) Kids purchase (f) Music\electronic
12- Did you purchase Branded / Unbranded products?
(a) Branded (b) Unbranded
(c) Both
13- What is the average amount you spend on shopping in each visit?
(a) Upto Rs. 10000 (b) Rs. 10000 – 25000
(c) Rs. 25000 – 50000 (d) Rs. 50000 - above
14- On which basis you compare Mall and General Market products?
(a) Price (b) Quality
(c) Variety (d) Service
15- What are the major problems you face in these Malls?
(a) Parking (b) Security
(c) Rusk at the Cash Counter (d) Maps / Guidelines