This document discusses research on customer buying behavior and satisfaction levels at Big Bazaar and DMart hypermarkets in India. It provides background on the changing retail landscape in India with the rise of department stores, hypermarkets, malls, and branded outlets. The study aims to understand current customer tastes, needs, and preferences when shopping at these modern retail formats. It outlines the research methodology, including primary data collection through customer and retailer surveys in four cities in Western Maharashtra, as well as secondary data collection from sources like books, journals, newspapers and the internet. The sample size of the study is 500 customers equally distributed across the four cities.

1. 1 . I N T R O D U C T I O N
1.1AnOverview
As customer’s tastes and preferences are changing, the market scenario is
alsochanging from time to time. Today’s market scenario is very different from that
of themarket scenario before 1990. There have been many factors responsible for the
changingmarket scenario. It is the changing tastes and preference of customer which has bought
ina change in the market. Income level of the people has changed; life styles and
socialclass of people have completely changed now than that of olden days. There
has been ashift in the market demand in today’s world. Technolo gy is one
of the major factorswhich is responsible for this paradigm shift in the mark. New
generation people are nomore dependent on haat market and far off departmental stores.
Today we can see a newera in market with the opening up of many departmental stores, hyper
market, shopper’sstop, malls, branded retail outlets and specialty stores.
In today’s world shopping is notany more tiresome work rather it’s a pleasant outing
phenomenon now.My study is based on a survey done on customers of a hypermarket named big
bazaar &Dmart. It is a type of market where various kinds of products are available
under oneroof. My study is on determining the customer’s buying behavior
in big bazaar andDmart and the satisfaction level of customers from these retail stores.Big
Bazaar is part of Future Group, which also owns the
Central Hypermarket, BrandFactory, Pantaloons, eZONE, HomeTown, KB's Fair Price
to name a few and is ownedthrough a wholly owned subsidiar y of
Pantaloon Retail IndiaLimited(BSE523574 523574), that is listed on Indian stock exchanges.Big
Bazaar was launched in September, 2001 with the opening of its first four
storesinCalcutta,Indore,BangaloreandHyderabadi n 2 2 d a ys . W it hin a s p a n o f t e n
ye a r s , there are now 152 Big Bazaar stores in 90 cities and towns across India.Big Bazaar
was started byKishore Biyani,the Group CEO and Managing Director of Pantaloon
Retail. Though Big Bazaar was launched purely as a fashion format including apparel,
cosmetics, accessory and general merchandise, over the years Big Bazaar
hasincluded a wide range of products and service offerings under their retail chain.
Thecurrent formats include Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Electronic Bazaar an
d Furnitur eBazaar. The inspiration behind this entire retail format was fromSaravana Stores,
a localstore inT. Nagar, ChennaiThe stores are customized to provide the feel of
mandis and melas . while offering themodern retail features like Q uality,
Choice and Convenie nce. As the modern Indianfamily's favorite retail store, Big
Bazaar is popularly known as the "IndianWalmart".Avenue Super Marts Ltd (ASL) owns
and operates hypermarkets and supermarkets bythe store name D-Mart.D-Mart seeks to
provide a one-stop shopping experience for the entire family, meeting
allthe ir daily household needs. A wide selection of home utilit y products i
s offered,including foods, toiletries, beauty products, garments, kitchenware, bed
and bath linen,home appliances and much more.Since D-Mart first opened its doors in
the Mumbai region in 2000, it has grown into atrusted and well-
established shopping destinatio n in Maharashtra, Gujarat, AndhraPradesh
and Karnataka. D-Mart is now looking forward to growing its stores
acrossIndia.T h is ma r k e t fie ld s ur ve y w ill he lp in k no w ing t he p r e s e nt
c us t o me r s t a s t e s a nd preferences. It will help me in estimating the customer’s future
needs, wants & demands.

2. Indian consumption cosmos
During past decades private fina l consumptio n expenditure has been the k
eydriver economic growth in India.
ResearchMethodology
Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It
is a science of understanding research scientifically. Research methodology does
not only include research methods but also logic in the context of research study.
Researchof objective
1. To study current organized retail industry in India.
2. To know various product categories sold in organized retail stores in
selected cities in western Maharashtra.
3. To study various challenges for current retail industry in western
Maharashtra.
4. To determine various opportunities for the retail industry in selected cities
in western Maharashtra.
5. To study impact on unorganized retailers due to modern retail formats in
selected cities in western Maharashtra.
6. To know customer buying behaviour when they are engaged in buying
process in selected cities in western Maharashtra.
7. To study change in attitude of people while purchasing and impact due to
strategies like pricing, promotion by modern retailers in selected cities in
western Maharashtra.

3. 8. To know preference for private labels against recognized brands by
customers in organized retailing.
Data collection of method
For accomplishment of the above objectives, primary and secondary data were
collected from various sources.
A) Primary Data
Primary data collected so as to get first hand information about a topic and for the
purpose of analyzing information. The collection of data is mainly through
survey with the help of structured questionnaires. Separate questionnaire is
prepared for
I. Retailers
II. Customers
Questionnaire was developed using different variables such as Customer Buying
Behaviour, Purchasing Trends of Customers, Product Categories sold in modern
retail stores, Types of organized retail stores, Various strategies and policies
adopted by organized retailers, Customer opinion etc.
In addition to this discussion with retailers helped to know various important
issues and current practices. Some of the information was observed and noted for
including in research work.
B) Secondary Data
Secondary data was collected through documentary research method. The
secondary data is mainly related with theoretical aspects, emerging trends of
retailing and various concepts the study.
14
Information is obtained from various sources likei.
Books
ii. Journals and Periodicals
iii. Newspapers and Magazines
iv. Internet
Sampling method
The sampling method used for collecting information from respondents was
Stratefied Quota Convenient Random Sampling. Quota of 500 numbers of
respondents is decided for the study. Keeping in mind convenience of
Researcher, four cities which are district places - Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli and
Satara are selected as strata to cover population from urban area. Western
Maharashtra includes Pune district also. But keeping in mind cultural difference
and level of existence of Organized Retail Business, it was not taken into
consideration while colleting data. According to classification of cities, Pune is
Tier I city and other four cities come under the category of Tier III & IV cities.
This is also the reason for not considering Pune while collecting data.
From each city 125 respondents who are customers of organized retail are
disproportionately selected irrespective of the population of city. The population
of various categories of people was randomly selected.
15
Primary data were collected from traditional retailers. Considering different types

4. of retail stores, variety of traditional retail stores covered with judgmental
sampling. Primary Data were collected from modern retailers. All available
modern chain retail formats were considered in 4 different cities.
Sample Size
For collecting data for the research work, 500 numbers of respondents were
considered. The sample is divided into four different groups for four different
cities namely Kolhapur, Solapur, Satara and Sangli.
Table 1.6: Sample Size for Customers
Sr. No. City Number of
Respondents
1 Kolhapur 125
2 Sangli 125
3 Solapur 125
4 Satara 125
Total 500
Primary Data were collected from modern retailers. All available modern chain
retail formats were considered in 4 different cities.
LITERATURE REVIEW
For the survey of existing literature, the research papers published in Journals,
Reference books, Magazine, internet, government report etc were referred. The
observation and findings presented in this section are based on this literature review.
Feinberg, Sheffler, Meoli and Rummel (1989) considered the social stimulation
provided by malls, finding that the mall served as an outlet for social behavior.
Further examination of this issue was made by Lotz, Eastlick and Shim (2000),
who studied the similarities and differences between mall entertainment seekers and
mall shoppers. Their results supported hypotheses that there are different motivations
for individuals who visit a mall for entertainment activities versus those who visit for
shopping purposes.
Roy (1994) in his study considered several characteristics of shoppers - such as
functional shopping motivation, deal proneness, recreational shopping motivation,
age, income and family size, to be a significant influence on mall shopping
frequency.
Burns and Warren (1995) opined that since the store mix and product offerings of
many regional shopping malls are very similar, often the primary discriminator
between many of these centers is merely location. Making the choice to shop at a
regional shopping mall other than the one nearest to one‟s place of residence,
therefore, does not appear to be a logical choice in many instances. Such behaviour,
however, appears to be relatively common. It would appear; therefore, that regional
shopping mall choice may not always be based solely on the offerings and location of
the available shopping alternatives
Jackson (1996) in his study observed that malls have become the place where senior
citizens walk in comfort and security, where parents lead their young to Santa
Clauses, where singles court, where teenagers socialize and where everybody
consumes. Indeed a new term, “Mall Rats” has been coined to describe the legions of
young people who spend their free time cruising indoor corridors. This proliferation
of uses and of customers has led to the frequent observation that regional malls are

5. the new downtowns, the centers of informal social interactions, the successors to the
traditional marketplace.
J.A.F. Nicholls (1997) in his article has mention about the situational dimensions
affecting purchasing behavior of Hispanic customers in a mall at some
distance from their neighborhoods. The Hispanic shopper (which would also
include a large segment of immigrants) makes the (shopping) trip worthwhile by
traveling with companions, consummating a purchase while at the mall, and buying
food or beverage during the visit. The Hispanic shopper also spends more time at
the mall and visits more stores while there.
Pashigian and Gould (1998) stated that consumers are attracted to malls because of
the presence of well-known anchors - department stores with recognized names.
Anchors generate mall traffic that indirectly increases the sales of lesser-known mall
stores. Lesser-known stores can free ride off of the reputations of better-known
stores. Mall developers internalize these externalities by offering rent subsidies to
anchors and by charging rent premiums to other mall tenants. The results of this
article suggested that mall developers are behaving rationally because they know that
anchors attract customers to the mall and increase the sales of other mall stores.
Kay M. Palan (2000) in his paper outlined gender identity, of consumer behavior
studies in the marketing literature that have examined gender identity. Based on the
literature review, the paper evaluates whether gender identity research is still
warranted, and proposes specific research questions to guide future research. The
author is of the view that it is very essential to understand the complex and changeable
nature of personality traits associated with gender categories.
Nikhilesh Dholakia & Piyush Kumar Sinha (2005)
Customers tend to come to the stores with a choice set. This set varies according to the
extent of planning that the customer undertakes before reaching the store. With more
planning, this choice set narrows. While buying from the traditional format (serviced)
stores, the customers carry lists. These lists, in many cases, mention the brand name of
the product. Generally, the retailer simply fetches the sought brands and collects them
on the counter, ready for tallying and payment. In the very affluent families, these
patterns exhibit variations. Rather than the husband, the cart pusher may be the maid
or the driver (chauffer). Of course, in such cases, almost all the picking and paying is
done by "madam," the housewife-employer. While not yet much evident in
Ahmedabad, in bigger metropolitan areas such as Delhi or Mumbai, there are some
observed cases of maids coming to shop on their own, using lists provided by the
employer. To command appropriate respect from the store help, the maids "dress up"
in such situations.
There has not been significant effort by research scholars and marketers to
study the consumer behavior pattern in Malls and to differentiate the same with
behavior pattern in traditional Mom-&-Pop shops. If the research has been
conducted it is not being made available to the other researchers.
Surbhi Khosla (2006) in her article briefly discussed about the retail sector in India
and its journey. The article mentions in the chronological order the evolution of
different retail formats in India and also major retailers in different formats. The article
also discussed the recent trends in the formats and future scope of the different formats
of retailing.

6. Prakash Chandra Dash (2007) studied and explodes the opportunities, challenges
and strategies of Indian retail sectors. The paper discusses the challenges like
merchandising mix, retail differentiation, supply chain management and also competition
from supplier's brand in the Indian perspective.3
Sonal Kureshi, Vandana Sood, Abraham Koshy (2007) conducted a research
study on “Comprehensive Analysis of Exclusive Brand Store Customer in Indian
Market”. The objective of the research was (a) to provide insight about the profile
of the consumers of exclusive brand store, based on their demographic and
psychographic characteristics (b) to find out differences if any between the
„Browser‟ and „Purposive‟ customers and (c) to examine the differences that emerge
and draw implications for the retailer.
Piyush Kumar Sinha & Sanjay Kumar (2007) conducted research study to identify
and classify the different formats of retailing in India. The study classifies the
different formats of retailing in different categories and also explains the growth of each
category and motivation of retailers to expand into specific category. Some of the
findings of the study include: Most of the organized retailers in India are harping
on quality, service, convenience, satisfaction and assured benefits to lure
shoppers into the store. Retailers are not creating value for the consumer and also
unable to decide suitable vehicle to deliver desired consumer value. No doubt that retail
format is one of the vehicles to deliver value proposition and also it helps to position
the store in the mind of target shoppers.
Asif Zameer (2007) in his paper has discussed MALL MANAGEMENT and has
concluded that Mall Management has emerged as the single most differentiating
factor in today‟s scenario where the numbers of malls are multiplying. The need of the
malls to differentiate themselves is a sure way of emerging winner and this positioning
is ensured through mall-management. Mall-management is all about
differentiating mall from the rest, getting maximum footfalls, converting the
footfalls to purchase and keeping the footfalls and the tenants happy and satisfied.
A M Sakkthivel (2007) conducted a study on “Strategic Placement of Organized
Retail Formats in Potential Markets - A Critical Analysis” the study covered different
retail formats and their locations for reaching the target market. The study concluded
that the majority of the new retail formats are concentrated in tier 1 cities; the new retail
formats are increasingly expanding their operations in tier 2 and smaller cities also.
Categorization of potential markets and mapping of the retail formats are key
success factors for the organized retail formats in India.
S. Ramesh Kumar, Rajeev Ravi, JeevishJain (2007) study and explored the
relationship between Point of Purchase and Shopping Behavior in An Emerging
Market-The Indian Context. The author concluded that Point of Purchase (POP)
materials are used both by kirana shops and by organized supermarket retail outlets.
This study investigates the impact of POP materials on kirana shop purchases
and the purchases of consumers from supermarkets. The author feels that POP
material has large impact on the purchase of FMCG purchases. Also the POP
material makes consumer try the product and increases the consideration set of the
consumers.
Subhashini Kaul (Ms.) & Abhishek (2007) in their paper titled “Consumerism
and Mindless Consumption Sustaining the New Age Urban Indian‟s Identity.”

7. highlighted the critical factors that contribute to a negative impact on consumer
identity. Key factors impacting the „New Age‟ Urban Indian‟s identity were
discussed in the paper and mechanisms suggested at business firm levels to
sustain and arrest this damage. Paper identified that multiple social identities are a
reality. In the new millennium, every consumer has to realize her multiple role(s) and
the roles‟ salience in an integrated manner.
Nidhi Katare (2007) attempted to look at the structure of Retail Marketing in
India. According to her retail marketing is most dynamic and exciting areas of
growth in global economy. The author suggest that to beat the competition,
stand out in a saturated marketplace and succeed despite tightening margins,
savvy retailers has to focus on customer-centric service, personalization and
loyalty programs to attract and retain customers.
Ms. Shelja Jose Kuruvilla (2007) in his article titled “Malls vs. Kiranas- Challenges
and Strategic options” he has studied that the size of retail industry in India is about
$350 billion and is expected to grow at 13% p.a. Organized retailing is only 2-3% at
present, but it is projected to grow at more than 30% p.a. and it is also estimated to
reach an astounding INR 1000 billion by 2010. Rising income level, young population
with high disposable income, availability of brands and merchandise, media
proliferation, the impact of globalization, saturation in international markets,
positive indicators of the economy and the changing mindset of the consumers are
the major drivers quoted behind this retail boom, but what about the Kiranas. With
the help of a consumer study, this paper attempts to understand patterns & reasons
for switching shopping habits, an attempt is also made to suggest options available to
develop and strengthen competencies to enable them to survive and flourish in
the coming decades
C S Venkata Ratnam (2007) have detailed changing consumer behavior in retail
trade in India in his paper entitled “Changing Consumer Behavior and Emerging
Challenges to the Retail Trade In India” The author has highlighted that sustained and
rapid growth of China and India, which together provide home to over a fifth of the
humanity, are creating a tremendous surge in consumerism on a scale which is
unprecedented. Both the countries are attractive destinations for investment and
production as well as sales and marketing.
Sanjev Verma (2007) studied Consumer Preferences for Retail Store Selection in
Mumbai. The study was undertaken to understand the factors affecting consumer
preferences for retail store selection and developing marketing strategies towards
meeting the needs and wants of consumers. This study examines the linkage
between consumer preferences and the importance of some salient store attributes.
Roopampreet Kaur, Gagandeep Banga, Babita Kumar, Sandeep Kapur, S.K.
Singla (2008) in his paper titled “Visual Merchandise and Store Design Strategies
of Specialty Retail Stores” In this study the author has studied visual merchandise
and store design strategies followed by Specialty Retail Stores. Specialty apparel
stores from Ludhiana and Chandigarh were selected for the survey. Twenty specialty
apparel stores were selected on judgment basis, ten from each city. The author found
that Colour and season is the main theme of the display window design but the
display window is not changed frequently. Lighting is mainly used for illumination
rather than for creating an atmosphere conducive for buying.

8. Abhishek Anand (2008) in his case study titled “Formats vs. feeling (organized vs.
Mom & Pop Stores) observed the process and functioning of the both organized and
unorganized retailing. The organized retailers have been trying to improve the
customer relationship by emulating Mom and Pop Stores. The stores intentionally
make the setting of a wholesale market than a sophisticated shop. The retailers need
to give their customers a more personalized shopping experience. The retailers
should continue to benefit from the cost advantage and the variety they offer to the
customers. The extent of effect will be decided by the strategies of the organized
retailers and Mom and Pop stores in the coming future. But in the battle between Retail
stores and Mom and Pop stores the customers are definitely going to benefit.
Kavita Sharma (2008) attempted to look at Shoplifting in Malls in Ahmedabad in her
paper titled “Shoplifting. A biggest challenge for retailers.” The paper discusses the
types of shoplifters. Why people shoplift & also some of the Shoplifting techniques.
The article also suggests some of the measures for retailers like training and educating
the employees and raising Physical security measures to raise the deterrence level.
Shelja Jose Kuruvilla (2008) in his case study has briefly touched on HR practices in
Malls in Mumbai. The Author has suggested that Malls in India literally have a blank
sheet of paper on which to create a new HR function. In order to design this new
function, it will be important to understand what is critical to the successful operation of
a mall and use this information to the mall's approach to HR. This case study was
constructed by author based on interviews with practicing mall managers, retailers
and secondary data , tries to understand the challenges faced by mall management
in fulfilling the HR function when areas as cleaning and security have been contracted
out.
Manoj K Trivedi (2008) in his paper entitled “From Traditional Markets to Shopping
Malls. A paradigm shift” holds the view regarding of the fast approaching retail
boom scenario that it is likely to happen sooner than later. The author discussed the
impact of the same on the Indian Traditional retail outlets with its likely positive and
negative impact. The author concludes that where the organized sector poses a cutthroat
competition for the kiranas the fact still remains that India being a country with
diversified social classes there is a scope for both to survive. The emergence of a
developed retail sector will pose a competition rather than a threat to the traditional
stores which would help these stores change their outlook and ways of working.
Gursharan Singh Kainth & Mr. Divakar Joshi (2008) studied the Perception of
Customer & Retailers towards Malls in Jaladhar in Punjab. The study was
undertaken to learn about people‟s knowledge, beliefs, preferences & satisfaction. The
locale of the study was The Malls in Jalandhar region of Punjab. The sampling method
used is non-probability convenience sampling. A sample of 200 customers‟ and 50
retailers was selected through convenience random sampling.
Surbhi Khosla (2009) in his paper entitled “Understanding Retail Sector in India:
A Journey from Ancient to Modern Era” has highlighted the different formats of
retailing in India and also narrated the recent trends in retailing in India. The
author holds the view regarding the large formats retail outlets that the entertainment
factor being very high have a more chance of being successful than the other formats
and outlets.
Ajay D Shah (2009) in the PhD thesis titled “Consumer behavior towards

9. shopping malls vis-à-vis Mom and Pop shops” done research in western India
especially cities of Gujarat. In his research he examines the experience of
consumers towards shopping malls against Local stores.
Lalitya Vir Srivastava (2009) conducted a joint study with ASSOCHAM to identify
the opportunity for the retail outlets at the shopping Malls. The study
highlighted major advantages to retail outlets to be setup in the shopping malls and
also the strategies and tactics being adopted by the mall developers to attract the retail
stores.
L. Dhamayanthi & S. Pradeep Kumar (2009) indicated the importance of allowing
FDI in Retailing. The paper has high lightened the factors for not allowing the FDI in
retail sector but at the same time has quoted the example of China which was able to
achieve the great result by allowing 100% FDI in the sector. The paper discusses India‟s
current position in the sector and implication if the sector is opened for FDI. The
paper concludes with strong argument that FDI should be allowed in the Retail.
Amit Singla & Anil Kumar Goyal (2009) provided excellent description on the
Indian retails Industry in their paper entitled “The Retail Industry: From Myth to
Malls.” The paper discusses in detail the Growth Drivers for retail industry,
Investment Opportunities in different sectors of retailing with High Growth Potential
and Fastest Growing Formats. After analyzing the retail industry, author concluded that
the organized retail has opportunities to grow in India in spite of the kirana stores. The
organized retail is attracting more and more Indian as well as foreign players of the
retail industry. As the study shows that a major portion of the organized retail will be
developed in small cities and towns, this opportunity has not been encased by kirana
stores and they are unable to meet the requirements of the customers.
Rupesh Kumar Tiwari, Anish Abraham(2010) studied in there paper entitled
“Understanding the consumer behavior towards shopping malls in Raipur city” the
consumer behavior towards shopping malls, with reference to Raipur city. The paper
also examines the Mall developers, managers, marketers and operators with the perfect
blend of necessary acume in terms of various shopping dimensions required to offer the
targeted customers so as to operationalize the mall with utmost productivity and
performance.
Hemant Syal (2011) research paper titled “Retailing in India: Future Perspective”
published in IJRFM Volume 1, Issue 8 (December 2011). The paper paints a verbal
picture of the impending retail boom likely to happen sooner. The
signs are all over the place. For few years foreign retailers will have the role of facilitator
for to standardize the agribusiness and to unify customer‟s preference across the
country. The competition will help to increase the quality of service of the existing
local retailers and greater customer satisfaction in Indian society. Concept of selfemployment
will vanish and sustainable small industries will be roped with the big
chains. Paper gives a glimpse of the slow evolution of retail market over the years.
Satyendra Bhardwarj, Rajeev sharma and Jyoti Agarwal(2011) studied in there
paper titled “Perceptions of consumers towards shopping mall: A case study with
reference to Aligarh and Mathura city” information about Customer satisfaction level
with the Shopping Malls in India. There have been a great successful brand both
national as well as foreign brands and again it has been realize that brands are sustaining
power to stay in the competitions.

10. Mrs. Sudha Vemaraju (2011) studied in the background of changing retail trends,
understanding customers perceptions, building relationship and retaining customers
have identified as major source of competitive advantage. So the present paper attempts to
bring critical areas in retailing:
1. Customers perceptions
2. CRM
3. Changing waves in retailing
Arpita Khare(2011) studied in her paper titled “Influence of hedonic and utilitarian
values in determining attitude towards malls: A case of Indian small consumers” the
influence of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values on consumers attitudes towards
malls in the smaller cities of India. Emotional and rational shopping motives are
supposed to govern the consumer‟s attitude towards malls. The research was conducted
in five mini-metropolitan cities in Northern India (n=325). ANOVA and multiple
regression tests were administered to analyze the data. The results show that the hedonic
and utilitarian values of small city consumers influenced their attitude towards malls.
Results also showed the influence of age in consumer‟s attitudes towards mall attributes
Deepika Jhamb and Dr(Ms) Ravi Kiran (2012) in there paper tries to understand the
improvement in retail sector in India, especially the modern retail formats, its attribute,
type of goods and impact of consumers demography on choice of emerging retail
format. The present research examines the emergence of modern retail formats in India.
The major emphasizes of the study is on consumers preferences of shopping goods and
convenience goods from modern retail formats. The findings of the paper reveal that
consumers prefer modern retail formats due to quality, variety of brands, parking
facility, trained sales personnel and for security purpose. Consumers‟ prefer malls and
specialty store to purchase various shopping goods like clothing, Footwear and
Jewellery more as compared to convenience goods. The paper further explores
that higher income consumers and younger generation visit modern retail formats more
as compared to older once with low income.
Sangita Mohanty (2012) studied in her paper titled “Drivers of retail shopping: An
Exploratory study” consumers attitude towards nearby market, big bazaars and shopping
malls and to analyze the related reasons age wise, education wise and income wise. The
basic purpose is to find out the reasons of patronizing a store gender wise and to unfold
the consumer‟s preference to shopping malls.
Gangadharaiah D.N, H.N. Ramesh and Y.N.Nagaraju (2012) studied in the paper
titled “Retailing behavior of rural and urban consumers towards organized and
unorganized Retail outlets”. There is a difference between rural and urban retailing
behavior towards traditional outlet. Buying variations between male and female
customers and also different bung among married and unmarried customers 39.3 and
26.8 percent of rural and urban customer preferred quality and varieties of products
respectively. Most rural responders purchase their necessaries at once in a month.
most of the urban respondents purchase once in a week. Most of the urban respondents
use debit cards for purchasing. But most of the rural pay cash for purchase.
Kavita Kanabar(2012) in her paper entitled “Change in consumer behavior in Surat
with introduction of Mall”. Modern organized retail has forayed into Surat, as is evident
in supermarkets and multi-storied malls that offer shopping, entertainment and provision
for eating under one roof. The study finds that primarily in the malls for shopping,

11. consumers prefer eating at food-courts, window shopping and entertainment in the form
of movies at multiplexes or video game parlors. They also attend events, promotions,
competitions and product launches that are organized in the malls and spend their leisure
time with family and friends. Over the period, the mall culture has gained acceptance and
consumers are repeating their visits for successive purchases marked by the increase of
regular users at malls.
Anil N. Barbole and Varsha Borade (2012) studied the impact of a customer buying
attitude on various grocery products in supermarkets. The growing competition among
the retailers and the increased customer dissatisfaction among customer are reasons for
the grocery retailers strive to know their customers. The different shopping patterns are
owing to varied customer tastes and environment.
Sandhe Ashutosh A. and Pandya Amit R (2012) studied purchasing intention of the
people of Vadodara city towards two products categories i.e. high involvement and low
involvement. Further, a study of the effect of this involvement on payment mechanism
and shopping situation is also analyzed and found out.
Poonam Kamboj (2012) published paper titled “Retail Industry: Its Growth,
Opportunities and Challenges” in IJRFM Volume 2, Issue 2 (February 2012) has
found out that it is also the second largest industry in US in terms of numbers of
employees and establishments. There is no denying the fact that most of the
developed economies are very much relying on their retail sector as a locomotive of
growth. The India Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting
for over 10 per cent of the countries GDP and around 8 per cent of the employment24
Zanual Bashar Bhutoo, Rambalak yadav and vikram singh(2012) The
dimensions factor like personalization, facilities, Responsiveness, Flexibility, Courtesy,
Privileges to regular customer empathy and Parking space. Retail Outlets in the study,
increase the sell of retail outlet and create good brand image in the mind set of
consumers. With reference to the objectives of study, Consumer Perception of retail
outlet a comparative study of big bazaar and more mega store. The study shows that
almost same type of consumer perception practices adopted by big bazaar and more
mega store. But there is significant difference in the consumer perception practices
adopted by retail outlets regarding empathy
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of merchandise (products) & customer
services in the organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of retailing strategies introduced by
organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of profile of customers in the organised
retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of buying behaviour of customers in the
organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis factors influencing buying behaviour of
customers in the organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of customer satisfaction with the
merchandise (products) and services offered by organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from testing of hypotheses
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of merchandise (products) & customer

12. services in the organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of retailing strategies introduced by
organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of profile of customers in the organised
retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of buying behaviour of customers in the
organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis factors influencing buying behaviour of
customers in the organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from the analysis of customer satisfaction with the
merchandise (products) and services offered by organised retail industry
· Conclusions drawn from testing of hypotheses
Recommendations
Conclusions drawn from the analysis of merchandise (products) & customer
services in the organised retail industry
The merchandise lines of the organised retailers were considered in the analysis
of merchandise in the organised retail industry, as it was not possible to include all the
merchandise offered by some multi-format retailers, offering more than 30000
merchandise to their customers. The players in the organised retail industry offer very
much similar merchandise lines to their customers. However, the variety of
merchandise under different merchandise lines slightly differs with each other.
The multi-format (item) organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart) offer very much similar merchandise lines
to each other and the most common merchandise lines are food & grocery, health,
beauty / personal care, home care, furniture, fashion, electronics, toys, sports,
accessories, private / store levels. However, D Mart does not offer the private / store
levels to its customers. Some multi-item organised retailers (e.g. Star Bazaar and Big
Bazaar) offer more merchandise lines as compared to their competitors. Star Bazaar
offers some international brand under the special merchandise line International zone
and Big Bazaar offers some gift items (e.g. cakes & chocolates, gift vouchers, gift sets,
valentine's day, Diwali, charity, flowers, greeting cards, seasonal gifts, sweets & dry
fruits) for special occasions under the gift merchandise line.
The multi-format (item) organised retailers offer a wide variety of merchandise
in each category as per different sizes, colours, designs, price, quality, quantity and
brands, which differs slightly as compared to each other. However, the hyper-store
based organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more. MEGAStore and Big
Bazaar) offer more variety of merchandise as compared to the super - store based
organised retailers (e.g. D Mart).
The fashion item organised retailers offer a very much similar merchandise line
with each other and the most common merchandise line are women's wear, men's wear,
youth wear, kid's wear, footwear and fashion accessories. However, few (e.g. Big
Magamart and jest Side) offers more merchandise line, i.e. home items and travel
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items. Moreover, Big Magamart also offers toys to its customers as compared to its
other for differentiating itself.
The hyper store based fashion-item organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart)

13. offer a wide variety of merchandise in each category as per different sizes, colours,
designs, price, quality, quantity and brands while superstore based fashion-item
organised retailers (e.g. jest Side and Max) offer a narrow variety of merchandise in
each category.
The electronics-item organised retailers (e.g. Reliance Digital and NEXT) also
offer a very much similar merchandise lines to each other and the most common
merchandise lines are phones, computers, TVs & audio, cameras, home appliances,
kitchen appliances, gaming and accessories. However, some retailers (e.g. NEXT)
offers few more merchandise lines (e.g. writing instruments and fragrances) to its
customers. The electronics-item organised retailers also offer a narrow variety of
merchandise as per different sizes, colours, designs, price, quality, quantity and brands.
In conclusion, food & grocery, beauty / personal care, home care and fashion
are the most contributing merchandise lines in the growth of the multi-format (item)
organised retailers, while women's wear, men's wear and kid's wear are the most
contributing merchandise lines in the growth of the fashion item organised retailers and
kitchen appliances and home appliances are the most contributing merchandise lines in
the growth of the electronics item organised retailers
The players in the organised retail industry also offer a very much similar
services to their customers and the most common services are home delivery, alteration
facilities (in case of apparel), packaging / gift wrapping, installations in case of
electronics item, complaints & exchange handling, personal shoppers, parking, fitting /
trial rooms, information, safety of personal things, lift / escalator & staircase facility,
after sale service for electronics and durables, demonstrations of merchandise,
entertainment facilities, acceptance of all international credit & debit cards, shopping
carts, warranties on merchandise, washrooms & drinking water facilities, air-condition
environment, music, enough billing-counters, CCTV for security, fire safety
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arrangement, back office for support, customers care service, repairing services in case
of durable, gift certificates, special sales for regular customers, restaurants, shopping
bags, refreshment facilities etc. However, the hyper store based organised retailers (e.g.
HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and Big Megamart) provide
more services to their customers as compared to superstore based organised retailers
(e.g. D Mart, jest Side, Max, Reliance Digital and NEXT).
9.1.2 Conclusions drawn from the analysis of retailing strategies introduced by
organised retail industry
The organised retailers use similar retailing strategies with little difference in
the execution. However, organised retailers employ different retailing strategies in a
different retailing format, e.g. retailing strategies of hyper store retailers differ from
superstore retailers. Nevertheless, it does not mean that hyper store or superstore
retailers are not adopting the successful strategies of each other.
Moreover, organised retailers also employ different retailing strategies in the
different areas of operations, e.g. retailing strategies of multi-item organised retailers
differ from the fashion item organised retailers and electronics item organised retailers.
Despite, there is also similarity among the strategies of multi-item organised retailers,
fashion-item organised retailers and electronics-item organised retailers.
The organised retailers use demographic, psychographic and behavioural

14. variables for segmenting the retail market. Age, family life cycle, gender, income,
occupation and education are most the common variables for demographic
segmentation while lifestyle and personality are most common variables for
psychographic segmentation and usage rate, loyalty status, occasions, benefits and
innovativeness are the most common variables for behavioural segmentation of the
retail market. The multi-format organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart) adopt full market coverage segmentation
strategy while the fashion item organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, jest Side and
Max) prefer selective specialisation segmentation strategy and the electronics item
organised retailers (e.g. Reliance Digital and NEXT) adopt market specialisation
segmentation strategy for segmenting the retail market.
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The multi-format organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart) adopt an undifferentiating targeting
strategy or mass retailing to target the retail market. The concentrated targeting strategy
is mostly adopted strategy among superstore organised retailers (e.g. jest Side, Max
and NEXT) while other organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart and Reliance Digital)
prefers differentiating targeting strategy or selective retailing.
More for less is most popular positioning strategy among both hyper &
superstore based organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar,
D Mart, Max and Reliance Digital) for positioning their offerings among the targeted
customers. However, some organised retailers (e.g. Star Bazaar and NEXT) adopt same
for less positioning strategy while others (Big Megamart and jest Side) more for same
positioning strategy.
Both hyper & superstores / multi-format & specialised organised retailers (e.g.
HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, Big Bazaar, Max, Reliance Digital and NEXT) adopt a retail
market penetration strategy in order to grab the growth opportunities, while some other
organised retailers (e.g. more.MEGAStore, D Mart and jest Side) adopt a retail
market expansion strategy and others (e.g. Big Megamart) adopt a retail format
development strategy by offering merchandise & services with the new retail format.
The most favourable defensive choice is a preemptive defence strategy among
both hyper and superstore organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, HyperCITY, Star
Bazaar, Big Bazaar, Max and Reliance Digital). All these retailers attack competitors
more aggressively by launching a wide range of merchandise and brands in different
categories.
The mobile defence strategy is second most favourable defensive choice among
superstores organised retailers (e.g. D Mart, jest Side and NEXT) and they hope to
expand rapidly by stretching its domain to new territories with the similar format store.
However, some (e.g. more.MEGAStore – a multi-format hyper store organised retailer)
uses contraction defence strategy by giving up from the weaker territories from where
the company is not getting sufficient ROI.
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Cost leadership strategy is a common choice as a business level strategy at
store-level among the multi-format organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart). However, hyper store based fashion-item
organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart) follow differentiation strategy at store-level

15. while some super store fashion-item organised retailers (e.g. jest Side) follow
differentiation focus strategy at store-level and other specialised superstore organised
retailers (e.g. Max, Reliance Digital and NEXT) prefer cost focus strategy at storelevel.
The organised retailers face some common problems in framing overall
retailing strategies are the high price of real estate, lack of preferred locations and retail
space, high cost of space and location, trained workforce, multiple & a complex
taxation system of India, many entrants as online retailers, high demand for service
standards as consumerism is shifting in India.
The organised retailers consider the product (merchandise) as an extremely
important element of their retail marketing mix. Price is also an extremely important
element of RMM for the organised retailers except few (e.g. Big Megamart and jest
Side). However, these organised retailers consider it as an important element of RMM.
The organised retailers also consider promotion as an extremely important element of
RMM except few (e.g. Big Megamart); however, it is important for Big Megamart.
The premises / place is an extremely important element of RMM for the
organised retailers except few (e.g. D Mart, Max and NEXT), however, it is an
important element for D Mart and Max, while partially important for NEXT.
Personnel / people are considered as an extremely important element of RMM by the
organised retailers, except few (e.g. D Mart and Max). For them, it is an important
element. The presentation is an extremely important element of RMM for all the
organised retailers, except few (e.g. more.MEGAStore, D Mart and NEXT) as it is
important for more.MEGAStore and partially important for D Mart and NEXT.
Physical evidence is an important element of RMM for the organised retailers except
few (e.g. NEXT), as it is partially important.
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A heterogeneous mix of brands is the first choice among the multi-format
organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and
D Mart), however, a hyper store based fashion store organised retailers (e.g. Big
Megamart) also offer a heterogeneous mix of brands to targeted customers. The
offering basket of all these retailers contains generic, local, regional, national, copycat,
international and private/store brands, while fashion-item superstores (e.g. jest Side
and Max) choose a blend of private label & other brands to offer and their offering
basket contains private (store level) in all categories offered, exclusive, national
(manufacturers) and international brands. Moreover, electronics item superstores (e.g.
Reliance Digital and NEXT) offer multi-brands in different categories of the
merchandise and their offering basket contains all the leading (world’s most popular
brands) national and international brands.
The target market, goods & service growth potential, trends (fashion), image of
retailer, customer segments and responsiveness to customers are some important factors
for organised retailers, while planning merchandise and target market, retailer’s image,
manufactures Vs private brands, the customer service offered and perceived
goods/service benefits are some important factors for organised retailers while planning
merchandise quality.
The hyper store organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, HyperCITY, Star
Bazaar, more.MEGAStore and Big Bazaar) adopt wide variety & a deep assortment
strategy as a retail assortment strategy, which is characterised by many goods/service

16. categories & a large assortment in each category, while, some super store organised
retailers (e.g. D Mart and NEXT) opt narrow variety & a shallow assortment strategy
characterised by few goods/service categories & a limited assortment in each category
and a few others (e.g. jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) adopt narrow variety & a
deep assortment strategy characterised by few goods/service categories & a large
assortment in each category.
Multi-format organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart) offer staples (basic), fashion, consumer
durable and seasonal merchandise category to their customers. Size, price, quality,
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brand, customer segments, discounts and schemes are the most common base to
categorise the merchandise while displaying in the store. Fashion-item organised
retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, jest Side and Max) offer fashion merchandise category
to their customers and use size, colour, design, price, quality, brand, customer needs,
discounts and schemes as a base to categorise the merchandise while displaying in the
store. And electronics-item superstores (e.g. Reliance Digital and NEXT) offer
consumer durables merchandise category and categorise the merchandise based on size,
design, price, quality, brand, customer segments, customer needs, discounts and
schemes to display in the store.
The organised retailers make sure the availability of newly launched
merchandise/brands as soon as possible if falls in the category of the merchandise they
offer. Moreover, the retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more. MEGAStore, Big
Bazaar, Big Megamart, jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) also offer customised,
unique and complementary merchandise in a few categories.
As a management of unprofitable merchandise, some organised retailers (e.g.
Big Bazaar, more.MEGAStore, jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) try to find the
way to convert unprofitable merchandise into profitable merchandise and then
determine that whether unprofitable merchandise relates to profitable business
relationships or not; if not then they drop them from the assortment. While, other
organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, D Mart and NEXT) do not try to
find the way to make them profitable, but directly determine that whether unprofitable
merchandise relates to profitable business relationships or not; if not then they drop
them from the assortment. However, some other (e.g. Big Megamart) usually drops
unprofitable merchandise from the assortment.
Manufacturers are first major suppliers of all the organised retailers while
wholesalers are second major suppliers of all the organised retailers except few (e.g.
jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) and merchandise brokers are third major
suppliers of the organised retailers except few (e.g. Big Megamart, Star Bazaar and
D Mart). However, most of the organised retailers also rely on commission agents to
supply international brands except few (e.g. Star Bazaar, Big Bazaar and D Mart).
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Moreover, few other (e.g. Star Bazaar) also gets supplies for some cooperatively &
individually owned offices. All the organised retailers get a trade, quantity and seasonal
discounts from their suppliers. Moreover, most of the organised retailers also get
promotional discounts except few (e.g. HyperCITY, Big Megamart and D Mart). The
organised retailers consider reliability, price-quality, order-processing time, guarantee,

17. long-term relationship, reorders and innovativeness as the most important
characteristics for selecting a vendor for the supply of the items of their assortment.
Both hyper and superstore organised retailers show a keen interest in the partner
relationship management. They maintain the long-lasting relationship with all their
partners, especially suppliers / vendors. The organised retailers prefer weekly and
monthly stock planning of merchandise. However, multi-format organised retailers
(e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more. MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and D Mart) also do
the daily planning in case of perishable merchandise, frozen, vegetables, fruits, other
farm merchandise, non-vegetables, etc.
Most of the organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, D Mart, Max,
Reliance Digital and NEXT) adopt maximising market share as pricing objective,
while, other organised retailers (e.g. more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar, Big Megamart and
jest Side) adopt merchandise quality leadership as a pricing objective. Most of the
organised retailers (HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar, Max, and
Reliance Digital) adopt leadership-oriented pricing approach and others (e.g. Big
Megamart, D Mart, jest Side and NEXT) adopt cost-oriented pricing approach in
order to price the merchandise.
High-low pricing strategy (a form of value pricing strategy) is the most popular
pricing strategy among organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar, D Mart, Big
Megamart and NEXT) while other retailers (e.g. more.MEGAStore and Big Bazaar)
adopt another form of value pricing strategy, i.e. everyday low pricing strategy.
However, perceived value-pricing strategy is also popular among superstore organised
retailers (e.g. jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) in order to keep a promise to
provide customers well-difference value & experience in their stores. Discount &
allowance pricing (i.e. reducing the prices to reward customer responses),
psychological pricing (i.e. adjusting prices for psychological effects) and promotional
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pricing (i.e. temporarily reducing the prices) are most common price-adjustment
strategies among both hyper and superstore organised retailers to adjust or reduce the
price of the merchandise and services. Value added retailing is most preferred tactics by
all the organised retailers except few (e.g. D Mart and NEXT) as they follow to
maintain and grow tactics to fight a price war. No organised retailers take concern of
customer before changing the price of merchandise & services, but all these retailers
take the response of customers through feedback and consider for the future course of
action except few (e.g. D Mart and NEXT). The organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY,
Star Bazaar, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar, Max and Reliance Digital) always charge
less than the MRP of most of the merchandise due to leadership-oriented approach,
however, some merchandise is still sold at MRP. While some other organised retailers
(e.g. Big Megamart, D Mart, jest Side and NEXT) charge less than the MRP on most
of the merchandise, but due to cost-oriented approach, they charge equal to MRP to
recover the margin on the merchandise.
The organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and
Reliance Digital) appeal to reason; some others (e.g. Star Bazaar, D Mart, Max and
NEXT) appeal to emotion while others (e.g. Big Megamart and jest Side) appeal to
sense in order to create a brand image among targeted customers. All the organised
retailers use advertising, sales promotion, direct retailing, personal retailing, public

18. relation / publicity and internet / interactive retailing methods for developing brand
image and customer loyalty among existing and potential customers.
The organised retailers do both indoor (in-store) as well as outdoors (out-store)
advertising to communicate and promote their offerings and include visual display,
signage, the point of purchase material, secondary packaging and cross promotion
methods of in-store advertising. However, some retailers (e.g. Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar and Reliance Digital) also use pamphlets, while some
others (e.g. Big Megamart, HyperCITY, Big Bazaar and Max) do loud speaker
announcement about various discounts & schemes for the day in order to advertise.
Moreover, others (e.g. Big Megamart, Big Bazaar and Reliance Digital) also use
electronic signage to advertise within the store. Yellow page advertising, the newspaper
and hoardings advertising are most preferred modes of outdoor advertising among the
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organised retailers. Moreover, online advertising is also a common method adopted by
organised retailers except a few. However, some retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, Big
Bazaar, D Mart, jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) also advertise in magazines &
journals. Some other methods of outdoor advertising are also used by organised
retailers i.e. television ads by few (e.g. Big Bazaar, jest Side, Max and Reliance
Digital); radio ads by few (e.g. Big Bazaar, D Mart and Reliance Digital). The
organised retailers spend less on advertising in comparison to any other industry
especially outdoor advertising.
Schemes, gifts, rebates, discounts, loyalty programmes, premiums, prizes,
rewards and contests are some popular tools opted by the organised retailers for sales
promotion. However, some organised retailers (e.g. Big Megamart, HyperCITY, Star
Bazaar, more.MEGAStore and Big Bazaar) also provide a free sample as an integral
part of the sales promotion. Buy & get free, bulk purchase discount, value / combo
pack (offer) discount / deal, percentage off (discount) on MRP, up to percentage price
off, flat percentage off / discount, price ( ) off / discounts, buy more and pay less (get
more), flat price, starting at ₹ , only / just for ₹ , save ₹ , ₹ onward / approx, fixed
price scheme, ₹ to ₹ , limited offer, offer / deal of the day or today’s offer, store (our)
price and special offer schemes are some common sales promotion schemes introduced
by the organised retailers. Moreover, organised retailers also introduced a membership
scheme and exclusive schemes for customers who wish to enrol for membership except
few (e.g. D Mart) in order to create some loyal customer base. The organised retailers
give free gifts on the purchase of specific items, assured gifts and premiums to their
customers while promotion. Moreover, some organised retailers (e.g. Big Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore, Reliance Digital and NEXT) also offer the EMI facility to their
customers in order to promote sales. The organised retailers think that the sales
promotion influence customer purchase intention, therefore they do adequate sales
promotional activities in the store to influence the customer purchase intention.
Direct emails and mail order catalogues and SMS retailing are most common
direct retailing techniques adopted by the organised retailers except a few. However,
some organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar, Reliance
Digital and NEXT) are also involved in tele-retailing / mobile retailing form of direct
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retailing. The organised retailers adopt the face-to-face retailing technique of personal

19. retailing within the store. Corporate brochures, annual reports, press release, press
conferences, video press conferences are some most common medium to maintain
relationships with the public. However, some organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY,
more.MEGAStore, Big Bazaar, jest Side, Max and Reliance Digital) organise and
sponsor special events. Moreover, some multi-format organised retailers (e.g.
HyperCITY, Big Bazaar, more.MEGAStore) and fashion item organised retailers (e.g.
Big Megamart, jest Side, Max) conduct social events & social development
programmes for publicity.
The organised retailers use e-mails and websites as interactive retailing tools in
order to create a brand image among the internet users. The organised retailers also
utilise the social media platforms to interact with their techno savvy customers except
few (e.g. D Mart) to create a brand image. Online feedback is also a popular tool of
interactive retailing among the organised retailers except few (e.g. Big Megamart and
jest Side). Moreover, electronics super store organised retailers (e.g. Reliance Digital
and NEXT) take online feedback on Facebook. However, some other organised
retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar and Max) use the online discussion forum as
interactive retailing tools to create a brand image among customers.
Use of celebrity services is not so popular among organised retailers to create a
brand image. However, some organised retailers (e.g. Big Bazaar, Big Megamart, jest
Side and Max) use celebrity services for promotions. The organised retailers use the
tagline and logo for creating a unique brand image among the customers. The most of
the organised retailers use customer-centric tagline except few (e.g. HyperCITY, jest
Side, Reliance Digital and NEXT) as these others use the store-centric tagline.
The organised retailers prefer main street locations to open their stores except
few (e.g. Big Megamart and HyperCITY), as these others prefer inner city locations.
However, some others (e.g. Max) prefer both types of locations. The organised retailers
open their store in shopping malls / shopping centres and / or strip centres. However,
some fashion item superstores (e.g. jest Side and Max) also prefer to open their stores
in outlet centres. Total size & density of population, total disposable income of the
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population, per capita disposable income of the population, trends among the population,
delivery cost of the supply, timeliness for supply, number of manufacturers & wholesalers in
the area, availability & reliability of merchandise lines, the growth projections in the area,
freedom from economic & seasonal fluctuations, number and size of existing
competitors in the area, strength & weakness of competitors, number and type of
locations in the area, cost of site, visibility of site, size & shape of trading area and
parking facilities are some important factors for selecting a retail store location by the
organised retailers.
There is no uniformity among organised retailers in store timings. Some
organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY and Big Megamart) keep open their stores 10.30
hours, some others (e.g. Star Bazaar) keep open stores for 14 hours, few others (e.g.
more.MEGAStore) keep open stores for 13 hours, some retailers (e.g. Big Bazaar,
D Mart) keep open stores for 12 hours, other retailers (e.g. Max, Reliance Digital)
keep open stores for 11 hours on all the days of the week, while others (e.g. jest Side)
keep open stores at 11.30 hours on weekdays and 11.00 hours on Sunday, moreover,
few others (e.g. NEXT) keep open stores for 11.30 hours on all the days of the week

20. except Monday as it is closed.
The most of the organised retailers adopts patronage solidifiers customers
service strategy and involved in the low-cost little things that increase loyalty, like
courtesy & suggestion selling) except some (e.g. more.MEGAStore, Reliance Digital
and NEXT) as these others adopt patronage builders customers service strategy and
involved in high-cost activities like transaction speed & credit. The organised retailers
(whether multi-format, fashion item or electronics item organised retailers) offer
attractive exchange & a return policy to protect their customers and gain their
confidence. The organised retailers use gap model to understand knowledge, standard,
delivery and communication gaps to improve customer service quality except few
retailers (e.g. Star Bazaar, NEXT and D Mart).
The organised retailers interested to have a CRM and maintain the same
through the customer service desk or customer loyalty desk at the store level. The
multi-format hyper store organised retailers (e.g. HyperCITY, Star Bazaar,
more.MEGAStore and Big Bazaar) and fashion item organised retailers (e.g. Big
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Megamart, jest Side and Max) collect information for database regarding customer
transactions (purchase date, price paid, merchandise purchased, responses to promoted
merchandise), customer contacts (record of customer interaction with store by websites,
inquiries in-store kiosks, telephone calls), customer preferences (favourite colour,
brands, fabrics, flavours, and apparel size), descriptive information (demographic &
psychographic data of customers) and customer responses to marketing activity
(responsiveness to sales promotion & advertising), while electronics-item organised
retailers (e.g. Reliance Digital and NEXT) collect information for database regarding
customer transactions, customer contacts and descriptive information only and multiformat
superstore organised retailers (e.g. D Mart) collect information for database
regarding customer transactions only.
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