ISSN: 0474-9030

Our Heritage Vol-68-Issue-65

(UGC Care Journal) January-2020

A study of demographic factors affecting impulse buying behavior of

consumers in an organized retail sector with special reference to
Pune city & PCMC area
Author
Mr. Mahendra Yadav
Assistant Professor,
Department of MBA,
Dr. D.Y. Patil Institute of Technology, Pimpri, Pune-18
Email: myadav1982@gmail.com

Co-Author
Dr. Aruna
Assistant Professor
Institute of Distance Learning,
Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pimpri Pune-18
Email: dr.aruna@dpuidl.com

Abstract
Stores sell hundreds and thousands of merchandise daily and consumers are consuming
this merchandise at the cost of their income. It is usually seen that buyers purchase products
which they have not planned and this phenomenon of unplanned purchasing is termed as
impulse buying. This paper determines the relationship between independent variables which
are demographic factors (such as disposable income and age etc.) on the impulse buying
behavior. This study attempts to explore the association exist between the variables involved.
The paper consists of theoretical and research aspects. With respect to the subject matter,
research goals as well as previous findings and primary research results, corresponding
hypothesis were set and mainly confirmed. Inter variables association charts and chi-square
test has been performed to test the hypothesis. The major findings of the study demonstrated
an overall weak association of the set of independent variables with the dependent variables.
The paper also summarized research limitations as well as the work contribution and future
research guidelines. This study reported new evidences in the field of impulse buying
behavior of consumers pertaining to the organized retail shops of the PCMC area & Pune
city.

Keywords: (organized retailing, impulse buying, impulse buying behavior, gender, age group,
marital status, profession, PCMC, Pune city)

Introduction

Stores are the place where buyers purchase products whether it is planned or unplanned
purchase. One who tends to make such purchases is referred as an impulse purchaser or
impulse buyer. It is usually seen that buyer purchase products which they have not planned

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and this phenomenon of unplanned purchasing is termed as impulse buying. Consumers are
consuming these products at the cost of their income. It only depends on the income of the
person, that how much and how many times buyer visit shopping stores to buy products.
Pune is known as Oxford of East in case of education sector. Every year thousands of
students comes in Pune for education from not only the various parts of India but from
outside of India. Pune is also known as IT hub. And lots of industries like, Automobile,
BPO/KPO etc have established their business. Pune is one of the more revenue earning city
after Mumbai. The climate of Pune is pleasant so it attracts the tourist. Thousands of tourists
from all over the world come to visit Pune every year. Because of these all factors Pune is
growing with a rapid rate. Recent market research shows that Pune is likely to grow at a
phenomenal rate in the coming 2-3 years as the retails revolution rocks India.
As Pune & PCMC have such huge investment opportunities and is looking forward to
retail revolution many players are trying to cash upon it. They understand the need of the
present age and the demand of the growing tourists, comprehending the changing lifestyle and
the increasing affluence of the society, realizing the potential of Pune & PCMC and the need
of planned retailing, and hence they are bringing a new era that reflects it with upcoming
projects. The present study focus on the influence of demographic factors in an organized
retail stores coming in Pune & PCMC and the customer behavior with regard to the same.
______________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail.

Retailing in India

Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for 14 to 15
percent of its GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be US$ 500 billion and one of the
top five retail markets in the world by economic value. India is one of the fastest growing
retail markets in the world, with 1.2 billion people.
Until 2011, Indian central government denied foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand
retail, forbidding foreign groups from any ownership in supermarkets, convenience stores or
any retail outlets. Even single-brand retail was limited to 51% ownership and a bureaucratic
process.
In November 2011, India's central government announced retail reforms for both multi-brand
stores and single-brand stores. These market reforms paved the way for retail innovation and
competition with multi-brand retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco, as well single
brand majors such as IKEA, Nike, and Apple. The announcement sparked intense activism,
both in opposition and in support of the reforms. In December 2011, under pressure from the
opposition, Indian government placed the retail reforms on hold till it reaches a consensus.
On 14 September 2012, the government of India announced the opening of FDI in multi-
brand retail, subject to approvals by individual states. This decision was welcomed by
economists and the markets, but caused protests and an upheaval in India's central
government's political coalition structure. On 20 September 2012, the Government of India
formally notified the FDI reforms for single and multi brand retail, thereby making it
effective under Indian law.

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On 7 December 2012, the Federal Government of India allowed 51% FDI in multi-brand
retail in India. The government managed to get the approval of multi-brand retail in the
parliament despite heavy uproar from the opposition (the NDA and leftist parties). Some
states will allow foreign supermarkets like Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour to open while other
states will not.
_________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retailing_in_India

Organized Retailing

Modern Organized Retail can be referred as the mall setup (Reliance Mart/Big
Bazaar) and standalone format (Raymond’s stores/Moutons Stores) aligned centrally in
respect to Merchandise/Manpower/Planning/Touch & Feel Display Alignment and
Technology Integration.
The modern organized retail formats recognized today as Supermarket or Hypermarket
concept are largely popular as one stop shopping destination along with entertainment zones
as cinema & gaming etc. hence gaining popularity. But till 2013 still they shall not leverage
more than 10-15% market share as per predicted growth because of urban development
largely. Fact is most of Indian population appx 90% lies in Rural India, where the modern
format has yet to go miles. Hence traditional Kirana or MOM n POP stores remain the king
for times to come. The hope left is they too shall reinvent in modern format styles according
to need of the hour if they wish to survive happily and do better business than ever. The Cash
and Carry business which is coming up in India shall be of great help to the traditional retail
and also the involvement of corporate houses shall be a near hope for traditional formats to
reinvent.
Hence both Traditional and Modern formats shall co-exist but the bigger pie shall always
remain with traditional formats for their lesser real estate cost, less Manpower expenditure
and personal connect with nearness to neighborhood.

Impulse buying

“Impulse buying is a purchase that is unplanned, the result of an exposure to a stimulus, and
decided on-the-spot. After the purchase, the customer experiences emotional and/or cognitive
reactions”
From this definition, the first characteristic of an impulse buying is that it is an unplanned
purchase. The consumer decides to purchase the object on the spur of the moment, not in
response to a previously recognized problem. The second characteristic of impulse buying is
the exposure to the stimulus. The stimulus can be considered to be the catalyst which makes
the consumer be impulsive. The stimulus can be a piece of clothing, jewelry, or candy. The
third characteristic of impulse buying is the immediate nature of the behavior. The consumer
makes a decision on the spur of the moment without any evaluation of the consequences of

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making such a purchase. Finally, the consumer experiences emotional and/or cognitive
reactions, which can include guilt or disregard for future consequences.

Impulse buying behavior

Impulse buying could be considered as a case of dominant emotional arousal that motivates
one to buy. The desires that arise when a consumer comes in contact with the product,
resulting in sudden urges are to buy the product which undermines all other rational thinking.
Different people can have different emotional reactions to the same event and hence have
different impulses they feel when buying a product.
Earlier, emotions and feelings were considered as the root of irrational behavior, and were
ignored when research was conducted about consumer buying behavior. Later on, research
has indicated that experience, emotions and feelings could affect and alter judgment and
influence the buyer to make an unplanned purchase.
There is another factor which contributes to impulse buying that is the presence of others
during a purchase. By others it means people accompanying a shopper to shop, they maybe
friends, family, etc. People who shop with a companion are more likely to have an impulse
buy than people who shop alone. Take an example of a kid shopping with his mother. The
mother may not have chocolates on her buying list, but she may be influenced to make an
impulse purchase if the companion, in this, case the kid argues to buy one.
Review of Literature

Marketing and consumer research over the period of forty years have tried to grasp
the concept of buying and defined this terminology in their own perspective, for which some
research findings are discussed here.
In previous researches, researchers and scholars have tried to measure impulse
purchasing of different types of products in multiple shopping stores as it is reported by
Bellenger et al. (1978);Du Pont (1965); Kollat and Willett (1967), Prasad (1975); Williams
and Dardis (1972).
“Impulse buying has been considered a pervasive and distinctive phenomenon in the
American lifestyle and has been receiving increasing attention from consumer researchers
and theorists (Youn & Faber, 2000, p.179)”. Despite the negative aspects of the impulse
buying behavior from past research, defining impulsive behavior as an irrational behavior
(Ainslie, 1975; Levy, 1976; Rook & Fisher, 1995; Solnick, Kannenberg, Eckerman, &
Waller, 1980), resulting from a lack of behavioral control (Levy, 1976; Solnick et
al., 1980), impulse purchases account for substantial sales across a broad range
of product categories (Bellenger at al, 1978; Cobb & Hoyer, 1986; Han, Morgan,
Kotsiopulos, & Kang-Park, 1991; Kollat & Willet, 1967; Rook & Fisher, 1995; Weinberg &
Gottwald, 1982).
The pervasiveness of impulse buying, even for relatively expensive products, led
researchers to look at impulse buying as an inherent individual trait, rather than
a response to inexpensive product offerings (Cobb & Hoyer, 1986; Rook, 1987).
Recently, researchers appear to agree that impulse buying involves a hedonic or affective
component (Piron, 1991; Puri, 1996; Rook & Fisher, 1995; Wenn et al, 1998). Today’s

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research suggests that impulse buying behavior is much more complex than previously
conceptualized; that this behavior stems from the desire to satisfy multiple needs that
underlie many types of buying behavior (Hausman, 2000).
There is a need to conduct research regarding the impact of various factors
(demographic and socioeconomic) on consumers buying in organized retailing. One of the
most prominent retail formats coming up is “Shopping Malls and Retail Stores” which can
be defined as an arrangement of retail stores and providing the right mix of shopping, food
courts and entertainment and parking facilities.

Need/Importance of the study

The purpose of the research study is to test the association of the independent variables
that are age group, gender, marital status, income group, educational qualification and
profession regarding consumer purchasing with the dependent variable that is impulse buying
behavior of consumer who shop in an organized retail shops in the area of PCMC and Pune
city

Statement of the problem

It has been observed that organized retailers tried to exploit unplanned buying, which
are associated with basic need for instant satisfaction. A buyer in the shopping store might not
specifically be shopping for the confectionary goods like sweets, chocolates, bubble gums,
mints and biscuits. However related confectionery items displayed at prominent places will
certainly attract buyer’s attention and trigger impulse buying behavior in them.
In this paper we are interest in finding association among variables (demographic and
social economic) regarding spending to different impulse buying patterns related to
diversified group of buyers.
This paper will certainly add value to the existing knowledge base and simultaneously
give us courage to indulge in further advance researches in the field of management sciences.
This study is also useful for organized retailers and manufactures who want to improve their
understanding regarding consumer impulse buying behavior.

Objectives of the study

Objectives of this research paper is to analyze and understand the association of the
independent variables that are; gender, age, educational qualification, income group and
profession regarding consumer purchasing with the dependent variables that is; impulse

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buying behavior of consumer who shop in an organized retail shops in the area of Pune and
PCMC.
Hypothesis
Based on the observations and insights gathered through the literature review, the following
hypotheses were set for the said study:
H1. Young population gets attracted towards the impulsive buying.
H2.The people from high income group indulge more in impulse buying.
H3. Females are more actively involves in impulse buying than males.
H4. Educational qualification of consumer has a strong association with the impulse
buying behavior.
H5. Nature of job has a strong association with the impulse buying behavior of the
consumer.

Research Methodology

The type of research in the study is Descriptive. The population of the study
comprised of residents of Pune & PCMC area who visit shopping malls. Sample
consisted of 220 respondents. Convenient sampling method was adopted to fill the
questionnaire by personal interaction to the customers visiting organized retail shops.
Collected data was analyzed by using the excel sheet, calculating out the various
percentage and association of dependent and independent variables with the help of chi
square test.

Results & Discussion

Descriptive data analysis was done to compute frequencies for each of the variables:
Frequency Tables:

Table 1: Age of Respondent

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent

Valid 20 to 30 years 42 19.1 19.1 19.1

30 to 40 years 97 44.1 44.1 63.2

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40 to 50 years 50 22.7 22.7 85.9

Above 50 31 14.1 14.1 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 1 shows that majority of the respondent are in age group of 30-40 (44.1%) years and
there for, it may concluded that most of the shoppers are in 30-40 years of age.

Table 2: Gender of Respondent

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Female 85 38.6 38.6 38.6

Male 135 61.4 61.4 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 2 shows that 61.4% of male and 38.6% of female respondents and it shows that more
males are making purchasing as compared to female.

Table 3: Education of Respondent

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid doctorate 4 1.8 1.8 1.8

Graduate 99 45.0 45.0 46.8

Post Graduate 97 44.1 44.1 90.9

Undergraduate 20 9.1 9.1 100.0

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Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 3 shows that most of the respondent is having educational qualification Graduate
(45%) and post graduate (44.1%), these two accounts for (89.1%) of cumulative percent.

Table 4: Occupation of Respondent

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Govt. Service 10 4.5 4.5 4.5

Housewife 21 9.5 9.5 14.1

Private Service 115 52.3 52.3 66.4

Professional 60 27.3 27.3 93.6

Self employed 14 6.4 6.4 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 4 shows that majority of respondent (52.3%) who visit shopping malls are in private
sector job.

Table 5: Income of respondent

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs 31 14.1 14.1 14.1

5 lakhs to 10 lakhs 97 44.1 44.1 58.2

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Above 10 lakhs 25 11.4 11.4 69.5

Up to 2 lakhs 67 30.5 30.5 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 5 Shows that of the respondent (44.1%) are having disposable income between 5,
00,000-10,00,000

Table 6: Marital status of respondent

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Married 177 80.5 80.5 80.5

Unmarried 43 19.5 19.5 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 6 Shows that out of 220 respondent 177 respondents (80%) are married and indicate
that married people indulge more in shopping than unmarried people.

Table 7: Number of store visit

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Four times a week 15 6.8 6.8 6.8

more than four times 25 11.4 11.4 18.2

Once a week 33 15.0 15.0 33.2

thrice a week 133 60.5 60.5 93.6

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Twice a week 14 6.4 6.4 100.0

Total 220 100.0 100.0

Table 7 Shows that majority of the respondent (60.1%) are visiting thrice a week to the stores
and it indicate that people visit shopping malls frequently.

Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis DOF Calculated Tabulated vale

(Degree Value of of Chi Square
of Chi Square for level of
Freedom) Significance
@5%
H1 Young population gets attracted
towards the impulsive buying. 3 29.475 7.81

H2 The people from high income group 11.258

3 7.18
indulge more in impulse buying.
H3 Females are more actively involves in
1 8.394 3.48
impulse buying than males.
H4 Educational qualification of consumer
has a strong association with the impulse 1 8.536 3.48
buying behavior of consumer.
H5. Nature of job has a strong association 4 1.555 9.49

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with the impulse buying behavior of the

consumer.

H1: In the above table at DOF 3, the calculated value of chi square is 29.475, which is more
than tabulated value 7.18 so there is an association between age of customers and impulse
buying.
H2: In the above table at DOF 3, the calculated value of chi square is 11.258, which is more
than tabulated value 7.18 so there is an association between income of customer and impulse
buying.
H3: In the above table at DOF 1, the calculated value of chi square is 8.394, which is more
than tabulated value 3.48 so there is an association between income of customer and impulse
buying.
H4: In the above table at DOF 1, the calculated value of chi square is 8.536, which is more
than tabulated value 3.48 so there is an association between income of customer and impulse
buying.
H5: In the above table at DOF 4, the calculated value of chi square is 1.555, which is less
than tabulated value 9.49 so there is no association between nature of job of customer and
impulse buying.

Findings

The behavior of people of Pune city and PCMC area shows that they are ready to visit the
malls and it shows the dearth of the Malls.
 97 out of 220 people (44.1%) who purchase in shopping malls are from 30-40 years
of age and Table-1 show that these age group people do the impulse buying most and
there is an association of age and impulse buying behavior.
 61.4% respondent are male respondent and these respondents are more in
compression with female respondents visiting shopping malls and Table-2 shows
that male respondents do the impulse buying more than female respondents and there
is an association between impulse buying and gender of respondent.
 97 and 99 respondents out of 220 respondents are Graduate and post graduate who
purchase in shopping malls. Table-3 shows that graduate people indulge more in
impulse buying. And there is an association of educational qualification and impulse
buying behavior.
 52.3% respondent is in private service and hypothesis testing table shows that there is
no association between impulse buying and nature of job.
 44.1% out of 220 people who purchase in shopping malls are from 5 lakhs to 10 lakh
of income group and Table-6 show that these income group people do the impulse
buying most and there is an association of income of respondent and impulse buying
behavior of respondent.
 177 respondents are married and these respondents are more in compression with
unmarried respondents visiting shopping malls and Table-6 shows that married

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respondents do the impulse buying more than unmarried respondents and there is an
association between marital status and impulse buying.
 133 out of 220 people (60.5%) who purchase in shopping malls thrice a week and
Table-7 show that these people do the impulse buying most and there is an
association of no of weekly visit in shopping malls and impulse buying.

Recommendations/Suggestions
The study highlights the strategic importance of using demographic factors to
stimulate impulse buying decision among shoppers to increase sales and profit. In this study
demographic factors like age, gender, Income, and marital status are positively associated
with impulse buying but nature of job is having no association with impulse buying.

Conclusions

This study has identified positive relationship between demographic factor and
impulse buying. Among the demographic factors, impulse buying were having positive
association with all the factors that have been considered for current study, which means that
individual having enough disposable income do the impulse buying more, people of age
group 30-40 years do the impulse buying more, graduate and post graduate people indulge in
impulse buying more, female are more actively involves in impulse buying rather than male
but the nature job does not have strong association with impulse buying so nature of job does
not affect impulse buying.

Scope for further research

 Similar study can be conducted on a wide scale for the store in other geographical
areas.
 Similar study can also be conducted for other retail formats such as specialty stores
selling consumer electronics, furniture, jewelers etc.
 Each dimension under the study can be studied in more detail.
 Scope of the study can be widened by covering more intermediaries involved in the
retail supply chain.
Acknowledgments

Its indeed a pleasure to acknowledge the contribution of all those who helped me in
the compilation of my research paper on ,“A STUDY OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS
AFFECTING IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS IN AN ORGANIZED
RETAIL SECTOR WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PUNE CITY & PCMC AREA”
I wish to express my gratitude to Dr.Chetan Chadhari, Dr. Hansraj Thorat, Dr. Aruna, and Dr.
Kiran Kade for giving me guidance to carry out this research paper and for their immense co-
operation.

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