understanding shopper behavior and evaluation of customer...

Understanding Shopper Behavior and Evaluation of Customer Experience at Selected Stores of Reliance Retail

Ankita Jangde, Bhuvanesh Kumar Sharma *Student, PGDM, Balaji Institute of Modern Management, Pune

**Assistant Professor, Balaji Institute of Modern Management, Pune . E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to understand shopper behavior and evaluate customer experience with reference to Reliance Retail. This research also helps to determine factors that influence customers’ perception towards Reliance Retail. It also tests association between customers’ first visit and their overall shopping experience, also to know the overall satisfaction of the customers with the store. The research is descriptive in nature. The primary data has been collected through a structured self-designed questionnaire and filled by the customers. Total 62 customers have been selected as a sample using non probability convenience sampling. The data analysis has been done using regression analysis and chi square test with the help of SPSS and advanced excel. The study found that satisfaction is derived majorly from product quality. The study also investigated that there is a significant association between customers’ first visit and their overall shopping experience. Keywords: Shopper behavior, Customer experience, Regression, Chi-square

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND Introduction: The Indian retail industry has developed as a standout amongst the most powerful and quick

paced businesses because of the passage of a few new players. It represents more than 10 for

each penny of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and around 8 for each penny of the

business. India is the world's fifth-biggest worldwide goal in the retail space. "Ideal

socioeconomics, expanding urbanization, nuclearisation of families, rising riches in the midst of

buyers, developing inclination for marked items and higher desires are different elements which

will drive retail utilization in India," said DS Rawat, Assocham Secretary General.

Retail classification: Retail industry can be broadly classified into two categories namely- organized and unorganized

retail.

1. Organized retail - Organized traders/retailers, who are licensed for trading activities and

registered to pay taxes to the government.

2. Unorganized retail – It consists of unauthorized small shops - conventional Kirana shops,

general stores, corner shops among various other small retail outlets - but remain as the radiating

force of Indian retail industry.

International Journal of Research

Volume 7, Issue VII, JULY/2018

ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:537

Market Size:

India’s retail market is expected to grow to US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020 from US$ 672 billion in

2017, driven by income growth, urbanization and attitudinal shifts. While the overall retail

market is expected to grow at 12 per cent per annum, modern trade would expand twice as fast at

20 per cent per annum and traditional trade at 10 per cent. India’s Business to Business (B2B) e-

commerce market is expected to reach US$ 700 billion by 2020.Online retail is expected to be at

par with the physical stores in the next five years. India is expected to become the world’s fastest

growing e-commerce market, driven by robust investment in the sector and rapid increase in the

number of internet users. Various agencies have high expectations about growth of Indian e-

commerce markets. Indian e-commerce sales are expected to reach US$ 120 billion! by 2020

from US$ 30 billion in FY2016.Further, India's e-commerce market is expected to reach US$

220 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) and 530 million shoppers by 2025, led

by faster speeds on reliable telecom networks, faster adoption of online services and better

variety as well as convenience. India’s direct selling industry is expected to reach a size of Rs

23,654 crore (US$ 3.54 billion) by FY2019-20, as per a joint report by India Direct Selling

Association (IDSA) and PHD. Indian exports of locally made retail and lifestyle products grew

at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent from 2013 to 2016. The size of

modern retail in India is expected to double to Rs 171,800 crore (US$ 25.7 billion) from Rs

87,100 crore (US$ 13 billion) in three years driven by omni-channel retail. The size of modern

retail in India is expected to double to Rs 171,800 crore (US$ 25.12 billion) from Rs 87,100

crore (US$ 13 billion) in three years driven by omni-channel retail.

Investment Scenario:

The Indian retail trading has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows totaling

US$ 1.14 billion during April 2000–December 2017, according to the Department of Industrial

Policies and Promotion (DIPP). With the rising need for consumer goods in different sectors

including consumer electronics and home appliances, many companies have invested in the

Indian retail space in the past few months.

•Reliance Retail is entering wholesaling of fashion and lifestyle products through both offline

and online channels.

•With 2017 being a successful year for herbal-ayurvedic brands, new Indian organic labels in

hair care, cosmetics, food and apparel are belting up to carve an organic niche in the growing

herbal segment.

•India’s retail sector attracted Rs 9.5 billion (US$ 147.40 million) investments in FY18, at a

growth rate of 35 per cent year-on-year from Rs 7 billion (US$ 104.34 million) in FY17.

Government Initiatives:

The Government of India has taken various initiatives to improve the retail industry in India.

Some of them are listed below:



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:538

•Government of India has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in online retail

of goods and services through the automatic route, thereby providing clarity on the existing

businesses of e-commerce companies operating in India.

Market Scenario

While organized retail, primarily brick & mortar, has been in India for more than two decades

now, its contribution to total retail is still low at 9% (US$60 billion) as of 2017, a modest

increase from around 7% in 2012.

Category-wise penetration in organized retail:

Footwear has the highest share in terms of penetration achieved by organized retail at 40%,

followed by Jewellery with a penetration of 27%. CDIT reflects a penetration of 25%. Apparel &

accessories reflects a penetration of 22%. Food and grocery is the least penetrated category with

organized share of 3%.

F&G and general merchandise category, currently at 3% penetration, is projected to drive the

growth of the share of organized retail within the total retail market over the next few years.

Modern convenience stores comprise nearly half of the organized B&M market with

hypermarkets taking 9% and supermarkets the rest of the 44% in terms of store count. With

growing consumption in Tier I & Tier II cities and easy availability of retail space in these cities,

the growth of organized formats will be focused around these clusters. The availability of retail

area, growing consumption and format rationalization will be instrumental in the growth of

hypermarkets and supermarkets. It is projected that the share of these formats will rise from 47%

in 2016 to 51% by 2020.

Market studied The market of Raipur, Chhattisgarh is fast evolving with the growth dynamics. It has following

number of stores of Reliance Retail:

Reliance Digital: Digital format has four departments namely Productivity, Entertainment,

Home appliance and Enhancement. Out of all these, Productivity(laptops, wireless phones)

generates 75% of store’s revenue. Reliance offers product along with resQ. resQ is the service

arm of Reliance Digital / Digital Xpress and Digital Xpress mini stores, which caters to

customers for after sales service. resQ is India's first Multi product, Multi brand, Multi-location

service facility which offers service 365 days a year. Currently, there are 2 stores in Raipur.

Reliance Trends: Trends has three departments namely men’s wear, Women’s wear and kids

wear. On weekdays, it averages footfalls of 600-700 with conversion rate of 24-25%. On the

contrary, on weekends, although the footfalls are as high as 1000-2000 but the conversion rate is

only around 19%. There are various customer touch points such as entry, trial rooms, cash

counters, Customer Service Desk(CSD). `The store is currently of Regular format and soon it is

going to be upgraded to Fitch format. The store’s performance is measured through various Key



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:539

Performance Indicators (KPI) namely sales, conversion, Average Ticket Size(ATS), Item Per

Cash Memo(IPCM) etc.

Reliance Footprints: Footprints has three departments namely men’s wear, Women’s wear and

kids wear. Apart from this, it also has bags, belts, handbags etc. It has average footfalls of 200 on

weekdays as compared to 500-600 footfalls on weekends. Footfalls are affected majorly due to

the presence of competitors like Mochi, Skechers. The conversion rate averages between 15 to

16%. Average monthly sale is of Rs. 25 Lacs. Sales are comparatively less on weekdays (Rs.

60,000-Rs. 65,000) as compared to on weekends (Rs. 3 Lacs).

Jio stores: There are 6 Jio stores in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Jio stores exhibits a unique trend,

unlike other formats. The footfalls on weekends (40-50) are quite less a compared to

weekdays(200-250). The average monthly sale of the store is Rs.8, 00,000. There are two types

of sim categorized by color:

a) Red sim: For MP-CG circle

b) Green sim: For Other circles

RESEARCH PROBLEM

With fast changing economics and increase in disposable income, a shift in the perception of

customers is observed. They prefer to spend on branded and luxury items. Besides, with the

presence of competitors in the market, the footfalls and conversion are affected. This Project is

aimed at understanding various parameters pertaining to customer experience and the service

offered across Reliance Retail formats and to define a holistic Reliance Retail customer

experience. Understanding this parameters and implementing on it would lead to increase in

satisfaction of the customers and it will ultimately lead to boost in the sales.

OBJECTIVE(S):

Primary objective:

To understand shopper behavior and customer experience (at Reliance Trends in Raipur city).

Secondary objectives:

1) To determine factors that influence customers’ perception towards Reliance Trends.

2) To test association between customers’ first visit and their overall shopping experience.

3) To determine overall satisfaction of customers with the store.

LITERATURE REVIEW Parikh (2006) said that as the retailing in India evolves, service quality of retail stores in India

needs appreciably improvement in order to compete successfully in the global marketplace. It is,

therefore indispensable to know how customers appraise service quality and how it can be

measured and improved.



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:540

Kumar, R., & Vetrivel, T. (2016) concluded that “The customer perception of retail service

quality is an important segment to the emerging and the existing retailers in the market as the

study reveals that perception of service quality influenced by the various nature with various

customers even some of the general factors like Personal interaction, physical aspects are the

dimensions on the customer perception remains constant and common to all the customer on a

majority basis so the retail outlets have to frame their own strategies In order to attract the

customers on a longer basis”.

Kumar.R & Barani (2012) said that “service quality has long been accepted as the most basic

Marketing tool for retailers to differentiate their retail offers, create competitive advantage and to

enhance the customers‟ shopping experience. Nonetheless, maintaining excellent service quality

within the stores is no simple task”

Hekman David R., Aquino Karl, Owens Bradley P., Mitchell Terence R. & Leavitt Pauline

Schilpzand Keith (2010), “In this research, researcher have found the result that, customer

satisfaction surveys have become a common source of performance feedback for employees and

organizations. Researchers had given some new aspects that customer satisfaction was primary

factor for the companies this time for strategic decision making and to find some factors for

compensation of employees. Customer satisfaction in most of cases were gender biased they had

found because this mainly attach with the behavior of people and performance which is always

related to gender wise”.

(Puccinelli et al., 2009), “they have found the survival of fittest & fastest is the mantra of today’s

business game. To compete successfully in this business era, the retailer must focus on the

customer’s buying experience. To manage a customer’s experience, retailers should understand

what “customer experience” actually means. Finally; in conclusion there are some fundamental

points: Customer Experience Management is not simply an old idea in a new wrapper. The result

was that there are now more services and products available than at any time in the past, yet

customer satisfaction are on a downward slide”.

On the basis of literature review, following hypothesis have formulated:

HYPOTHESIS: 1

Ho1: There is no significant impact of factors influencing customer buying behavior on their

satisfaction with respect to Reliance Trends.

HA1: There is significant impact of factors influencing customer buying behavior on their


H02: There is no association between customer’s first visit at the store and basis their overall

experience they will shop again at this store.



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:541

HA2: There is an association between customer’s first visit at the store and basis their overall


RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN Research type:Descriptive Research

Descriptive research is to describe something- usually market characteristics such as consumers,

sales people, and organization or market areas.

Sample size:62

Sampling method:Convenience Sampling

A non-probability sampling technique that attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements.

The selection of sampling units is left primarily to the interviewer.

Data collection method:Survey

A structured questionnaire given to a population sample and designed to elicit specific

information from respondents.

Primary data: The primary or the first hand data was collected with the help of handing out the

questionnaire to the customers as well interviewing the customers.

Secondary data: The major source of secondary or supporting data wasinternet, library, books

and journals. These were the sources ofinformation.

DATA ANALYSIS

Percentage

Gender Male 45%

Female 55%

Age Group Classification

16 - 25 years 16%

26 - 35 years 22%

36 - 45 years 13%

46 - 60 years 5%

Frequency of visit

Once a week 2%

Once in 1 - 2 weeks 5%

Once a month 12% Once every 1 - 2 months 30%

Once every 3 months 33%

Once every 6 months 19%



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:542

1.To determine factors that influence customers’ perception towards Reliance Trends.

Regression Analysis

Ho: There is no significant impact of factors influencing customer buying behaviour on their


H1: There is significant impact of factors influencing customer buying behaviour on their


Model Summaryb

Model R R Square

Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

Change Statistics

R Square Change

F Change

df1 df2 Sig. F Change

1 .580a .336 .190 .57509 .336 2.304 11 50 .023

Interpretation:

From the above table, we observe that R square value is 0.336 i.e. 33.6% of variance in the

independent variable i.e. overall satisfaction of the respondents is explained by the dependent

variable.

ANOVA

Model Sum of Squares

Df Mean Square F Sig.

1

Regression 8.383 11 .762 2.304 .023

Residual 16.537 50 .331

Total 24.919 61

a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Interpretation: From the above table, significance value is 0.023 i.e. less than 0.05. Therefore, we reject the null

hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis i.e. there is significant impact of factors

influencing customer buying behaviour on their satisfaction with respect to Reliance Trends.



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:543

Coefficients

Model Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1

(Constant) 5.735 4.645 1.235 .223

Availability of products

-.224 .407 -.096 -.551 .584

Variety and range of products

.212 .225 .132 .944 .350

Prices of products

.309 .155 .268 1.991 .052

Store staff interaction

-.040 .205 -.032 -.195 .846

Time taken for billing

.016 .101 .022 .158 .875

Space for movement inside the store

-.973 .941 -.193 -1.034 .306

Promotions, offers and discount schemes

.044 .099 .057 .443 .660

Product quality

.655 .227 .393 2.888 .006

Availability of latest trends/fashion products

-.734 .654 -.342 -1.123 .267

Availability of size options

.314 .247 .260 1.273 .209

Availability of popular brands

.251 .569 .151 .441 .661

a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:544

Interpretation:

From the above table, we observe that the significance value of the attribute “Product quality” is

0.006 i.e. less than 0.05 followed by the attribute “Prices of the product” with a significance

value of 0.052. The significance value of all other attributes is more than 0.05. Therefore, we can

say that the overall satisfaction of respondents is derived majorly from the attribute “Product

quality”.

2. To test the association between customers’ first visit and their overall shopping experience. H0: There is no association between customer’s first visit at the store and basis their overall


H1: There is an association between customer’s first visit at the store and basis their overall


Cross Tabulation

Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Store_visit * Expe

62 100.0% 0 0.0% 62 100.0%

Symmetric Measures

Value Asymp. Std. Errora

Approx. Tb

Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal

Phi -.275 .031

Cramer's V .275 .031

N of Valid Cases 62

Interpretation:

From the above table, we observe that significance value is 0.031 i.e. less than 0.05, we

reject the null hypothesis. Hence, we conclude that there is enough evidence to suggest

an association between customers’ first visit at the store and on the basis of their overall




ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:545

Store_visit * Expe Crosstabulation

Expe Total

Yes May be

Store_visit

Yes Count 17 2 19

Expected Count

18.4 .6 19.0

No Count 43 0 43

Expected Count

41.6 1.4 43.0

Total Count 60 2 62

Expected Count

60.0 2.0 62.0

Interpretation:

From the above table, we can say that 17 out of 19 i.e. 89.47%respondents who are visiting the

store for the first time and 100% respondents who have shopped before have good shopping

experience and would come to store again.

3. To determine overall satisfaction of customers with the store.

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score):

CSAT =Total number of satis�ied customers

Total Responses× 100

CSAT =��

��× 100

Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied

Frequency 15 42

15

42

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Fre

qu

ency

Customer Satisfaction Index



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:546

CSAT = 91.93% Interpretation: CSAT score is 91.93% i.e. 91.93% respondents are 4. To determine the awareness about the RelianceOne loyalty programme

Interpretation: From the above chart, we can see that only 23% of the respondents are aware about the Reliance’s loyalty programme and 77% are unaware about it. FINDINGS 1)From the demographic profile of the respondents, it is observed that 55% of the respondents

identified themselves as female and 45% as male.

belonged to the age group 16 –

in every 3 months.

2) Only 235 of the respondents are aware about the Reliance’s loyalty programme.

3) Based on Regression Analysis results, respondents indicated that they perceive product quality

(α = 0.006) as the most influent

least influential factor was time taken for billing

4) Based on cross-tabulation, it is clear that

first time and 100% of respondents who have shopped before have good shopping experience

and store again.

5) Based on CSAT score, 91.93% respondents were overall satisfied with the store.

6) From observation, it was evident that there was no seating arrangement for the customers and

the announcements were also not very clear.

RECOMMENDATIONS 1) The store staff could be trained through “Rconnect” about the loyalty programme.

2) Results also suggest that the store staff interaction needs more attention. The store staff should

be given training on how to interact with the customers and assist them in choosing the right

products for them.

Awareness about loyalty

CSAT score is 91.93% i.e. 91.93% respondents are satisfied with the store.

4. To determine the awareness about the RelianceOne loyalty programme

From the above chart, we can see that only 23% of the respondents are aware about the Reliance’s loyalty programme and 77% are unaware about it.

From the demographic profile of the respondents, it is observed that 55% of the respondents

identified themselves as female and 45% as male. 60% of the respondents entering the store

belonged to the age group 16 – 25 years. Majority of the respondents i.e. 33% visit the store once


Based on Regression Analysis results, respondents indicated that they perceive product quality

as the most influential factor followed by prices of the products (

least influential factor was time taken for billing (α = 0.875).

tabulation, it is clear that 89.47% respondents who are visiting the store for the

ondents who have shopped before have good shopping experience

Based on CSAT score, 91.93% respondents were overall satisfied with the store.

From observation, it was evident that there was no seating arrangement for the customers and

the announcements were also not very clear.

1) The store staff could be trained through “Rconnect” about the loyalty programme.

uggest that the store staff interaction needs more attention. The store staff should


23%

77%

Awareness about loyalty programme

.

4. To determine the awareness about the RelianceOne loyalty programme

From the above chart, we can see that only 23% of the respondents are aware about the

From the demographic profile of the respondents, it is observed that 55% of the respondents

60% of the respondents entering the store

33% visit the store once


Based on Regression Analysis results, respondents indicated that they perceive product quality

ial factor followed by prices of the products (α = 0.052). The

89.47% respondents who are visiting the store for the

ondents who have shopped before have good shopping experience

Based on CSAT score, 91.93% respondents were overall satisfied with the store.

From observation, it was evident that there was no seating arrangement for the customers and

1) The store staff could be trained through “Rconnect” about the loyalty programme.

uggest that the store staff interaction needs more attention. The store staff should


Yes

No



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:547

3) Shopping sometimes may take time. Proper seating arrangements should be made for the

customers so that people who accompany the shopper do not have to suffer standing for long.

Benches could be installed in each section.

4) The announcements could be made more clearly so that customers could hear it properly.

LIMITATIONS

1).The survey was limited to few regions in Raipur due to limitation of the time.

2).Mood of the respondents that was experienced during study that would have influenced their

responses. Normally all customers seemed to be in a hurry because of their busy schedule and

questionnaire also would have influenced their response.

3). Due to limited sample size, findings may not be realistic.

FUTURE SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the Indian retail market is immense for this sector is poised for growth in the

coming years and hence is highly desirable for conducting the research. With changing consumer

behavior, their preference for luxury commodities and changing lifestyle, this sector poses an

immense scope for further research. Identifying customer satisfaction and customer perception

are very important to develop this sector pan India. Further research should be carried out in

order to enhance the understanding of customer perception and customer satisfaction. Moreover

a similar study could be conducted with a larger sample size so that results could be

comprehensive to a large population to measure the levels of customer perception.

CONCLUSIONS

This study concludes that product quality is the most important factor that influences the

perception of the customers towards Reliance Trends. So, the store should maintain that quality

and look for ways to improve it further.

There is less awareness among the customers about the RelianceOne loyalty programme. So, the

store staff could be trained through “Rconnect” about this programme so that they could educate

the customers about it.

Store staff interaction can greatly affect the overall shopping experience of the customers. The

store should provide training to the store staff so that the customers have better shopping

experience at the store.

REFERENCES

1. Parikh, D. (2006). Measuring Retail Service Quality: An Empirical Assessment of the Instrument. Vikalpa: The Journal For Decision Makers, 32(2).

2. Kumar, R., & Vetrivel, T. (2016). Retail Service Quality of Big Bazaar Retail Store Thiruvananthapuram: An Empirical Study. Asian Journal Of Research In Social Sciences And Humanities, 6(7), 1487. doi: 10.5958/2249-7315.2016.00524.4



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:548

3. Kumar.R & Dr. G. Barani (2012), Appraisal Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Organized Retailing at Bangalore City, India. Industrial Engineering Letters (ISSN 2224-6096) Vol 2, No.2, 2012 pp 61-70 [6].

4. Kumar.R & Dr. G. Barani (2012), Examination of Organized Retailing Service Quality In Attire Specialty Stores In Bangalore City, India. International Journal of Computing and Business Research (ISSN: 2229-6166) Vol 3 Issue 1 Jan 2012 pp 1-15

5. Puccinelli, N., Goodstein, R., Grewal, D., Price, R., Raghubir, P., & Stewart, D. (2009). Customer Experience Management in Retailing: Understanding the Buying Process. Journal of Retailing, 85(1), 15-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2008.11.003

6. Hekman, David R., Aquino, Karl, Owens, Bradley P., Mitchell, Terence R., Schilpzend, Pauline, Leavitt, Keith (2010). An examination whether and how racial and gender biases influence customer satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, Apr, Vol. 53 Issue 2, 27p, 3 Diagrams, 6 Charts ISSN No. 0001-4273, 238-264.

7. Malhotra, N. (2017). Marketing Research. Pearson Education Limited.



ISSN NO : 2236-6124

Page No:549

understanding shopper behavior and evaluation of customer...

Documents