A report on Research on

Consumer Perception on Big Bazaar (Kathriguppe)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the M.B.A Degree Course of Bangalore University

By

Vikram Kademani
Registration NO 06XQCM6124

Under the guidance of

Mr. Narasimhamurty External Guide 2006-2008 Prof. Jairaj Nair Internal Guide

M P Birla Institute Of Management

Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan #43, Race course Road, Bangalore 560001

Declaration
I hereby declare that this research report entitled Customer a record of

perception towards Big Bazaar, (Kathriguppe) is

independent work carried out by me towards partial fulfillment of the requirements of the MBA degree Course, Bangalore University at M.P.Birla Institute of Management.

Place : Bangalore Kademani Date

Vikram
Reg No :

06XQCM6124

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

Principals CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. Vikram Kademani bearing the registration no - 06XQCM6124 has satisfactorily completed his internship training at Big Bazaar, Bangalore, towards the partial fulfillment of MBA course prescribed by the Bangalore University, for the year 2007-08 under our guidance and supervision.

Place : Bangalore Date:

Dr. N S Mallavali (Principal)

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

Guide Certificate
This i s to c e r t i f y that this research report entitled Customer perception towards Big Bazaar, (Kathriguppe) has been prepared by Mr. Vikram Kademani under my guidance and supervision.

Place : Bangalore Date :

Prof. Jairaj Nair Faculty MPBIM

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

Acknowledgement

This is to acknowledge the management of Big Bazaar for having permitted me to under go my research report as part of MBA course. I am extremely thankful to Mr. Narasimhamurty, for giving me an opportunity to under go the training at their esteemed organization, my sincere gratitude to all those who have responded to my queries. I would like to acknowledge the guidance given by the internal guide Prof. Jairaj Nair in undergoing the research report and preparation of project work. I further extend my sincere gratitude to our Principal Dr. Nagesh Malavalli. Finally I would like to thank my parents and all my friends who have stood beside me in completing my project.

Vikram Kademani

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

Table of Content
Sl No
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Particular
Executive Summary Industrial Profile Company Profile Awards and Recognisation Big Bazaar Statement of Problem Research Findings Findings Conclusion Recommendation Bibliography

Page No
1 2 3 14 16 18 16 25 63 66 67 29 72

Questionnaire

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

List of Tables
No Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Table 14 Table 15 Table 16 Table 17 Table 18 Titles Gender of respondents interviewed Marital Status of the respondents Age wise distribution of the respondents Occupation distribution of the respondents Monthly Income distribution of Respondents Frequency of the Respondents visiting Customers perception of prices offered Customer perception of product variety Customer perception towards shopping experience Customer perception towards parking facility Customer perception towards billing system Customer perception towards the promotions Customer perception towards Interaction of Sales people Customer perception towards quality Customers visiting at food stop. Customer perception towards the food stop Number of customers visiting Star Sitara. Customers perception towards Star Sitara Page No 25 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

List of Chart and Graphs

Chart No Graph 1 Graph 2 Graph 3 Graph 4 Graph 5 Graph 6 Graph 7 Graph 8 Graph 9 Graph 10 Graph 11 Graph 12 Graph 13 Graph 14 Graph 15 Graph 16 Graph 17 Graph 18 Graph 19 Particular Distribution of gender Marital status of Respondents Age wise distribution of the Respondents Occupation distribution of Respondents Monthly Income Distribution of Respondents Frequency of Respondents visiting Customer perception of prices offered Customer perception of product variety Perception of shopping experience at the store Customer perception towards parking facility Customer perception towards Billing system Customer perception towards the promotions offered. Customer perception towards interaction of salespeople Perception of the respondents towards the quality of the products offered Number of respondents visiting the food stop Customer perception towards the food offered at food stop Showing the number of respondents visiting Star Sitara Customer perception towards the Star Sitara Showing the reasons for which customers shop Page Number 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

Executive Summary
Big Bazaar is a chain of shopping malls in India owned by the Pantaloon Group. Big Bazaar has democratized shopping in India and is so much more than a hypermarket. Here, you will find over 170,000 products under one roof that cater to every need of a family, making Big Bazaar Indias favorite shopping destination. Big Bazaar is the destination where you get products available at prices lower than the MRP, setting a new level of standard in price, convenience and quality. It was started in the year 2001 with the slogan Is se sasta aur achcha kahin nahi. The title of the project is Customer perception towards Big Bazaar (Kathriguppe). The purpose of the study is to understand how the customers perceive the store and provide suggestions for improvement. The type of the research design used was the Descriptive Research design and the sampling procedure that was followed was nonprobabilistic convenience sampling. The total sample size for the study is 220

respondents across all the ages, income category, occupation and gender. Bar charts and other useful tools are used for the analysis of the study. Some of the limitations of the study include the biased responses provided by the respondents; the sample may not represent the whole population, and most customers were busy with shopping are some of them. Structured questionnaire were used to get the responses from the respondents by personally interviewing them in the store. Some of the suggestions provided by the respondents for improvement include increasing the efficiency of the billing system in week ends and during festive seasons, proper arrangement of the products, reducing too much crowd during festive seasons and improvement in parking facility. Based on the findings the conclusion was that the over all perception of the customers towards the store is good.The overall perception was good but there is still scope of improvement, which are the recommendations given for the study include priority given on the basis of quantity of purchase in the queue to complete the billing formalities, proper trimming or arrangement of the products, making Star Sitara saloon aware and attractive, attracting the customers by conveying the benefits of visiting the store during off season, improving the ambience and making sales personnel interaction more effective are some of the recommendations given for the study.

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

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INDUSTRY PROFILE
Retail is Indias largest industry, accounting for over 10 per cent of the countrys GDP and around eight per cent of the employment. Retail industry in India is at the crossroads. It has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But because of the heavy initial investments required, break even is difficult to achieve and many of these players have not tasted success so far. However, the future is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favorable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centers, multi-storied malls and huge complexes offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the consumption by the Indian population is going to take a higher growth trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its demographics. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing workingwomen population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth drivers of the organized retail sector in India.

According to this years Global Retail Development Index India is positioned as the leading destination for retail investment. This followed from the saturation in western retail markets and we find big western retailers like Wal-mart and Tesco entering into Indian market. Indias retail industry accounts for 10 percent of its GDP and 8 percent of the employment to reach $17 billion by 2010. There are about 300 new malls, 1,500 supermarkets and 325 departmental stores being built in the cities very soon.

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A shopping revolution is ushering in India where, a large population between 20-34 age groups in the urban regions is boosting demand by 11.1 percent in recent years to an Rs 23,308 purchasing power. This has resulted in huge international retail investment and a more liberal FDI.

India represents an economic opportunity on a massive scale, both as a global base and as a domestic market. Indian Retail sector consists of small family-owned stores, located in residential areas, with a shop floor of less than 500 square feet. At present the organized sector accounts for only 2 to 4% of the total market although this is expected to rise by 20% to 25% year on year basis. . Retail growth in the coming five years is expected to be stronger than GDP growth, driven by changing lifestyles and by strong income growth, which in turn will be supported by favorable demographic patterns and the extent to which organized retailers succeed in reaching lower down the income scale to reach potential consumers towards the bottom of the consumer pyramid. Growing consumer credit will also help in boosting consumer demand.

The structure of retailing will also develop rapidly. Shopping malls are becoming increasingly common in large cities, and announced development plans project at least 150 new shopping malls by 2008. The number of department stores is growing much faster than overall retail, at an annual 24%. Supermarkets have been taking an increasing share of general food and grocery trade over the last two decades.

However, Distribution continues to improve, but it still remains a major inefficiency. Poor quality of infrastructure, coupled with poor quality of the distribution sector, results in logistics costs that are very high as a proportion of GDP, and inventories, which have to be maintained at an unusually high level. Distribution and marketing is a huge cost in Indian consumer markets. It's a lot easier to cut manufacturing costs than it is to cut distribution and marketing costs.

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Also, government has relaxed regulatory controls on foreign direct investment (FDI) considerably in recent years, while retailing currently remains closed to FDI. However, the Indian government has indicated in 2005 that liberalization of direct investment in retailing is under active consideration. It has allowed 51% FDI in "single brandretail.

The next cycle of change in Indian consumer markets will be the arrival of foreign players in consumer retailing. Although FDI remains highly restricted in retailing, most companies believe that will not be for long. Indian companies know Indian markets better, but foreign players will come in and challenge the locals by sheer cash power, the power to drive down prices. Indias vast middle class and its untapped market are the key attractions for the foreign players driven by changing lifestyle and strong income growth.

Retail reform
The Government regulations allow 100 per cent FDI in cash and carry through automatic route and 51 per cent in single brand. Besides, the franchise route is available for big operators. Now, the Government also proposes further liberalization in the retail sector allowing 51 per cent FDI in consumer electronics and sports goods.

The retail road ahead

The Indian retail market is estimated at US$ 350 billion. But organized retail is estimated at only US$ 8 billion. However, the opportunity is huge--by 2010, organized retail is expected to grow to US$ 22 billion. With the growth of organised retailing estimated at 40 per cent (CAGR) over the next few years, Indian retailing is clearly at a tipping point. India is currently the ninth largest retail market in the world. And it is names of small towns like Dehradun, Vijayawada, Lucknow and Nasik that will power India up the rankings soon. The main competition for the organized retail industry which at this point of time is 2%4% comes from the unorganized sector. But this scenario is going to change in the future. The existing players in the market such as LandMark, TATA group, Pantaloon group, RPG group are trying to strengthen their market. Where as the new entrants like the

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Reliance group which is trying to enter the market in the most aggressive manner and the some others include the Bharti group with the tie up with the Wal-Mart and Aditya Birla group are watching the market very closely and are all set to enter the market in a very big way.

As the markets open up for the multi brand retailing then the competition from the unorganized sector will reduce gradually and the competition among the organized sector will become intense. So in the coming years the retailing is going to drive the economy by providing employment in a huge magnitude and thus becoming the major contributor to the GDP of the country. As the western markets are saturated the big global players in retailing are eyeing India, for the other reasons such as growing middle class population and increasing awareness and other changes in the life styles and shopping patterns. At present all the formats are not yet being practiced in full fledge, once the formats are defined and retailers rollover in full fledge then the patterns will evolve and will be practiced in a proper manner. So in the next five to seven years the industry is going to be intense as big players are entering and eyeing the huge untapped market.

COMPANY PROFILE
Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, is India's leading retail company with presence across multiple lines of businesses. The company owns and manages multiple retail formats that cater to a wide cross-section of the Indian society and is able to capture almost the entire consumption basket of the Indian consumer. Headquartered in Mumbai (Bombay), the company operates through 5 million square feet of retail space, has over 331 stores across 40 cities in India and employs over 17,000 people. The company registered a turnover of Rs 2,019 crore for FY 2005-06. Pantaloon Retail forayed into modern retail in 1997 with the launching of fashion retail chain, Pantaloons in Kolkata. In 2001, it launched Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain that combines the look and feel of Indian bazaars, with aspects of modern retail, like choice, convenience and hygiene. This was followed by Food Bazaar, food and grocery chain M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore. 14

and launch Central, a first of its kind seamless mall located in the heart of major Indian cities. Some of it's other formats include, Collection i (home improvement products), EZone (consumer electronics), Depot (books, music, gifts and stationary), aLL (fashion apparel for plus-size individuals), Shoe Factory (footwear) and Blue Sky (fashion accessories). It has recently launched its e-tailing venture, futurebazaar.com.

The group's subsidiary companies include, Home Solutions Retail India Ltd, Pantaloon Industries Ltd, Galaxy Entertainment and Indus League Clothing. The group also has joint venture companies with a number of partners including French retailer Etam group, Lee Cooper, Manipal Healthcare, Talwalkar's, Gini & Jony and Liberty Shoes. Planet Retail, a group company owns the franchisee of international brands like Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Next and Guess in India.

Future Group
Pantaloon Retail is the flagship enterprise of the Future Group, which is positioned to cater to the entire Indian consumption space. The Future Group operates through six verticals: Future Retail (encompassing all retail businesses), Future Capital (financial products and services), Future Brands (management of all brands owned or managed by group companies), Future Space (management of retail real estate), Future Logistics (management of supply chain and distribution) and Future Media (development and management of retail media). Future Capital Holdings, the group's financial arm, focuses on asset management and consumer finance. It manages two real estate investment funds (Horizon and Kshitij) and consumer-related private equity fund, Indivision. It also plans to get into insurance, consumer credit and other consumer-related financial products and services in the near future. Future Group's vision is to, "Deliver Everything, Everywhere, Everytime to Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner." One of the core values at Future Group is, 'Indianess' and its corporate credo is - Rewrite rules, Retain values.

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Lines of Business
E-tailing Food Fashion Home and electronics Telecom and IT General merchandise Leisure and entertainment Wellness and beauty Books and music

E-tailing

Futurebazaar.com offers the widest range of products at lowest prices everyday! Having pioneered the retailing business in India, PRIL has now decided to revolutionize the consumer e-commerce business in India. It intends to provide customers with a streamlined, efficient and world class personalized shopping experience, which will be supported with the best technology platform. Buying products is a 3 step simple process. All one has to do is Search, Register and Buy. Here you can expect a shopping experience akin to shopping at an actual bazaar but with added simplicity & everyday low prices and an assurance of 'your product' will be delivered within 7 days of purchase

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Food
Caf Bollywood: Indian street food but with assurance of highest levels of hygiene and quality. Chamosa: Chamosa is a branded chain, which sell the local Indian snack combination of tea and samosas. Food bazaar: Life is all about good taste and food bazaar aims to ensure the same. With the low prices, a wide selection of products and guaranteed freshness, you are bound to find it irresistible. Sports Bar: A bistro focused on the world of sport, the Sports Bar is complimented with an unrivalled ambience. Fashion Blue sky: Accessories like sunglasses, and watches are available at blue sky. Central: A showcase, seamless mall for all your needs. Located in the heart of city, Central invites to Shop, Eat, and Celebrate. Fashion station: Fashion station takes fashion a notch higher in value segment, for the ones who have an for it. Giny and Jony: Gini and Jony is a lifestyle brand with a radical approach to kids fashion. The brand caters to an age group of 2 to 16 years, style conscious and stresses on a head to toe fashion concept. Pantaloons: Today, a leader in fashion. Pantaloons offer a fresh fashion for young and trendy.

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Home and electronics: Collection i: Collection i, a lifestyle furniture store is built on the concept of ideas for home dcor, offering the trendiest and latest in furniture, furnishings and home accents. Electronics bazaar: Currently present within Big Bazaar stores, Electronics Bazaar offers the best deals in branded electronic goods and appliances. e-zone: e-Zone brings to you the trendiest in electronics, at the lowest prices. Furniture bazaar: Furniture Bazaar offers an entire range of Home Furniture needs that are utilitarian and affordable in their pricing. Home town: A one-stop destination for every need of the aspirational Indian homeowner, Home Town, brings together a vast range of products and services under one roof. Got it: Got It is a one stop shop for everything from screwdrivers to drill machines and everything else that you would need to keep your home up and going.

Telecom and IT: Gen M: Gen M, as the name suggests, is for the young and the hip. Gen M offers a whole array of the latest and the best gadgets and gizmos to tech junkies. M Bazaar: M bazaar is the first and one of its kind concept offering comprehensive solutions to satisfy the knowledge, entertainment and communication aspirations of Individuals. M Port: Walk into the ever-progressive world of technology and super brands. M-port is a one-stop shop for everything that you need to fulfill your home and I.T. needs.

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General Merchandise:
Big bazaar: If value for money is what drives your purchase there can be no better place for you other than Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar wholesale club: The Big Bazaar Wholesale Club brings to you an opportunity to save in bulk as you buy in bulk. Brand Factory: The thought behind Brand Factory is to raise the bar of expectation and experience when it comes to Brand+ Bargain Shopping'. Central: One stop seamless mall for all your needs. From national and international brands, books and music stores, lifestyle accessories and even well stocked food and grocery. Navaras: Navaras is a fine 22 carat pure gold and diamond jewellery brand, retailed from Big Bazaar stores Shoe Factory: A value format, to the core, Shoe Factory brings with it a fresh experience in footwear retailing. Be it any brand, any size or for any occasion you will find it all here.

Leisure and Entertainment:

Bowling Co.: There is something for everyone at this state-of-the-art premium family entertainment center. F 1 2 3: An entertainment zone, F 123 is a leisure solution for all age groups.

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Wellness and Beauty:

Health village: Customers benefit from the wisdom of ancient practices coupled with modern health treatments at our one of its kind health village. Star Sitara: Star & Sitara, a unique beauty salon for men and women democratises salon services for easy access to all and deliver quality service at very affordable prices. Tulsi: At Tulsi focus is on helping customers stay healthy by providing access to the best allopathic, ayurvedic and homeopathic medicinal products. Turmeric: Turmeric is a cut-in format at Food Bazaar stores offering beauty products like colour cosmetics, fragrances, herbal and specialty skin items, hair products and bath accessories.

Books and Music:

Depot: Depot is one of the youngest brands from the Pantaloon stable and is a tribute to our freedom of thought, speech and expression shared in a novel fashion with customers as books, multimedia, toys, stationary and gifts.

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Board of Directors
Mr. Kishore Biyani, Managing Director
Kishore Biyani is the Chief Executive Officer of Future Group and Managing Director, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. He started off his entrepreneurial career with manufacturing and distribution of branded mens wear products. In 1997, Kishore Biyani led the groups foray into modern retail with the opening up of the first department store Pantaloons in Kolkata. In 2001, he created and evolved a panIndian, class-less model Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain, followed by Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain, which blended the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with western hygiene. This was followed by Central, a first of its kind seamless mall located in the heart of major Indian cities. As the CEO of Future Group, Kishore Biyani leads the groups presence across the Indian consumption space. The group now operates through six verticals, Future Retail, Future Capital, Future Space, Future Brands, Future Logistics and Future Media. The groups financial arm, Future Capital Holdings has recently raised around $1 billion for private equity investments in the real estate sector and consumer-related companies. It also has plans to foray into insurance, micro-credit and consumer-related financial products and services. Kishore Biyani prides in being an Indian, and advocates Indianness as the core value driving his company.

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Mr. Gopikishan Biyani, Wholetime Director

Gopikishan Biyani is a commerce graduate and has more than twenty years of experience in the textile business.

Mr. Rakesh Biyani, Wholetime Director

Rakesh Biyani is a commerce graduate and has been actively involved in category management; retail stores operations, IT and exports. He has been instrumental in the implementation of the various new retail formats.

Mr. Ved Prakash Arya Director, Operations and Chief Operating Officer
Ved Prakash Arya is an engineer by training and is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Prior to joining Pantaloon Retail, he was the CEO of Globus.

Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Independent Director

Shri Shailesh Haribhakti is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and a Certified Internal Auditor. He is the Deputy Managing Partner of Haribhakti & Co., Chartered Accountants and past president of Indian merchant Chambers. He is on the Board of several Public Limited Companies, including Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd., Ambuja Cement Eastern Ltd. etc. He is on the Board of Company since June 1, 1999.

Mr. S Doreswamy, Independent Director

S. Doreswamy, is a former Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India and serves on the board of DSP Merrill Lynch Trustee Co and Ceat Limited among others.

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Dr. D O Koshy, Independent Director

D. O. Koshy holds a doctorate from IIT, Delhi and is the Director of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. He has over 24 years of rich experience in the textiles and garment industry and was instrumental in the setting up of NIFT centers in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore. He is a renowned consultant specializing in international marketing and apparel retail management.

Ms. Anju Poddar, Independent Director

Anju Poddar holds a Bachelor of Engineering from University of Oklahoma and is a Director, NIFT, Hyderabad chapter. She also serves on the board of Maharishi Commerce Ltd and Samay Books Ltd, among others.

Ms. Bala Deshpande, Independent Director

Bala Deshpande is Executive Director, ICICI Venture Funds and also serves on the boards of Deccan Aviation, Nagarjuna Construction, Welspun India and Shoppers Stop Ltd, among others.

Mr. Anil Harish, Independent Director

Anil Harish is the partner of DM Harish & Co. Associates & Solicitors and an LLM from University of Miami. He also serves on the board of Mahindra Gesco, Unitech, IndusInd Bank and Hinduja TMT, among others.

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Awards and Recognitions

2006:
National Retail Federation

International Retailer of the Year - Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. The National Retail Federation is the largest retail trade association with over 1.4 million member organizations in the US and across the world. Some of the past recipients of this award include Metro AG, Carrefour, Ito-Yokado, Zara and Boticario.

Retail Asia, Retail Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards

International Retailer of the Year - Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. The National Retail Federation is the largest retail trade association with over 1.4 million member organizations in the US and across the world. Some of the past recipients of this award include Metro AG, Carrefour, Ito-Yokado, Zara and Boticario.

Images Retail Awards 2006

Mr. Kishore Biyani Retail Face of the year Big Bazaar Best Value Retail Store Big Bazaar Best Retail Destination Food Bazaar Best Food and Grocery Store

Readers Digest Platinum Trusted Brand Award

Big Bazaar - Earning a trusted Place in the everyday lives of consumers

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2005:
Readers Digest and Awaaz consumer Award

Big Bazaar - Most preferred, large, Food and Grocery store

Readers Digest Platinum Trusted Brand Award

Big Bazaar - Earning a trusted Place in the everyday lives of consumers

Images Retail Awards 2005

PRIL Most admired retailer of the year Food Bazaar - Retailer of the year (food and grocery) Big Bazaar Retailer of the year (value retailing) Central Retail launch of the year

Business Today selected PRIL among:

Top 20 companies in India to watch in 2005 Indias most investor-friendly companies in the top 75, Indias biggest wealth creators in the top 100

2004:
Images Retail Awards 2004

PRIL Most admired retailer of the year Food Bazaar - Retailer of the year (food and grocery) Big Bazaar Retailer of the year (value retailing) Central Retail launch of the year

Reid & Taylor and DLF Awards

PRIL Retailer of the year

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BIG BAZAAR:
Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi Big Bazaar is a chain of shopping malls in India currently with 29 outlets, owned by the Pantaloon Group. It works on same the economy model as Wal-Mart and has had considerable success in many Indian cities and small towns. The idea was pioneered by entrepreneur Kishore Biyani, the head of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. Shop till you drop! Big Bazaar has democratized shopping in India and is so much more than a hypermarket. Here, you will find over 170,000 products under one roof that cater to every need of a family, making Big Bazaar Indias favourite shopping destination. At Big Bazaar, you will get the best products at the best prices. From apparel to general merchandise like plastics, home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods, car accessories, books and music, computer accessories and many, many more. Big Bazaar is the destination where you get products available at prices lower than the MRP, setting a new level of standard in price, convenience and quality. If customers are a fashion conscious buyer who wants great clothes at great prices, Big Bazaar is the place to be. Leveraging on the companys inherent strength of fashion, Big Bazaar has created a strong value-for-money proposition for its customers. This highlights the uniqueness of Big Bazaar as compared to traditional hypermarkets, which principally revolve around food, groceries and general merchandise. Boasting of an impressive array of private labels, Big Bazaar is continually striving to provide customers with a complete look. So be it mens wear, womens wear, kids wear, sportswear or party wear, Big Bazaar fashions has it all!

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Type: Subsidiary of Pantaloon Group. Founded: 2001. Headquarters: Mumbai, India. Industry: Retail. Parent: Pantaloon Group. Owner: Kishore Biyani. Slogan: Is se sasta aur accha kahi nahin.

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PROBLEM STATEMEMENT

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Statement of the Problem:

It is very important for any company to know how the customers perceive their products, services or the organization as a whole. It is the customers perception which influences the products and services of the organization. If the organizations makes an attempt to find the customers perception then, it can alter its products accordingly and offer to its customers. So understanding the customers perception is a very difficult and vital task for the organizations.

The companies should be dynamic and should update themselves according to the changing needs of the customer. Coming to our study customer perceptions can give a lot of inputs and scope for improvement, lots of customers across all the ages, income groups and occupations visit the store. Different customers have different experiences and perceptions towards the store, understanding these differences and rendering what the customers need is very vital for the survival and the growth of the store. In this study we are attempting to understand the customer perceptions so that the store can improve upon in the areas where the customers do not have good perceptions. Ascertaining customers perception becomes very complicated when it comes to retailing, as it is a part of service sector. Lot of complications are involved in ascertaining the perception like firstly, retailing is a service (which is intangible) and secondly, it is very difficult to understand how the customers perceive. So understanding the customers perception helps the store to improve itself in many areas.

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Objectives of the study:

To know the frequency of the customers visiting the store.

To know the gender, marital status, age, occupation and income of the respondents visiting the store.

To ascertain and understand the perception towards the prices, product variety, the shopping experience, parking facility, billing system, promotions offered, interaction of the sales personnel with the customers and the quality of the products offered at BIG BAZAAR.

To understand the customer perception towards Food Stop and Star Sitara.

To know the reasons so as to why the people shop at BIG BAZAAR.

To know the overall perception of the customers perception towards the store and improve in the areas where the customers had bad experiences.

Scope of the study:

The data was collected from the respondents across all the ages, income groups, occupation and gender. The total sample size for the study is 220. The study involves ascertaining the customer perception towards various areas such as price, promotions offered, food offered, billing system and parking facility etc. The study also tries to know why the customers visit and shop at BIG BAZAAR and get valuable suggestions from them. So the study tried to get the responses almost all kinds of respondents.

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Type of research design

Meaning: A research design is a method and procedure for acquiring information
needed to solve the problem. A research design is a basic plan that helps in data collection or analysis. It specifies the type of information to be collected, the source and collection procedure. A good research decision will ensure that the data collected is relevant to the objectives to be achieved.

Types of Research Design:

1. Exploratory Research 2. Descriptive Research 3. Causal Research Design

Exploratory research design: Exploratory research focuses on the

discovery of the ideas; the major purpose of this study is to identify the problem. Exploratory study is used in the initial phase of the research. The broad and vague problems are divided into small and precise statements. Exploratory research is intended to develop initial insight and provide direction for any other further research needed.

Descriptive research design: It is a research, having clearly defined

objectives and data requirements and is capable of suggesting a specific course of action to be taken by the decision makers. As the name suggests, it implies to describe something. It is intended to generate data describing characteristics of the groups such as consumers, Salespeople, Market areas; Questionnaires can be used to gather data.

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Causal research design: The design attempts to specify the nature of

functional relationship between two or more variable factors present in the problem environment. Experimentation is done to find the effect of one factor on the other. The objective of the causal research includes: to study the Cause-Effect relationship of factors that affect the market.

The research design used in the study is the descriptive research design.

Research Method
There are mainly five types of research methods used in a study. They are:

Observation Experimentation Survey Test Marketing Consumer panel

For this study, the survey method was more appropriate then other methods because the study required the responses from the respondents and survey method suited the most.

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Data Type
Primary data: Primary data is the data, which is collected at the first hand either by
the researcher or by someone else especially for the purpose of the study. Communication and observation are two basic means of obtaining primary data. Communication involves the questioning of respondents to secure the described information using a data collection instrument.

Observation does not involve questioning. Rather it means that the situation of interests is checked and the relevant facts, actions and behavior are recorded.

The primary data for this study was collected through questionnaires. This method of data collection is quite popular, particularly in case of big enquiries. The questionnaire has been used to survey the customers who visit the BIG BAZAAR store.

Secondary data: Secondary data includes those data, which are collected for some
earlier research work and are applicable in the study, the study researcher has presently undertaken. Efficacious use of secondary data can both save money and time of the researcher. The researcher using secondary data must also know the fundamentals of the primary data collection. Secondary data is a valuable source of data.

Though the secondary data is less expensive and can be collected within a short period of time yet, they do not solve the research problems completely. This may be due to different units of its measurement, different classes employed to report data, which may become outdated by the time of its publication, this data may not be adequately processed, it may not be sufficient and so on.

The source of secondary data for this research is mainly internet.

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Sampling Procedure
In the study of this kind primary data plays a vital role. Regardless of the method used to obtain the primary data (experimentation, observation and survey), the researcher has to decide whether the data to be obtained from every unit of the population under study or only a representative portion of the population will be used. The first approach, which is collecting data about each and every unit of the population, is called census method. The second approach, where only a few units of population under study are considered for analysis is called sampling method.

Sampling plan
Type of sampling: The sampling is non-probability convenient sampling of
customers. The respondents are chosen according to the convenience of the researcher. The customers who gave visit to the store during the study they were picked randomly according to the researcher convenience.

Sample size: The total sample size for the study was 100 respondents.

Research Instrument
The instrument used in the study is structured questionnaire.

Method of data collection

The data was collected by personally interviewing all the respondents.

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Limitations of the study

Every research is carried under some boundaries and this research is not an exception. The limitations of this research are:

The opinion of the respondents visiting the BIG BAZAAR store may not represent the whole population.

Due to the limitations of time, a larger respondent base could not be covered and was limited to a sample size of 220 respondents.

There might have been tendencies among the respondents to filter their responses under the given conditions.

The customers opinion might have been biased and may not represent the whole population of the city.

Most customers were busy and pre-occupied with shopping.

Analysis of data obtained from the questionnaire was done on the assumption that honest and correct information had been given by the respondents.

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FINDINGS

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Table No.1 shows Gender of respondents interviewed.

Gender
Male Female Total 57 43 100

Responses

Percentage (%)
57% 43% 100%

Analysis: The survey consists of 57% of male respondents and 43% of female respondents. Given the gender distribution for the study the male respondents are more than the female respondents.

Graph 1 : showing the distribution of gender:

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore. 37

Female 43%

Male Female
Male 57%

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Table No.2 shows the Marital Status of the respondents. Options

Married Unmarried Total 68 32 100

Responses

Percentage (%)
68% 32% 100%

Analysis: The above table indicates the marital status of the respondents. About 68% of the respondents are married and only 32% of the respondents out of the sample size are unmarried.

Interpretation: Majority of the respondents who were interviewed were married and among the married respondents majority were households and among unmarried respondents, students contributed the most.

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Graph 2: showing the marital status of Respondents:

Unmarried 32%

Married Unmarried
Married 68%

Table No.3 shows the Age wise distribution of the respondents. Age Responses Percentage (%)

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15-25 Years 26-35 Years 36-45 Years 46-55 Years 56 and above TOTAL

24 25 23 23 5 100

24% 25% 23% 23% 5% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation: The above table shows that people of all the ages visit the store except in the age category of 56 and above. So from the above table you can say that the store has a very good mix of respondents when it comes to age wise distribution. The middle aged customers also customers also would like to come as much as the young customers. The age distribution of the respondents visiting the store is spread equally. So from the above table we can infer that customers across all the ages visit the store and the store has a good age mix of the customers visiting the store.

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Graph 3 : showing the age wise distribution of the Respondents

30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 5% 0% 15-25 years 26-35 years 36-45 years AGE 46-55 years 56 and above 24% 25% 23% 23%

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Table No 4: shows the Occupation distribution of the respondents.

Occupation Student Business man Government employee Private employee House wife TOTAL Number of Respondents 22 9 23 23 23 100 Percentage (%) 22% 9% 23% 23% 23% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation: From the above table we can say that almost all the occupations have equal number of respondents except for the business man option which constitutes about 9% of the respondents. Other all the occupation is distributed almost equally.

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Graph 4 : showing the occupation distribution of Respondents:

25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

22%

23%

23%

23%

9%

Student

Business man

Govt. Emp Occupation

Pvt. Emp

House wife

Table No 5: shows the Monthly Income distribution of Respondents.

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Option Nil Below 10,000 10,001- 20,000 20,001- 30,000 30,001- 40,000 40,001 and above TOTAL

Responses 46 8 25 17 4 Nil 100

Percentage (%) 46% 8% 25% 17% 4% Nil 100%

Analysis: The Income Distribution table of respondents shows that, 46% of the respondents whose income is nil are households and students, 25% of the respondents belong to income group of 10,001-20,000 rupees followed by 17% of respondents between 20,001- 30,000 and 8% and 4% of respondents in income category of below 10,000 Rs and 30,001- 40,000 Rs respectively.

Interpretation: The above table indicates that majority of the respondents coming in the stores are in the income category of 10,001- 20,000 Rs followed by 20,001- 30,000, below 10,000 and between 30,001- 40,000.The store targets mainly middle class income group. The foot falls of students and also Households play a very significant role.

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Graph 5: showing the Monthly Income Distribution of Respondents

50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

46%

25% 17% 8% 4% 0% Nil Below 10,000 10,00120,000 20,00130,000 30,001- 40,001 and 40,000 above

INCOME DISTRIBUTION

Table No.6 shows the Frequency of the Respondents visiting Big Bazaar
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Option Once in a week Twice in a week Once in fortnight Once in a month Occasionally TOTAL

Responses 51 10 27 10 2 100

Percentage (%) 51% 10% 27% 10% 2% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation: About 51% of the respondents would like to visit the store once in a week; this day will be mostly weekends .i.e. Saturdays and Sundays. Very few respondents would like to visit twice in a week and once in a month. About 27% of the respondents would find it ideal to visit once in a fortnight, which is second highest frequency of visiting the stores. And at last only 2% of the respondents would like to visit occasionally as most of them do not want to miss the experience of shopping or due to need that arise for the products.

Graph 6 : showing the Frequency of Respondents visiting Big Bazaar stores

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60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

51%

27% 10% 10% 2%

fo rtn ig ht

m on th on ce in

w ee k

w ee k

O nc e

tw ic e

Table No.7 shows the Customers perception of prices offered

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on ce

FREQUENCY OF VISIT

oc ca si on al ly

in

in

in

Options High Average Low TOTAL 5 60 35 100

Responses 5% 60% 35% 100%

Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation: About 60% of the respondents feel that a price of the products at Big Bazaar is average .i.e. they are not too high and not too low. About 35% of the respondents feel that the prices are low and only 5% of the respondents feel the prices are high. The above table shows that the prices at the store are affordable and price of the product do not bother much while making a purchase decision.

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Graph 7 : showing Customer perception of prices offered

High 5% Low 35%

High Average Low

Average 60%

Table No.8 shows the Customer perception of product variety

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Option Poor Average Good TOTAL 5 36 59 100

Responses 5% 36% 59% 100%

Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation: The above table shows that 59% of the respondents say the product variety at Big Bazaar is good. And 36% of the respondents say the product variety is average and only 5% of the respondents feel that the range of the products in the store is poor. From the above table it is clear that most of the customers feel that the product variety or range is good and customers believe that most of the products are available under one roof .i.e. it is a one stop shop.

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Graph 8 : showing the customer perception of product variety.

Poor 5% Average 36%

Good 59%

Poor Average Good

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Table No.9 shows the Customer perception towards shopping experience

Options Poor Average Good TOTAL

Responses 4 44 52 100

Percentage (%) 4% 44% 52% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

More than half of the respondents feel that the shopping experience at Big Bazaar is good followed by 44% of the respondents who feel that the experience of shopping provided by the store is average and only 4% of the respondents say it is poor.

So the above table indicates that customers enjoy shopping at the store and take back a good shopping experience along with the purchase of the products. The perception of shopping experience is on the favorable side as far as the store is concerned.

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Graph 9 : showing perception of shopping experience at the store.

Poor Average
Poor 4%

Good

Good 52%

Average 44%

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Table No.10 shows the Customer perception towards parking facility

Option Poor Average Good TOTAL Responses 1 50 33 100 Percentage (%) 17% 50% 33% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

The above table shows that 50% of the respondents say that the parking facility is average and 33% of the respondents say its good, and finally 17% of the respondents feel that the parking facility is poor. The parking facility is only given for four wheeler vehicles and the capacity of the parking facility is about 125 to 130 vehicles. On the weekends customers face difficulty of finding parking place .i.e. both two wheeler and four wheeler vehicle owners. So from the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents perceive the parking facility provided as average followed by the options good and poor.

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Graph 10 : showing customer perception towards parking facility:

Poor Average
Good 33% Poor 17%

Good

Average 50%

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Table No.11 shows the Customer perception towards billing system

Option Poor Average Good TOTAL Responses 19 47 34 100 Percentage (%) 19% 47% 34% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

The above table indicates that 47% of the respondents perceive that the billing system is average followed by 34% of the respondents perceiving as good and 19% as poor. Customers find it difficult with the long Billing counters during the weekends as compared to the week days. The above table clearly indicates that the perception towards the functioning of the billing counter is average and needs to function more efficiently.

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Graph 11 : showing the customer perception towards Billing system:

50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Poor Average Good Perception towards Billing system

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Table No12: shows the Customer perception towards the promotions

Option Poor Average Good TOTAL 08 95 117 220

Responses 4% 43% 53% 100%

Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation:

53% of the Customers visiting the stores perceive that the promotions offered at store are good and 43% of the respondents feel that the promotions offered are average and finally 4% of the respondents perceive that the promotions offered are ineffective. From the above table we can say that the promotions offered during the festivals, and in other off seasons are effective and most of the respondents respond to and feel good about the promotions offered at the store.

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Graph 12: showing the Customers perception towards the promotions offered.

Poor
Poor 4%

Average Good

Good 53%

Average 43%

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Table No 13: shows the Customer perception towards Interaction of Sales people

Options Poor Average Good TOTAL

Responses 4 51 45 100

Percentage (%) 4% 51% 45% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

About 51% of the respondents perceive that the interaction of sales personnel in the store is average followed by 45% of them perceiving as good and mere 4% of them saying the interaction is poor. So half of the respondents feel that the interaction of the sales people in the store is average and 45% of the respondents feel that the interaction is good. So we can infer that respondents are comfortable with the interaction of the sales people in the store.

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Graph13:showing customer perception towards interaction of salespeople

Poor Average
Poor 4% Good 45%

Good

Average 51%

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Table No.14 shows the Customer perception towards quality of the products offered

Options Poor Average Good TOTAL 2 49 49 100

Responses 2% 49% 49% 100%

Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation:

From the above table it is clear that only 2% of the respondents feel that the quality of the products offered at the store is poor, which is negligible. And about 49% of the respondents saying that the quality of the products offered is average followed by 49% of the respondents expressing that the quality of the products is good. So from the above table it is clear that the respondents are pretty much comfortable with the quality of the products offered at the store.

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Graph 14: showing the perception of the respondents towards the quality of the products offered

Poor Average
Poor 2%

Good

Good 49% Average 49%

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Table No.15 shows the Number of customers visiting at food stop.

Options Yes No Total Number of Respondents 79 21 100 79% 21% 100% Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation:

From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents coming to the store also visit the food stop in the store. About 79% of the respondents visit the food stop coming to the store and only 21% of the respondents do not visit the food stop. So from the above table it is clear that majority of the customers would like to have something in the food stop.

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Graph 15: showing the number of respondents visiting the food stop.

79% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Yes No Number of Customers visiting at food stop 21%

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Table No16: Shows the Customer perception towards the food offered at the food stop.

Options Poor Average Good Total

Responses 4 57 39 100

Percentage (%) 4% 57% 39% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

The above table shows that only a mere 4% of the respondents perceive that the food offered at the food stop is poor followed by majority of the respondents saying that the food offered is average .i.e. 57% of the respondents and about 39% of the respondents feel that the food offered is good. From the analysis it is clear that 57% of the respondents feel that the food is neither good nor poor and only 4% of the respondents, which is negligible feel that the food is poor .so we can infer that the customers visiting the food stop finds it above average.

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Graph 16 : showing the Customer perception towards the food offered at food stop.

Poor Average Good

Poor 4% Good 39%

Average 57%

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Table No.17 shows the Number of customers visiting Star Sitara.

Options Yes No TOTAL

Number of Respondents 16 84 100

Percentage (%) 16% 84% 100%

Analysis and Interpretation:

The number of customers visiting at star sitara is only 16% and about 84% of the customers do not visit the saloon. So we can say that majority of the customers visiting the store, would not like to visit Star Sitara saloon or are not aware of it. So steps should be taken on the part of the store to popularize the saloon business and generate profits out of it.

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Graph 17: showing the number of respondents visiting Star Sitara.

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

84%

16%

Yes

No

Number of Respondents visiting Star Sitara

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Table No18: shows the Customers perception towards the experience at Star Sitara.
Option Poor Average Good TOTAL 00 69 31 100 Responses 00 69% 31% 100% Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation: As only the small percentage of the customers would like to visit the saloon, majority of the respondents visiting Star Sitara perceive that the experience at Star Sitara is average and 31% of the respondents say that the experience at the saloon is good, nobody who have visited the saloon perceive that the experience at the saloon is poor. So among the small percentage of the respondents visiting Star Sitara, majority of the respondents feel that the service provided and the experience is average and 31% of respondents saying it is good enough.

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Graph 18 : showing the Customer perception towards the experience at Star Sitara.

Good 31%

Average Good

Average 69%

Table No 19: shows the Reasons for which the Customers shop

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Options Good Ambience It is One Stop Shop Easy Accessibility of stores Reasonable prices Good quality of products Good Shopping experience 03 25 15 32 12 13

Responses 3% 25% 15% 32% 12% 13%

Percentage (%)

Analysis and Interpretation: From the above table it is clear that most of the customers shop at Big Bazaar because it offers reasonable prices, about 32% of the customers shop due to this reason. And about 25% of the customers, which is second most shop because the store is one stop shop and 13% of the customers shop due to the good shopping experience at the store, again coming to other reasons of shopping at Big Bazaar 15% of the customers shop due to the good quality of the products offered in the store followed by 12% of the customers because of easy accessibility of the stores and 3% of the customers because of good ambience at the store. So from the above table we can infer that reasonable prices is the most dominating factor that make the customers to shop at Big Bazaar and the other factors in the hierarchy include it is a one stop shop, good shopping experience, good quality of the products offered, easy accessibility of the stores and at last which is the least dominating factor is good ambience.

Graph 19 : showing the reasons for which customers shop

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90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

71% 45% 50%

78% 63% 50%

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op ea s y

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Q20: Suggestions for Improvement.

Some of the suggestions for improvement given by the respondents were,

Some of the respondents felt that the billing system needs to be improved, as during the weekends and in other occasions it takes a very long time for the customers to complete the billing formalities. So respondents feel that care should be taken towards the improvement of the billing system.

Some respondents felt that the parking facility was not enough during the weekends and during other festive seasons. Some vehicles will be sent off due to not having the adequate parking facility. This was the other issue where the respondents raised their concern.

Some respondents felt that the interaction of the sales people should be improved. Respondents felt that the sales people should be more interactive with the customers and provide the desired information for the customers.

Some of the respondents also raised their concern regarding the arrangement of the products within the product category. Some respondents found it difficult to find the products which they require immediately, it took a lot of time for them to search for the products which they required. So trimming up of the products is necessary.

Some respondents did not find much space to shop during the weekends and in other festive seasons because the store will be crowded during these periods. So respondents found it uncomfortable to shop during the weekends and festive seasons.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

About 57% of the respondents involved in the study were male and about 43% of the respondents were female. Moving further 68% of the respondents were married and only 9% of the respondents were business man in the study.

Housewife and students were the most who visited the store. Among the income category of 10,001- 20,000, these income category people visited the store most of the times followed by 17% of the respondents from the income category of 20,001-30,000. 8% and 4% of the respondents from the income category of below 10,000 and 30,001-40,000 respectively.

About 51% of the respondents would like to visit the store once in a week and negligible percentage of the respondents visit the store occasionally.

More than half of the respondents perceived the prices of the products as affordable and about 35% of the respondents felt that the store is really offering products at low price and only few believed that the prices are high.

The next finding is regarding the product variety offered at the Big Bazaar store. 59% of the respondents believed that the store is really offering a good variety of products and 36% of the respondents expressed that the product variety is average and remaining percentage of the respondents which is negligible perceived the product variety is poor and store has to offer more variety of products.

More than half of the respondents were happy about the shopping experience they had in the store, this shows that they enjoyed sopping at the store.

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The perception towards the parking facility at the store is average, where half of the respondents perceived that the parking was average while 33% of the respondents were satisfied with the parking facility and 17% of the respondents perceived that the parking facility needs to be improved.

Towards the billing system 34% of the respondents were satisfied while 19% of the respondents felt that the billing system is poor and needed to be improved.

Most of the customers were satisfied with the promotions offered at the store and 43% of the respondents perceived it as average and about 4% of the respondents were unsatisfied with the promotions at the stores.

About 51% of the respondents visiting the store expressed that the interaction of the sales personnel was average and 45% of the respondents were satisfied with the interaction of the sales personnel in the store. And 4% of the respondents felt that there is a scope for the improvement for the sales personnel interaction with the customers.

49% of the respondents perceived that the quality of the products offered at the Big Bazaar store was average and good each. There is a tie up between these options and the remaining 2% of the respondents were not satisfied with the quality of the products offered at the store.

From among the 220 respondents being surveyed about 79% of the respondents visited the food stop in the store and 21% of the respondents did not visit the food stop. And among the 79% of the respondents visiting the food stop 39% of the respondents perceived that the food offered is good, 57% of the respondents said the food was average and mere 4% of the respondents were not satisfied with the quality of the food in the food stop.

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Among the 220 respondents being surveyed only 16% of the respondents have given a visit to the Star Sitara saloon and among 16% of the respondents who have visited the saloon 31% of the respondents were satisfied with the service at the saloon and 69% of the respondents perceived it as average. No respondent who have visited the saloon said the experience and the service at the saloon was poor.

The top reasons for which the respondents shop at the Big Bazaar store were, about 78% of the respondents shop at the store because of the reasonable pieces which is the top reason for shopping at the store, 75% of the respondents shop because the store is a one stop shop .i.e. good variety of the products are being offered, 63% of the respondents for good shopping experience followed by 50% of the respondents because of good quality of the products offered, 50% and 45% of the respondents because of easy accessibility of the stores and good ambience at the store respectively.

Some of the suggestions that were given by the respondents were to improve the parking facility, to improve the billing system especially during the weekends and during the festive seasons, better arrangement of the products so that the customers do not waste time in searching the products they need.

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Conclusion
The overall perception of the BIG BAZAAR store is good except in some areas like billing system during the weekends, proper arrangements of the products and parking facility. The target market for the BIG BAZAAR hyper market is the growing middle class segment. Customers found the prices are affordable with a good variety of the products available under one roof.

Customers responded positively to the promotions offered at the store, with the sales during the weekends and festive seasons picking up nicely. The quality of the products offered at the store was also very well accepted by the customers, and customers also enjoyed the food offered at the food stop. As far as Star Sitara saloon is concerned very few respondents gave a visit to the saloon and most of them were satisfied with the experience and service provided.

Reasonable price of the products at the store was the driving factor for the customers to shop in the store. Most of the customers found it convenient to visit the store once in a week. So we can conclude that the overall perception of the customers towards the store is positive and are satisfied with the way the store is managed.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
The problem of the billing system comes into picture during the weekends and during the festive seasons, where in it takes a lot of time for the customers to complete the billing formalities. So the store should take certain steps where the customers without any difficulty pays the bill and comes out of the queue as soon as possible. For this the store can give priority for the customers whose purchases are bulky and allow that customer to come out of the queue as soon as possible because of the bulk purchases made by that customer. In this way by introducing certain flexibility the problems can be reduced.

Some customers in the store find it difficult to get the products within the product category, this consumes the time of the customers. So the store should properly arrange the products, so that the customer finds it easy to pick up the product. So the store should involve itself in proper arrangement and trimming up of the products.

Many customers visiting the store do not visit Star Sitara, may be because they are not aware of it or they are not willing. The store should make an effort to make the customers aware of this service being rendered, through the advertisings within and outside the store and attract the customers through some promotions to visit Star Sitara.

During the festive seasons and weekends the store will be too crowded and customers do not find it comfortable to shop. So it is important that there will be smooth flow of the customers within the store and the customer finds it easy to shop during this period. For this reason the store can covey the benefits of visiting the store during the off season to the customer. The same strategy can be used by the store to reduce the problem of parking during the weekends and festivals.

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The sales personnel in the store also play a very vital role in influencing the customer perception towards the store. As sales people in the store are the one who face the customers and interact with them on the consistent basis they should posses a descent knowledge about the products in which they are involved in selling and make sure that they behave in a right way with the customers.

The store should not focus only on one or two areas to improve the customer perception towards the store instead, the organization should involve it self in improving all the customer influencing areas and try to improve the overall customer perception towards the store.

The tidiness of the store also helps in enhancing the image of the store. The employees should make sure that the floors of the store are clean and no dust should be found on the products. These small things should be taken care of regularly and should not be ignored thinking that these are small things.

The ambience within the store also plays a very important role in influencing the customer perception towards the store. The ambience, such as the lighting in the store, the music that is being played etc. should be taken care of. Good ambience for shopping improves the customer perception.

One bad instance in the store can disappoint the customers. So the employees in the store should make sure that, no bad instance is faced by the customers while shopping. Practicing this enhances the customer perception towards the store.

Last and not the least all the employees should work as a team to provide a better shopping experience to the customers. At the end of the day what counts is, what is that the customers have taken away from the store. So all the employees should work as a team and provide a good shopping experience to the customers so that the customers visit the store frequently.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Business Research Methods by DONALD R. COOPER AND PAMELA S. SCHINDLER

Marketing research

by

NARESH MALHOTRA

Internet

GOOGLE AND WIKIPEDIA.COM

Company Website

WWW.PANTALOONS.COM

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ANNEXURE

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Hypothesis
H0 - Age has no affect on the characteristics H1 - Age has affect on Characteristics.

Age Price offered Product variety Shopping Exp Promotion offered Total

26-35 21 17 21

36-45 25 15 20

Total 46 32 41

17 76

23 83

40 159

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o-e

(O-E)(OE) A

A/E

21 25 17 15 21 20 17 23

21.98742 24.01258 15.2956 16.7044 19.59748 21.40252 19.1195 20.8805

-0.98742 0.987421 1.704403 -1.7044 1.402516 -1.40252 -2.1195 2.119497

0.975001 0.975001 2.904988 2.904988 1.96705 1.96705 4.492267 4.492267 Total

0.044344 0.040604 0.189923 0.173906 0.100373 0.091907 0.234957 0.215142 1.091155

3 DOF, Ztab = 7.815 Zcal < Ztab M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore. 86

Conclusion : H0 is accepted, hence age has got no affect on Characterstics.

Questionnaire
Sir/Madam I am a student of M P Birla Institute of Management, Bangalore, doing a study on customer perceptions towards BIG BAZAAR (Kathriguppe). Kindly answer the questions listed below. Responses provided would be strictly used for academic purpose.
1) Gender 1) Male 2) Marital status 1) Married 3) Age 2) Unmarried 2) Female

1) 15 to 25 2) 26 to 35 3) 36 to 45 4) 46 to 55 5) 55 & above 4) Occupation 1) Student 2) Business man 3) Government employee 4) Private employee 5) Specify if not in above option____________

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

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M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

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5) Income 1) Nil 2) Below 10,000 3) 10,001 to 20,000 4) 20,001 to 30,000 5) 30,001 to 40,000 6) 40,001 and above 6) How frequently do you visit Big Bazaar? 1) Once in a week 2) Twice in a week 3) Once in a fortnight 4) Once in a Month 5) Occasionally 7) How do you perceive the prices offered at Big Bazaar? 1) High 2) Average 3) Low

8) The product variety at Big Bazaar is. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

9) The shopping experience at Big Bazaar is. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

10) The parking facility at Big Bazaar is. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

11) How is the billing system at Big Bazaar? 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

12) The promotions offered by Big Bazaar are. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good 89

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

13) The interaction of sales people with the customers in the store is. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

14) The quality of the products offered at Big Bazaar is. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

15) Have you visited the Food Stop? 1) Yes 16) If yes, then the food offered is. 1) Poor 17) Have you visited Star Sitara? 1) Yes 2) No 2) Average 3) Good 2) No

18) If yes, the experience at Star Sitara was. 1) Poor 2) Average 3) Good

19) You shop at Big Bazaar because of, a) Good ambience b) It is one stop shop c) Easy accessibility of stores d) Reasonable prices e) Good quality of products f) Good shopping experience provided 20) Any suggestions for improvement ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

THANK YOU

M P Birla Institute Of Management, Bangalore.

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