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Introduction:
Our team visited Shopper’s Stop, Rajouri Garden and narrowed our research to ethnic wear section. We observed a lady, who was in her late 30’s, accompanied by her daughter. We observed her for 40-45 minutes which helped us to understand her buying behaviour and also the factors that influenced her in making the decision for a particular product and brand in the ethnic wear section.
Since we visited an MBO, we could observe the customer with ease and permission from store was also not a problem.
Once she was over with her purchase and was making the payment we introduced ourselves to her and interviewed her on a few basic points and why did she choose Shopper’s Stop for making a purchase.
This activity instilled in us the power of observation and helped us know various aspects that a customer keep’s in his/her mind while making a purchase decision.
Buying Process:

1. Need Recognition-

Observation- The lady was specifically looking for pastel colored suits (ethnic wear) with very light embroidery or design.

Inference- Maybe she wore Indian formals to her office. She had a need to buy suits for her office wear purposes.

2. Information Search-

Observation- Initially the lady specifically looked for brands like Biba and ‘W’.

Inference- Maybe through her past shopping experience she wanted to but only these two brands. She was comfortable with the fit and style of these two brands and was quite satisfied with its quality. She was looking for limited set of colors, so that reduced her information search

For the next pair of suit she asked for assistance to match a churidaar for her. Again the service of sales people reduced her activity of information search.

3. Evaluation of alternatives-

Observation-The lady took 4 sets of suits to the trial room and returned 2 sets. The brand she returned was of Biba. Her daughter said that the kurta was short and did not suit her age. Also the other kurta was of black color and it does fit well with the weather.

Inference- She tried 4 sets and finalized on only 2 sets. The criteria for evaluation included, length, color, fit and comfort of the suit.

4. Purchase decision-

The final purchase decision depended on:

-Her daughter’s opinion

-Timely alteration facility( the assistant very politely measured the length she wanted)

5. Post purchase behaviour-

Since the lady particularly looked for Biba and W , so we can infer that she was quite satisfied with the quality of these brands. Hence the brand always met her expectations and was ver well satisfied with it.

Information used while buying Ethnic Wear from Shoppers stop

As observed by me a girl was looking for Indian salwar kameez for office wear purposes. The information she required was provided to her by a salesgirl. The queries the girl had included-
Number of brands that are present at shoppers stop, the price range of daily wear cotton suits in each brand, whether there is the option of choosing a matching salwar or churidaar and stole with the selected kameez, whether there are long, short, or medium length kurtis available, sizes and colors available in the selected kurti, trial rooms available, alteration done or not and how many days or time will the alteration require and whether there is an option of exchanging or returning the bought clothes.

How does consumer choose a retailer and merchandise?
As part of our activity we decided to ask few question to the lady to identify the factors that made her choose Shopper Stop and that particular merchandise of ethnic wear. What we found form the response that she choose this particular store as it’s was located very near to her place. Parking also in not a problem and its free as well. The store has provision for the membership card using which she becomes eligible for discounts on the payment next time. The lady told the store focus a lot on customer satisfaction. On asking about the factor for choosing a particular merchandise she told us that they have very large assortment of products and brand’s in SS. The prices are very competitive and the color and designs of the ethnic wear are available in large variety. There is easy of shopping and accessibility to the products. SS has made its image as a store that will not compromise on quality and that matters most to me, it’s a brand in itself, she said.
Social Factors influencing the buying decision
A customer’s buying behaviour is also influenced by social factors, such as the groups to which the customer belongs and social status. In a group, several individuals may interact to influence the purchase decision. The typical roles in such a group decision can be summarised as follows:
Initiator “The person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service” – In this case it was a women buying it for some function. She was the first time customer for shopper stop and never wore Brand like BIBA etc before.
Influencer “A person whose view or advice influences the buying decision” – The women was influenced by her daughter and daughter in-law. The social class, culture were the influencing factors for the purchase decision. Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality, and quantity of products that a person buys or uses. Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous group of people and transmitted to the next generation. So the buyer was influenced by all these factors to buy such a branded suit to match up with the social society and still maintaining the values of the culture.
Decider “The individual with the power and/or financial authority to make the ultimate choice regarding which product to buy” – Women here self was the decider, the factor that she considered while deciding were the fit of the suit, design, jewellery that will match with suit, price range.
Buyer “The person who concludes the transaction” – Transaction was concluded by the women herself.

User “The person (or persons) who actually uses the product or service”– Purchase was done for herself and she will be wearing it for a function at home.
How does Shoppers Stop attract customers?

Shoppers Stop uses following techniques to attract customers:

Advertising: SS advertises avidly through print media, i.e., Newspaper; and outdoor media, i.e., hoardings and bill boards.

Sales Promotion: • Gift vouchers: It gives out vouchers ranging from Rs. 250 to Rs. 5000 • Seasonal Sale: SS holds bi-annual seasonal sale in months of February and August • Festive Offers: During festive season such as Diwali and New Year, special schemes and offers are run by SS.

Exchange Policy:
SS offers an easy 14-day exchange policy. If you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase, you may exchange the unused merchandise bought from SS.

Loyalty Card’s - “FIRST CITIZEN”
As a First Citizen card holder, your shopping experience becomes even more enjoyable with: • Reward Points for every time you shop at SS • Exclusive benefits & privileges like free parking at SS • Exclusive offers ever so often like discounts on selected merchandise • Exclusive cash counters at SS so you can spend more time shopping than waiting in a line

Tie- Up:
SS has exclusive tie ups with brands such as Mothercare, Crossword, CCD etc. which adds an extra edge in attracting customers and creating brand awareness.