A STUDY

ON

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

TOWARDS AQUA GUARD
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirement for the award of the degree of

BACHELORS OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BY

SUPRIYA

(145014003)

Under the esteemed guidance of

Mrs. S. RABIA KULSUM M.B.A

Lecturer in Management Studies

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

VASAVI MAHILA KALASALA

AFFILIATED TO RAYALASEEMA UNIVERSITY

KURNOOL

2014-2017
 A STUDY
ON

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

TOWARDS AQUA GUARD

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirement for the award of the degree of

BACHELORS OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

BY

SUPRIYA

(145014003)

Under the esteemed guidance of

Mrs. S. RABIA KULSUM M.B.A

Lecturer in Management Studies

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

VASAVI MAHILA KALASALA

AFFILIATED TO RAYALASEEMA UNIVERSITY

KURNOOL

2014-2017A
 Vasavi Mahila Kalasala
Kurnool
Department of Business Management

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project Report titled “A STUDY OF CONSUMER

BUYING BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS AQUA GUARD ” was carried out by SUPRIYA,

of Regd.No:145014003. This is submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of

the Degree of Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) of Rayalaseema

University ,during the academic year 2014- 2017.

EXAMINER PRINCIPAL HOD

 PROJECT GUIDE CERTIFICATE

Ms.Supriya, pursuing BBM of final year from Vasavi Mahila Kalasala, Kurnool in

partial fulfillment for the award of the degree has been done her project entitled, “A

Study of consumer buying behaviour towards aqua guard”, under my guidance has

furnished the details true to the possible extent of my knowledge.

Place:

Date:
 S.Rabia Kulsum

Head of the Department

of Management Studies
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this Project Report titled “A

study on consumer buying behaviour towards aqua

guard” submitted by me to the Department of Business

Management, Vasavi Mahila Kalasala, is a bonafide

work undertaken by me and it is not submitted to any

other University or Institution for the award of any

degree/diploma/certificate or published any time

before.

Name of the Student Signature of the Student

Date:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, the researcher would like to express my thanks to all those who helped me

directly or indirectly to complete this project.

First, I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to our

Principal Smt. Dr. N. Parvathi Madam and the college management for

providing an opportunity and facility in successful completion of my project.

I also thank Mr.Sandeep Sir, Vasavi Mahila Kalasala, Kurnool for his

constant guidance and valuable advice.

My heartful thanks to the Purnima Mam who showed infinite interest and

helped me at all times with valuable suggestions and kind co-operation without

whom I could not draw multifarious sketch for my Project Work.

Finally, I am thankful to my parents who helped me directly in my phase of

completion of this project work.

 supriya

contents

1.0 Introduction 9

2.0 Industry Profile 12

3.0 Company Profile 15

4.0 Need for the Study 27

5.0 Concepts Of Retailing 34

6.0 Data Analysis 39

7.0 Findings 50

8.0Annexure
Questionnaire 53

Bibliography 54

Chapter-1
Introduction
 A STUDY ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR
TOWARDS AQUAGUARD

WHO IS A CONSUMER?

Any individual who purchases products or services for his personal use and not
for manufacturing or resale is called a consumer.

WHAT IS BUYING BEHAVIOUR?

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying
and using products.

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations

and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services,
experiences, or ideas to satisfy their needs and wants. It is also concerned with
the social and economic impacts that purchasing and consumption behaviour has
on both the consumer and wider society. Consumer behaviour blends elements
from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, marketing and economics,
especially behavioural economics. It examines how emotions, attitudes and
preferences affect buying behaviour. Characteristics of individual consumers
such as demographics, personality lifestyles and behavioural variables such as
usage rates, usage occasion, loyalty, brand advocacy, willingness to provide
referrals, in an attempt to understand people's wants and consumption are all
investigated in formal studies of consumer behaviour. It also tries to assess
influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, sports, reference
groups, and society in general.
The study of consumer behaviour is concerned with all aspects of purchasing and
consumption behaviour as well as all persons involved in purchasing decisions
and consumption activities. Research has shown that consumer behaviour is
difficult to predict, even for experts in the field.]

DEFINITION OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Consumer buying behaviour is the sum total of a consumer's attitudes,

preferences, intentions, and decisions regarding the consumer’s behaviour in the
marketplace when purchasing a product or service.
CHAPTER-2
INDUSTRY
PROFILE
 INDUSTRY PROFILE

HISTORY OF WATER PURIFIER:

The first experiments into water filtration were made in the 17th century.
Sir Francis Bacon attempted to desalinate sea water by passing the flow through
a sand filter. Although his experiment did not succeed, it marked the beginning
of a new interest in the field. The fathers of microscopy, Antoine van
Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke, used the newly invented microscope to
observe for the first time small material particles that lay suspended in the water,
laying the groundwork for the future understanding of waterborne pathogens.

Drinking clean water is important for human health and well-being.

Contaminated water carries harmful bacteria and viruses that can cause water-
borne diseases in humans. Governments around the world are focusing on
providing safe and clean drinking water to their citizens. However, in many
countries, the quality of drinking water provided by the government is
compromised and citizens need to rely on additional filtration techniques. The
continuous industrial expansion and concerned efforts of civic authorities to
expand the availability of safe water in households, particularly in rural areas, is
significantly increasing the global water purifier market's growth. In developed
markets, advancements in water purification technologies are strong due to the
initiatives taken to improve drinking water quality, reduce wastewater release,
and increase water treatment and recycling rates. Asia Pacific dominates the
overall demand for water purifiers globally owing to surging demand from both
rural and urban populations and rising awareness about the importance of
consumer safe drinking water.
 This research report provides in-depth analysis of the global water
purifier market on the basis of technology and end-users. The water purifier
market based on technology includes gravity water purifiers, RO water purifiers,
and

UV water purifiers. The water purifier end-user segment comprises industrial,

commercial, and household segments.
In terms of geographical regions, the report segments the global water purifier
market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA),
and Latin America; the regions are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. The
report provides cross-sectional analysis of the global water purifier market in
terms of market estimates and forecasts for all segments across different
geographic regions.

The report also includes competitive profiling of major players engaged in

developing water purifier. Major business strategies adopted by them, their
market positioning, and their recent developments have also been identified in
the research report. This report also provides market positioning analysis of major
players in the water purifier market based on their 2014 revenues. Some of the
major players profiled in the report include Tata Chemicals Ltd., Pentair
Residential Filtration, LLC (EVERPURE), GE Corporation (Water). Eureka
Forbes, Kent RO Systems Ltd, Aquatech International, Aquasana, Inc., Culligan
International Company, Brita GmbH, and Kaz USA, Inc.

The first experiments into water filtration were made in the 17th century.
Sir Francis Bacon attempted to desalinate sea water by passing the flow through
a sand filter. Although his experiment did not succeed, it marked the beginning
of a new interest in the field. The fathers of microscopy, Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke, used the newly invented microscope to
observe for the first time small material particles that lay suspended in the water,
laying the groundwork for the future understanding of waterborne pathogens.

SAND FILTER:
The first documented use of sand filters to purify the water supply dates to 1804,
when the owner of a bleachery in Paisley, Scotland, John Gibb, installed an
experimental filter, selling his unwanted surplus to the public. This method was
refined in the following two decades by engineers working for private
water companies, and it culminated in the first treated public water supply in the
world, installed by engineer James Simpson for the Chelsea Waterworks
Company in London in 1829.This installation provided filtered water for every
resident of the area, and the network design was widely copied throughout
the United Kingdom in the ensuing decades.

The practice of water treatment soon became mainstream and common, and the
virtues of the system were made starkly apparent after the investigations of the
physician John Snow during the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak. Snow was
sceptical of the then-dominant miasma theory that stated that diseases were
caused by noxious "bad airs". Although the germ theory of disease had not yet
been developed, Snow's observations led him to discount the prevailing theory.
His 1855 essay On the Mode of Communication of Choleraconclusively
demonstrated the role of the water supply in spreading the cholera epidemic
in Soho,[31][32] with the use of a dot distribution map and statistical proof to
illustrate the connection between the quality of the water source and cholera
cases. His data convinced the local council to disable the water pump, which
promptly ended the outbreak.

WATER CHLORINATION:
John Snow was the first to successfully use chlorine to disinfect the water
supply in Soho that had helped spread the cholera outbreak. William Soper also
used chlorinated lime to treat the sewage produced by typhoid patients in 1879.
In a paper published in 1894, Moritz Traube formally proposed the addition of
chloride of lime (calcium hypochlorite) to water to render it "germ-free." Two
other investigators confirmed Traube's findings and published their papers in
1895. Early attempts at implementing water chlorination at a water treatment
plant were made in 1893 in Hamburg, Germany and in 1897 the city
of Maidstone England was the first to have its entire water supply treated with
chlorine.
 CHAPTER-3
COMPANY PROFILE
 COMPANY PROFILE

SURESH GOKLANEY

Ceo of aqua guard

Eureka Forbes is a consumer durable company which was formed from a joint
venture between the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s Forbes & Company Ltd. based
in Mumbai, and Electrolux of Sweden in 1982. Eureka Forbes started as a small
firm to introduce domestic water purifier – the Aqua guard and is now a multi-
product, multi-channel organization.[4] Eureka Forbes sells direct in India.

Product services:-
Eureka Forbes sells products for household and institutional use. Its core
products are consumer durable products which include water purifiers, security
systems, air purifiers, vacuum cleansers and ancillary services. Forbes facility
services and Forbes Pro Railway Solutions are two of the services offered under
the ambit of Industrial services. Eureka Forbes visit people's homes to market
and sell their products. Their highest selling product is a water purifier called
Aqua guard.

Products of aqua guard:

  Water Purifiers
 Dr. Aqua guard
 Aqua guard
 Aqua Sure
 Cartridges

 Vacuum Cleaners
 Euro clean
 Forbes

 Air Purifiers
 Dr. Aero guard
 Aero guard
 Security Solutions
 IAS
 Euro vigil I Protect
 CCTV
 Access Control
 Video Door Phones
 Fire Alarm System
 Home Automation Systems

 Lifestyle Automation Solutions

 Packaged Drinking Water

CHAPTER-4
NEED FOR
STUDY
SCOPE AND IMPOTANCE OF THE STUDY

The project aims to get us out of the classroom and into the real world
of companies,competitors,markets,managers and customers. For me,
it opens the way for walking into experiences. The ultimate goal of this
research is enormous with its true sense. Physically and practically, it
shows the potential for the company and me.

 The scope of the project helps in analyzing the factors, which

influence the referring behaviour of customers.
 The scope is such that the study has been conducted by taking
samples from different areas, which an existing customer can be
used to generate sufficient leads for the company.
 The study can be helpful in taking decision so as to improve the
approach towards customers for getting reference and service.
 This project also helps to know how an organization works in
real environment and different market scenario.
 OBJECTIVES:

 To know the satisfaction level of customers towards aqua guard

products and services.
 Motivating the customers to take aqua guard water purifier.
 How to increase productivity of sales.
 CHAPTER-5
REASEARCH
METHODOLOGY
DATA COLLECTIONS
1. Primary Data
A. Questionnaire:- A set of questions related to the research topic was
formulated. Response for each questions included in the questionnaire had been
collected from customers.

B. Interview:- A part from collecting different responses from customers some

extra information has been obtained through face to face interviewing activity.

2. Secondary data:-
 Secondary research was done to build an in-depth understanding of the
satisfaction levels of customers.
 Information from various published resourse like india stat and other
research bodies were also used to validate the market figures and cross-
validate the data.
 Detailed analysis of secondary information was used to arrive at the
specific frameworks provided in the report.

3. sampling methodology: The sampling methodology used is non

probability sampling technique-convience sampling (a non probability sampling
technique that attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements. The selection
of sampling unit is left primarily to the interviewer)

4. Sample size: I had chosen 100 samples for the analysis.

5. Questionnaire: The questionnaire is formed in such a way that the
information required for the study is acquired from each item i.e. questions. Here
I have used nominal scale of measurement to measure the respondent’s responses
with each of the series of the items in the form of statement. The responses with
each of the series of the items in the form of statements. The respondent’s
category range from housewives & working women to working men.

6. Sampling design:
Selection of study area:Kurnool, selection of sample sixe:100

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

At most attention was taken to eliminate any kind of biasness & mis -
interpretation in the study to get optimum result. Even though the following
limitations could have certain degree of impact on the findings.

 The study was confined to Kurnool city only which may not represent the
real pictures of the entire Andhra.
 Many retailers were not interested in pure it because of steep competition
in the locality among retailers.
 Data collected about the satisfaction & awareness level may not represent
the real pictures.
 My study is confined to 100 respondents.
 Lack of research experience.
CHAPTER-6
CONCEPTS
CONCEPTS OF THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Meaning and Definition:

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individual customers, groups or
organizations select, buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to
satisfy their needs and wants. It refers to the actions of the consumers in
the marketplace and the underlying motives for those actions.

Marketers expect that by understanding what causes the consumers to buy

particular goods and services, they will be able to determine—which
products are needed in the marketplace, which are obsolete, and how best
to present the goods to the consumers.

The study of consumer behaviour assumes that the consumers are actors
in the marketplace. The perspective of role theory assumes that consumers
play various roles in the marketplace. Starting from the information
provider, from the user to the payer and to the disposer, consumers play
these roles in the decision process.

CHARATERISTICS OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

Consumer behavior is the part of human behavior. This cannot be

separated. Human behavior decides what to buy, when to buy etc. This is
unpredictable in nature. We cannot say that what an individual is going to
do in the next moment. Based on the past behavioral pattern one can at
least estimate like the past he might behave.
Learning the consumer is difficult and complex as it involves the study of
human beings. Each individual behaves differently when he is placed at
different situations. Every day is a lesson from each and every individual
while we learn the consumer behavior. Today one may purchase a
product because of its smell, tomorrow it may vary and he will purchase
another due to some another reason.

Consumer behavior is dynamic. A consumer’s behavior is always

changing in nature. The taste and preference of the people vary.
According to that consumers behave differently. As the modern world
changes the consumer’s behaving pattern also changes.

Consumer behavior is influenced by psychological, social and physical

factors. A consumer may be loyal with a product due to its status values.
Another may stick with a product due to its economy in
price.Understanding these factors by a marketer is crucial before placing
the product to the consumers.

Study of consumer behavior is crucial for marketers. Before producing a

product or launching a product, he has to go through a clear analysis of
the consumer behavior. If the people or prospects reject the product, he
has to modify it.

Consumer behavior is a continuous process as it involves the process

starts before the buying and continuing after purchasing. Before buying
there will be high confusions and expectations about the product. After
buying it, if the buyer is satisfied with the product he shows a positive
behavior, otherwise negative.

FACTORS OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR:

1. Cultural Factors:

Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by cultural factors such as:

buyer culture, subculture, and social class.

 Culture Basically, culture is the part of every society and is the

important cause of person wants and behavior
 The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to
country therefore marketers have to be very careful in analyzing
the culture of different groups, regions or even countries.

2. Social Factors:

Social factors also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The

important social factors are: reference groups, family, role and status.

3. Personal Factors:

Personal factors can also affect the consumer behavior. Some of the
important personal factors that influence the buying behavior are:
lifestyle, economic situation, occupation, age, personality and self
concept.

4. Psychological2 Factors:

There are four important psychological factors affecting the consumer

buying behavior. These are: perception, motivation, learning, beliefs and
attitudes.

 Motivation
 Perception
  Beliefs
 attitudes

NEED OR IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR:

The modern marketing management tries to solve the basic

problems of consumers in the area of consumption. To survive
in the market, a firm has to be constantly innovating and
understand the latest consumer needs and tastes. It will be
extremely useful in exploiting marketing opportunities and in
meeting the challenges that the Indian market offers. It is
important for the marketers to understand the buyer
behaviour due to the following reasons.

 The study of consumer behaviour for any product is of vital

importance to marketers in shaping the fortunes of their
organisations.
 It is significant for regulating consumption of goods and
thereby maintaining economic stability.
 It is useful in developing ways for the more efficient
utilisation of resources of marketing. It also helps in solving
marketing management problems in more effective manner.
 Today consumers give more importance on environment
friendly products. They are concerned about health, hygiene
and fitness. They prefer natural products. Hence detailed
study on upcoming groups of consumers is essential for any
firm.


 The growth of consumer protection movement has created
an urgent need to understand how consumers make their
consumption and buying decision.
 Consumers’ tastes and preferences are ever changing. Study
of consumer behaviour gives information regarding colour,
design, size etc. which consumers want. In short, consumer
behaviour helps in formulating of production policy.
 For effective market segmentation and target marketing, it is
essential to have an understanding of consumers and their
behaviour.