Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 55 for Soaps and Chocolates Identification of Secondary Factors

that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior for Soaps and Chocolates Introduction Consumer is a person who buys or uses things (goods) or services. Marketers are the persons who provide these services. The most challenging questions for marketers are why buyers do what they do (or dont do). Such knowledge is critical for marketers, since having a strong understanding of 2010 IUP. All Rights Reserved. About the Authors * Assistant Professor, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Manage ment, 18, Geeta Colony, Dal Bazar, Lashkar, Gwalior 474009, Madhya Pradesh, India. E-mail: manoj p@iiitm.ac.in ** Student, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, 36/3, Type V, Defence Colony, Gandhinagar, Gwalior 474001, Madhya Pradesh, India; and is the correspon ding author. E-mail: preetiflora@gmail.com ***Student, ABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Secto r 7, Quarter No. 891, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi 110017, India. E-mail: amit.iiitc@gmail. com buyers behavior will shed light on what is important for the consumer and also suggest the important influences on consumer decision-making. Factors affecting consumers buying decisions are extremely complex. It is deeply rooted in psychology with dashes of sociology thrown in just to make things more interesting. It explains Consumer behavior analysis is based on consumers buying behavior. It aims at impr oving business performance through an understanding of customers preferences and desire s. In todays world of growing competition where there are numerous brands selling th e same products, consumers have an abundant number of choices and many diverse fac tors influence their buying behavior. In such a scenario, this analysis can help in s tructuring and formulating different strategies for maximizing profit. This study made an a ttempt to find the factors affecting consumers buying behavior, with the focus on two co mmonly used products (soaps and chocolates). These factors are based on certain variabl es used in the survey. These variables were aimed at identifying the secondary factors t hat influenced the choice of soaps/chocolates at the point of purchase or due to oth er contextual reasons. The variables include packaging, cost, availability, ingredients, produ ct popularity, etc., that influence the choice of a brand from among those in the c onsideration

list, but may not be the most important and primary determinants for shortlistin g brands. The study is useful to the marketers as they can create various marketin g programs that they believe will be of interest to the consumers. It can also boo st their marketing strategy. Manoj Patwardhan*, Preeti Flora** and Amit Gupta*** 56 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 the influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends and society in general. Consumers buying behavior result from deeply held values and attitudes, their perception of the world, their place in it, from common sense, from impulse or just plain take. Consumers mainly face two types of purchase decisions: New Purchase these purchases are very difficult to be made by consumer due to lack of confidence in decision-making; and Repurchase consumer feels confident in making these decisions since they have previous experience in purchasing the product. Lets examine the process of how a consumer takes buying decision (Figure 1). (i.e., brands). The purchase decision may provide three possibilities to a consumer: from whom to buy, when to buy and also not to buy. In many cases the solution chosen by the consumer is the same as the product whose evaluation is the highest. A favorable post-purchase evaluation of the product leads to consumer satisfaction. If the product performs below the consumers expectation, then he/she will reevaluate satisfaction with the decision, which at its extreme may result in the consumer returning the product. When the consumer is satisfied with the products performance, repeat purchase is more likely (Szymanski and Hernard, 2001). Figure 1: Processes of a Consumers Buying Decision Need Recognition Search for Information Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase Action PostPurchase Evaluation The importance of each step might vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the purchase. Consumers decision-making process begins when buyer realizes his/her unsatisfied need, want or

desire. Needs may be functional or psychological in nature, and retailers are often trying to satisfy psychological needs as much as functional ones (Babin et al., 1994). Consumers are motivated to satisfy their needs, they will next undertake a search for information on possible solutions. Consumers search efforts may result in a set of options from which a choice can be made. There might be two levels to this stage. At level one, the consumer may create a set of possible solutions to their needs (i.e., product types) while at second level the consumer may be evaluating particular products Factors Influencing Consumer Decision-Making Process Consumers decision-making process is influenced by many factors such as cultural, social, personal and psychological. Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behavior. It represents beliefs and, in many cases, we learn to act by interacting or observing other members of society. Consumer buying process offers two useful perspectives: the decision-making process associated with consumer buying and the factors which affect the buying process (Rowley, 1997). The author further stated that the consumers buying process can be divided into personal, psychological and social and cultural factors. The social factors, such as consumers small groups, family, reference group, social roles and status can Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 57 for Soaps and Chocolates affect consumer responses and influence their buying behavior. Personal factors such as age, lifecycle stage, occupation, education and economic situation, and Psychological factors such as, motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes and personality, also play major roles in consumer decision-making process. The marketing programs often have a considerable amount of influence on consumers buying decision. It sometimes becomes irrelevant for consumers to think about the quality of the product when they are so influenced by its marketing: Customer satisfaction is the major aim of the marketing concept (Dibb et al., 1994). Consumers buying behavior can be broadly classified into four main categories. Consumers engage in Complex Buying Behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase and are aware of significant differences among brands. This is usually the case when the product is expensive,

bought infrequently, risky and highly self-expressive. Dissonance-Reducing Buyer Behavior is observed when the consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little difference in brands. In this case, the buyer will shop around to learn what is available but will buy fairly quickly, perhaps responding primarily to a good price or to purchase convenience. After the purchase, the consumer might experience dissonance that stems from noticing certain disquieting features or hearing favorable things about other brands. In Habitual Buying Behavior products are brought under the conditions of low involvement and the absence of significant brand differences, e.g., salt. Consumers have little involvement in this product category. Variety Seeking Buying Behavior involves buying situations, characterized by low involvement but significant brand differences. Here consumers often do a lot of brand switching for the sake of variety rather than dissatisfaction. Objectives of the Study The Objectives of the Study are as follows: To study the existing literature on factors affecting consumers buying behavior. To find out various factors that affect consumers decision-making process, and To find out the association among the various factors. Review of Literature The consumer decision-making process is important in determining purchase behavior. In order to offer an effective service, it is important to identify consumer segments, taking into account the benefits which the consumer seeks. Consumers seek benefits or solutions, not products (Rowley, 1997). When they buy a product, whether it is a good or a service, they buy a cluster of product features, but may want only one or two of these features. The main reason behind consumers search is uncertainty. Consumer information search has been the focus of many articles studying consumer behavior during the last 30 years (Bettman, 1979). Various studies have provided information about the measures of compulsivity, which helps in analyzing compulsive buying tendencies of consumers. Faber and OGuinn T C (1992) reported a seven-items scale and assessed its reliability and validity. An earlier version 58 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 of this scale used a subset of three items (Faber and OGuinn, 1989b) while, Faber

and OGuinn (1989a) used a superset of 15 items to operational compulsivity. The second approach (Youn and Faber, 2000) mainly used a nine-item scale, earlier developed by Rook and Fisher (1995). Thus compulsive buying is a very important aspect in consumers behavior research. It has been defined as chronic, repetitive purchasing, that becomes a primary response to negative events or feeling (Faber and OGuinn, 1992). Previous studies in this area have highlighted the fact that compulsive buyers tend to have a lower self-esteem, a higher level of tendency to fantasize, and a higher level of depression anxiety, and obsession, as compared to other consumers (Faber and OGuinn, 1989b). Furst et al. (1996) reported human food choice as one of the basic and common components among consumers but is also one of the most complex function having multitude of influences. Consumers appear to have much more pragmatic considerations in mind when making their food choice decisions. These considerations include sensory aspects of food (e.g., taste and quality) (Powell et al., 2003) along with the influence of non-food effects (e.g., cognitive information, the physical environment, social factors) (Rozin and Tuorila, 1993; and Bell and Meiselman, 1995). Quality and safety are thus two very important elements in consumers food perception and decision-making associated with food choice (Grunert, 2005). Consumers purchasing decisions are normally based on their own perception and representations of quality and safety. However, quality and safety are the concepts that cannot be easily defined, because they are classified as credence attributes (i.e., product attributes that cannot be verified by the consumer). Consumers are most likely to derive quality or safety perceptions from other product cues, either intrinsic (e.g., appearance of the product) or extrinsic cues (e.g., a quality label) (Nelson, 1970). Hence, it is quite difficult to analyze and discuss all the potential determinants of food choice, because food choice is a very complex issue in which many factors play a role, including biological, psychological and cultural (Frewer and van Trijp, 2007; and Rozin, 2007). In fact, perceptions of food quality and safety are likely to be influenced by such psychological and cultural factors rather than physiological product experiences alone. Many quantitative and

qualitative researches have addressed issues associated with cultural determinants of food choice (Shepherd and Raats, 2007). It is quite evident from such studies that while analyzing factors that influence food choice, it is important to consider consumers cultural background (Overby et al., 2004; and Hoogland et al., 2005). It is believed that people from different cultural backgrounds have different perceptions and experiences related to food (Lennernas et al., 1997). Hence it can be noticed that some consumers are more oriented towards food quality, whereas for others food safety is a primary concern. Consumer behavior is also affected by the socioeconomic conditions of the markets namely, income, mobility, media access (Tse et al., 1989). It has been observed that per capita income and disposable income indicates the amount of resources consumers allocate to consumer goods (Johansson and Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 59 for Soaps and Chocolates Moinpour, 1977). As more resources become available, consumers may desire more emotional image attributes in products or brand (Kim et al., 2002). Personal values have been found to be the underlying determinants of various aspects of consumer attitude and behavior (Homer and Kahle, 1988). Thus, values are one of the most important influential factors that affect the type of needs consumer tries to satisfy through purchase and consumption behaviors (Tse et al., 1989). Brand of a particular product plays a fundamental function in consumers perception of a product. It helps in developing a market position, prestige and image of the product and for these reasons the brand constitutes a mechanism of risk reduction (Aaker, 1996). Hence, selection of brand is another major constituent of consumer behavior. In the complex brand selection environment, which exists today, there has been a widely reported research work which discusses and reports that consumers defer product/ brand selection on a variety of factors (Tversky and Shafir, 1992; and Dhar, 1997). In situations when consumers are unable to defer the product choice decision, consumers may experience overload and anxiety at worst or develop simplifying decision heuristics to help them make product choices (Swait and Adamowicz, 2001) at best. Observing the purchase behavior of unknown or known consumers (Park and Lessig, 1977) is one such readily

apparent heuristic. This helps in simplifying consumers decision-making process by providing information that provides a source for consumers evaluations, aspirations, and behavior (Park and Lessig, 1977). They have explained that consumers are influenced by others mainly because of three reasons informational, utilitarian and value expressiveness. The source of information is accepted by the consumer if it enhances his/her knowledge of the environment or ability to cope up with some aspects of this environment e.g., purchasing of product (Park and Lessig, 1977). This tendency, of consumers to observe the purchase behavior of other consumers and to incorporate these observations while making their own purchase decisions, is called as the consumers propensity to observe. It consists of the direct observation of other consumers, the indirect observation of other consumers or both. Direct observation occurs by watching the actual purchase behavior of other consumers (Price et al., 1989; and McGrath and Otnes, 1995) and indirect observation involves the analysis of trace evidence of shopping behavior. An organization which embraces the marketing concept tries to provide products that satisfy consumer needs through co-ordinated sets of activities that also allow the organization to achieve its goals. Research Methodology The investigation used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The initial quantitative study (116 respondents; 58 for chocolate questionnaire, and 58 for soap questionnaire) aimed at identifying the important variables that drive purchase behavior across two product categories of chocolate and soap. The main research instrument used was a well structured questionnaire that was administrated among the respondents mainly through personal contacts. Sampling population included the general public, people from all age groups and 60 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 different financial backgrounds. It was found in our study that 70% of the responses were obtained from people of moderate family and 30% from elite family with respect to the per capita income. The sample frame consisted of people from different fields. Individual respondents were the sampling element. Two different questionnaires were designed, one for chocolate and one for soap. A total

of 12 statements regarding selection of a product based on various factors were rated by respondents according to likert type scale anchored at each end with, maximum agreement (valued at 5), and minimum agreement (valued at 1). The questionnaire also included two questions that were used to study the buying style and the most popular form of media that affects consumers buying. Some of the respondents were also interviewed in order to have an in-depth analysis and find out the main reasons behind their preferences. It was assumed that at the point of purchase, there are a number of secondary factors which might be in consumers mind and might prompt the consumer to make the final choice from among the brands under consideration. Likewise, the contents/composition highlighted on the package may swing the decision in favor of a particular brand. The statements used in the questionnaire and the different variables taken in accordance to the statements were: Common statements in both the questionnaires: My choice of a soap/chocolate is affected by the advertisements and marketing of that product. (Advertisement) Attractive packaging styles of a soap/ chocolate affects = my decision to buy a particular soap/chocolate. (Packaging) My choice of a brand is largely based on the price of that product. (Cost Effective) My choice of a soap/chocolate is affected by the promotional schemes. (Schemes) The popularity of a soap/chocolate affects my buying decision. (Popularity) I prefer to choose a product (soap/ chocolate) that I have been using for a considerable amount of time and do not prefer to go for new brands or products. (Usage Period) My choice of a product is based on the availability of that particular soap/ chocolate in the market. (Availability) The ingredients of a soap/chocolate play a very important role when I choose a particular soap/chocolate. (Ingredients) Different statements in soap questionnaire: I always buy soap according to my skin type. (Skin Type) My choice of soap is based on the demographic considerations. (Demography) The fragrance of soap is very important

when I buy a particular brand. (Fragrance) I choose a soap according to the seasonal variation, e.g., preference of a soap with high moisturizer content in winters. (Season) Different statements in chocolate questionnaire: Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 61 for Soaps and Chocolates I get attracted towards the stylish shapes and designs of the chocolate and this affects my decision of buying a particular chocolate. (Shape) I eat chocolate for energy and refreshment. (Purpose) I prefer having more chocolates in winters than in summers. (Season) My choice of a particular chocolate is mainly due to the unique taste that it provides compared to other chocolates available. (Taste) In order to conduct the data analysis Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used and the main tools used for analysis were: Reliability Test to check the reliability of questionnaire. Factor Analysis to know the dominant factors that emerge during the study. Correlation Test in order to analyze the association among different factors. Research Findings Out of the total respondents it was found that the gender ratio in our research was 5.5:4.5 (Male:Female). It was also observed that most of the respondents that were surveyed belonged to the age group of 19-29 years (Figure 1). Reliability test was carried out by applying Cronbachs Alpha method using SPSS software. The reliability of the chocolate questionnaire and soap questionnaire was found to be 0.628 and 0.506, respectively and numbers of items taken were 12. The reliability of both the questionnaires was a bit low that was mainly due to the small sample size considered in both the questionnaires and hence was not a major limitation in carr ying forward our research. Chocolate Questionnaire Findings It was found in our research that majority of the customers try new chocolates and Figure 1: Age Group of the Sample Population 1 2 3

4 5 Figure 2: Buying StyleChocolate 1. Pick up the same product habitually, 2. Choose an advertised brand, 3. Keep trying new products, 4. Attracted to a brand name, packaging styles, etc., and 5. Pay attention to advertisements and pre-decide about a product before buying. Under 19 19-29 39-49 29-39 Above 50 62 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 also get attracted towards brand name, packaging style, etc. (Figure 2). Whereas mixed responses were observed in customers buying style in case of the soap, most of the customers pick up the same soap brand habitually and mostly use advertised brand (Figure 4). Figures 3 and 5 suggest that consumers buying chocolate and soap are mostly influenced by advertisements on television compared to advertisements in other forms of media. Hence these above findings clearly indicate that in both the products, customers mostly pay attention to advertisements on television, and thus the marketing of a Figure 3: Response to advertisementChocolate 1. Newspaper 2. Hoardings and Pamphlets 3. Radio 4. Magazine 5. Internet 6. Television 7. Cant Say 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Figure 4: Buying StyleSoap 1. Pick up the same product habitually, 2. Choose an advertised brand, 3. Keep trying new products, 4. Attracted to a brand name, packaging styles, etc., and 5. Pay attention to advertisements and pre-decide about a product before buying.

1 2 3 4 5 Figure 5: Response to AdvertisementSoap 1. Newspaper 2. Hordings and Pamphlets 3. Radio 4. Magazine 5. Internet 6. Television 7. Cant Say 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 63 for Soaps and Chocolates product through television commercials is very important and should be well structured since it conveys all the important points about the product. Factor analysis using principal component method was applied on the raw score of data of both the questionnaires separately. In principal component method all 12 variables were measured on likert scale. Each respondent scores different sum total for all 12 variables, the score is averaged over some common pair of values which result in linear combination, these values correspond to the resultant factors. This method is used to find the corresponding factors which show the linear combination contributing towards affecting consumers buying behavior. Two components in soap were neglected because of low loading and cumulative frequency values. Similarly in case of chocolate one component was neglected and three factors were considered. The variables with significant contribution towards buying behavior and having mutual correlation were taken. Factor Analysis (Soap) Description The factor analysis (Soap) (Table 1) suggests three main factors that influence consumers buying behavior. They are described below: 1. Attractive Packaging 1.59 13.17 Packaging 0.761 and Schemes Schemes 0.592 2. Soaps Composition 3.05 25.416 Fragrance 0.511 Ingredients 0.480 Skin Type 0.400 3. Seasonal Availability of 2.075 17.301 Season 0.500

a Popular Brand Availability 0.608 Popularity 0.482 Table 1: Factor Analysis (Soap) Factors Eigenvalue Variable Convergence Loading % of Value Total Variance with different variables, single factor corresponds to unique variables which are not considered in other factor. The 12 variables taken were grouped and four factors were extracted for chocolate and five for soap through SPSS. There were five components that emerged in the factor analysis of soap and out of these five components, variables with high loading values and cumulative frequency were taken in order to find the major factors Attractive Packaging and Schemes The packaging of soap seems to play a critical and significant role in attracting customers. Also, various kinds of schemes and offers available with soaps like, buy one get one free, or any additional products given with the soap, also influence the customers in buying a particular soap brand. Soaps Composition Composition of soap includes the ingredients needed in the preparation 64 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 of soap. It has been observed in our study that people prefer soap keeping in mind the nature of their skin, i.e., soft skin, sensitivity of the skin, oily skin, dry skin, etc. Customers also look for the ingredients that are non-toxic and herbal. Customers like soap with good fragrance and this is also related to the ingredients required in the soaps preparation. Seasonal Availability of Popular Soap Brand This factor combines three variables seasonal change, availability and products popularity. It has been found in our research that consumers are more inclined towards buying popular brands. Seasonal change is an important factor when an individual buys soap. In winters people usually prefer soap with moisturizers while in summer they look for mild soaps. Availability of soap is also an important factor in analyzing consumers buying behavior. Factor Analysis (Chocolate) Description The factor analysis (Chocolate) (Table 2) gives three main factors that has an impact on consumers buying behavior. They are described below: Stylish Shape and Composition Chocolate is a product that is often

consumed by people, especially kids. Hence, customers are very particular about the ingredients of the chocolate, for instance, dry fruits, cream, wine, etc. It has been observed in our research that different shapes and designs of chocolate influence customers. Seasonal Popularity This factor points to the fact that consumption of chocolate varies according to the season and popularity of a particular chocolate brand. Chocolate Affinity Consumers reach to the product decides the product affinity. This also includes product price which should be within consumer budget and products effect on consumer health after consumption. Chocolate is an instant energy supplier, hence the preference of many sportspersons. In order to find out the common association among Independent Variables (IV) and Dependent Variables (DV), the data was subjected to Pearson Correlation Analysis using SPSS. Here Buying Behavior was Stylish Shape and 2.041 17.006 Ingredients 0.601 Composition Taste 0.391 Shape 0.490 Seasonal Popularity 1.605 13.373 Season 0.571 Popularity 0.541 Chocolate Affinity 1.426 11.882 Cost 0.468 Purpose 0.455 Table 2: Factor Analysis (Chocolate) Factors Eigenvalue Variable Convergence Loading % of Value Variance Total 1. 3. 2. Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 65 for Soaps and Chocolates CP A PP SC CT PA CE CI PBC PS BP CS PR BB CP (PC) 1 0.220 0.158 0.007 0.209 0.059 0.099 0.276* 0.212 0.243 0.332* 0.118 0.00 2 0.521** A (PC) 0.220 1 0.166 0.004 0.102 0.118 0.114 0.218 0.137 0.219 0.196 0.113 0.096 0 .411** PP (PC) 0.158 0.166 1 0.077 0.160 0.004 0.082 0.245 0.164 0.113 0.029 0.276* 0.17 7 0.456** SC (PC) 0.007 0.004 0.077 1 0.155 0.079 0.216 0.106 0.124 0.113 0.052 0.232 0.001 0.3 11* CT (PC) 0.209 0.102 0.160 0.155 1 0.166 0.235 0.074 0.232 0.180 0.111 0.256 0.25 7 0.555** PA (PC) 0.059 0.118 0.004 0.079 0.166 1 0.020 0.224 0.032 0.048 0.122 0.057 0.196 0.348** CE (PC) 0.099 0.114 0.082 0.216 0.235 0.020 1 0.007 0.044 0.140 0.000 0.179 0.108 0

.292* CI (PC) 0.276* 0.218 0.245 0.106 0.074 0.224 0.007 1 0.107 0.144 0.486** 0.119 0. 242 0.514** PBC (PC) 0.212 0.137 0.164 0.124 0.232 0.032 0.044 0.107 1 0.278* 0.050 0.340** 0 .196 0.519** PS (PC) 0.243 0.219 0.113 0.113 0.180 0.048 0.140 0.144 0.278* 1 0.396** 0.012 0.1 01 0.446** BP (PC) 0.332* 0.196 0.029 0.052 0.111 0.122 0.000 0.486** 0.050 0.396** 1 0.165 0. 226 0.455** CS (PC) 0.118 0.113 0.276* 0.232 0.256 0.057 0.179 0.119 0.340** 0.012 0.165 1 0.1 12 0.450** BB (PC) 0.521** 0.411** 0.456** 0.311* 0.555** 0.348** 0.292* 0.514** 0.519** 0. 446** 0.455** 0.450** 0.373** 1 Note: Where, CP = Consumption Period, PP = Product Packaging, PBC = Purpose of Buy ing Chocolates, BP = Brand Popularity, A = Advertisement, PA = Product Availability, SC = Seasonal Change, PS = Promotional Schemes, CS = Chocolate Shape, CE = Cost Effective, CT = Chocolate Taste, CI = Chocolate Ingredients, BB = Buying Behavior, are the different varia bles used; PC = Pearsons Correlation. *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 3: Correlation Table for Chocolate Variables 66 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 CP A ST P F SC PA CE SI D PS BP PR BB CP (PC) 1 0.041 0.242 0.045 0.290* 0.096 0.038 0.373** 0.122 0.223 0.084 0.151 0.069 0 228 A (PC) 0.041 1 0.046 0.320* 0.079 0.001 0.135 0.134 0.271* 0.043 0.222 0.134 0.244 0 .351** ST (PC) 0.242 0.046 1 0.245 0.184 0.069 0.045 0.221 0.159 0.065 0.180 0.012 0.346** 0. 24 P (PC) 0.045 0.320* 0.245 1 0.284* 0.069 0.033 0.043 0.252 0.362** 0.334* 0.375** 0 .058 0.547** F (PC) 0.290* 0.079 0.184 0.284* 1 0.017 0.047 0.147 0.171 0.136 0.219 0.247 0.276* 0.404** SC (PC) 0.096 0.001 0.069 0.069 0.017 1 0.041 0.072 0.183 0.224 0.036 0.225 0.174 0.439** PA (PC) 0.038 0.135 0.045 0.033 0.047 0.041 1 0.085 0.166 0.080 0.113 0.006 0.047 0 .306* CE (PC) 0.373** 0.134 0.221 0.043 0.147 0.072 0.085 1 0.039 0.139 0.157 0.110 0.117 0 .338** SI (PC) 0.122 0.271* 0.159 0.252 0.171 0.183 0.166 0.039 1 0.020 0.028 0.049 0.121 0.456** D (PC) 0.223 0.043 0.065 0.362** 0.136 0.224 0.080 0.139 0.020 1 0.188 0.210 0.027 0.514** PS (PC) 0.084 0.222 0.180 0.334* 0.219 0.036 0.113 0.157 0.028 0.188 1 0.211 0.178 0 .374** BP (PC) 0.151 0.134 0.012 0.375** 0.247 0.225 0.006 0.110 0.049 0.210 0.211 1 0.270 * 0.483** BB (PC) 0.228 0.351** 0.224 0.547** 0.404** 0.439** .306* 0.338** 0.456** 0.514* * 0.374** 0.483** 0.316* 1 Note: Where, CPF = Consumption Period or Frequency, P = Packaging, BP = Brand Po pularity, A = Advertisement, PA = Product Availability, ST = Skin Type, F = Fragrance, SC = Seasonal Change, PS = Promotional Schemes, C E = Cost Effective, SI = Soap Ingredients, D = Demography, BB = Buying Behavior, are the different variables used; PC = Pea rsons Correlation. *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 4: Correlation Table for Soap Variables Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 67

for Soaps and Chocolates taken as the DV and all other variables were IV. Buying behavior was the variable taken by considering all the responses of the respondents in case of both soap and chocolate. Hence this variable was taken as the DV. It was observed in case of Chocolate Variables Correlation Analysis (Table 3) that Packaging (0.456), Taste (0.555), Ingredients (0.514), Purpose (0.519), Consumption Period (0.521) have shown a high significance with Consumers Buying Behavior. A considerable amount of significance was also observed between Popularity (0.455), Ingredients (0.486) and Schemes (0.396) of the product. In Soap Variables Correlation Analysis (Table 4) a high correlation was observed between Packaging (0.547) and Demography (0.514) with Buying Behavior. Correlation was also significant between Fragrance (0.404), Season (0.439), Ingredients (0.456) and Popularity (0.483) with Buying Behavior. Discussion The world loves chocolate and UK market alone constitutes approximately 3.6 bn of chocolate consumption per year. There is thus some truth in a popular remark like, Nine out of 10 people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies, or Chocolate makes everyone smileeven bankers (Doherty and Tranchell, 2007). Chocolate affinity factor combines the cost and purpose due to which consumers buy a particular chocolate; it has emerged out to be one of the important factors that affect consumers buying behavior. This is well supported by the research work conducted in 2007 by Doherty and Tranchell that suggests chocolate affinity to be absolute in UK. The study conducted by Vreeland (2000) points to the fact that chocolate prices also influence consumer behavior. Consumer price behavior also appears to be affected by different degrees of purchase involvement (Richins and Bloch, 1986). These research reports support our research work where product cost in the factor chocolate affinity was found to be a major contributing factor for influencing consumer towards a product. Doherty and Tranchell (2007) study also concludes that chocolate popularity leads to 3.6 bn of chocolate consumption per year, which is quite significant as compared to any other FMCG product consumption in UK. A research done by Vrontis and Vignali (2001) shows that there is a

considerable seasonal variation in the consumption of chocolate. This is in accordance with our observation that consumption of chocolate is high in a particular season (like consumption of chocolates is more in winters than in summers). Another major factor that affects consumers buying behavior according to our study is the attractive look of the product which particularly attracts children, and the ingredient of chocolate. In many research findings product quality has been portrayed in terms of product design or shape of the product and customer requirements (Flynn et al., 1994). It has been found in our study that shape and design of chocolate attract consumer. Composition of a chocolate includes the various ingredients that are used in the preparation of a chocolate and are a major contributing factor towards the taste of the chocolate. In our study this is an important factor, as different customers have different 68 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 likings and preferences. Some people might prefer dark chocolates with high cocoa content, whereas others go for chocolates with more milk and nuts. Children are mostly fascinated by the different shapes and sizes of chocolates. Vrontis and Vignali (2001) reported a very interesting study related to Cadbury Dairy Milk, UK which revealed that based on the report, analysis and market analysis of PEST (Political, Economical, Social, and Technological), it has been established that chocolate ingredients and chocolate cost are among the major consideration factors for consumer, before buying chocolate. Our research also supports these conclusions and suggests that chocolate ingredients and chocolate cost are correlated with the study reported by Vrontis and Vignali (2001). In the correlation analysis also chocolate ingredients have shown a very high correlation with buying behavior. Soaps ingredients are also another consideration in analyzing consumers buying behavior, and it has been regarded as the key strategic component of competitive advantage and, therefore, the enhancement of product quality is of prime concern to various firms and the management according to literature (Daniel et al., 1995 and Flynn et al., 1995). The improvement in the quality of a product is directly related to the changes made in the ingredients of the product in order to refine it. Ingredients of both soap and chocolate

have also shown a correlation with buying behavior in the correlation analysis. In a research conducted by Shukla (2004), it was found that only 4.32% of the customers are not satisfied with their present soap brand. These findings point that most of the customers buy popular soap brand and does not try out new brands as the satisfaction level with the present brand is quite high. These results support our work where availability of a popular soap brand emerged out to be one of the important factors affecting consumer buying behavior. The finding of Wood (2007) suggests that soap purchase is based on several influences like choosing a scent in soap or a particular fragrance, additionally, needs in terms of moisturizing (or protecting from allergic reactions), for example, can be highly individual. These results support our research findings as soaps fragrance, and ingredients have an influence on customers mind when he/she buys a particular soap and these points are also evident in our factor analysis results. Ingredients of soap are thus very important as it affects the fragrance of soap and also make it suitable to be used by customers with different requirements according to their skin type. Consumers also get attracted towards good packaging and its attractive style. Thus, packaging has become one of the important factors in our research which attracts a consumer towards a particular brand of soap. In correlation analysis also a high correlation is observed between buying behavior and packaging of a product in case of both soap and chocolate. Previous studies suggest that advantages can be gained through the use of visual imagery and celebrity endorsement on packaging (Underwood et al., 2001). These works support our findings that product schemes like buy one get one free and packaging affect consumers buying behavior. Also the designing packages with product images are found to gain attention for brands, increase the likelihood of entering the consumers Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 69 for Soaps and Chocolates consideration set, to create more enjoyable aesthetic experiences for the consumer and thus create more positive overall impressions of the product ( Underwood et al., 2001; and Underwood and Klein, 2002). Implication and Limitations The present study was conducted in Gwalior City, India, where average family

expenditure is moderate. The study suggests that consumer buying characteristics are governed by a number of diverse factors which include both internal and external factors. The observations from the study are ubiquitous in nature with similar inference being drawn by others. Few common characteristics include availability of products to consumer, caution and concern shown by the consumer for product ingredients, budget compatibility of consumer like cost of product, fragrance, shape and seasonal variation and advertisement. The study also has some limitations like, city doesnt have a very high standard of living, products are not much advertised, and above all consumer has very limited choice for making comparison as it takes time for the new products to reach this city. It can also be concluded from the study that most of the consumers in this city lack proper understanding of the product and decision-making skill s. Another major limitation in the questionnaire survey includes low sample size (n = 58). Conclusion It can be concluded from the study that among various reported common factors which influence a consumers mind like product past history, ingredients, cost, availability, packaging, fragrance and its popularity, etc., there are few which are significantly more critical like composition of the product, attractive packaging style and overall look of the product. We assume that these factors may be the secondary determinant factors which may influence the choice of a brand from among those in the consideration list in consumers mind, but may not be the most important and primary determinants for shortlisting brands. It can also be suggested that media publicity, particularly in the electronic media, plays a significant role in influencing consumers mind. J References 1. Aaker D A (1996), Measuring Brand Equity Across Products and Markets, California Management Review, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 102-120. 2. Babin B J, Darden W R and Griffin M (1994), Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value, The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 644-656. 3. Bell R and Meiselman H (1995), The Role of Eating Environments in

Determining Food Choice, in Marshall D W (Ed.), Food Choice and the Consumer, pp. 292-310, Chapman and Hall, London. 4. Bettman J R (1979), An Information Processing Theory of Consumer Choice, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts. 5. Daniel S J, Reitsperger W D and Gregson T (1995), Quality Consciousness in Japanese and US 70 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 Electronics Manufacturers: An Examination of the Impact of Quality Strategy and Management Control Systems on Perceptions of the Importance of Quality to Expected Management Rewards, Management Accounting Research, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 367-382. 6. Dhar R (1997), Consumer Preference for a No-Choice Option, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 215-31. 7. Dibb S, Simkin L, Pride W M and Ferrell O C (1994), Marketing Concepts and Strategies, 2nd European Edition, Houghton Mifflin, Boston and London. 8. Doherty B and Tranchell S (2007), Radical Mainstreaming of Fairtrade: The Case of The Day Chocolate Company, Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 26, No. 7, pp. 693-711. 9. Faber R J and OGuinn T C (1989a), Classifying Compulsive Consumers: Advances in the Development of a Diagnostic Tool, in Srull T K (Ed.), Advances in Consumers Research, Vol. 16, pp. 738-744, Association for Consumer Research, Provo, Utah, USA. 10. Faber R J and OGuinn T C (1989b), Methodological Considerations of the Clinical Depth Interview, Paper Presented at the American Marketing Association Winter Educators Conference, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. 11. Faber R J and OGuinn T C (1992), A Clinical Screener for Compulsive Buying, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 19, December, pp. 459-69. 12. Flynn B B, Schroeder R G and Sakakibara S (1994), A Framework for Quality Management Research and an Associated Measurement Instrument, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 339-366.

13. Flynn B B, Schroeder R G and Sakakibara S (1995), The Impact of Quality Management Practices on Performance and Competitive Advantage, Decision Sciences, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 659-691. 14. Frewer L J and van Trijp H (Eds.) (2007), Understanding Consumers of Food Products, Woodhead Publishing, CRC Press, Cambridge. 15. Furst T, Connors M, Bisogni C A et al. (1996), Food Choice: A Conceptual Model of the Process, Appetite, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 247-266. 16. Grunert K G (2005), Food Quality and Safety: Consumer Perception and Demand, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 369-391. 17. Homer P and Kahle L R (1988), A Structural Equation Test of the Value-Attitude-Behavior Hierarchy, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 638-646. 18. Hoogland C T, de Boer J and Boersema J J (2005), Transparency of the Meat Chain in Light of Food Culture and History, Appetite, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 15-23. 19. Johansson J K and Moinpour R (1977), Objective and Perceived Similarity of Pacific Rim Countries, Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumers Buying Behavior 71 for Soaps and Chocolates Columbia Journal of World Business, Vol. 11, Winter, pp. 65-76. 20. Kim J-O, Forsythe S, Gu Q and Moon S J (2002), Cross-Cultural Consumers Values Need and Purchase Behavior, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 6, pp. 481-502. 21. Lennernas M, Fjellstrom C, Becker W et al. (1997), Influences on Food Choice Perceived to be Important by Nationally Representative Samples of Adults in the European Union, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. S8-S15. 22. McGrath M A and Otnes C (1995), Unacquainted Influencer: When Strangers Interact in the Retail Setting, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 261-622. 23. Nelson P (1970), Information and Consumer Behavior, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 78, No. 1, pp. 51-57. 24. Overby J W, Gardial S F and Woodruff R B (2004), French Versus American Consumers Attachment of Value to a

Product in a Common Consumption Context: A Cross-National Comparison, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 437-460. 25. Park C W and Lessig V P (1977), Students and Housewives: Differences in Susceptibility to Reference Group Influence, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 102-110. 26. Powell D A, Blaine K, Morris S and Wilson J (2003), Agronomic and Consumer Considerations for Bt and Conventional Sweet-Corn, British Food Journal, Vol. 105, No. 10, pp. 700-713. 27. Price L L, Feick L F and Higie R A (1989), Preference Heterogeneity and Co-orientation as Determinants of Perceived Informational Influence, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 227-242. 28. Richins M L and Bloch P H (1986), After the New Wears Off: The Temporal Context of Product Involvement, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 280-285. 29. Rook D W and Fisher R J (1995), Normative Influences on Impulse Buying Behavior, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 305-313. 30. Rowley J (1997), Focusing on Customers, Library Review,Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 81-89, MCB University, UK. 31. Rozin P (2007), Food Choice: An Introduction, in Frewer L J and van Trijp H (Eds.), Understanding Consumers of Food Products, pp. 3-29, Woodhead Publishing, CRC Press, Cambridge. 32. Rozin P and Tuorila H (1993), Simultaneous and Temporal Contextual Influences on Food Acceptance, Food Quality and Preference, Vol. 4, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 11-20. 33. Shepherd R and Raats M M (2007), The Psychology of Food Choice, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. 34. Shukla P (2004), Effects of Product Usage, Satisfaction and Involvement on Brand Switching Behavior, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 82-104. 72 The IUP Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. IX, Nos. 1 & 2, 2010 35. Swait J and Adamowicz W (2001), The Influence of Task Complexity on Consumer Choice: A Latent

Class Model of Decision Strategy Switching, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 135-148. 36. Szymanski D M and Hernard D H (2001), Customer Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Evidence, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 16-35. 37. Tse D K, Belk R W and Zhou N (1989), Becoming a Consumer Society: A Longitudinal and CrossCultural Content Analysis of Print Advertisements from Hong Kong, the Peoples Republic of China, and Taiwan, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 457-472. 38. Tversky A and Shafir E (1992), Choice Under Conflict: the Dynamics of Deferred Decision, Psychological Science, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 358-361. 39. Underwood R L and Klein N M (2002), Packaging as Brand Communication: Effects of Product Pictures on Consumer Responses to the Package and Brand, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 58-68. 40. Underwood R L, Klein N M and Burke R (2001), Packaging Communication: Attentional Effects of Product Imagery, Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 403-422. 41. Vreeland C C (2000), Organic Chocolate Market Skyrockets, Candy Industry, Vol. 166, No. 10, pp. 51-56. 42. Vrontis Demetris and Vignali Claudio (2001), Case Study: A Market Investigation of the Situational Environment, British Food Journal, Vol. 103, No. 4, pp. 291-296. 43. Wood Lisa (2007), Functional and Symbolic Attributes of Product Selection, British Food Journal, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 108-118. 44. Youn S and Faber R J (2000), Impulsive Buying: Its Relation to Personality Traits and Cues, Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 179-185, Association for Consumer Research, Provo, Utah, USA. Reference # 03J-2010-02/05-04-01 Copyright of IUP Journal of Marketing Management is the property of IUP Publicat ions and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyr ight holder s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual

use.