FIELD SURVEY REPORT

ON

CONSUMERS BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS

BABA BATHING SOAPS
“POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT”
(2018-2020)
-
(Approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Government of India, New Delhi)

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. RAJ KUMAR SINGH ANKIT BHARUKA
Professor & Dean (R&D) PGDM-II
Roll No: PG/24/016

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, VARANASI

 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Research work is combined effort, so one should thank all who has helped in
making the report purposeful. Hence I take this opportunity to thank all that
have been instrumental in helping me to prepare this report.

I am immensely grateful to Professor P.N JHA (Director- SMS Varanasi)

for providing me this opportunity to prove my skills and shoulder the
responsibilities through this survey project.

It is great honour to be assigned this topic. I am immensely grateful to Dr.

RAJ KUMAR SINGH Professor and Dean (R&D), SMS Varanasi for his
continuous support and guidance while pursuing the project and for
providing me his valuable time to structure the report. Without his help and
valuable inputs and guidelines, the completion of this project would not have
been possible.

I also want to thank Mr. RISHI RAMAN SINGH (Coordinator, PGDM)

and Mr. VEERESH TRIPATHI (Co-Coordinator, PGDM) for providing
me this opportunity.

I also want to thank all teachers, the staff member and library members for
their valuable advice and guidance which helped me to make this report
purposeful. I specially wish to thank all other people who directly or
indirectly with my research, my friends as well as all those respondents
without their support this report would not have been possible.
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the report entitled, “CONSUMER BUYING

BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS BATHING SOAPS” being submitted to
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, VARANASI in fulfilment
of the requirement for award of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in
Management, is an original piece of research work carried out by me. I
have utilized the requisite concepts and applied the required
methodologies to analyse the primary data collected to reach the
conclusion present in the report.

It has not been published /awarded elsewhere, nor has been submitted in any
other degree or diploma.

DATE: ANKIT BHARUKA

PGDM 2nd Semester
PG/24/014
 TABLE OF CONTENT

TOPICS PAGE
NO.

 INTRODUCTION 1-6
 SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT 7
 LITERATURE REVIEW 8-10
 RESEARCH GAP 11-12
 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW 13-17
 OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT 18
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 20-49
 FINDINGS 50-52
 CONCLUSION 53-56
 SUGGESTION AND FEEDBACK 57
 SCOPE OF FUTURE RESEARCH 58
 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY 59
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 60
 ANNEXURE 61-62
TITLE OF PROJECT

“CONSUMERS BUYING
BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS
BATHING SOAPS”
 INTRODUCTION

Hygiene plays a vital role in our life. For a healthy life, great care should be taken
to keep the skin. Skin problems are mostly arises , when skin are not keep well. For
keeping the skin problem bath soap mostly preferred. Proper skin care is important
for health and appearance. The marketing of number of bath soap is increasing day
by day. Proper skin care means cleansing it properly. Skin needs moisture to
survive. Bath soap helps in keeping moisture. The main purpose of the study is to
analyse the preferences of the consumers towards bath soap.

Consumer is a person who buys or uses things (goods) or services. Marketers are
the persons who provide these services. The most challenging questions for
marketers are why buyers do what they do (or don’t do). Such knowledge is critical
for marketers since having a strong understanding of buyer’s behaviour will
shed light on what is important for the consumer and also suggest the important
influences on consumer decision-making. Factors affecting consumers’ buying
decisions are extremely complex It is deeply rooted in psychology with dashes of
sociology thrown in just to make things more interesting. It explains the influences
on the consumer from groups such as family, friends and society in Consumers’
buying behavior result from deeply held values and attitudes, their perception of
the world, their place in it, from common sense, from impulse or just plain take.
Consumers mainly face two types of purchase decisions: ‘New Purchase’ —these
purchases are very difficult to be made by consumer due to lack of confidence in
decision-making; and ‘Repurchase’— consumer feels confident in making these
decisions since they have previous experience in purchasing the product. Let’s
examine the process of how a consumer takes buying decision.
The importance of each step might vary depending on the
circumstances surrounding the purchase. Consumers’ decision-making process
begins when buyer realizes his/her unsatisfied need, want or desire. Needs
may be functional or psychological in nature, and retailers are often trying to
satisfy psychological needs as much as functional ones (Babine et al., 1994).
Consumers are motivated to satisfy their needs; they will next undertake a
search for information on possible solutions. Consumers’ search efforts may
result in a set of options from which a choice can be made. There might be two
levels to this stage. At level one, the consumer may create a set of possible
solutions to their needs (i.e., product types) while at second level the consumer
may be evaluating particular products (i.e., brands). The purchase decision may
provide three possibilities to a consumer: from whom to buy, when to buy and also
not to buy. In many cases the solution chosen by the consumer is the same as
the product whose evaluation is the highest. A favorable post-purchase evaluation
of the product leads to consumer satisfaction. If the product performs below the
consumer’s expectation, then he/she will reevaluate satisfaction with the
decision, which at its extreme may result in the consumer returning the
product. When the consumer is satisfied with the product’s performance, repeat
purchase is more likely (Szymanski and Hernard, 2018-2019).

Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior

The following factors can influence the Buying decision of the

buyer: Cultural

Social

Personal

Psychological

1. Cultural Factors: Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest

influence on consumer behaviour. The marketer needs to understand the role
played by the buyer’s culture, subculture, and social class.
2. Social Factors: A consumer’s behavior also is influenced by social factors,
such as the consumer’s small groups, family, and social roles and status.
3. Personal Factors: A buyer’s decisions also are influenced by
personal characteristics such as the buyer’s age and lifecycle stage, occupation,
economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept.

4. Psychological Factors: A person’s buying choices are further influenced by four

major psychological factors: motivation, perception, learning, and beliefs and
attitudes.

Soap Market in India

Toilet soap is an important day to day basic requirement of any consumer.

It is considered as cleansing and beautifying products which is usually used for
cleansing one’s body. The toilet soap market is dominated by several leading
national and global brands. The accepted and quality brands are Hamam,
Lux, Power, Dove, Rexona, Medimix, Cinthol, Pears, Mysore sandal, and
Lifebuoy. The toilet soap market is fragmented and highly competitive in
nature. Soap was introduced in India by the Lever
Brothers during the British reign in the country. There after soaps were imported
from England and marketed in India. However the first local soap manufacturing
unit was set up by Mr. Jamshedji TataNin Cochin, Kerala around the period
1918.Since then soaps have become an important part of the lives of the people of
the country.

The Lead Players of Toilet Soap and their Market Share

India has one of the most developed soap markets and is dominated
by numerous multinational and also quite a few major domestic companies.
Some of the most popular soap brands in India include Lux, Cinthol, Lifebuoy,
Liril, Shikakai, Rexona, Nirma, Dettol etc. The Indian soap market is ruled
by three major giants; Hindustan Unilever Limited, Godrej and Nirma. These
three companies alone account for 88% of the total market share in India.

S. No Company Market share in percentage

1. HUL 67

2. Godrej 10
3. Wipro 9

4. Nirma 8
5. P&G 3

6. Colgate palmolive 1
7. Others 2

Source: Vanscom Database

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

The survey conducted on consumers buying behavior towards bathing

soaps comprises of thorough research and analysis. It includes the
preference of consumers, reason of purchase, which brand do they
prefer, how do they came to know about the brand and some of the
behavior associated with it. This study includes a very rich data on
behavioral study on purchase of bathing soaps, product attributes,
brand equity, attitudes and perception, color and how much they
usually spend on purchase of bathing soaps and difficulties faced while
purchasing bathing soaps. The project also contain the statistical
analysis of data collected from respondents are interpreted. With the
help of statistical tool, statistical data like Mean, Median, Mode,
Standard deviation and Variance has been calculated and interpreted.
The history, ingredients and the benefits of the product is also
discussed. Various bathing soap companies can take various decisions
for future planning regarding the preference of customer, their
purchasing behavior etc. by making use of the research report. Another
significance of the report is which brand is most preferred can be
identified. This research can be further used by any of the researcher
for their literature review. The general public will come to know about
the performance of the various brands and their product of bathing
soaps. Various company will be able to know the perception of people
while purchasing of their products in Varanasi. With the help of this,
they can strategize their advertisement and promotional ideas in order
to sell more products and gain customer satisfaction.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
To have Associate in Nursing exhaustive understanding of Indian
shopper, and to investigate the factors influencing his purchase choices,
one has got to conduct studies in regard to his setting, his demographic
factors, culture, and level of exposure. During this scenery, some
necessary studies conducted within the areas of shopper behaviour and
perception in regard to non consumer durables and FMCG in India are in
short reviewed. It’s seen that positive perspective of shopper towards
advertising of a selected complete is extremely helpful in getting that
complete

(Dr. Dharam Sukh Dahiya, 1996). Customers perceived that the

knowledge received from WOM sources is reliable and advantageous in
creating the acquisition choices (Prashant Mishra et al, 1996In the FMCG
sector, the key influencing factors in creating a buying deal call were
quality (D. P. S. Verma et al, 2003), value and convenience of product (Dr.
Sarwade W. K. 2002), followed by their amount and enticing packaging
(Kuldeep Singh et al, 2003). Rising family financial gain levels allow
patrons to exercise a lot of alternative in choice of FMCG from the price
perception (Prof. S. A. Telang et al, 2003). However, age and alternative
demographic variables even have their result on behavioural and
psychological feature patterns of the patron (D. P. S. Verma et al, 2003).
Urban customer’s most popular branded product (P. full general patron
saint, 2007). Complete awareness and complete usage are extremely related
(Dr. A. Vinayaga Moorthy, 2007).
 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is the fourth largest
sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of Rs 60,000 crore.
This industry essentially comprises Consumer Non Durable (CND) products
and caters to the everyday need of the population.

Product Characteristics

Products belonging to the FMCG segment generally have the following

characteristics:

 They are used at least once a month

 They are used directly by the end-consumer
 They are non-durable
 They are sold in packaged form
 They are branded

Industry Segments

The main segments of the FMCG sector are:

 Personal Care: oral care; hair care; skin care; personal wash (soaps);
cosmetics and toiletries; deodorants; perfumes; paper products
(tissues, diapers, sanitary); shoe care.

Major companies active in this segment include Hindustan Lever; Godrej

Soaps, Colgate-Palmolive, Marico, Dabur and Procter & Gamble.

 Household Care: fabric wash (laundry soaps and synthetic

detergents); household cleaners (dish/utensil cleaners, floor cleaners,
 toilet cleaners, air fresheners, insecticides and mosquito repellants,
metal polish and furniture polish).

Major companies active in this segment include Hindustan Lever,

Nirma and Reckitt & Colman.

 Branded and Packaged Food and Beverages: health beverages; soft

drinks; staples/cereals; bakery products (biscuits, bread, cakes); snack
food; chocolates; ice cream; tea; coffee; processed fruits, vegetables
and meat; dairy products; bottled water; branded flour; branded rice;
branded sugar; juices etc.

Major companies active in this segment include Hindustan Lever,

Nestle, Cadbury and Dabur.

 Spirits and Tobacc Major companies active in this segment include

ITC, Godfrey Philips, UB and Shaw Wallace.

An exact product-wise sales break up for each of the items is difficult.

The size of the fabric wash market is estimated to be Rs 4500 crore; of

household cleaners to be Rs 1100 crore; of personal wash products to be Rs
4000 crore; of hair care products to be Rs 2600 crore; of oral care products
to be Rs 2600 crore; of health beverages to be Rs 1100 crore; of bread and
biscuits to be Rs 8000 crore ; of chocolates to be Rs 350 crore and of ice
cream to be Rs 900 crore.

In volume terms, the production of toilet soap is estimated to have

grown by four per cent in 2018-2019 from 5,30.000 tonnes from 5,10,000
tonnes in 1998-99. The production of synthetic detergents has grown by eight
per cent in 2018-2019 to 2.6 million tonnes. The cosmetics and toiletries
segment has registered a 15 per cent growth in 2018-2019 as against an
annual growth of 30 per cent recorded during the period 2017-2018

In the packaged food and beverage segment, ice cream has registered
a negligible growth and the soft drink industry has registered a six per cent
growth in 2018-2019.

Toilet Soap Industry in India:

Today, the FMCG sector is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian

economy, with an estimated total market size of around Rs 450 bn. Further,
the growth potential for all the FMCG companies is huge, as the per capita
consumption of almost all products in the country is amongst the lowest in
the world. Further, if these companies can change consumer's mindset and
offer new generation products, they would be able to generate higher growth.
For example, Indian consumers used to wear non-branded clothes for years,
but today, clothes of different brands are available and the same consumers
are willing to pay almost 5 times more for branded quality clothes. It is the
quality and innovation of products, which is really driving many sectors.
Thus, FMCG companies should use their imagination and respect the tastes
of Indian consumers by offering quality products.

Toilet soap industry is one of the oldest Fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCG) industry in India. It is among the highest penetrated category within
FMCG sector reaching an estimated 95% urban and 87% of the rural
households. In value terms the industry is worth Rs.45000million and in
volume terms it is worth .53 million . The main characteristic of the industry
was severe competition and high level of brand proliferation. Toilet soaps
account for more than 50% of the Consumer
 After expanding at a snail's pace, the market for personal wash
products appears to have come to grinding halt in 2018.

After posting a modest single digit growth in 1997-2000, figures for

the first seven months of this year suggest that the market for toilet soaps has
actually shrunk.

Estimates about the extent of the decline of market size vary.

Hindustan Lever, which straddles the category with a 59.9 per cent market
share by value, says the market shrank by 4.4 per cent in value terms in the
first half of 2018-2019.

The Indian Soaps and Toiletries Manufacturers Association, puts the

decline at 1 per cent. Other industry sources suggest that the extent of `de-
growth' in the first eight months of 2018-2019 could be as high as 7 per cent.

This is despite the fact that this usually sleepy category has seen a spate
of new players debut new offerings in recent times. Over the past couple of
years, Nirma has launched a slew of low-priced soaps under the banner of
Nima and Nirma Beauty. Godrej Consumer, a long-standing player, has
relaunched old brands such as Cinthol, apart from new ones such as
FairGlow, Allcare, and Nikhar.

Henkel SPIC has made a maiden foray into the market with the Fa
range of soaps. Colgate Palmolive has pepped up its soap range with
extensions such as Palmolive Naturals and Palmolive Extra Care. The market
leader HLL, has relaunched Breeze, apart from launching Skin Care and
Sunscreen variants of its premium soap -- Lux International.
 If the shrinking market size suggests that Indian consumers have
actually been cutting back on their use of toilet soaps, this is not really the
case. In volume terms, the market for toilet soaps has continued to show a
growth of 6 per cent in the first eight months of 2018-2019.

The major players have certainly managed to sell more toilet soaps by
volume. But price competition in the segment and a slew of promotional
campaigns have reduced the effective realisations per unit sold. This has
probably neutralised the gains from volume expansion. Theories about the
reasons for the shrinking the market size vary.

Low-priced brands

Industry players commonly attribute the `de-growth' in the soap market to

downtrading. Toilet soaps are among the highest penetrated products within
the FMCG market, reaching an estimated 95 per cent of the urban and 87 per
cent of the rural households. The fairly high contribution from the rural
market makes this category sensitive to the fortunes of the agricultural
economy.

The prolonged drought in the North and West of the country (until
2000) and the sharp fall in farm disposable incomes (brought on by falling
farm product prices) has probably persuaded low-income households to
downtrade, that is, switch from high- to low-priced brands.

This is indeed supported by the fact that within toilet soaps, it is the
discount segment (soaps that cost between Rs 5 and Rs 8 per 75 grams) that
has registered the highest growth rates over the past year.

HLL, too appears to endorse the phenomenon of downtrading. ``There

has been an inter-sectoral shift in the soap market, with consumers
downtrading from premium and popular to discount soaps'', explains the
company's spokesperson.

However, Mr Hoshedar K. Press, Godrej Consumer Care, begs to

differ. ``We think consumers have already pre-committed their incomes for
instalments on durables. The substitution of soap with shampoos for hair
wash has also impacted growth'', he said.

Better quality

The crowded market place has also brought a few benefits to the
consumer as marketers of soap have tried to woo consumers through
upgraded offerings and better quality soaps. Aided by low input prices, the
marketers of toilet soaps have increased the TFM (total fatty matter) content
in their brands, to offer better quality soaps at a lower price. Industry
watchers say that the TFM content on some brands has moved up from the
50-60 per cent earlier to over 70 per cent of late.

Therefore, per unit realisations on soaps have declined, the marketers

of soaps have actually sacrificed a part of their margins on hiking the TFM
content.

Tough times ahead

With competitive pressures on the rise and a larger number of brands

jostling for consumer attention in a sluggish market, the soap market is likely
to remain a difficult one for most players. Smaller players such as Godrej
Consumer and Henkel SPIC have been in a position to report robust sales
growth in the category over the past year despite the bruising competition.
 However, this is partly due to a relatively small base of comparison.
Unless the market expands, the frenetic promotional activity may soon tell
on the growth rate of the players. And when it comes to sustaining a high
decibel promotional campaign, HLL's size certainly gives it the wherewithal
to do it.

Rural revival -- A wild card

It appears that a genuine boost to the market size for toilet soaps will
still have to come from a revival in rural demand. Evidence from the past
does appear to suggest that a sharp rise in rural incomes would have a
cascading effect on FMCG demand. The pick-up in volume growth in the
soap market in 1999, after a year of sluggish growth in 1998, demonstrated
that a recovery in agricultural output does have an indirect impact on sales
volumes of FMCG products.

This year, reports of a good monsoon in the northern and western parts
of the country have sparked off speculation about a revival in FMCG growth
rates. The fact these two regions account for 55 per cent of the demand for
FMCG products strengthens this argument. However, it appears to be a bit
early in the day to call it a revival. For one, while the northern and western
regions have received satisfactory rains, southern India has been the victim
of a very erratic monsoon. Second, given that the good monsoon in the
current year succeeds two or three consecutive years of drought in some
regions, there could be a substantial time lag before higher rural incomes
translate into better FMCG demand

Third, the key crisis in agriculture over the past year has been that farm
product prices have dropped sharply in response to a build up of surplus food
grain stocks. Therefore, even if a good monsoon translates into a higher
agricultural output, there is the question of whether this will actually expand
or shrink farm incomes.

These factors suggest that it may be premature to take investment

exposures in companies focussed on toilet soaps in the hope of a revival. It
may be better to wait for concrete signs of a pick-up in rural demand, which
is certainly some way off.

Nature of the global Industry

The global soap market is dominated by a small number of

multinational companies. Soap is only one sector of their product ranges. In
multinational companies such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble, soap and
detergent ranges typically account for less

than 20% of group turnover (in 1999).

The largest toilet soaps and detergents only company, by volume sales,
is the Unilever Group, which has strong presence in all regional markets in
the world. The top ten leading manufacturers and distributors of soap
worldwide account for more than 55% of total sales by value in 1999,
totalling in excess of US$80

billion.

Position Company % Value of World

1 Unilever 10.07
2 Procter & Gamble 7.41

3 Gillette Group 7.66

4 Colgate Palmolive 4.5

Promotion and branding

Soap manufacturers start their marketing strategy by first identifying

whether a marketing opportunity exists. They proceed to determine whether
to target the mass market or a niche market, and subsequently position their
products. Very often, “metoo” looking products, despite their superior
performance, fail to break the barrier of routine buyer behaviour. Where the
market is crowded, companies try to differentiate their products by new
forms or new packaging concepts.

With the increase in both domestic and global competition, companies are
having to deal with and reconcile two conflicting elements in marketing
strategy – namely

profitability and market share. Greater market share involves higher

marketing costs and lower profitability. In India, Hindustan Lever's share of
the soap and detergent market was dented severely by the Nirma (an Indian
national, privately owned company) strategy of developing a product
especially for the poor, until Lever managed to develop its own product.

A teaser ad on Lux soap recently unleashed by FMCG-major

Hindustan Lever (HLL) gives an indication that the company is planning to
launch a soap which protects fairness -- in evident competition to Godrej's
FairGlow fairness soap.

The Lux commercial was kicked off almost in tandem with the launch
of FairGlow, which is touted as India's first fairness soap. FairGlow has
marked a breakthrough in the stagnant toilet soaps market and has kindled
hopes of fuelling growth with the creation of a new category.

The industry was rife with speculation that market leader HLL would
follow in the footsteps of Godrej Soaps to launch a soap product on the same
USP. While details of the proposed Lux soap are not available, the product
is expected to be launched in the next fortnight.

The ad depicts how, by using the soap, one can block the sun rays from
tanning the skin surface. However, the ad does not reveal the name of the
product. But it clearly signals that a new product offering from the Lux stable,
albeit on the fairness plank, is in the pipeline. It has been a couple of weeks
since the teaser ad was launched on select channels.

The move is seen by industry observers as a knee-jerk reaction to

combat the launch of FairGlow. The only catch here is that while Godrej
Soaps directly claims delivering fairness through FairGlow, the proposed
Lux product talks about protecting fairness by offering sunscreen benefits.
FairGlow is being promoted as a beauty and complexion soap which contains
a bio-extract called natural Oxy-G which is said to make skin fairer naturally.

For Levers, point out industry analyst, it is crucial to defend any

market share erosion at a time when the industry is strutting at growth levels
of 2-3 per cent per annum. Given that the Rs 2,900 crore industry has reached
saturation levels in penetration in both urban and rural markets, it is
becoming increasingly challenging for marketers to develop value-added
soap products in the market.

Industry analysts point out that manufacturers will have to design

products which offer unique benefits so as to stoke volumes growth. It is not
surprising then that FairGlow is targeted at both men and women. Research
findings show that a section of men too are users of fairness creams.

Est
Production (market 2002- % EST %
Unit 2003-
size) 2003 growth growth
2004

FMCG (overall) Rs billion 600 2% 609 1.5%

Soap & Toiletries

Rs billion 90 -5% 90.9 1%
(overall)

Soap & Toiletries

Mn tonn 60 4% 60.09 1.50%
(overall)

There were 45 leading national brands. None of the national brands

had more than 5% market share and many more regional and unorganised
sector/local brands. 9Hindustan Lever was the market leader with about 30
(number) of toilet soap brands with a total market share of 67% in 1998-99
in organised sector as seen from Table-1 below, which gives the lead players
and their respective market share.

Table-1: The Lead Players and their Market Share

Percentage of Market
Company
Share
 HLL 67

Godrej 10

Nirma 8

Colgate Palmolive 1

Others 14

Source: Vanscom Database

Percentage of Market Share

HLL

Godrej

Nirma

Colgate
Palmolive
Others

The leading brands in the market are Dove, Pears, Lux, Dettol, Liril,
Rexona, Lifebuoy, Nirma, Palmolive and Hamam. A survey reported in
Vanscom, which was conducted in Ahmedabad,

showed that 103 toilets soap brands were available in this city alone.
 The industry had witnessed many innovative sales promotion activities
in the recent past. Numerous factors were responsible for such a
phenomenon. One of the reasons being that the market being sluggish,
companies were trying to increase market share in stagnant to declining
(volume terms) market in order to retain consumers, to encourage switching,
to induce trials and liquidate excessive inventories. Another reason possible
was that with the presence of so many brands the competition had increased
severally leading to fight for market share and shelf space. Inflationary trend
had made both the consumer as well as trade deal prone.

Due to such a dense market like India big companies adopt different
strategies and coming up with various sales promotion schemes
continuously.

Today big players in Indian bath-soap market are…

1. HLL (Hindustan lever limited –a subsidiary of Unilever)

2. Godrej
3. Nirma
4. P&g (Procter and gamble)

Among these players HLL is the biggest player with around 67% of
market share. For HLL most of the soap has become a brand they have their
own identity.LUX is the most recalled soap in the mind of the consumers.

For these main four players , each soap is described in brief as an

introduction about which soap belongs to which company.
 There is a strong MNC presence in the Indian FMCG market and out of
the top 10 FMCG companies, four are multinationals while two others have
significant MNC shareholdings. Unlike several other sectors where
multinationals have entered after 1991, MNCs have been active in India for
a long time. The top five listed FMCG companies on the basis of their sales
turnover in the last financial year (either year ended December 31, 1999 or
March 31, 2000) are:

Company Name ym(finance_year) sales Profit After

Rs. Crores Tax
Rs. Crores
Hindustan Lever Ltd. 2017-2018 10978.31 1073.73
I T C Ltd. 2017-2018 7971.94 792.44
Nirma Ltd. 2017-2018 1717.88 234.1
Nestle India Ltd. 2017-2018 1546.43 98.47
Britannia Industries Ltd. 2017-2018 1169.84 51.02
Colgate-Palmolive (India) 2017-2018 1123.53 51.79
Ltd.
Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. 2017-2018 1082.63 42.1
Dabur India Ltd. 2017-2018 1046.28 77.67
Smithkline Beecham 2017-2018 743.38 97.61
Consumer Healthcare Ltd.
Godrej Soaps Ltd. 2017-2018 714.74 61.89
Marico Industries Ltd. 2017-2018 649.05 35.73
Cadbury India Ltd. 2017-2018 511.08 36.7
Procter & Gamble Hygiene 2017-2018 492.85 75.03
& Health Care Ltd.
Reckitt & Colman Of India 2017-2018 435.33 31.47
Ltd.
I S P L Industries Ltd. 2017-2018 21.57 0.04

Among the major companies, Hindustan Lever has a strong presence

in the food, personal care and household care (detergents) sectors; ITC is the
market leader in cigarettes; Nirma has a strong presence in the detergent
market; Nestle and Britannia are active in the food sector and Colgate has a
strong presence in the oral care segment.

Exports

India is one of the world’s largest producer for a number of FMCG

products but its FMCG exports are languishing at around Rs 1,000 crore only.
There is significant potential for increasing exports but there are certain
factors inhibiting this. Small-scale sector reservations limit ability to invest
in technology and quality upgradation to achieve economies of scale.
Moreover, lower volume of higher value added products reduce scope for
export to developing countries.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To see the awareness level of the consumer in references to

soap market.

2. To find out brand and colour and shape preference among

surveyed consumer.

3. What are the additional features required their brand and

their loyalty.

4. To know the reason for a switch over from one brand to

another.

5. To study the influence of various sources of information on

consumers buying behaviour.

6. To evaluate the extent of expenditure of soaps.

7. To check consumer reliability on soap advertisements and

appeal of advertisement for soap.

 HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis is considered as the principal instrument in

research. It enables to make probability statement about population
parameters. It can be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition
set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified
group of phenomenon either asserted merely or as a provisional
conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly
probable in the light of established tacts.

The hypothesis evolved in the study are :

HO 1There is no change in consumer behaviour.

HO 1 There is no switchover among different brands.

HO 1 Sales promotion do not have any influence or buying

behaviour.

HO 1 Price does not play a significant role in influencing

the buying selection.

HO 1 The influences do not play an important role while

making the purchase decision.

The method adopted in this study is the sample survey method.

This method gains primary significant in modern research because
of the extensive use to study the relationship of different factor
attitude and practices of society and to explore the problem that
can't be treated by experimental method.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

UNIVERSE BATHING SOAP USES IN VARANASI CITY

SAMPLE SIZE 100

SAMPLE UNIT CONSUMERS WHO PURCHASE BATHING SOAPS

TYPE OF RESEARCH DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

DATA COLLECTION
INSTRUMENT PRIMARY (STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE)

STATISTICAL TOOL MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE, STANDARD

DEVIATION & VARIANCE

DATA ANALYSIS TOOL EXCEL & SPSS

 DATA ANALYSIS
AND INTERPRETATION
Do you use any soap ?

use_soap

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

strongly agree 31 36.0 36.0 37.2

Agree 38 44.2 44.2 81.4

Neutral 11 12.8 12.8 94.2

Disagree 1 1.2 1.2 95.3

strongly disagree 4 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which soap you like most ?

soap_you_like_most

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

lux 24 27.9 27.9 29.1

lifebuoy 15 17.4 17.4 46.5

no. 1 9 10.5 10.5 57.0

santoor 12 14.0 14.0 70.9

hamam 12 14.0 14.0 84.9

medimix 13 15.1 15.1 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which soap Advertisement influence you most ?

soap_Advertisement_influence_most

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

+Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Lux 20 23.3 23.3 24.4

Lifebuoy 20 23.3 23.3 47.7

no.1 12 14.0 14.0 61.6

Santoor 12 14.0 14.0 75.6

Hamam 11 12.8 12.8 88.4

Medimix 10 11.6 11.6 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Are there any effect of the price factor on the purchase

decision ?
 price_effect_on_purchase

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

very high 8 9.3 9.3 10.5

high 22 25.6 25.6 36.0

neutral 33 38.4 38.4 74.4

low 10 11.6 11.6 86.0

very low 12 14.0 14.0 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

What qualities do you want in your soap ?

qualities_requi4_in_soap

Cumula
tive
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Fragranc
13 15.1 15.1 16.3
e

good
17 19.8 19.8 36.0
brand

good
performa 20 23.3 23.3 59.3
nce

above all 35 40.7 40.7 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

6. Which are the sources that most influence your purchase decision ?
 sources_influence_purchasedecision

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Family 20 23.3 23.3 24.4

1, 2, 3, 4 1 1.2 1.2 25.6

1, 2, 4 1 1.2 1.2 26.7

1, 5 1 1.2 1.2 27.9

tv/radio 20 23.3 23.3 51.2

2, 4 1 1.2 1.2 52.3

2, 5 1 1.2 1.2 53.5

Retailer 9 10.5 10.5 64.0

magazine/newspaper 7 8.1 8.1 72.1

experimenting nature 16 18.6 18.6 90.7

any other 8 9.3 9.3 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

How much the sales promotion programme affect your purchase behavior ?
 sales_promotion_programme_affect_on_purchase_behaviour

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

1 7 8.1 8.1 9.3

2 14 16.3 16.3 25.6

3 27 31.4 31.4 57.0

4 22 25.6 25.6 82.6

5 15 17.4 17.4 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which type of promotional schemes do you prefer ?

promotional_schemes_prefe4

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

price discount 15 17.4 17.4 18.6

free offer 18 20.9 20.9 39.5

quality deals 39 45.3 45.3 84.9

distribution of samples 13 15.1 15.1 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Are you give any importance to the soap fragrance ?

 give_importance_to_soap_1

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Yes 40 46.5 46.5 47.7

No 16 18.6 18.6 66.3

may be 29 33.7 33.7 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which of the following soap fragrance you like most ?

soap_1_you_like_most

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Rose 19 22.1 22.1 23.3

Lime 16 18.6 18.6 41.9

Sandal 35 40.7 40.7 82.6

Other 15 17.4 17.4 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which of the following colors are most preferred by consumer ?

 colors_most_prefer4_by_consumers

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

pink 16 18.6 18.6 19.8

yellow 12 14.0 14.0 33.7

green 23 26.7 26.7 60.5

red 11 12.8 12.8 73.3

blue 23 26.7 26.7 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Which of the following shapes are most liked by you ?

soap_shapes_you_like

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

rectangular 10 11.6 11.6 12.8

round 20 23.3 23.3 36.0

oval 24 27.9 27.9 64.0

circular 13 15.1 15.1 79.1

rectangular
with round 18 20.9 20.9 100.0
edges

Total 86 100.0 100.0

Would you like to switch over your brand ?

 soap_brand_switch

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1 1.2 1.2 1.2

highly agree 10 11.6 11.6 12.8

Agree 26 30.2 30.2 43.0

Neutral 22 25.6 25.6 68.6

Disagree 20 23.3 23.3 91.9

highly disagree 7 8.1 8.1 100.0

Total 86 100.0 100.0

For which purpose you use soap ?

 purpose_of_using_soap

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid
1 1.2 1.2 1.2

Health
22 25.6 25.6 26.7

1, 2, 3
4 4.7 4.7 31.4

Freshness
36 41.9 41.9 73.3

2, 3
1 1.2 1.2 74.4

complexion and skin care

22 25.6 25.6 100.0

Total
86 100.0 100.0
 FINDINGS

Tax reforms

The government has gradually removed the restrictions on imports of

consumer goods in the country and also significantly reduced custom duties.
The domestic tax structure of these products, however, has not been
rationalised to provide level playing field for competition. This is adversely
affecting the growth of the FMCG industry and could have far reaching
adverse impact. The following taxation issues need urgent attention of the
government:

1) Extremely high incidence of tax on certain product categories

Some FMCG products such as shampoos, processed food, soft drinks and
toiletries containing alcohol attract high rates of excise duty and sales tax.
The total tax incidence in some cases is more than 60 per cent of the cost or
more than 30 per cent of MRP. Such high tax incidence hampers growth of
these product categories besides encouraging manufacture of spurious
products and smuggling.

It is recommended that the total excise incidence of FMCG products should

not exceed 16 per cent in the case of non food items and eight per cent in the
case of processed foods. Similarly, the marginal rates of sales tax, which is
currently in the range of 10 to 25 per cent, should not exceed 12 per cent.

2) Irrational domestic tax structure encouraging imports

Significant reduction in custom duty rates of consumer goods has made

imported product cheaper as compared to indigenously manufactured
products, due to irrational domestic tax structure. For instance, goods
manufactured in India suffer from cascading effects of taxes on inputs as
additional cost compared to imports.

The cascading effect of sales tax and local levies on inputs used in domestic
manufacture should be eliminated by providing either MODVAT credit or
by introducing notional VAT covering both central and state taxes on an
urgent basis. Moreover, MRP-based excise duty is levied on a large number
of FMCG products. Countervailing duty on the same product when imported
is charged on CIF value. The MRP based assessable value for excise duty
does not allow abatement for post manufacturing costs such as advertising
and selling expenses whereas CIF value considered for the purpose of import
duty does not include costs of these elements incurred subsequently by
importers.

This differential basis creates unfair competition as tax incidence on

domestic manufacture could be considerably higher in case of those products
which incur significant marketing and distribution cost. There is a need to
bring parity in tax incidence between domestic manufacture and imports by
including all such elements of post manufacturing costs while deciding the
abatement percentage of MRP based duty.

3) Inverted Duty structure for selected inputs

Duty on certain raw materials is higher or the same as compared to finished

products in which these materials are used. Such raw materials include oils
and chemicals like Soda ash, caustic soda and LAB. In addition to customs
duty, raw materials are also subject to SAD/sales tax and octroi and therefore
total tax incidence and cost of indigenous manufacture goes up. The import
duty on raw materials needs to be rationalised so that it does not exceed 60
to 70 per cent of the duty on finished goods.
4) Need for rationalisation of taxes on processed foods

Processed food industry, with its vertical integration with the agricultural
sector has significant potential for employment generation and economic
growth. The existing tax structure and its high overall incidence, however,
has been hampering the growth of the processed industry. The increase in
excise duty in last year’s budget from eight per cent to 16 per cent has
adversely affected the growth of processed foods industry. It is recommended
that marginal rate of excise duty on processed foods should not be more than
eight per cent and the sales tax should be levied at four per cent.

5) Cascading effect of Special Excise Duty

The special excise duty introduced last year is not "cenvatable’’ except in the
case of selected products. Most FMCG products covered by tariff chapter 33
such as shampoos, ice creams and cosmetics are subject to SED. This tariff
chapter also contains very wide definition of the term "manufacture’’ which
includes labeling, relabeling or conversion of large packs into small packs.
The levy of SED on such products therefore leads to double taxation when
goods are labeled or converted into small packs after manufacture. It is
recommended that SED should be made "cenvatable’’; alternatively the term
"manufacture’’ needs modification , atleast for the purpose of SED by
excluding labeling, relabeling or conversion into small packs.
 SUGGESTIONS

1. A joint industry –government initiative for building a "Made in India’’

brand for FMCG products is required. With many multinationals moving into
the Indian FMCG market, a concerted marketing strategy which creates
strong brands will be needed for Indian FMCGs to gain recognition in the
market.

2. Better packaging materials are necessary as a large number of FMCG

products are perishable . The government must facilitate more R&D in
packaging materials as this will help in cutting wastes and costs in the sector.
The possibility of a longer shelf life will encourage production of goods of
higher value addition by companies in the sector.

3. While import of most items has been allowed, the government is not geared
to prevent import of spurious products. In other countries, FMCG goods have
to be cleared by regulatory authorities before they are allowed to enter
domestic shores. This is not happening in India and the government needs to
undertake a comprehensive crackdown on these products.

4. The small-scale reservation policy should be reviewed as it hampers the

growth of this sector. Many reserved products, including several FMCG
products can be freely imported. Under the current policy, not only are Indian
producers of many FMCG products restricted from attaining economies of
scale, they also have to compete against import that do not face constraints
on small scale reservations.

5. Food laws such as the PFA Act should be amended and be made
contemporary.
 CONCLUSION

From the above detailed study of the FMCG industry with the focus on bath
soap segment we can make out that FMCG is the most emerging sector and
industry not only in India but all over the world.

The main leaders of the bath soap segment like HLL, NIRMA. AND
GODREJ are focused in the study which shows that HLL is the leader in
FMCG industry and has a large amount of market share about 67% and even
the growth rate. The main reason for the success of some companies is their
strategy and distribution networks.

HLL is dominating due to its diversification, vertical and horizontal

integration, breadth and depth product line and innovative and customer
oriented product introduction. Thus the company needs to focus on its
distribution channels, networking, marketing strategies, sales promotion etc
to succeed in the market.

From the study we can make out that nirma and godrej still needs a lot market
penetration in the urban market also with focus on the premium class.
 ANNEXURE

Name ............................................................. Age .................

Sex ............................ Occupation .......................................

Income ...............................................................................

1. Do you use any soap ?

(a) Yes 

(b) No 

2. Which soap you like most ?

(a) Lux  (b) Santoor 

(c) Lifebouy  (d) Hamam 

(e) No. 1  (f) Medimix 

3. Which soap Advertisement influence you most ?

(a) Lux  (b) Santoor 

(c) Lifebouy  (d) Hamam 

(e) No. 1  (f) Medimix 

4. Are there any effect of the price factor on the purchase

decision ?

(a) Very High  (b) High 

(c) Low  (d) Very Low 

5. What qualities do you want in your soap ?

(a) Fragrance  (b) Good Brand 

(c) Good Performance  (d) Above All 


6. Which are the sources that most influence your purchase

decision ?

(a) Family  (b) Friends 

(c) Magazines/Newspaper  (d) T.V./Radio 
(e) Experimenting Nature  (f) Retailer 

(g) Any Other 

7. How much the sales promotion programme affect your

purchase behaviour ?

(a) Yes 

(b) No 

(c) Sometimes 

8. Which type of promotional schemes do you prefer ?

(a) Price Discount  (b) Free Offer 

(c) Quality Deal  (d) Distribution of Samples 

9. Are you give any importance to the soap fragrance ?

(a) Yes  (b) No 

10. Which of the following soap fragrance you like most ?

(a) Rose  (b) Lime 

(c) Sandal  (d) Neutral 

11. Which of the following colors are most preferred by

consumer ?

(a) Pink  (b) Yellow 

(c) Cream  (d) Green 

(e) Light Blue  (f) Red 

12. Which of the following shapes are most liked by you ?

(a) Rectangular  (b) Round 

(c) Bean  (d) Oval 

(e) Rectangular with round edges 

13. Would you like to switch over your brand ?

(a) Yes  (b) No 

14. Why you switch over the brand ?

(a) Low Quality 

(b) High Price 

(c) Habitual 

15. For which purpose you use soap ?

(a) Health 

(b) Freshness 

(c) Complexion & Skin Care 


 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Consumer Behaviour

"Schiffman Leon G."

Marketing Management
"Ramaswamy V.S.& Kumari
S.Nama"

Research Methodology
"Kothari C.R."

Principal of Management "Philip Kotler"

Websites :
www.google.com
www.wiki.com
www.goodrej.com
www.hll.com
 SCOPE OF FUTURE RESEARCH

The survey and research conducted has covered many aspects related to the
consumer buying behaviour towards bathing soaps . Though detailed study has
been done still many scope is there for future research in this topic because the
topic is very dense.

 Study can be done on different geographic area and ethnic divisions and
further study can be conducted.

 Study can be conducted on various other bathing products.

 Detailed research and orientation can be done on each product.

 Customers are highly influenced by celebrity advertisements thus research in

that area can be conducted.

 Research can also be done on the money spent by consumers on their favorite
product. Whether they are open for high end products or not. And if not then
why?

 Detailed research on each type of bathing soap products can be done. The
preferable qualities of consumers, their collection and their favorite brand.
 Research can be done on top brands of bathing soaps and the reason of
success.
 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the report is limited to Varanasi, so we cannot say that the same
response will exist throughout India.

 Since convenience sampling is used hence there is small scope of error

or bias.

 A small sample of 100 was considered due to time and resources

constraint.

 It does not involve comparative analysis with the manufacturers and

ingredients used in the product.

 The implication of survey may not apply to other parts of the state.