A Report on the Exploratory research of the perception of cosmetic products by female students

The Attitude, Pattern and Purchase Intention is determined by the following observation. Fairness Cream: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi. xvii. xviii. xix. xx. xxi. xxii. Are brand conscious while purchasing Often they don't find it an effective product. Packaging color matter Cost of the fairness cream has direct relation with purchase intention Product size is don't matter in purchase intention Daily use of Fairness cream. Her stand don't change off time much Usage intention is clear and defined impact from celebrity's endorsement of brand is not very positive Customers are brand loyal but may try others if feel dissatisfied after protracted use Customer's adaptation is not linked to its availability in diverse stores across the value chain Brand name matters Advertising have a compulsive effect on the purchasing behavior Not immediately willing to look beyond famous brands Customers are quality conscious. Not ready to trade off with price. Customers are skin color conscious Don't use multi branded products mostly Product should be targeted at normal/ skin use No specific fragrance preferred No history of skin reaction doe to face wash Girls are self conscious and take decisions independently Girls don't attend special occasions regularly. Therefore, the product cannot be targeted towards special occasions. They prefer hanging out with friends in malls and public places and are conscious of their looks

Shampoo: xxiii. Are brand conscious while purchasing xxiv. They find it an effective product.

xxv. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii. xxix. xxx. xxxi. xxxii. xxxiii. xxxiv. xxxv. xxxvi. xxxvii. xxxviii. xxxix. xl. xli. xlii. xliii. xliv.

Packaging color don't matter much Cost of the shampoo has a positive relation with purchase intention Different packaging is desired for varied times Daily use of shampoo. Her stand don't change off time much Usage intention changes from nourishment to style Strong impact from celebrity's endorsement of brand Customers are brand loyal but open to other new brands Customer's adaptation is linked to its availability in diverse stores across the value chain Brand name matters Advertising do not have a compulsive effect on the purchasing behavior Willing to look beyond famous brands Customers are quality conscious. However, ready to trade off with price. Customers are hair conscious Don't use multi branded products simultaneously Product should be targeted at normal/ skin use No specific fragrance preferred No history of skin reaction doe to face wash Girls are self conscious and take decisions independently Girls don't attend special occasions regularly. Therefore, the product cannot be targeted towards special occasions. They prefer hanging out with friends in malls and public places and are conscious of their looks

Face wash: xlv. xlvi. xlvii. xlviii. xlix. l. li. lii. liii. liv. Are not brand conscious while purchasing They find it an effective product. Packaging color should be white Cost of the cosmetic has a direct relation with quality of face wash They prefer smaller and compact packaging due to ease of carrying Daily use of face wash. However her stand changes with a tweak in the question Generally to keep skin clean and free from pimples Not much impact from celebrity's endorsement of brand Customers are not brand loyal and open to other new brands Customer's adaptation is linked to its availability in diverse stores across the value chain lv. Brand name matters lvi. Advertising has a compulsive effect on the purchasing behavior

lvii. lviii. lix. lx. lxi. lxii. lxiii. lxiv. lxv.

Willing to look beyond famous brands Customers are quality conscious. However, ready to trade off with price. Customers are health conscious Don't use multi branded products simultaneously Product should be targeted at normal/ skin use Lavender is the most sought after fragrance No history of skin reaction doe to face wash Girls are self conscious and take decisions independently Girls don't attend special occasions regularly. Therefore, the product cannot be targeted towards special occasions. lxvi. They prefer hanging out with friends in malls and public places and are conscious of their looks

From the study through depth interview technique, we found the following: Female students have high self esteem and want to take charge of their looks by choosing the best cosmetic product. During their adventure with three different products of the beauty product line, we found that there is a considerable impact of the brand consciousness, advertising, celebrity endorsement, price of product, frequency of use, their preference on the features of product and their attitude towards adapting a different product altogether. It was also found that cosmetics are a tool used for social self-presentation and self-image management among the female girl students. Using cosmetics, such as face wash and fairness cream, can help a student hide facial blemishes and other abnormalities which cause her to feel self-confident. Price do not play a major role in cosmetic product selection. As today's generation of female students are more outgoing and self conscious of their looks, the purchase behavior of cosmetic products have become more individualistic. Hence, though brand name plays a major role in the selection of cosmetic products, they still resort to the nitty-gritty as mentioned.

From the study through Construction-Projective technique, we found the following: In some cases, it captured the psychic framework of the female students more profoundly. As the purpose of the study was not known to them, the underlying motivation & believes behind usage of cosmetic products were well captured. For example, some of the respondents unflaggingly revealed that cosmetics are of no use and herbal products are better. Few were assured that advertisements are just marketing gimmicks and has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the product.

Few expressed intuitively that they care much about their skin and beauty and how cosmetics can help in taking care of them. Some ironically revealed their dissatisfaction over usage of cosmetics in their past. And it also captured how they correlate beauty with the brand names and their tag lines.

Findings from the comparative study of the cosmetic product behavior of the products. Criteria of Evaluation Brand Consciousness Dissonance Behavior Packaging Color Price of Product Product size Frequency of Use Purpose of Use Celebrity Endorsement Brand Switching Switching due to Wider reach of prod. Effect of Advertising Look conscious Quality Consciousness Tradeoff b/w Quality and Price Using multi branded products Specific type skin/hair products Product Fragrance Independence in decision making Target Special Occasion for Product Promotion Outgoing A N N S S S W N W S N S S N S W W W S W Face Wash P N Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Shampoo P Y Y Y N N Y N Y N N N N N Y N Y N Y N Fairness Cream P PI Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y N N N Y Y N

PI Y N Y Y Y Y Y N Y N Y Y Y Y N Y N Y N

A S W W N N S S S W S N W S S W S W S W

PI Y N N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y N N Y N Y Y Y Y S S S N N S S N N N S S S W W W S S W

Scale: Attitude Pattern -

Strong, Neutral, Weak Yes, No Yes, No

Affect Purchase Intention -

Similes: Cases when the two techniques yielded dissimilar results - In both cases, it was found the Brand consciousness was high in the cosmetics segment but their perception towards individual brands were captured more distinctly in the construction technique. To some extent, the effectiveness of cosmetics was interpreted clearly in both techniques, though in the construction technique, it was more specific and categorical. The response towards celebrity endorsement was a bit straight forward in the depth interview technique. However, the contours of the response was more vivid in the construction technique. As the depth interview technique revolved around the adoption/non adoption and attributes of the product and usage patterns of usage of cosmetic products, the construction technique in many ways captured sensitive information on the usage cosmetics, unusual description which are ingrate in the psyche of the customers that the previous method couldn't. Conversely, depth interview technique was more structured & in depth while probing the respondents, more unbiased and provided scope for capturing off the track & innovative views.