IJRDO-Journal of Business Management ISSN: 2455-6661

Impact of buying behavior of youth towards cosmetic products in Perambalur Town

*Prof. Venkata Krishna Raj Thanthai Hans Roever College(Autonomus) Perambalur 621212.

** Prof.R.Geetha Thanthai Hans Roever College(Autonomus) Perambalur 621212.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate internal and external influences on consumers
purchasing decisions on cosmetic products perambalur in Tamilnadu. The questionnaires were
given to 125 consumers who are all using cosmetics. Out of 125 consumers contacted, 75
questionnaires were received with required coverage and details. The instruments of this study
involved two parts: the first section of the instrument consisted of forced-choice questions about
demographic characteristics: gender, marital status, age, occupation, monthly income level. The
second section variables chosen for this study in order to measure the influence of consumer
buying behaviour in cosmetics products. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for
Microsoft Windows 20.00 was used to complete the analysis of the collected data. Descriptive
statistics, including means, standard deviations were implemented in order to investigate the
demographic data, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine whether any
significant relationships exist among respondents. In addition, the .05 level of statistical
significance was set at all statistical tests in the present study. The findings of the study were
generalized as follows: Statistically significant differences were found in Income level by the
different brand dimensions like social, culture and there is no statistically significant difference in
dimension of Personal and psychological. In the end of the study implications and conclusion were
provided. Index

Terms- buying, social, personal, cultural, psychological

INTRODUCTION

Understanding behavior of consumers is a key to the success of business organizations.

Marketing personnel are constantly analyzing the patterns of buying behavior and purchase
decisions to predict the future trends. Consumer behavior can be explained as the analysis of how,
when, what and why people buy. Consumer behavior can be understood as: "The decision process
and physical activity individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring, using, or disposing of
goods and services." (Loudon and Della Bitta, 1980).

Nowadays, this phenomenon, can also be illustrated in the following way: "activities
people undertake when obtaining, consuming, and disposing of products and services" (Blakwell,
Minard and Engel, 2001).

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A study by Voss and Parasuraman (2003) suggests that the purchase preference is primarily
determined by price than quality during pre-purchase evaluation. Given explicit quality
information, price had no effect on pre-purchase or postconsumption quality perceptions. Instead,
post consumption quality evaluations had a favorable impact on price evaluations.

Another study by Chernev (1997) analyzed the effect of common features on brand choice
and the moderating role of attribute importance. It is argued that when brand attributes differ in
importance, with the best value on the most important attribute, thus further polarizing brands‟
choice shares. In contrast, when attributes are similar in their importance, common features are
likely to have an opposite effect, equalizing brands share.

Russo and France (1994), studied the nature of the choice process for commonly purchased
nondurables by tracking eye fixations in a laboratory simulation of supermarket shelves. The
findings are fully compatible with the general view that the choice process is constructed to adapt
to the immediate purchase environment. While describing about shopping orientation, Sinha
(2003) reports that Indian Shoppers seek emotional value more than the functional value of
shopping. Their orientation is based more on the entertainment value than on the functional value.
The orientation is found to be affected primarily by the type of store, the frequency of buying and
to some extent by the socio-economic classification. The retailers need to experiment with a format
that attracts both types of shoppers. Research suggests that beauty consciousness among people in
general is changing.

Vigneron and Johnson (1999) reported that people's needs for appearances and materialism
were increasing. That is human beings wanted to satisfy the need to look and feel good. This
created a boom in the cosmetic and toiletries sector across the world. Chambers Encyclopedia
defines cosmetics as (a) articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled or sprayed on, introduced
into or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleaning, beautifying,
promoting attractiveness or altering the appearance and (b) articles intended for use as a component
of such articles. Now a variety of cosmetic and toiletries ranging from natural to sophisticated
items are available in the market. The pattern and preference of use of these items vary according
to different segments of gender, age and socio economic class. When we review the literature on
the cosmetic and toiletry industry, not many studies are available especially about Indian scenario.
The present study is an attempt to analyse the purchasing pattern of cosmetic consumers in
perambalur in Tamilnadu.

It is well known fact that the success of any business organization stems from company‟s
ability to understand and influence consumer behavior. This study is needed to consider when
designing and implementing marketing programs. Failure to understand the dynamic buyer
behavior and improper allocation and coordination of resources will lead the organization to great
losses. The better marketers are at understanding consumer behavior, the more successful they will
be at influencing consumers‟ purchase behavior (Kurti Shah 2009).

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There are three sections of consumer behavior that need to be addressed carefully:
psychological influences, socio-cultural influences and situational influences. The marketers have
to go through a number of challenges in selling products like „cosmetics‟ as they have to be applied
directly on human skins, body and other parts. There is a perceived risk of dissatisfaction in the
consumers as far as its benefits are concerned. It is necessary to study the consumer buying
decision process in this regard.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

In order to develop a framework for the study consumer behaviour it is helpful to begin by
considering the evolution of the field of consumer research and the different paradigms of thought
that have influenced the discipline. As described in this article, a set of dimensions can be identified
in the literature, which can be used to characterize and differentiate, the various perspectives on
consumer research. It is argued that consumer behaviour itself emerged as a distinct field of study
during the 1960s; and is characterized by two broad paradigms, the positivist and the non-
positivist. The positivist paradigm encompasses the economic, behavioural, cognitive,
motivational/trait/attitudinal, and situational perspectives; these perspectives are referred to as the
traditional perspectives as they pre-date the development of the non-positivist paradigm.

The positivist paradigm, which is still the dominant paradigm, emphasizes the supremacy
of human reason and that there is a single, objective truth that can be discovered by science. This
paradigm regards the world as a rational and ordered place with a clearly defined past, present,
and future. The assumption of rationalism is therefore fundamental to the traditional perspective.
The opposing, non-positivist paradigm, envelops the interpretive and postmodern perspectives,
which have emerged more recently during the period post-1980 to date. The proponents of this
emerging perspective argue that positivism overemphasizes the rational view and the ideology of
a homogenous social culture and thereby denies the complex social and cultural world in which
consumers live. This paradigm instead stresses, the importance of symbolic and subjective
experience and the idea that consumers construct meanings based on unique and shared cultural
experiences, and thus there can be no single unified world view. Unsurprisingly, the two paradigms
differ in their views on the benefits derived from consumption and the objectives that underscore
consumer research.

The traditional, positivist perspective takes a very utilitarian approach to the benefits from
consumption. While the non-positivist perspectives place much greater emphasis on the symbolic
dimensions of choice. The objective of non-positivist research endeavour is to achieve a better
understanding of consumer behaviour with no specific intent to influence consumer processes.
Conversely, outcomes of positivist research are directed toward advancing the goals of marketing
practice. By identifying the paradigmatic shifts within the field, this article aims to identify
different streams of thought that could guide future consumer research. Consumer is the study “of
the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products,
services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires” (Solomon 1995, 7). In the marketing

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context, the term „consumer ‟ refers not only to the act of purchase itself, but also to patterns of
aggregate buying which include pre-purchase and post-purchase activities. Pre-purchase activity
might consist of the growing awareness of a need or want, and a search for and evaluation of
information about the products and brands that might satisfy it. Post-purchase activities include
the evaluation of the purchased item in use and the reduction of any anxiety which accompanies
the purchase of expensive and infrequently-bought items. Each of these has implications for
purchase and repurchase and they are amenable in differing degrees to marketer influence (Foxall
1987).

Engel, et al. (1986, 5) define consumer behavior as “those acts of individuals directly
involved in obtaining, using, and disposing of economic goods and services, including the decision
processes that precede and determine these acts”. Simple observation provides limited insight into
the complex nature of consumer choice and researchers have increasingly sought the more
sophisticated concepts and methods of investigation provided by behavioral sciences in order to
understand, predict, and possibly control consumer behavior more effectively. Psychology, social
psychology, and sociology are the disciplines most widely employed in this endeavor which has
become a substantial academic industry in its own right. In order to develop a framework for the
study of consumer behavior it is helpful to begin by considering the evolution of the field of
consumer research and the different paradigms of thought that have influenced the discipline
(Marsden and Littler, 1998).

Paradigms in consumer research can be broadly classified as a set of fundamental

assumptions that researchers make about what they are studying and how they study it (Kuhn,
1962). As described below, a set of dimensions can be identified in the literature, which can be
used to characterize and differentiate the various perspectives on consumer behavior. Consumer
behavior itself emerged as a distinct field of study in the 1960s.

A major catalytic influence in its emergence was the formation of the Association for
Consumer Research in 1969. Membership now exceeds 1700 (www.acrweb.org), and the growing
maturity of the field is reflected in its annual conference proceedings, entitled Advances in
Consumer Research. The literature has grown sharply, with the Journal of Consumer Research
(first published in 1974) standing as a premier source. More recently, the Journal of Consumer
Psychology was launched in 1992

Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate internal and external influences on consumers
purchasing decisions on cosmetic products in Perambalur Tamilnadu \.

 To find how consumer buying behavior factors influence Consumers when purchasing
cosmetic products.
 To study the influence of Income Level of the respondents on consumer buying behavior
dimensions

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Hypothesis of the study

 H1: Social dimension has influence on respondents Income

 H2:Cultural dimension has influence on respondents Income

 H3:Personal dimension has influence on respondents Income

 H4:Psychological dimension has influence on respondents Income

Sample & Instrumentation

The questionnaires were given to 125 consumers who are all using cosmetics. Out
of 125 consumers contacted, 75 questionnaires were received with required coverage and
details. The instruments of this study involved two parts: the first section of the instrument
consisted of forced-choice questions about demographic characteristics: gender, marital
status, age, occupation, monthly income level.

The second section variables chosen for this study in order to measure the influence
of consumer buying behaviour in cosmetics products dimension contains of 39 items and
characterized into four sub scales : (a) Social(items 1 to 7), (b) culture(items 8 to 13), (c)
Personal (items 14 to 18) ,(d) Psychological(items 19 to 39)The dimension 39 items are
evaluated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 ,using the anchors “5=strongly
agree,4=agree,3=Neutral,2=Disagree ,1= Strongly disagree”. Cronbach, s alpha is a
coefficient (a number between 0 and 1) that is used to rate the internal consistency
(homogeneity) or the correlation of items in a test. If the test has a strong internal
consistency most measurement experts agree that it should show only moderate correlation
among items (0.70 to 0.90).The reliability coefficients for the variables chosen for the study
should have to be more than 0.70, to consider it as an acceptable value (Nunally, 1978).

In this study the Reliability analysis shows that all the factors have shown alpha
value greater than 0.7, indicating the evidence of reliability and the overall reliability of
the instrument is 0.92. So, the items constituting each variable under study have reasonable
internal consistency and shows that all the dimensions of consumers buying behaviour have
a positive reliability. The factors and dimensions included for analysis carry a good degree
of reliability to support the objectives formulated. All dimensions have got significant
relationship to make the real representation of the study. Hence it is concluded that the data
collected in this study is highly reliable.

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Data Analysis and Findings

Most of the respondents were young, with 49% aged between 21-25 and 20% aged
between 15-20 (n = 75). As might be expected, therefore, there was a significant proportion
of students in the sample (36%), although the majority of respondents (51%) described
themselves as housewives (n = 75) – there remain powerful social pressures in India which
continue to limit women’s ability to work outside the house and this also has an impact on
marketing. When asked what kind of cosmetics respondents used, 93% replied that they
used branded products and only 7% local or generic brands (n = 75).
The preference for herbal or non-herbal products was mixed, since 20% used herbal
products, 45% used non-herbal products and 35% used both types (n = 75). When asked
why they bought the cosmetics that they did, the most common response was for fashion
purposes (26%), followed by health (20%) and social influence (18%). Smaller responses
were noted for getting attention (13%), status (11%), to improve personality (9%) and
psychological satisfaction (3%) (n = 150). Interestingly, the most important source of
information about cosmetics was doctors (30%), followed by friends (26%) and beauticians
(25%), with shopkeepers (10%), the media (5%) and the internet (4%) lagging behind (n =
75).
It is apparent that respondents have a diverse range of purposes for using cosmetics
and finding out about them. Since personal relationships are important in providing
information, brand managers should make sure that their information is properly conveyed
to the trusted intermediaries. This understanding is reinforced by the information on the
places where cosmetics are purchased, which had a number of categories with none
dominant. For example, the most common response was medical stores (20%), followed
by beauty parlours and general stores (both at 17%), cosmetic stores (15%), retail malls
(13%), exclusive cosmetic stores (9%), online purchases (6%) and distribution agents
(3%). India is a country where, generally, there remains a significant lack of retail space
compared to the number of consumers now with disposable income and, in particular, with
respect to the burgeoning middle class and the female half of the population. While
urbanization and economic development will eventually yield more such shopping space,
it remains necessary for manufacturers to establish and maintain relationships with smaller-
scale and more traditional distribution channels.
This is likely to remain the case for some years. The size of the market may be
inferred from the fact that 55% of the respondents spend an average of 501-750 rupees per
month on cosmetics (US$1 = 60 rupees); 28% of the respondents spent less than this but
10% spend 751-1000 rupees and 7% more than this (n = 75). Given the size of potential
market overall, it is clear that this represents a significant market opportunity. It is also
clear that there is significant scope for marketers to improve their offerings, since 64% of
respondents reported that they changed brands regularly and that only 36% demonstrated
loyalty (n = 75).

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That the market is still developing rapidly is indicated by the fact that the most
common reason for changing brand is that a new product has appeared on the market
(28%), followed by improvements in an existing alternative product (26%). The
implications for management of the marketing mix are evident from the importance of
price changes (18%), packaging changes (14%) and advertising changes (12%) (with 2%
choosing other reasons – n = 96). It is clearly important for marketers to establish a
relationship of trust and loyalty because a remarkable 95% of respondents use the same
brand for every product in the category (n =75). Capturing a customer with one product,
therefore, strongly suggests that the customer will be very receptive to extension of the
brand across many product lines. Likert scales were used to invite respondents to answer
to a battery of potential factors. The responses have been converted into an average score
for comparison (see Table 1 below), with a high score of 5 and a low score of 1.
Table 1: Factors Influencing Purchase of Cosmetics (n = 75);

Factor Average SCORES

Brand Image 3.88

Quality 4.30

Fragrance 4.17

Quantity 4.20

Advertising 3.67

Price 3.64

Packaging 3.78

Softness 3.93

Skin Protection 4.48

Protection from Germs 4.38

Moisturizing Effect 4.38

Suitability for the Skin 4.14

Easy to Use 3.83

Availability 3.57

Refreshment 3.98

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Natural Ingredients 4.12

Seasonal Change 4.12

source: ORGINAL RESEARCH

It is evident from these results that, as far as respondents claim, they are more interested in
product attributes rather than other aspects of the marketing mix. In order to obtain information
about the product, they either need to try it for themselves or to receive information from a trusted
intermediary and this has a clear implication for communications strategy.

It should also be noted that there is importance attached to the interaction between the
cosmetic and the woman’s skin and the suitability of the product. This suggests that international
brands will not be able simply to distribute and market their products in India in exactly the same
way that they might do in other countries. Instead, it will be necessary to localize the products to
some extent, whether or not this means actually modifying the product itself. The questionnaire
then went on to ask about preferred brands in six different categories, shampoo, soap and whitening
cream; face wash, nail paint and lipstick. In India, as in a number of different Asian countries, the
desire for a fairer coloured skin is considered to be one not just of beauty but also to have status
issues involved. Although this may be politically suspicious, it is nevertheless the case that the
products involved remain very popular.

Table :2 Preference towards consumer products

Shampoo Points Soap Points Fairness Cream Points

Pantene 10 Pears 7 Boroplus 5
Clinic plus 10 Dove 15 Fair n lovely 35
L’Oreal 12 Dettol 20 Natural extracts 15
Nyle 26 Lifebuoy 25 Olay 5
Vatica 7 Madimix 2 Vicco 6
Head & shoulders 5 Lux 4 Garnier 2
Garnier 2 Nima 5 Shenaz 1
Sunsilk 1 Vivel 2 Dove 5
Himalaya 2 Nirma 2 L’Oreal 1
Source: Original data

It is evident that in only two categories are there definite brand leaders: Nyle shampoo and Ponds
face wash. Some other brands are very popular, for example Lifebuoy soap, but these do have
powerful rivals. In most categories, therefore, no single brand has been able to secure a significant
position as market leaders and that suggests again a dynamic market place in which marketers will
need to plan and enact their strategies for some years to come.

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Discussion

In terms of the primary objective, it is evident from the findings presented above that
women’s buying behaviour with respect to cosmetics is still evolving. Trust and personal
relationships are clearly important with respect to information gathering and decision-making but
most respondents seem quite happy to switch brands when new options become available in the
marketplace. In terms of the secondary objectives, it is evident that a variety of factors determines
decision-making and that most categories do not have definite and fixed market leaders. This
reinforces the idea that the market remains in a fluid situation and marketers need to be active to
persuade consumers to switch to and become loyal to their products. Trust is evidently an issue in
this sector, as consumers seem to expect duplicitous behaviour on behalf of manufacturers and
distributors while also going to trusted individuals for advice on new products. There is also the
issue of the relationship between the individual and new (or untried) products which may or may
not be suitable for the skin of the individual. There would appear to be benefits available for those
marketers who are able to localize their products appropriately. In terms of the place where the
product is purchased, there is scope for marketers to take temporary space in a variety of different
locations, since choices are diverse, through renting stalls, franchising products, offering sales
promotions and so forth.

Conclusion and Scope for Future Research

Based on the research, it is concluded that there are many factors which may be considered
as very important for respondents when purchasing cosmetics. Although brand loyalty is important
for any organization because it gives surety that products will have a strong bond in the minds of
consumers and this will discourage them from switching to another brands, the research here
indicated that it was not easy to obtain and sustain consumer loyalty. Propensity to switch is high
in what appears to be a low-trust environment and a market which is still developing, with a great
deal of churn as new products appear and new opinions form about them. However, information
has been gathered here which should help in structuring communications campaigns and designing
promotional efforts. Future research in this area will attempt to expand the number of respondents
and to extend the geographical base. Research will also be conducted to measure perception or
customer satisfaction regarding cosmetics products and on in-depth brand loyalty by considering
factors affecting brand loyalty in a variety of ways.

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