Purchase intentions for ready to eat products

Purchase intentions for ready to eat productsResearch Question The enquiry focuses on determining the readr preferences and acquire intentions for encase and ready to eat nutrition products. Moreover, we in addition look into how and to what extent factors like relationship of social, demographics, psychographic/ life movement, in the flesh(predicate) and external media influences the leveraging decisivenessSynthesis and ApplicationConsumer ending- qualification styles in short, shopping styles like modus vivendis, ar a prominent area of interest in consumer behaviour studies. Consumer alternative processes vary according to the type of product involved, the timing and the people involved (Burns Gentry, 1990520). Although brand decision-making demonstrates a fair amount of deliberation during consumer decision making, it does not represent the whole consumer decision-making process (Harrel, 1990739). (Alet C Erasmus, Elizabeth Boshoff and GG Rousseau, 2001)Consumers purc hasing decisions take place over a period of time. The overall finis during this decision process is to evaluate discordant alternatives and choose the product that satisfies the consumer in an optimal way. Consumers get influenced by several major factors while they make their decisions. These factors can be grouped as social, cultural, pscyhological, and personal factors( Kotler Armstrong, 1997 141). In addition, increase in the number and variety of goods, stores, and shopping malls, and the accessibility of multicompvirtuosont products and electronic purchasing capabilities have broadened the sphere for consumer choice and led to complicated decision making. (Hafstrom et al., 1992).One or more than than specific shopping styles dimensions may influence consumer-shopping choices, and these influences are comparatively enduring (Sproles and Kendall, 1986).Broadly speaking, these are 3 types of approaches in study consumer decision-making stylesPsychographic/lifestyle approa ch, which identifies hundreds of characteristics related to consumer behaviourConsumer typology approach, which classifies consumers into several typesConsumer characteristics approach, which focuses on diametrical cognitive dimensions of consumer decision-making (Fan et al., 1998).Since ready to eat pack advanced solid feed has met a stiff resistance on health grounds, the decision maker in the family is also an important aspect. Prior research in this area has found that m early(a)s make the purchasing decisions for monthly victuals expenditures of the family however, fathers carry out the act of purchasing. Promotional activities such as commercials, new product development efforts, packaging, pricing distribution strategies all play a significant role in determining the person that makes the purchasing decision in the family (Elif Akagn Ergin, Handan -zdemir, Blent -zsamac, 2005)Sproles and Kendall (1986) developed a Consumer Style roll (CSI) based on the assumption that co nsumer decision-making behaviour can be explained by eight central decision-making dimensions that influence a consumers decision making behaviour. The eight decision-making style dimensions were perfectionism/high-quality consciousness, brand consciousness, novelty consciousness, price/value consciousness, impulsive/careless shoppers, recreational and hedonistic shopping consciousness, confused by over-choice shoppers, and habitual and brand/store true shoppers. Despite the eight-dimensional structure being confirmed in the original study, there are indications that the eight-factor model does not hold good in real life. case food for thought industry Consumer behaviourFavorable nutrition selective in bounceation presented on a Nutrition Facts panel also led to more positive attitudes toward the product, nutrition, and acquire intentions and reduced perceived disease risk. The effects of the nutrition information on all dependent variables were more pronounced in the menu conte xt than in the package context, even though the nutrient values were identical. (John C. Kozup, Elizabeth H. Creyer, Scot Burton, 2003). Moreover, that social class is basically inferior to income as a correlate of procure behavior for the consumer packaged goods. Perhaps some types of packaged foods not covered in this study would have shown greater purchasing relationships with social class e.g., frozen shrimp and other types of cocktail snacks. (Myers, Stanton and Haug, 1971)These products tend to be criticized because-They typically are high in fat and calorie contentsThe reduced time cost and nutritional content associated with these foods is specifically blamed for obesitySometimes Genetically Modified Foods are usedSometimes an irradiation process is usedIf heat processing is used the vitamins are lostPreservatives are always usedPackaged food Indian marketIn developing countries like India, the preferences of the consumers clearly indicate their priority for cleanliness/ sauciness of food products followed by price, quality, variety, packaging, and non-seasonal availability. The consumers preference of marketplace largely depends on the convenience in purchasing at the marketplace along with the availability of additional services, attractive feature for children, basic amenities and affordability (Jabir Ali, Sanjeev Kapoor, Janakiraman Moorthy, 2010)Consumer demand for detailed information regarding content and nutrition of packaged food products is probably to increase due to booming organized retail sector in India. There is awareness about different types of information on the food labels displayed on packaged food products, however, use of goods and services of such information as unitary of the criteria while purchasing packaged food product is relatively low. Indian consumers assign very high importance to information about food ingredients and nutritional contents of the food. They also have very strong preference for brand and the taste of the product. This preference makes them purchase a packaged food item even though it may not meet their criteria of healthy food or may contain some harmful ingredients. Most lifestyle products such as breakfast cereals, readymade dressings etc. that would mostly be used by people who have relatively higher levels of income and education would pay more attention to mixed kinds of label information. Moreover, the awareness regarding label information is dependent on the consumers level of education, income and kind of occupation. (Sushil Kumar and Anuttera Pandit, 2005)Additionally, research workers have also shown that as convenience becomes the goal for households, with an increase in the number of urban population, working women and income levels, RTE has become the fastest growing sub-segment in the packaged food category. However, in India home cooked food is the premier(prenominal) choice. At the moment, regional and non-vegetarian cuisines are relatively under-serviced, with concentration on the vegetarian.RESEARCH METHODOLOGYThe Research Design chosen isExploratory Research Secondary info Articles, Journals , Depth Interviews, Focus Group discussionsConclusive Research Descriptive Survey and ObservationFirstly an exploratory research was conducted to gain insights and understanding about consumer buying behavior and customer preferences vis a vis RTE food products. This was done by means of the review of academic literature and depth interviews of retailers to identify relevant psychographic factors influencing customer purchase decisions. secondly descriptive research has been undertaken in order toProfile the heavy users( frequent shoppers) of RTE productsQuantitatively analyze the specified population exhibiting certain behavior regarding customer preferences render the degree of association of marketing variables with respect to packaged food productsMake suitable recommendations.Data willing be collected through structured questionnaire s designed for the consumers. Depth interviews will be conducted for Retailers in Kozhikode. These responses have been analyzed by various statistical methods.Pretesting Since our questionnaire has a majority of multiple choice questions there was a possibility of encountering order/position bias. This was done away with by having various sample forms filled with orders of questions as well as choices changed and finally the present form was frozen. The wording of certain questions was also changed after some rounds to pretesting making them more effective for understanding. For example Question 9 in the questionnaire has been changed frome.g. Before Pretesting Q8. What influences your decision for the food products that you consume?After PretestingQ8. What influences your (as an individual) decision on choice of food products you purchase?Sampling techniqueSampling methods are classified as either opportunityornon- probability. In probability samples, distributively member of the population has a hunchn non-zero probability of being selected. Probability methods include random taste, systematic sample distribution, and bedded sampling. In non-probability sampling, members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and snowball samplingRandom samplingis the purest form of probability sampling. Each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected.Systematic samplingis often used instead of random sampling. It is also called an ordinal name selection technique. After the required sample sizing has been calculated, every Nth record is selected from a list of population members.Stratified samplingis usually used probability method that is superior to random sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the population that share at least one common characteristic.Convenience samplingis used in exploratory research where the re searcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth.Judgment samplingis a common non-probability method. The researcher selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually an extension of convenience sampling.Quota samplingis the non-probability equivalent of stratified sampling. Like stratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums and their proportions as they are represented in the population. Then convenience or judgment sampling is used to select the required number of subjects from each stratum.Snowball samplingis a non-probability method used when the desired sample characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost prohibitory to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball sampling relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects.Sampling technique that we will use in our research will be the Convenient Sampling. The data will be collected through soliciting responses to the questionnaire de signed for the study. The respondents will be contacted either in person or through e-mail.Sampling frame Sampling frame is the actual set of units from which a sample has been drawn. In the ideal case, the sampling frame should coincide with the population of interest. For our research, the sampling frame that we will use consists of retail shops, groceries stores and malls. This sampling frame will ensure that the respondents chosen for the survey are the actual consumers/customers of the ready to eat food. e-mail will also be used to as a medium of data gathering. Since the people who usually consume the ready to eat food belongs to the relatively younger age group, the use of e-mail to invite the response will make sure that the survey is directed to the right target population.Sample size Thesample sizeof astatistical sampleis the number of observations that constitute it. A larger sample size leads to increasedprecisionin estimates of various properties of thepopulation. The s ample size of 200 has been chosen for the survey.As according to central limit theorem, a sample of size of minimum 30 observations is required to bring about statistical analysis. This sample was large enough to provide the data which could be further used for analysis and interpretation.Data Collection The data will be collected through the questionnaires. The questionnaires will be filled either through soliciting replies through e-mails or contacting respondents personally. Thus the primary source of the data will be used in the analysis.Data AnalysisWe have designed our questionnaire such that the responses would give us nominal and interval data. We will be using the pursuit techniques to analyze this dataUnivariate/ Bivariate AnalysisCorrelation and regressionMultivariate Techniques such as cluster analysis, factor analysis (as applicable)ANNEXUREFOCUS GROUP treatment (FGD)IntroductionThe purpose of the discussion was to conduct evaluative research to determine (in order o f priority)Understand the perception of the target audience about Packaged secure to eat foodIdentify the main factors that influence a buyer to buy the productsUnderstand the need of getting varieties in the ready to eat food materialIdentify the consumer preference of ready to eat food productsTarget AudienceAs per our understanding, ready to eat food would be generally favored byMarried women who dont get time to cook foodYoung working professionals and college students who stay in flats as bachelorsWorking population who travel a lotFocus Group AttributesThere were 6 participants and discussion was moderated by a moderator. We selected participants from the PGP13 and PGP14 batches of IIM Kozhikode such that there were2 female students who got married and were working sooner joining IIM K shared their past experiences2 students (1 male and 1 female) who joined as freshers shared their experiences as graduation students and also as MBA students2 students (both males) shared th eir experiences while they were working in jobs that involved a lot of travelling, before joining IIM KSeating pattern was as shown in the numeralP3P4P22 P- Focused Group participantsP5P6P1 M- ModeratorMBeginning the Focus Group passwordThe moderator welcomed the group with his introduction and facilitated introduction of the group tooModerator gave an overview of the topic This is an attempt to know the preferences regarding Packaged put to Eat foods from the young bachelors, from working women as they have to take care of the food at home and manage time also and from college going students who have scarcity of time and also look for variety and different taste in the productsSubsequently the moderator set the ground rules. The moderator used mold questions and an assistant moderator took careful notes.Topics Discussed in the groupQuestion If ready to eat products are easily available in the market how many of you would like to purchase?Discussion The group members had diffe rent preferences. Some members were concerned about the variety of products available and the price for the quantity. There was a small discussion around the rule of the pack and time factor. One member talked about how he started buying RTE as he stayed alone and this was very convenient to make and it gets ready in few minutes. It saves a lot of time and energy. Ranking was given to different attributes and the final rankings are as followsTasteTime saving activityEasier availabilityIncreased convenienceFood varietyPriceQuestion What kind of options should be present in packaged food that you would plan to purchase?Discussion Everyone was of the opinion that instant mix and packaged snacks like pasta, vermicelli, noodles and ready to cook Indian curries are essential. The final ranking was as followsConfectionary (preferred across the group)Instant heart-to-heart and eat (preferred by young population)Instant mix to cook like dosa powder, gulab jamun mix (preferred by female use rs)Frozen food like peas, sweet give (used for quick preparation of food by married women)Question Are you brand loyal or would you be ready to switch to a different brand?Discussion The group was split between brand-loyal and non brand-loyal customers. Brand loyal customers specified major brands like MTR, Kelloggs, ITC when they went for buying RTE foods. And the non brand- loyal customers switched among products whichever they found the best in taste or always looked for a change or went for trials of new products. However, even the brand loyal customers showed inclination to change brand if variety and give away taste is available in novelty products.Question Are you too particular about the cuisine in RTE foods?Discussion The group consensually came to a decisiveness that it preferred different cuisines depending on the time of the day.1. Chinese- cup noodles, noodles, soups (evening snacks)2. Mexican- cornmeal (in the morning hours)3. Italian- Pasta, Bread4. Indian- gravy, r eady mix (main course)Question Where do you usually shop for Ready to eat foods?Discussion mass had different options for shopping since RTE foods are easily available in the market. They mentioned the following options available whichever was closer to their residenceRetail publicationShopping mallsKirana storesConfectionary storesQuestion What influences your decision on choice of food you purchase?Discussion The group members were influenced by several factors while making a decision to buy a particular product from the various options available in the market of RTE foods. A list of influential factors which they specified is as followsAdvertisementsPrior usage experienceFriends/ neighborsRetailer on the shopQuestion Do you consider price as a major criterion to choose among the products available?Discussion Most of the group members said that price was not as important a criterion as taste and quality. Moreover the price range of these kinds of products was at heart range of Rs 50-100, it didnt play a very big role in buying decision process.InferenceFrom the following inferences of the focus group discussion, we designed our questionnairePeople do take cuisine into consideration while purchasing packaged food.Taste was the most important criterion followed by ease in making and time consumed.Time was a major factor too as the target segment was young and working population and for them time is always just and critical.Word of mouth also played an important role in considering new products for consumption.Value for money in terms of quality and variety was considered to a certain extent before buying a packaged food product.QUESTIONNAIREQuestionnaire instructionsPlease answer all the questionsUnless specified, please select only one option as a response for each questionQuestionnaire designQ1. Do you buy ready-to-eat (Packaged) food?1 = Yes2 = NoQ2. In a typical week, how often do you buy packaged food?1 = Less than once2 = 1 to 3 times3 = 4 to 6 times4 = More than 6 timesQ3. Why do you buy packaged food? (More than one option can be chosen)1 = Convenience2 = Taste3 = Nutrition4 = Quality5=Price6 = any other reason, please limn _______________Q4. Please indicate your food preference.1 = Vegetarian2 = Non-vegetarian3 = BothQ5. What cuisine do you prefer? (More than one option can be chosen)1= Indian2 = Chinese3 = Italian4 = Mexican5 = Others, please specify _______________Q6. Generally during which phase of week do you consume packaged food?1=Monday to Friday2=Saturday to Sunday= All daysQ7. From where do you buy processed food? (More than one option can be chosen)1=Retail outlet2=Shopping malls3=Kirana stores4=Confectionary stores,5=Others, please specify _______________Q8. What influences your (as an individual) decision on choice of food products you purchase? (More than one option can be chosen)1 = Children2 = Advertisements3 = Spouse4 = Friends5 = Retailer on the shop6 = OthersQ9. What is your age group?1 = 15 to 25 years2 = 25 to 35 years3 = 35 to 45 years4 = preceding(prenominal) 45 yearsQ10. What is your occupation?1 = Student2 = Public Service3 = Private Service4 = Self-employed5 = lady of the house6 = Other, please specify _______________Q11. Do you live with your family?1 = Yes2 = NoQ12. What is your monthly income (in Rs.)?1 = Below 150002 = 15000-250003 = 25000-350004 = above 350005 = cannot discloseQ13. Usually, where do you consume packaged food?1 = Home2 = Workplace3 = Both4 = OtherQ14. On a scale of 5, how satisfied are you with the packaged food, where 1 is least satisfied and 5 is highly satisfied?1 2 3 4 5Q15. On a scale of 5, how likely are you to recommend packaged food to others, where 1 is least likely and 5 is highly likely?1 2 3 4 5DEPTH INTERVIEW OF RETAILERSWe plan to have depth interviews with 1-2 retails and ask them following questionsWhich category of food sells more?Which type of packaged food is preferred?Do you have refrigeration facilities?For how many years you have be en in the retail business?How many customers confab your shop every day?Which is the peak hour of your business?What age group of customers visits your shop?Which type of customers prefers packaged food?Has the sales of packaged food changed over the last three years?