RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA

India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. Of the 12 million retail

outlets present in the country, nearly 5 million sell food and related products. Thought the

market has been dominated by unorganized players, the entry of domestic and international

organised players is set to change the scenario.

Organized retail segment has been growing at a blistering pace, exceeding all previous

estimates. According to a study by Deloitte Haskins and Sells, organised retail has increased its

share from 5 per cent of total retail sales in 2006 to 8 per cent in 2007. The fastest growing

segments have been the wholesale cash and carry stores (150 per cent) followed by

supermarkets (100 per cent) and hypermarkets (75-80 per cent). Further, it estimates the

organised segment to account for 25 per cent of the total sales by 2011.

India retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8% and

contributing to over 10% of the country's GDP. Retail industry in India is expected to rise 25%

yearly being driven by strong income growth, changing lifestyles, and favourable demographic

patterns.

It is expected that by 2016 modern retail industry in India will be worth US$ 175- 200 billion.

India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries with revenue expected in 2007 to

amount US$ 320 billion and is increasing at a rate of 5% yearly. A further increase of 7-8% is

expected in the industry of retail in India by growth in consumerism in urban areas, rising

incomes, and a steep rise in rural consumption. It has further been predicted that the retailing

industry in India will amount to US$ 21.5 billion by 2010 from the current size of US$ 7.5

billion.

Shopping in India has witnessed a revolution with the change in the consumer buying

behaviour and the whole format of shopping also altering. Industry of retail in India which has

become modern can be seen from the fact that there are multi- stored malls, huge shopping

centres, and sprawling complexes which offer food, shopping, and entertainment all under the

same roof.

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India retail industry is expanding itself most aggressively; as a result a great demand for real

estate is being created. Indian retailers preferred means of expansion is to expand to other

regions and to increase the number of their outlets in a city. India retail industry is progressing

well and for this to continue retailers as well as the Indian government will have to make a

combined effort. It is expected that India may have 600 new retail outlet till 2010.

Retail space

Driven by changing lifestyles, strong income growth and favourable demographic patterns,

Indian retail is expanding at a rapid pace. Mall space, from a meagre one million square feet in

2002, is expected to touch 40 million square feet by end-2007 and an estimated 60 million

square feet by end-2008, says Jones Lang LaSalle's third annual Retailer Sentiment Survey-

Asia.

Alongside, Indian cities are witnessing a paradigm shift from traditional forms of retailing into

a modern organized sector. A report by Images Retail estimates the number of operational

malls to more than double to over 412 with 205 million square feet by 2010 and further 715

malls by 2015, on the back of major retail developments even in tier II and tier III cities in

India.

Challenges facing the Indian Organized Retail sector

The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are various and these are stopping the

Indian retail industry from reaching its full potential. The behaviour pattern of the Indian

consumer has undergone a major change. This has happened for the Indian consumer is earning

more now, western influences, women working force is increasing, desire for luxury items and

better quality. He now wants to eat, shop, and get entertained under the same roof. All these

have lead the Indian organized retail sector to give more in order to satisfy the Indian customer.

The biggest challenge facing the Indian organized retail sector is the lack of retail space. With

real estate prices escalating due to increase in demand from the Indian organized retail sector,

it is posing a challenge to its growth. With Indian retailers having to shell out more for retail

space it is effecting there overall profitability in retail.

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Trained manpower shortage is a challenge facing the organized retail sector in India. The

Indian retailers have difficultly in finding trained person and also have to pay more in order to

retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers profit levels.

The Indian government have allowed 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the India retail

sector to one brand shops only. This has made the entry of global retail giants to organized

retail sector in India difficult. This is a challenge being faced by the Indian organized retail

sector. But the global retail giants like Tesco, Wal-Mart, and Metro AG are entering the

organized retail sector in India indirectly through franchisee agreement and cash and carry

wholesale trading. Many Indian companies are also entering the Indian organized retail sector

like Reliance Industries Limited, Pantaloons, and Bharti Telecoms. But they are facing stiff

competition from these global retail giants. As a result discounting is becoming an accepted

practice.

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Chapter -1

"COMPANY INTRODUCTION"

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Pantaloons

Pantaloons Fashion & Retail, one of the top clothing brands in the world, is India's fastest

growing premium lifestyle company. With innovative designs, concepts and products, the

company brings the latest trends in fashion and clothing styles to the apparel market.

Pantaloons, previously controlled by the Future Group, has been recently taken over by Aditya

Birla Nuvo Limited, a US $4 billion premium diversified conglomerate and India's largest

manufacturer of linen fabric.

Pantaloons offers multiple accessories and clothing brands across a spectrum of categories for

men, women and kids. The company provides an incredible and complete one-stop shopping

experience to its buyers through its vast collection of more than 200 prestigious brands for the

discerning fashionista. Pantaloons, with a presence across 49 cities through 106 aesthetically

designed large format stores and 26 factory outlets, displays a range of classy and trendy

merchandise that truly lives up to Pantaloons’ maxim of ‘fresh fashion’.

A typical Pantaloons store comprises a brand portfolio that runs across a gamut of styles that

spell class. The collection includes ready-to-wear western and ethnic apparel for men, women

and kids, complemented by an exhaustive range of accessories. The variety of products and

brands has helped propel Pantaloons to become one of the best clothing brands in India.

Apparel, brands and accessories

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Pantaloon offers its customers a collection of apparels and accessories from the stables of

globally renowned brands. The private labels for men in western wear include Lombard, Rig,

Bare Denim, Bare Leisure, SF Jeans, Byford, F Factor and JM Sport apart from trendy brands

like Urbana, Scullers, John Miller and Indigo Nation. Akkriti provides a wide selection of ethnic

wear. The women’s section houses the private labels Bare Denim, Bare Leisure, Rig, Annabelle,

Honey, and Ajile — in western wear, as well as the choicest ethnic wear from Rang Manch,

Trisha a and A kkriti . Popular brands like Lee Cooper, Biba and We are also available.

The formal wear section offers a range of crisp and well-tailored collection by popular

international brands such as Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and Louis Philippe.

Kids can choose from private labels like Bare Denim, Bare Leisure, Rig, or indulge in exclusive

brands like Lee Cooper Juniors, Chalk, Poppers, Pink & Blue, and Sach in addition to

international brands like Barbie and Disney. For the ethnic look, they can opt for traditional wear

from Akkriti. The portfolio of brands also includes infant wear by Chi column Column.

Pantaloons offers much more than just apparel. Customers can shop from an assortment of

watches from renowned international brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Esprit, Kenneth Cole,

Citizen, Timex, Titan and others.

Trendy sunglasses from Polaroid, Guess, Police, Scott, I Dee and Allen Solly are also available.

The accessories and beauty segments display an attractive collection of ladies’ handbags from

Lavie, Caprese, Fiorelli and Fastrack. Also available are products from colour cosmetic brands

such as Bourjois, Chambor, Deborah, Faces, Revlon, Maybelline, and Lakmé, as well as a wide

collection of exotic fragrances.

In its endeavour to meet the consumer’s ever-changing fashion needs, Pantaloons has introduced

new brands that include Candies, Alto Moda, Turtle, Spykar, 109F, AND, Chemistry, Global

Desi and Giny & Jony.

Pantaloons is an integral part of the prestigious Aditya Birla Group, a USD 41 billion Indian

multinational company, operating in 36 countries across the globe with over 120,000

employees.Voted as ‘India’s Most Trusted Apparel Retail Brand’ in the prestigious Brand Equity

Survey 2014, Pantaloons continues to nurture consumer trust and confidence.

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With its overwhelming repertoire of lifestyle apparel brands, the company is focused on growth

while continuing to create fresh fashion. Among some of the top clothing brands in India,

Pantaloons is recognised by its warm personalised service that completes the core proposition of

this trendy chain.

SHOPPER’S STOP

Company backgroundShoppers’ Stop is promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group, one of leading players in real estate

development and hotels. Shoppers’ Stop has progressed from being a single brand shop to a

family orientated fashion and lifestyle store. Shoppers’ Stop operates under the

Departmental store format, and was one of the pioneers of the large format stores in India.

Shoppers’ Stop has created a new business unit to manage its specialty businesses like

Crossword, Mother care, F&B business and MAC.

About Shopper stop

Shopper Stops is one of India’s prominent retailers and is a part of the K Raheja Corp Group

(Chandru L Raheja Group), which is among the prominent real estate developers and hoteliers in

the country. They are pioneers in setting up a nation-wide chain of large format department

stores in India with professional management. They believe that the initiatives taken by them

have played a key role in developing organized retailing in India. Their focus on bringing in the

international best practices into the retail operations, and providing the customer with a unique

shopping experience has helped them become an industry leader.

They are a professionally managed and systems driven organization. They believe in strong

focus on customers, supported by systems and processes and a committed work force are the key

factors that have contributed to their success and will help them scale up as they embark on their

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strategic growth plan. They believe that delighting customers is the key to being a successful

retailer, and hence have built the business model around their customer. Their focus is centered

on developing Shoppers’ Stop and its various associate brands as leading retail brands and

capitalising on the emotional connect that they have been able to create with the customers.

Every employee in the organization is called a Customer Care Associate (CCA), including the

MD, Executive Director and CEO who are designated as ‘Customer Care Associate and

Managing Director’ and ‘Customer Care Associate, Executive Director and CEO’ respectively to

reflect their belief in customer care and service.

They offers their customers a shopping experience, comprising a vast range of lifestyle

merchandise, various services and aspirational products made available to them in a globally

benchmarked shopping environment and complemented by superior customer service.

Their Service Mission Statement is ‘It’s Magical, It’s Comfortable, It’s My Store’.

They benchmark with global retailers, and strive to enhance their service offering in line with the

emerging global trends. They began by operating a chain of department stores under the name

“Shoppers’ Stop” in India. Currently they have twenty four (24) such stores across the country

and three (3) stores under the name “HomeStop”. Over the years, they have also begun operating

a number of speciality stores, namely Crossword, Mothercare, Brio, Desi Café, Arcelia, Stop &

Go and MAC. They are also experimenting with other formats of retailing through their various

ventures.

Shoppers’ StopShopper’s Stop is the flagship business of departmental stores. They retail a range of branded

apparel, footwear, perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, leather products, accessories, home products,

electronics, books, music and toys in their stores. They also retail their own private label apparel,

footwear, fashion jewellery, leather products, accessories and home products. These are

complemented by cafe, food, entertainment, personal care and various beauty related services.

Promotions and events are an integral part of their service offering to their customer, which helps

them to create a unique shopping experience.

They retail products of domestic and international brands such as Louis Philippe, Pepe, Arrow,

BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magpcolumn, Nike, Reebok, LEGO, and Mattel among

others, through their stores. They retail merchandise under their own labels, such as STOP,

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Kashish, LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Haute Curry, I Jeanswear, Insense, Mario

Zegnoti, Acropolis and Indi-Visual. Their designer section show cases some of India’s prominent

fashion designers (Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul and LABEL), retailing affordable designer wear.

They are also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an international brand, who’s mens’ and

womens’ outerwear are retailed in India exclusively through their chain.

Their loyalty program, called First Citizen, had 781,951 and 971,537members as on March 31,

2007 and December 31, 2007 respectively. It is one of the largest loyalty programs in the

country. First Citizens accounted for over 62% and 61% of their Retail Sales for the year ended

March 31, 2007 and nine months ended December 31, 2007. They offer them First Citizens

rewards points on their purchases, special offers and discounts, and invitations to exclusive

events and promotions. They are the only member of the Intercontinental Group of Departmental

Stores, (IGDS) from India. IGDS, headquartered in Switzerland, is an international association of

department stores enterprises who, in order to increase their economic efficiency and

productivity, have agreed to closely cooperate on mutual know how accumulation, networking

and joint services in respect of all issues relating to the department store industry.

Vision“To be a global retailer in India and maintain its No. 1 position in the Indian Market in the

Department Store Category.”

They are clearly focusing on the Indian market, which they believe offers tremendous

opportunities to department stores. At the same time, they benchmark themselves with leading

retailers in the segment worldwide. It is the constant endeavor to bring in global best practices

into the business and consistently upgrade themselves to offer to the customers an international

shopping experience.

Corporate profile:

Vision: To be a global retailer in India & maintain no.1 position in Indian market in Department Store Category.

Mission: “Nothing but the best” To strive & achieve nothing but the best in terms of processes, practices & deliverables.

Values: The following values help Shoppers‘ Stop in achieving its mission & vision:

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We shall not take what is not ours

The Obligation to Dissent (against a viewpoint that is not acceptable)

We shall have an environment conducive to openness

We shall believe in innovation

We shall have an environment conducive to development

We shall have the willingness to apologize and/or forgive

We shall respect our customer's rights

We shall be fair.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is an Indian fashion retailer chain promoted by the Landmark Group. It started in the

year 1999 with its first store located in Chennai. It has rapidly grown to a major retail store in

India. Lifestyle Stores is headquartered at Bangalore,Karnataka. It now operates in 26 major

cities of India with more than 43 stores.

Fashion Station

Fashion Station, which represents the company’s offering of the latest in fashion for the masses,

has met with reasonable success since its launch in 2004-05. These thematic stores that offer the

most contemporary in fashion and accessories, is another of the value added propositions that

Pantaloon seeks to offer. The aspirational mass of consumers who are bombarded with the latest

in style through media penetration, hedonism and peer emulation, need an outlet that meets their

requirements of trendy, latest and yet affordable fashion. Fashion Station is positioned to meet

their requirements, and thereby take fashion to the masses.

The foundation of Shoppers Stop was laid on October 27, 1991 by the K. Raheja group of

companies, one of India's biggest hospitality and real estate players. The Group crossed yet another

milestone with its lifestyle venture-Shoppers' Stop. With its immense expertise in the service

industry and creditability, Shoppers' Stop today boasts of 27 retail outlets across the country and is

planning to spread its wings with futuristic expansion plans to meet the challenges of the retail

industry. A benchmark for the Indian retail industry to follow, Shoppers' Stop has progressed from a

single brand shop to a Fashion & Lifestyle store for the families. Shoppers' Stop is a household

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name, known for its superior quality products, services and above all, a complete shopping

experience. Shoppers' Stop was the first to redefine shopping experience and creating a niche

for itself in the service industry. As India's first specialty chain with outlets in Mumbai,

Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chennai, Shoppers' Stop offers a complete range of

garments and accessories for the entire family. More than 25,000 customers walk into Shoppers

Stop everyday to feel the experience of shopping. Andheri was the first store to be opened in India.

The initiative of this store was taken by B. S .Nagesh at a time when the concept of retail industry

was just coming into the market. As on today, the current investors in Shoppers‘ Stop are ICICI,

IL&FS Investments and Zodiac clothing. Their combined shareholding in Shoppers Stop is 19%

while 79% is held by Raheja Group & balance 2% is held by its employees.

Home Improvement

Some of the key factors contributing to growth in the housing sector in India are increasing

purchasing power increasing number of nuclear families, softer interest rates, easy availability of

finance schemes and an overall real estate boom across the country. There is a shortage of more

than 33 million dwelling units. With the average age of a homebuyer reducing from 50 to sub-30,

4 million new homes are being bought annually. With every house, a dream is planted to

decorate the house. And this creates a demand for furniture, electronics and home improvement

products. Modern retail is ideally placed to capture a significant chunk of consumer spend made

by a new homebuyer. The market for home décor and improvement is largely unorganized and

hence a new homeowner has to literally visit several markets and stores for meeting his home

needs. This was the opportunity that Pantaloon perceived and the reason why it entered the Rs.

90,000 crore home solutions market in 2004-05. With its presence in the modern retail and

consumer space, this new concept was an opportunity for the company to leverage its experience

and offer the consumer an alternative solution to canalize his consumption needs.

Objectives of the Study

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To understand the CRM systems used by the retail outlets

To identify various level (satisfaction with a product, purchase decision experience,

Performance attribute, satisfaction with a Pre purchase experience)

To analyze the importance of CRM from the retailers & customers point of view

To Study the benefits of CRM to the retailers (respondent)To Improve Customer life time

value & customer experience level

To Study Improve customer service by facilitating communication

To understand the contribution of CRM of the retail outlets with respect to its objectives

Chapter -2

12

LITERATURE REVIEW

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LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Customer Relationship Management

A restricted view of Customer Relationship Management would be database marketing focusing

on how promotional marketing is linked to database management tools. A more widely accepted

idea states that it is the application of technology that emphasizes on individual or one to one

relationships with customers by integrating database knowledge with the long term prospects of

growth and customer loyalty. Managing a successful CRM implementation requires an integrated

and balanced approach to technology, process, and people (Chen, J. Injazz, Popvich, K.,2003).

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is an enterprise wide initiative that belongs to all

areas of an organizations (Singh D. and Agrawal, D.P. 2003). It reflects the comprehensive

strategy and process of acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective customers to create

superior value for the company and the customer. Customer Relationship Management is a term

for the methodologies, technologies and e-commerce capabilities used by the firms to manage

customer relationships. In particular CRM software packages aid the interaction between the

customer and the company, enabling the company to co-ordinate all of the communication

efforts so that the customer is presented with a unified message and image. CRM coordinates

touch points around a common view of the customer (Eckerson and Watson,2000).

As the business gets larger and number of customer relationships to be managed increase

exponentially, it calls for integration of different business departments to collaborate the

customer information to provide a unified view of customer interaction to serve the customers

better. Customer Relationship Management is the strategic process of shaping the interactions

between a company and its customers with the goal of maximizing current and lifetime value of

customers for the company as well as maximizing satisfaction for customers (Rajagopal,

Sanchez and Romulo Sanchez, 2005).

CRM can be viewed as an application of one-to-one marketing and relationship marketing,

responding to an individual customer on the basis of what the customer says and what else is

known about that customer (Peppers, Rogers and Dorf, 1999).It is a management approach that

enables organization to identify, attract, and increase retention of profitable customers by

managing relationships with them (Hobby, J., 1999) and further identifying strategically

significant customers (Buttle, F., 2001).

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“CRM is an IT enabled business strategy, the outcomes of which optimize profitability, revenue

and customer satisfaction by organizing around customer segments fostering customer-satisfying

behaviour and implementing a customer-centric process” (Gartner group, 2008).

A detailed analysis of available definitions in the domain of CRM helps us compile the following

definition-

Customer Relationship Management is a comprehensive business strategy to empower internal

functioning of an organisation with the aim to identify, acquire, deliver, develop and retain

customers. With the use of ever changing technology, this process seeks to integrate various

functions of an organisation, such that it becomes effective and efficient in the long run. This

enables the organisation to have a high customer share and market share to gain a long term

competitive advantage.

CRM is important because it costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain

an existing customer. An increase in customer retention rate by 5% can possibly increase the

profits by up to 95%. Further, all customers do not contribute equally to the firm’s bottom line

and thus are not equally valuable for the company (Natrajan, R. and Shekhar, B., 2010).

The value of targeting the right kind of customers has become so important that the entire

success and failure of an organisation depends on customer acquisition and retention. It is for this

reason that technology has become very important in marketing in the form of CRM. To provide

a wholesome understanding about customers, effective data generation and data analysis is very

important, backed with appropriate data mining, organisations can reap such benefits.

2.1.1. The Goals of CRM

The goals of CRM are-

1. Build long term and profitable relationships with chosen customers.

2.Getting closer to those customers with every point of contact with them (Shainesh G. and

Sheth, J., 2006).

CRM is an enterprise wide approach to understanding and influencing customer behavior

through meaningful communication to improve customer acquisition, customer retention,

customer loyalty, and customer profitability. CRM can be viewed as an application of one-to-one

marketing and relationship marketing, responding to an individual customer on the basis of what

the customer says and what else is known about that customer (Rogers Peppers and Dorf, 1999).

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It is a management approach that enables organisations to identify, attract, and increase retention

of profitable customers by managing relationships with them (Hobby, J., 1999) and further

identifying strategically significant customers (Buttle, F., 2001).

In terms of relationships should be the goal of marketing practice (Berry, L.L. and

Wall,E.,2006).

Five macro environmental factors responsible for the growth of relationship orientation in

marketing (Sheth, J.N. and Parvatiyar, A., 2000)

Rapid technological advancements, especially in the field of information technology.

The adoption of total quality programs by companies.

The growth of the service economy.

Organisational development processes leading to the empowerment of individuals and teams.

An increase in competitive intensity leading to concern for customer retention. Customers are

now more than ever demanding a different relationship with their suppliers, managing a close

relationship has become a central aspect in delivering the business goals (Xu, Yen et al. 2002).

A company’s product can quickly be compared to another, and many companies are offering

very similar products or services to each other. With this in mind, the relationship experience

becomes one of the greatest competitive aspects for a business’s survival. Increased competition

reduces brand loyalty, making the job of the marketers more complex. Further, customers also

become indifferent to the myriad marketing messages being thrust upon them. As a result,

marketing needs to be more well directed and specific, because customers, whether consumers or

businesses, do not want more choices. They want exactly what they want, when, where and how

they want it, and technology now makes it possible for companies to give it to them (Joseph,

P.B., Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 1995).

Customers have hidden or overt preferences which marketers can reveal by building a learning

relationship. Earlier, marketers is attempting to interpret consumer needs on the basis of their

buying behaviours. Now, with the arrival of consumer generated media, which I discuss in the

next section, marketers have another avenue to learn about the consumer. The objective is to

keep the consumers satisfied and keep them loyal towards the company or brand. CRM, which

has also been described as ‘information-enabled relationship marketing’ (Ryals, L. and

Payne,A.F.T., 2001) comprises processes used by organisations to manage consumer

relationships which also include collecting, storing and analyzing data, and is often termed as

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data-driven marketing. CRM attempts to provide a strategic bridge between information

technology and marketing strategies aimed at building long-term relationships and profitability.

This requires information-intensive strategies’ (Glazer, R., 2002).

It is vital to maintain appropriate Customer Information Management systems by acquiring

customer databases and consolidating customer feedback. For decades, businesses tried to

determine what their customers wanted using focus groups that offered feedback about how well

customers liked certain products. As the business world got more complex and markets became

more competitive, the kind of information that could be gleaned from focus groups became

inadequate for most businesses. They didn’t provide enough information, nor was the

information valuable after a product was already released. Realizing the limitations of focus

groups and similar marketing practices, companies decided that they needed to know more about

who their customers is, how they interacted with the company, and how the company could

reach out to customers in a meaningful way. This idea of getting a “360-degree view” of

customers was a nice concept, but it was never really achievable within the limited spectrum of

marketing and communication tools that is available (Wright, J., 2006).

This is where interactive marketing had a vital role to play. Marketing has moved from a

transaction-based effort to a conversation and Interactive Marketing can be defined as the ability

to address the customer, remember what the customer says and address the customer again in a

way that illustrates that we remember what the customer has told us.

The collaborative web is evolving as a significant interactive marketing tool and the ability to

remember what the customer has said is made easier when we can collect customer information

online and communicate with the customer easily using the connectivity provided by the internet.

Four main CRM strategic capabilities (Gordon, I., 2002), include-

Technology-This will enable the desired functionality for the CRM practice.

People- Skills, abilities and attitudes of the people responsible for the CRM initiative.

Process-The processes that the company has identified to enable or to ensure that the CRM

objectives are fulfilled-these include the transactional interactions with the customers.

Knowledge and insight-To ensure stronger and deeper relationships with the right set of

customers, companies need to identify the right approaches that will enable them to gain

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knowledge to gain insight for enhancing the customer value significantly. For the purpose of my

research, I use the following two definitions of CRM-

(i) Customer Acquisition and Retention are the twin objectives of CRM.

(ii) CRM is a strategic approach that is concerned with creating improved shareholder value

through the development of appropriate relationships with key customers and customer

segments. CRM unites the potential of relationship marketing strategies and IT to create

profitable, long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders. CRM provides

enhanced opportunities to use data and information, to both understand customers and co- create

value with them. This requires a cross-functional integration of processes, people, operations,

and marketing capabilities that is enabled through information, technology, and applications.

CRM Processes

CRM processes can be broadly divided into five categories: (Reinartz, W., Kraft, M. and Wayne

D. Hoyer, 2004).

1. The strategy development process: This process requires a dual focus on the organisation’s

business strategy and its customer strategy.

2. The value creation process: The value creation process transforms the outputs of the strategy

development process into programs that both extract and deliver value.

The three key elements of the value creation process are

(i) determining what value the company can provide to its customer

(ii) determining what value the company can receive from its customers and

(iii) by successfully managing this value exchange, which involves a process of,

maximizing the co creation co production lifetime value of desirable customer

segments.

3. The multi channel integration process: The multichannel integration process is arguably one

of the most important processes in CRM because it takes the outputs of the business strategy and

value creation processes and translates them into value-adding activities with customers.

4. The Information Management process: The information management process is concerned

with the collection, collation, and use of customer data and information from all customer

contact points to generate customer insight and appropriate marketing responses. The key

material elements of the information management process are the data repository, which

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provides a corporate memory of customers; IT systems, which include the organisation’s

computer hardware, software, and middleware; analysis tools; and front office and back office

applications, which support the many activities involved in interfacing directly with customers

and managing internal operations, administration, and supplier relationships.

5. The Performance assessment process: The performance assessment process covers the

essential task of ensuring that the organization’s strategic aims in terms of CRM are being

delivered to an appropriate and acceptable standard and that a basis for future

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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1. Customer Survey:

The people play an important part as a clear perception of people about the product can be

estimated and known. Studying the need levels of the people regarding the products can be

observed. It is very useful in knowing about the requirements of the people.

Research Design:

A two stage Research have been conducted:

1. Secondary Research:Websites and catalogues to understand the product of the different players

2. Primary Research:A Primary Research is conducted:

The questionnaire is prepared for the companies and following areas covered:

Competing retail stores

Features offered by different stores

Consumer profile

Satisfaction level

Reasons for their purchase.

Desirable features of the product and service.

Sample size:

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100 Peoples

Chapter 4

Data Analysis & Interpretation

The final draft of the questionnaire is prepared on the basis of the observations from the pilot

study. These is then finally filled by 100 customers, for the conclusive study.

Finally the data collected is fed into the data analysis to be analyzed .

Types of Primary Data collected:

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Q. 1) Age of the respondentsAge Pantaloon Life style Shopper stopBelow 18 15 9 618-40 23 12 1040-60 8 2 560-Above 5 2 4Total 51 25 24

Below-18 18-40 40-60 60-above total0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Pantaloonlifestyleshopperstop

Data :

The first criteria respondents are asked to indicate is the age group they belonged to.

Respondents is asked to choose among four age group categories, counter, display, information,

and staff. The age groups is identified as key factors impacting shopping and purchase decisions

of consumers.

Analysis:

From the table, and column chart depicted above, the distribution of the population under study

is evident. Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 45% indicated that their age

fell in the category 18-40 years 30% indicated below 18, 15% indicated 40-60 year and 10%

indicated 60 above.

Interpretation: By analyzing the responses to this question, I, as a researcher, as well as

companies, can identify the demographics of the population that visit retail outlets. The highest

number of respondents falls in the age group 18-40. It can be deduced that most of the consumers

23

who visit retail outlets regularly are the youth. They make up almost more than half of the

population who shop at retail stores.

Q. 2) Gender of the respond

Gender wise RespondentGender Pantaloon Lifestyle Shopper stopsmale 30 20 15female 13 12 10Total 43 32 25

Male Female Total0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Pantaloonlifestyleshopperstop

Data:

Consumers is asked to indicate their gender. The object of this question is to understand the

demographics of the population under study.

Analysis:

From the table, and column chart depicted above, the distribution of the consumers is evident.

Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 65 is female and 35 is male. It is evident

from the responses and the subsequent tabulation that the number of female respondents was

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higher than that of the male respondents in the population under study. Female are the major

buyers at the Stores.

Interpretation: By analyzing the responses to this question, I as, a researcher, as well as

companies, can identify the distribution in the number of men and women who visit the retail

outlets and appropriate decisions can be made keeping these numbers in mind.

The highest number of respondents is female, as is depicted by the graph and chart presented

above. The number of male respondents was less compared to the female respondents.

Two decisions can be made from the above data collected:

one, more women visit retail outlets than men.

Two, more women are willing to fill out questionnaires and take a survey than men.

Since more women can be inferred to visit retail stores than men, companies can target their

offerings and marketing strategies in two areas. Retail outlets can

appeal to the women customers by offering more products geared especially towards women.

They can provide a shopping experience that women are particularly attracted to.

Another way that retail chains can use the above data is to think new techniques so that they can

appeal to the men rather than the women. Since, fewer men visit retail stores as against women,

the companies have a large base of potential customers. By providing products that are geared

towards men and by providing a shopping experience that attract men’s they can increase their

loyal customers.

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Q.3) How you came to know Products.

Source

Pantaloon Shoppers’ stop Life Style

Electronic

media

15 10 5

Word of

mouth

25 10 5

Print media 11 9 10Total 51 29 20

Electronic media Word of mouth Print media Total0

10

20

30

40

50

60

PantaloonShoppers'stopLife Style

Data:

Consumers were asked to indicate the source from where they got information product . The

object of this question is to understand the source of information of the population under study.

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Analysis:

From the table and column chart depicted above, the distribution of the consumers is evident Of

the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, people got information about Stores from

word of mouth 40% from electronic media 30% from print media 30 % from Hoardings.

Interpretation:

By analyzing the responses to this question, I as ,a researcher, as well as companies, can identify

the source of the information for the customers from where they got the information about

Stores.

Appropriate decisions can be made keeping these numbers in mind.

We should increase the quality of service and which we are providing to customers, so

that we can increase loyal customers so that they can influence more people and our

customer base can be increased.

Secondly we can increase our advertisement on electronic media as now days customers

are also influenced by adds on TV, and other electronic media.

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Q 4. How often do you shop frequently ?

Frequency Pantaloo

n

Lifestyle Shoppers

stop

Once a week 25 10 10

Fortnightly 15 8 7

Once a month 20 3 2

Total 60 21 19

Once a week Fortnightly Once a month Total0

10

20

30

40

50

60

PantaloonLifestyleSopperstops

Data:Consumers approached is asked about their frequency in visits to shops. The frequency points

furnished is Once a week, Fortnightly, and Once a month. These frequency points is identified

by observation and interview as the average times that consumers shop.

AnalysisFrom the table, and column chart depicted above, the frequency of shopping of the respondents

is evident. Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 45 indicated that they shopped

once a week, 30 indicated that they shopped Fortnightly 25 who visit shops, malls or retail stores

once a month.

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Interpretation This question is aimed at understanding how frequently consumers visit shops and buy their

products or avail of their services. The frequency points laid before the respondent have been the

result of observation and interview. By analysing the responses to this question, I the researchers,

as well as companies, can identify the number of times a customer is likely to shop in a month’s

time.The highest responses have been attributed to once a week shopping. It can be deduced that

consumers who shop only once a week, pose very different challenges to retail stores. Such

customers can be presumed to have a high disposable income and may buy more lifestyle or

fashion products. Since they shop so frequently, they must continually be entertained and

attracted to make repeat purchases at stores. When targeting this segment, companies must be

able to get new stock every week, and update their marketing strategies continuously.

As monthly customers can buy the products in bulk so they can shop during (M.B.B) and other

offer seasons but we can give every week big discounts to customers so its more difficult to

increase the customer base of weekly customers. It can be increased if employee handle the

customer well, display of the product, and ambience of the retail outlet is good .

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Q 5) Why do you prefer shop at Retail stores?

Offers Price

Easy A

vailab

ility o

f Product

Quality

Total

05

101520253035404550

PantaloonLifestyleShopperstops

Data: Consumers approached is asked about their factors effecting their purchasing decision. The

factor points furnished is: Quality, Price, Offer, Availability of product

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Factors Pantaloon Lifestyle Shoppers’ stop

Offer 10 4 3

Price 15 6 2

Easy Availability of Product

15 10 10

Quality 10 8 7

Total 50 28 22

AnalysisFrom the table, and column chart depicted above, the factors effecting purchasing decision of

consumers is evident. Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 35 Percent

availability of product 25 Percent quality, 23 Percent price 17 Percent offers as their main factors

influencing their buying decision.

InterpretationThis question is aimed at understanding what elements attract the consumer the most. The

preference points laid before the respondent have been the result of observation and interview.

By analysing the responses to this question, I the researchers, as well as companies, can identify

the biggest factors that influence the consumers in favouring one store over others.

The highest responses and the highest factor have been attributed to availability of products on

sale, when choosing to shop at a particular store. Although it is said that the most important

things in retail are “Location, location, and location”, from the consumers’ point of view,

proximity is of little concern. The quality, price and variety of goods play big roles in the

decision making process.

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Q 6) Do you satisfied own service?

c Pantaloon Lifestyle Shoppers stop

Yes 55 15 8

No 10 7 5

Total 65 22 13

YES No Total0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

PantaloonLifestyleShopperstops

Data:Consumers approached is asked about their frequency in visits to shops. The frequency points

furnished is: Once a week, Fortnightly, and Once a month. These frequency points is identified

by observation and interview as the average times that consumers shop.

AnalysisFrom the table, and column chart depicted above, the frequency of shopping of the respondents

is evident. Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 45 indicated that they shopped

once a week, 30 indicated that they shopped Fortnightly 25 who visit shops, malls or retail stores

once a month.

32

Interpretation This question is aimed at understanding how frequently consumers visit shops and buy their

products or avail of their services. The frequency points laid before the respondent have been the

result of observation and interview. By analysing the responses to this question, I the researchers,

as well as companies, can identify the number of times a customer is likely to shop in a month’s

time.Q7) Which area do you want improve in service?

Area Service Improvement Pantaloon Lifestyle Shoppers stop

Counter 25 15 3

Display 10 7 6

Information 15 3 2

Staff 5 6 3Total 55 31 14

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Counter Display Information Staff Total0

10

20

30

40

50

60

PantaloonLifestyleShopperstops

Data:

The first criteria respondents are asked to indicate is the age group they belonged to.

Respondents is asked to choose among four age group categories, counter, display, information,

and staff. The age groups is identified as key factors impacting shopping and purchase decisions

of consumers.

AnalysisFrom the table, and column chart depicted above, the frequency of shopping of the respondents

is evident. Of the 100 respondents who Percent the questionnaire, 43counter indicated that they

shopping problems in different sides, 23 Display indicated that they shopped 20 who visit shops,

malls or retail stores in Information ,14 indicated staff side that they have problem to shopped .

InterpretationThis question is aimed at understanding how frequently consumers visit shops and buy their

products or avail of their services. The frequency points laid before the respondent have been the

result of observation and interview. By analysing the responses to this question, I the researchers,

as well as companies, can identify the number of times a customer is likely to shop in a month’s

time

34

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Store Image

From the study conducted and factor analysis performed for store factor construct, six store

image variables are deduced. They include.

1. Store Quality

2. Shopping Ease

3. Store Shopper Connect

4. Other Store Relativity

5. Customer Relationship, and

6. Shoppers Comfort.

Store quality

Store quality of the store is explained by the quality of assortment the store provides, the latest

fashions and style statements that the store bring forth to its customer; informative advertisement

about latest arrivals, stocks and promotional campaigns. The well assorted rest areas, informed

and understanding staff, fair exchange and return policy and the high class image the store

bestows also shapes its store image.

Demographics and Store Quality

Store Quality is perceived to be equally important by both males and females. Though males

have some higher rating for store quality, the difference is not significant. All store quality

parameters of quality assortment, availability of latest trends and fashions, informative ads,

relaxed store atmosphere with well assorted rest areas, informed and considerate staff, fair

exchange and returns of purchases and an enhanced store image are well validated and are of

prominent importance to one and all.

Store quality ratings are significantly dependent on shoppers’ age levels. Shoppers with mature

age are found to perceive and rate store quality to a higher level than shoppers who are young.

Shoppers in the study with age levels of 45-54 years and 35-44 years are found to have higher

ratings for store quality than shoppers in age group of 25-34 years and 18-24 years. Store quality

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perception is higher among shoppers with matured age as they are far more rational in their

evaluation of store quality and stores’ efforts to provide for better. Store quality ratings are fairly

the same for shoppers’ vis-à-vis their education levels. However, professionals have higher

ratings for the store they regularly visit on store quality parameter. Sales/ skilled and self-

employed shoppers are more likely to give higher rating to store’s assortment as quality offering

and being fashionable and stylish, store ads being informative about new arrivals and

promotional offers, well assorted rest areas at store, informed staff and the high class image of

store. They appear to enjoy shopping and expect store to provide them quality in all expects of

store’s offerings and service. Shopper’s income level has a direct bearing on their rating of store

quality. Shoppers with

Store Location and Store Quality

Shoppers at Delhi rate quality of the store considerably higher than shoppers at other locations.

Shoppers’ at Gurgoan and Faridabad too have higher rating for store quality. Store quality rating

is comparatively

Store Brand and Store Quality

Shoppers perceive store quality to be significantly higher at Shopper’s Stop and Ebony and

lowest .

Shopping ease reflects the shoppers concern for luxurious store environment, the ease in billing

and courteous sales staff.

Demographics and Shopping Ease

Females are somewhat less convinced about the ease in shopping that a store offers than their

male counterparts. Males apparently are more relaxed to rate store’s luxurious environment, the

ease in billing provided for by the store and the courteous staff fairly higher than females.

Shoppers in higher age groups consider store to provide greater shopping ease than the shoppers

in lower age groups. This confirms that age has ample effect on shopper’s evaluation of store

environment, its billing procedure and how sales staffs behave. Elderly shoppers are more

considerate about these facts than younger ones.

Education level of shoppers influences their rating for shopping ease a department store offers.

Professionals and graduates give higher ratings for store ease. This is significantly higher than

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shoppers in other education categories. Professionals see the store they patronize offering a

luxurious environment, simple billing processes and courteous and polite sales staff.

Customer relationship is seen in perspective of store inviting shoppers for events

Lifestyle

Shoppers visiting either once or thrice spend more at Delhi and Delhi and Noida

respectively, than shoppers at Gurgoan. Gurgoan shoppers who visit twice a month at

Lifestyle commit higher spending than shoppers at Lifestyle stores in Delhi and Noida. This

suggests an interaction effect between Store Location and Average spend at Lifestyle. If

there were no interaction, one would expect the difference between store locations to

remain constant with frequency of visit of shoppers

Pantaloons

Shoppers at Delhi make higher spending at Pantaloons stores than their counterparts at

Noida and Ghaziabad. Among shoppers who visit Pantaloons only once in a month, Noida

shoppers have highest average spending followed by Ghaziabad. But among shoppers

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who visit Pantaloon store twice or more Delhi shoppers have highest spending. An interaction

effect between Store Location and Average spend at Pantaloons is also suggested. If there were

no interaction, one would expect the difference between store locations to remain constant with

frequency of visit of shoppers.

Shoppers Stop

Shoppers at Delhi make higher spending at Shoppers Stop stores than their counterparts at

Gurgoan. This is true for shoppers who are more regular and visit Shoppers Stop store thrice or

more. But among shoppers who visit Shoppers Stop store twice the one in Gurgoan commit

higher spending than Delhizens. An interaction effect between Store Location and Average

spend at Stoppers Stop is also revealed. If there were no interaction, one would expect the

difference between store locations to remain constant with frequency of visit of shoppers.

Relationship of Store factors with Store Brand & Store Location

Product Quality

Quality of stores is perceived to be higher among shoppers at Delhi than among shoppers located

in other townships of NCR. Gurgoan shoppers are quite low on quality rating of department store

they patronize.

Among store brands shoppers rate Ebony high on quality parameter than other stores. It is fairly

high for Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop but exceedingly low and Lifestyle.

Price

Delhi shoppers give higher rating for the price factor associated with the department store they

usually buy from, than shoppers from other towns of NCR. Price as the store factor is rater

higher by shoppers at Noida and Ghaziabad too. However, it is lowest among all towns for

Gurgoan.

Shoppers who patronize Ebony and Pantaloons have noticeably higher rating on pricing factor,

than shoppers at Globus and Lifestyle who gives the lowest rating on pricing factor.

Assortment

Delhi and Gurgoan shoppers apparently are more pleased with the assortment availability and

range at stores. Shoppers at Noida appear less pleased

Satisfaction and Loyalty Relationship

Satisfaction involves consumers' emotions, i.e. personal feelings of pleasure or disappointment

with shopping experience. It creates an individual’s attachment to a product or store, a feeling

38

that is likely to lead to consumer purchase intentions or loyalty. Loyalty can be defined as the

consumer’s readiness to recommend a store to a friend (positive word-of-mouth statement) and

consumer intention to repurchase in this store again. If positive, purchase intentions should

trigger consumer response behaviour on a fairly habitual basis (action loyalty). Action loyalty

might be expressed in terms of frequency of store visit, amount of money spent or the percentage

of the customer's purchases made from this store and retailer

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Limitations of the Study

The nature of current study presented certain unavoidable limitations that impacted on the

interpretation of the results. A particular concern in the current study is the halo effect could

impact the measurement of buying behaviour, store factors, satisfaction and loyalty constructs.

The presence of the halo effect, together with the response biases and the principles of Gestalt

theory, could have contributed to habitual, positive (or negative) evaluations by the consumers,

as well as the inability to differentiate between the dimensions and attributes when evaluating a

construct that is usually experienced holistically by the shoppers.

Other possible shortcomings include the following:

The study concentrated on current consumers of well established department stores. Shoppers

who had defected, shoppers that do not purchase at this store, as well as other target shoppers

were excluded.

The specific stores selected for the study could have effected the generalization of result.

The selection of the geographical area is based on practical and resource considerations, thus

the study is not entirely representative of all. This could limit the generalization of results.

For few of the respondents English is the second language

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ANNEXURE

Name Sex M/F

Age

Q1 Q3 How you came to know Products.

o Electronic media

o Word of mouth

o Print Media

Q 4. How often do you shop frequently ?

o Once a week

o Once a Month

o Fortnightly

Q 5) Why do you prefer shop at Retail stores?

o Brand Based

o Product Assortment

o Quality

o Offer

o Easy availability\

Q 6) Do you satisfied own service?

o Yes

o NO

41

Q7) Which area do you want improve in service?

o Counter

o Staff

o Display/ Store Design

o Information

Q8) any Suggestion / Recommendation

Thank you sign

42

References

1. Arndt, Johan and Sigmund, Grønmo (1977). ‘The time dimension of shopping behaviours:

Some empirical findings,’ Advances in Consumer Research, Vol.4 No. 1, pp. 230-235.

2. Bawa, K. and Ghosh, A. (1999), ‘A Model of Household Grocery Shopping Behaviour,’

Marketing Letters, Vol. 10 No.2, pp. 149-160.

3. Best, Roger J. (2004). Market-Based Management: Strategies for Growing Customer Value and Profitability, New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

4. Burt, Steve and Mark Gabbott (1995). ‘The elderly consumer and non-food purchase behaviour,’ European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 29 No.2, pp. 43-57.

5. Carman, J.M. (1970). ‘Correlates of brand loyalty,’ Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 67-76.

6. Capon, Noel and Marian Burke. (1980). ‘Individual, Product Class and Task-Related Factors in Consumer Information Processing,’ Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 7(December), pp. 314-26.

7. Claxton, John D., Frey Joseph N. and Bernard Portis (1974). ‘A Taxonomy of Pre-Purchase Information Gathering Patterns,’ Journal of Consumer Research, Vol.1, pp. 35-42.

Website:

1. Principles of marketing By PHILIP KOTLER.

2. http://pantaloon.futurebazaar.com/indexPantaloon.jsp.

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantaloon_Retail_India.

4. http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/.

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailing_in_India.

6. http:// www.shoppersstop.com

7. http:// www.angelbroking.com

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