CHAPTER III

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS

- THEORETICAL APPROACH
3.1. INTRODUCTION
The theoretical aspects of consumer behaviour and cosmetic products

comprises of two segments. The first segment includes aspects related to evolution

of consumer behaviour, factors affecting the consumer behaviour, types of

consumer behaviour and consumer decision making process. The second segment

includes the aspects related to evolution of cosmetics, classification of cosmetic

products and make-up products.

3.2. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The theoretical aspects of consumer behaviour are classified into three

parts namely, Consumer behaviour, Evolution of consumer behaviour and

Consumer decision making process.

3.2.1. Consumer Behaviour

Each individual is a consumer. Consumers consume different products

and services according to their needs, preferences and buying power. They consume

perishable items, durable goods, specialty goods or industrial goods. Consumers

have a wide number of alternative suppliers for the goods, they need.

Consumers differ in their age, income, education and occupation. They

consume different products and services. The needs and desires to be satisfied

ranges from their basic needs to psychological needs. The consumers can buy, use

and resell or dispose the product and may recommend others to use the product or

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service after using the products. The domain of study of consumer behaviour

involves all these processes involved through which the consumer makes a decision.

The Dictionary of Marketing and Advertising1 defines consumer

behaviour as an observable activity chosen to maximize satisfaction through the

attainment of economic goods and services such as choice of retail outlet,

preference for particular brands and so on.

The term “Consumer Behaviour”2 is defined as the behaviour that a

consumer displays in searching for, purchasing, using and evaluating and disposing

of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. This definition

gives the fact that this consumer buying process starts in the minds of the

consumers which finally leads to the finding of alternatives between the products.

Consumer behaviour analysis shows that consumers make decisions to

spend their available time, money effort on consumption related items. It includes

what they buy, when they buy, why they buy, where they buy it, how often they

buy, use it, how they evaluate it after the purchase and the impact of such

evaluations on future purchase and how they dispose it.

Consumer behaviour research is done in every phase of the consumption

process. It includes collecting, recording and analysis of information before and

after the purchase takes place. Based on this research, it is identified that individuals

act rationally to maximize their benefits in the purchase of goods and services.

Researchers discovered that consumers not only purchase goods impulsively and

are not only influenced by friends, families and advertisers but also by emotions,

moods and situations.

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3.2.2. Evolution of Consumer Behaviour
Evolution of consumer behaviour started with manufacturing orientation

followed by selling orientation and then it switched over to marketing orientation.

3.2.2.1. Manufacturing Concept

In the mid1800s, manufacturing concept emerged and blossomed during

the U.S.civil war. Manufacturers were given power from late 1800 to the latter part

of the 20th century to sell whatever products they manufactured due to lack of

competitive pressure. This concept assumes that consumers mostly prefer the

products at low prices. Consumers buy what is available in market rather than what

they really want. Manufacturers had the ability to decide the type of product, quality

of the product and package of the product. The effects of depression had a direct

impact on the consumers. It resulted in very little spending power of consumers,

attributing it to the lack of interest in consumer behaviour.

3.2.2.2. Product Concept

Later consumers prefer high quality products which give them the best

performance and numerous features. The manufactures strive to improve the quality

of the products with new features that are technically feasible without finding out

whether consumers really need them or not. This concept led to “Marketing

Myopia”, that is focus on the product rather than on consumer needs it presumes to

satisfy3.It may cause a company to ignore crucial changes in the market place.

3.2.2.3. Selling Concept

The Second World War contributed to a lack of interest in consumer

behaviour because during that period product scarcity prevailed. In this concept

marketers attempted to sell products that they unilaterally decided to produce. The

assumption of this concept was that consumers were not willing to purchase
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products unless they were actively and aggressively persuaded to purchase. When

consumers were induced to buy a product which they were not in need, they would

not buy them again. This concept did not take care of consumer satisfaction.

Advertising agencies emerged as important institutions and relied on experience

rather than on behavioural science to influence consumers. During this period, Ted

Bates Advertising Agency framed the phrase USP (Unique Selling Proposition). It

describes the importance of selecting a benefit of the product and repeating that

phrase so often that consumers uniquely associate that benefit with a particular

brand.

3.2.2.4. Marketing Concept

In 1950s marketers realized that they could sell more goods easily by

producing goods which were preferred by the consumers. Various concerns

conducted research to understand the consumer needs and manufactured goods

accordingly. Modern-day marketers gave due consideration to quality, convenience,

image and advertising, helping the transition of organizations to produce goods

according to the preference of the consumers .Behavioural sciences took

centre stage and provided a tool box of theories and methodologies borrowed by

innovative marketing organizations, including motivation research, positivism and

post modernism.

Motivation research has been derived from the psycho analytic theories

of Sigmund Freud. The aim of motivation researcher was to uncover the hidden or

non recognized motivations through guided interviewing. Quantitative research is

descriptive in nature and is used by researchers to understand the effects of various

promotional inputs on the consumers thus enabling marketers to “predict” the

consumer behaviour. This research approach is known as positivism4. Thus

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consumer behaviour is predicted in this method. It consists of experiments, survey

techniques and observations. The findings can be generalized to larger populations.

Post modernism uses qualitative and other research methods to understand

consumer behaviour. It studies the emotions involved in choosing a brand. This

research leads to ethnography and other research methods to describe how people

consume products.

The societal marketing concept is to develop a product and market it in

such a way that it helps the producer and give benefits to the society. The

organization should identify the needs and wants of the target markets and provide

them the desired satisfaction. Thus it can sustain or improve the consumers and

society’s wellbeing. To implement this concept the strategic tools used are

segmentation, targeting, positioning and the marketing mix.

Comprehensive consumer orientation focuses on how all organizations

in a demand chain adopt to change consumer life styles and behaviours. It also

recognizes the role of consumers in shaping the society including governments,

societal organizations and all other areas of life. Understanding of consumers is

essential as the nation moves from centrally planned economies towards the free

market system.

The evolution of consumer behaviour shows that it is important for any

concern to acknowledge consumer needs as a key to success for surviving and

generating profits in a modern economy with multiple products per competitor and

various channels of distribution. To achieve success in the market, every concern

has to understand consumer needs and behaviour and prepare their marketing

strategies to incorporate such behavioural needs of consumers.

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3.2.3. Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, personal and

psychological characters. Marketers cannot control several factors but they may

take them into account.

3.2.3.1. Cultural Factors

Consumer behaviour has been largely influenced by cultural factors like

culture, subculture and social class.

Culture: Culture is the root cause of consumer behaviour. Human

behaviour is a learned behaviour. Family and other institutions teach a child the

basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviour. Every group or society has a culture

and cultural influences on the buying behaviour of consumers.

Subculture: Each culture contains subcultures or groups of people with

shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations. Subculture

includes nationalities, religions, racial groups and geographic regions. Many

subcultures makeup important market segments and marketers often design

products and marketing programs tailored to their needs.5

Social Class: Social classes are society’s relatively permanent and

ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interest and behaviours.

Social class is measured as a combination of occupation, income, wealth and other

variables. In some social systems, members of different classes are reared for

certain roles and cannot change their social positions.

3.2.3.2. Social Factors

Consumer behaviour is affected by social factors such as the consumer’s

small groups, family and social roles and status.

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 Groups: Groups that have a direct influence and to which a person

belongs are called membership groups. Reference groups have indirect points of

reference or comparison in forming a person’s attitude or behaviour. Aspirational

group is a group to which the individual wishes to belong. New behaviours and life

styles are exposed to a person through reference groups. These groups influence

individual person’s attitudes and self-concept. The influence of group varies from

product to product. The influence of the reference group is very strong when the

product is visible to others whom the buyer respects. Group influence is very low as

the product is bought by the individual in private and is used by him or her in

private.

Family: Family members may influence consumer behaviour.

Marketers are interested in the roles and influence of parents, husband, wife,

children on the purchase of different goods and services. Involvement of husband,

wife and children vary widely by product category.

Social Roles and Status: An individual belongs to many groups,

family, clubs and organizations. A person in each group is defined in terms of role

and status. A role consists of the activities and people are expected to perform

according to the persons around them.

3.2.3.3. Personal Factors

A purchaser’s decisions are influenced by personal characters such as

buyer’s age, life cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, personality

and self concept.

Age and Lifecycle Stage: During their life time, the individuals change

the type of goods and services they buy. Tastes in food, clothes, furniture, and

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recreation changes according to their age. Buying is done according to the stage of

the family. The target markets are divided in terms of lifecycle stage and create

marketing plans for each stage.

Occupation: An individual’s occupation affects the goods and services

purchased by him. The purchasing activity is determined by the type and nature of

occupation of the consumers. A company can even specialize in making goods

needed by a particular occupational group.

Economic Situation: Consumer behaviour is much influenced by the

economic situation of the consumers. The economic situation of consumers affects

the product choice. Financial background such as income, savings or borrowing

power determines the choice of the products.

Life Style: Life style varies according to the occupation, social class

and sub culture of an individual. Life style is a person’s pattern of living. It

influences consumers’ needs, brand, preference and their shopping habits.

Personality and Self Concept: Personality is the set of traits and

behaviours that make an individual unique. It is described in terms of traits such as

self-confidence, dominance, sociability, defensiveness, adaptability and

aggressiveness. It is useful in analyzing consumer behaviour for certain products or

brand choices.

3.2.3.4. Psychological Factors

Consumer behaviour is influenced by motivation, perception, learning,

beliefs and attitudes.

Motivation: Motivation is an internal force that drives a person towards

those activities which satisfy his needs or help him achieve his goals. Motive is a
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need that drives the person to seek satisfaction. An individual tries to satisfy the

most important need first. When that need is satisfied, it will stop being a motivator

and the person will then try to satisfy the next important need.

Perception: Perception is the process by which people select, organize

and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world. Individuals can

have different perceptions of the same stimulus because of the three perceptual

processors, such as selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention.

Selective attention is the tendency for people to screen out most of the

information they are exposed to. Selective distortion means the tendency of people

to interpret information in a way that will support what they already believe.

Selective retention means to remember only those facts, thoughts which are closer

to the individual’s interest, values and beliefs. The real intention of the consumers

can be identified by analyzing the perceptual process of the consumers.

Learning: Learning is a change in an individual’s behaviour which

arises from his experience. It occurs through the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues,

responses and reinforcement. A drive is a strong internal stimulus that calls for an

action. It becomes a motive when it is directed towards a particular stimulus object.

Cues are minor stimuli that fix the time, place and process of consumer responses.

Beliefs and Attitudes: A belief is a descriptive thought that a person

has about something. These beliefs may be based on real knowledge, opinion or

faith and may or may not carry an emotional change. It reinforces the brand image

that affects consumer behaviour. An attitude is the psychological response to a

person, an object, to a situation, to society and to life itself that generally influence

our behaviours and actions. Attitudes are either positive or negative.

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3.2.4. Types of Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour differs for all types of products. They are

classified into important four types namely, complex buying behaviour,

dissonance–reducing buying behaviour, variety seeking buying behaviour and

habitual buying behaviour.

3.2.4.1. Complex Buying Behaviour

Complex buying behaviour is undertaken by consumers when they are

highly involved in a purchase and perceive significant differences among brands.

Consumers are highly involved when they purchase expensive goods which are

purchased rarely. The consumer has to learn about the product category and develop

beliefs about the product before making a choice in his/her purchase.

3.2.4.2. Dissonance – Reducing Buying Behaviour

This behaviour occurs when consumers are highly involved in an

expensive, infrequent or risky purchase but have little difference among brands.

After purchasing the goods, consumers may experience post purchase dissonance

(after sale discomfort). After sale communication provides support to consumers to

feel good and better about their brand choices.

3.2.4.3. Variety Seeking Buying Behaviour

Variety seeking buying behaviour is followed by a consumer who is

characterized by low involvement but significant perceived brand differences.

Consumers are the brand switchers who seek a variety of products rather than

dissatisfaction towards the products.

3.2.4.4. Habitual Buying Behaviour

Habitual buying behaviour happens during low consumer involvement

and little significant brand difference. Consumers buy the same brand due to habit
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rather than strong brand loyalty. Consumers have low involvement towards those

products which are low-cost and are frequently purchased. Consumers passively

receive the information about the brands and form strong attitudes towards a brand.

Buying process involves brand beliefs formed by passive learning followed without

evaluating the product.

3.2.5. Consumer Decision Making Process

Consumers make a number of decisions in their everyday life. In

making decisions sometimes they are very casual and sometimes they take serious

decisions. On some occasions they themselves take the decisions and sometimes

they get the advice, opinions of friends and family members. In the most general

term a decision is the selection of an option from two or more alternative choices.6

Thus, in making decisions there are different alternatives out of which the consumer

has to select only one which he or she thinks is proper to meet the goal. Consumers

have a wide variety of product choices before them and there is always an

opportunity to make decisions.

3.2.5.1. Level of Consumer Decision Making

For all consumer decision making situations, the degree of information

search is not the same. If all purchases are ordinary and routine then it would be

monotonous without any thrill, pleasure and novelty. On the other hand, if the

purchase decisions required extensive effort, then consumer decision making

process would be an exhaustive one. On a continuum of effort ranging from very

high to very low, the consumer decision making can be classified into extensive

decision making, limited decision making and normal decision making.

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 Extended Decision Making: Extended decision making involves an

extensive internal and external information search followed by a complex

7
evaluation of multiple alternatives and significant post purchase evaluation. Here

consumers have not established any specific criteria for evaluating a product

category or specific brand within a product category. Their decision making efforts

are extensive problem solving efforts. In this level the consumers need a lot of

information to establish a set of criteria to judge specific brand or product category

and hence a lot of information concerning each of the brands is considered.

Limited Decision Making: Limited decision making involves internal

and limited external search, few alternatives, simple decision rules on a few

attributes and little post purchase evaluation.8 At these level, consumers have

established essential criteria for evaluating product category and various brands

within the product category. They have not fully established preferences concerning

a selected group of brands. For this purpose they require some additional

information for fine tuning in order to discriminate among the various brands.

Normal Decision Making: It is referred as routinized response

behaviour. Consumers have prior experience with the product category and they

have established a set of criteria to evaluate the brands they are considering to buy.

An evaluation occurs only if the brand fails to perform in an expected manner. This

habitual decision making occurs when there is low involvement with the purchase.

The process of consumer decision making can be viewed as three

distinct but interlocking stages: the input stage, the process stage and the output

stage. These stages are depicted in the simplified model of consumer decision

making.9

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External Influences

Firm’s Marketing Efforts Socio-Cultural Environment

1. Product 1. Family
Input 2. Informal source
2. Promotion
3. Other noncommercial
3. Price
sources
4. Channels of distribution 4. Social class
5. Culture and subculture

Consumer Decision Making

Psychological Field

Need Recognition 1. Motivation

2. Perception
Process Pre-purchase Search 3. Learning
4. Personality
Evaluation of Alternatives 5. Attitudes

Experience

Post Decision Behaviour

Purchase

1. Trial
Output
2. Repeat Purchase

Post purchase Evaluation

Figure 1 :A Simplified Model of Consumer Decision Making

Source : Leon G.Schiffman, Lesslie Lazar Kanuk., (2009). Consumer Behaviour,

(Ninth Edition), PHL Learning Private Limited, New Delhi, p.3.

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3.2.5.2. Input
The input stage of the consumer decision making model draws upon

external influences which give the source of information about a particular product

and influence a consumer’s product related values, attitudes and behaviour. The

input factors are (i) marketing activities of the concern which tries to inform the

benefit of their product to the prospective consumers and (ii) non marketing socio-

cultural influence which when internalized has an effect on the consumer’s buying

behaviour.

Marketing Inputs
The various marketing activities of any firm attempts to reach inform

and persuade the consumers to purchase and use its products. To motivate the

consumers, the firm adopts marketing strategies which consists of the product

package, size and colour guarantees its promotional efforts like mass media

advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, its pricing policy and the appropriate

channels of distribution to shift the product from producer to consumers. Marketing

efforts of the marketers should consider the consumer’s perception of these efforts

and not their intended impact of marketing messages.

Socio - Cultural Inputs

The socio-cultural inputs bear social factors and cultural factors. The

social factor includes opinions from friends, family members, neighbours and

articles in the consumer reports. These factors provide information to consumers

and influence their decisions. The influence of social factors, cultural and sub-

cultural values are tangible as they are internalized and affect the consumer’s views

on adoption or rejection and evaluation of the products. Socio-cultural values

sometimes recommend the consumers to buy a product and sometimes reject a

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product. Thus the marketing efforts and socio cultural activities are inputs which

have an influence on the purchase behaviour of consumers.

3.2.5.3. Process
The process stage is concerned with how the consumers make decisions.

To understand this process due consideration must be given to the psychological

concepts that represent the internal influences which affect the consumer’s decision

making process (what they need or want, their awareness of various products

choices, their information search process and finally their evaluation of

alternatives). The process stage of consumer decision making model consists of

three stages, namely, the need recognition, pre -purchase search and evaluation of

alternatives.

Need Recognition
The process stage starts with need recognition and need recognition

occurs when a consumer feels a problem. Problem recognition is the result of a

discrepancy between a desired state and an actual state that is sufficient to arouse

and activate the decision process. An actual state is the way an individual perceives

his or her feelings and situation to be at the present time. A desired state is the way

an individual wants to feel or to be at the present time.10 Problem recognition is the

perceived gap between actual and desired consumer positions. Problem recognition

can occur through internal stimuli such as hunger or thirst or an external stimulus

such as an advertisement or other promotional factors. In both the cases, action

occurs when the consumer perceives a discrepancy between the actual and desired

states of affairs. The process stage is governed by psychological factors, motivation,

perception, learning, personality and attitude.

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Pre-Purchase Search
When a consumer has identified a problem he tries to solve it by

searching for various, information about the product. He makes a serious attempt to

gain proper knowledge of the different brands which are available in the market,

their qualities, their price and the place from where to purchase them. Information

search can be internal or external or it may be a combination of both. Internal search

is from the consumer’s own memory, knowledge and past experience. Experts make

decisions based on the internal search, gather relevant information and store in their

memory and access it at relevant time. When all the information is gathered in

memory the consumers are ready to make a purchase. The consumers who have

little or no prior knowledge cannot depend on the internal search. They obtain

information from several external sources. Information gathered from outside

sources is external search. There are several external sources such as personal

sources (family, friends, neighbours) commercial sources (advertising, sales people,

dealers, packaging, displays) public sources (mass-media, consumer rating

organizations) and experiential sources (handling or examining or using the

product).11 The influence of this information sources varies with the product and the

consumer. Personal source is an effective source as it evaluates products for the

buyer whereas commercial sources only inform about the products. Consumers

with limited product knowledge gather information to make purchase decision and

they are more dependent on external search. Many consumer decisions are based on

the combination of internal sources and external sources.

Evaluation of Alternatives
During the process of pre-purchase search the consumer has a number

of alternatives before him, out of which he selects the best alternative to suit his

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needs. While evaluating the potential alternatives, consumers may tend to use two

types of information.

· A list of brands from which consumers plan to make their selection.

· The criteria they will use to evaluate each brand.

Brands
In a product class there are several brands in the market classified as

known brands and unknown brands. The known brands are again classified into

evoked set (acceptable brands), inept set (unacceptable brands), inert set (indifferent

brands) and over looked brands. The evoked set refers to the specific brands a

consumer considers in making a purchase within a particular product category. This

set consists of the smaller number of brands the consumer is familiar with,

remembers and finds acceptable. Consumers may not immediately reduce the

number of possible choices in evoked set, but they make several screening

decisions. These screening decisions eliminate unsuitable alternatives and help to

reduce decision complexity. Inept set is a set of brands which is excluded from

purchase consideration by consumers because they feel that they are unacceptable.

Inert set is a set of brands which is excluded from purchase consideration by

consumers because they feel that they are indifferent and do not have any particular

advantage. Overlooked brands are those which are not clearly positioned or sharply

targeted at the consumer market segment.

Evaluative Criteria
Evaluative criteria are defined as the various dimensions, features or

benefits a consumer looks for in response to a specific problem.12 Evaluative

criteria vary from consumer to consumer, from product to product and from

situation to situation. Each consumer has different evaluation criteria for the various
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products they consume such as the price, brand reputation, quality and country of

origin. Evaluating criteria are often used in combination, making it difficult to

understand the influence of each on consumer choice. In many buying situations

price becomes the main influencing factor for consumers. Consumers do not

always opt for lower price but may give importance to some other criterion like

quality.

The second major influence is brand reputation. Brand image can

sometimes override product quality. If the consumers depend on brand reputation

for quality assessment then the risk faced by them becomes low. Finally the country

of origin, where a particular product or service primarily comes from is also an

important evaluative criterion.

Consumer Decision Rules

Consumer decision rules reduce the burden of making complex

decisions by providing guidelines. Decision rules are used by consumers to select a

product from several purchase alternatives. These rules are classified into

compensatory and non compensatory decision rules.

In compensatory decision rule a consumer evaluates brand or model

options in terms of each relevant attribute and computes a weighted or summated

score for each brand. The computed score reflects the brand’s relative merit as a

potential purchase choice. The brand obtaining the highest score will be the brand

purchased by consumers. The non compensatory decision rule does not allow the

customers to balance positive evaluations of a brand on one attribute against a

negative evaluation on some other attribute.

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3.2.5.4. Output
In this stage the consumer makes a decision to purchase a particular

product or brand from the various alternatives before him. The output stage of the

consumer decision making model consists of the purchase behaviour and post

purchase evaluation. The objectives of both activities are to increase the consumer’s

satisfaction with his or her purchase.

Purchasing Behaviour
Consumers’ purchase of a product marks the end of their search and

effort in choosing the brand of their choice for expected benefits. They pay money

for the product and expect certain benefits and satisfaction from the product.

Types of Purchase Situations:

· Trial Purchase: When a consumer purchases a product for the first

time and buys in smaller quantity than his usual purchase.

· Repeat Purchase: The consumers are satisfied with the performance

of the product and they start to buy at regular intervals. It is closely

related to brand loyalty.

· Long Term Commitment Purchase: For durable goods consumers

move directly from evaluation to long term commitment (through

purchase) without the opportunity for an actual trial.

· Unplanned Purchase: The consumer makes no prior plan or

consideration but his purchase intention is triggered by some stimulus

in the market place. Under this purchase behaviour there is no price

consideration or need recognition.

Some important factors influence the consumer while purchasing in

outlet selection. The consumer gathers information while purchasing in the outlet,
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stores in his memory and it serves to strengthen or weaken the store’s image while

making purchase. The consumer behaviour is also influenced by the physical

surroundings such as location of store, music and noises in the store, lighting and

decoration in the store, nature and quality of assortment, price fixed by store, nature

of store clientele and consumer logistics. If the consumers have more a positive

attitude towards the outlet then they usually purchase from it.

To attract consumers the retailers provide all kinds of advertising

strategies such as full page display, advertisements in each section, classified

advertising and coupons galore in the print media. Advertisements must accurately

share the image of the outlet, the goods and services offered. Price conscious

consumers are attracted by the powerful phrases such as “Special Offer”, “For a

short time only”, “Compare outlet prices” and “Buy one and get one free”.

Consumer behaviour is also decided by the buying intention like for self

usage, for a gift or for any other festive occasions. Temporal factors include the

time allotted for purchase and they influence consumer behaviour. The time of

consumption varies from product to product. If the product is of high value it

requires more time than for products of low value.

Post Purchase Evaluation

The consumers use a product and they evaluate its performance in their

own expectations. There are three possible outcomes of those evaluations:

· Actual performance matches expectations leading to a natural feeling

of satisfaction.

· Performance exceeds expectations causing satisfaction.

· Performance is below expectations causing dissatisfaction.

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 Analysing post purchase behaviour is a very effective means so that

product quality and promotion strategies are reshaped to retain existing consumers

and to attract the new ones.

Satisfaction
If consumers are highly satisfied with the product they become committed

towards the product, brand and outlet. The positive outcome of consumer loyalty

takes the form of repeat purchase. Repeated purchases may lead to habitual

purchase. Consumer loyalty is lower among products that are purchased

infrequently.

Dissatisfaction
If the customers are not satisfied with quality, brand and outlet, there is

lack of repeat purchase or recommending to other consumers. It may take several

forms such as negative word of mouth to others, passing untrue information about

the products or making a complaint in the consumer forum or to the manufacturers.

Post Purchase Dissonance

Consumers may have a feeling of uncertainty about whether the right

choice is being made by them. An important aspect of post purchase evaluation is

the reduction of uncertainty or doubt that the consumers might have about the

selection of goods. Consumers try to reassure themselves that their choice was the

best. Consumers may try to reduce the post purchase cognitive dissonance by

following any one of the following methods: (i) They may search for supportive

advertisements. (ii) They may turn to other satisfied owners for reassurance. (iii)

They may persuade their friends and relatives to buy the same brand. (iv) The retail

sales people can clear the doubts of consumers by answering questions and

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providing information that diminishes the consumer’s anxieties or concerns about a

purchase.

Product Disposition
Product disposition is the process of reselling, recycling, trashing,

repairing, and trading with the physical product, packaging and its promotional

materials when no longer perceived as useful by the consumer. Disposition of a

product or the product’s container may happen before or during or after, the

product’s use.

These are the various steps in the consumer decision making process

which may vary according to the types of products, consumers purchase and their

involvement in the product they purchase.

3.3. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF COSMETICS

The theoretical aspects of cosmetics unit gives information about the

cosmetics which are used by the ancient people and the modern people. This unit is

divided into three parts, namely, the Evolution of cosmetics, Cosmetics in this era

and Make-up products.

3.3.1. Evolution of Cosmetics

The word “cosmetics” originates from the Greek word “kosmeticos”

meaning adornment and preparation.13 The word “cosmetic” was first used when

referring to the Roman slaves whose function was to bath men and women in

perfume.14 In 4000 BC this form of ablution was followed by Egyptians because of

extreme heat produced in their country and it was followed by the liberal

application of oils. This was done to give the skin more elasticity and to provide

pleasing effect to the aesthetic people. Egyptian ladies enhanced their personal

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beauty by applying some crude paints. Egyptian women applied a bright green paste

of copper minerals to their face to provide colour. They used perfumed oils and

painted eyebrows on themselves with cream made from sheep’s fat.

Egyptians used dyes and paints to colour their skin, body and hair. They

painted the upper side of the eye in green and the lid, lashes and eyebrows with kohl

a product made from galena and applied them with an ivory or wooden stick. The

eye make-up they used offered them medicinal values in protecting their eyes

against dust and sand during hot weather. Henna was (and still is) applied to the

finger nails and palms of the hands. Egyptian ladies also used combs and mirrors.

Make-Up products were stored in special jars and were kept in special

make-up boxes. In those days women would carry their make-up boxes to parties

and keep them under their chairs. Although men also wore make-up they did not

carry make-up kits with them.15 The Assyrian men and women whitened their faces

with lead paint and darkened their eye brows with antimony. The Babylonians,

Persians and Syrians all wore paint and darkened their eyes.

Cosmetic usage was in vogue in China and Japan in 1500 BC. They

used rice powder to paint their faces and white colour metals as lipstick. The

Japanese used crushed safflower petals as lipstick. They plucked and shaved their

eyebrows. They painted their teeth in gold and black colour. Henna dye was used to

colour their hair and faces. China imported jasmine-scented sesame oil from India

and rose water from Persia. The Chinese stained their fingernails with gum, gelatin

beeswax and egg. The colour was the representative of social class. The lower

classes were forbidden from wearing bright colour on their nails. In 1000 BC, both

gender in the upper class Greeks rarely took bath. To hide this fact, they wore wigs.

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To appear “real white” they wore chalk or white lead face powder. Women used

ochre clays laced with red iron for lipstick. They too applied henna in their palms to

look younger.

The early cosmetologist was the physician Abu’al – Qassim al –

Zahrawil or Abul Cassus (936-1013 AD) whose monumental work – a medical

encyclopedia Al-Tasreef which came out in 30 volumes.16 He devoted chapter

nineteen to cosmetics. He considered cosmetics as a branch of medicine. He called

it medicine of beauty. During his time the perfumed stocks were rolled and pressed

in special moulds. He used adhan, an oily substance for medication and

beautification.

In 100 AD, Romans, the super-civilized ancestors, applied flour and

butter on their pimples and sheep’s fat and blood on their fingernails as polish. They

took mud baths laced with crocodile excrement. Men and women used hair dye.

The upper class Romanian women used to take bath in ass’s milk and then covered

their face in white lead. In the middle ages, the church leaders considered make-up

as a sin and they prohibited their women from wearing make-up. Many women

ignored it and wore white paint on their skin.

During the 14th century, the English dyed their hair red. Rich women

wore egg whites over their faces to create a whiter countenance and used slices of

raw beef on their faces to get rid of wrinkles. Italy and France were the important

cosmetics manufacturing centers during the 15th and the 16th centuries. The French

created new fragrances and cosmetics by blending several ingredients. This paved

the way for modern cosmetics. In the 17th century red rouge and lipsticks were used

by the elite to display their wellness and opulence. They used paints and powders.

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In the eighteenth century make-up was considered an essential item for the lady of

fashion. It was during this period of time that rouge became popular.

Indian herbs and natural beauty aids are of very ancient origin. Indian

women used natural aids to beautify themselves. They used oil of roses, musk as

perfume and shikakai for bubble baths. Indian women used oil of musk, turmeric

and geranium as a face and body mask and used milk to wipe them off.

Traditionally Indian kajal was made from trifala, almond, camphor, cabbage and

other precious herbs, all burnt in the oil of roses. Indian Moghul queens used

emerald, ruby and turquoise as eye shadow, the powder of pearls to highlight their

eyebrows and a concentrate of beetroot and sandal wood paste mixed with the oil of

roses as rouge to redden their lips. Henna was used either as a hair dye or as

mehandi (an art of painting in women’s hand and feet). Kajal was used by Indian

women and children.

India is a well known country all over the world for its rich bounty of

herbs and for effective application as cosmetics. Extracts of lemon, turmeric,

yoghurt, honey and egg white were and are used as cleansers. They cleanse

effectively and provide nourishment. Cabbage extract, carrot and wheat germ have

been combined to form natural skin-food creams. Extracts of rose, jasmine and

lavender were used to improve skin texture and colour. The combination of lemon

and turmeric gives colour tone and it removes tans and pigmented patches. Indians

used sandal wood, eucalyptus, cloves, honey and arnica as antiseptic as they have

germicidal actions and prevent skin allergies and rashes. They have been used as

cleansers to protect the skin from environmental pollution.

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 During the 19th century, France introduced chemicals in fragrances.

Zinc oxide was used in facial powder and it replaced the deadly mixtures of lead

and copper. In 1907 modern synthetic hair dye was invented by Eugene Schueller,

founder of L’oreal. He introduced sunscreen lotions in 1936. Lipstick was

introduced in cylindrical metal tubes in 1915. In 1932 Charles and Joseph Revson

and Charles Lackman founded Revlon which sells nail polish in a wide range of

colours. In 1935 pancake make-up was introduced for the adjustments required for

photographing faces in film industry. From 1930 to 1950s cosmetics became

fashionable due to the influence of various movie stars.

In 1944, sunscreen lotion was developed. Mascara was introduced in

1958. Revlon offered the first powdered blush in 1963. In 1965 Aerosol deodorant

was introduced. The United States of America started launching its cosmetic

products in various parts of the world in 1970. “Natural” products based on

botanical ingredients were used in cosmetics in the year 1980. During 1993 the

concept, of anti ageing was slowly changed from medical field to body care. In

2005 cosmetic products found a place in men’s world and from 2007 different

countries started to give importance on basic safety in cosmetics. Consumers were

supported in understanding of the products and their safety.

At present, cosmetics are wide spread and used by women in all sectors

throughout the world. The popularity of cosmetics usage increased rapidly.

Cosmetics are used by girls abundantly at young age. Due to this fact, many

cosmetic companies have started introducing more advanced and specialised

cosmetic items, brand extensions, family packs, internationally proven scientific

formulae, new product development with herbal ingredients and glittery package.

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Thus, at present cosmetics usage has been transformed from luxurious to

indispensable items and has become a habitual routine for everyone all over the

world.

3.3.2. Cosmetics in This Era

In the 21st century the winds of changes in the society are blowing

forcefully in all parts of world for application of cosmetics. The Drugs and

Cosmetics Act 1940 defines cosmetics as “the articles which are intended to be

rubbed, poured, sparkled, sprayed, introduced in or otherwise applied to any part of

the human body for cleansing, protecting, beautifying, promoting, attractiveness or

altering appearance”.17 Cosmetic product cleans, beautifies and alters a person’s

appearance. It may also add fragrance or bad odour. Cosmetics may also change,

increase, or even decrease the colour of any person but it does not have any

medicinal effect on the body.

A cosmetic product is defined in European Union Law as “any

substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various external

parts of the human body or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral

cavity, with a view exclusively or mainly to cleaning them, perfuming them,

changing their appearance, and/or correcting body odours, and/or protecting them or

keeping them in good condition”.18

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which

regulates cosmetics, defines cosmetics19 as "intended to be applied to the human

body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance

without affecting the body's structure or functions."All the cosmetic items applied

on our body beautify it and keep it healthy to a certain extent. The active life of any

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cosmetic begins when it is applied on skin, hair, nails or teeth and its life ends when

it is removed or if it evaporates from our body.

3.3.2.1. Classification of Cosmetic Products.

The Indian cosmetics are classified based on the factors such as colours,

skin care, fragrances, and hair care.20 The Cosmetic products can be categorized as

skin care products, hair care products, fragrance products and colour cosmetic

products.

Skin care Products

The skin care products used to improve appearance and health of skin.

The sub segments of skin care are fairness cream, cold cream, moisturizers,

sunscreen, cleansers and toners. Usage of sun screen cream will reflect off the

ultraviolet rays or absorb the rays before they do any damage to the skin. It should

be used several times a day since it gets washed away even by sweat. Moisturizers

replace the water lost from the skin. The oil in water moisturizer attracts water from

the surroundings. The moisturizers compensate the deficiencies in the natural oil

film and keep the skin lubricated making it soft and smooth and give it a more

youthful look. Toners and astringents are synonymous and refer to a fragmented

alcohol or propylene glycol solution used to remove oil and make-up debris

following cleansing. They freshen and tone up the skin and prepare it for the

application of make-up.

Hair care Products

Hair care products take care of human head hair and its hygiene. The

hair care product segments are hair oil, shampoo conditioners, creams, dyes and

colours. By using these hair care products our hair may look healthy, shiny and

clean thereby making it look attractive as our crowning glory. Shampoo cleans the
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hair and rinses it leaving the hair smooth and manageable. Hair conditioners are

used after shampooing. Conditioners soften the hair and make it shine. Conditioners

also protect the hair against physical injury to some extent. It coats the hair and may

temporarily bind splits making them less obvious.

Fragrance Products
Fragrance products provide a sweet or a delicate odour. Initially

perfumes were used for hygiene purpose as a deodorant. Today consumers use

fragrance to enhance their social status and personality. Perfumes which are

introduced by several companies give different messages for each of their brands. It

is done with the evolving needs and wants of consumers. Mass fragrances tend to be

the introduction to fine fragrance especially for the middle classes, who are trading

up from deodorant sprays. Premium priced perfumes are popular only in the high

income cosmopolitan cities where more affluent and inspirational consumers are

willing to spend on quality fragrance. The large rural population use talc as a means

of fragrance and this heavily used product-form is challenging for the growth

outside the urban areas.21

Colour Cosmetic Products

A subset of cosmetics is called “make-up” which refers primarily to

coloured products intended to alter the user’s appearance.22 It covers foundation,

concealers, blusher, compact powder, mascara, eye brow pencil, eye liner, eye

shadow, eye shimmer, glitter lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner and lip balm nail polish,

nail polish top coat.

These products which are categorized into “make-up” products are also

called as “colour cosmetics”. Colour cosmetics by definition refer to any external

coloured product used to beautify the skin. (Cosmetology Dictionary 1996)23

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 The major products in colour cosmetics market are foundation,

compacts, eye make-up, lip make-up, nail enamels and blush.24

3.3.2.2. Regulatory Aspects

Each country including India has developed regulatory rules for

cosmetic products. The major source for pharmaceutical regulation is the Drugs and

Cosmetics Act 1940 (DCA) and the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules (DCR). These

legislations apply to all pharmaceutical products whether imported or made in India.

The legislation is enforced by the Central Government in New-Delhi which is

responsible for overall supervision.

The safety of cosmetic products is of prime importance for the general

consumers. The cosmetic products have to be formulated and manufactured in

accordance with schedule M-II of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945

and Indian Standards issued by Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi and

guidelines of IFRA (International Fragrance Association) and similar bodies. On a

global scale, countries arrive at a consensus on the standards of quality of cosmetics

by coming under a common umbrella of CHIC (Cosmetic Harmonization and

International Corporation) launched in 1999 and revised from time to time.25

Generally, usage of cosmetics may not cause serious problems. But

sometimes it may cause harm due to some hazardous chemicals. So the consumers

should use only good quality products. Adulterated cosmetics mean a cosmetic

which is filthy or which contains toxic or poisonous substance or which contains

any colour other than the prescribed ones. A cosmetic is misbranded if it contains a

colour which is not prescribed or if it is not labelled in the prescribed manner or if

the label of the container contains any false or misleading statements. A cosmetic is

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termed as spurious cosmetics if it is a substitute for other cosmetics or resembles

other cosmetics which deceive buyers. If the label or container of the cosmetics

bears the name of an individual or a company purporting to be the manufacturer of

the cosmetics which individual or company is fictitious it is also called spurious

cosmetics.

If any consumer has some grievance due to the usage of any adulterated

or spurious cosmetics, he or she should have the courage to file a complaint either

with Drugs Control Officer or Consumer Forum. Any person selling cosmetics

deemed to be spurious under Sec. 17-D or adulterated under Sec. 17-E shall be

punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with

a fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees or three times the value of

cosmetics confiscated, whichever is more.26

3.3.3. Make-Up Products

Women are always pleased if someone calls them beautiful and it has

become the custom of the society to see them in such a context. Make-up is a

weapon in the hands of women to look pretty. The art of make-up can be the

women’s greatest tool for making them beautiful, provided they use it subtly and

skillfully. If misused, it can have a disastrous effect. The goal of being beautiful can

be achieved only with the help of make-up products.

Make-up products, is the coloured products which helps the user to

improve their external appearance very easily, without requiring any long term

procedures without pain and expense. The make-up products can be classified into

four major types which are face make-up products, eye make-up products, lip make-

up products and nail make-up products.

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 · Face make-up products comprise of foundation, concealers, blushers and

compact powder. Foundation is used to smooth out the face and cover

spots or uneven skin colouration. Concealer is used to cover any

imperfections of the skin. Blusher, cheek coloring used to bring out the

color in the cheeks and make the cheekbones appear more defined.

Compact Powder is used to set the foundation, giving a finish, and also

to conceal small flaws or blemishes.

· Eye make-up products comprise of eye brow pencil, eye liner, eye

shadow and mascara. Eyebrow pencils are used to color and define the

brows, eye liner, eye shadow, used to color and emphasize the eyelids.

Mascara is used to darken, lengthen, and thicken the eyelashes.

· Lip make-up products embrace lip stick and lip liner. These products can

add colours to the lips and define its outline.

· Nail make-up products comprise of nail polish and nail polish top coat.

It is used to colour finger nails and toe nails.

Manufacturers of make-up products offer a wide range of brands with

various shades with accompanying variations in quality and price. They offer their

products to the consumers through various organized retail outlets. Large super

markets and departmental stores allocate more floor space for cosmetics. Some

cosmetic companies sell their products through their direct sales force. A lot of

cosmetic companies are selling their products directly through exclusive counters in

departmental stores, textile shops and employing their own beauty consultants.

Exclusive one stop shops for cosmetic brands and beauty saloons are also coming

up in metros.

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 These major players play an active role in communicating information

about their products to their target audience. Women’s magazines such as Femina,

Woman’s Era and Good House Keeping and various regional magazines act as

commercial medium that gives advertising messages to young girls and women who

are well educated, who have a handsome salary and good consumption ability.

Television advertisements provide information and induce the target audience to

buy colour cosmetics. They induce the target audience by giving information

regarding various brands of cosmetics, quality of the products and discount offers

extended by different companies.

Consumers have a wide choice of brands lying before them and their job

is to choose the right product which suits them. If the cosmetic consumers are

satisfied with the product, they become emotionally attached to the product and

they rarely switch over from it. Then the consumers become brand loyal to the

make-up product they use.

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ENDNOTES
1. Tapan K Panda, Marketing Management Text and Cases, (Second Edition)
p.191.

2. Leon G.Schiffman& Lesslie Lazar Kanuk.(2009). Consumer Behaviour,

(Ninth Edition). NewDelhi :PHL Learning Private Limited, p.3.

3. Ibid., p.5.

4. Ibid., p.22.

5. Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, (2004). Principles of Marketing.(Tenth

Edition). NewDelhi :Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, p.180.

6. Op.cit., p.526.

7. Del I.Hawkins, Roger J.Best, Kenneth A.Coney& Amit Mookerjee.(2007).

Consumer Behaviour Building Marketing Strategy.(Ninth Edition).NewDelhi
:Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, p.563.

8. Ibid.,p.563.

9. Op.cit., p.15.

10. Op.cit., p.564.

11. Op.cit., p.198.

12. Op.cit.,p.624.

13. Swarna Saraf& Shailendra Saraf. (2009).Cosmetics: A Practical Manual

(Second Edition). Pharmamed Press,p.1.

14. Chaudhri, S.K.&Jain, N.K. “History of Cosmetics”. Asian Journal of

Pharmaceutics, 3(3), pp.164-167.

15. Ibid.,pp.164-167.

16. Ibid.,pp.164-167.

17. Ashok Gupta, K.&Bajaj.(2002).Introduction to pharmaceutics-II (Fourth

Edition).CBS Publishers & Distributors.p.236.

18.http://www.irvineecondev.com/uploads/global/steps_to_exporting_cosmetics_
products_to_eu.pdf
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19. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics cited on 16 -12- 2010

20. Ramanuj Majumdar.(1998).Product Management in India.(Second

Edition).NewDelhi :Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., p.189.

21. Virginia Graham & Emmie Salaj (2009). .India: Country

Overviewhttp://fitmasters.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/international-marketing-

country-overview-india/Cosmetics.

22. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics (Cited on 16-12-2010).

23. Liesl Josephine Teixeira(2006).Specific Cosmetic and Skin care needs of

women of colour in South Africa. http.libserves5.tut.ac.za-77-pls-eres-

wpg.dockload-download-file-p- filename=f344505648-teixeira.pdf.

24. Indian Cosmetics Sector. (2007-2008). http://new.emmeplus.eu/wp-

content/uploads/2010/01/cosmetic-sector-in-india.pdf (Cited on 17-12-2010)

25. Sanju Nanda.“Cosmetics and Consumers” http://consumereducation.in/

cosmeticeng.pdf (Cited on 16-12-2010).

26. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (Act No 23 of 1940) current

publications. p.43.

77