A

PROJECT REPORT
ON

DIFFERENCE IN FEMALE AND MALE CUSTOMER

BEHAVIOUR DURING DECISION MAKING PROCESS

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION”
FROM GGSIP UNIVERSITY
DELHI
SUBMITTED BY

KAPILDEV S
ROLL NO: 201719050
BATCH: 2017-2019
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
DR. M. YASEEN KHAN

ARMY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY,

GREATER NOIDA (UP) – 201306

 SUPERVISOR CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Kapil dev S, Roll No 201719050 , a student of Master of Business
Administration, Batch–MBA14, Army Institute Management & Technology, Greater Noida, has
successfully completed his project under my supervision. During this period, he/she worked on
the project titled Difference in Female and Male Customer Behaviour During Decision
Making Process in partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of Master of Business
Administration of GGSIP University, Delhi. To the best of my knowledge the project work done
by the candidate has not been submitted to any university for award of any degree. His
performance and conduct has been good.

Dr. M Yaseen Khan

Date:
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, Kapil dev S, Roll No 201719050 of MBA 14, a full time bonafide student of Second year of
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programme of Army Institute of Management &
Technology, Greater Noida. I hereby certify that this project work was carried out by me under
the supervision of Dr.M.Yaseen Khan and the report submitted in partial fulfilment of the
programmed is an original work of mine. The study on “Difference in Female and Male
Customer Behaviour During Decision Making Process” is based on my own efforts and not
been produced at any other time or for any other purpose. It has not been submitted anywhere
else at the time of its submission. I, hereby declare that this project is my original piece of work.

Kapildev S Dr. M Yaseen Khan

Date: Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I feel privileged to show sincere gratitude to all those who made this study possible. First of all, I
am thankful to the helpful staff and the faculty of the Army Institute of Management and
Technology. One of the most important tasks in every good study is its critical evaluation and
feedback which was performed by my faculty guide Dr. M Yaseen Khan. I am very thankful to
my Faculty for investing his precious time to discuss and criticize this study in depth and
explained the meaning of different concepts and how to think when it comes to problem
discussions and theoretical discussions. My sincere thanks go to my Institute and family, who
supported and encouraged me.

Kapildev S

Date:
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The study tries to study and understand the buying behavior from a gender perspective. The attitude
of Indian consumers has undergone a major transformation over the last few years. The Indian
consumer today wants to lead a life full of luxury and comfort. The consumer wants to live in the
present and does not believe in saving for the future. An important and recent development in
India’s consumerism is the emergence of the rural market for several basic consumer goods. The
Indian middle class has provided a big boost to the consumer culture in the last decade and it is
expected that their buying behavior will continue to change in the coming future. Due to the fast
growth of the services sector per capita income of people of India is also showing an amenable
increase. The number of the middle class is increasing due to another fact that people are fast
shifting from agriculture to the services and industry sector where growth prospects are reasonably
high as compared to the agriculture sector which is showing slow growth. The consumption pattern
of a country depends on the liberalization of economic policies, buying habits of youths, financial
independence at a young age, increase in a number of nuclear families and increase in media
exposure of the people. Days are gone when the behavior and buying habits were been monitored
by elders in the family. Now youths are playing important roles in the family purchase. The tastes
and preferences of the current generation are changing rapidly.

The current generation does not mind paying extra for better facilities and ambiance. Another major
factor that has led to increased consumerism is the growth of credit culture in India. The Indian
consumer does not feel shy to purchase products on credit and pay tomorrow for what they use or
buy today. This tendency has led to a tremendous increase in the purchase of homes, cars, two-
wheelers and consumer durables/goods. The market for luxury products in India is also climbing at
an astonishing rate as compared to a decade ago when it was almost negligible. The reason behind
this is that the purchasing power of the people of India is rising very steeply. The Indian consumer
today is highly aware of the product, price, quality and the options available with him. The
purchasing is done by keeping all these factors in mind. Today, price is not the only consideration
as it was a few years back when prices played a major role in purchasing. Marketers are striving
hard to capture this ever increasing Indian middle class as they form the bulk of Indian consumers.

Historical aspects of marketing cannot be separated from consumer behavior aspects. It is the
strength of the marketing that it has shifted its reliance on other disciplines as well as its focus of
understanding. The classical schools of marketing thoughts relied on social science such as
sociology, economics, and anthropology and focused on aggregate market behavior. It opened the
new gateway of the managerial school of marketing thought which the focus of attention and
understanding shifted. To the individual customers while social sciences disciplines continue to
dominate marketing. Moreover, marketing began to borrow more and more from behavioral
sciences, but it kept its vigilance and watch on individual customers. And this gave birth to
behavioral schools of marketing thoughts. More recently, marketing has begun to shift its attention
away from individual customers and concentrate on the markets.

It also relies more on the traditional social sciences and less on the behavioral sciences. It seems
that each marketing era has motivated specific types of consumer behavior research; thereby shape
its history with respect to the theory development. Evolution of the marketing thought in a 19th
century is documented by Bartels (1962). And this marketing thought were influenced by concepts
of demand theory in microeconomics, spatial markets and trading areas in economic geographic,
and by metro vs. non-metro market definitions provided by economic anthropology. Ad week’s
Marketing week (1994) has given the scene of the vanishing culture of housewives and replacement
by working wives. David M Potter (1954) presented the situation of consumers with diverse nature
and ambitions. Cyndee Miller (1995) has described the 80 different natures of women as a
purchaser in different capacities. Fitzerald (1994) has described the role of lifestyle in deciding the
consumer behavior factor. The advertising age (1995) has given the reasons for developing different
consumer images. Maxine Wilkie (1995) has advocated that Demographic plays a vital role in
deciding the culture of the consumer.
 TABLE OF CONTENT
Supervisor Certificate ……………………………………………………………………… (i)
Certificate of Originality …………………………………………………………………... (ii)
Acknowledgment………………………………………………………………………...... (iii)
Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………………. (iv)

S NO CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1 Introduction 1-12
1.1 General
1.2 Customer Decision Making
1.3 Five Stages of Consumer Behavior
1.4 Consumer Buying Process
1.4.1 Unsatisfied Need/Want
1.4.2 Information Search-
1.4.3 Evaluation of alternatives
1.4.4 Purchase Decision
1.4.5 Purchase Outcome
1.5 Factors That Influence Consumer Behavior
1.5.1 Psychological Factors
1.5.2 Social Factors
1.5.3 Cultural Factors
1.5.4 Personal Factors
1.5.5 Economic Factors
2 Objective of the study 13
2.1 Objective
2.2 Hypotheses
3 LITERATURE REVIEW 14-15
3.1 General
4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16-21
4.1 Data Collection
4.1.1 Gender
4.1.1 Age
4.1.1 Profession
4.1.4 Qualification
5 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 22-27
5.1 Cronbach’s alpha
5.2 KMO and Bartlett’s test
 5.3 Factor analysis
6 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION 28-29
6.1 FINDINGS
6.2 CONCLUSION
7 BIBLOGRAPHY 30
 LIST OF TABLES

S. No Table No. & Heading Page No

TABLE 4.1- DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
1. 17
RESPONDENT
2. TABLE 5.1- CRONBACH’S ALPHA 22

3. TABLE 5.2- KMO AND BARTLETT’S TEST 22

TABLE 5.3- TOTAL VARIANCE EXPLAINED
4. 24

5. TABLE 5.4- ROTATED COMPONENT MATRIX 25-27

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Heading Page No.

FIGURE 1.1 FIVE STAGES OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR 7
FIGURE 1.2 CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS 8
FIGURE 1.3 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR 10

FIGURE 4.1.1 GENDER 18

FIGURE 4.1.2 AGE 19

FIGURE 4.1.3 PROFESSION 20

FIGURE 4.1.4 QUALIFICATION 21

FIGURE 5.1 SCREE PLOT 23

 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General

Generally, businesses often involve a meeting between sellers and buyers. People do business by
establishing stores, outlets, shops and other places they use to work in. They come regularly to
their shops and meet a lot of customers or buyers every day. In this case, if buyers need to buy
something, they will go directly to certain stores. They will look at the products directly in the
stores or shops. The buyers often ask further details about the products. Then, they choose what
products they will buy. If they like it or want it, they will do the purchasing process with the
sellers or even do bargaining in the middle of the buying and selling process. The way business
occurs is face-to-face between sellers and buyers to do buying and selling process. However,
nowadays, the nature of business has changed. Business does not require a direct meeting
between buyers and sellers. It does not only occur face-to-face between sellers and buyers but
also takes place in the virtual world. Shopping today is not limited to visiting stores, shopping
malls, and other shopping outlets. The scope of shopping has been extended. Since the time the
Internet technology was introduced, the online shopping phenomenon has become a popular way
to shop. Online shopping involves purchasing products or services over the Internet.

Online shopping is done through an online shop, e-shop, e-store, virtual store, web-shop, Internet
shop or online store. All the products in online stores are described through text, with photos,
and with multimedia files. Many online stores will provide links for extra information about their
products. Online shopping which occurs in the BlackBerry Messenger seems to be more
convenient rather than those in Facebook, Twitter, and other online media. Since most people
nowadays have a Smartphone which contains BlackBerry Messenger, they just need to open
their Smartphones if they want to buy something. They don’t need to login to their Facebook or

1
Twitter account to buy something. In the BlackBerry Messenger Online Shop, the Online Shop
owner usually makes a group in BlackBerry Messenger for uploading product pictures together
with the details and prices. Then, the owner will invite people in his or her BBM contact to be
members of the group. Then, the customers will choose the product they want, order it to the
seller, and transfer the money to the seller’s bank account. After that, the seller will send the
product ordered by the customers through the shipping company until it reaches to the
customers’ hand. Here, I analyze the male and female buying decision making processes seen
from BlackBerry Messenger texts which happen in my own Online Shop named Tinker bells
hop. The owner of Tinker bell shop is the seller who does buy and selling processes in the
BlackBerry Messenger. So, I as the researcher investigate and know how male and female
customers do shopping in the online shop, especially Tinker bell shop. Tinker bell shop itself
sells many things for both men and women. Tinker bell shop provides shirts, T-shirts, hot pants,
skirts, trousers, dresses, jackets, bags, shoes, sandals, sunglasses, hats, belts, watches,
accessories, dolls, beauty stuff and tools. From my observations, male and female customers
often do shopping in different ways. The female and male customers in Online Shop is quite
different in such a way starting from asking details about certain products, bargaining, making
orders until purchasing the products.

Male customers often order products in a simpler way rather than females. Female customers
seem to be more critical and fussy when they want to buy something in the buying processes in
the online shop via BlackBerry Messenger rather than males. Thus, I want to know how gender
(male and female customers) affects the way or steps leading to the buying decision at the end of
the buying processes. Here, I will analyse the steps leading to the buying decision made by male
and female customers in Online Shop which is seen in BlackBerry Messenger text. The text
contains the conversation of the buying and selling process between the customer and the seller.
In this research, I would like to find out the differences and/or similarities between the buying
decision making processes of the male customers and the female customers in Online Shop
through the online media in Smartphone which is called BlackBerry Messenger.

2
1.2 Customer Decision Making

Consumer Decision-Making Process the buying and selling process which is leading to the
buying decision consists of five steps. It also happens in the Online Shop. These steps focus on
how the customers deal with the sellers in the buying and selling process. According to his book
Marketing Management (2006), Philip Kotler says, “But, consumers do not always pass through
all five stages in buying a product. They may skip or reverse some stages.” I will explain the
steps in consumer decision-making the process according to Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel (2003, p.
110-115). In their research, Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel (2003) gave five steps in the consumer
decision-making process, so I provided all these steps, but there is no guarantee that the
customers produce or follow all of these five steps. It means there are some customers who do
not follow these five steps in sequence. The consumer decision-making process consists of five
steps: need recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision,
and post-purchase behaviour (p.110-115). This process is a guideline for those who want to
study the process of how consumers make decisions. Therefore, this guideline does not assume
that consumers’ decisions will always proceed in order through all the steps of the process. The
first step in the consumer decision-making process is needed recognition. Need recognition here
is usually called as problem recognition. The consumer decision process generally begins when
the consumer identifies a consumption problem that needs to be solved. According to their book
Essentials of Marketing (p.110-112), Lamb, Hair, McDaniel said that need recognition occurs
when consumers are faced with an imbalance between actual and desired states. This is a stage
where consumers have a difference between their actual state and some desired state.

The actual state here is a condition where the consumers do not have the products they want or
need, while the desired state is a condition where the consumers really want or need to have
certain products. Here, there is a gap between these two states, so that the consumers try to
recognize their wants or needs. This is a critical stage in the decision process because it
motivates the consumer to action whether they will buy the products or not. The second step in
the consumer decision-making process is the information search. Once a need is recognized,
people will immediately want to find a product or service that meets the need. In this case, the
consumers will try to get information as much as possible. The consumers will ask for further
3
details related to the products that they want to buy. According to the book Essentials of
Marketing (p.112-113), basically, there are four main factors that determine whether the
customers will do long or short external information search to find the information regarding
their needed products.

Here, the extent to which an individual conducts an external search depends on his or her
perceived risk, knowledge, prior experience, and level of interest in the good or service. Well, in
the online shop, almost all of the consumers want to get information as much as possible before
they analyse, evaluate, and later make decisions to buy. They usually ask questions 17 about
features such as sizes, colours, materials, models, brands, and also about prices. They ask those
questions in order to get information only. That’s why the questions are usually in the form of
open questions (5W+1H) like what colours, what sizes, what models are available, how much,
and so on. The third step in the consumer decision-making process is the evaluation of
alternatives. It is also called an alternative analysis. In this stage, the consumers will compare all
of the alternative choices that they have so that they can determine which product or service best
meets their need. According to the book Essentials of Marketing

I know that after getting information and constructing a consideration set of alternatives
products, the consumer is ready to make the decision. The consumers will use their information
stored in their memories and the information got from the outside sources to develop a set of
criteria. These standards will help the consumers to evaluate and compare alternatives about
certain products. So, they can easily compare and analyse the products available that they want
to buy. In this case, the consumers begin to narrow the choices of certain products. They can
exclude the products that they think those products are not suitable for them. When the
consumers finally get enough information regarding the product that they want to buy, they will
go to analyse and evaluate all possible choices. So, they will still continue to ask a lot of
questions. Yet, it is different from the second step, because they ask questions in order to make a
decision which one they will buy. Here, they will ask questions about features/benefits, prices,
delivery cost, and availability. The purpose of asking these kinds of questions is to compare or to

4
analyse in order to confirm and make a decision. That’s why the questions are usually in the
form of closed questions like which one is better, which colour is more beautiful, which one is
cheaper, is this size bigger than that size, is it long lasting for curling my hair, and so on. When
the consumers ask questions about the availability of certain products, it also means that they do
compare.

They evaluate the real condition of those products whether it is available now or not with the
condition that they want to get them in quick time or not. Next, when the consumers ask
questions about prices, it does not mean that they only want to get the information, but it can be
an evaluation or comparison with the others. Comparing prices here have three purposes. First, it
can be that the consumers want to compare the price of the same product in another online shop.
Second, the consumers want to compare whether that price they consider as appropriate or
reasonable price or not. Third, consumers want to compare whether the price of that product they
can afford to buy or not. Here, we can differentiate the questions about the price in step two and
step three by looking at the context. When the consumers ask that question before they make
decisions to buy the products, it usually means it is included in step three. While the consumers
ask that question in the very beginning before they make decisions to buy, it usually means it is
included in step two. The fourth step in the consumer decision-making process is the purchase
decision.

Once the consumers are satisfied with the information and evaluation, they will soon make a
choice. They have to decide when to buy and where to buy. They will complete all the steps in
the buying decision to purchase the products they want to buy. Philip Kotler in his book
Marketing Management (p.207) says, “In executing a purchase intention, the consumer may
make up to five purchase sub-decisions: a brand decision (brand A), vendor decision (dealer 2),
quantity decision (one computer), timing decision (weekend), and payment-method decision
(credit card).” The last step in the consumer decision-making process is post-purchase behaviour.
Once the purchase is made, the decision-making process does not stop. The customers will
continue to evaluate the product or service while it is being used. If the customers are satisfied

5
with those products and services, they will buy the same products or services for the next time.
Yet, if the purchase is not as satisfying as expected, they will make a different choice for the next
time.

The buyer’s satisfaction is a function of the closeness between the buyer’s expectations and the
product’s perceived performance. If performance falls short of expectations, the customer is
disappointed; if it meets expectations, the customer is satisfied; if it exceeds expectations, the
customer is delighted. Those feelings determine whether those customers will buy that product
or service again in the next time and talk favourably or unfavourably about it to other people. In
this research, only the four main steps are analysed which are need/problem recognition,
information search, evaluation of alternatives/alternative analysis, and purchase decision to
analyse the data because I want to see the steps leading to the buying decision made by male and
female customers. Thus, I exclude the last step which is post-purchase behaviour because that is
the step where the customers do the evaluation regarding certain products after they have bought
those products. It is about the customers’ feelings whether they are satisfied or not after buying
the products and whether they will buy those products in the next time or not. Certainly, these
feelings do not appear in my data

1.3 Five Stages of Consumer Behaviour

These five stages are a framework to evaluate customers' buying decision process. While many
consumers pass through these stages in a fixed, linear sequence, some stages such as evaluation
of alternatives may occur throughout the purchase decision.

 Problem/Need Recognition - Recognize what the problem or need is and identify the
product or type of product which is required.

 Information Search - The consumer researches the product which would satisfy the
recognized need.

 Evaluation of Alternatives - The consumer evaluates the searched alternatives.

Generally, the information search reveals multiple products for the consumer to evaluate
and understand which product would be appropriate.
6
 Figure 1.1 Five Stages of Consumer Behaviour

 Purchase Decision - After the consumer has evaluated all the options and would be
having the intention to buy any product, there could be now only two things which might
just change the decision of the consumer of buying the product that is what the other
peers of the consumer think of the product and any unforeseen circumstances.
Unforeseen circumstances for example, in this case, could be financial losses which led
to not buying the product

 Post Purchase Behaviour - After the purchase, the consumer may experience post-
purchase dissonance feeling that buying another product would have been better.
addressing post-purchase dissonance spreads the good word for the product and increases
the chance of frequent repurchase

1.4 Consumer Buying Process

Consumer Decision Making Process / Consumer Buying Process refers to activities involved by
a buyer in making a purchase by searching and evaluating the options available and determining
satisfaction with the purchase for satisfying a need or want. Marketers need to ensure that they
have thoroughly studied the customers in the target market to understand their buyer behavior
and their decision-making process. The process of decision making begins as a result of
unsatisfied need or want.

7
1.4.1 Unsatisfied Need/Want

The buying process begins when a certain need or want is raised. Depending on the requirement,
a purchase is done immediately or over a certain period. For example, buying salt for the kitchen
will be done immediately whereas buying a refrigerator will take a certain time. Certain needs
are basic which can be considered as internal requirement such as hunger, thirst, spectacles, etc.
Then there are needs that satisfy ego or get aroused by coming in contact with other people’s
belongings, etc. For example, a friend bought the latest Smartphone or a watch. This triggers a
need/ want in the person. Marketers study the kinds of needs that arise and the factors that
influenced them to buy the product. Then the marketing offer is tailored to satisfy those needs.

Figure 1.2 Consumer Buying Process

8
1.4.2 Information Search- Consumers’ may search information to look for available options
for products which hold high significance. A favourable experience of the product by the
consumer or the reference group members involves limited decision making.

1.4.3 Evaluation of alternatives – this stage involves learning the product characteristics and
features. Here the customer gives weightage to the different attributes of the products to suit his
need and wants.

For example, a person wants to buy a 160 L refrigerator for $200. There could be a brand
offering the basic features in that price range. But its competitor is offering a 140 L refrigerator
with 5 years extended warranty, and in a variety of colours for $230. Here the customer will do a
mental trial of the product by giving weightage to different attributes according to his needs and
wants.

1.4.4 Purchase Decision– consumers arrive at this stage based on what they like the most about
a product rather than what they don’t like. At this stage the exchange process takes place
between the buyer and the seller. The consumers may not end up buying the intended product or
not buy at all. The decision is based on the need fulfilment and factors affecting the choice
situational factors. A buyer can change the intention of buying a product of his choice under the
influence of many factors.

For example, a person may want to join a sports club which offers services like free counselling,
personal trainer, etc. at a price that he can afford, but refuses the offer because his friends can’t
afford it who visit a club which has lower fees. A person who has arrived at buying a new car
with high end model may end up buying the basic model because of sudden medical expenses of
a family member, change in prices, payment mode, dealers terms, a job transfer, negative attitude
of others, feeling to comply with wishes of the others, etc.

1.4.5 Purchase Outcome

It is a feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction that a customer goes through after experiencing the
product or service. Organizations extensively study post purchase behaviour of customer to
better their products and services. People mostly share their experience with others. In today’s
digital age, customers mostly review a product and share their experience on global forums. A

9
negative review can have negative effect on the sale of the product. A customer will go for an
alternative product from a different brand in case of dissatisfaction. In case of satisfaction,
customer may again buy the same product

1.5 Factors That Influence Consumer Behaviour

The marketers try to understand the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and the
underlying motives for such actions. These motives are the factors that influence the consumer
behaviour. These are:

Figure 1.3 Factors That Influence Consumer Behaviour

10
1.5.1 Psychological Factors: The human psychology plays a crucial role in designing the
consumer’s preferences and likes or dislikes for a particular product and services. Some of the
important psychological factors are:

 Motivation

 Perception

 Learning

 Attitudes and Beliefs

1.5.2 Social Factors: The human beings live in a complex social environment wherein they are
surrounded by several people who have different buying behaviors. Since the man is a social
animal who likes to be acceptable by all tries to imitate the behaviors that are socially acceptable.
Hence, the social factors influence the buying behavior of an individual to a great extent. Some
of the social factors are:

 Family

 Reference Groups

 Roles and status

1.5.3 Cultural Factors: It is believed that an individual learns the set of values, perceptions,
behaviours, and preferences at a very early stage of his childhood from the people especially, the
family and the other key institutions which were around during his developmental stage. Thus,
the behavioural patterns are developed from the culture where he or she is brought up. Several
cultural factors are:

 Culture

 Subculture

 Social Class

11
1.5.4 Personal Factors: There are several factors personal to the individuals that influence their
buying decisions. Some of them are:

 Age

 Income

 Occupation

 Lifestyle

1.5.5 Economic Factors: The last but not the least is the economic factors which have a
significant influence on the buying decision of an individual. These are:

 Personal Income

 Family Income

 Income Expectations

 Consumer Credit

 Liquid Assets of the Consumer

 Savings

These are some of the underlying factors that influence the consumer behaviour, and the
marketer must keep these in mind, so that appropriate strategic marketing decision is made.

12
 CHAPTER 2

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

2.1 Objective

1. To study the purchasing behaviour of female and male customers.

2. To study the impact of branding in the buying behaviour of male and female customer

HYPOTHESES

2.2 Hypotheses

H1: Purchasing behavior of female and male customers is different.

H2: Branding has a positive influence on the buying behavior of male & female customers.

13
 CHAPTER 3

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 General

There are many researches and studies about the comparison between male and female customer
behavior. During decision making process. According to Hoyer, W. D. I (1984) An Examination
of Consumer Decision Making for a Common Repeat Purchase Product of decision making
based on the notion that consumers are not motivated to engage in a great deal of in-store
decision making at the time of purchase when the product is purchased repeatedly and is
relatively unimportant. As a result, consumers tend to apply very simple choice rules or tactics
that provide a satisfactory choice while allowing a quick and effortless decision.

According to Chen, A., Lu, Y., & Wang (2017), customers ‘purchase decision making process in
social commerce has changed customers’ purchase decision-making process. However, few
studies have investigated the roles of social commerce factors on customers’ purchase decision-
making. Based on the social learning theory, we develop a research model to examine how
customers’ learning behavior along three main social commerce components (SCCs) affects
customers’ attitude in both cognitive and affective dimensions and how such attitude determines
customers’ purchase intention. The results from a survey of 243 actual users of social commerce
websites suggest that cognitive and affective appraisals are the main predictors of purchase
intention, with cognitive appraisal having a higher predictive power than affective appraisal. In
addition, learning from forums and communities and learning from ratings and reviews have
significant influences on both cognitive and affective appraisals, while learning from forums and
communities plays a more important role in formulating affective appraisal and learning from
ratings and reviews plays a more important role in determining cognitive appraisal. Contrary to
our expectation, learning from social recommendations has no significant influence on either
cognitive or affective appraisal. In summary, these findings provide a comprehensive
14
understanding about customers’ purchase decision-making process and extend the application
scope of social learning theory. The findings also provide social commerce managers guidance in
designing more effective websites and allocating resources and efforts reasonably on different
SCCs.

GAO, J., Zhang, C., Wang, K., & Ba, S (2012) defines the online purchase decision making. The
prosperity of online shopping has led e-commerce vendors to provide increasingly rich
information, particularly for experience products, to enhance consumers' shopping experience
and satisfaction. However, there is little awareness that consumers may not be able to process all
the information available because of human beings' limited information processing capacity.
Online shoppers could be easily confused when facing rich information, particularly when the
amount of information greatly exceeds their processing capacity. In contrast to previous research
which has focused on the formatting of information or user interfaces to solve the information
overload problem, this study explores a new solution based on the role of unconscious thought.
Integrating information processing theory and the unconscious thought theory, the current study
examines the different roles of information quantity, information quality and thought mode in
consumers' decision satisfaction, in the presence of rich information.

Our results show that unconscious thought moderates the relationship between information
quality and consumer satisfaction towards their decision making when shopping experience
products online, and is thus worthy of special attention in the design of e-commerce websites.
The study contributes to both unconscious thought theory and information processing theory by
exploring the interaction effect of the quantity and quality of information with thought mode in
affecting the quality of purchasing decisions.

15
 CHAPTER 4

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Data Collection

 This study used descriptive research method where primary data was collected using
structured questionnaire administered to the sample of 100 respondents selected using
non- probability sampling technique. The study was conducted in Greater Noida among
the people.

 The respondents were asked to answer closed ended question on a 5-point Likert-type
scale-Highly Satisfied, Satisfied, Neutral, Dissatisfied, Highly Dissatisfied, Dichotomous
scale (Yes/No) and a category scale (multiple terms)

 The Questionnaire used in the study is divided into 2 parts. In part 1, The respondents are
were asked general demographic question such as Gender, Age education qualification
question and part 2 of the Questionnaire contain items measuring various dimensions
which determine the factor contributing to the effectiveness

16
 TABLE 4.1- Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

DESCRIPTION %
GENDER MALE 49.41%
FEMALE 50.59%
AGE (IN YEARS) 18-24 years 56.47%
25-34 years 31.76%
35-44 years 4.71%
7.06%
45-55 years

PROFESSION GOVERNMENT 24.71%

PRIVATE 69.41%
BUSINESSMEN 5.88%
QUALIFICATION GRADUATION 38.82%
POST GRADUATION 60.00%

PhD 1.18%

17
 4.1.1 GENDER

Figure 4.1.1 Gender

GENDER

MALE
51% 49%
FEMALE

From the above graph we can comprehend that 51% of respondents were female and 49% who
responded were male. Female candidates responded more to the questionnaire.

18
 4.1.2 Age

Figure 4.1.2 Age

AGE (IN YEARS)

7%
5%

18-24 years
25-34 years

32% 56% 35-44 years

45-55 years

From the above graph we can comprehend that 56% of the respondents belong to the age group
of 18-24 years, 32% of the respondents belong to the age of 25-34 years, 5% of the respondents
belong to 35-44 years and 7% respondents belong to the category of 45-55 years.

19
 4.1.3 Profession

Figure 4.1.3 Profession

PROFESSION

6%0%
25%

GOVERNMENT
PRIVATE
BUSINESSMEN

69%

From the above graph we can see that majority of people who responded to the questionnaire
belongs to the private sector i.e. 69%, 25% belong to the government sector and rest 6% are
businessmen.

20
 4.1.4 QUALIFICATION

Figure 4.1.4 Qualification

QUALIFICATION

0%
1%

39% GRADUATION
POST GRADUATION
PhD
60%

From the above graph we can comprehend that 60% of the respondents have completed post-
graduation, 39% has completed their graduation and 1% has done PhD.

21
 CHAPTER 5

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5.1 Cronbach’s alpha

Table 5.1- Cronbach’s alpha

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's N of
Alpha Items

.819 21

The reliability and validity of the test were done with the help of Cronbach’s Alpha. The value for
the overall scale was found to be 0.819 which is in the acceptable range. The value of Cronbach’s
Alpha should be greater than 0.60 so as to know its reliability

5.2 KMO and Bartlett’s test

Table 5.2- KMO and Bartlett’s test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .819

Adequacy.

Approx. Chi-Square 1008.381

Bartlett's Test of
df 210
Sphericity
Sig. .000

KMO and Bartlett’s test is conducted to know the sampling adequacy. The value was found to be
.819, which is adequate as the acceptable index is 0.6. The test also shows reliability and validity.

22
5.3 Factor analysis

The 12 questions related to the study of difference in purchasing behavior of male and female
customers were factor analyzed using principal component analysis. With the help of screen plot we
can see that 8 factors were extracted. The table of total variance also shows the extracted values.

FIGURE 5.1 Factor analyses

23
 Table 5.3 Total Variance Explained

Compone Initial Eigen values Extraction Sums of Squared

nt Loadings

Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative

Variance % Variance %

1 7.116 33.886 33.886 7.116 33.886 33.886

2 1.761 8.384 42.270 1.761 8.384 42.270

3 1.586 7.554 49.824 1.586 7.554 49.824

4 1.535 7.312 57.136 1.535 7.312 57.136

5 1.200 5.714 62.851 1.200 5.714 62.851

6 1.104 5.256 68.107 1.104 5.256 68.107

7 1.075 5.120 73.227 1.075 5.120 73.227

8 .981 4.670 77.897

9 .769 3.662 81.558

10 .743 3.538 85.096

11 .584 2.782 87.877

12 .529 2.517 90.395

13 .444 2.114 92.509

14 .371 1.769 94.277

15 .316 1.504 95.782

16 .242 1.150 96.932

17 .206 .981 97.912

18 .154 .732 98.644

19 .136 .646 99.290

20 .109 .518 99.808

21 .040 .192 100.000

24
 Table 5.4 Rotated Component Matrix

Component

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

How often do you go .776

shopping

Will you buy a .809

product if it has
attractive packaging

What are the factors .563

which affect the
decision making in the
final selection of the
product

Where do you like to .770

go shopping

Why do you prefer .868

brands

Factors affecting your .796

purchase decision
Price

Factors affecting your .934

purchase decision
Quality

Factors affecting your .869

purchase decision
Design

Factors affecting your .777

purchase decision
Colour

25
Factors affecting your .910
purchase decision
Material

Factors affecting your .864

purchase decision
Variety

Factors affecting your .914

purchase decision
Comfort

Factors affecting your .684

purchase decision
Location

Factors affecting your .803

purchase decision
Brand name of the
comp

Factors affecting your .782

purchase decision
Sales promotion

From where do you .829

get information about
brands

Do you think the .849

advertisement for
branded products has
a major

Do advertisements .398
featuring celebrities
have an impact on
you

Does the presentation .006

amp packaging of the
product have an imp

26
Will you purchase the .775
same brand that you
have previously
purchase

Do you recommend .771

brands that you have
purchased

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.

27
 CHAPTER 6

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 FINDINGS

1. From the data obtained from the factor analysis we can see that seven components have
been extracted.

2. From the Table 5 of the rotated component matrix, we can see that Component 1 has high
loadings on the factors which affect the purchasing behaviour of the customer like price,
quality, design, colour, material, variety, and comfort, location brand name of the company
and sales and promotions done by the company.

3. Packaging of the product has a high loading on component 1.

4. Customers preferring to buy the same brand have high loadings on component 2.

5. Customer’s recommendation of the brands to other customers has high loadings on

component 2.

6. Component 3 has high loadings on product packaging and products endorsements with
celebrities. Celebrity endorsements help to promote the product and customers buy it if
their favourite celebrity is endorsing it.

7. Component 4 has high factor loadings on the frequency of shopping and where they go
shopping to like a mall, supermarket, etc.

8. Component 5 has high loading on the impact of advertisement of brands on purchasing

behaviour.

28
9. Component 6 has high loadings on factors impacting decision-making behaviour and
awareness about brands.

10. Component 7 has high loadings on the preference of brands by consumers.

6.2 CONCLUSION

From the data obtained from the responses we can conclude that purchasing behavior of male
and female customers are different. From the data obtained from factor analysis we can conclude
that branding does have an impact on the buying behavior of various customers. The purchasing
behavior depends on the variations in price, quality, design, colour, material, variety, comfort,
location and the brand as well as the sales promotions. Sales promotions and advertisements with
celebrities have a impact on the buying behavior. Attractive packaging attracts consumers to buy
a particular product. Customers prefer to buy from the place from where they have purchased
before. Therefore we can conclude that purchasing behavior of both male and female customers
is indeed different in these aspects.

29
 CHAPTER 7

BIBLOGRAPHY

A.Arun Kumar, D.K. (2019, Febrarury), Flyers’ Gratification towards Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport. Indian Journal of Marketing

Harrison, E. F. (1995). The managerial decision-making process (Vol. 4, pp. 1-39). Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin.

Peter, J. P., Olson, J. C., &Grunter, K. G. (1999). Consumer behavior and marketing strategy (pp.
329-48). London: McGraw-Hill.

30
 APPENDICES

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name _____________ (optional) Email id ______________

1. What is your age?

a. 18-24 years
b. 25-34 years
c. 35-44 years
d. 45-55 years

2. What is your gender?

a. Male
b. Female
c. Other

3. Qualification

a. Graduation
b. Post-Graduation
c. PhD
31
4. Profession
a. Government
b. Private
c. Businessmen

5. How often do you go shopping?

(a) Once a week

(b) Once in 15 days
(c) Once a month
(d) Once in every 3 months
(e) Once a year

6. Will you buy a product if it has attractive packaging?

a. Strongly disagree
b. Disagree
c. Neutral
d. Agree
e. Strongly agree

7. What are the factors which affect the decision making in the final selection of the
product?

a. Best Price
b. Convenience and time-saving
c. Product review and Description

32
d. Referral
e. Customer service

8. Where do you like to go shopping?

a. supermarket
b. mall
c. traditional shop
d. online shopping

9. Why do you prefer brands?

a. Recognition
b. Satisfaction
c. Value of money
d. Social Capability
e. Loyalty

10. Factors affecting your purchase decision

Price

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

33
 Quality

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Design

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Colour

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Material

a) Strongly disagree
b Disagree
34
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Variety

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Comfort

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Location

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

35
The brand name of the company

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

Sales promotional activities

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

11. From where do you aware of brands?

a) T.V.
b) Shopping mall
c) Posters
d) Newspaper or Magazines
e) Others ______
13. Do you think the advertisement for branded products has a major influence on your
buying decision?

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree

36
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

14. Do advertisements featuring celebrities have an impact on you?

a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree

15. Does the presentation & packaging of the product have an impact on your purchase
decision?

a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe

16. Will you purchase the same brand that you have previously purchased?

A) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe
17. Do you recommend brands that you have purchased?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe

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