International Journal of Management (IJM)

Volume 10, Issue 6, Nov- Dec 2019, pp. 647-654, Article ID: IJM_10_06_063
Available online at https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=10&Issue=6
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UHZG3

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

BRAND AWARENESS AND CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR OF MIDDLE CLASS WOMEN FOR
THEIR PURCHASES OF MAKEUP AND BEAUTY
PRODUCTS
Anuj Thapliyal
Department of School of Management Studies, Graphic Era Hill University,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India 248002

ABSTRACT
Women in the Indian middle class place a high value on appearance-enhancing
products and trendy clothing. There is a lot of weight placed on how one looks in
today's culture. As a result, there is intense competition for market share among
brand managers. The primary goal of this research is to examine the purchasing
habits and brand loyalty of women in the Surat area of Gujarat, India, in light of the
rising popularity of these items. Quantitative methods were used to collect answers
and analyse the data from the selected criteria. One hundred fifty people were given
questionnaires to fill out on their own.
This poll used a non-random technique known as convenience sampling. The
results show that different factors are significant to different women when shopping
for cosmetics, and that the women in the sample are not particularly devoted to any
one cosmetics company. The survey also revealed that women are interested in using
cosmetics for both aesthetic and functional reasons, that beauticians are the most
trusted route of distribution, and that beauty supply shops are the most successful
channel of brand awareness. Decisions on the product, distribution, and promotion
components of the cosmetics industry's marketing mix are aided by the research.
Key words: Brand loyalty, Buying behaviour, Cosmetics, Middle class women.
Cite this Article: Anuj Thapliyal, Brand Awareness and Consumer Behaviour of
Middle Class Women for their purchases of Makeup and Beauty Products,
International Journal of Management (IJM), 2019, 10(6), pp. 647-654.
https://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=10&Issue=6

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 Brand Awareness and Consumer Behaviour of Middle Class Women for their purchases of Makeup
and Beauty Products

1. INTRODUCTION
Successful businesses recognise the importance of studying customer habits. The
marketing team is always looking forward, studying historical data to anticipate consumer
preferences. Understanding consumer behaviour requires looking at the when, where, what,
and why of purchasing decisions. Consumers nowadays are more health-conscious and
prepared to spend more for goods because of the extensive information supplied by
businesses about the products' contents and advantages, claims the Global Cosmetic Industry
survey. "The decision process and physical activity consumers participate in while assessing,
purchasing, utilising, or disposing of products and services" is one definition of consumer
behaviour. This was established by Loudon and Della Bitta (1980). Product innovation and
commercialization within the Indian cosmetics sector are both on the rise. There has been a
shift in taste among Indian customers away from "simple and practical" goods and towards
"very technical and specialised" cosmetics.
Consumers in India spent little more than $3 on cosmetics on average in 2011. India's
value share of the cosmetics market grew from 27% in 2005 to 31% in 2014, and it is
expected to continue to rise rapidly during the projected period. Since 2011, when a slew of
multinationals finally entered the Indian cosmetics business, it has become very competitive
and fast-paced. Innovation; re-launches and brand expansions across several price points; and
increased product penetration via extended distribution networks have all been priorities for
foreign competitors. Successful businesses have reduced their advertising costs, allowing
them to rethink their pricing policies and reward loyal customers with freebies.
Because of rising beauty consciousness and awareness, particularly among the young
population, more people have access to, and are willing to spend money on, personal
grooming goods. Nonetheless, Development was hampered by insufficient product
knowledge or a reluctance to spend money on cosmetics, particularly in rural regions. One
contributing factor is the fierce pricing rivalry from local and regional competitors, who have
captured volumes with superior trade margins and significantly reduced goods.
All products intended to clean, colour, soften, or protect the skin, hair, nails, lips, or
eyes from environmental aggressors fall under the umbrella term "cosmetics," which is used
interchangeably by the public and the industry. Products marketed as "cosmetics" are those
that are designed to be applied to the skin for the purpose of purifying, beautifying, boosting
attractiveness, or otherwise modifying the look without causing any structural changes to the
body. Any substance designed to be a part of a cosmetic is included by this definition.
Consumers' growing interest in their outward presentation, personal grooming, and product
preferences has contributed significantly to the expansion of the cosmetics and beauty goods
industry.
2. UNDERSTANDING THE COSMETICS SECTOR
For marketers, an appreciation of this area should help them better segment the market,
target specific consumers, design distinctive products, and implement successful advertising
and sales strategies that effectively influence consumer behaviour. This article gives an

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 Anuj Thapliyal

introduction of the cosmetics industry and its significance, and it investigates how different
factors and brand loyalty affect the purchasing decisions women make when it comes to
cosmetics. The commercial sector and retail dealers alike will benefit from the data gleaned
from this research.
Since economic liberalisation in 1991, numerous Indian women have been named
winners of international beauty pageants, and the cosmetics sector in India has boomed as a
result. Because of this shift in preference, the cosmetics industry has been booming. The
Indian cosmetics market expanded by 7.5% between 2006 and 2008, marking a period of
significant expansion for the sector. This is partly attributable to rising disposable income and
a heightened interest in fashion, but it also bodes well for the industry's prospects beyond the
period 2009–2012. Electronic and print media are both contributing to the growth of the
fashion industry in India by raising customer knowledge of the numerous items on offer.
Fast expansion is predicted for the Indian cosmetics market due to rising demand for
personal care items, as reported in Indian Cosmetic Industry Analysis (2009-2012) (Research
+ Markets, 2012). The cosmetics business is predicted to expand at a CAGR of around 17%
between 2010 and 2013, thanks to rising disposable income among middle-class families and
shifts in consumer preferences. Professional women with greater discretionary money tend to
buy more expensive cosmetics and beauty supplies, especially those from well-known
international companies.
Retail International reports that the market share of beauty product merchants has
increased from 25% to 30% in only the previous three years. Many well-known companies
are expanding their cosmetics lines, and other major manufacturers are likely to follow suit.
One reason for the region's booming economy is its population of young, hip, and financially
secure consumers (IBEF, 2013). Companies try to make up for the dearth of domestic
cosmetics producers by stocking as broad a selection of items as they can.
An examination of the Indian cosmetics industry, which includes the skin care, hair care,
colour cosmetics, fragrances, and oral care divisions, pegs its size in 2008 at an estimated $2.5
billion and predicts a growth rate of 7%. As more individuals in India choose natural remedies
than synthetic ones, the herbal cosmetics market is booming and is projected to expand by 7%
this year.
3. INDIAN COSMETIC INDUSTRY FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID
Product innovation and commercialization within the Indian cosmetics sector are both
on the rise. There has been a shift in taste among Indian customers away from "simple and
practical" goods and towards "very technical and specialised" cosmetics. Consumers in India
spent little more than $3 on cosmetics on average in 2011. India's value share of the cosmetics
market grew from 27% in 2005 to 31% in 2014, and it is expected to continue to rise rapidly
during the projected period. Since 2011, when a slew of multinationals finally entered the
Indian cosmetics business, it has become very competitive and fast-paced. Innovation; re-
launches and brand expansions across several price points; and increased product penetration
via extended distribution networks have all been priorities for foreign competitors. Successful

http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 649 editor@iaeme.com

 Brand Awareness and Consumer Behaviour of Middle Class Women for their purchases of Makeup
and Beauty Products

businesses have reduced their advertising costs, allowing them to rethink their pricing policies
and reward loyal customers with freebies.
Because of rising beauty consciousness therefore awareness, particularly among the
young population, more people have access to, and are willing to spend money on, personal
grooming goods. Nonetheless, Development was hampered by insufficient product
knowledge or a reluctance to spend money on cosmetics, particularly in rural regions. One
contributing factor is the fierce pricing rivalry from local and regional competitors, who have
captured volumes with superior trade margins and significantly reduced goods.
4. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND DECISION THANKING
The term "consumer behaviour" (Sheth, Mittal, & Newman, 1999:4-7) encompasses
both the internal and external actions taken by customers before, during, and after the
acquisition and use of a product or service. Consumer behaviour refers to the study of how
people and businesses decide on, acquire, employ, and ultimately abandon the products,
services, ideas, and experiences that they utilise to fulfil their desires and requirements. It is
the study of consumer behaviour, including when, where, what, and why a product is
purchased. It combines concepts and methods from economics, sociology, anthropology, and
psychology. The report also makes an effort to evaluate the impact of the consumer's social
environment, including their friends, family, and community. It's important to differentiate
between consumer conduct and the purchasing practises of businesses and other
organisations, which have distinct goals and metrics by which they evaluate performance.
5. CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS
A customer goes through a number of stages in the purchasing decision process before,
during, and after making a purchase related to a possible market transaction. Five typical steps
are as follows:
(i) Problem Recognition : A buyer's choice to make a purchase starts with the
recognition of a need or issue that currently isn't being met. The consumer's need or
desire must first be recognised before they can go on to the shopping phase of the
buying process. Needs (issues) for cosmetics are identified in response to a wide range
of environmental and internal influences. Fashion awareness, the need to be like
others, and the desire to boost self-esteem are all internal motivators. Friends' and
physicians' and beauticians' and advertisers' behaviours and recommendations are only
a few examples of external stimuli.
(ii) Information Search: Once a customer is aware of a need, she will look for ways to
fill it. As a first step in the notional decision-making process, she will think back on
similar problems she has previously addressed. Second, the shopper will engage in
limited decision making by consulting a friend or visiting a store to get advise on
which product will be most suitable. In this case, customers are either actively or
passively engaged in the process of discovering relevant information in order to fulfil
their wants for cosmetics items. People use Internet searches to learn about a product's
features, benefits, risks, where to get it, and pricing. Major information sources in the

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 Anuj Thapliyal

realm of cosmetics include personal recommendations, recommendations from friends

and family, recommendations from physicians and beauticians, and references to
commercial websites and marketing.
(iii) Evaluation of alternatives : The criteria by which consumers assess alternatives
include the qualities, attributes, and advantages they seek in resolving the issue at
hand. The customer will choose one product out of many options based on the
product's distinctive qualities. Here, buyers assess the variety of cosmetics goods
available and choose the best one based on a number of criteria, including price,
quality, reputation, ingredients, compatibility, availability, and more.
(iv) Purchase Action : During this phase, the consumer chooses both the product's brand
and the store from which to make the eventual purchase. After deciding where to shop
and what to purchase, a customer may choose to pay with cash or credit at checkout.
Consumers now have a wide variety of cosmetics brands from which to choose, and
they do so after carefully considering their own wants and requirements. In this
context, buyers assess the potential downsides of a purchase from a functional,
physical, monetary, and psychological perspective.
(v) Post-purchase Actions : A happy buyer is one who gives a positive review after
making a purchase. On the other hand, if the product's performance falls short of what
was promised, customers will become dissatisfied. Once pleased, consumers are more
inclined to continue using the same cosmetics brand, which is what gives birth to
brand loyalty. When customers feel a product is falling short of their standards, they
are more inclined to move to a competing brand that they believe performs better. This
study will explore this concept of customer purchasing behaviour.
6. Works of other scholars: A Review
According to Aaker and Keller (1990), user experience is a major contributor to
customer loyalty. Customers may be devoted to a business because switching would be too
time-consuming, expensive, or risky for them personally for a variety of reasons. There's
another theory that says consumers stick with a company because they're happy with the
product or service (Fornell, 1992).
According to Keller (2003), consumers are more likely to remember the promoted
advantages of a well-known brand than those of a lesser-known brand. There are several
options and brand names that you may not be acquainted with. For the sake of satisficing,
some consumers may place more faith in well-known, established brands. Consumers are
more likely to stick with a brand because of its name and reputation, and they are less likely to
switch brands based on price (Cadogan & Foster, 2000).
Duff (2007) looked into the cosmetics niche market for women and found that
customers were growing more fashion-conscious, placing a premium on items with beautiful
design, and using a variety of makeup looks depending on the occasion. Line, form, and
details all contribute to how consumers feel about a brand, therefore it's believed that design is
the most crucial aspect of a product.

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 Brand Awareness and Consumer Behaviour of Middle Class Women for their purchases of Makeup
and Beauty Products

Researchers Guthrie, Kim, and Jung (2008) looked at how women viewed the brand
personalities of products they used to enhance their appearance. The purpose of this research
was to learn more about the criteria that Americans consider when choosing a cosmetics
brand. Questions on self-perception, cosmetics use, perceived brand personality, and brand
attitude were included in the poll. All three companies benefited from a successful brand
personality, but consumers had different impressions of the other brand personality attributes.
The amount of cosmetics utilised was shown to be related to how customers perceived their
own face appearance. Furthermore, there was shown to be a connection between one's face
appearance and their opinion of a brand.
The quality of a product, according to Khraim (2011), is a major factor in whether or not
a client would remain loyal to a certain brand. In addition, the study's overall results showed
that brand name, the product's quality, promotion, shop atmosphere, and service quality were
the most important determinants of brand loyalty among UAE customers. Except for design,
all of these other variables were shown to positively correlate with consumer brand loyalty. In
a consumer market where leisure time is expanding, the cosmetics sector is undeniably ripe
for growth. Consumers, marketers, and policymakers would all benefit from more credible
and optimistic data on this front.
To better segment people and markets for their brands and marketing messages, it is
helpful for marketers to comprehend how loyalty characteristics impact consumer-buying
conduct in the marketplace. Companies may improve their marketing techniques to promote
customer happiness and their consumer base by studying the correlation between cosmetic use
and brand perceptions. In addition, businesses may improve their brand's reputation by
catering to consumers' values after learning what qualities they value most in a product (based
on research into the personalities behind successful brands).
According to Cadogan and Foster (2000), cost is one of, if not the most crucial factors
for the typical buyer. Brand loyal consumers are less sensitive to price changes since they are
prepared to pay more for their preferred brand. Customers also have a high level of
confidence in the value of their preferred brands, to the point where they will actively shop
around for a better deal (Keller, 2003).
Cost-benefit analysis is another method for increasing consumer contentment. It has
been discovered that customers would buy a product if the benefits they get from using it
outweigh the money they have to spend on it. Because of the high perceived risk, loyal
consumers would rather pay a higher price now and prevent the danger of any change in the
future (Yoon & Kim, 2000).
The major purpose of this research is to investigate the cosmetics purchasing habits of
local women in the Surat area. These are the supplementary goals:
 The goal of this research is to learn which cosmetics brands are most popular among
female consumers.
 Examine the factors that influence consumers to buy beauty products.

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 Anuj Thapliyal

 Learning where consumers learn about the benefits of cosmetics is important.

 The goal is to learn about the most popular distribution methods.
 The purpose of this analysis is to comprehend the problems of cosmetic brand loyalty.

7. Reflection on the sample of the study

The participants in this study are female cosmetics consumers. The questionnaire was
administered in person to working women, housewives, and college students. The individual
consumer of cosmetics serves as the sample unit in this investigation. Non-probabilistic
convenience sampling was used to pick a sample of 150 female customers from the Surat
(Gujarat) area in order to get reliable and useful information.
In terms of the overarching goal, it is clear from the data shown above that cosmetics
purchasing habits among women are a dynamic phenomenon. While it's evident that
respondents put a premium on trust and personal connections when it comes to acquiring
information and making decisions, many also indicate that they are willing to switch
companies when better ones become available. Regarding the secondary goals, it is clear that
there are several elements at play in decision making and that market leaders are not
consistently established across most categories.
This further supports the notion that the market is, and will continue to be, in a state of
flux, necessitating persistent effort on the part of marketers to win over new customers and
maintain their existing clientele's devotion. It's clear that customers have trust issues in this
industry, since they resort to people they know they can trust for advise on new items yet still
anticipate manufacturers and distributors to behave dishonestly.
The individual's experience with new (or untested) products, which may or may not
work well with their skin, is also a factor to consider. Those businesses' marketing strategies
that include effective product localization would seem to pay off. Since consumers have many
options for where to make their purchases, merchants may rent booth space, franchise their
goods, run specials, and so on to increase exposure for their items.
8. Conclusion
The findings suggest that numerous aspects may be very significant to respondents
when making a cosmetics purchase. In spite of the fact that a dedicated customer base is
crucial to the success of any business, the studies presented here show how difficult it can be
to win and keep customers committed to a certain brand. It looks to be a low-trust atmosphere
and a burgeoning market, with a lot of churn as new items emerge and new views form about
them, both of which contribute to a high propensity to move.
Future studies in this area will aim to increase the sample size and cover a wider
geographic region. In-depth brand loyalty will be studied, as will the extent to which different
variables influence consumers' commitment to a particular cosmetics brand.

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 Brand Awareness and Consumer Behaviour of Middle Class Women for their purchases of Makeup
and Beauty Products

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