Project Report On Westside

Final Research Project On

Impact of Shopper, Store and Situational Factors on Store Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty of Customers

A Study on Westside Stores

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) Programme

Submitted by: Harsh Jasrotia Roll No.15/016 Batch: 2007 – 09

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary………………………………………….………………...3 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….4 Literature Review………………………………………………………………6 Retail Industry: An Overview………………………………………………...8 Objective of Study…………………………………………………………….14 Westside: Retail Giant………………………………………………………...16 Research Methodology………………………………………………………..23 Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………….24 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………33 Consumer Pull Factors………………………………………………………..42 Recommendations…………………………………………………………….43 Limitations of Study…………………………………………………………..44 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..45 Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………46

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Executive Summary

The enormous retail boom in India has given space to many companies who have mushroomed out to benefit from this retail boom, which is nothing but a structured format of the unorganized retail business which is being done in India from ages. Many stores have come up with exquisite interiors, state of the art infrastructure and the best possible brands to the customer which has led to the growth of mall culture in India. The stores try and attract customers by providing them with such services and plethora of options in brands in different categories so that they can retail customers for long and make them loyal towards their retail stores. The retail business is booming in India and there has been remarkable shift in the buying behavior of the people from traditional stores to these departmental stores. It becomes important for the marketers to understand these relationships for successful design and execution of retail strategies. It would also enable the researcher to understand the organized retail formats and consumers buying attitude towards these stores. The data was collected by getting the questionnaire filled by the respondents who were loyalty card holders to find out that what makes them loyal towards Westside stores and makes them visit Westside again and motivates them to purchase more from here. The purpose of this paper is to raise the question of the relationship between the various factors and how they lead to store loyalty.

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Introduction Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store ,shopping mall etc .The retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy. In the retail outlet various type of good and service are provide to the customer but all the goods and services are generally homogenous in nature through all the other retail outlets . Product and services of every company are available in every retail outlet. It is also find that many customer only used to shopping in own decided outlet rather from every outlets even there is homogenous among the product and service offer by the every retail outlet .So This put the question in the mind of the every retailer that is there is any gap between what customer expected from retailers and what retailer provides to customer during shopping. No two customers have the identical likes and preferences. Delivery value and narrowing down the zone of tolerance is a tightrope walk for marketer in organized retail sector. Especially in market like India the challenges is formidable because organizations need to cater to a wide and diverse group of customers .Thus building equity and generating volumes in such complex market tapers down to the function of managing customer expectation. Customers take their time to first sketch their needs and then arrive at a specific decision. At the end of the day the question is what does the customer expect? How to fulfill the glaring gap between need and expectations? The answers to this question are “by delivering the value “ But in many case retailers are not aware of what their customer expect. Hence they are unable to deliver the right value to the right customer and satisfy them .Especially in this competitive scenario where the customer are well informed, commanding and demanding at the same time it has become imperative for the organization to be updated on the “WHAT”,”WHY”and “HOW” of each and every customer. This calls for empathizing with the customer by indulging into their priorities and decision making. Even in the case of a product as simple as beauty soap, customer have versatile expectations like, good packaging fragrance, herbal or medical benefit, glowing skin etc. and all this at an affordable price. A daunting task but companies have no option but to offer the expected value, that too by keeping the operating costs low. 4

Following general expectations of a typical customer • • • • •

Value of Money Availability and location Service expectations Quality in Product Need based solution

So in other to deliver the value, Retail outlets in addition to providing products and services, need to cater for a wide range of motives. The various determinants of retail outlet preference include cleanliness, well-stocked shelves, and range of products, helpful staff, disabled access, wide aisles, car parking, multiple billing points and environmentally friendly goods. These differing motives arise as retailers cater to different types of shoppers who include economic consumers (concern with value), personalized consumers (concern with relationships), recreational shoppers (shopping as a leisure activity) and apathetic consumers (who dislike shopping). Retailers have to satisfy budding customers, older consumers as well as time crunched individuals whose motives all tend to be conflicting as well as different. Retailers need to establish a good image to prevent customers from shopping around. They must cater to shoppers need for pleasure and practicality. If expressed as a calculation, customer satisfaction might look something like this: Customer expectations = Companies Performance/ Companies Satisfaction Satisfaction is a consumer’s post-purchase evaluation of the overall service experience. It is an affective reaction (Menon and Dubé, 2000) in which the consumer’s needs, desires and expectations during the course of the service experience have been met or exceeded (Lovelock, 2001). Satisfaction in this sense could mean that a supermarket has just barely met the customer’s expectations, not exceeded nor disappointed those expectations. The benefits of taking the customer’s response beyond satisfaction at this level by exceeding expectations, is a competitive strategy many retailers aspire to achieve. There is a recurrent struggle for existence and survival in the wake of deep competition, drastically changing customer attitudes and expectation levels. The study would enable us to understand the impact of various factors that influence a consumer’s shopping behavior in a departmental store. It would also help in knowing the magnitude and direction of movement of these factors amongst each other. These factors have been divided into three heads- Store, Situation and Shopper factors.

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Literature Review The concept of store loyalty is derived from the concept of brand loyalty which refers to the tendency to make repeat purchases of products of the same brand. Store loyalty refers to the tendency to repeatedly shop at the same store for similar or other products. A loyal customer would give preference to a specific store and would tend to be far more forgiving of errors of the store.

There are three main set of variables that have been found to have an impact on loyalty of customers: 1. Store Related Variables 2 .Shopper Related Variables 3. Situation Related Variables

Loyalty has been found to be greatly influenced by Store Related Variables. Some of the important store related variables are Shop location, Products Range and Store Image. In consumer priorities, assortment and variety come after convenience and price.(Arnold , Stephen J., Tae H . Ourn, Tigert, and Douglas 1983,’ Determining Attributes in Retail Patronage) Shop location is an influencing variable on loyalty as convenience of shopping is among the main criteria of the customers. Location related variables are given importance in analyzing both trade areas and retail patronage behavior (Hubbard, Raymond 1978,’ A review of Selected Factors Conditioning Consumer Travel Behavior’, journal of Consumer Research) .The consumers are favorably inclined to revisit a store where they have positive shopping experiences like a great range of assortments , good environment etc. The image of the store has also great effect on the loyalty of the customers. Store image reflects shopper’s perception of a store in terms of functional and psychological attributes.

Loyalty is also influenced by shopper related variables. Several factors such as age, income and social class of the shopper have found to influence on customer’s decisions.(Moore, Charles Thomas , and Joseph Barry Mason 1969, ‘ A research Note on major Retail Centre Patronage) Customers belonging to different age groups prefer different stores. There have been researches done which suggests that the greater the congruence between self image and store image, the greater is the probability that the 6

customer is loyal. (Pathak, D.S., W.J.E .Crissy, and R.W Sweitzer 1974,’ Customer Image Versus the Retailers’ Anticipated Image,’ Journal of Retailing, Vol.50).There is a direct linkage between personal values and desired consumer benefits. This means different customers have different levels of desired consumer benefits which vary according to their own perceived values. Loyalty is also influenced by the situation related variables. These factors include task definition, level of involvement, shopping orientation and usage of information. These indicate the intensity of need and the comfort of the shopper in taking a purchase decision. The store choice has been found to depend on buying situations that differ with the level of involvement (Moschis, G.P .1976,’ Shopping Orientations and Consumer Uses of Information)

Thus we can say that the existence of the customer is integral to the existence of the retailer. The ability to understand consumers is the key to developing a successful retail strategy. A key factor in understanding customers is identifying the customers for product or service, which means the target segment, and the demographics of this segment, their needs and buying behavior.

Recognition of the need for a product or a service is the first stage that may lead to a consumer buying. The need may be psychological or functional.

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Retail Industry: An Overview Retailing is the interface between the producer and the individual consumer buying for personal consumption. This excludes direct interface between the manufacturer and institutional buyers such as the government and other bulk customers. A retailer is one who stocks the producer’s goods and is involved in the act of selling it to the individual consumer, at a margin of profit. As such, retailing is the last link that connects the individual consumer with the manufacturing and distribution chain. Retail has played a major role world over in increasing productivity across a wide range of consumer goods and services .The impact can be best seen in countries like U.S.A., U.K., Mexico, Thailand and more recently China. Economies of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Dubai are also heavily assisted by the retail sector.

Top Retailers Worldwide: Rank Retailer Home Country 1. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Carrefour Group The Kroger Co. The Home Depot, Inc. Metro

U.S.A. France U.S.A. U.S.A. Germany

The retail industry in India is of late often being hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy. AT Kearney, the well-known international management consultancy, recently identified India as the ‘second most attractive retail destination’ globally from among thirty emergent markets. It has made India the cause of a good deal of excitement and the cynosure of many foreign eyes. With a contribution of 14% to the national GDP and employing 7% of the total workforce (only agriculture employs more) in the country, the retail industry is definitely one of the pillars of the Indian economy. Retail sales in India amounted to about Rs.7400 billion in 2002, expanded at an average annual rate of 7% during 1999-2002. With the upturn in economic growth during 2003, retail sales are also expected to expand at a higher pace of nearly 10%. Across the country, retail sales in real terms are predicted to rise more rapidly than consumer expenditure during 2003-08. The forecast growth in real retail sales during 2003- 2008 is 8.3% per year, compared with 7.1% for consumer expenditure. Modernization of the 8

Indian retail sector will be reflected in rapid growth in sales of supermarkets, departmental stores and hyper marts. Sales from these large-format stores are to expand at growth rates ranging from 24% to 49% per year during 2003-2008, according to a latest report by Euro monitor International, a leading provider of global consumermarket intelligence. A. T. Kearney Inc. places India 6th on a global retail development index. The country has the highest per capita outlets in the world - 5.5 outlets per 1000 population. Around 7% of the population in India is engaged in retailing, as compared to 20% in the USA. In a developing country like India, a large chunk of consumer expenditure is on basic necessities, especially food-related items. Hence, it is not surprising that food, beverages and tobacco accounted for as much as 71% of retail sales in 2002. The share of food related items had, however, declined over the review period, down from 73% in 1999. This is not unexpected, because with income growth, Indians, like consumers elsewhere, have started spending more on non-food items compared with food products. Sales through supermarkets and department stores are small compared with overall retail sales. Nevertheless, their sales have grown much more rapidly, at almost a triple rate (about 30% per year during the review period). This high acceleration in sales through modern retail formats is expected to continue during the next few years, with the rapid growth in numbers of such outlets due to consumer demand and business potential. The factors responsible for the development of the retail sector in India can be broadly summarized as follows: • Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes. Looking at income classification, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) classified approximately 50% of the Indian population as low income in 1994-95; this is expected to decline to 17.8% by 2006-07. • Liberalization of the Indian economy which has led to the opening up of the market for consumer goods has helped the MNC brands like Kellogs, Unilever, Nestle, etc. to make significant inroads into the vast consumer market by offering a wide range of choices to the Indian consumers. • Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like McDonalds, Sony, Panasonic, etc. • The internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains. Reach of satellite T.V. channels is helping in creating awareness about global products for local markets. About 47% of India’s population is under the age of 20; and this will increase to 55% by 2015. This young population, which is technology-savvy, watch more than 50 TV satellite channels, and display the highest propensity to spend, will 9

immensely contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the country. As India continues to get strongly integrated with the world economy riding the waves of globalization, the retail sector is bound to take big leaps in the years to come. The Indian retail sector is estimated to have a market size of about $ 180 billion; but the organized sector represents only 2% share of this market. Most of the organized retailing in the country has just started recently, and has been concentrated mainly in the metro cities. India is the last large Asian economy to liberalize its retail sector. In Thailand, more than 40% of all consumer goods are sold through the super markets and departmental stores. A similar phenomenon has swept through all other Asian countries. Organized retailing in India has a huge scope because of the vast market and the growing consciousness of the consumer about product quality and services. A study conducted by Fitch, expects the organized retail industry to continue to grow rapidly, especially through increased levels of penetration in larger towns and metros and also as it begins to spread to smaller cities and B class towns. Fuelling this growth is the growth in development of the retail-specific properties and malls. According to the estimates available with Fitch, close to 25mn sq. ft. of retail space is being developed and will be available for occupation over the next 36-48 months. Fitch expects organized retail to capture 15%-20% market share by 2010. A McKinsey report on India says organized retailing would increase the efficiency and productivity of entire gamut of economic activities, and would help in achieving higher GDP growth. At 6%, the share of employment of retail in India is low, even when compared to Brazil (14%), and Poland (12%).

Malls in India Over the last 2-3 years, the Indian consumer market has seen a significant growth in the number of modern-day shopping centers, popularly known as ‘malls’. There is an increased demand for quality retail space from a varied segment of large-format retailers and brands, which include food and apparel chains, consumer durables and multiplex operators. Shopping-centre development has attracted real-estate developers and corporate houses across cities in India. As a result, from just 3 malls in 2000, India is all set to have over 220 malls by 2005. Today, the expected demand for quality retail space in 2006 is estimated to be around 40 million square feet. While previously it was the large, organized retailers –with their modern, up-market outlets, and direct consumer interface- who had been a key factor driving the growth of organized retail in the country, now it is the malls which are playing the role. Factors such as availability of physical space, population densities, city planning, and socio-economic parameters have driven the Indian market to evolve, to a certain extent, 10

its own definition of a ‘mall’. For example, while a mall in USA is 400,000 to 1 million sq.ft. in size, an Indian version can be anywhere between 80,000 sq.ft. and 500,000 sq.ft. By 2005, total mall space in the 6 cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and National Capital Region (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon) is expected to increase to over 21.1 million sq. ft. Compared to other big cities, Kolkata and Hyderabad are relatively new entrants in the mall segment, but are witnessing quick growth. Smaller cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Indore, are also expected to see a formidable growth in the growth of malls in the near future. But malls in India need to have a clear positioning through the development of differential product assortment and differential pricing, in order to compete effectively in a growing mall market. Segmentation in malls, like up-market malls, midmarket malls, etc., proper planning, correct identification of needs, quality products at lower prices, the right store mix, and the right timing, would Ensure the success of the ‘mall revolution’ in India.

Challenges of Retailing in India Retailing as an industry in India has still a long way to go. To become a truly flourishing industry, retailing needs to cross the following hurdles: • Automatic approval is not allowed for foreign investment in retail. • Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws. • Taxation, which favors small retail businesses. • Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management. • Lack of trained work force. • Low skill level for retailing management. • Intrinsic complexity of retailing – rapid price changes, constant threat of product obsolescence and low margins. The retailers in India have to learn both the art and science of retailing by closely following: How retailers in other parts of the world are organizing, managing, and coping up with new challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. Indian retailers must use innovative retail formats to enhance shopping experience, and try to understand the regional variations in consumer attitudes to retailing. Retail marketing efforts have to improve in the country - advertising, promotions, and campaigns to attract customers; building loyalty by identifying regular shoppers and offering benefits to them; efficiently managing high-value customers; and monitoring

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customer needs constantly, are some of the aspects which Indian retailers need to focus upon on a more pro-active basis. Despite the presence of the basic ingredients required for growth of the retail industry in India, it still faces substantial hurdles that will retard and inhibit its growth in the future. One of the key impediments is the lack of FDI status. This has largely limited capital investments in supply chain infrastructure, which is a key for development and growth of food retailing and has also constrained access to world-class retail practices. Multiplicity and complexity of taxes, lack of proper infrastructure and relatively high cost of real estate are the other impediments to the growth of retailing. While the industry and the government are trying to remove many of these hurdles, some of the roadblocks will remain and will continue to affect the smooth growth of this industry. Fitch believes that while the market share of organised retail will grow and become significant in the next decade, this growth would, however, not be at the same rapid pace as in other emerging markets. Organised retailing in India is gaining wider acceptance. The development of the organised retail sector, during the last decade, has begun to change the face of retailing, especially, in the major metros of the country. Experiences in the developed and developing countries prove that performance of organised retail is strongly linked to the performance of the economy as a whole. This is mainly on account of the reach and penetration of this business and its scientific approach in dealing with customers and their needs. In spite of the positive prospects of this industry, Indian retailing faces some major hurdles (see Table 1), which have stymied its growth. Early signs of organized retail were visible even in the 1970s when Nilgiris (food), Viveks (consumer durables) and Nallis (sarees) started their operations. However, as a result of the roadblocks (mentioned in Table 1), the industry remained in a rudimentary stage. While these retailers gave the necessary ambience to customers, little effort was made to introduce world-class customer care practices and improve operating efficiencies. Moreover, most of these modern developments were restricted to south India, which is still regarded as a ‘Mecca of Indian Retail’.

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Seasons of Retailing Summer Season •

It’s usually from May to July.

•

Low sales are recorded during this period.

•

This season is good for promotions and launching new advertisement campaigns.

Fall Season •

August and September are important months.

•

Retailers are provided a good opportunity to increase their share.

Holiday Season • • •

It begins usually at the end of October and carries through the fourth quarter ending in January. Festivals like Dusherra, Diwali, Halloween, Christmas and New Year Eve bring more customers. Usually it’s the best time for retailers.

Spring Season •

It lasts from February to May

•

Fewer footfalls are recorded in malls.

Customers Men •

While guys tend to prioritize fashion to a lesser degree than girls, “right-look” and the “dude” image is still important to them.

•

Boys tend to spend more money on electronic gadgets, food, sports goods and music.

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Women •

“Tween” girls represent a lucrative opportunity for retailers. They are going to become the future buyers.

•

“Teen” girls are more trend savvy. It’s not just the clothes and accessories, but the whole look that the teen girls aspire to define.

•

‘Post teen” girls spend more on jewellery and household items and thus they contribute a lot more in terms of revenue.

Objective of the study SHOPPER FACTORS 1) What influences a shopper to patronize a National Brand or Private Label? 2) Which of the two ‘manifest satisfaction’ or ‘latent satisfaction’ has stronger impact on

store loyalty? 3) Does the similarity between retail mix-elements and desired benefits of customer lead to higher shopper loyalty?

SITUATIONAL FACTORS 1) Is there any impact of ‘recency of purchase experience’ and ‘frequency of visit to a

store’ on probability of repurchase from that store? 2) Is there any impact of ‘buying situations’ and ‘level of involvement’ on the store choice? 3) Of the three, ‘mall image’ (tenancy mix), ‘socio-economic status,’ and ‘store format’ of shoppers, which has the highest impact on ‘store image’?

STORE FACTORS 1) How convenience and location influences a shopper’s loyalty for a store? 2) How differentiation in type and quality of assortment offered by a store affects the buying behavior of shopper? 3) How similarity between self-image and store-image leads impacts store loyalty?

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4) How store image impacts store loyalty and how it influences store satisfaction in

shaping shoppers’ overall store loyalty? The location of the retail store had, for a long time, been considered the most important ‘P’ in retailing. If a retail store was located in the right place, it was considered to be adequate assurance for success. Over the years, with advent of non-store retailing and the rise in webbased retail, merely choosing the right location can’t be considered adequate. However, the retail location is an important part of the retail strategy, as the location of the store conveys a fair amount of its image. It also influences the merchandise mix and the interior layout of the store. While a retailer can change his merchandise mix, adjust prices, improve communication with consumers and offer better services, once a store comes into existence, it is fairly difficult to change the location. Moving from one location to another may result in the loss of customers and employees. Moreover, the new location may not always have the benefits of the earlier one. Types of Locations Various options are available to the retailer, for choosing the location of this store. The choice of the location of the store again, depends on the target audience and the kind of merchandise to be sold. For ex, the location of a convenience store would not be suitable for that of an expensive jewellery boutique. Typically, a store maybe, 1. Freestanding/ Isolated Store, 2. Part of a business district, or 3. Part of a Shopping Center- A shopping center has been defined by the International

Council of Shopping Centers as “a group of retail and other commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned and manager as a single property”. The availability of parking is an important feature of every shopping center. Westside Mall in Rajouri is a part of the shopping center.

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Westside-Retail Giant Established in 1998 as part of the Tata Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside, one of India's largest and fastest growing chains of retail stores. The Westside stores have numerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of customers. These include Menswear, Women’s wear, Kid’s wear, Footwear, Cosmetics, Perfumes and Handbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The company has already established 36 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each) in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad & Noida (to be considered as 1 city), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Jammu. The company hopes to expand rapidly with similar format stores that offer a fine balance between style and price retailing.

Trent ventured into the hypermarket business in 2004 with Star Bazaar, providing an ample assortment of products made available at the 16

lowest prices, aptly exemplifying its ‘Chota Budget, Lambi Shopping’ motto. At present Star Bazaar has 4 stores in 3 cities located in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. This store offers customers an eclectic array of products that include staple foods, beverages, health and beauty products, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, consumer electronics and household items at the most affordable prices. Star Bazaar also includes a largerange of fashionable inhouse garments for men, women and children, exclusively available at the store.

In addition, Trent recently acquired a 76% stake in Landmark, one of the largest books & music retail chains in the country. Landmark began operations in 1987 with its first store in Chennai with a floor space of 5500 sq. ft. At present Landmark have 10 stores, varying in size from 12,000 sq. ft. to 45,000 sq. ft, 3 in Chennai and 1 each in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Vadodara, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. Until 1996, Landmark’s product portfolio comprised books, stationery, and greeting cards. It was later that music was added to it. Landmark also sparked the trend of stocking curios, toys and other gift items. What 17

separates Landmark from other stores of its kind is the range and depth of its stock. This story began circa 1998 when The Tatas acquired Littlewoods – a London based retail chain. This acquisition was followed by the establishment of Trent Ltd (a Tata enterprise that presently operates Westside). Littlewoods was subsequently renamed Westside. In a rapidly evolving retail scenario, Westside has carved a niche for its brand of merchandise creating a loyal following. Currently, the company has 36 Westside stores measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each across 20 cities. With a variety of designs and styles, everything at Westside is exclusively designed and the merchandise ranges from stylized clothes, footwear and accessories for men, women and children to well-co-coordinated table linens, artifacts, home accessories and furnishings. Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations and coffee shops enhance the customers’ shopping experience.

Westside has garnered numerous accolades 1. Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame 2. India Brand Summit – Brand Leadership Retail 3. IFA Visionary of the Year Award, 2002 – Mrs. Simone N. Tata 4. Most Admired Large Format Retail Chain of the Year - Lycra Images Fashion Awards 2005 5. NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2006 - Retail Category Mission Statement

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“To be regarded by our customers as the most relevant retailer in the country.” In order to achieve this goal, we shall develop a comprehensive understanding of their needs, strive to win their confidence, and offer them best-in-class products and services at affordable prices. We shall always be in the forefront of fashion and services by anticipating and exceeding the expectations of our customers. Our leadership will be the product of our styling, quality and service consciousness. We will continue to scale new heights of excellence through teamwork, in an atmosphere that encourages creativity and innovativeness. It is their policy to satisfy our customers with the range, quality and value of the products we offer. However, if they are dissatisfied with any item that they might have purchased they would take the necessary measures to assist them. The customers are expected to return unused merchandise along with its receipt within 30 days. “We would exchange the returned items or give our customers a complete refund. In the event that they do not have the receipt we would offer them an exchange or provide them a gift voucher to the current or last known selling price. We have complete confidence in the quality of our merchandise however should our customers have any grievances, we would be happy to address them once they are brought to our attention” said an employee. Style, affordable prices, quality: these are the factors that have shaped Westside’s success story in the retail fashion stores business. Launched in 1998 in Bangalore, the Westside chain has, ever since, been setting the standards for other fashion retailers to follow. Westside stands out from the competition for a variety of reasons. One is that a majority of the brands the chain stocks and sells are its own, unlike retailers who store multiple labels. About 90 per cent of Westside’s offerings are home-grown, and they cater to different customer segments. The other 10 per cent includes toys, cosmetics and lingerie. 19

Westside has recently expanded its range of merchandise by offering outfits from some of India’s best-known fashion designers, among them Wendell Rodericks, Anita Dongre, Krishna Mehta and Mona Pali. This is an interesting marketing shift, since it means moving away from the chains only-our-own-brands concept. Westside is a departmental store having several product line & according to ET 500 list out of top four retail companies Trent ranked 3rd as    

Pantaloon retail Shoppers shop Trent Provogue India

Arrangement 1. Ground Floor •

Cosmetics

•

Jewellery

•

Watches

•

Bags

2. Ist Floor •

Women Section

•

Children Section

•

Household items

3. IInd Floor (Men Section)

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•

Casual Clothing

•

Formal Wear

•

Ethnic Wear

•

Shoes

Private Brands in Westside           

2F4U SRC Gia Urban angel Intima David Jones Ascot Blackberry Lee Spykar Provogue

To irrigate the space better Westside have the entrance on the ground floor and exit on the first floor. In case of visual merchandising all the category of clothes of all sizes and varieties are displayed and hence the consumption of space for shelves is reduced. And it is convenient for customers to choose and for the attendants to support buying. Profitability of Westside Delhi is more than that in Pune and Bangalore because youth here have much spending power. It is also driven from strong demand backed by quality products and latest fashion. Services & Store Atmosphere in Westside 





Prepurchase services include accepting telephone & mail orders, advertising, window & interior display, fitting rooms, fashion shows It provides post purchase service including shipping & delivery, gift wrapping, adjustments & returns, alteration & tailoring It also provides ancillary services including general information, check cashing, parking, restaurants, repairs, interior decorating, credit etc.

The Westside stores wear a bright, festive look and, in keep with the mood of the season, hosting a festival bright. With the sole objective of rewarding its loyal customers for their patronage, Westside has lined up a bonanza of surprise gifts. Every shopper gets a scratch-and-win card which entitles them 21

entry into a contest. Those making purchases above Rs 1,500 are also entitled to receive other pleasant surprises The trendy household section has a complete new range of bed linen in elephant motifs, floral motifs and paisley design. The color palette for the festive collection includes flaming orange, royal blue and other vibrant colors to depict festivity. The gift section has a plethora of gifts — terracotta pots, urns, knick-knacks and diyas in beautiful colors, shapes and sizes. The store has also introduced a new range of furniture and other household goods, including cabinets, butler trays and mirrors in wood with an antique finish. An innovative range in wrought iron and rope has been introduced in utility items which include magazine racks, folding stools, jam pots on trays and Ganesha in brass and terracotta.

Facing the challenge The greatest challenge for Westside in its quest for a place in the retail sun is not the competition from similar organized players, but from the unorganized sector (98 per cent of India’s retail garment industry operates in the unorganized sector). The other challenge for Westside is that the retail fashion business in the country is becoming increasingly crowded with new players, Indian and foreign. Among the new entrants have been Wills Sport, Lifestyle, Raymond’s (Be), Primus Globus, Nike, Crocodile, Mango and the latest, Marks & Spencer.

Promotions 1. Club west card program An assured return-and-exchange policy reinforces customer confidence in the chain. Another winning Westside idea is Club West, a customer loyalty programme launched in May 2001. The 30,000plus members of this club get rebates at restaurants and on holiday packages from the Taj Group of Hotels, home delivery of alterations, 22

and best of all, special shopping hours on the first day of any discount sales event organized by the chain.

Important benefits of club west card • • • • •

Most attractive rewards shopping Instant use of the card Easy to operate Extra convenience Validity at all stores

Westside does its regular brand building through advertisements in the media with brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh and other young models; more important are its in-house promotions, which peak during the three main festive seasons: summer, Diwali and Christmas. The promotions are mostly theme based, with decorations to match, live bands and other attractions. 2. Fashion Logy Westside has launched a new ad campaign titled 'Fashion Logy'. The campaign is designed to provide the buyer with not just clothing, but also guides and aid on dressing smart, styling and accessorizing. The campaign sees on-ground activities and promotions designed to interact with the consumer about their style It includes women’s corporate wear, girls wear, and glam denim.

The Three Cs Corporate clothing is a major component of Westside merchandise. The emphasis here is on the three Cs: Comfort, Crispness and Coordination, and the goal is to provide the complete corporate look, where color, clothes and accessories are mixed and matched in a manner that creates harmony between the person and the clothes he or she wears. Westside employees are given regular training for better interaction. Some things may take longer. The wish list, a tool for customers to let Westside know their preferences, cannot be realized immediately. Only if there is an optimum demand can the store look at fulfilling it.

23

Gia, Westside’s brand for larger-sized requirements, was the outcome of one such need. The company identifies star employees in each store and designates them as coaches responsible for the training of their own store staff. Today, each store has three kinds of coaches — a customer service coach, an IT skills coach and a product knowledge coach. The success of this programme has made it a benchmark for all Tata Group companies.

Westside provides four levels of service 

  

Self service- Self service is the corner stone of all discount operations. Many customers are willing to carry out their own locate compare select process to save money. Self selection- Customer find own goods, although they can ask for assistance Limited Service- Westside also offers services like credit, merchandizing etc. Full Service- Sales people are ready to assist to any phase of the locate compare select process. Customers who like to be waited own prefer these types of stores.

Research Methodology Sample and data collection

24

This survey was conducted in the context of retail. For 70 percent of the interviews, data were collected in face-to-face interviews of customers coming to Westside while exiting point-of-sale venues. For the remaining 30 percent, because certain retailers prohibit the interviewing of their clients exiting their stores, interviews took place in the subjects' homes, as a function of the store they attended most frequently. The study provides a representative sample of the main Shopping centre in Delhi. In order to reckon with possible multiloyalty, questions related to satisfaction, loyalty and behavior were asked for the regular main store visited (at least once a week).

Research design The research design would be descriptive and cross sectional

Data collection The data would be collected from primary source through questionnaires, interviews, observations etc. The sample would be surveyed on the basis of questionnaire and data would be quantified for further analysis.

Sample size The sample would be selected on random basis at the store itself. A sample of 100 respondents would be used in the research. These would be further divided amongst the stores for an evenly distributed data collection.

Data Sources Both Secondary and Primary Sources of data will be used. The major type of information used is primary data. This is done thru primary survey. The literature review is a secondary data type. The sources include books, periodicals, websites, printed literature etc.

25

Hypothesis The various hypotheses are based on the store related factors, situation related factors and shopper related factors.

Hypothesis Based on Store Related Factors Loyalty is affected by factors that are related to the store, includinga. Trade Area Related Convenience is the primary reason that customers show patronage towards a particular store. These studies assume that convenience is the primary reason for loyalty. Most work in this area stems from a model proposed by Huff (1964). The Huff Model states that consumer patronage is directly proportional to utility factors given by square feet and inversely proportional to disutility factors given by physical distance. The limits to enhancing loyalty are essentially seen as limited centripetal pull of a store/ shopping center (Applebaum, 1966). Location-related factors are given importance in analyzing both trade areas and retail patronage behaviour (Hubbard, 1978). These studies most often count the benefits of locating a store in a shopping center/ mall to increase the store’s ‘destination’ traffic rather than just stay with the convenience pull. In fact these studies determine shopping center traffic more accurately than single store traffic (Gautschi, 1981). Huff’s model has subsequently been studied by introducing trade overlap areas for effects on store patronage (Bucklin, 1971). Generally speaking, these studies have resulted in the formation of the Theory of Gravitational Pull in the field of retailing patronage studies. Apart from distance, several other factors such as income and social class perceptions have also been studied from the perspective of retail center patronage decisions (Moore and Barry, 1969). From above, we formulate the given hypotheses:

26

Hypothesis 1: Convenience of location is primary factor shaping customer loyalty. Convenience would be given special attention Convenience would be given Pearson Correlation 1 Sig. (2-tailed) special attention N 100 is a loyal patron of this store Pearson Correlation .064 Sig. (2-tailed) .528 brand N 100 According to this table, the significance level is very low i.e. 0.528 so the hypothesis can’t be accepted. It also shows that the two factors are low correlated and significance of this is also very low, which is equals to 0.528, which means that there is no correlation between these two factors.

Hypothesis 2 : Convenience is the main motive for shoppers repeat buying at a store. 27

Is a loyal patron of this store brand .064 .528 1 1 100

b. Product Related- Within a given trade area, studies emphasize the ‘uniqueness of assortment’ as a way of influencing store loyalty and patronage. In consumer priorities, assortment and variety comes after convenience and price (Arnold, Tae, and Douglas, 1978; Craig, Gosh, and McLafferty, 1984; Louviere and Gaeth, 1987). Given that consumers are favourably inclined to revisit a store where they have had positive shopping experiences (found something they could not find anywhere else), these stores suggest that competing stores need to differentiate themselves based on type and quality of assortment offered. The emphasis here is on tailoring the environmental clues using retail mix elements to foster patronizing. One of the used strategies is to develop own store Private labels. Consumers have distinct perceptions of national and local brands vis-à-vis the retail private store brands. Categories such as paper, plastic and wraps, and food products have high penetration of private brands. The lowest share is observed in case of cosmetics and baby foods. In India, private brands are found in more than fifty percent of stores. Category such as grocery and washing products show a higher presence of such brands (Business Today, 26 October 2003). It has been observed that the impact of the store brands on the consumer loyalty is lower in product categories where the ‘quality believability’ of national brands is higher.

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Convenience would be given Pearson Correlation special attention Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation No. of times visiting the retail outlet per week Sig. (2-tailed) N

Convenience would be given special attention 1 100 .023 .818 100

No. of times visiting the retail outlet per week .023 .818 100 1 100

From the table we can see that the significance level is 0.818, which is very low. This shows a very low confidence level. Therefore, we cannot accept this hypothesis. We can also see that the Pearson Correlation Coefficient is 0.023 which shows that there is no significant relation between the consumer loyalty and number of times the retail outlet is visited.

Hypothesis 3: Higher the degree of differentiation in type and quality of assortment offered higher is the likeability to shoppers’ revisiting the store.

Product assortment

no. of times visiting the retail outlet per week

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

Product assortment 1 100 -.043 .668 100

From the above table we can see that that the significance level is 0.668 which means is very low significance level. This shows very low confidence level. Thus the hypothesis is not accepted. We can also see that the Pearson correlation coefficient is -0.043. This shows that the above two factors are least correlated to each other. This means that the degree of differentiation in type and quality of assortment doesn’t make the shopper revisit the store.

29

Retail Outlet visits let per week -.043 .668 100 1 100

Hypothesis Based on Shopper Related Factors Several factors such as age, income and social class of the shopper have been found to influence retail patronage decisions (Moore and mason, 1969). The orientation of the shopper also impacts the preference of a store. Several studies have found a correlation between shopping orientations and lifestyle and with store loyalty and preference for stores. It has been found that shopper seeking more hedonic gratification from the shopping tends to patronize ‘new’ format stores that focus on experimental marketing and offer better ambience and service (Sinha, 2003). Shopping orientation correlates differently with the information mix elements, varying with source, source credibility, and preference for a source by some consumers and usage of such information (Moschis, 1976). The aspect of congruity between the retail mix elements as designed by the retailer and the self-image/ self-concept of the consumer has received much attention. Research has shown the greater the congruence between self-image and store-image; the greater is the probability that the customer is loyal (Pathak, Crissy and Sweitzer, 1974; McClure and Ryans, 1968; Dornoff and Tatham, 1972). It has also been found that if retail mix elements are in congruence with the desired benefits, it results in customer loyalty (Osman, 1993). There is a direct linkage between personal values and desired consumer benefits. Past experience with the outlet has also emerged as one of the major drivers of loyalty. It acts as an influencer in forming expectations about desired benefits from purchasing at a store (Guttman, 1990). A consumer’s selection of a store is not completely random. The more recent the purchase experience and more frequent the visits to the store, the more is the likelihood of repurchasing that product in that store (Aaker and Jones, 1971). Several theories can be applied to study information processing by consumers. One set of theories assumes that evaluation criteria are considered simultaneously. This theory states that consumers do not distinguish between objective and subjective evaluation criteria. They tend to use both simultaneously when arriving at a decision (Hirschman and Krishnan, 1981). Another set of theories hold that the process happens sequentially- first there are certain factors used to make a choice among clusters and then, within the 30

chosen cluster, other parameters are used for decision-making (Fotheringham, 1988). It is generally agreed that as dimensions of comparison among stores increase and, the consumer has to process vast amounts of information before making a choice, the hierarchical process becomes more relevant (Black, 1984). The third set of theories states that consumers use a limited set of evaluative criteria when making a choice and this varies depending on personality, context and product. To assess store perception on attributes that are meaningless to consumers can be misleading to a retailer. These theories draw significantly from automatic cognitive information processing models and the threshold model of consumer behaviour and examine how attitude leads to behaviour/ patronage (Kau, Paul, and Hill, 1972; Malhotra, 1983; Pokowiski, Timmermans and Harry, 1997). We formulate the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 4: There is a similarity between self-image of the store before the visit and store-image after the visit to that store. Self image of the Store image in store in the customer mind customer mind after thei visit Self image of the store in the customer mind

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) N Store image in customer mind Pearson Correlation after thei visit Sig. (2-tailed) N

1

-.099

100

.329 100

-.099

1

.329 100

100

From the above table we can see that the significance level is 0.329 which is very Low significance level. This shows very low confidence level. Therefore hypothesis is not accepted. We can also see that the Pearson Correlation Coefficient is -0.099 which shows very weak correlation between the two factors. This means that from our study we can show that the self image of the store 31

before the visit is very different from the store image after the visit to that store.

Hypothesis 5: Likelihood of repurchase from a store depends on recency of purchase experience and frequency of visit to that store.

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N No. of times visiting the retail Pearson Correlation outlet per week Sig. (2-tailed) N Increase the purchase from this store

Increase the purchase from this store 1 100 .023 .821 100

From the above table we can clearly see that the significance level is 0.821 which is very low significance level. This shows very low confidence level. Therefore hypothesis isn’t accepted. We can also see that the Pearson Correlation Coefficient is 0.023 which shows slightly +ive correlation. This means that the possibility of repurchase from a store somewhat depends upon the recency of purchase experience and frequency of visit to that store.

Hypothesis Based on Situation Related Factors Another set of factors that has been found to impact on customer loyalty consists of situational factors. These factors include task definition, level of involvement, shopping orientation, and usage of information. These are manifested in the task definition by the shopper and his involvement with shopping. These indicate the intensity of need and the comfort of the shopper in taking a purchase decision. The store choice has been found to depend on buying situations that differ with the level of involvement. 32

No. of times visiting the retail outlet per week .023 .821 100 1 100

Shopping orientation correlates differently with the information mix elements. The relative importance of the information sources differs by the level of product specific buying experiences. Thus, a consumer segment identified as using a highly complex cognitive process of decision-making for a product could exhibit significant deviations for the same product at a different store (Kline and Wagner, 1994). From above the following hypotheses are formulated:

Hypothesis 6: The importance of information sources in retail differs by level of product specific buying experiences.

Source of Information

Product Buying Experience

Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

Source of information 1 100 .073 .468 100

From the above table we can see that the significance level is 0.468 which is again very low significance level. This shows low confidence level. Therefore hypothesis isn’t accepted. We can also see that the Pearson correlation coefficient is 0.073 which means that there is a slight correlation between the information sources in a retail store and the product buying experiences.

Hypothesis Based on Store Satisfaction Satisfaction has often been regarded as an antecedent of store loyalty (Bitner, 1990). Store satisfaction can be defined (Engel et al., 1990, p. 481) as: The outcome of the subjective evaluation, that the chosen alternative (the store) meets or exceeds expectations. This definition is within the tradition of 33

Product buying experience .073 .468 100 1 100

conceptualizations of satisfaction that are used in the product literature. The basis for the definition forms the disconfirmation paradigm (Oliver, 1980). According to this paradigm, satisfaction is believed to occur through a matching of expectations and perceived performance. In case a consumer makes this comparison, he or she elaborates on the evaluation of a store. In order to do so, a consumer must both have the motivation and the ability to evaluate the store relative to the reference point employed (Petty et al., 1983). However, in some cases it may be very hard for consumers to generate expectations to evaluate store performance and to compare the expectations and performance as if they were independent elements. However, to the extent that an explicit comparison is made between expectations and performance, the consumer is likely to be aware of the outcome of this evaluation. We label it as manifest satisfaction. Manifest satisfaction is the result of an evaluation, which is well elaborated on.

Hypothesis 7: The degree of loyalty to a particular store differs with the satisfaction level of customers. Overall Is a loyal patron satisfaction level of this store brand Overall satisfaction level

Pearson Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) N is a loyal patron of this store Pearson Correlation brand Sig. (2-tailed) N *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

1

.231*

100

.021 100

.231*

1

.021 100

100

From the above table we can see that the significance level is 0.021 which is highly significant. This shows high confidence level. Thus the hypothesis is accepted. We can also see that the Pearson Correlation Coefficient is 0.231 which means there is somewhat relation between the degree of loyalty of customer to a particular store and the satisfaction level of customers.

34

Hypothesis Based on Store image The image of store is found to drive loyalty. The more positive the store image, the greater is the degree of loyalty. Several studies report direct linkages between store image and intensity of store loyalty (Kunkel and Berry, 1968; Korgaonkar, Lund and Price, 1985; and Reynolds, Darden and Martin, 1974). Store image reflects shoppers’ perception of a store in terms of functional and psychological attributes. These can also be classified as tangible and intangible attributes. The tangible attributes of the store, such as merchandise, location, sales people, and displays, are explicit and observable. The intangible aspects, such as ambience, coshoppers and other psychosocial factors are difficult to measure and hence manage (Martineau). The retail literature also discusses the congruence between self-image and store image. Studies show that this congruence leads to loyalty. Shoppers select cues from the store environment and draw inferences about the characteristics of a typical shopper of the store (Joseph, Grewal and Mangleburg, 2000). The tenant mix also affects the store image. Malls, which anchor stores tend to, absorb the image of the store. A mall with a department store as an anchor reflects an image of high quality merchandise and customer service. A mall a price format store as an anchor has an image of a low service mall (Kirkup and Mohammad, 1994). It has also been found that shopping at an upscale mall is more likely to create high level of self-congruity. Shoppers belonging to high economic strata are more likely to perceive stores housed in downscale mall to have a lower quality image (Chebal, J., M.J. Sirgy and V. St-James, 2006). The study propounds that store image should be seen as a result of an interaction between the mall image, socio-economic status of shoppers, and store type.

The Relationship between Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty In our view, manifest satisfaction is directly and unequivocally related to store loyalty. Manifest store satisfaction means that an explicit evaluation of the store is made, which in case of a positive evaluation leads to store commitment. So, manifest satisfaction will be positively related to store loyalty. Latent satisfaction is the result of an implicit evaluation of the store 35

choice, which is not elaborated on and of which the consumer is not fully aware. Latent satisfaction means mere acceptance of the store, which will not necessarily lead to commitment. Nevertheless, latent satisfaction may also be positively related to store loyalty, but less strongly than manifest satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis 61 can be formulated as follows: The fact that the amount of consumer satisfaction and store loyalty in general are positively related, as we expect, is hardly supported by the literature. Although a number of studies address the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty as related to products and services (Bloemer and Lemmink, 1992; Bloemer and Kasper, 1995; Garfein, 1987; Kasper, 1988; Kraft et al., 1973), there is little empirical evidence to support the explicit relationship between store satisfaction and store loyalty (Hummel and Savitt, 1988). Customers’ patronage behaviour towards a particular store is dependent on their image of that particular store (Osman, 1993). The more favourable the store image, the higher the valence of the store to the customer. However, the exact relationship between store image and store loyalty has remained inconclusive. There is both evidence for a direct relationship and an indirect relationship whereby store satisfaction acts as a mediator (Doyle and Fenwick, 1974; Houston and Nevin, 1981; Lindquist, 1974; Stanley and Sewall, 1976).

Data Analysis Price of the items

36

Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Moderate Satisfied Very Satisfied Total

Frequency

Percent

Cumulative Percent

1

1.0

1.0

16 28 44 11 100

16.0 28.0 44.0 11.0 100.0

17.0 45.0 89.0 100.0

Store ambience

37

Dissatisfied Moderate Satisfied Very Satisfied Total

Frequency 11 17 52 20 100

Ease of availaibilty

38

Percent 11.0 17.0 52.0 20.0 100.0

Cumulative Percent 11.0 28.0 80.0 100.0

Dissatisfied Moderate Satisfied Very Satisfied Total

Frequency 11 27 40 22 100

Sales Promotion Offers

39

Percent 11.0 27.0 40.0 22.0 100.0

Cumulative Percent 11.0 38.0 78.0 100.0

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Moderate Satisfied Very Satisfied Total

Frequency 12 33 28 23 4 100

Ambience would be an important factor

40

Percent 12.0 33.0 28.0 23.0 4.0 100.0

Cumulative Percent 12.0 45.0 73.0 96.0 100.0

Not at all Weak Moderate Strongly Very Strongly Total

Frequency 10 27 26 10 27 100

Percent 10.0 27.0 26.0 10.0 27.0 100.0

Cumulative Percent 10.0 37.0 63.0 73.0 100.0

Convenience would be given special attention

41

Not at all Weak Moderate Strongly Very Strongly Total

Frequency 6 20 20 34 20 100

Word of mouth is important

42

Percent 6.0 20.0 20.0 34.0 20.0 100.0

Cumulative Percent 6.0 26.0 46.0 80.0 100.0

Not at all Weak Moderate Strongly Very Strongly Total

Frequency 6 14 48 24 8 100

Percent 6.0 14.0 48.0 24.0 8.0 100.0

Consideration to Rebate and Discounts on Purchase

43

Cumulative Percent 6.0 20.0 68.0 92.0 100.0

Not at all Weak Moderate Strongly Very Strongly Total

Frequency 7 22 16 21 34 100

Percent 7.0 22.0 16.0 21.0 34.0 100.0

CONSUMER PULL FACTORS

44

Cumulative Percent 7.0 29.0 45.0 66.0 100.0

















45

A critical factor in Westside’s success has been its strategy to attract shoppers & keep them in stores- the amount of time shoppers spend in a store is perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much they will buy. . In having understood the pulse of the customers in India, Westside has clearly established itself as a brand with an Indian heart. Over the years Westside has also developed and successfully introduced a range of new brands especially suited to the Indian palate. These brands like 2F 4U have been a tremendous success amongst the new generation. What has also given Westside a competitive edge is that in addition to an extensive range of internationally renowned brands like Spykar, Lee and Fast Track they also offer the option of a less known brands for low budget customers. All the three floors are carefully structured. Ist floor and IInd floor caters exclusively to Women and Men respectively. Thus giving them privacy and more freedom to look into their products. Women’s need more space and look for comfort. They are less likely to buy if the place is congested and makes them feel uncomfortable. At Westside sofas have been placed in the women section so as to make the females more comfortable. Westside has been able to create a brand image and is consistently maintaining its brand identity by new additions in products and catering to the market need. They are catering to different age groups under one roof. For ex. On the IInd floor which is men’s section both formal and college wear is available. This way they are able to build a huge customer loyal base. Westside caters to not only the clothing needs and desires of its customers. They have bed sheets, kitchenware, jewellery, perfumes, baby products, household items, etc. This way a customer who enters Westside just to buy one or two items usually ends up buying a lot more. The in-store experience in Westside is very delightful. Their fully skilled and trained staff caters to the needs of the public in the right way. They don’t pounce upon the customer as soon as he enters the store. They wait till the time a customer starts selecting and then they come and help. This way the customer gets acclimatize with the store and the environment.

Price of brands available at Westside is not too high as compared to its competitor’s brands. This is due to their cost effective supply chain management. They directly pick up the goods from the manufacturer thus ensuring low price tag at their store.



Recommendations

•

To increase more footfalls more promotional activities must be carried out. For this Westside can either offer more discounts or increase their advertisements. Increase in the number of footfalls will lead to increase in sales.

•

Since Westside is not only catering to apparel need of the society a few additions like Books, Music items, Electronic gadgets etc can also be added to the products available inside their store. The demand for the above products is always in the market.

•

Allowing more space between the entrance of a store and a product gives it more time in the shopper’s eye as he or she approaches it. It builds a little visual anticipation.

•

The number of trial rooms available at Westside is very less as compared to the number of people coming. This usually results in long queues and waiting by customers.

•

Install more full length mirrors inside the store so as to assist the customers to make better purchase decisions.

•

Play light music inside the store to make the shopping a pleasurable experience.

46

•

They can also exhibit their new line of clothing through events like fashion shows.

•

Baskets should be scattered throughout the store, wherever shoppers might need them. Many customers don’t begin seriously considering merchandise until they have browsed a bit.

Limitations This research has a number of limitations that must be acknowledged. •

• •

First, the sample used for this study consisted mostly of college students. Therefore, these results may not be applicable to the wider population in general. Secondly, the results of this study are limited to a specialty retail branded purchasing context. Lastly, it must be acknowledged that there may be numerous other variables that contribute to the development of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication which are briefly touched upon below.

All of the hypotheses in the study were supported by the data. The hypothesis test results indicated that both utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. The results also indicate that customer repurchase is positively associated with customer loyalty and word of mouth communication. 47

There are studies which have contributed for extending the consumer benefit/loyalty framework to the retail branding context. Customer satisfaction is an antecedent of word of mouth communication, but customer loyalty (favorable relative attitude) must be present to mediate the relationship. This finding is important for theory building in this and other marketing and consumer contexts. In the increasingly competitive environment faced by today's retailers, the pursuit of consumer loyalty is paramount. In order to be competitive, retailers must identify the key ingredients of consumer loyalty and the relationships between the benefits delivered to the consumer and important outcomes (i.e. satisfaction, loyalty, word of mouth communication). This study doesn’t identify two types of benefits mostly desired by the consumer: utilitarian and hedonic. Retailers should understand this if they expect to provide utilitarian benefits to consumers by way of having the right product on hand at the right place and time. In addition, they must recognize that the consumer also desires a hedonic benefit in terms of the shopping experience. The results of this study doesn’t indicate that consumers expect the purchase experience to offer hedonic qualities such as excitement, entertainment, escapism, fantasy, and fun. Retailers that utilize the store-as-the-brand strategy should recognize this and work to deliver hedonic value throughout the purchase experience. In addition, retailers should recognize that their performance in the delivery of these consumer benefits is linked to important outcomes such as satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication. Another important finding not undertaken in this study indicates that consumer satisfaction is linked to attitudinal loyalty. Although one could argue that other variables not examined in this study contribute equally to attitudinal loyalty, satisfaction appears to be an important antecedent. Therefore, retailers should recognize that in order to create a loyal customer base, they must satisfy the desires and needs of the consumer. One way that retailers can provide satisfaction to the consumer is through the delivery of value in the form of utilitarian and hedonic benefits associated with the purchase experience. Retailers should 48

recognize that they must meet or exceed the consumer's expectations in terms of the benefits the consumer is seeking. It is also important for retailers to understand the link between satisfaction and other important outcome variables (i.e. attitudinal loyalty, word of mouth communication) because satisfaction contributes to these outcomes. The finding of this study doesn’t talk about the attitudinal loyalty which serves as a mediator between consumer satisfaction and consumer word of mouth communication. It is reasonable that attitudinal loyalty would mediate the relationship between these constructs because it is a more enduring concept when compared to consumer satisfaction. In their pursuit of customer loyalty, it is important for retailers to understand this relationship and the associated implications. Delivering a satisfying purchase experience can lead to attitudinal loyalty, and in turn, that attitudinal loyalty can lead to the consumer engaging in word of mouth communication about the retail store brand. The extant body of literature on the consumer benefits/loyalty framework is in an early stage of development. The primary goal for future research should be to identify and examine the various types of consumer benefits that influence consumers' satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth communication. In-depth qualitative research in the form of personal interviews and focus groups would provide a better understanding of the benefits desired by consumers. This qualitative research would, in turn, contribute to the development of better measures to capture each type of benefit. In turn, it is important to continue to examine the relationships between consumer benefits and outcome variables that are crucial to the success of the retail firm (e.g. customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication). A particularly important area of investigation is the role of attitudinal loyalty as a mediator between customer satisfaction and word of mouth communication. Future research should also focus on replicating this study with a different target respondent. A large survey of consumers of various backgrounds in various geographic areas could help to make the findings of this study more generalizable to the overall population. 49

Bibliography CII Report on Retail 2008, Journals from www.emeraldinsight.com www.pdfcoke.com www.esnips.com www.wikipedia.org Search engine used www.google.com www.mywestside.com Suggestions from Why We Buy? By Paco Underhill www.retailinsights.com Baker, J., D. Grewal, and Levy 1992, ‘ An Experimental Approach to Making Retail Store Environment Decisions’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 68, Winter, pp.445-60 Baker, J., D. Grewal, and A. Parasuraman and B. Glenn 2002, ‘The Influence of Multi-Store Environmental Clues on Perceived Merchandise Value and Patronage Intentions’, Journal of Marketing, Vol.66, April, pp. 120-41. Bell, David R., Tech-Hua Ho, and C.S. Tang 1998, ‘Determining Where to Shop: Fixed and Variable Cost of Shopping’, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 35, August, pp. 352-69. Bellenger, Danny N. 1980, ‘Shopping Center Patronage Motives’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 53, April, pp 29-38. Bitner, M.J. (1990), ‘Evaluating Service Encounters: The Effects of Physical Surroundings and Employee Responses’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp. 69-82.

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Black, William C. 1984, ‘Choice-set Definition in Patronage Modeling’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 60, No. 2, Summer, pp. 63-85.

QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Respondent, I am a student of Apeejay School Of Management ,Delhi and doing a research for a study for which I intend to pose a questionnaire aimed at analyzing the Impact of shopper, store & situational factors on store image, satisfaction and loyalty of customers . Your cooperation is deeply solicited to provide the relevant information. I assure that information will be kept confidential. Name of Customer _______________ Mobile No.______________ Please tick at the place that matches your opinion. A. Details 1.

Through which source did you come to know about this retail

outlet?

2.

Advertisements (Media) Friends/Relatives Company Outlet Internet 2. How strongly would you consider the factors while opting for a particular retail outlet? 1- Very Strongly

Not at all

51

2- Strongly

3- Agree

4-

A b. c. d. e f. g h. i J k. l

Statement Availability of Literatures/Brochures Ambience would be an important factor I would give special attention to convenience and location I would give special consideration to the product range Degree of differentiation in type and quality of products is important I would give special consideration to uniqueness of assortments available in a store I would give special consideration to rebate and discounts on purchase For me salesperson services would be an important consideration For me Word of Mouth is important Advice of friends and relatives influence my Visit Decision Handling Product related Queries Customer Grievance cell

B.

1

2

3

4

Salesperson Services

3. Are the salesperson (Rate the salesperson services according to you from 1 to 5, where 5 is extremely good and 1 is extremely bad)|

a. b. c. d.

Statement Easily approachable Humble and Soft Spoken Able to provide Complete solution to your problems Initiative of salesman to solve the problem

1

2 3

4

5 1 Rate Overall salesperson Services

4. How do you perceive quality of service provided by your retail outlet (Using Semantic Scale 1-7, 1 being the lowest, 7 being the highest) 7

1

RELIABLE UNRELIABLE

52

CUSTOMER FRIENDLY

HOSTILE

PROACTIVE

REACTIVE

2 3 4 5

C.

Retail outlet factors

5.

How far are you satisfied with the following factors for your retail

outlet? 1- Very Dissatisfied

2- Dissatisfied

3- Satisfied

4- Very

Satisfied 6.

Overall – how much are you satisfied with the service of your

retail outlet? Statement a. Price of the items b. Convenience in approach c. Assortment d. Extra services provided e. Home delivery service f. Transparency In Billing g. Ease of availability h. Sales person Services Sales Promotion Offers i. Advertisement j. Store Ambience k. Overall Satisfaction Level l. 53

1

2

3

4

Extremely Satisfied Moderately Moderately Dissatisfied Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied

Extremely Dissatisfied

If Not Satisfied, Specify Reason(s)?

7. Have you faced any problem with your store? ___________ If yes, what type of problem you faced? Quality of products After sales service Assortment size Employee behavior Any Other (Specify) __________________________ D. Future relationship 8. Rank the following from 1 to 4 where 1- Strongly Disagree 54

2- Disagree 3- Agree 4- Strongly Agree

A B

Statement Consider buying from this store Increase the purchase from this sectors

E. 9.

3- Agree

3

4

1

2

3

4

2

3

4

4- Strongly Agree

Statement Find products reliability I trust the services by the store

F. Commitment level 10. Rank the following from 1 to 4 where 1- Strongly Disagree 2- Disagree Strongly Agree A B C

2

Trust Rank the following from 1 to 4 where

1- Strongly Disagree 2- Disagree

A B

1

3- Agree

4-

Statement I am proud to be a customer of this retail outlet. Company gets feedback from me from time to time. I am a loyal patron of this company.

1

G. Customer’s profile (kindly tick the suitable box) 11. < 18 years 18 –25 years 25 – 40 years 40 above

Age

12. Student Private Employee Government Employee Other

Occupation: Professional Self Employed

Mention)________________________

55

(Please

13.

Gender

14.

Education

15. Disposable Income

(p.m.)

Male

Matriculation

< Rs. 5,000

female

Senior

Rs. 5,001- Rs. 10,000

Secondary

Rs. 10,001- Rs. 20,000

Bachelor Degree

Rs. 20,000 plus

PG Degree

16. No. of times visiting the retail outlet per week Less than once 1-2 times 2-4 times More than 4 times

56

(Thanks operation)

57

for

Co-