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A Study On Consumer Behavior Towards Fmcg Products With Special Reference To Personal Care Products

K. Kumaravel1, P. Vikkraman2
1
Research Scholar, Management Studies, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, Tamilnadu, India
2
Research Supervisor, Management Studies, Anna University, Chennai, Regional Office Coimbatore, 640147,
Tamilnadu, India
kumarmba2002@gmail.com; dr.p.vikkraman@gmail.com

Abstract: The motive of this research work is to study the consumer behavior towards Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG) personal care products in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu. The data for the study has been
collected by performing face-to-face interview with the respondents with the distribution of questionnaire. This
study collects data from 200 consumers at various places in Coimbatore district. This study is started with objectives
of examining socio-economic background of respondents, analyzing the factors influencing consumer behavior
towards FMCG personal care products, checking level of satisfaction of consumers and knowing expectation of the
consumers from the personal care products. The collected data are tabulated properly and analyzed with percentage
analysis, principal component factor analysis, and multiple regression linear analysis, mean score analysis and chi-
square test. This study reveals that consumer behavior is largely affected by place, product, price, promotional,
psychological and people influences. The satisfaction level of consumers also depends on product specific and
market wide factors. Consumer behavior will improve when their expectations are fulfilled by their distribution
channels.
[K.Kumaravel, P. Vikkraman. A Study On Consumer Behavior Towards Fmcg Products With Special
Reference To Personal Care Products. Life Sci J 2013;10(2):1524-1530]. (ISSN:1097-8135).
http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 206

Key words: Consumer Behavior, Fast Moving Consumer Products, Personal Care Products, Consumer Satisfaction,
Consumer Expectation

1. INTRODUCTION shampoo and conditioner, instant hand sanitizer, after

Across the world this case is true, Fast Moving shave, shaving cream, mouth care products, hair care
Consumer Goods (FMCG) represent a hefty part of products, baby care products, home cosmetic products
consumer’s budget. Products under FMCG category and more on personal care product series for the use of
includes all consumables that consumers buy frequently consumers.
at regular intervals. Generally, these products are meant
for daily use of frequent consumption and facilitate to 2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
satisfy the different needs of consumers. Fast moving Consumer behavior is the process of decision
consumer goods refers to those retail goods that are making and acquiring, evaluating, using and disposing
generally replaced or fully used up over a short period of goods and services. It is the study of how individual
of time, that is a day, week, month or within a year. customers make decisions to spend their time, money
This sector has seen the appearance of new product and effort on consumption related with a particular
categories and products that seek to accomplish the goods or service. Consumer behavior considers the fact
escalating aspiration of a new generation of Indians, regarding what to buy, when to buy, where to buy, how
who are turning out to be very demanding consumers. often buy and how often to use it. Consumer behavior
Personal care products fulfill the primary needs of also subject to feature of the product, price, quality,
consumers and are typically small-ticket objects that quantity, advertisement, place of availability, life of the
are essential for most households. The FMCG personal product and so on to ensure strong competitive
care product sector would persist to do well not only advantage. Consumer behavior towards the FMCG
because it is suspicious and well-entrenched one, but products has received considerable attention from the
also because it longs directly on to the fundamental competitors in the market place.
economic growth potential of a nation. For long period The consumer behavior is primarily based on
this sector was dominated by HUL, Cadbury India, consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing
Colgate Palmolive, Nestle and large domestic groups four divergent roles like user, payer, buyer and
like Tata, Godrej. Over the years several new regional consumer. The study is focused on consumer behavior
players have emerged, who despite their small size related with personal care products. Since this concept
have successfully carved a niche for themselves in the is closely related to manufacturers, marketing channels
competitive FMCG market. This sector offers soaps, and retailers involved in this business. There are

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different pattern of consumer behavior, which may be the structure of the market is being transformed in
generalized across product, price, place, promotion, recent years by new retails formats. This study is
psychological and people influences. The personal care focused on the analysis of competitive dynamics within
product offered to the consumers should satisfy the the sector, and draws lesions for competition policy.
functional and psychological benefits that the
consumers expect from the product. With the view to 4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
test the above concept, this study has been made with This study is conducted with the following
certain objectives in this arena. objectives, these are:
 To analyze the socio-economic background of
3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE respondents who are using personal care products.
This study presents a review of the literature,  To measure the factors influencing consumer
in the field of consumer behavior towards FMCG behavior towards purchase of personal care products
personal care products. Baumgartner (2002) recognized under FMCG portfolio.
that there is marvelous complication in consumer  To check the level of consumer satisfaction on
behavior. There may be several aspects both rational various FMCG personal care products.
and emotional that may act mutually in influencing the  To know the different expectation of
purchase decision. Sauer (2001) reporting on the consumers from the personal care products.
industry trends in personal care and cosmetic industry,  To test the relationship between the socio-
used a classification scheme of deodorants, hair care economic background of consumers and their purchase
products, color cosmetics, men's grooming products, frequency/price target.
oral hygiene products, fragrances, skin care products
and sun care products. Deliya (2012) importance of 5. METHODOLOGY
packaging design as a vehicle for communication and This study can be initiated with descriptive
branding is growing in competitive markets for research design and the sample identified for the study
packaged FMCG products. This research utilized a is consumers who are all using personal care products
focus group methodology to understand consumer in Coimbatore district, which is located in the western
behavior towards such products. part of Tamilnadu. This study covers both rural and
Schiffmand et al. (2000) consumer behavior is urban consumers and 200 respondents are selected
in the search for purchasing, evaluating and disposing randomly for this study. This study collects primary
of products, and services. They further affirmed that the data from the respondents, who were used the personal
study of consumer behavior is concerned not only with care products at least one year time period. In addition
what consumers buy, but how they buy, and how often to the primary data, secondary data has been collected
they buy it. Kottler, (2002) believes that such social from various new papers, journals, magazines, books
factors, reference groups, family and social roles and and internet sources. Well-structured and non-disguised
statues influence consumer’s behavior. Perreault et al, questionnaire was framed and utilized for data
(2000) stated that relationships with other family collection. The questionnaire has been constructed with
members influence many aspects of consumer four parts; first part seeks the information about the
behavior. Family members may also share many socio-economic background of the respondents. Second
attitudes and values, consider every body’s opinion and section contains various factors influencing consumer
divide various buying tasks. Rasool et al. (2012) behavior on purchase of personal care products. Third
conducted to find out the effects of advertisements on section collects the satisfaction level of consumers with
user behavior and the results proposed that people personal care products. Fourth section enlists
changes their brand for to try to new brands. expectation of customers from the personal care
Kotler et al. (2009) the relationship between products. Initially the survey instrument was pretested
consumer behavior and marketing strategy is stressed and accordingly questionnaire has been formulated for
because it depends upon managers understandings of collecting data. The data collected are tabulated and
consumer behavior. Understanding of consumer analyzed by applying the following statistical tools.
behavior is especially important in recession times. The socio-economic background of consumers was
Rajput et al (2012) studied the impact of product price analyzed by using simple percentage analysis. The
and quality on consumer buying behavior. Consumer factors influencing consumer behavior on purchase of
behavior patterns are quite related to each other, personal care product has been analyzed with principal
specifically in the aspects like quality, pricing and component factor analysis. Multiple regression analysis
decision making (Kumar, 2011). The results found that was performed to determine the relative contributions
quality, satisfaction, styling, price, finishing operation, of each of the six factors influencing consumer
performance, safety, worth, shape, use and excellence behavior towards personal care products. Mean score
were placed top priority. Celen et al. (2005) analyzed analysis has been performed to check the satisfaction

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level of consumers. Graphical representation technique 6. RESULT ANALYSIS AND

utilized for showing the expectation of consumers from INTERPRETATIONS
the personal care products. The relationship between Analysis of Socio-Economic Background
the socio-economic background of consumers and their Analysis of socio-economic background of
expectations are tested with Chi-square analysis. respondents is presented in table-1.

Table – 1: Analysis of Socio-Economic Background of Respondents

Characteristics Distribution Frequency Percentage
Male 102 51%
Gender
Female 98 49%
18 - 25 Years 87 43.5%
26 - 35 Years 48 24%
Age 36 - 50 Years 34 17%
51 & Above 31 15.5%
Less than 10,000 42 21%
10,001 - 25,000 101 50.5%
Monthly Income
25,001 - 50,000 43 21.5%
50,001 & above 14 7%
Uneducated 16 8%
Up to HSC 68 34%
Educational Qualification Diploma 16 8%
UG 72 36%
PG 28 14%
Single 89 44.5%
Married 108 54%
Marital Status
Divorced 1 0.5%
Widow 2 1%
Housewife 59 29.5%
Business/Profession 47 23.5%
Occupation
Employed 26 13%
Student 68 34%
At Regular Interval 96 48%
Purchase Frequency On Necessity 68 34%
Occasionally 36 18%
Low Priced 85 42.5%
Price Target Medium Priced 63 31.5%
High Priced 52 26%
Urban 122 61%
Place of Purchase
Rural 78 39%
(Source: Primary data)

From the above table-1, it is inferred that the respondents reveals that 48% of respondents are
majority of gender of the respondents furnishes, 51% purchasing personal care products at regular interval.
respondents are male. Age of the respondents furnishes The price target for 42.5% respondents are purchasing
that 43.5% respondents are falls less than 18-25 years. low priced brand. Place of purchase shows that 61% of
Monthly income of the respondents has been checked, respondents purchasing in urban areas.
it evidences 50.5% respondents earnings falls under Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior
10,001-25,000. Educational qualification of the There are numerous factors influencing
respondents shows that majority (36%) are consumer behavior towards FMCG personal care
undergraduate degree holders. Marital status of the product. The impact of factors on consumer behavior is
respondents has checked and it shows 54% are married checked by using principal component factor analysis.
respondents. The occupation of the respondents shows The factors are categorized and tabulated consequently
that 34% are students. Purchase frequency of and presented in Table-2.

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Table - 2: Results of Factor Analysis

% of Variance
Factors Components Factor Loadings Eigen Value
Explained
Superior Mobility 0.727
Decoration and Atmosphere of shop 0.718
Ideal Shop for Low Price 0.804
Existence of Shopping Malls 0.796
Place Attractive Product display 0.756
7.044 23.623
Factors Popularity of the Shop 0.812
Located in Junction area 0.806
Availability of Transport 0.784
Trustworthy of Shop 0.796
Product Availability 0.813
Brand Image 0.823
Design of the Product 0.738
Neat Packaging 0.724
Product Product Image 0.763
Specific Product Range 0.689 6.112 17.634
Factors Size of the Product 0.683
Quality of the product 0.799
Durability 0.677
Safety for Use 0.674
Low Price 0.821
Cash Discount 0.801
Price Discount for Bulk Purchase 0.732
Specific Competitive Price 0.785 5.218 15.135
Factors Value for Price sacrificed 0.792
Sample packet with low price 0.633
Suitable Quantity 0.682
Celebrity Endorsement 0.636
Freebies 0.778
Promotio Content of the Advertisement 0.763
nal Offer 0.674 4.782 11.344
Factors Prize 0.567
Demonstration in Exhibitions 0.662
Agent/Shoppers Recommendations 0.712
Attitude of Consumer 0.825
Psycholog Level of Knowledge 0.796
ical Interest on Product 0.682 3.234 5.221
Factors Perception about the Product 0.647
Motivation level 0.594
Guidance to Purchase 0.725
Recommendations 0.782
People
Customer Service and Care 0.679 2.342 3.534
Influences
Complaint Recognition 0.676
Transparency in Transactions 0.593
(Source: Primary data)

Factor analysis has been adopted to test the variance in data. Price of product plays a significant
six factors influencing on consumer behavior towards role in the consumer behavior; here it is loaded with
FMCG personal care products. Put together forty-three seven factors to find its influence. It has Eigen value of
components under six factors explain 76.491% of 5.218 and explains 15.135% of variance in data.
variations in data. The brief explanation about each Promotional aspects also direct the
factors are presented below. At the outset place factor consumers vigorously; seven strings are loaded in
is the most important factor, which is loaded with ten promotional factors. It posses Eigen value of 4.782 and
components and it explains 23.623% of variance in data explains 11.344% of variance in data. Psychology of
with the Eigen value of 7.044. Followed to that product the consumers plays pivotal role in their own behavior;
specific factors are loaded with nine components and it in this respect it is loaded with five components. It
has Eigen value 6.112 and explains 17.634% of explains 5.221% variance in data and has Eigen value

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of 3.234. Finally, people influences alter the consumer In order to find the trustworthy of data
behavior to some extent, five factors loaded explains computed in factor analysis, multiple linear regression
3.534% of variance in data and has Eigen value of analysis has been adopted to test the factors influencing
2.342. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the inter- consumer behavior towards FMCG personal care
reliability of each component. The alpha score found products. Both product centric and consumer centric
that 0.87 for place factors, 0.91 for product specific factors are assumed as independent variable and
factors, and 0.93 for price specific factors, 0.88 for consumer behavior is taken as dependent variable for
promotional factors, 0.92 for psychological factors and this performing this analysis. Table-3 presents the
0.89 for people influences. It evidences that factors influencing consumer behavior toward personal
recommendations from the reference group largely care products.
influence consumer behavior.
Table – 3: Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
Dependent Un-standardized coefficients Beta
Independent Variables t-value Sign.
Variable B Std. Error coefficients
Constant -0.798 0.633 -1.553 0.101
Place factors 0.438 0.035 0.423 5.999@ 0.001
Product specific factors 0.264 0.062 0.144 2.133$ 0.048
Consumer
Price specific factors 0.223 0.069 0.132 2.679$ 0.033
Behavior
Promotional factors 0.067 0.122 0.078 0.639* 0.264
Psychological factors 0.132 0.135 0.098 1.959$ 0.322
People influences 0.106 0.038 0.101 1.717$ 0.168
R 0.772
R Square 0.576
Adjusted R Square 0.50
F Value 22.58@
Note: @ significant at 1%, $ significant at 5% and *significant at 10%.

Table 3 discloses the values of R2 and adjusted The above table-4 evidences that the satisfaction
2
R as 0.576 and 0.50 respectively which indicates level of the respondents with regard to various FMCG
52.4% of variation on consumer behavior is explained personal care products. There are various characteristics
by six underlying factors on consumer behavior. From related with product specific and general market wide
the list of six independent variables, place oriented factors have been investigated. Product specific factors
factors are having highest beta coefficient 0.438 and t- enlist ten characteristics in which, package of the product
value of 6.243 that are statistically significant at 1% ranked first with mean score of 45.80. Different range of
level. This factor evidences the strong impact on the product (45.67) ranked as second, quality (43.87) ranked
consumer behavior towards personal care products. as third among the product specific factors. Price of the
Likewise, product specific factors, price specific product, flavor, taste level, quantity, durability, safety and
factors, psychological factors and people influences freshness are ranked as fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth,
possessing positive beta coefficients and statistically ninth and tenth respectively. Likewise market-wide factors
significant at 5% level. Promotional factors show that it cover five factors, advertisement (49.53) got the first rank
is significant at 10% level. This analysis reveals that all in this category, which plays a predominant role to buy and
factors in the same way influencing consumer behavior use such kind of personal care product to the consumers.
in this reverence. Followed to that supply without interruption ranked
Consumer Satisfaction on Personal Care Products second, availability in all places ranked third, proximity of
In order to check the satisfaction levels of product access ranked fourth and storage safety ranked as
consumers with regard to personal care products, the fifth in this category. It is understood in this analysis
following characteristics like price of the product, customer satisfaction largely depends on the various
quality, quantity, taste level, freshness of the product, factors connected with both product and market.
flavor, packaging style, content safety of the product
and range of products of the product-specific factors
are presented. Total score has been computed and
facilitates to find mean score and ranking position of
each characteristics under product specific and market
wide factors. The consequential weighted scores of
these characteristics provided by respondents are
publicized in table-4.

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Table – 4: Level of Customer Satisfaction

Satisfactory Level Total Mean
Factors Characteristics Rank
5 4 3 2 1 Score Score
Price 53 37 32 38 40 625 41.67 4
Quality 57 42 36 32 33 658 43.87 3
Quantity 33 47 39 43 38 594 39.60 7
Taste Level 45 38 34 36 47 598 39.87 6
Product Specific Freshness 27 29 37 48 59 517 34.47 10
Factors Durability 35 39 42 43 41 584 38.93 8
Flavor 33 45 42 48 32 599 39.93 5
Package 63 43 42 22 30 687 45.80 1
Safety of the product 38 26 28 61 47 547 36.47 9
Range of the product 49 54 52 23 22 685 45.67 2
Availability 45 62 33 32 28 664 44.27 3
Regular supply 67 34 33 35 31 671 44.73 2
Market Wide
Storage safety 28 31 72 33 36 582 38.80 5
Factors
Proximity access 34 46 43 36 41 596 39.73 4
Advertisement 69 56 38 23 14 743 49.53 1
(Source: Primary data)

Expectation of Consumers
Consumers expect lot from the retailers, It is evident from the figure-1, low and
marketers and producers with regard to the personal constant price is the highest expectation of consumers,
care products. These factors can be categorized as low which occupies 21% (252 points). Satisfied customer
and constant price, freebies with the product, satisfied service and value engages 20% (236 points), which is
customer service and value, sophistication and comfort the second most important expectation to consumers.
in use, high quality and quantity, long-life use, and High quality and quantity is the third largest
freshness supply. The respondents are asked to mark expectation of consumers, which occupies 19% (226
any of top three expectations from the list of seven points). Similarly, freebies posses 17% (199 points),
factors and the top three factors are assigned as 3, 2, sophistication and comfort in use fetches 11% (138
and 1 respectively. On this basis, respondent’s points points), long-life use 8% (96 points) and freshness
are converted into percentile and depicted in the obtains 4% (53 points) and shows fourth, fifth, sixth
Figure-1. and seventh expectation of consumers from the FMCG
personal care products.

Chi-square Analysis
The relationship between the socio-economic
background of consumers and their purchase frequency
and price target are tested with chi-square analysis. In
this direction, the null hypothesis (H0) states that there
is no relationship between socio-economic background
of consumers and their purchase frequency/price target.
Figure – 1: Expectations of Consumers
(Source: Primary data)

Table - 5: Chi-Square Test (5% level of significance)

No relationship between Degrees of Freedom Table Value Calculated Value Result
Gender and Purchase Frequency 2 5.991 6.839 Rejected
Age and Purchase Frequency 6 12.592 13.253 Rejected
Occupation and Purchase Frequency 6 12.592 21.594 Rejected
Monthly Income and Price Target 6 12.592 26.932 Rejected
Education and Price Target 8 15.507 27.723 Rejected

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frequency and price target and rejects null hypothesis.
This study has been successfully completed and helped
to understand the consumer behavior regarding the
personal care product. It clears from the study that
FMCG attain a major role in the consumer goods
market the manufacture as to present quality goods.

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