The Impact of Promotional Activites on Consumers Buying Behaviour at Shopping Malls

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION:A ''shopping mall''' or '''shopping centre''' is a building or set of buildings which contain retail units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit. The population is moving towards the middle class or upper middle class this is resulting in the higher disposable income. A shopping center enclosed within a large structure; often two or three stories high, often designed around a central atrium; may have numerous stores, as well as entertainment facilities such as movie theaters, fast-food outlets, restaurants, and public areas. A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace.

In India there are three categories of malls- value malls(e.g. BigBazar), value cum-lifestyle mall (e.g. pantaloon) and Lifestyle malls(e.g. Treasure island).There are five malls in indore city. These are treasure island, central mall, C21 mall, Malhar mega mall, Mangal
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city etc. In the present competitive world if any business organization has to survive it needs to keep an eye on various forces operating in the market. More over competitors constantly try to win over others. In this scenario, every business organization needs to monitor the changes taking place in the market so that they are not caught. Market research is an efficiency tool in the hands of a marketer that helps him to take changes taking place in the market. Shopping malls are operating in an increasingly competitive environment characterized by over capacity and declining customers (where the promotional activities of the mall are increasingly being used to differentiate the mall through image communication, increase visits and stimulate merchandise purchases Research on the use of marketing tools and measuring their effectiveness as driving factors of shopping malls. The report has been drawn up with the objective of identifying. and analyzing the promotional offers offered by the malls to attract more customers and other key factors and attributes, which influence consumers while deciding to visit a particular mall. Five shopping malls in Indore are chosen for the purpose of the study. Promotions/offers Generally, promotion is communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying your products and/or services.The word promotion is also used specifically to refer to a particular activity that is intended to promote the business, product or service. A store might advertise that it's having a big promotion on certain items, for instance, or a business person may refer to an ad as a promotion. A promotion might be a short-term price reduction, contest or sweepstakes, package giveaway, or free sample offer. A promotion might also be a single mailing within a direct mail campaign or series of advertisements that make up part of an ongoing print advertising campaign. The company can use any number of the promotional mix elements. These may include: - Advertising - On TV, Radio, Magazines. - Sales promotion - Special deals over a period of time. Sales promotion is an important component of a small business's overall marketing strategy, along with advertising, public relations, and personal selling. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines sales promotion as "media and non media marketing
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pressure applied for a predetermined, limited period of time in order to stimulate trial, increase consumer demand, or improve product quality." But this definition does not capture all the elements of modern sales promotion. One should add that effective sales promotion increases the basic value of a product for a limited time and directly stimulates consumer purchasing, selling effectiveness, or the effort of the sales force. It can be used to inform, persuade, and remind target customers about the business and its marketing mix. Some common types of sales promotion include samples, coupons, sweepstakes, contests, in-store displays, trade shows, price-off deals, premiums, and rebates. Sales promotion acts as a competitive weapon by providing an extra incentive for the target audience to purchase or support one brand over another. It is particularly effective in spurring product trial and unplanned purchases. Most marketers believe that a given product or service has an established perceived price or value, and they use sales promotion to change this price-value relationship by increasing the value and/or lowering the price. Compared to the other components of the marketing mix (advertising, publicity, and personal selling), sales promotion usually operates on a shorter time line, uses a more rational appeal, returns a tangible or real value, fosters an immediate sale, and contributes highly to profitability. shopping mall groups are increasingly using group branding as the basis for promotional activities, emphasizing the security for the customer of knowing that they will receive the same level of mix no matter which branch is shopped at. This is similar to the strategies of many chain stores, particularly fast food chains. However, in both the retailers cases and that of the shopping malls, localized promotional activities are still utilized. This research examines the effectiveness of group promotional activities versus localized activities, with the premise that the level of local market dominance will impact on the effectiveness.

Growth of Sales Promotion Sales promotion has grown substantially in recent years. There are several reasons for this dramatic growth in sales promotion. First, consumers have accepted sales promotion as part
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of their buying decision criteria. It provides reluctant decision makers with an incentive to make choices by increasing the value offered by a particular brand. Second, the increasing tendency of businesses to focus on short-term results has helped spur growth in sales promotion, which can provide an immediate boost in sales. Product managers also tend to view sales promotion as a way to differentiate their brand from that of competitors in the short term. Third, the emergence of computer technology has enabled manufacturers to get rapid feedback on the results of promotions. Redemption rates for coupons or figures on sales volume can be obtained within days. Finally, an increase in the size and power of retailers has also boosted the use of sales promotion. Historically, the manufacturer held the power in the channel of distribution. Mass marketers utilized national advertising to get directly to consumers, creating a demand for the heavily advertised brands that stores could not afford to ignore. With consolidation and the growth of major retail chains, however, retailers have gained the power to demand incentives from manufacturers to carry their products. Many sales promotions are designed to provide benefits to the retailers. Limitations of Sales Promotion Although sales promotion is an important strategy for producing quick, short-term, positive results, it is not a cure for a bad product, poor advertising, or an inferior sales team. After a consumer uses a coupon for the initial purchase of a product, the product must then take over and convince them to become repeat buyers. In addition, sales promotion activities may bring several negative consequences, including clutter" due to the number of competitive promotions. New approaches are promptly cloned by competitors, as each marketer tries to be more creative, more attention getting, or more effective in attracting the attention of consumers and the trade. Finally, consumers and resellers have learned how to milk the sales promotion game. Consumers may wait to buy certain items knowing that prices will eventually be reduced, for example, while resellers have become experts at negotiating deals and manipulating competitors against one another. Consumer Promotions Consumer sales promotions are steered toward the ultimate product userstypically
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individual shoppers in the local marketbut the same techniques can be used to promote products sold by one business to another, such as computer systems, cleaning supplies, and machinery. In contrast, trade sales promotions target resellerswholesalers and retailers who carry the marketer's product. Following are some of the key techniques used in consumer-oriented sales promotions. Price Deal A consumer price deal saves the buyer money when a product is purchased. The main types of price deals include discounts, bonus pack deals, refunds or rebates, and coupons. Price deals are usually intended to encourage trial use of a new product or line extension, to recruit new buyers for a mature product, or to convince existing customers to increase their purchases, accelerate their use, or purchase multiple units. Price deals work most effectively when price is the consumer's foremost criterion or when brand loyalty is low. Buyers may learn about price discounts either at the point of sale or through advertising. At the point of sale, price reductions may be posted on the package, on signs near the product, or in storefront windows. Many types of advertisements can be used to notify consumers of upcoming discounts, including fliers and newspaper and television ads. Price discounts are especially common in the food industry, where local supermarkets run weekly specials. Price discounts may be initiated by the manufacturer, the retailer, or the distributor. For instance, a manufacturer may "pre-price" a product and then convince the retailer to participate in this short-term discount through extra incentives. For price reduction strategies to be effective, they must have the support of all distributors in the channel. Existing customers perceive discounts as rewards and often respond by buying in larger quantities. Price discounts alone, however, usually do not induce first time buyers. Another type of price deal is the bonus pack or banded pack. When a bonus pack is offered, an extra amount of the product is free when a standard size of the product is bought at the regular price. This technique is routinely used in the marketing of cleaning products, food, and health and beauty aids to introduce a new or larger size. A bonus pack rewards present users but may have little appeal to users of competitive brands. A banded pack offer is when two or more units of a product are sold at a reduction of the regular single-unit price.
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Sometimes the products are physically banded together, such as in toothbrush and toothpaste offers. A refund or rebate promotion is an offer by a marketer to return a certain amount of money when the product is purchased alone or in combination with other products. Refunds aim to increase the quantity or frequency of purchase, to encourage customers to "load up" on the product. This strategy dampens competition by temporarily taking consumers out of the market, stimulates the purchase of postponable goods such as major appliances, and creates on-shelf excitement by encouraging special displays. Refunds and rebates are generally viewed as a reward for purchase, and they appear to build brand loyalty rather than diminish it. Coupons are legal certificates offered by manufacturers and retailers. They grant specified savings on selected products when presented for redemption at the point of purchase. Manufacturers sustain the cost of advertising and distributing their coupons, redeeming their face values, and paying retailers a handling fee. Retailers who offer double or triple the amount of the coupon shoulder the extra cost. Retailers who offer their own coupons incur the total cost, including paying the face value. In this way, retail coupons are equivalent to a cents-off deal. Manufacturers disseminate coupons in many ways. They may be delivered directly by mail, dropped door to door, or distributed through a central location such as a shopping mall. Coupons may also be distributed through the mediamagazines, newspapers, Sunday supplements, or free-standing inserts (FSI) in newspapers. Coupons can be inserted into, attached to, or printed on a package, or they may be distributed by a retailer who uses them to generate store traffic or to tie in with a manufacturer's promotional tactic. Retailersponsored coupons are typically distributed through print advertising or at the point of sale. Sometimes, though, specialty retailers or newly opened retailers will distribute coupons door to door or through direct mail. Contests/Sweepstakes The main difference between contests and sweepstakes is that contests require entrants to perform a task or demonstrate a skill that is judged in order to be deemed a winner, while sweepstakes involve a random drawing or chance contest that may or may not have an
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entry requirement. At one time, contests were more commonly used as sales promotions, mostly due to legal restrictions on gambling that many marketers feared might apply to sweepstakes. But the use of sweepstakes as a promotional tactic has grown dramatically in recent decades, partly because of legal changes and partly because of their lower cost. Administering a contest once cost about $350 per thousand entries, compared to just $2.75 to $3.75 per thousand entries in a sweepstake. Furthermore, participation in contests is very low compared to sweepstakes, since they require some sort of skill or ability. Special Event According to the consulting firm International Events Group (IEG), businesses spend over $2 billion annually to link their products with everything from jazz festivals to golf tournaments to stock car races. In fact, large companies like RJR Nabisco and AnheuserBusch have special divisions that handle nothing but special events. Special events marketing offers a number of advantages. First, events tend to attract a homogeneous audience that is very appreciative of the sponsors. Therefore, if a product fits well with the event and its audience, the impact of the sales promotion will be high. Second, event sponsorship often builds support among employeeswho may receive acknowledgment for their participationand within the trade. Finally, compared to producing a series of ads, event management is relatively simple. Many elements of event sponsorship are prepackaged and reusable, such as booths, displays, and ads. Special events marketing is available to small businesses, as well, through sponsorship of events on the community level.

Premiums A premium is tangible compensation that is given as incentive for performing a particular actusually buying a product. The premium may be given for free, or may be offered to consumers for a significantly reduced price. Some examples of premiums include receiving a prize in a cereal box or a free garden tool for visiting the grand opening of a hardware store. Incentives that are given for free at the time of purchase are called direct premiums.
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These offers provide instant gratification, plus there is no confusion about returning coupons or box tops, or saving bar codes or proofs of purchase. Other types of direct premiums include traffic builders, door openers, and referral premiums. The garden tool is an example of a traffic-builder premiuman incentive to lure a prospective buyer to a store. A door-opener premium is directed to customers at home or to business people in their offices. For example, a homeowner may receive a free clock radio for allowing an insurance agent to enter their home and listening to his sales pitch. Similarly, an electronics manufacturer might offer free software to an office manager who agrees to an on-site demonstration. The final category of direct premiums, referral premiums, reward the purchaser for referring the seller to other possible customers. Mail premiums, unlike direct premiums, require the customer to perform some act in order to obtain a premium through return mail. An example might be a limited edition toy car offered by a marketer in exchange for one or more proofs-of-purchase and a payment covering the cost of the item plus handling. The premium is still valuable to the consumer because they cannot readily buy the item for the same amount. Continuity Programs Continuity programs retain brand users over a long time period by offering ongoing motivation or incentives. Continuity programs demand that consumers keep buying the product in order to get the premium in the future. Trading stamps, popularized in the 1950s and 1960s, are prime examples. Consumers usually received one stamp for every time spent at a participating store. The stamp company provided redemption centers where the stamps were traded for merchandise. A catalog listing the quantity of stamps required for each item was available at the participating stores. Today, airlines' frequent-flyer clubs, hotels' frequent-traveler plans, retailers' frequent-shopper programs, and bonus-paying credit cards are common continuity programs. When competing brands have reached parity in terms of price and service, continuity programs sometimes prove a deciding factor among those competitors. By rewarding long-standing customers for their loyalty, continuity programs also reduce the threat of new competitors entering a market.
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Sampling A sign of a successful marketer is getting the product into the hands of the consumer. Sometimes, particularly when a product is new or is not a market leader, an effective strategy is giving a sample product to the consumer, either free or for a small fee. But in order for sampling to change people's future purchase decisions, the product must have benefits or features that will be obvious during the trial. There are several means of disseminating samples to consumers. The most popular has been through the mail, but increases in postage costs and packaging requirements have made this method less attractive. An alternative is door-to-door distribution, particularly when the items are bulky and when reputable distribution organizations exist. This method permits selective sampling of neighborhoods, dwellings, or even people. Another method is distributing samples in conjunction with advertising. An ad may include a coupon that the consumer can mail in for the product, or it may include an address or phone number for ordering. Direct sampling can be achieved through prime media using scratch-and-sniff cards and slim foil pouches, or through retailers using special displays or a person hired to hand out samples to passing customers. Though this last technique may build goodwill for the retailer, some retailers resent the inconvenience and require high payments for their cooperation. A final form of sample distribution deals with specialty types of sampling. For instance, some companies specialize in packing samples together for delivery to homogeneous consumer groups, such as newlyweds, new parents, students, or tourists. Such packages may be delivered at hospitals, hotels, or dormitories and include a number of different types of products. Sales promotion is one of the four aspects of promotional mix. (The other three parts of the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, and publicity/public relations.) Media and non-media marketing communication are employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples include contests, coupons, freebies, loss leaders, point of purchase displays, premiums, prizes, product samples, and rebates Sales promotions can be directed at either
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the customer, sales staff, or distribution channel members (such as retailers). Sales promotions targeted at the consumer are called consumer sales promotions. Sales promotions targeted at retailers and wholesale are called trade sales promotions. Some sale promotions, particularly ones with unusual methods, are considered gimmicks by many. Sales promotion includes several communications activities that attempt to provide added value or incentives to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts can attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase. Examples of devices used in sales promotion include coupons, samples, premiums, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, contests, rebates, and sweepstakes. Reward Program: Consumers collect points, miles, or credits for purchases and redeem them for rewards. Various type of promotion Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price. Price reduction may be a percentage marked on the package. Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25 percent extra). Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales promotions. Loss leader: the price of a popular product is temporarily reduced in order to stimulate other profitable sales. Free-standing insert (FSI): A coupon booklet is inserted into the local newspaper for delivery. On-shelf couponing: Coupons are present at the shelf where the product is available. Checkout dispensers: On checkout the customer is given a coupon based on products purchased. On-line couponing: Coupons are available online. Consumers print them out and take them to the store. Mobile couponing: Coupons are available on a mobile phone. Consumers show the offer on a mobile phone to a salesperson for redemption. Online interactive promotion game: Consumers play an interactive game associated with the promoted product. See an example of the Interactive Internet Ad for tomato ketchup.
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Celebrity visit: A celebrity calls to visits in shopping malls to promote it.

B) History The growth of malls in cities in India has raised an important question as to their viability and whether increased investment in malls would attract adequate number of consumers. In the past few years there has been a tremendous rise in interest in the establishment of malls. This growth has been fuelled by investments in organized retailing, changes in the retail formats, increased flow of FDI in retailing and increased income levels of consumers.
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Malls originally served as growth catalysts in the suburbs and were responsible for changing the notion of shopping. The popularity and expansion of malls was in the form of urban entertainment centers with restaurants and cinemas open air lifestyle centers with upscale specialty and branded and hybrids, Many studies have focused on malls as being a part of consumers leisure activities and being related to entertainment, The ambience, design and layout of the malls evoke varying degrees of emotional reaction from the customers and motivate them to spend time in the mall locale. posit that environment has an impact on consumer's emotions and can be a driver to retail performance. The mall operators and retailers are faced with the growing challenge of creating shopping environment which would create a positive influence on the consumers shopping behavior, The rise of malls in India, as centers of community and social activity has a profound impact on selling and retailing. Retailers vie for acquiring space in malls in the hope that the ambience and facilities of the malls would give a competitive advantage to their stores and wares. Malls as centers of family outings are fast catching the imagination of the Indian consumers. The glamour of malls with sparkling environs and multiplicity of stores is considered a respite in the hectic metropolitan lifestyles. The shopping centers are progressively spending resources to make their malls striking destinations and different from competitors through image and store brand communications which supposedly draws consumers to the malls improving foot traffic and stimulating sales . The idea of shopping has expanded to include an assortment of facilities under one roof wherein entertainment takes a predominant space. The facilities at the shopping centre encompass all kinds of outlets ranging from bookstores, beauty salons, restaurants, medical and grocery stores, stores for branded clothes and shoes, beauty and fashion accessories and products, furniture and home products and amusement centers for kids. This kind of experience is devoid of the negative facets of traffic congestion and security issues. Early Shopping Centers At the heart of this culture was the shopping malla centrally owned and managed cluster of architecturally unified retailing spaces designed to accommodate automobile access on its periphery while restricting traffic to pedestrians in its core. Malls had their precursors in
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the public marketplaces of the colonial and early national periods and the enclosed arcades of mid-nineteenth-century Europe. The malls' design, construction, and management, however, reflected not only the symbiosis of peculiarly American circumstances, but also the rise of an aggressive new breed of entrepreneur who flourished in the postwar suburban landscape: the real estate developer. Perhaps the earliest planned shopping district in the United States was built in 1916 in Lake Forest, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, but more influential was Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, designed by J. C. Nichols in 1922 as an integral part of a wider suburban community. Although some shopping centers were built in the 1930s (Highland Park Village, Dallas, 1931; River Oaks Center, Houston, 1937), and a few visionary developers like Don M. Casto of Columbus, Ohio, promoted them as the wave of the future, the Depression and World War II delayed their full emergence. The rapid, postWorld War II ascendancy of the shopping centerof which malls are the largest and most important typerepresented the confluence of demographic, technological, and institutional trends affecting the retailing of goods and services that had been under way since the late nineteenth century. A long-term demographic shift toward the concentration of population in urban areas, as well as a steady rise in per capita income, had culminated in the exodus of many middle-class households from increasingly crowded inner cities to the more spacious suburban developments that began to surround metropolitan areas. Suburbanization, in turn, was only possible because of Americans' increasing reliance on the automobile for personal transportation and the publicly subsidized road and highway infrastructure that supported it. Finally, the success of mass marketing techniques and organizationsespecially the advent of regional and national department and chain storessteadily changed the nature of retail distribution and helped to achieve the economies of scale that facilitated the emergence of a full-blown consumer culture in the postwar United States. Largest examples The largest mall ever is South China Mall in Dongguan, China with gross floor area of 892,000 m2 (9,600,000 sq ft). The world's second-largest shopping mall is the Golden
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Resources Mall in Beijing, China with gross floor area of 680,000 m2 (7,300,000 sq ft). The SM City North EDSA in the Philippines, which opened in November 1985, is the world's third-largest at 460,000 m2 (5,000,000 sq ft) of gross floor area, and SM Mall of Asia in the Philippines, opened in May 2006, is the world's fourth largest at 386,000 m2 (4,150,000 sq ft) of gross floor area. Previously, the title of the largest enclosed shopping mall was with the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada from 19862004. It is now the fifth largest mall. Dubai Mall is the largest mall in Middle East, currently ranked seventh in the world. The current largest shopping centre in Europe is the Dolce Vita Tejo in Lisbon, Portugal, while the largest in Australia is Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. A strip mall (also called a shopping plaza or mini-mall) is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. They face major traffic arterials and tend to be self-contained with few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Mercantile establishment consisting of a carefully landscaped complex of shops representing leading merchandisers; usually includes restaurants and a convenient parking area; a modern version of the traditional marketplace shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedentsbazaars and marketplacesin that the shops are usually amalgamated into one encompassing structure. The first modern shopping center, the Country Club Plaza, opened in Kansas City, Mo., in 1922. By 1956, when the first enclosed mall, designed by Victor Gruen, opened in Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, about 2,000 shopping centers had been built. The so-called malling of America peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when approximately 60 large malls (more than 400,000 sq ft/37,000 sq m in size) were built annually; over 100 were built annually in some years during that period. In comparison, only about 30 large malls were built in 1998. Shopping centers accounted for about 76% of all non automotive retail sales in the United States in 2003. The world's first mega mall was the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. Long also the world's largest mall at 5.3 million sq ft (493,000 sq m), it was the culmination of the
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developer's dream of a consumers' and retailers' paradise when it opened (198185). The mall contains more than 800 shops, 11 department stores, 110 restaurants, an ice-skating rink, the world's largest indoor water park, 19 movie theaters, a hotel, a chapel, 13 nightclubs, and a replica of Columbus's Santa Maria. Two larger malls, in Beijing and Dongguan, China, began to open in 2004 and 2005 respectively, and more Chinese megamalls are under construction. The largest mall in the United States is the 4.2-millionsq-ft (391,000-sq-m) Mall of America, opened in 1992 in Bloomington, Minn., which features at its center a seven-acre amusement park. Shopping malls are operating in an increasingly competitive environment characterized by over capacity and declining customers (LeHew and Fairhurst, 2000) where the promotional activities of the mall are increasingly being used to differentiate the mall through image communication, increase visits and stimulate merchandise purchases (LeHew and Fairhurst, 2000).

Rationale of the study:This study will help the managers of shopping malls to understand the underlying decision making styles of the shoppers in the malls and help them to craft their marketing strategies. Profiling consumers by their buying decision-making styles provide more meaningful ways to identify and understand various consumer segments and to target each segment with more focused marketing strategies. These decision making styles were perfectionist/high quality conscious consumer, brand conscious, novelty and fashion conscious, recreational and shopping conscious, price conscious, impulsive /careless, confused by over choice, habitual/brand loyal. .This study can play a major role for organizations while planning its
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marketing activities, & decide on the promotions for the same. This study also helps the managers of shopping malls to review how their promotional strategies works for attracting the customers.

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Chapter 2 Literature Review:

Literature Review: Kincade, Doris H.; Woodard, Ginger A.; Park, Haesun (2002) studied Buyerseller relationships for promotional support in the apparel sector which is critical for success.The purpose of the study was to define promotional support categories offered to apparel retailers by manufacturers, to identify the retailer's perceptions of the offering frequency and importance of the promotional support, and to investigate the relationship between offering frequency and perceptions of importance. Results indicated that monetary support
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was regarded as the most important promotional support.. A positive and significant correlation was found between items the buyers perceived as important and the frequency of offerings of these items. Alexander and Muhlebachs (1992) Mall groups have increasingly used group-wide promotional activities that offer a generic base that is replicated across the group, with tailoring normally restricted to institutional variations (e.g. location, contacts, opening hours). As such they take a mass-marketing approach, usually attempting to appeal to either a broad market base (usually demographic or lifestyle-based, or a common (in each centres catchment) specific target market for a limited period (such as parents and children during school holidays). These promotional activities tend to be either institutional advertising, or two of Alexander and Muhlebachs (1992) four mall promotional types price-based and entertainment-based. The first (price-based) are commonly group-wide sales, gift-withpurchase, or discounts once a minimum purchase level is reached. The levels of price reductions or rewards are consistent across the group. There is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of price-based promotions in malls, but the general retail literature implies that such activities are effective in encouraging visits (e.g. Folkes and Wheat, 1995; Smith and Sinha, 2000) and in increasing sales (e.g. Kendrick, 1998) Hyllegard, Karen; Eckman, Molly; Descals, Alejandro Molla; Borja, Miguel Angel Gomez (2005), studied Spanish consumers' perceptions of US apparel specialty retailers' products and services. The study emphasized that specialty retailers' success in international markets is contingent upon their knowledge of culturally-defined values, norms and behavior that influence consumer decision making and impact acceptance of products and services. The study examined consumers' store patronage and apparel purchase behavior, acceptance of US apparel brands, perceptions of retailers' products and services, and perceptions of the impact of foreign retailers on local communities. It found out that the perceptions differed regarding quality, fissionability, product assortment, extent and quality of customer service, convenience of location, payment options, national

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brands and store layout. Consumers' acceptance of US apparel brands was a function of age, household income, apparel product country of manufacture and price Ghosh piyali, Tripathi vibhut: International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, Retail industry in India is acknowledged as a sunshine sector, and is driven by factors like strong income growth, changing lifestyles and favorable demographic patterns. Having cemented its presence in metros and Tier I cities, retailers are allured by opportunities in Tier II and III cities like low-cost real estate and shifting consumption patterns of consumers who are graduating to affluence and lifestyle purchases. This study is an attempt to explore shopping and purchase behavior patterns of consumers within organized retail outlets of Allahabad, a Tier II city in India. Variables identified for shopping orientation were treated with Factor Analysis; motivating factors for store selection and purchase patterns on each shopping trip have also been analyzed. Craig, Ghosh, & McLafferty, 1984. Most previous academic research studies have treated such entertainment centers as just one additional characteristic of a shopping center which could be included in retail gravitational models to predict consumer patronage of shopping centers or the market potential of a particular location. Such gravitation models have traditionally included factors such as distance and travel time, size of a shopping area, characteristics of the shopping center, consumer characteristics, and the cost of shopping to consumers. Bellenger et al. (1977) found that some consumers placed the greatest value on convenience and economic attributes including convenience to home, accessibility, and the presence of services such as banks and restaurants. Others, however emphasized recreational attributes including atmosphere, fashionability, variety of stores and merchandise. According to Shimp (2003), sales promotion refers to any incentive used by a manufacturer to induce the trade (wholesalers, retailers, or other channel members) and/or
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consumers to buy a brand and to encourage the sales force to aggressively sell it. Retailers also use promotional incentives to encourage desired behaviors from consumers. Sales promotion is more short-term oriented and capable of influencing behavior. Totten & Block (1994) stated that the term sales promotion refers to many kinds of selling incentives and techniques intended to produce immediate or short-term sales effects. Typical sales promotion includes coupons, samples, in-pack premiums, and price-offs, displays, and so on. By Groover, 2005, Shopping Centre Image. Many studies on shopping centre image are dominated by the big four dimensions, namely merchandise mix, accessibility, services and atmospherics. The dominance of the big four means that researchers have neglected shopping centre entertainment, which is a major component of the modern shopping centre mix Hence, further research on entertainment consumption at shopping centers is required . According to Bloch, Ridgway and Dawson, 1994; Shim and Eastlick, 1998, Functional attributes of shopping mall entertainment, such as the variety of eateries will also have an impact on shopper satisfaction. Indeed, the interaction of shoppers with those functional attributes is inevitable because entertainment consumption occurs within the shopping mall environment Hence, a hybrid approach to evaluation which integrates both functional attributes and affective experiences is useful to the understanding of satisfaction formation of entertainment seekers. Expectation-disconfirmation approach by Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Spreng, MacKenzie and Olshavsky, 1996 or the Performance approach by Cronin and Taylor, 1994, The proposed model reported in this conceptual paper adopts the performance approach, which purports that consumer satisfaction is derived from the evaluation of functional attributes per se rather than the disconfirmation between consumer perceptions and expectations of those attributes. However, a limitation of the performance approach is that consumer emotions (affective experiences) are neglected in the satisfaction
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equation, yet affective experiences are important to satisfaction formation of entertainment seekers due to the hedonic nature of the activity . The list of studies about complementary effects of promotions is however less extensive. Several authors ( Chintagunta and Haldar 1998; Russell and Petersen 2000) distinguish two types of complementary products. On one hand, products are use (true) complements if they are typically consumed together and on the other hand, products are purchase (spurious) complements if they are purchased together rather as a result of one-stop shopping or concurrent purchase cycles. With respect to the latter type, Mulhern and Leone (1991) suggest that all items in a retail store can be complements since they can be purchased at the same time in the same place. Complementary purchases can be influenced through the effect that retail promotions have on store switching and store traffic. Retailers use promotion folders to induce store switching behavior, to generate store traffic and to make customers buy their additional purchases within the same store. Keng and Ehrenberg (1984) suggest that consumers switch stores as a result of retail promotions. For disposable diapers, Kumar and Leone (1988) attribute part of a sales bump of a promoted item to store substitution. Other researchers found little (Walters 1991; Bodapati 1996) or no evidence (Bucklin and Lattin 1992) of store substitution in the presence of price promotions in the fast moving consumer goods environment. Bodapati (1996) suggests that a rather small proportion (20%) of consumers is influenced by feature advertising in their store choice. Walters (1988) finds, for some cases, a direct effect of price promotions on store traffic. This traffic building effect of retail promotions is particularly desirable since consumers may engage in one-stop shopping and purchase an assortment of additional items once they are in the store. Indeed, Mulhern and Padgett (1995) show that 75 percent of the customers, whose main reason for the store visit is a particular retail price promotion, also purchase other (regular priced)products. Other authors investigate promotional effects for true consumption complements. Walters (1988; 1991) and Mulhern and Leone (1991) reported weak cross elasticities for spaghetti and spaghetti sauce and cake mix and cake frostings. The latter studies made use of sales response models. An alternative to this approach is market basket analysis. It offers the
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opportunity to measure complementary effects more precisely. Only in recent research, shopping baskets composed the unit of analysis for identifying promotional influences on complementary products. Chintagunta and Haldar (1998), Manchanda et al (1999) and Russell and Petersen (2000) show for a limited number of product categories that a price decrease resulted in a higher purchase probability of a product and its complements. Hruschka et al (1999) conducted a large-scale study and came, for some categories, to the same conclusions. The above studies give insights into how promotions may influence sales of complementary products. They also mention the importance of optimizing promotional strategies or discuss potential implications of their research with regard to joint promotions (e.g. Russell and Kamakura 1997). Yet, to our knowledge, only Chintagunta and Haldar (1998) explicitly investigate, at the sales level, how simultaneous promotions may reinforce one another. Having developed a bivariate hazard model, they compared different scenarios and concluded that the increase in purchase probability, as a result of simultaneous promotions, was of a magnitude of 0.8% for pasta and 0.3% for pasta sauce. The authors note that the small sales gain must be traded off against loss in profit margins. In our study, we compare sales (and profits) generated in different promotional scenarios: only the main product is promoted, only the complement is promoted and both are promoted at the same time. Russell and Petersen (2000) and Hruschka et al (1999) point out that one of the limitations of their research, and previous research, is that they only consider how often products or product categories are purchased together, but neglect how much of these items is purchased. In the promotion literature, some effort has been made to split the direct impact of price promotions in its different components and to isolate the stockpiling effect. Gupta (1988) shows that only 2 percent of a sales increase due to a promotion is accounted for by stockpiling. When considering complements, one may expect that the purchase quantity increase of the main product will be followed by an increase of the purchase quantity of the complement, especially in the case of strong consumption complements. The indirect effect (complement) is expected to be smaller that the direct effect.

24

Chapter 3
25

Research Methodology

Objective of the study:Primary objectives The main purpose of survey is to throw light towards the promotional activities on the sale of the product in malls. Secondary objectives To find out the effectiveness of promotional strategies of shopping malls. To ascertain the impact of promotional activity on purchase decision.

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Methodology:The various secondary sources are used in order to determine the consumer attitude various secondary sources for collecting information are website and magazines. Research design Firstly exploratory research will be used. The focus is on gaining insight and familiarity for later investigation. Later on descriptive research will be used. Sample plan Sample area: Shopping malls of Indore city like, treasure island, central mall, C21 mall, Mangal city, Malhar mega mall etc. Sample size: Sample Size: 100 Sample Extent: shopping malls of Indore city. Sample design: The random sampling technique was used for the selection of the respondents.
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Data sources: Primary data will be collected from respondent of different shopping malls through the questionnaire method. The number of respondent are 100 who will fill the questionnaire. Secondary data includes information regarding present market scenario will be collected by internet, magazines, newspapers and books. Tools for Data Analysis Data collected from different sources will be tabulated. Percentage and Average method will be used and also the factor analysis method will be applied to analyses the data.

Data Analysis and Interpretation : The purpose of this study is to discover and analyze the impact of various consumer sales promotion techniques on shopper as driving factors of shopping malls and measures their effectiveness. For the data analysis we select the 5 question that are directly related to objective of research and response of these represent in pie chart by using percentile method and result is in tabulated form.

Question1. Do the offers/promotions influence you to visit the retail mall more often?

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81%

19%

Yes No

Option %

Yes 81%

No 19%

Interpretation This questions aimed to identifying the visiting of people in shopping malls is influence by the promotional offers, by analyzing the response of this question it is identified that majority of the people consider that promotional offers influence their visiting in the malls .

Question2. Rank the following offers depending on your preference Rank from 1 to 5. Very High(5) High(4) Neutral(3) Low (2) Very Low(1) a) Price Discount [ ]

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16%

4% 6%

5 4 3 2 1
64%

10%

Option %

5 64%

4 10%

3 6%

2 4%

1 16%

b) Food Coupon [ ] Very High(5) High(4) Neutral(3) Low (2) Very Low(1)

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10% 12%

8%
5 4 3 2 1

40% 30%

Option %

5 8%

4 40%

3 30%

2 12%

1 10%

c) Gift Voucher [ ] Very High(5) High(4) Neutral(3) Low (2) Very Low(1)

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6%

10%

16% 32%

5 4 3 2 1
36%

Option %

5 10%

4 16%

3 36%

2 32%

1 6%

d) Lucky draw [ ] Very High(5) High(4) Neutral(3) Low (2) Very Low(1)

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16%

6% 14%

Option %

5 6%

4 14%

3 32%

5 4 1 2 32% 3 16% 2 1

32% 32%

e)

Movie Combo [ ] Very High(5) High(4) Neutral(3) Low (2) Very Low(1)

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10% 30% 24%

18%

18%

Option %

5 10%

4 24%

3 18%

2 18%

1 30%

Option Very high 68% Price Discount 6% Food Coupon 10% Gift Voucher 5% Lucky draw 10% Movie Combo

High
22% 5% 12% 8% 12%

Neutral
4% 44% 40% 35% 38%

Low
3% 20% 20% 40% 40%

Very low
3% 25% 18% 12% 10%

Interpretation:This questions aimed to identifying the preferences of the promotional offers in malls, by analyzing the response of this question it is identified that majority of the people consider price discount is the best promotional offers in the malls .

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Question3.Do you think promotion is the best way to attract more customers to the mall. Yes [ ] No [ ]

14%

5 4

86%

Sample

Yes 86%

No 14%

Interpretation:This questions aimed to identifying the promotional offers in malls attract the customer or not, by analyzing the response of this question it is identified that shopping malls attract most of the people by providing various promotional offers.

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Question4 :How much do you think that the promotional activities help in making your decision to choose which retail mall to visit? To great Extent __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __Not much 1 2 3 4 5 1-Most dependent; 2- Dependent; 3- Neutral; 4- Very little dependent; 5- Does not affect

10% 4%

14%

30% 42%

1 2 3 4 5

Option
%

1 14%

2 30%

3 42%

4 4%

5 10%

Interpretation:This questions aimed to identifying that how much promotional activities help the people to make decision in selection of shopping malls, by analyzing the response of this question it is identified that the promotions/offers helps the people to choose the shopping mall.

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Question5. Are promotions/ offers are one of the major factors which influence you to switch over from One mall to other? To great Extent __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __Not much 1 2 3 4 5 a) Strongly Agree [ ] b) Agree [ ] c) Neutral [ ] d) Disagree [ ] e) Strongly Disagree [ ]

4%

4% 18%

42% 32%

1 2 3 4 5

Option Sample

1 18%

2 32%

3 42%

4 4%

5 4%

Interpretation:- This questions aimed to identifying that offers influence the people to switch the malls or not, by analyzing the response of this question it is identified that most of the people depend on the offers to switch the shopping malls.

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Chapter 4 Discussion of Results

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FINDINGS: In the survey and study conducted above, we came across that promotional activity conducted by shopping malls influence the customers visiting and their subsequent shopping and buying decision. Here, we present the findings gathered and the suggestions we offer to the retail malls based on the data gathered and analyzed. In the research it is found that highest number of the respondents falls in the age group 1830. It can be deducted that most of the consumers who visit retail malls regularly are the youth. In the survey it is found that the highest number of respondents were male, the number of female respondent were less compared to the male respondent. Consumers approached were asked which retail mall they shopped at frequently. The retail mall brands placed before them were Treasure Island, central, C21, mangal city, malhar mega. By analyzing the response to this question it is identified customers preferences among the varied choice of stores, and can calculate how much market share they hold. The highest number of responses has been attribute to Treasure Island. T.I. attracts people of many incomes groups, and offers products that appeal to a wide array of consumers. The other malls can be ranked in descending order of preference or frequency of visits as: C21, Central, malhar, mangal city etc. Consumers approached were asked to indicate from which source they come to know about the retail malls, the type of sources were word of mouth, magazines, print media, electronic media and Newspaper. By analyzing to this question, it is identified that the high number of respondents come to know about the shopping malls by Newspaper or by the word of mouth. Consumers approached were asked that promotions/offers influence their visit in retail Mall. By analyzing the responses it is found that most of the people influences to visit by the promotions/offers. Consumers approached were asked to rank their preference on a scale of 1 to 5 of which another factors influences their visit in malls other than promotions/offers. The factors points placed before them were Quality, Ambiance, Price, Fast service. By analyzing this question the responses to this question it is identified the biggest factor that influence the consumers in favoring one mall to another the highest ranking have been attributed to
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quality of the products. The next criteria that influence the consumers in favoring a particular mall to another are (in descending order) - Price, fast services and Ambience. Quality and the price of products play big role in the decision making process. Consumers approached were asked which promotional offers influence them to visit in mall and the preferences points placed before them were Discounts, Celebrity visit, lucky Draw, Games and Combo offers. By analyzing this question most of the consumers influences by the price discount offer. The next offers that influence the consumers in to visit in the are in descending order Combo offers, celebrity visit, lucky draw and games. Consumers approached were asked if promotional offers helps in making decision to choose which retail mall to visit. By analyzing the responses most of the people influences by offers and some were neutral about this question. Consumers approached were asked to rank if advertisement influences them to select the shopping malls. The rating scale comprised of Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree. From the tabulated data and pie chart depicted above and responses of the consumers it is evident that most of the people agree with the question and also instead of that a slightly higher number of respondents do not give much importance to advertisement, its impact on their shopping decision was slightly lesser. Consumers approached were asked if promotional offers influence them to switch over from one mall to another the above pie chart shows that most of the people were neutral about this question and 32% people were agree that they switch from one mall to another mall on the basis of promotions/offers.

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Suggestions: After completion of study we found that promotional activity at shopping malls most affect to customer. As per my point of view, I Suggest that, For attract more customer, shopping malls should offer various promotional activity. They should use strong advertising media so that every shopper know about promotional activity. In various promotional activity, price discount is most prefer by shopper so shopping malls management require to more focus on price discount. Fast service is also affect to shopper so shopping malls management should manage this.

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Conclusions Across the shopping malls where the research study was conducted, it was found that four major factors drive the Indian shoppers towards shopping mall. It can be understood that Indian shoppers give more importance to, price, offers, Customer care, and shopping mall facilities. and also the shopping mall attributes to capture in the mind of Indian shopper for selecting the shopping mall. Among various promotional tools evaluated , all the promotional tools influence on different segment therefore , In spite of challenges, sales promotion act as versatile weapon for marketing the product and service. Consumer promotion has become a common practice for majority of the product and services. Promotions technique have a long way to go in Indian retail industry market.

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Webliography/ Bibliography

Bibliography
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Philip kotler- marketing management. Nicholls, J.A.F.,Sydney, R., Sandipa, D.,Lucette, C.B.,1996. Relationship between situational variables and Purchasing in India and the USA. International marketing Review,13(6),6. Knox, S.D., Dension, D.J.,2000. Store Loyalty: Its Impact on Retail Revenue- An Empirical study of Purchasing behavior in the U.K. journal of Retailing and consumer services,7,33-45. Marandi, E., Little,E., Sehkon, Y., 2006. The Impact of Personal Value on Perception of Service Provider Empathy and Coustomer Loyalty. The Bussiness review, Cambridge.5(2).339-344. Gardner, D.H.,1972. An Exploratory Investigation of Achivement Motivation Effects on Consumer Behaviour. In Venkatesan, A.(Ed.). Proceeding of Third Annual Conference,
Association of Consumer Research,20-23.

Webliography
44

http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-management.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/51385041/consumers-buying-behavior-in-shopping-malls http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/ http://www.scribd.com/doc/45195588/buying-decision-making-style-of-indian-shoppers http://www.collinseducation.com/resources/aqaA2ul0web.pdf http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mall www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0845012.html www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mall www.lexipedia.com/english/shopping+mall http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/types-of-salespromotion/ consumer-sales-promotions/

45

Annexure

The study on Impact of Promotional Activites on Consumers Buying Behaviour at Shopping Malls in indore.
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This survey is integral to my major research project in MBA course, your survey response will be strictly confidential and data from this research will be reported on aggregate. Thank you very much for your time and support. DATE_________ Name:__________________________________________________________________ Gender:- Male [ ] Female [ ] Occupation:- ____________________

Age:- _______________________

1) Where do you prefer to shop the most? a) Individual outlet [ ] b) Malls 2) Which retail mall you visit frequently? a) Treasure island [ ] c) C21 mall [ ] e) Malhar mega mall [ ]

[ ] [ ] [ ]

b) Central mall d) Mangal city

3) Through which promotional source you come to know about the retail mall? a) Word of Mouth [ ] b) Magazine [ ] c) Print Media [ ] d) Electronic Media [ ] e) Newspaper [ ] 4) Do the offers/promotions influence you to visit the retail mall more often? Yes [ ] No [ ] 5) Which retail mall gives you more promotion/offers? a) Treasure island [ ] b) Central mall d) Mangal city [ ] e) Malhar mega mall [ ] [ ] c) C21 mall [ ]

6) Rank the following factor which influences you to visit the retail mall other than Promotions/ offers? Very High (5) High (4) Neutral (3) Low (2) Very Low (1) a) Quality [ ] b) Ambiance [ ] c) Price [ ] d) Fast Service [ ] 7) Which type of promotional offers influences you the more?
47

a) Celebrity visit [ ] c) Lucky draw [ ] e) Combo offers [ ]

b) Discounts d) Games

[ ] [ ]

8) Do you think promotion is the best way to attract more customers to the mall? Yes [ ] No [ ] 9) Rank the following offers depending on your preferences? Rank from 1 to 5 Offers:Very High (5) High (4) Neutral (3) Low (2) Very Low (1) a) Price Discount [ ] b) Food Coupon [ ] c) Gift Voucher [ ] d) Lucky draw [ ] e) Movie Combo [ ] 10) How much do you think that the promotional activities help in making your decision to choose which retail mall to visit? To great Extent __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __Not much 1 2 3 4 5 1-Most dependent; 2- Dependent; 3- neutral; 4- very little dependent; 5- does not affect 11) How would you think advertisement help you to select a retail malls Rate the followings To Great extent__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Not much 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly agree (1) Agree (2) Neutral (3) Disagree (4) Strongly disagree (5)

12) Are promotions/ offers are one of the major factors which influence you to switch over from One mall to other? To great extent__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Not much 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree (1) Agree (2)
48

Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

(3) (4) (5)

_________________________________________________

49