Report On:

BRAND PREFERENCE OF SCOOTER AMONG FEMALES

By:
Madan Kumar Paneru
HeenaDattwani
PankajAgrawal
PratikshaThapa
Saroj Basnet
Kiran Rimal
To:
Dr. SarojGyawali
Business Research Methodology

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course of Business Research

Methodology in Bachelor of Business Administration 5th Semester in Ace
Institute of Management, Pokhara University
Approval:
Dr. Saroj Gyawali
Signature: _______________
Submission Date: June 17, 2016

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 Executive Summary
The survey was conducted to study the scooter preferences of female students among
different age groups. Scooter is considered to be an asset of females as it is easy to use and
light in weight. This survey focused on the various features that are considered by the girls
before the purchase of the scooter. Also it focused on the various qualitative and quantitative
variables and the relationship among them. During the research, major brands of scooter such
as Hero, Honda, TVS, Mahindra, and Suzuki were considered.
The survey was a primary research survey and both qualitative and quantitative in
nature. A total of 200 female respondents were considered for filling the questionnaire. Since
the sampling frame could not be drawn, non-probability sampling was used. Under non
probability sampling, quota sampling was used for the research. A theoretical framework was
designed for the research to identify the variables that could determine the preference of the
scooter and the different factors that could influence the purchase. These variables include
pick-up, resale value, mileage, comfort, style, advertisement, brand etc.
The research mainly focused on the different attributes of the scooter and the external
factors that influenced the females to make the purchase. After the collection of the data,
analysis was done using SPSS software and Excel.

Although it is usually perceived that the model of scooter is the most influential factor
in the purchase decision of scooters, this research showed that the respondents preferred
comfort to all the other features. Companies spend millions of rupees in advertisement and
media, but what we saw is that the respondents mostly preferred the Brand itself. Therefore
the least preferred companies must first consider developing themselves as a strong brand
rather than spending huge amount of money in advertisement

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 List of Acronyms
KU- Kathmandu University
KCM- Kathmandu College of Management
BBIS- Bachelor in Business and Information System
CBS- Central Bureau of Statistics

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 Chapter I: Introduction
1.1. Background of the project
The industries that target female customers are one of the most profitable businesses
around the world. The products range from cosmetics to dresses to automobiles. In this 21st
century, women are empowered and are on almost equal terms in every field to male, in
comparison to past few decades. Today’s modern females are highly educated, hold
respectable job positions, and demand their own mode of transportation at least in city areas.

Most of the marketers know that the needs of women are different and it has become
necessary for them to have a deep understanding of how and why they are different. Some
products are tailor made for female population. Although scooters are also rid by male
population, it is generalized that scooters are mostly made for female population. There are
some brands that are targeting male population such as Yamaha maestro.

1.2. Problem statement

Women, formulating world’s half population, are now a critical consumer segment for the
marketers and businesses, not only for the household products but also for IT and
Management related products and services. In case of female segment, lifestyle and other
important demographic factors play key roles in making the marketing decisions (Thagunna
& Khanal, 2013). Nepal is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with over half (51.44%) of
the female population having diverse interest and choices (Thagunna & Khanal, 2013). Thus
we can assume that increasing number of product and service purchases are made by Female
Segment of the Nepalese market(Thagunna & Khanal, 2013). Research has shown that
women now make the majority of purchases in industries that were not traditionally
considered "female friendly". Women are responsible for 80% of home improvement
purchases, 66% of computer purchases, 55% of consumer electronic purchases, 60% of new
car purchases, and 53% of investment purchases (Barletta, 2003). .
In order to design marketing program to design scooter that appeal to female segment,
consumer behavior must be understood. Automotive industry is highly successful market and
the rise of purchase decision of influence makes it a must for marketers to understand their
target and how they make choices among brands.

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1.3. Objectives of the project
The main objective of the study is to identify the brand preference of the scooter by
different age group of females and to identify the different attributes that were taken into
account before the purchase of the scooter. In order to achieve the objective, following study
is done:
 To identify the factors that affects the purchase decision.
 To identify the different attributes liked by the consumers.
 To examine the level of preferences of scooter by the female students.

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 Chapter II: Literature Review
Brand and brand preference:
Brands are not new to marketing. Historically, the concept of brand was first used by
the ancient Egyptian brick-makers who drew symbols on bricks for identification Brands are
not new to marketing. Historically, the concept of brand was first used by the ancient
Egyptian brick-makers who drew symbols on bricks for identification (Farquhar, 1990). The
next milestone of brand evolved in North America with the growth of cattle farming as a kind
of legal protection, proof of ownership and quality signals (De Chernatony & McDonald,
2003).
According to David A.Aaker, "A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such
as logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one
seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of
competitors. A brand thus signals to the customer the source of the product, and protects both
the customer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that
appear to be identical (Aaker, 1991).”
Consumer brand preference is an essential step to understand consumer choice
behavior, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. Brand
preferences reveal the type of attributes a brand possesses, to strengthen its position and
increase its market share. Moreover, it forms a critical input in developing a company’s
successful brand strategy, and gives insight for product development. However, the shift to
experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to
experiences.

Female consumer market:

Globally, they control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure
could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. Their $13 trillion in total yearly
earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period. In aggregate, women represent a growth
market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big, in fact. Given those
numbers, it would be foolish to ignore or underestimate the female consumer. And yet many
companies do just that, even ones that are confident they have a winning strategy when it
comes to women (Silverstein & Sayre, 2009).

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 Women make the decision in the purchases of 94% of home furnishings, 92% of
vacations, 91% of homes, 60% of automobiles, and 51% of consumer electronics
(Silverstein & Sayre, 2009).
So studying women’s buying behavior is a must. Women tend to lean towards
practicality while making purchasing decisions. In order to attract female segment,
companies should focus less on product impressions and instead concentrate on the benefits
that the product will provide for them, their family, or their company. These qualities of the
products are most valued by women. When it comes to services, women prefer corresponding
with a real person rather than automated services, so a person can catch their attention much
quicker than a pre-recorded message. Allowing them to actively interact with service
providers is what will make your company memorable to a female consumer (Meyers, 2007).
Gavin Vincentsuggests that scooters are becoming a very popular choice among the
consumers may it be male or female. It is penetrating the market as the consumer’s looks for
an economical way to get around town. Scooters have many benefits from low costs to above
average fuel efficiency. However, when looking to purchase a scooter there are many features
that you'll either get standard or can upgrade. Here are some of those features(Gavin Vincent,
2008):

Front Hydraulic ABS Disc Brakes: Scooters can come with hydraulic anti-lock
braking system (ABS) disc brakes on the front wheel. Hydraulic ABS disc brakes are a safety
system on motor vehicles which prevents the wheels from locking while braking. It provides
the best possible brakes to have because they provide the best stopping power (Gavin
Vincent, 2008).

100 MPG: Scooters can get up to 100 miles to the gallon. While this may occur with
the newer and higher end models, this kind of gas mileage makes this scooter very fuel
efficient and economical. This vehicle is the perfect alternative to cars and motorcycles to
save on gas and keep extra money in your pocket (Gavin Vincent, 2008).

Electric Start / Kick Start: Most scooters come equipped with an electric start. The
electric start starting system makes starting simple for anyone. They can also come equipped
with a kick start. The kick start can also be used at any time (Gavin Vincent, 2008).
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 4-Stroke Engine Gas: Motor scooters come equipped with up to a 250cc 4-stroke
engine. These engines typically have the ability to go up to 55 miles per hour (MPH). With
an engine this size, there is enough power for two people to ride(Gavin Vincent, 2008).

Fully Automatic Transmission: Scooters also have installed a fully automatic

transmission. Operated by the simple to use 'twist & go' throttle acceleration in other words
with a fully automatic transmission there is no clutch or gear shifting at all.
Storage: Most scooters come equipped with a large storage compartment located
underneath the seat. This extra storage can be used to put all your items that you would
normally put in a car glove compartment. Other storage may include a detachable rear storage
trunk to put bigger items such as a briefcase, laptop, or luggage(Gavin Vincent, 2008).

Scooters come equipped with many features including front hydraulic abs disc brakes,
fuel efficiency of up to 100 mpg, electric start / kick start, a 4-stroke engine, fully automatic
transmission, and storage space(Gavin Vincent, 2008).

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 Chapter III: Methodology
3.1. Theoretical Framework
On the basis of overall conceptual and pragmatic knowledge gained through the
overall preliminary observation of the situation, backed up by relevant review of literature
from various perspectives, the present researcher developed a conceptual framework of study
so as to perform the ongoing research in a more theoretically grounded manner. Figure-1
below presents with such a framework used for the purpose of designing and executing this
research.
From the literature review, following factors can be extracted for this research:

Features of Consumer segment

scooter

Age

Comfort
Occupation
Style Consumer Brand
Preference
Marital Status
Mileage

Pick up
External factors Monthly Family
Price Income

Quality Brand Image Advertisement

Resale value

Figure 1: Theoretical Framework of factors affecting brand preference of scooter

3.2. Research Design
The scholars Luck and Rubin (1987) have suggested that research design is the
foundation for conducting a research project(Luck & Rubin, 1987). It helps to solve the
problem that occurred while obtaining the information. To conduct a research project
effectively and efficiently the researcher must design the framework of the study which is
known as research design(Malhotra & Dash, 2011).

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 Research design is the overall plan for the activities to be taken during the course of a
research study. A research design serves as a framework for the study, guiding the collection
and analysis of data, the research instrument be utilized and sampling plan to be
followed(Pant, 2011). The nature of this research study is descriptive one where it seeks to
collect information from consumers and formulate results based on their opinions and
attitude. The primary source of data is collected through survey where they are given a
standard questionnaire. The data collected from the questionnaire is analyzed using various
statistical tools and software such as excel and SPSS. This research contains both quantitative
and qualitative analysis of the subject matter.

3.3. Data Collection

The data is collected using the primary source. The primary source of data is collected
by distributing questionnaires personally or by mail in Google docs format whichever may
seem feasible.

3.4. Population and Sample Size

The population for this research is limited to Kathmandu valley. The sample size
consists of only females. The sample size consists of 192 females of different age group and
profession. Due to the limitations of present researcher whole population could not be taken
into account. Further the researcher narrowed down the population to 192 sample sizes.

3.5. Data analysis

The data collected through questionnaires were analyzed using Google spreadsheet.
The data is analyzed through simple frequency of occurrence and percentile analysis. These
information are analyzed using different statistical tools and represented through simple bar
graphs, pie-charts etc. SPSS software is used to calculate correlation between different
variables.

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 Chapter IV: Results
The results of the research are presented in this chapter. The results have come after
analysis of raw data in Microsoft excel. All results are in numerical form which is presented
through the use of charts and tables.

Results and presentation of data:

Brief summary of respondents:
Table 1:- Summary of respondents
Age group Frequency Occupation Frequency Family Frequency
monthly
income
17-21 63 Home maker 12 Up to 25000 21
22-26 88 NGO 2 25000-50000 56
27-31 22 Private sector 40 50000-75000 41
32-36 9 Public sector 8 75000-100000 49

37-41 7 Self-employed 19 Above 100000 25

42-46 3 Student 111

Total 192 192 192

The above table shows the frequency of various age group of population, their
occupation and their level of income. The age group of (22-26) has the highest frequency
which indicates that the most of the scooter riders are of the age group (22-26).The table also
shows that most of the scooter riders are students i.e 111 out of 192 and the highest frequency
level of the respondents monthly income of family is 56 for which the income level is
(25000-50000).

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 Marital status and Occupation as a factor:

Marital Status (percentage)

Married Unmarried

28.7%

71.3%

Figure 2:- Marital status of respondents

The above figure-2 and table-1 shows that most scooter riders are students, unmarried
and fall between the ages of 17 to 26. More than half the sample falls in these three groups
with 71.3% of female are unmarried. The married sample can beconnected to the
homemakers group as both groups have significantly few number of scooter users. Home
makers make up for 6.25% users and 28.7% married users. Only 5% of the sample consists of
NGO and public sector workers. Students use the scooter the most; they count for 57.8% of
users.

From figure-3, it can be safely assumed that most scooter users belong to younger
population and as the age increases the use of scooter decreases as well. The most popular
age to possess a scooter is between the ages of 22 to 26. After the age of 30, the line sharply
falls suggesting that very few people ride scooters.

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 Current and Preferred Scooter

Current scooter & Preferred scooter

90 83
78
80
70
60 54
50
50
40
30 26
22
20 1315
6 6 8 6 8
10 2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0
va or Di
o ro o ts re y-
z o
ep
+
sp
a
ti ia
t
Du cin Le su Ra
de e
Ac Av Fa
s
e a R o y p V
Pl oo
t
Sc

Current Preffered

Figure 3:- Number of current scooter and preferred scooter

The above figure-5 shows that Dio is the scooter most owned and most preferred by
the consumers. The scooty pep+ riders are most dissatisfied with their scooter as they prefer
other brands rather than their own. Only 1 scooty pep + owner preferred their current scooter.
Dio is clearly the market leader having higher admires with 83 than owner of 78. Alike Dio,
Aviator also has higher preference than owners. Aviator owner are also satisfied with their
scooter as only two Aviator owners preferred other brand. Although pleasure has less
preference than owners it has respectable number of preference and few owners who have
selected other brands. Rodeo is fourth on the list and has higher preference than owners but
half of its owners prefer other brands. The other brands sample is very low for analysis.

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 Company brand ownership and
preferrence
120 111
102
100
80
60 53 49
40
19 21
20 8 6 8 2 2 2 1
0
Hero Honda Mahindra Suzuki TVS Yamaha Vespa
honda

Ownership Preferred

Figure 4:-Company brand ownership and preference

From table-3 and figure-6, the most preferred company is Honda. The highest owned
scooter also belongs to the company of Honda. More than half the samples possess a Honda
scooter. The result shows that Honda is the market leader. From previous table, Hero honda’s
Pleasure is second most preferred and owned brand. But after pleasure there is no other brand
of Hero Honda that holds the market whereas Honda company as other brand such as Aviator
which has fair amount of preference and ownership. After two Honda companies Mahindra
company is most owned and preferred. The preference of Honda is the only one that is higher
than the ownership.
Only 8.8% of Honda owners preferred other company over their own, whereas
18.86% of Hero Honda owners preferred the other company in which 80% selected Honda as
their preferred company. TVS owners are the most disloyal consumers as only 12.5% owners
preferred TVS itself.
Motivation for selection of the brand:
Motivation Frequency Percentage
Advertisement 40 20.30%
Familiarity 46 23.40%
Brand image 83 42.10%
Quality 54 27.40%
Price 39 19.80%
Style 66 33.50%
Comfort 112 56.90%

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 Resale value 11 5.60%
Mileage 26 13.20%
Table 2:- Motivation for selection of brand

Mileage 12.8
Resale value 5.6
Selection motivation
Comfort 56.6
Style 33.2
Price 19.4
Quality 27.6 Selection motivation

Brand image 42.3

Familiarity 23.5
Advertisement 20.4

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Figure 5:- Motivation for selection of brand

According to the table-4 and figure-7, Comfort is the key motivational factor that
influences consumers to select the brand of scooter with 56.6% of the sample. Brand image
ranks second on list with 42.3% of the sample selecting the with proper brand image. This
data suggests that the consumers select the scooter that is comfortable to ride which has
proper brand image. Style also is rated as a factor that influences consumers to select a
particular brand.

Most liked feature about your scooter

120
99
100
80
60 Most liked feature about your
40 30 32 scooter
17
20 9 4
1
0
rt ge p ice ty e yle
m
fo
ilea ci k
-u Pr uali valu St
Co M P Q
sa
le
Re

Figure 6:-Most like feature consumer's scooter

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 The table and figure shows that comfort is the most liked feature of the scooter that
the consumers own. More than 50% of owners selected comfort as the best feature of their
scooter. Style and Pick up of a scooter is the second most and third most liked feature
respectively. Only one female consumer likes the price of her scooter which is of Pleasure.
The table shows that Pleasure is most comfortable scooter and Dio is second on the
list. Consumers likeDio’s comfort, style and pick-up. Dio’s features are significantly more
appealing to its riders in comparison to other scooters.

Analysis of various factors:

Style as a factor:
Style Frequency Percent
Yes 32 16.67
No 160 83.33
Total 192 100.0
Table 3:- Style as a factor

Comfort
Comfort Frequency Percent
Yes 99 51.56
No 93 48.44
Total 192 100.0
Table 4:- Comfort as a factor

Quality
Quality Frequency Percent
Yes 9 4.69
No 183 95.31
Total 192 100.0
Table 5:-Quality as a factor

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 The above table shows the maximum and minimum number of females preferring the
Quality attribute of the scooter. Here we can see that the maximum 4.69% females preferred
the Quality attribute and 95.31% represent the females who do not like the Quality attribute.

Chapter V: Summary, Discussions, and Implications

The research has given us many very significant results. These results are discussed
one at a time and then major results are listed on bullet points.
Age as a factor provided a significant information. From figure-3, the inverse relation
after the age of 26, between ownership of scooter and age could be seen. The count of scooter
owners decreased as their age increased. Although age didn’t have vast impact on brand
selection as Dio is the most preferred scooter across all ages, the figure showed that it did
have an effect on selection of mode of transportation. Hence age can be factor for marketers
to analyze to select their target market.
Table-2 and Figure-5 results shows that Dio is the most preferred scooter. Aviator
owners are the most satisfied owners as they most Aviator owners preferred their own brand
in comparison to other scooter. Similarly Scooty pep+ owners are least satisfied and it is the
least preferred scooter if ratio is taken.Table-3 and Figure-6 provide similar results as Honda
clearly is the market leader as more than half the sample owned and preferred Honda.
Table-4 shows that feature of comfort is the most influencing factor while purchase of
a scooter. Consumers look for comfort and then select according to the brand image. Brand
image is also a very power motivational factor as 42.10% sample selected the brand due to its
brand image. So the scooter companies need to make scooters which provide comfort but also
focus creating a proper brand. Style is another powerful motivational factor as 33.2%
consumers wanted a stylish model.
When asked about their scooters best feature, almost half the sample selected comfort
again signifying the importance of comfort as a feature. The table-5 provides a picture that
Pleasure is the most comfortable scooter but only because Dio has scored points on its other
features such as style and Pick-up. The only real competition that Dio has is from Hero
Honda’s Pleasure.
The correlation analysis between the factors and its ownership presented a significant
result. The correlation analysis shows that there is no significant relationship between

17
consumers’ choice and factors such as mileage, price, pick-up, resale value or brand image.
Comfort as a feature is the only factor that is statistically significant to consumers’ choice of
scooter brand. The correlation matrix of table-9 showed significant relationship between
comfort as a factor and consumers’ choice of scooter.
From the research we can conclude the following:
 The most preferred and prevalent scooter in the market is Dio of Honda.
 The most preferred and prevalent scooter manufacturer is Honda.
 Age has inverse relation with use of scooter.
 Respondents are not influenced by the resale value, pick up, mileage or style.
 The most effective influencing factor is the comfort of using the scooter.
 In all the age group Dio is preferred; the second preferred scooter is pleasure.

Looking at all these results, companies need to develop a scooter model that is very
comfortable. The market plan needs to build a proper brand image and strategy must be to
target students of young age who belong to family with mid-level income group.

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Annex

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***

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