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CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN

1.1 INTRODUCTION ABOUT RURAL MARKET

The world of today is changing fast. India is no exception. Especially after the

opening up of the economy, the pace of change that India and its people are

experiencing in their socio-cultural milieu is mind boggling. India, with its wide

diversity, offers a fascinating scope to study the host of changes which developmental

activities have brought about in its social and economical framework. While it is

possible to get some estimates of the macro changes taking place in India, it is

impossible to get any accurate measures of the subjective experiences that proceed,

accompany or follow such changes. However, the fact remains that the profile of the

Indian market is vastly different from what it was earlier. Although these changes are

difficult to measure at the micro level, nevertheless, they have been of great

significance to marketers. Any marketer is keen in closely monitoring the changes in

terms of numbers and specially keeping regular track of the changing pattern of

consumers’ aspirations and competitive actions.

With the opening up of the Indian economy, marketers today are facing a

barrage of new challenges and opportunities. The Indian market is emerging as a

dynamic and competitive area where “the only thing that is permanent is change”. The

Indian market is going through a period of upheavals. The winds of liberalization or

the opening up of the market have brought about changes that would have been

unimaginable a decade ago. As barriers come down, new players both from India as

well as abroad are entering in different products. Presently there are many national as

well as international manufacturers in consumer durable products. They are fighting

an intense battle to get a foothold, while the existing players are putting in all their

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counter strategies in this battle for survival. The battle is on across all the products- be

it consumer nondurable, consumer durable or the service industry – though the degree

or nature of battle may vary individually.

In the Indian market, companies have faced many ups and downs while

managing their products. Although it is not possible to identify exactly the causes

behind any particular success story, there are innumerable instances of success which

can be broadly grouped under five categories, namely product innovations and its

adaptation to the Indian conditions, offering excellent value for money, unique

marketing skills in the areas of market selection, positioning, brand image and

creative advertising, offering of excellent service to the customers and owing to

superior design or technology.

Liberalization of trade restrictions and deregulation of domestic capital

markets has further intensified competition. Urban markets have saturated. This led to

force the companies to redesign their marketing strategies, and look to rural markets

for expansion. Foreign companies are also trying their best to tap the rural market.

Rural consumers have also realized that they need to be served better and have started

to demand standardized quality goods that are advanced, reliable and low-priced.

Rural markets are thus getting tougher and more and more competitive day-by-day.

Rural marketing is, therefore, the focus of attention for not only corporate houses, but

also planners, policy-makers, managers of economy, and specifically for students,

teachers, researchers and practitioners in the field of marketing management.

Trends indicate that the rural markets are coming up in a big way and growing

twice as fast as the urban, witnessing a rise in sales of hitherto typical urban kitchen

gadgets such as refrigerators, mixer-grinders, Micro Oven and Electric Stove.

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“In 20 years the rural Indian market will be larger than the total consumer

markets in countries such as South Korea or Canada today, and almost four times the

size of today’s urban Indian market. The estimated size of the rural market will be

USD577 billion.” 1

According to a National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER)

study, there are as many ‘middle income and above’ households in the rural areas as

there are in the urban areas. There are almost twice as many ‘lower middle income’

households in rural areas as in the urban areas. Thus, the absolute size of rural India

is expected to be double than that of urban India. The study on ownership of goods

indicates the same trend. It segments durables under three groups - (1) Necessary

products - transistors, wrist-watch and bicycle; (2) Emerging products Television and

cassette recorder; (3) Lifestyle products - CTV and refrigerators. Marketers have

depended on rural India for the first two categories for growth and size. The

opportunity seems big 12 per cent of the world’s population, or 126 million

households, lives in rural India. Purchasing power exists between 30 and 50 per cent

of the consumption of a number of consumer goods comes from rural India. Faced

with intense competition in their urban markets, where high media spends and

expensive consumer promotions are the order of the day, marketers are giving up to

milk the great rural opportunity.

The price sensitivity of a consumer in a village in something the marketers

should be alive to. Rural income levels are largely determined by the vagaries of

monsoon and, hence, the demand there is not an easy horse to ride on. Apart from

increasing the geographical width of their product distribution, the focus of corporate

1. Janathan Ablett et al, “The bird of Gold: The Rise of Indian Consumer Market” McKinsey andCompany Global Institute, May 2007.

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should be on the introduction of brands and develop strategies specific to rural

consumers.

Greater attention from marketers in every sector, intense government support,

and increasing self-reliance are strengthening the rural sector in India. The fact that

about 72 per cent of the Indian population resides in hinterlands brings home the point

that the Indian consumer base is highly supported by the rural population; which is

eventually driving revenues for many major conglomerates operating in diverse

markets in India.

A report by National Sample Survey Office has revealed that rural households'

expenditure on durable goods has increased from 3.1 per cent (1987-88) to 4.8 per

cent (2009-10), confirming that the expenditure on non-food items like durable goods

has increased over the past few decades. Companies across sectors such as fast

moving consumer goods, telecom, pharmaceuticals, banking, retail and even

cosmetics are devising strategies to attract the rural clan. Certain sector-specific

developments that took place on the Indian rural canvas are discussed hereafter.

1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RURAL MARKET

In recent years, rural markets have acquired significance in countries like India

and China, as the overall growth of the economy has resulted into substantial increase

in the purchasing power of the rural communities. On account of the green revolution

in India, the rural areas are consuming a large quantity of industrial and urban

manufactured products. In this context, a special marketing strategy, namely, rural

marketing has taken shape.

“1% of rural India is more than a million households.”

- From the Census of India.

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Today, India’s consumer market ranks 12th in the world and is on par with

Brazil. It is expected to surpass that of Germany by 2025, thus becoming the 5 th

largest consumer market in the world behind the United States, Japan, China, and

United Kingdom. Rural consumers are careful buyers and weigh options carefully and

possibly demand higher value for money compared to urban consumers.

The father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi rightly stated that India lives in

villages and villages constitutes the heart of India. This has been aptly put by a Hindi

poet ”Bharat Mata Gram Vasini”, which means, Mother India lives in her villages.

According to Pradeep Lokhande, Head of Rural relations, “Marketing a

product or service in rural centres is like sowing a seed. You have to wait for it to take

root. Indeed, the seeds of some of the foremost innovations in rural marketing were

sown by different companies. The USD 40 billion global durable goods major, LG

group, has conceived proactive product strategies based on the understanding that the

rural sector is growing faster than the urban sector with high disposable incomes. It

has strengthened its focus on rural markets to secure 40 % contribution for its

turnover from rural sales”.

V. Ramachandran, Director, Sales and Marketing, LG Electronics, said that

rural markets were untouched by the electronic slowdown and would “contribute in a

major way in durable sales”. For the premium products category: however, the

company decided to continue its focus on urban markets as the company has an

attractive 22% growth there, reporting a turnover of Rs. 5.8 trillion in 2011. This

achievement was supported by the sales of three products -- the panel LCD television,

air-conditioners and refrigerators.

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By 2025, India will triple its income level and will become the fifth largest

consumer market, climbing from its current position at 12. A lot of this wealth will be

created in the urban areas but even the rural households will benefit. The real annual

real income for rural households will move from 2.8 per cent in the past two decades

to 3.6 per cent in the next two. This was stated in a report by McKinsey & Company

named ‘The ‘Bird of Gold’: The Rise of India’s Consumer Market’.

“India’s rural consumer durable market will witness an annual growth of 40

per cent in the next fiscal 2011-12, as against the current growth rate of 30 per cent

owing to the change in lifestyle and higher disposable income of rural India which has

fascinated the consumer durable market”2 According to a study “Rise of Consumer

Durables in Rural India” undertaken by the ASSOCHAM.

“Around 35 per cent of the total sales of consumer durable items come from

rural and semi-urban markets, which will grow by 40 to 45 per cent in the near future.

The consumer durable industry is growing at a fast pace and sees a strong demand in

the coming period with the growing affordability of products as well as general

buoyancy in the economy”.3

1.2.1 PROFILE OF THE RURAL MARKET

The decision to liberalize the Indian economy at the beginning of the 1990s

had far-reaching consequences, which continued into the new millennium. On the

marketing front, there was the arrival of many well-known MNCs, which are

household brands in the international market.

In the initial years, the focus was on the easily accessible, well-developed

urban market. Soon there was a proliferation of brands and intense competition,

2 According to a study “Rise of Consumer Durables in Rural India”, by the Associated Chambersof Commerce and Industry of India, December 25, 2010.

3 Dilip Modi, President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, 2011.

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resulting in the near saturation of the urban market. This forced companies to look for

greener pastures, that is, new markets. All eyes turned to the world’s most promising

potential market of 742 million rural consumers, who had yet to taste the fruits of

modernity, a promise that seemed ready to be fulfilled because of the explosion in the

buying capacity in the rural sector. Indian agriculture at the macro level has shown a

marked improvement over the last ten years in its ability to withstand the impact of

climatic vagaries. According to the NCAER Indian Market Demographics Report, the

consuming class households (annual income between Rs. 45,001 and Rs. 215,000) in

rural India equal the number in urban India. It is well known that for the same level of

income, the disposable surplus (purchasing power) in rural areas is much higher

because food, shelter, primary education and health are virtually free, whereas in

urban India 60 to 70 percent of the income is spent on these necessities.

Already rural markets are proving to be vital for the growth of most

companies. In durables, the average ownership of electrical goods is 2.48 per rural

family if we consider the base of only the electrified rural households (and not total

rural households), a figure that compares favourably with the ownership of 3.39

durables per family in urban. Companies face many challenges in tackling the rural

markets, some of the more critical being: understanding rural consumers, reaching

products and services to remote rural locations and communication with vastly

heterogeneous rural audiences. Sadly, not many companies have invested sufficient

effort and money in research and nor have they spent enough time in the field to

understand rural consumers, their values, aspirations, needs and usage habits.

Marketing is all about ‘getting to know your customer’, but having largely ignored

this cardinal principle, most corporate in rural markets find that success has eluded

them.

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1.2.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL MARKETS

Large number of consumers: According to the 2001 census, our country has

a total population of 1.027 million. Out of which rural population is large and is 742

million and constitute about 72% of the population as per following table,

Table No. 1.1

Rural and Urban Population of India

Year RuralPopulationin Million

UrbanPopulationin Million

TotalPopulationin Million

RuralPopulation

%

UrbanPopulation

%1951 295 62 357 82.60 17.40

1961 360 79 439 82.00 18.00

1970 439 109 548 80.10 19.90

1981 508 160 668 76.00 24.00

1991 621 215 836 74.30 25.70

2001 742 285 1027 72.20 27.80

Source: Census 2001

As per the census report 2001, the total population of Tamil Nadu was 6, 21, 10,

839, the rural population was 3, 48, 69, 286 and percentage of the population was

56.14

Occupation Pattern: The three sectors that provide employment to rural

population are:

Primary Sector: Cultivation of crops, dairy farming, cattle rearing, fish

culture, poultry, big and small animal’s meat production, agricultural labour.

Secondary Sector: Cottage and village industries, quarrying, construction

work.

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Tertiary Sector: Wholesale and retail sales, hotels, transport, insurance,

banking, community and social services.

Table No. 1.2

Distribution of Employment

No. of Persons Employed in Rural Areas per 1, 000 Population

Male Female

Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary Secondary Tertiary

757 102 141 885 66 49

Source: Census 2001

It is seen from table that about 75% of rural population is engaged in agriculture

and allied occupations. However, there is a shift towards secondary and tertiary

occupations especially in large villages and villages situated close to cities and towns.

Scattered Markets: The rural population and markets are highly scattered over

a wide geographical area as shown in table,

Table No. 1.3

Distribution of Villages in India

Population No. ofVillages

% of TotalVillages

% ofPopulation

Less than 200 92541 15.60 1.20

200-499 127054 21.40 5.90

500-990 144817 24.40 14.50

1000-1999 129662 21.90 25.90

2000-4999 80313 13.50 37.50

5000 and above 18758 3.20 15.00

Total 593145 100.00 100.00

Source: Census 2001

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The villages can be categorized based on population i.e., (a) large villages

(>5,000 population), (b) medium villages (2.000 – 5,000), (c) small villages (1,000 –

2,000) and tiny villages (less than 1,000). Practically, there are no shops in villages

having less than 500 populations and there are about 2 lakh villages in this category.

Further, there are about 2.7 lakh villages with a population of 500 – 2, 000 and

making products available in these villages involves high distribution costs.

Compared to the low density of population in rural areas, there are over 30 cities in

India having more than 10 lakh population each. The marketers are focusing on these

cities, even though they contribute to only about 100 million populations.

Rural Income:

Table No. 1.4

Source of Income in India

Source of Income Proportion (%)

Agriculture 53%

Business, Crafts, Non-agricultural

wages, Salaried Class and others47%

Source: Census 2001

It is seen that major income still comes from agriculture though the share of non-

farm sector has gone during the recent years. Increase in yields of crops and

encouraging output prices will lead to increased income of rural people. Demand is

seasonal and fluctuated depending upon agricultural situation. Demand is more after

harvest of crops, during festivals and marriage seasons.

Low standard of living: The per capita income has gone from Rs. 5, 800/-

(1993-94) to Rs.9,500/- (1999 – 2000) in rural areas, but continues to be low

compared to urban i.e., Rs. 19, 500/-. Low income, low purchasing power, overall

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social and economic backwardness lead to low standard of living. In general a rural

consumer spends less on non-food items.

Literacy level: The following table gives literacy level for the period 1971 –

2001. Rural literacy rose to 59% in 2001 from 24% in 1971 due to initiatives taken by

the Government. Of course there are variations within our country. Ex. Rural literacy

rate is 90% in Kerala against 44% in Bihar. Literacy is one important factor in

developing awareness and knowledge about technological changes.

Table No. 1.5

Classification of Gender on the basis of Literacy Levels in Rural and Urban

Gender

Literacy Levels (%)

1971 1981 1991 2001

R U R U R U R U

Male 34 61 41 66 58 81 71 87

Female 13 42 18 48 31 64 47 73

Total 24 52 30 57 45 73 59 80

Source: Census 2001 R – Rural U – Urban

At present, female literacy is low (47%) and there is a need to provide

educational facilities to them, so that they can play a greater role in the development

of the family and the society. Regarding education level, about 29% of the rural

population has studied up to primary school, 31% up to middle school, 21% up to

matriculation, 16% are matriculates and only about 3% of the people have graduate

and post graduated qualifications. Due to the low levels of education, the demand

for magazines, calculators, computers and English newspapers are generally low in

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rural areas. However, changes are taking place in villages near towns and semi-urban

areas due to increase in educational facilities.

Land distribution: About 75% of the land holdings consist of marginal and

small farmers. When the holdings are small, the cultivation becomes unremunerative

and the farmers are forced to borrow money from lenders at exorbitant rates. The

requirements of small and marginal farmers are very basic i.e., food, clothing and

shelter. They spend less on non-food items.

Land use pattern: Nearly 60% of the area under cultivation is occupied by

food crops. The balance made available for sale.

Mass media: Television has made great impact and large audience has been

exposed to the medium. Regional television channels have become popular among

rural population. However, reach of television differs from state to state.

Urban orientation: It denotes the degree to which a rural consumer would like

to replicate the life style of urban consumer. The higher the urban orientation, the

higher will be the requirements of consumer goods and services. The villages close to

towns/cities and villages connected by public transport facilities have high level of

urban orientation compared to villages not connected by public transport.

Rural Credit: During pre-independence days, there was practically no

institutional source for availing loans and the villagers were forced to borrow money

from local money lenders. Realizing the need for rural credit, the government decided

to expand institutional credit. Nationalization of 14 banks took place in 1969. In 1980,

6 more banks were nationalized. In 1975, Regional Rural Banks were established.

Subsequently, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development was set up in

1982.

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1.2.3 Key statistics of Rural India

Rural India constitutes 69% of India’s population.

86% of Rural population earns less than $2 per day (most of Indian BoP

households earn $67 per month).

There are more phones than Radio in Rural India (100million subscriber base).

Only 0.29 per cent of the male population has reached the graduation level

(0.04% for women) and 6% of the rural males arc educated up to the middle

level.

70 % of the disabled in India lives in rural areas

Safe Drinking Water – 67% of rural households in Jharkhand did not have

access to safe drinking water.

More than 90 percent of rural households in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa

and Madhya Pradesh did not have access to toilets within their premises.

Connectivity – In 2006: 13% in rural India had to travel > 30minutes, 2008:

just 2%. When it comes to connectivity, Rural Indian BOP segment has grown

more than urban in last year.

Nearly 50% of the villages in the country do not have all weather roads,

making physical communication to these villages highly expensive.

1.2.4 The Economic Scenario in Rural India

Rural India constitutes ‘the heart of India’, generating more than half the

national income. The contribution of the rural sector to the growth of the Indian

economy has been phenomenal. Gone are the days when rural India was considered a

dark area, suffering from poverty, illiteracy, overpopulation, and social, linguistic and

religious discord. The endless cycle of rural poverty seems to have finally been

broken, thanks to the growing economic power of villages. This transition began with

the Green Revolution in the Punjab (1952 – 65), when agricultural output grew at an

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annual rate of more than 5.5 per cent, which compares favorably with the output of

developed nations. It turned farmers cooperatives into powerful agents who helped

transform India into the largest milk producer in the world, involving one crore farmer

members spread over 70,000 villages operation flood was followed by the Blue

Revolution, which led India to become the second largest producer of inland fish in

the world. The sharp increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of food grain

over the last twenty years has helped in better price realization for farmers, leading to

higher incomes.

Rural Incomes: Rural income (farm+non-farm) contributes around 57

per cent share of the total incomes in India. The per capita income for the rural sector

has increased from Rs. 5, 783 in 1993-94 to Rs. 9,481 in 1999 – 2000 (Rs. 19,407 in

urban India). The urban-rural disparity ratio has declined from 2.45 to the last thirty

years. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of per capita incomes from

1970-71 to 1993-94 was slightly higher in rural areas (10.95 per cent) in comparison

to 10.74 per cent in urban areas. The share of non-farm income has increased rapidly

from 32 per cent in 1970 – 71 to 47 per cent in 1993 – 94.

Income Disparity: Overall, the rural per person spending of Rs. 5,830

per annum is a little above half of the urban spending of Rs. 10,260.

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Table No. 1.6

Rural-Urban Income Comparison

SectorBottom(30%)

Middle(40%)

Top(30%)

All Classes

Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban

Average consumptionexpenditure (Rs. /annum)

3,270 4,580 5,110 8,150 9,400 18,720 5,830 10,260

Population (million) 223 86 297 114 223 86 742 285

Source: NSS 55th Round (1999 – 2000), Census 2001.

The gap between rural and urban spending widens as we move from poor

households to rich households. But as the total number of the rural population is three

times larger than the urban, the overall spending in rural is much higher than in urban.

The rural rich and middle classes present a great opportunity for marketers to sell their

products.

1.3 FACTORS DETERMINING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The term consumer behaviour refers to the behaviour that consumers display in

searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services

that they will satisfy their needs and the study of consumer behaviour is the study of

how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources – like time, money,

effort on consumption related items.

All business operations revolve around understanding consumer needs, desires,

likes, dislikes and preferences and offering products and services that will give the

desired satisfaction to the consumers. There has been considerable amount of data on

the buying behaviour of urban consumer. Consumer behavior is influenced by a

number of factors as given below:

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I.ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Economic Factors: The thrust on agriculture and rural development have

enabled to achieve self sufficiency in food production and India exporting a variety

of agricultural commodities to foreign countries. Favourable monsoons during the

last ten years have led to increase in crops yields and rural income. In addition,

diversification of agriculture, development of village industries, village crafts,

migration of rural people into cities and remittance of their money, remittance of

money family members settled abroad have increased income level and buyer power

of villagers. Development of infrastructure facilities, expansions of TV network and

packing revolution have contributed to the growth of rural markets.

Political Factors: The government has taken the initiative for economic

development of rural areas and has invested heavily in agriculture, animal

husbandry, irrigation, electricity, dairy, khadi and village industries and

infrastructure facilities such as roads, transportation, communication, hospitals,

schools and banking services. While one may attribute some of these measures to

win rural votes, these initiatives have certainly led to rural prosperity and

opportunities for the marketers.

Technological Development: The rapid expansion of telecommunication

facilities through subscriber trunk dialing system (STD) and public call office (PCO)

have provided opportunities for rural people to keep in touch with men and markets.

Development of TV network and more regional channels have enabled the marketers

to pass on message about products and services to rural people. As a result of the

rapid expansion of land line, mobile telephone services and internet facilities, the

rural consumer is exposed to the global village. The information and communication

technology is changing the marketing landscape of India.

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Legal: The Government has come out with legislative measures to product the

interest of consumers. Some of the important ones are Money Lenders, Consumer

Protection Act, Agricultural Inputs, Essential Commodities Act and Regulated

Markets.

II. PERSONAL FACTORS

Age and Life Cycle: Life cycle of a person begins with child birth, move to

infancy, adolescence, teenage, adult, middle age, old and then ends with death.

Under each stage buying behaviour is different.

Occupation: About 650 million of the population depends upon agriculture

for a living. Income from agriculture is seasonal and therefore demand particularly

for consumer durables is high during post harvest period and festivals. Of late, many

farmers have diversified into poultry, diary, fish culture and small scale industries in

order to reduce their dependence on farming and to ensure regular income. There has

been an expansion of manufacturing and service sectors in our country leading to

employment opportunities in rural and semi-urban areas.

Economic Circumstances refer to the spendable income, assets and savings

and attitude towards spending and savings. Rural income is seasonal compared to an

urban consumer who receives regular income. Regarding savings habits, traditionally

rural people prefer to invest in jewellery and fixed deposits in banks and post offices.

Life Style studies show us to how people spend their time and money in day-

to-day activities. The life style dimensions are Activities, Interest and Opinions

(AIO) and demographic features such as age, gender, education, occupation and

income. Very often consumers buy products to enhance their life style. Rural

consumers prefer to spend spare time in activities such as playing cards, discussing

politics, viewing films and visiting melas i.e., commodity and religious fairs.

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Personality and Self-Concept (self-image): Personality is a unique

combination of different individual characteristics. We find that many individuals are

similar in terms of one or characteristics, but they are not alike in all characteristics.

Personality is a combination of factors such as sociability, self-confidence and

dominance. Personality influences consumer behaviour in many ways.

III. CULTURAL FACTORS

Culture and Sub-culture: Culture represents an overall social heritage, a

distinctive form of environmental adaptation by a whole society of people. Culture is

a system of shared beliefs, perceptions and customs that influence the behaviour of

consumers. There are different groups based on caste, occupation, income, age,

education and politics and each group exert influence on the behaviour of the people

in the village.

Some of the more important attitudes and behaviours influenced by culture are

Traditional Life of the people, Traditional Occupation of the people, Traditional

Belief, Family Values, etc., Sub-culture exists within the dominant culture, with its

own set of values, beliefs and attitudes and behavior pattern. We have sub-culture

such as caste, religion and region. Thus, the pattern of behaviour would vary between

North and South. Brahmins, Vaishyas, Muslims and Jains. Even in rural areas,

Brahmins prefer to go for higher education and take up employment and Vaishyas

are engaged in trading activities.

Social Class: Consumer behaviour is determined by the social class to

which they belong and is determined by a combination of factors like education,

occupation, income and assets. The structure of rural society consist of hierarchy of

five classes of consumers like the Affluent, the Well-off, the Climber, the Aspirant

and the Destitute.

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IV. SOCIAL FACTORS

Family: Family is a group of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption

who reside together. It is the basic social group and consists of individuals known as

members. There are three types of families i.e., the married couple – husband and

wife, a nuclear family – husband, wife and at least one child and extended family-

the nuclear family together with at least one grandparent. The three generation family

is very common in rural areas. The head of the family provides economic security to

family members.

Reference Groups: It includes family and friends with whom an individual

interacts on a face-to-face basis and sportsmen, film stars etc., with whom the

individual does not have face-to-face interactions. World of mouth communication is

the process by which the messages are passed within group from one member to

another member. The consumer develops positive opinion towards a product or

service based on admiration (cricket players) aspiration (film stars) or empathy.

V. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

Motivation: When a buyer purchases a product or service he has a reason

for the same. Motive is a strong feeling, urge, desire or emotion that makes the buyer

to take decision to buy. Every human activity is a result of motivation. Each person

is motivated by his needs and satisfaction of one need results in the creation of

another need. Motives are two types i.e., product motives and patronage motives.

Perception: All consumers are not alike. They see the world in their own

special ways. For instance, all the members of the family have viewed a particular

product advertisement in the television. The members may interpret the same

advertisement in quiet different ways. This is because needs, wants, values, attitudes,

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and personal experience vary from person to person. Similarly, consumers’

perception means what he thinks about the product, producer or the brand.

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge about products, product

benefits, and method of usage, maintenance and also disposal of the products.

Considering low literacy, low awareness and low reach of mass media in interior

areas, the marketers have to educate the consumers through rural specific promotion

media and methods.

Belief and Attitude: in general, an attitude is a state of mind or feeling.

Attitude indicates our feeling about a product, service, brand or shop and whether we

are positively or negatively disposed towards the object or class of objects.

Predisposition may be based on previous experience. Consumer attitudes are

composed of beliefs, feelings and behavior intentions towards a product, brand or

store. Belief may be positive, negative or neutral. The belief that consumer hold need

not be scientifically correct. Consumer also holds certain feelings toward products

and these feelings are based on the beliefs.

1.4 UNDERSTANDING THE RURAL CONSUMERS

Rural consumers are fundamentally different from their urban counterparts and

different rural geographies display considerable heterogeneity, calling for rural-

specific and region-specific strategies. A farmer in rural Punjab is much more

progressive than his counterpart in Bihar, a farmer in Karnataka is far more educated

than one in Rajasthan, and so on. In an urban family, the husband, the wife, and often

even the children are involved in the buying process. But in a village, because of lack

of mobility among women and their having very little contact with the market, the

men make the purchase decisions. Furthermore, while an urban individual is free to

take independent purchase decisions, in a village because of strong social structures,

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including caste considerations and low literacy levels, community decision making is

quite common. Purchase-decision processes and preferences also show certain

characteristics that implication for marketers. Exhibitions and road shows act as

some of the key triggers for information-search behaviour. Opinion leaders and

people who are perceived to be knowledgeable play an important role as information

providers and advisors. Word of mouth has more significance in purchase decisions

of rural consumers. Family members, relatives, and friends are consulted before

making purchase decisions of higher-value products. Compared to the urban

counterparts, rural consumers have different interpretations of colours, symbols, and

social activities. Ownership of a large tractor, large house, telephone and other

higher-value consumer durables, and education of children in cities are considered as

status symbols. However, as the exposure to mass media and information technology

is increasing, rural consumers are becoming more informed about products and

services, and their dependence on traditional reference groups is gradually waning.

Rural consumers also tend to be more loyal as brand switching has greater perceived

risk.

A survey carried out by RMAI has revealed that 59 per cent of durables sales

come from rural markets. Many leading consumer durable companies are now

increasing their presence in rural India. Because, more than 70% of the populations

are living the rural India. The reason for selecting this particular topic is to know the

buying pattern of the rural consumers in the Namakkal district.

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1.4.1 CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS

It is necessary for the marketers to understand as to how the rural consumer

makes his buying decisions, which makes the buying decisions, the type of decisions

involved and the steps in the buying process. A rural buyer has free time and

therefore he spends lot of time before making purchases. He cannot be easily coaxed

to buy a new product. Rural consumers buy durables during post harvest season and

festivals. The buying decision process follows a logical sequence of five steps

Need recognition: When the buyer recognizes a gap between his

desired state and the actual state, buying process starts. Such recognition may be

caused by stimuli either internal (self0 or external (by environment or marketer). At

this stage, marketer should help consumers identify their current and future problems

and felt or latent needs. To do this, marketers have to research on consumer problems

and needs.

Information search: Generally, consumers try to find information

pertaining to their want satisfying products to make the right choices. The amount of

information required depends upon:

1. Type of the product – Convenience, shopping or specialty good

2. Nature of the product – complex, high-tech or simple and easy to

distinguish.

3. Availability of sources – the consumer may obtain information

from one or more of the following sources.

4. Personal – family, friends, neighbours

5. Commercial – advertising, sales people, displays

6. Public – TV, radio, internet and print media

7. Experiential – handling, examining, using the product.

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Search expands with the availability of time. Marketers have to take into

cognizance this aspect and design offers to induce immediate buying. Keeping in

mind the information needs of consumers, marketers should design communication

programmes to reach the consumers and provide adequate and relevant information.

In view of the low literacy level, audio-visual media becomes important in rural

marketing. TV has been the biggest contributor to bring consumer awareness in rural

India. It is, of course, the traditional marketing methods-demonstrations, displays at

fairs and festivals, mobile video vans – which continue to be marketing man’s

support system in rural communication strategy.

Evaluation of alternatives: How do consumers evaluate the brands, which

they have come to know and like to consider? The evaluation process may be done

more carefully and logically in some cases, for example, consumer durables. In case

of convenience goods, which are purchased for one-shot consumption, the evaluation

may be very less. Occasionally, it may be impulse buying too. Evaluation requires

designing and application of suitable criteria. Evaluation methods include

Expectancy value model, Lexicographic model, Conjunctive model and Disjunctive

model.

Purchase decision: All the existing brands in the market make a total set.

Through information search consumer will become aware of some brands in the total

set. Through information search consumer will become aware of some brands in the

total set. Awareness set consists of brands which the consumer is aware of the

brands, which meet initial, buying criteria, will be considered for further evaluation.

The choice is dependent upon factors influencing the mind of consumer at this final

stage. For example, a person is interested in buying cement for construction of his

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house. The marketer should be aware of the place his brand has in the mind of the

prospect through the buying process.

Post-purchase behavior: Marketers should know the answers to feelings

of the buyer after buying and using the product, his reactions, when satisfied? When

dissatisfied and how does he dispose of the product after use.

1.4.2 BUYING BEHAVIOUR PATTERNS

Two types of classifications can be made based on:

Degrees of involvement: Buyers exhibit different patterns of behaviour in

purchasing different types of products and services. They buy cigarettes, panmasala,

salt, toothpaste at a nearby shop and do not deliberate much on the characteristics of

the product. It is more or less an individual decision taken in a short time. As such,

these are referred to as convenience goods. In the case of durables they visit different

shops take opinion of many people, evaluate the product characteristics and benefits,

check their own financial position and search for schemes of financing or installment

payment opportunities and then decide their options. These goods are, accordingly

referred to as shopping goods.

Complex buying behaviour: This is seen in case of products like

computers, refrigerators and automobiles. Marketer should initiate the following

actions:

Help consumers learn about the product, its attributes, uses, and

benefits through detailed ads and exhibitions.

Make comparative analysis of features and benefits of products in print

media.

Train and motivate sales personnel. They can effectively make

prospects aware of and interested in products.

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Generate word-of-mouth advertising and influence opinion leaders.

In rural setting, demonstration, opinion leadership and trained retail sales

persons will be more effective as the literacy levels of consumers are low.

Dissonance reducing behavior: Products like carpets and furniture are

expensive but have few differences. However, consumer is involved because they are

more social products, their style, appearance and performance will be talked about

and may result in either delight or dissonance. The buyer rationalizes the purchase by

identifying certain attributes and uses them as a defence to reduce the dissonance.

Habitual Buying Behaviour: Products like salt, wheat, noodles,

cigarettes, and paanmasala are low involvement items with low cost. They are

frequently purchased. Consumer is not really bothered which brand it is. He will

generally ask for the product and not the brand. Some may ask for a brand. However,

when the preferred brand is not available, they will ask for another shop. They buy

whatever is available. There is a lack of strong brand consciousness.

Amount of time spent: Purchase behaviour can be classified as under

by the nature of purchase action.

Planned buying – purchase is budgeted and scheduled in advance.

The purchases as such are well thought out and predetermined.

Emergency planning: purchase is made in a hurry to avoid stock

outs situations.

Impulse buying – purchase is made spontaneously, amused or

bewitched by a product item, taking a decision on the spot without verifying

rationality of the purchase.

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1.4.3 THE FUTURE OF RURAL MARKETING

The Ex-Chairman of Hindustan Lever observes that ‘Most marketers realize

that India is on the cusp of momentous change. The economy is vibrant, incomes are

rising; and the habits, preferences, and attitudes are changing rapidly. But nowhere is

this more evident than in rural India. There is, thus, an emerging need to build

expertise in rural marketing’.

Focused Marketing Strategies

To succeed in the rural market, companies will need to adapt the 4ps of

marketing and the 4 As in their strategy – Awareness, Access, Availability and

Affordability. We have seen some efforts in this direction already, low unit packs,

coinage pricing, use of IT, use of traditional media, but we are likely to see a lot more

attention and innovation from marketers.

Product

Developing relevant products to meet the specific needs of rural consumers

will exercise the minds of marketers. For example, we know that voltage fluctuation

is a major problem in our villages, because of which bulbs last but a few days (as

compared to months in cities). Companies will put their R & D teams to develop

filaments that can withstand violent fluctuations, thereby extending the file of the

bulb. A rural-centric approach to product development, will hasten the growth rate in

the rural market. Also increased literacy and awareness levels will lead to an influx of

new product categories, like educational and lifestyle products. Marketers will have to

be alert to these opportunities, to gain the first mover advantage in these new markets.

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Price

Price will continue to be an important element of the marketing mix. However

as rural incomes continue to rise in the coming years, we may see the share of low

unit packs coming down somewhat and economy packs gaining share. Also as the

reach of media and awareness level improve, we are likely to see companies shift

their focus from trade to consumers. Another factor favouring consumer schemes in

the future is the expected proliferation of multi-brand open format stores, which will

take competition directly to the consumer and better offer would be a definite

incentive for the buyer, to choose a particular brand.

Distribution

Challenge of reach-markets are small and scattered-will be addressed through

innovation. Project Shakti of Hindustan Lever is one such successful example. Nehru

Yuva Kendra ‘volunteers’ model through haats being piloted by MART for Colgate,

is another such new model. Amway is already selling bio-fertilzers in rural India,

through its famous multi-layer distribution model. A large number of independent

mobile traders visit interior villages and sell a variety of products. No company has

used them so far for last mile distribution of their products. If mobile traders could be

organized, given official recognition through branded uniforms and offered an

attractive business model, this virtual army of sellers could offer a cost effective

solution to service remote locations.

Communication

While companies will continue to have a national communication strategy,

they will have to think and act locally. The need for focused communication aimed at

the rural markets should not be underestimated. This calls for innovation and

substantive changes. If the Indian advertising industry is to reach rural India, it has to

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be firmly grounded in rural perception, values and traditions. It has to drown itself in

local colours, customs and modes of communication, to make itself relevant to rural

society. It has to gain the trust of masses, by undercutting excessive dependency on

western advertising on one hand and on deceptive and manipulative claims on the

other. It has to reach out and relate to the level that it can bring about the desired

behavioural changes. Finally, it has to find ways to reincarnate innovation. The four

components are not mutually exclusive, they share mutual feeding relationships.

Mass media will have to be supplemented with traditional media. Haats,

melas, jatras, puppet shows and street theatre are integral to village life and these

platforms allow the much needed two way communication process, to create a strong

connect with rural audiences. The opinion leaders are changing from the earlier

Pradhan and the postman to rural youth and people having good jobs in nearby towns,

as the latter have higher level of exposure to media and urban lifestyle. Similarly

Sachin Tendulkar and Shahrukh Khan are appropriate role models, as cricket and

movies are as popular in villages, as in our cities.

Market Research

As the rural market develops in the next few years, more qualitative studies

will be needed to understand the rural consumer, his lifestyle, aspirations and

motivations. Research agencies will also have to develop relevant rural segmentation

models. However western techniques and tools often evoke inappropriate responses

from less literate people. Agencies will therefore need to evolve a set of tools that can

capture responses accurately. PRA is one such tool used in the social sector which

involves rural people in the research process and they enjoy sharing and analyzing

about themselves.

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Another area that needs the attention of research agencies is the complete lack

of intelligent data on rural markets. For example a company wanting to use haats for

promotion, does not know how to select relevant haats for its purpose as besides the

number of haats there is no data on the number of visitors, profile of visitors, purchase

per visitor, availability of different products, sale of branded products and other

similar data. Reliable data on the rural sector and detailed mapping of haats, mandis,

melas and folk media forms will become a priority for effective market planning, for

which companies will need to join hands to sponsor syndicated studies. Quantitative

studies on demand estimation, market shares, customer satisfaction which have been

restricted to the urban market, will need to be undertaken in the rural market as well,

as demand grows and rural India becomes more attractive for marketers.

Rural Managers

As the rural market is already bigger than its urban counterpart, there is need

to develop a good understanding about it among corporate managers. For this to

happen rural marketing should be taught as a subject in every business school. Most

management institutes do not offer it even as an elective, very few offer it as a core

subject. There is an urgent need to make this subject compulsory and assignments

should be so designed, that the students visit villages and get sensitized to rural life.

There are few institutes such as IRMA, XIM, Narsee Monjee and IIRM that

offer specialized rural marketing courses. Companies should target these, as well as

regional business schools, to create a dedicated, empowered and distinct rural

marketing team.

Glamorize Rural Marketing

It is a well-known fact that students at Business schools prefer e-marketing or

Retail or International Marketing, to Rural Marketing as an elective subject. This is

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because rural is considered unglamorous. Industry seminars on these subjects also

evoke a similar mentioned here. Industry associations (CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM),

government agencies and academic institutions, should take upon themselves to give

due importance to rural marketing. We have awards for the best marketer, best

advertising person, best IT manager and several others, but none for rural marketing.

Public-Private Partnership

In the coming years, it is hoped companies will not fight for a share of the

limited rural pie. Instead they should join hands with the government in self-interest

to increase the size of the pie, by creating economic activity in villages through micro

enterprises and mainstream these efforts, by linking them with large industry. The

efforts of these public-private partnerships which have already begun will create the

much needed affluence resulting in greater purchasing power in our villages and lead

to greater demand for corporate products.

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Rural economy and its healthy growth are the significant pre-requisites for

progress and development of India. The rural market is emerging stronger with a

gradual increase in disposable income of the rural folk. The structure of the Indian

economy indicates that a significant portion of the total income is derived from

agriculture income. In addition, better procurement prices fixed for various crops and

better yields due to benefits of many research programmes have also contributed to

the financial reinforcement of the rural markets. Thus it is proved beyond argument

that the potential rural market has been intensifying and is set to grow with faster

agricultural and rural development resulting in bearing more prosperity.

The rural market has changed drastically in the past one decade. A decade ago,

the rural market was more unstructured and was not a prioritized target location for

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corporate. Very few companies, mainly the agro-based ones, were concentrating on

these markets. There were no innovative strategies and promotional campaigns. A

distribution system only did exist, but was feeble. Illiteracy and lack of technology

were the other factors leading to the poor reach of products and lower level of

awareness amongst villagers. Gradually, corporate realized that there was saturation,

stiff competition and clutter in the urban market, and a demand was building up in

rural areas. Seeing the vast potential of 75 per cent Indians living in rural areas, they

started focusing on these unexplored, high-potential areas.

The biggest strength of Indian markets lies in the size, not in individual

spending. With the rise in income, over 291 million people will move from desperate

poverty to a more sustainable life, and India’s middle class will increase incredibly by

over ten times from its current size of 50 million to 583 million people. There had

been a strong misperception about the rural markets. Everyone knows that rural India

is poor and there is a lack of adequate infrastructure. Second, rural India depends

upon agriculture as a sole source of subsistence. But the reality is different.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has carried out

a comprehensive Survey of industries in the consumer durable goods sector. The

survey which, is based on feedback and interaction with representatives of consumer

durables industry, allied industry organizations, associations, government agencies,

and public sector undertakings, reveals that the sector is poised for a wide jump due to

technological improvisation, falling prices due to competition, aggressive marketing,

and declining import tariffs. There is a dramatic change in the behaviour of the rural

consumer with the increase in their disposable incomes. The consumers have started

perceiving many of the luxury goods as necessities.

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The reasons for heading into the rural areas are fairly clear. The urban

consumer durable market for products like CTVs, washing machines, refrigerators

and air conditioners is growing annually between 7% and 10%. With 128 million

households, the rural population is nearly three times the urban, probably because of

the growing affluent and the increased agricultural output. Undoubtedly, Indian rural

markets offer immense opportunities and great attraction to the marketers for

consumer durable goods.

The success of marketing efforts hinges largely upon the ability of the

marketing department to study buying pattern of their present and prospective

customers and to deal with them accordingly. The use of durable products is

becoming increasingly popular in recent years in rural India.

Hence the present need is to focus on the rural markets specifically for

consumer goods. This is of paramount importance in the Indian marketing

environment as rural and urban markets in India are so diverse in nature that urban

marketing programme just cannot be successfully replicated and extended to the rural

markets. Buying decisions are still made by the eldest male member in rural family

where as even children influence buying decisions in urban areas. Further, buying

decisions are highly influenced by social customs, traditions and beliefs in the rural

markets. Many rural purchases require collective social sanction or consensus,

unheard of in urban areas.

Various studies conducted in the past at an aggregate level have demonstrated

only purchase behaviour of consumer durable goods sector in urban area. An

empirical research on buying pattern rural consumer in durable consumer goods

sector in rural area is not yet attempted. The present study on Buying Pattern of Rural

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Consumers in Consumer Durable Goods in Namakkal District Tamilnadu attempts to

fill this research gap.

In the study some of the macro level marketing variables that have a bearing

on the marketing front may be examined under the heads. They are demographic,

economic, social and cultural, and personal variables related to consumers. Though,

all these factors are generally viewed as non-controllable variables by any marketer, it

is highly desirable to study the influence of demographic variables on consumer

buying pattern in rural area. The study basically aims at examining the buying pattern

of rural consumers for selected consumer durable goods such as Colour TV (CTV),

Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder and to suggest appropriate marketing strategies

to the companies for assisting them in enhancing their penetration in rural markets

and capturing the unexplored rural market in the study area.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Rapid changes are being experienced in almost every sector in Indian

economy. Consumer Durables too, are facing tough times (feeling saturated) in urban

markets. A large number of gigantic MNCs have changed their destination from urban

to rural markets which have displayed an impressive growth over last few years.

Hence, the study focuses on the various aspects of rural consumer buying pattern.

The present study is an attempt to examine the purchase pattern for selected consumer

durable goods such as Colour Television, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder in the

rural of Namakkal district of Tamilnadu. An attempt is also made to determine the

factors responsible to select the durable goods in the rural areas. The scope of the

study is restricted to selected category of consumer durable goods. The study covers

only limited products. The study has been carried out in rural areas of Namakkal

districts.

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This study acts as a guide for various durables manufacturing companies about

modifications required in their present marketing strategies already applied for

tapping urban markets and to decide, if possible and to what extent, these strategies

can be moluded and then applied successfully to the rural markets in the study area.

1.7 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To identify the demographic profile of the respondents.

2. To find out the buying pattern of the rural consumers for selected

consumer durable goods in Namakkal District.

3. To study the influence of demographic factors on buying pattern of

rural consumers.

4. To know the factors responsible for buying decision of selected

consumer durable goods.

5. To analyze the problems faced by the rural consumers with regards to

consumer durable goods and to make relevant suggestion to the

marketers

1.8 HYPOTHESIS

1. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Need Recognition stage of consumer

durable goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder).

2. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Information Search stage of consumer

durable goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder).

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3. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Evaluation of alternatives of consumer

durable goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder)

4. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Time of Purchase of consumer durable

goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder)

5. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Mode of Purchase of consumer durable

goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder).

6. There is no significant association between demographic factors (Gender,

Age, Educational Qualification, Marital Status, Occupation and Family

Income) of the respondents and their Satisfaction Level of consumer durable

goods (CTV, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder)

7. There is no significant difference in the ranks given by the respondent for the

role of various family members influencing the buying decision for consumer

durable goods.

1.9 METHODOLOGY

The study, which is descriptive in nature, has been carried out in Namakkal

district of Tamilnadu state (India). Five consumer durable goods like Colour

Television, Refrigerator, Fan, Mixie and Grinder have been chosen for the study

because these items are household products and most commonly used items in a

family.

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1.9.1 Population

The study considered all those households using selected consumer durable

items in the Namakkal district as population.

1.9.2 Sample size

Namakkal District consists of four Taluks namely Namakkal, Rasipuram,

Tiruchengode and Paramathi Velur. These taluks have 15 blocks, there are 391

revenue villages in these blocks. On the basis of state government records, five

top revenue villages from each block have been chosen for the study. A total of 75

revenue villages selected for the study. Five respondents have been chosen from

each selected villages. Therefore, a total of 375 respondents have chosen for the

study. From each selected revenue village, the required number of households

was selected based on the basis of Quota sampling method. The reasons of using

this sampling type are twofold. First, it offers an easy way to obtain the raw data

for the further analysis. Second, it saves times and costs since the respondents can

be selected at the researcher convenience.

1.9.3 Methods of data collection

The data for the purpose of the present study have been collected through

primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected directly from target

respondents through a field survey by structured pre – tested questionnaire. The

secondary data for the study was collected from different sources such as technical

and trade journals, articles, newspapers, magazines, internet, periodicals, books,

reports and publication of associations related to consumer durable industry,

Statistical department in the district and Government records in the Block

Development Offices in the Namakkal District.

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1.9.4 Research instrument

The research instrument, questionnaire contained different questions. The

questions were framed in such a manner as to elicit the types of information to

fulfill the objectives of the study in the purchase of durable goods. A pilot study

was conducted to ascertain the validity and relevance of the various inputs of the

questionnaire. The questionnaire was pre-tested with a sample of 50 respondents.

The pre-testing questionnaire has helped in modifying some questions and restrict

to five goods. Some of the respondents were happy to reveal their experiences and

sought necessary changes to be incorporated in the questionnaire which was duly

done. The final (modified) questionnaire after pre-testing was used for collecting

the primary data. The reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) values for the

following factors like Information Gathering (0.77), Sources Consulted (0.90),

Attributes considered for purchase decision (0.95), Satisfaction about the purchase

(0.95), and Problems in Rural Marketing (0.76) were found above the cutoff point

of 0.60, which is generally considered to be the criterion for demonstrating

internal consistency of the questionnaire.

1.9.5 Tools for analysis of data

Along with the usual statistical tools such as Percentages, Weighted

Average, Henry Garret Ranking, Chi-square test, factor analysis, Kendall’s (W)

Coefficient of Concordance Test and multiple regression were used for analyzing

the data which help in arriving at sound conclusions.

1.9.6 Period of the study

The data for the study was collected between April 2008 and April 2010.

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1.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study was based on primary data collected from sample consumers

by survey method. As many of the consumers furnished the required information

from their memory and experience, the collected data would be subjected to

recall bias. The study area was limited to Namakkal district and the findings may

not be applicable to other markets, as vast differences exist among the consumers

with regard to demographic and psychographics characteristics. Hence, the

findings of the study may be considered appropriate for the situations similar to

study area and extra care should be taken while generalizing the results. Further,

consumer behaviour being dynamic in nature, there is every possibility that over

time and space, findings of today may become invalid tomorrow.

In the study only five products namely, Color Television, Refrigerator,

Fan, Mixie and Grinder have been selected. However there are large number of

consumer durables such as washing machines, water purifiers, air conditioners,

generator sets, and kitchen appliances etc. Also only those households who are

using selected consumer durables have been considered for study. The study is

purely based on the respondent’s opinion. The researcher felt that the respondents

might express a biased opinion, which may limit the validity of the study.

1.11 CHAPTER SCHEME

This study is coordinated into seven chapters.

Chapter I describe the introduction, including Statement of the problem,

Scope, Objectives, Methodology, Limitations of the study and Chapter scheme.

Chapter II provides a detailed review of earlier studies carried out in the

area of buying pattern of the respondents and their behaviour.

39

Chapter III deals with the Market Scenario of Consumer durable goods in

India, Profile of the Research Area and Profile of the Product.

Chapter IV explains the Demographic Profile of the Respondents and

Buying Pattern of the Respondents.

Chapter V describes the Influence of Demographic factors in Buying

Pattern of Respondents.

Chapter VI deals with the Factors responsible for buying decision of the

respondents and problems faced by the rural consumers.

Chapter VII contains the Findings, Suggestions, Conclusion and Scope

for further research.