What is Service?

A service is an act or performance offered by one party to another. Although the process may be tied
to a physical product, the performance is transitory, often intangible in nature, and does not
normally result in ownership of any of the factors of production.

A service is also an economic activity that creates value and provides benefits for customers at
specific times and places by bringing about a desired change in, or on behalf of the recipient of the
services. (Gronroos 2007 Service management and marketing, Page 9).Most often service involves
interactions with some sort of service provider.

There are three basic characteristics for most services can be identified:

1. Services are processes consisting of activities or a series of activities rather than things
2. Services are at least to some extent produced and consumed simultaneously
3. The customer participates in the service production process at least to some extent
(Gronroos 2007 Service management and marketing, Page 47)

CUSTOMER VALUE

Marketing-orientated companies attempt to create customer value in order to attract and retain
customers. Their aim is to deliver superior value to their target customers. In doing so, they
implement the marketing concept by meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the
competition. (David Jobber, Principles and Practice of Marketing, 1995, Page 11)

Attracting and retaining customers can be a difficult task. Customers often face a bewildering array
of products and services from which to choose. A customer buys from the firm that offers the
highest customer perceived value – the customer’s evaluation of the difference between all the
benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer to those competing offers. (Armstrong/Kotler,
Marketing: an introduction, 2005,Page 16)

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction depends on the product’s perceived performance relative to a buyer’s

expectations. If the product’s performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If
performance matches expectations, the customer is satisfied. If performance exceeds expectations,
the customer is highly satisfied and delighted. (Armstrong/Kotler, Marketing: an introduction,
2005,Page 17)
 ABOUT THE COMPANY(PANTALOONS-OFFLINE RETAIL STORE)

Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited is an Indian premium clothing retail chain. The first
Pantaloons store was launched in Gariahat, Kolkata in 1997. As of November 2013, there are 76
Pantaloons stores in 44 cities Pantaloons was previously controlled by the Future Group, but has
now been taken over by Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited (ABNL). According to the Brand Trust
Report 2014, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory, Pantaloons featured among 100
most trusted brands in India.

With a chain of 105 fashion stores across 40 cities and towns, Pantaloons is constantly
extending its footprint into the rest of modern India. It spans a retail space of 1.7 million square
feet which is amongst the largest in India. Pantaloons retails approximately 200 brands which
comprises a mix of private labels, licensed brands and more in apparel and accessories.
Pantaloons offers a wide range of exclusive brands that cater to different occasions for men,
women and kids.
ABOUT THE COMPANY(JABONG-ONLINE RETAIL STORE)

Jabong.com is an Indian fashion and lifestyle e-commerce portal, selling apparel, footwear,

fashion accessories, beauty products, fragrances, home accessories and other fashion and
lifestyle products. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, NCR.
Jabong sells shoes, apparel, accessories, home décor and furniture through its website. The e-
store at present carries over 1000 brands and over 90,000 products. Other products include
jewellery and gold coins.
 Customer Perception of Pantaloons V/S Jabong
PARAMETERS PANTALOONS(OFFLINE
STORE)
AMBIENCE Nice pleasant ambience.
PRICE AND DISCOUNT Prices are as the standard
market price.
Moderate discounts are given
as compare to the market
standards.
WAITING TIME High waiting time after
selecting the products to
purchase.
EMPLOYEES ATTITUDE Friendly attitude and they are
ready to help the customers
with their queries before their
purchase.
RETURN POLICY Can return within 7 days of
purchase and immediate
adjustments after return.
AVAILABILITY OF TRIAL Availability of trial before
purchase of the products.
VISUAL Visual merchandising before
purchasing the product is
MERCHANDISING available and it helps to make
the purchase decision easy.
COLOURS AND SIZE All sizes are available.
Colours are accurate as
compared to what’s being
displayed.
QUALITY MATERIAL Qualities are always better as it
can be seen before purchase.
JABOONG(ONLINE
STORE)
Ambience cannot be judged as
products are purchased online.
Prices are always less as
compared to the offline retail
outlet.
Huge discounts are given as
compare to all retail offline
stores.
Negligible waiting time after
selecting the products to
purchase.
No direct interaction between
the employees and the
customers so they cannot help
to solve their queries before
purchase.
Can return within 15 days of
purchase and no immediate
adjustments of return.
No availability of trial before
purchase of the products.
Visual merchandising before
purchasing the product is not
available and it helps to make
the purchase decision easy.
All sizes may not available.
Colours vary as compared to
what’s being displayed.
Quality may differ as compared
to what’s been displayed.
 Why Customer Prefer to Shop In Pantaloons(Customers Satisfaction).
From the survey we found out that customer who usually prefer to buy from pantaloons felt that
certain factors contributed which influenced their decision of purchasing from pantaloons like:-
1. The Ambience of pantaloons is very soothing and pleasant, there is a pleasant music
which plays in the background plus there is a pleasant fragrance available in the store.
(The Physical Service Environment Customer Experiences plays a key role in shaping
the service experience and enhancing( or undermining) customer satisfaction[Service
Marketing Seventh Edition, 2011 Pearson Page 271])

2. The Staff are very friendly and are eager to help the customers. [The Appearance of
service personnel will often affect customers’ cognitive beliefs about the quality of service
they will receive. The behaviour and moods of service personnel will have an effect on
customers[Service Marketing, 2e Page 164])

3. Visual merchandising is the

activity and profession of developing the floor plans and three-dimensional displays in
order to maximize sales. Both goods or services can be displayed to highlight their
features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage,
and motivate the customer towards making a purchase.