1.

INTRODUCTION
Consumers are very important part of the market and need a close insight into understanding their behavior patterns to be successful. Today Retailers are in a constant effort to differentiate themselves from other retailers. Sales are composed of both planned purchases and unplanned purchases. This assignment is an attempt to find the variables/factors that effects customer buying behavior in FMCG sector considering retail store in Batala (Punjab). Impulsive purchasing, generally defined as a consumers unplanned purchase which is an important part of buyer behavior. Variation in Impulse buying with the differences in sales and promotions, placement of products, window merchandising, etc. on customer impulse buying behavior has been analyzed. It will allow the marketers to develop a proper plan of actions to enhance Impulse buying by understanding the importance of their implication. This can be done in the form of flat screen televisions, in-store promotions, engaging, visual displays or the use of color for customer arousal. i.e. atmospherics Important store-related atmospheric factors for successful retailers include:1) Creating the perfect retail setting for the target customer. 2) Effectively presenting their products for the target customer. This aspect of effective atmospherics is known as visual merchandising how merchandise is visually communicated to the customer by the retailer .Retailers try to create the most attractive and beneficial type of window and in-store displays to attract customers and give information about products through promotional messages.Visual Merchandising is the ability of arrangement. It is the activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in retail outlets. Visual Merchandising includes combining products, environments, and spaces into a motivating and appealing display to promote the sale of a product or service.The management then decides on the store design to imitate the products the store is going to sell and how to create a warm, friendly, and approachable atmosphere for its potential customers. Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating displays, including color, lighting, space, product information, sensory inputs such as smell, touch, and sound as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations. Shopkeepers uses window displays to attract customers to their store. The purposes of this project were to investigate the effectiveness of in-store visual merchandise displays and to better understand the roles of

consumers shopping value on their responses to visual merchandise displays in an in-store retail setting.

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Customer dont go for planned purchases all the time; a significant portion of total sale is composed of FMCG products buying i.e. basically done by impulse buying. This is highly influenced by Visual merchandising. In the absence of such a research the marketers will certainly be at a loss. They will not be able to gain an insight into the relationship of factors of Visual merchandising with Impulse buying thereby obstructing their ability to manipulate these factors to their own advantage which could otherwise lead to increased sale. These factors are: Factor 1:-Advertisement of product in print and visual media, various

promotional activities regard product, Hording and pamphlets of product, Packaging of product which broadly defines about the Emotional appeal of advertisements.
Factor 2: -Includes various schemes like (buy 1 get 1 free), Compatibility of

another product with the product you are buying, Kind of product which you are buying.
Factor 3:-Any event organized by organization, Display of product in store, Your

perception about saving and investment, Traditions and customs, various festival discounts on product, which in totally shows the direct impact product placement in the stores in a retail outlet .
Factor 4:- Includes Price of product, your income status, and Standard of living,

which clearly defines the individual purchasing power.

Factors 5:- Includes.Availability of product, Requirement of product in festival

season which shows that discount offers during festival seasons attract customers for their impulse buying behavior.
Factor 6:- Includes Discount offers regarding product, focusing on effective price

and discount strategies which is in brought by the retail players in order to attract there potential customers.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

My research focuses on analyzing and understanding the impact of Visual Merchandising on Buyer. My study essentially aims at analyzing the effect of visual merchandising on consumer impulsive buying behavior. The study aims at answering the following research objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. To study whether Impulse buying is greater in the case of better visual merchandising To find out is there any difference in sale if there is change in factors of Visual Merchandising, To identify which combinations of the factors, such as better discount and visible shelf-positioning, result in higher sale. Evaluate consumers aesthetic responses (attitudes toward), approach responses and perceived risk to the items displayed. .

2. LITERATUREREVIEW:

Well, in my research work I focused on Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) using the concept of Visual Merchandising. The impulsive buying of the FMCG product is greatly affected by Visual Merchandising.

2.1 FMCG:
As we all know that basement of our market is FMCG products. Now lets study what are FMCG products are? Well, FMCGFast Moving Consumer Goods are products that are sold at relatively low cost and also are sold quickly. Examples of FMCG products are soft drinks, soap, cosmetics, grocery items, toiletries and many more. FMCG products are also known as the CPGConsumer package goods. Variety of consumer goods provided by the FMCG industries turns over large amount of capital or money. Well the competition among FMCG manufactures is increasing day by day. Thus the investors are more interested in FMCG industries and they are investing more and more in these industries, especially in the country like India, New Zealand, UK and many more. India is the fourth largest sector in FMCG industries. They are having total market size of more than US$13.1 billion, and still estimated to more than double by 2012. As well in New Zealand, the FMCG industry accounts for 5% of Gross Domestic Products (GDP), whereas FMCG of UK accounts for 15% of the GDP.FMCG is directly proportional to impulse-buying good. Well, Impulse for purchasing good can be triggered by visually merchandising of product within the shopping area of the sale outlet. According to Becketal (2002), FMCG industry mainly includes those retailers and their suppliers who provide a range of goods sold primarily through supermarkets and hypermarkets. The core of their business is providing essentials such as various fresh and processed foodstuffs, but they also stock a wide selection of other goods as well including health and beauty products, tobacco, alcohol, clothing, some electrical items, baby products and more general household items.

According to Ramanuj Majumdar et al, (2004), Though the absolute profit made on FMCG products is relatively small, they generally sell in large quantities, so the cumulative profit on such products can be substantial .He define fast-moving consumer goods as: products sold for everyday use in large quantities; applied to items such as processed foods, snacks, detergents, toothpaste, and so on. As Cachon et al. (2001), states: Retailers must constantly strive for excellence in operations; extremely narrow profit margins leave little room for waste and inefficiency. Retailers are now among the largest employers in the world referred by Bell et al. (1996). Both in the USA and Europe, consumer characteristics and shopping behavior have changed over the last decades as described by Bell et al. (1996), Keh, Park (1996).Grocery retailers have reacted to these developments by employing technological innovations like visual Ads and promotion, developing new product and service offerings and better techniques of Visual Merchandising. These changes have had implications for their marketing mix, productivity, and the relationship between retailers and manufacturers described by Keh, Park (1996).

2.2 IMPULSIVE BUYING:

Youn & Faber, 2000, p.179 has defined that Impulse buying has been considered a pervasive and distinctive phenomenon in the modern lifestyle and has been receiving increasing attention from consumer researchers and theorists. According to Gutierrez (2004) statement a planned purchase is described as a deliberate, thoughtful search and evaluation that normally results in rational, accurate and better decisions. Hausman, 2000 stated the demonstration that If we focus on the immediate purchase situation, impulsive buying seems to fulfill hedonic motives. Well according to Herabadi, Verplanken, and van Knippenberg (2004) using shopping diaries and in-store interviews, impulsive buyers have quite different shopping experiences than non-impulsive buyers, both at a cognitive and an affective level. At a cognitive level, impulsive buyers were shown to have hedonic rather than utilitarian considerations for their purchases. At an affective level, impulsive buyers shopping experiences appeared to be determined by positive and high-arousal emotions such as excitement and pleasure. In contrast, non-impulsive buyers did not experience many emotions at all, making purchases largely on the basis of utilitarian considerations.

2.2.1 THEORIES OF IMPULSIVE BUYING:

The emotional/impulsive decision making theory and impulsive buying:-

According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) impulsive buying is grounded and theoretically underpinned within the emotional or impulsive decision making view to consumer decision-making. This view postulates that consumers are likely to associate some highly involving feelings or emotions such as joy, love, fear, hope, sexuality, fantasy and even some little magic with certain purchases or possessions. Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007 also said that rather than carefully searching, deliberating and evaluating alternatives before buying, consumers are just as likely to make many of these purchases on impulse, on a whim, because they are emotionally driven. Well, Park et al. (2005) concluded that unless a store has a distinct product offering or pricing strategy, retailers can distinguish their store by building on the relationship between the store's atmosphere and the consumer's emotional state. Even if consumers are in a negative emotional state upon entering a store, they may become emotionally uplifted and spend more than intended. All this implies that impulsive buying may largely be an unconscious buying behavior driven by an affective force beyond the control of the individual.
Self-control concept:-

Baumeister, 2002 stated that the theory of the impulsive buying lies in the self-control concept. Self-control or self-regulation is selfs capacity to alter its own states or responses. Thus, self-control overrides one incipient pattern of response and replaces it with another. These responses may include thoughts (e.g., by suppressing unwanted thoughts or forcing oneself to concentrate), changing emotions (getting into, getting out of, or unnaturally preserving some emotion or mood), regulating impulses (e.g., resisting temptation), and altering performances (e.g., persisting).According to statement of Baumeister (2002) that impulses refer to incipient behavioral responses that normally result from the encounter between a motivation and some activating stimulus, such as when the hungry person sees food and feels an impulse to eat it. Impulsive behavior is understood as behavior that is not regulated and that results from an unplanned, spontaneous impulse. In particular, impulsive purchasing involves getting sudden urge to buy something, without advance intention or plan, and then acting on that impulse without carefully or thoroughly considering whether the purchase is consistent with one's long-range goals, ideals, resolves, and plans.

2.2.2 The Nature of Impulsive Purchase:-

Pure impulse: - Pure impulse is an escape purchase which generally breaks a normal buying pattern. Suggestion Impulse: - Suggestion impulse is that when shopper sees the item for the first time and visualizes a need for it. Reminder impulse: - Reminder impulse is that when a shopper sees an item and is reminded that the stock at home needs replenishing the item. Planned impulsive: - Planned impulse is that when a shopper enters the store with the expectation and intention of making some purchase. The characteristics of the product which influence impulsive purchasing are those which are low in price, small in size and weight, easy to store. And such products are FMCG products. Youn & Faber, 2000, p.179 stated that Impulse buying has been considered a pervasive and distinctive phenomenon in the modern lifestyle and has been receiving increasing attention from consumer researchers and theorists. So in accordance with this statement it is concluded that, this approach generated a theory that ignores the behavioral motivations of impulse buying for a large variety of products and, instead, focuses on a small number of relatively inexpensive products. Anyhow, this type of approach did not provide sufficient explanations. Neither can it properly describe that why so many consumers appear to act on their buying impulse so frequently. Therefore, researchers began to re-focus attention on impulse buying behavior and to investigate the behavioral motivations of impulse buying stated by Hausman et al.2000. Hausman, 2000 also stated that Todays 14research suggests that impulse buying behavior is much more complex than previously conceptualized; that this behavior stems from the desire to satisfy multiple needs that underlie many types of buying behavior.

Recent researches in this area, discusses impulse buying as a trait rather than as a classification of a purchase decision. Well, researchers agree that consumers vary according to their impulsebuying tendency. These researches generally discuss that without having prior information of a new product or intention to purchase a certain item, a consumer is exposed to stimuli, suggesting that a need can be satisfied through the purchase. According to Youn and Faber (2000) statement it identifies several different types of internal states and environmental/sensory stimuli that serve

as cues for triggering impulse buying. Internal cues include respondents positive and negative feeling states. Environmental/sensory cues encompass atmospheric cues in retail settings, marketer-controlled cues, and marketing mix stimuli is also stated by Youn & Faber, 2000. Consumers buy products for a variety of non-economic reasons, such as fun, fantasy, and social or emotional pleasure. According to Hausman, 2000 some consumers even see shopping as retail therapy, as a way of getting over the stresses of a working day or simply a fun day out supporting the hedonic modification for impulse buying. Specific situations and retail settings influence both in-store responses and future store choice decisions because of the changing and adoptive nature of expectations, preferences, and behavior is also dictated by Hausman, 2000.
2.2.3 How impulse buying occurs

Decision making process Kotler et al, 2005 stated that The decision making process explains the consumers behavior concerning a purchase, i.e. the phases surrounding the actual purchase; either it is an impulse or a normal one. There exists a lot of models describing the decision making process but one common model consists of the factors: Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Buying decision Post-purchase behavior First the consumer recognizes a need which is a difference between the consumers desired state and actual state. The knowledge or consciousness about this unbalance can be triggered by internal stimuli, such as hunger and emotions, or external stimuli, such as sense marketing or instore marketing was stated by Kotler et al, 2005. Thereafter, a search for information about the products begins. The information can be gathered from personal- family, friends, commercialadvertising, salespersons, and packages, and public- media or experiential-trying, examining sources which can result in several interesting alternatives that need to be evaluated. The products features are compared against each other and are given different 18attributes to be matched with the consumers own needs and beliefs about future utility and functionality. The consumers attitudes towards risk, both financial and social, will also influence the decision. For

example a more thorough search for data and information will occur with a high-involvement product said by Fill, 2002. Kotler et al, 2005 put forward the statement that after the evaluation of alternatives, the consumer makes the buying decision which is based on not only the consumers assessment but also on others attitudes. If the purchase is realized the consumer will be in a state of postpurchase behavior, either satisfied or unsatisfied depending on whether the product met the consumers expectations or not. Kotler et al, 2005also stated that, in accordance to the learning process, it is important to make the customer feel satisfied since these positive associations to a previous purchase will make the consumer return to the store when a need for a similar product occurs. People learn when they act which will lead to a repeated behavior of reoccurring satisfaction and choice of store and brand. The above-mentioned stages could vary in range depending on the importance of the purchase, price, time, consumers routines and previous knowledge etc. For example, the information search and evaluation of alternatives are timeconsuming and because impulse buying is defined to be sudden and on-the-spot, they have a smaller part in the decision making process behind impulse buying. However, with that said, the stages still have an important part in the buying decision process. Another differentiation in the model above is if the product is new to the consumer. The model will then include the stages awareness and adoption of the product, which is needed to get the consumer to accept the product. In this situation information plays a major part to create knowledge so that the adopting process takes place stated by Kotler et al, 2005 in his study. The consumers response to external stimuli varies from person to person because of their individual perception shaped by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors. That is why it is important to find the general perception in the consumer group on which the company then can focus concluded by Kotler et al; 2005.Presented above the reasons for why an impulse buy occurs has been described. Therefore the following text will focus on how to use this knowledge in real life, with selling techniques.
2.2.4 Impulse Purchases as a general in-store purchasing behavior

Many researchers stated in their study, the conceptual distinction between unplanned and impulse purchases. According to study of Arnold, Price, and Zinkhan2002, p.349,all impulse purchases are unplanned, but not all unplanned purchases are impulsive purchase. Therefore, we

can say that unplanned purchase is considered to be a needed but nonsufficient basis for categorizing a purchase as an impulse purchases. One of the main differences between two are that unplanned purchases include forgotten needs while impulse purchases do not include. There is some evidence that consumer demographics are able to explain whether a purchase is planned or impulsive stated with example in the study of Ramanathan and Williams 2007. Concluded in the study of Stilley et al 2010 that almost all researchers who are interested in studying individual differences in behavior have examined that the impulsivity as a personality variable and found significant relationship between individual impulsiveness. Now lets talk about the statement stated by Hausman 2000 in his statement. He asserted that if the hedonic components are considered, then impulse buying is a valuable pastime which is more than just a means of acquiring goods. Also Inman et al. 2010examined clearly in his study that the product category and customer characteristics that affect consumers likelihood mainly of involving in unplanned purchases using large scale field study. Whether the purchases were planned or unplanned was included in the data. They concluded that the characteristics such as purchase frequency and displays and as well as customer characteristics mainly affect in-store decision making. Now it is noticed that the authors mainly considered in-store stimuli as triggers to unrecognized needs, leading to unplanned purchases, so that shoppers may find their purchases necessary. Most recently, Bell et al. 2010 examined in his study that the off-store factors such as overall trip goals and store shopping objectives as important point for unplanned category purchases by employing Poisson model. He also concluded that out-of-store marketing has no direct effect on unplanned buying.

2.3 VISUAL MERCHANDISING

According to the study of Crosier 2003, POS (point of sale) merchandising is a kind of promotion done via various forms of displays, acting as a reminder to consumer of previously noticed promotional message. The idea is also stated by the American Marketing Association 2007 in its dictionary that Merchandising has two definitions: The First definition stated by American marketing association 2007, emphasizes the promotional activities applied inside stores, like displays for their products. The Second definition stated by American marketing association 2007, one focuses on identifying and choosing correct decisions about products or products portfolio.

According to the web page http://www.monografias.com accessed 20.02.09 some researches verified in their study that the sales process mostly consist of communication visual process, where the vision represents 80% of the human perception, and the hearing is the 10% and the other senses as touch, smell and taste represent the remaining 10% .From the above discussion it clear that the visual effect is crucial to sales, as that customers participation in the buying process. Merchandising includes activities like in sales outlet which aims to change the buying behavior for the benefit of the company. So from the above line we can conclude that merchandising as a concept is composed of the quality, assortment brand and product mix, styling and fashion of products and pricing stated in the study of David J. Newlands & Mark J. Hooper 2009. In a highly competitive market, Retailers need to make different strategies of merchandising. They generally make such strategies to for achieving loyalty of consumers and getting new consumers. One study made by In-Store Media www.in-storemedia.com accessed 19.02.09 about the habits of consumers, indicates that seventy percent of purchasing decisions are made during shopping stated by Diorio, 2007. Hence the sales outlet becomes very important. This is so because it may change the consumers behavior and their habits of purchasing. Different tools are used to lead consumers in their purchasing stated by Finanzas.com 2003 in his study. Every store chooses the most suitable tools to achieve its purpose and these tools can act individual or with each other. Impulse buying has been mostly common in the case of FMCGs .Various studies made regarding this concept, identified that impulse buying as a major segment of consumer buying behavior. Kerfoot et al., 2003, p.143 concluded in his study that visual merchandising is how merchandise is visually communicated to the customer by the retailer. Kerfoot et al., 2003 also stated in his study that the importance of visual merchandising is to make the environment as digestible as possible. To the items displayed, customers mental imagery processing has a positive effect on their approach response. Well it is found that images that create positive emotions will encourage approach responses, which in turn create a strong emotional and sensory experience which will increase ones desire for the product displayed. Fiore et al., 2000, p.29 investigated and stated that a visual merchandise display is the presentation of merchandise in a distinct area that creates a mood within a consumer, with intent to positively affect that consumers approach behavior. Fiore et al., 2000 also stated that a

visual display of merchandise can attract customers attention and can create a desire for the merchandise presented in the display. Whereas Kerfoot et al., 2003 stated that liking a display does not necessarily result in a purchase, but it is four times more likely to increase a customers purchase intention.
2.3.1 Visual Merchandising Techniques

Now lets talk about main Merchandising Techniques which influence consumer buying behavior in FMCG. The techniques are as follows:

Advertisings (displays and posters)

Advertising can be defined as the use of posters and displays inside super and hypermarkets, excluding advertising made outside the store, like advertising on TV, magazines and newspapers. According to investigation of Zorita2008the best method to raise sales in the market is using advertising and promotion tools. He generally talked of the importance of the promotions supported by displays and posters. Displays are mainly defined as features or promotional activities at point of sale. These activities mainly show the product and make aware customers of their existence, such as cards, exhibitions and other instruments to induce the purchase. As in the study of Newlands and Hooper 2009 explained and stated that merchandising display factor tends to focus on in-stores location and the shopping route to positively affect consumers propensity to browse. In addition to the above conclusion they also stated that attitudes towards visual product presentation influence purchasing behaviour in the store. Kerfoot, 2003 explained that a positive attitude leads to more browsing and purchasing, whereas a negative attitude towards the visual product presentation results in an immediate exit from the store. Khakimdjanovaa & Park, 2005 properly explained that effective merchandise displays, guides and coordinates shoppers merchandise selection. Generally point-of-sale displays can be either straight or circular racks, or cut cases which are useful for showing the merchandise properly explained by Newlands & Hooper, 2009 in their study. Posters are kind of paper sheets, sketches or other items which are placed in malls, stores or on the streets regarding to malls, stores or supermarkets posters can have two different functions. These are as follows firstly they can promote the sale of products offered there, for instance sales or discounted products. And secondly they guide customers through the establishment using indicating posters of different

sections, the different zones where the different kinds of products are placed stated by Florencia, 2009.
A. Shelves

Shelves are a kind of strategy that focused on the collocation of products on the shelves i.e. how they are placed by marketers or organized. Shelves of supermarkets have three levels eyes, hands and feet to place the products. Well the first and the most important level is the eyes level, because the consumers are able to see the product clearly. Supermarkets place the most expensive products which usually belong to the most well-known brands using this level. Manuel 2007 had said in his article that the brands often pay supermarket because they want to place their products on this level. The second level or the middle level is hands level. This level is the level which is also easily accessed by the consumer. Here, the products are usually cheaper than on the eyes level, but more expensive than on the feet level. The third and the last level is the feet level. Usually on this level the cheaper products are placed. Access to this level is more difficult than to the other levels. Well we can say that the consumer has to do effort to take the product. Generally private label brands are placed on this level. Now lets see that what are Private label brands? Well these are those brands that are not owned by a manufacturer or producer but by a retailer or supplier who gets its goods made by a contract manufacturer under its own label stated in the webpage www.businessdictionary.com. Now lets speaking about shelves in a horizontal line, the first characteristic is that the most expensive products are placed in the beginning and in the end. In this way consumers who want to buy inexpensive products have to walk two times in front of the expensive ones being tempted to buy them. The second characteristic feature of shelves is their beginning, also called gondola. Gondolas are parts of shelves situated in their endings and placed next to main corridors. In gondolas only those products are placed that marketing managers want to sell easily. Products placed on gondolas are necessarily not belong to the same family of products placed on their respective shelves, for example, if products of the shelf are snacks, on gondolas can be placed drinks.

B. Product placement

Product placement is that strategy consists of organization of products using cold-zones and hot-zones. Now lets talk about them one by one. Well Hot-zones are those places where the flow of consumers is heavier; for example, a cross between two hallways or near the entrance stated by Finanzas.com 2003 in his study. In these zones, products are easily sold because they are more visible to customers. Whereas in cold-zones sales are lower. These are generally transitional spaces said by Finanzas.com 2003 in his study. In such areas we generally place essential products as sugar or salt. These products are placed at this place because customers will buy them anyway.
C. Using music, lighting and visual effects

Using music, lighting and visual effects tools are always related and used with other tools. Morin 2007 concluded in his investigation that music has been shown to affect consumers responses to retail environments, i.e. particularly in a positive manner. According to Fulberg 2003 in his study, music directly communicates to peoples heart and mind and it generally act as a powerful influence on emotions. In others words, music helps marketers making customers feel more comfortable and pleasant while visiting to store. Sometimes we can say that music is imperceptible for consumers. In other words customers are not aware of its presence while they are shopping. In such case music is working on subconscious level. Well according to Finanzas.com 2003, main aim of this strategy is to control human flow, through different kinds of music. The most important fact is that depending on the kind of music, flow can become slower or faster. One main suggestion is that when the store is overcrowded the ideal is to use fast-paced music which compels consumers to make purchases quickly and rashly. On the other hand when the establishment is less crowded the best option is slow music, encouraging customer to spend more time inside the store which raises the impulse buying. Now lets talk about the lighting, Quintana 2003investigated and stated in his study that it is a very important factor. Generally it is used in the section where perishable food is placed to enhance the feeling of freshness. Supermarkets use the lighting to improve the presentation of the products and to enhance shopping. Now lets see what Newland and Hopper (2009) stated in his study, using suitable lighting to merchandise increases visibility and can make stores seem more inviting. The use of fluorescent can improve sales of a specific zone. For example using fluorescent in the vegetables zone makes vegetables seem more fresh.

Markets use other most important tool i.e. visual effects to attract attention of consumers to specific products. Colour is one of the most important and useful visual effects. The colours have a significant influence on the buying habits. As stated by Newland and Hopper 2009, the colour affects moods and also tends to manifest itself in the choices made. Generally For each person, each colour means or represents something. But there are some colours that have a similar meaning for everyone. White is known as neutral colour, whereas red and orange encourage to eat, and are being mostly used in the meat section, on the other hand blue suggests freshness and coldness and thus it is used in the seafood zone, and also how can we forget the green which reminds about nature and it is generally used in the section of vegetable and fruits.
D. Packaging:

Packaging is very significant point. Packaging makes the process complete because the buyer basically appeal in expectations that product will be precisely what is mentioned in the illustration. According to study of Alice Louw2006, mainly right packaging can help a brand carve a unique position in the marketplace and in the minds on consumers. Well according to the descriptive research of Rita Kuvykaite2009, package attracts consumers attention to particular brand, enhances its image, and influences consumers perceptions about product. The main thing about the package is that imparts unique value to products. According to the study of Underwood, Klein & Burke, 2001; Silayoi & Speece, 2004, tool for differentiation, i.e. helps consumers to choose the product from wide range of similar products, stimulates customers buying behavior. This is also stated by Wells, Farley & Armstrong, 2007. Thus we can say and conclude that package performs an important role in marketing communications. However it could be treated as one of the most important factors influencing consumers purchase of package. Thus its elements and their impact on consumers buying behavior became a relevant issue. According to the statement of Underwood et al., 2001; Garber et al., 2000 that several studies have investigated issues such as packages as a means of attracting the attention of consumers. Underwood & Klein, 2002; Garber et al., 2000 also stated that other studies researched that packages as a means of communication as well as a means of communicating brand and product meaning. Packages are found to attract attention also conclude by Underwood et al., 2001; Garber et al., 2000. In fact, the study of Goldberg et al. 1999 that by dismissing such non-verbal signs as colors, the attention to verbal signs can be increased. Underwood et al., 2001 stated that

pictures on packages are emphasized to attract attention of the consumers, particularly when they are not very familiar with the brands. Furthermore, it has been pointed by Garber et al., 2000 that packages are claimed to attract attention when their appearances are not typical within a product class. In other words, we can say that the past research has discovered that deviating packages attract attention. Other studies done by Garber et al, 2000 stated that deviating package colors and shapes attract attention. On the other hand, Underwood et al. 2001 stated that pictures on packages attract attention particularly in cases when consumers are less familiar with a brand. Studies that have focused on other single signs than pictures on packages had clearly found that such single package signs as colors, brand names, and materials convey brand meaning. Well Liang Lu 2008 worked on a paper: Packaging as a strategic tool University of Halmstad school of Business and Engineering. He concluded that Packaging is an important part of the product that not only serves a functional purpose, but also acts as a mean of communicative information of the products and brand character. The most important thing should be that Packaging must be functional, which actually means that it must protect the products in good storage, in shipment and often in use. Besides of all the study made above, it has also an important function that can give customers the ease of access and it is also use on the purpose of convenience.

2.4 PROPOSED MODEL

Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM Model):

The diagram below is showing the conceptual model of the perceived quality of product.

Level of Advertising

Brand Name Word Of Mouth

Past Experience

Reputation

Intrinsic Attribute

Objective Price

Perception of Price

Perceived Quality

According to the ELM stated by Petty & Cacioppo, 1996, there are two main routes to persuasion or attitude change i.e. central Peripheral route. CENTRAL ROUTE PERIPHERAL ROUTE In central route peoples attitude In peripheral route peoples attitude change will depend on cognitive processing.
In central route processing tends to

change will depend on minimal cognitive processing.

In

peripheral route is not very

create change

more than

permanent peripheral

attitude route

permanent nor very successful for changing attitudes especially under high involvement conditions Under the high involvement

processing. Under the high involvement condition central cues such as the number of issue relevant arguments in the message influences attitude change

condition source credibility as a peripheral cue has no significant effect.

 Under the low involvement condition attitude change is not determined by the number of issue-relevant arguments in the message. Persuasion arises from careful

Under the low involvement condition attitude change is determined basically by peripheral cues such as attractiveness of the source. Persuasion results from non-issuerelevant cues such as source attractiveness via the peripheral route Stated by :- Petty & Cacioppo, 1996

thinking about the issue or message via the central route

If we consider the study of Zaichkowsky, 1986, it says that the effects of different types of involvement on persuasion have also been studied in the consumer behavior context. Zaichkowsky (1986) has categorized the antecedents of involvement into three factors: Person factors, Stimulus factors, Situation factors. PERSONAL FACTOR Personal needs, interest, object. people inherently factors importance, and values Different may have different STIMULUS FACTOR Stimulus factors are related physical characteristics differentiation of of the stimulus such as alternatives, source of communication, and content of communication. to the SITUATION FACTOR Situational also factors the

include ones inherent

influence

levels of involvement. Different factors purchasing purchasing situational such as a No vs.

related to a particular

situation

may have an impact on consumers level of involvement to a product. related particular

levels of involvement for a particular product i.e., involvement Stated by:Zaichkowsky,1986 product

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Layers of Research Process
The researcher has expressed on what the topic needs to be researched upon. Having done that, the researcher plunges furthers into the research process. Saunders et al (2009) states it is very vital to peel the layers of the research onion to formulate the research process. The research Onion is used as a framework for explaining the research methodology.

Source: Saunders, M.; Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students.

a survey strategy should give more control over the research process, when sampling is used; it is possible to generate findings that are representative of the whole population at a lower cost than collecting the data for whole population. There is a focus to derive quantitative as well as qualitative data. This can be done by taking the quantitative data and converting it into descriptive one and hence it can be viewed as qualitative. Hence using survey strategy for the research is valid. UsingSaunders et al. (2009) says that survey strategy is usually associated with the deductive approach. This statement support researchers decision to choose survey strategy as the research approach of this dissertation is deductive.As Saunders et al (2009) states that a survey strategy requires large collection of data and uses interviews and questionnaires for data collection. He adds further that the data collected using survey strategy can be used to suggest possible reasons for particular relationships between variables and to produce models of these relationships. Survey method is adopted for this research as this method is best suited to carry out this research for successful completion. To answer question posed and to fulfill objectives, the research requires collection of large amount of reliable data from the customers and marketers of FMCG products. makes used of administrative records and documents (reflected day to day activity). Archival researchis used to gather empirical data on human societies and cultures. Ethnographyis used before choosing theoretical framework in order to develop theory from data collection. Grounded theoryis a research process of progressive problem solving, led by individuals working with others in teams, to improve the way they address issues and solve problems. Action researchis a research method which involves an empirical inquiry that investigates a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context. Case studyinvolves the use of questionnaires to gather data about people and their thoughts, behaviors and opinions.

Survey researchis research methods were the goal is to verify, falsify, or establish the accuracy of hypothesis in order to study causal links. ExperimentIt consist seven different research strategies to conduct a research project Saunders et al. (2009). These are:Saunders et al (2009) state that research strategy decision should be taken based on research question and objectives. According to Yin (2003), mentioned in Saunders et al. (2007, p135), each strategy can be used for exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research.3.4Research Strategy The aim of the researcher is to prove a hypothesis deduced from the secondary research undertaken. Then the research objectives are driving from the research. Later on quantitative data would collect using a survey in order to answer the objectives framed and then examined and analyses to test the hypotheses. This clearly leads to the conclusion that a deductive approach will be undertaken to undergo the research.

. Modification of the theory in light of the results obtained, if necessaryExamining the outcome of the enquiry and Testing the hypothesis Expressing the hypothesis in operational terms, Deducting a hypothesis about the relationship between two or more events,
The deductive approach as the development of a conceptual and theoretical structure prior to its testing through empirical observation Gill and Johnson et al, (2002) .This approach was employed because the research project requires collection of qualitative data, necessary to select samples of ample size in order to generalize conclusions, the need to explain causal relationships between variables and other significant factors which the deductive approach emphasizes. Robson, (2002) listed out five sequential stages through which a research using the deductive approach would advance. They are: : -Lancaster et al. (2005) said that deductive approach develops theories or hypotheses and then tests these theories and hypotheses through empirical observation. It works from more general to more specific. In Deductive research theory comes first and then research.

Deductive Approach: - It moves from specific observation to broader generalization and theory. In inductive method first comes research and then theory. Inductive ApproachInductive Approach Deductive Approach Confirmation Confirmation Observation Observation Confirmation 11620501968500 Observation Observation Pattern Pattern Observation 384810013970000 116268524638000 Hypothesis Hypothesis Tentative Hypothesis Tentative Hypothesis Hypothesis 116205015303500 Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory

There are two approaches which can be adopted for the research is either inductive research or deductive research (Saunders et al, 2009). 3.3Research Approach

In the view of a realist there are social processes and forces beyond human control that affect our beliefs and behavior. The theory in short Saunders et al (2009) say is that there is a reality quite independent of the mind. The following study requires analyzing and understanding the impact of Visual Merchandising on Buyer and their Inductive Nature. Survey approach is the method opted for data collection and hence realism is undertaken for this research.

Realism is an approach that retains many of the ambitions of the positivism but recognizes, and comes to term with the subjective nature of research and the inevitable role of values in itBryman and Bell et al. (2007). The essence of realism is that what the senses show us as reality is the truth, that objects have an existence independent of the mind. Saunders et al., (2009) defined realism as an epistemological position which relate to scientific enquiry. It is similar to positivism; it assumes a scientific approach to the development of knowledge. It reflects that reality is the truth: that objects are extremely independent of the human mind (Saunders et al., 2009). Realism can be divided in two further philosophies: direct and critical realism. Saunders et al., (2009) described direct realism as primarily, the philosophy about what we experience through our senses, and it portrays the world accurately while critical realism makes allowance for perceptual errors in stimulus and argues that what we experience are sensations but not necessarily an accurate interpretation of our world.
3.2.3 Realism

According to Bryman and Bell et al. ( 2007) , a strategy is required that respects the differences between people and then objects of the natural sciences and therefore requires the social scientist to take hold of the subjective meaning of social action. Interpretivism or Phenomenology is a term given to a contrasting epistemology. They share a view that the study of the social world requires a different logic of research procedure, one that reflects the distinctiveness of humans as against the natural order. Saunders et al., (2007) emphasized that the complex and unique nature of business situations and a need to know that business situations are functions and a need to know that business situations are functions of a particular set of circumstances and individuals.
3.2.2 Interpretivism The important element of the positivist approach is that the research is undertaken and the researcher is independent and the research is conducted in a value-free way (Saunders et al., 2009).

If research is taken objectively, then the gradual accumulation of knowledge should enable accurate description of the nature and behavior of such phenomena, including the interrelationships between phenomena in terms of cause and effect, dependency and interdependency and so on. The methods employed in such research are objective and impartial as well as immune from influence of human values and believes; and This world can be analyses in an objective fashion in order to increase understanding of the phenomena of which it is comprised; This real world is objective and tangible; There exists a real world of social and physical phenomena Positivism generally seeks to test theory, in an attempt to increase the predictive understanding of phenomena (Burke, 2007). Positivism is an epistemological position that advocates the application of the methods of the natural sciences to the study of social reality and beyond (Bryman and Bell et al, 2003).According to Riley et al., (2006), positivism embraces a number of assumptions which are as follows3.2.1 Positivism The role of research philosophy in the research relates to the development of knowledge and the nature of that knowledge. Each philosophy contains important differences which will influence the way in which you think about the research process. The research philosophy a researcher adopts contains important assumptions about the way in which you view the world (Saunders et al, 2009). These assumptions will underpin the research strategy and the methods one chooses as a part of that strategy. Saunders et al. (2009) proposed three research philosophy methods: Positivism, Interpretivism and Realism.

3.2 Research Philosophy 3.5 Time Horizon

According to Saunders et al. (2009), a Cross-sectional research is the study of a particular phenomenon at a particular time. When a survey is given at one point in time and only once to a particular sample of respondents, it is referred to as crosssectional study (Nardi, 2006).An important question to be asked in planning the research is that, Do the research want to be a snapshot taken at a particular time

or do the research want to be similar to a dairy and be a representation of events over a given period? Saunders et al. 2007. The snapshot time horizon approach refers to Cross-sectional research while the diary time horizon approach refers to longitudinal.The researcher uses a self-administered questionnaire which will be given to

customers at a particular time period. . This dissertation is done for academic purpose and the research carried out is cross-sectional in approach. a Cross-sectional research is the study of a particular phenomenon at a particular time.

3.6 Defining the Population

Population

On the other hand Cooper and Schindler, (2001) states that population is the total collection of elements about which we wish to some certain inferences. Bryman and Bell, (2003), population basically refers to the universe of units from which the sample is to be selected.According toThe target population is defined in terms of element, unit, extent and time.

Element: A population element is the subject on which the measurement is being taken. In this scenario, the element is the customers of FMCG products in Centra Branch batalaSeabury. Sampling Unit: is the total collection of elements about which we need to make inferences. A total number of 85 customers and 1 manager compose the population interest. Extent: Centra branch Seabury Time: December 2011 Based on these points, the researcher employed a sample to obtain information about population. A sample survey is a survey which covers the only part of a population and the term sample usually refers to that part of a population studied for some research project. A sample is employed for a large population.

3.7 Determination of Sampling Frame, Sampling technique and Sample Size

Whatever is the research question and objectives, the researcher needs to consider whether sampling or census should be used. Both methods offer facilitation of data collection. It may be possible to collect and analyse data from every possible case or group member; this is termed as Census Saunders et al (2009). Due to restrictions of time, money and other access, it will not be

possible to collect and analyse the data available that for many research questions and objectives. According to cooper and Schindler, (2001) the basic idea for sampling is that by selecting some of the elements in a population, one may be able to generalise about the entire population. Saunders et al., (2003) stated that sampling provide a range of methods that enables a researcher reduce the amount of data he needs to collect by considering from a sub-group rather than all possible cases or elements. Cooper and Schindler, (2001) highlighted that certain reasons compel a researcher to sampling they are: Lower cost Greater accuracy of results Greater speed of data collection Availability of population elements The impossibility of a census

For the purpose of the research, it was not possible for the researcher to have surveyed all the branches of Centra given the deadline and cost associated with it; as a result, this prompted the need for sampling. According to Bryman and Bell, (2007) sampling frame is listing of all units in the population from which the sample is selected. As the population is broken down between buyers and retailers. The researcher will obtain the data from population size of 86. The sampling frame for this study is consumers of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and Store Manager because of direct access.
Sampling Technique

There are two main types of sampling design: Probability and Non-probability sampling methods. Check that the sample is representative of the population. Select the most appropriate sampling technique and select the sample. Decide on a suitable sample size. Identify a suitable sampling frame based on your research question(s) or objective(s). 2009), it is most commonly associated with survey-based strategies where you need to make inferences from your sample about a population to answer your research question or to meet your objectives. The process of probability sampling can be divided into four stages:-

 et al., (: - According to Saunders Probability samplingNon-probability sampling: -In nonprobability sampling, we have greater chance of selecting some units to study than other units. :-A quota sample can provide a good approximation to a probability sample Harvey Maylor and Kate Blackmon et al, (2005). Quota sampling is often used to make sure that you have equal representation of male and female respondents or respondents by age. Quota sampling . populations to such gain access that can be used to non-probability based sampling technique because they exhibit some kind of social stigma, illicit or illegal behaviours, or other traits that makes them atypical and/or socially marginalised. Snowball sampling is a hidden and/or hard-to reach can be populations such as drug addicts, homeless people, and individuals with AIDS/HIV, prostitutes, and so forth. Such populations. These include hidden and/or hard-to-reach that we are interested in studying can be populations: - According to Harvey Maylor and Kate Blackmon et al, (2005), Snowball sample is often an effective way to study a social network or otherwise invisibility connected group. Some Snowball sampling : - It is a form of case selection which is purposive rather than based on the principles of random or probability sampling. It usually involves individuals who agree to participate in research, sometimes for payment. Volunteer sampling

. According to Harvey Maylor and Kate Blackmon et al, (2005) four technique that you can use for nonprobability sampling are:-

Considering the research objectives, research questions, sampling frame and time Constraint, researcher has decided to choose the non-probability sampling for this study. A non-probability sampling provides arrange of alternative techniques.
to select samples based on your subjective judgement Saunders et al (2009).In the exploratory stage of some research projects, such as a pilot survey, a non-probability sample may be the most practical, although it will not allow the extent of the problem to be determined Saunders et al (2009).The sampling method adopted for the study is Convenience Sampling. It

attempts to obtain a sample of convenient elements. The selection of sampling units is

left primarily to the interviewer. According to Saunders et al (2009), Often respondents are selected because they happen to be in the right place at the right time.the convenience sampling technique is based on the need to obtain a sample as quickly as possible where you have little control over the contents and there is no attempt to obtain a representative sample which will allow you to generalise in a statistical sense to a population. Convenience sampling involves selecting haphazardly those cases that are easier to obtain for your sample.
Saunders et al (2009) explains that although this technique of sampling is widely used, it is prone to bias and influences that are beyond your control, as the case appear in the sample only because the ease of obtaining them. But the further adds that these problems are less important where there is little variation in the population. The later statement that compensates the bias in samples is perfect for the present study. In this study, the targeted store is

operating in Seabury and their maximum number of customers is regular because in this area there is no other store nearby. So it is obvious that there is no or little variation in the population. This situation is perfect for using a non-probability sampling as there are very low chances of sample bias and easy to collect data.The researcher has decided to select 86 customers from this store. So the sample size is made up of 86 people out of whom one is Store manager i.e. 85customer and one Store manager. Researcher has used two types of data collecting technique, one is questionnaire: Questionnaire for customers and second is direct interview with manager. So 85 customers will respond to customers questionnaire. The researcher believes that this sample is representative and it is possible to study within a limited timeframe. Convenience sampling is the best method for this study; it is least expensive and least time-consuming of all sampling techniques. As researcher working in centre so that this technique is valid. 3.8 Data Collection Method
According to Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005), data is the raw material of problem solving and decision making. Graziano and Rawlin (2004) highlight the importance of data in research methods suggesting that effective data collection pivotal in the research process .Data collection must be well planned and managed if the

researcher is not to become hopelessly overwhelmed and the data barrier rather than an aid to the research project Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005). 3.8.1 Overview 3.8.2 Primary versus and Secondary data

Saunders et al. (2003) suggest that one of the most fundamental distinctions between types or categories of data is that of primary versus Secondary data.
Secondary data is information which already exists in some form or other but which was

not primarily collected, at least initially, for the purpose of the consultancy exercise at hand. by Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005). It consists both internal and external data sources. According to Lancaster et al, (2005), secondary data is often the start point of data collection in as much as it is the first type of data to be collected.Secondary data came from the various sources available to the researcher such as books, journals and industry reports etc. A description of each source is presented below.
Books-It provides researchers a background to the concept that the researcher undertook

to study. Here they have helped to understand the concept of Visual Merchandising, FMCG, Impulsive buying, Consumer buying behaviour, impact of Visual Merchandising, competitive advantage, and various aspects of Visual Merchandising and its relation to competitive advantage in retail sector.
Journals- Journals frequently updated and therefore provide insight into the thought

behind the concept of Visual Merchandising, Consumer buying behaviour in current period of time, advantages and problem of Visual Merchandising in these days, different strategies to manage it. Since journals bring together views of a lot many writers in a concise way and revolve around a specific topic alone, they provided insight to their search in question because they were approached in balanced way.
Websites-Websites play a major role in secondary data. In this research, only academic

websites have been used for secondary data with proper Harvard style referencing. Websites are very important to collect secondary data especially when a data is required on specific topic or concept. A proper list of references of all these sources has been provided at the end of the report. All the references are according to the Harvard referencing style.

3.8.3Primary Data Collection Method

Primary Data does not actually exist until and unless it generated through the research process as part of the consultancy or dissertation or Project. , Saunders et al. (2009). Primary data is closely related to, and his implication for, the methods and technique of data collection Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005).Primary data will often be collected through following techniques:According to Saunders et al (2007), quantitative is predominantly used as a synonym for any data collection technique or data analysis procedure that generates or uses numerical data. There is inevitably relationship between the data collection technique you choose and the results you obtain by Saunders et al (2007). In short, your results will be affected by the techniques and procedures used. So selection of suitable and effective data collection method is vital to the success of dissertation. scientific .Quantitative data is in the form of number s, it can often be analyzed using standard statistical technique to. Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005), states that, Quantitative data is often thought of as being more objective and - Quantitative data is data which can be expressed numerically or classified by some numerical value by Ghosh and Chopra (2003). Quantitative data: Qualitative is used predominantly as a synonym for any data collection techniques that generates or uses non-numerical data by Saunders et al (2007). Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005). It is therefore only applicable to phenomena that can be quantified and measured.Ghosh and Chopra (2003) define that it is the data in the form of descriptive account of observations or data which are classified by type. It relates to data that cannot be subjected to quantitative or numerical analysis - Qualitative data:3.8.4 Qualitative versus Quantitative data The researcher will keep in mind all the following areas and design the questionnaire. But there are disadvantages too, Questionnaires are proved to be inefficient if the questions asked are very complex in nature (Saps ford, 2007), and can be turn out to be a hurdle in terms of the nature of respondents (Nardi, 2006). Studying behaviors that may be more stigmatizing or difficult for people to tell someone else face to face. Describing characteristics of a large population, and

Investigating attitudes and opinions that are not usually observable. Measuring variables with numerous values or response categories that are too much to read to respondents in an interview or on the telephone. Nardi (2006) observes that self-administered questionnaires are best designed for: The biggest advantages of self-administered questionnaire over any other methods are their cheapness and the saving of the researchers time, allowing much larger samples (Saps ford, 2007). A survey method makes greatest use of questionnaires (Saunders et al 2007).The type of questionnaires the research would use are self- administered questionnaires. Self-Administered Questionnaires collection mechanism in which the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest. Saunders et al (2007) acclaim that in administering questionnaire each respondent is asked to respond to the same set of questions, helping efficiently for collecting responses from a large sample prior to quantitative analysis. A questionnaire is a series of questions designed to provide accurate information from every member of the sample by Richard Charles worth and Peter Morley (2000).To achieve this, a questionnaire should be clear, easy to understand, unbiased and should maintain the respondents interest, and motivations. Questionnaires are efficient data Questionnaires .3 Nick Lee et al. (2008), states that, a focus group is focused on a particular topic , and should be used because the researchers wishes to explore the way that topic is discussed or constructed by the group, not a set of individuals. As a result, group dynamics and processes are of key importance to researchers who wishes to use focus group. The term focused group has superseded the old term used to describe this kind of research which was group discussion by Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005). It consists topics which are of common public concern like advertising, consumption, politics or health. :-2. Focus Group -Sometime the researcher may wish to interview several informants together. According to Geoff Lancaster et al, (2005), Group interview are used where the interaction between the members of the group, that is, the group dynamics, leads to data which otherwise might not be made available.

:Group InterviewsSaunders et al (2009) acclaims that in-depth interview are used to help identify and design the questions that should asked in the questionnaire. Therefore, using in-depth interview is reasonable. -In depth interviews the respondent is interviewed in some detail and often for a protracted period in order for the researcher to explore topics, issues and responses in some depth. Depth interviews are of course widely used in psychological research and examination.:Depth Interviews: -In this, the questioning centers around the researcher taking a respondent through predetermined issue and topics, but not in a rigid manner or necessarily in a rigid order. According to Nick Lee et al. (2008), the semi-structured interview is guided by a more detailed topic guide which will contain some fairly specify question to ask, and likely ways of probing. Individual semi Structured interviewsAccording to, Easter by-Smith et al. (2002), Interviews are a major category of techniques for collecting data through questioning and are acknowledged as being some of the most effective ways of collecting data in social sciences. -Interviews:.1 In this dissertation, data collection methods to be used are quantitative and qualitative; questionnaires are used as a data collection tool from customers and interview is used as a data collection tool from manager. Wisker (2001), states that Easterby-Smith et al. (2002).Interviews are a major category of techniques for collecting data through questioning and are acknowledged as being some of the most effective ways of collecting data in social sciences byQuestionnaires, as defined by Hair et al (2003), are predetermined set of questions designed to capture data from respondents while Questionnaires are used to gather information directly from people by asking them questions and then using their responses as data for analysis. She also mentions that they are used as a method of gathering large number of responses, although in some cases the response rates are often quite low. There are number of different reasons for this, such as the fact that some respondents may dislike completing questionnaires, they may lack the necessary time to do so and so on. In the initial stage, the questionnaires were distributed among the customer of selected retail store and an appointment was fixed with store manager for an interview. The researcher has created questionnaire with different questions for customers. In order to promote a less influenced response and to maintain respondent confidentiality, the researcher has decided to leave the questionnaires anonymous. These questionnaires will be self-administered, with both open and close questions. Hard copy questionnaires was distributed and collected by the researcher. cannot ask for help if they need it, the interviewer does not have the chance to ask for

clarifications in the case of open questions, it is difficult to ask a lot of questions, and the interviewer does not know who actually completes the questionnaires. With regards to the edition and collection, the researcher will follow Cooper and Schindlers (1998) recommendation on editing. They explain that editing detects errors and omissions and corrects them where it is possible, in order to achieve an acceptable level of data quality. They add that the editing helps the researcher to guarantee that the data is accurate, consistent with other information and uniformly entered to simplify coding and tabulation. disadvantages, on the other hand, are that respondentsBryman (2001) explains that self-administered questionnaires are those in which respondents answer by completing the questionnaire themselves. He also mentions some of the advantages of this type of questionnaires. For example, they are cheaper and quicker to administer, the responses are not influenced by the interviewer, and they are more convenient for the respondent in that they can complete the questionnaire in the given time. The To analyse the quantitative data, the researcher will use Excel Spread sheets to create tables and diagrams which will show the frequency of occurrence through establishing statistical relationships between the variables. All the quantifiable, categorical and missing data will be coded. The researcher will use a combination of both computerised and manual approaches to undertake such analysis.categorisation of data, the allocation of the relevant parts of data to the different categories that have generated the recognition of the relationships and the development of hypothesis and conclusions. The researcher will use a combination of both computerised and manual approaches to undertake such analysis.In addition, Cooper and Schindler (1998) explain that coding involves assigning numbers or other symbols to answers so that responses can be grouped into a limited number of classes and categories. They add that coding helps the researcher to reduce several thousand replies to a few categories containing the critical information needed for the analysis. Most of the coding has been included in the questionnaire, where the researcher has worked with both quantitative and qualitative variables. Riley et al (2000) define a quantitative variable as an item of information that a researcher is interested in evaluating or monitoring, which can be described in one of few words, and which assumes different numerical values. They add that quantitative variables are situations where the information related to a particular characteristics or phenomenon naturally assumes a nonnumerical value. The researcher will follow Saunders et al. (2003) analytical process, which includes the

3.9 Ethical Issues in Data Collection

The security and confidentiality of the customers and the data provided by them. The researcher in order to tackle that aims at not making the personal details on the questionnaire form mandatory for them to fill but rather leave it optional. However when questionnaire is handed out will make a verbal guarantee that the personal details of the customers will remain confidential. Also the accuracy of the data given by the customers cant be taken for granted as they may fill the questionnaire for the sake of filling it up.

3.10 Data Analysis and Data Coding

Analysis Techniques: For the purpose of analysis of the data collected from surveys we will analyze it through SPSS software. In the first step we will focus on effect of packaging on impulse buying. The second step would take in to account the effects of positioning of FMGC on shelves on impulse buying. The third step would collectively define the overall impact of packaging and positioning of FMCG on impulse buying. Analytical data will be represented in graphs and tables.
Assumptions: This study will be concerned with FMCG products available in

supermarkets. The rationale for selecting FMCG products like tooth pastes, shampoos, detergents etc. is that they are more prominently paced in all of the stores, which will give us the same criteria for the analysis of all of super stores in Dublin and Seabury. Secondly these consumer products are used by all of the consumers in Ireland. We would also assume that we will be strictly examining the impact of packaging and shelf positioning on impulse buying while keeping all other factors constant.

Limitations: The sample selected will be the customers visiting these superstores and sometimes their biased views, brand loyalty, personal preferences and socially acceptable answers in survey can be regarded as limitations. Another limitation is the differences in the

buying patterns of people because of large income differences. But through selecting a large sample size we hope to ignore these limitations.

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

questionnaires.

position on a numerical scale. All these types of quantitative data are a part of thedata value aquantifiable data are more accurate than categorical as you can assign each The data whose values are measured numerically as quantities. This means thatdata: -Quantifiablebe further subdivided into descriptive and ranked. characteristics that identify or describe the variable or placed in rank order. They can data whose values numerically but can be either be measuredCategorical classified into sets (categories) according to the:- it refer to cannot dataquantifiable. graphs, charts and statistics allow us to do this; helping us to explore, present, describe and examine relationships and trends within our data. Saunders et al (2007) explain, regarding the different categories of quantitative data that quantitative data can be divided into two distinct groups: categorical andthem into information. By using various analysis techniques of Quantitative data likeby Saunders et al (2007). The data therefore need to be processed to make them useful, that is, to turnpeopleQuantitative data in a raw form, that is, before these data have been processed and analysed, convey very little meaning to most4.1Introduction:
The aim of this chapter is to present the findings from the primary research that was planned: firstly to analyse the importance of the Visual Merchandising for the retailers and managers; secondly the Impact of Visual Merchandising on consumer buying behaviour; and finally future improvements in Visual Merchandising, so as toget competitive advantage. The researcher will follow Saunders et al. (2003). Analytical Process, which includes the categorisation of data, allocation of the relevant, parts of data to the different categories that have been generated, recognition of the

relationships and the development of hypothesis and conclusions. There searcher will use a combination of both computerised and manual approaches to undertake such analysis. Most of the coding has been includes in the questionnaire, where the researcher has worked with both quantitative and qualitative variables. The researcher used the questionnaires and an interview with store manager as data collection method for primary research, as mentioned earlier in the data collection subchapter. During the first stage of data collection, a questionnaire was distributed among 86participants: consisting of 85customers and an interview was conducted with store manager on 05 January 2012. Questionnaires were distributed in hard copies among customers visiting at selected store. The respondents were complete the questionnaires at the same moment. In order to maintain confidentiality, completed questionnaires were left in a box at the different reception desks and later collected by the researcher. On the closing time for the submission of questionnaires, the researcher obtained 77 completed questionnaires from customers, which represent a response rate of 81% respectively. Although the researcher had explained the purpose of the research and had assured confidentiality in the covering letter, the response rate was initially slow. This rate is considered excellent by the researcher, considering the holiday season and short timeframe for the distribution and collection of the questionnaires. The data collected from the respondents are shown below:-

4.2QUESTIONNAIRE for taking the customers perspective

1. Does the shop environment matter to you?

In the above question researcher tried to find out the impact of shop environment on customer, he gathered the data which is stating that, for the majority of the people shop environment really matters while out of 77 responses 22 has neutrally affected by the shop environment. 5 were strongly disagreeing and 8 were disagreeing with this statement. 28 people were agreeing and 14 were strongly agreed with statement which shows that the shop environment really matters for customers.

2. Has shop Visual Merchandising ever affected your buying behavior in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)?

This graph shows the responses from customers regarding their buying behavior ever affected by shop Visual Merchandising in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). 30 respondents were agree, 12 were strongly agree and 18 were unbiased for this statement while on other hand 10 were disagree and 7 were strongly disagreed with this statement.So its a clear verdict that Visual Merchandising affects consumer buying behaviour in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). 3. Does the better shelving of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)affect your buying behavior?

Shelving is one of the important factors of Visual Merchandising, in this question researcher tried to find out the effect on consumer buying behavior, if one of its factor shelving is change in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). More than half of respondents were supported this statement i.e. 30 agreed and 18 strongly agreed. However 13 of respondents were neutral, 11 were disagreed and 5 were strongly disagreed. Only small number of people was not affected by better shelving. It shows that better shelving increase the sale. 4. After buying aFast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)product, have you ever felt that this product is not that good as it was appearing in the shop?

In response to above statement researcher came to know that 21 respondents have average experience, 19 people were not agree with this statement and 17 were strongly disagreed with the above statement. 11 respondents felt this statement is true in their case and they marked as Agree, while 9 people marked as Strongly Agree. By seeing this responses researcher conclude that, people have mix type of feeling about the product buying influenced by Visual Merchandising 5. Do you change the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) product, you purchase as the packaging changes?

Packaging is one of the important factors of Visual Merchandising especially if it concern with Fast Moving consumer, we had a great example of change packaging and its impact, last year during Christmas time 2011, the soft drink giant Coco Cola changed their cans from red to white but only after the one month they withdraw this change and again came to its original packing red, because of consumer bad responses. Researcher found the similar kind of reactions for the above question in his research as he received 20 were agreed , 17 were strongly agreed and 20 were unbiased but 12 were disagreed and 10 were strongly disagreed with statement as well. It shows that , the change in packaging can affect the sale of product at some extant. 6. Does packaging of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) influence you to buy a particular product?

As we sheen above that change in packaging of Fast Moving Consumer Goods( FMCG) affect the sale but in this question research tried to found out whether packaging influence the sale of FMCG product or not? Like now days people go for ecofriendly packaging, some people look for convenient packaging. In respond of this question majority were agreed or strongly agreed

for this statement. 16 respondents said that packaging did not influence their buying behavior, 8 were strongly disagreed with this statement and 11 were having average kind of influence towards packaging. This graph shows that packaging influence the buying behavior of customers. 7. Have you ever preferred to buy a substitute product due to better display than actual product?

To know the significance of display researcher put this question. In response he came to know that 22 were disagreed and 15 were strongly disagreed its shows that a large number of people did not bothered about display of product. 16 respondents showed dispassionate reaction towards display of product but 19 respondents agreed and 5 were strongly agreed with this statement. Results for this question told us that even thought better display did not affected the sale too much, but it provides an edge which helps in particular product selling
8. Do you buy the products kept just near the billing counter at the time of billing?

In this study researcher focused on Visual Merchandising of FMCG product and its impact on consumer buying behavior. Most of the FMCG products are positioned just near the billing counter or you can say , customer eye catching place for example chocolates and candies are always placed at 2nd or 3rd shelve so that children see them easily. In response of this statement majority said yes i.e. 38%, 34 % said no and 28 % said moderate. It means if the product are placed near counter or eye catching position it helps in increasing the sale of product.

4.4 Interview questionnaire Store Manager

After collecting the responses from customers, researcher met with store manager on Monday, 05 January 2012 at 11:00 A.M as he fixed an appointment before. Due to the time constrain researcher went with a questionnaire. With the help of questions in questionnaire, He tried to cover all the aspects of Visual Merchandising and its affect on consumer buying behavior from Manager Concern. Questionnaire consists few multiple choice questions and short answer type questions. Manager interview questionnaire and their responses is shown below:1. How important do you think Visual Merchandising is in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products? In response of this question, Manager selected the option of very important. He said now days only with the help of better Visual Merchandising you can boost the sale of FMCG product. It shows from Manager Concern Visual Merchandising plays a big role in product sale. 2. If positioning, then how big a role it plays for your store promotion? He said better positioning played big role in store promotion, if product is placed in hot zone (where flow of customers is heavier) then its sale is increases. He said they tried to place FMCG products near billing counters and on eye leveled shelves. Means if product positioning is better, then it is helpful in product promotion. 3. If display, then how big a role it plays for your store promotion? He was agreed, that display played a big and important role in store promotion, he said store which has better displays, better shelving of products, proper Advertisement and posters regarding products and offers in store, attracts more customers than any other store. From this answer researcher conclude that, the display has a big role in store promotion. 4. Where do you use Visual Merchandising in your store? (Outdoor/Indoor/both) Respondent choose the option both for this statement, he explained his answer that in store Visual Merchandising helps them to boost up the sale and promotion of product , however outdoor Visual Merchandising helps them to get/attract new customers. Researcher thinks it is a good technique of retaining our own customers and at the same

time getting few new customers as well with the help of Visual Merchandising. It helps in boosting the store sale. 5. Do you get instruction from headquarters regarding the use of Visual Merchandising tool or is it your own decision? Answering to this question he said, some time they get instruction from headquarter regarding the use of Visual Merchandising especially when new brand or product introduce in store. Most of the time the use of Visual Merchandising tool in store is their own decision as they better know the local customer than headquarter. It shows the higher level of organization also has concern with Visual Merchandising. 6. Do you copy Visual Merchandising methods from your competitors or local market? Yes, if we find some better Visual Merchandising methods used by our competitors, who heighten our product sale then we do not hesitate to copy it. From this statement researcher conclude that better Visual Merchandising can provide a competitive edge to the store. 7. Can you name one of your competitors who use visual merchandising strongly? In respond of this question researcher came to know that there is one Londis store near the same area, he said that to attract the customer from their area they use advertising and posters of Visual Merchandising strongly. 8. Do you think companies should spend more for better Visual Merchandising? Respondent confidently said yes for this question. It shows that the manager and companies now aware with impact of Visual merchandising on consumer.

4.5 Conclusion:
All the above discussion concludes that Visual Merchandising is an important Factor if we concern with consumer buying behaviour. For FMCG sector which is highly affected by customer impulsive buying behaviour, visual merchandising plays a very important role. If there is change in factor of Visual merchandising there is change in sale of product. Discussion shows that the shop environment really matters a lot for customers from manager aspect Visual Merchandising provide an edge in store promotion , helps in boosting product sale and it provide a competitive advantage over competitors.

1. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION

introduce in this chapter. finishing chapter of the dissertation and there is nothing fresh toWell this is theIn this chapter researcher had only explained the desertion and research work in nutshell. Everything is stated in this section is all on the basis of previous chapters of this dissertation or research work. In this last chapter researcher provides a short review of everything which has been done so far to complete this study and key areas for future research. Well the main point of the study is that it revealed many issues which helped to clarify the Importance of Visual Merchandising in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and its Impact on consumer buying behaviour. With the help of this research work some of more areas and issues are identified for further research. And the main point that has to be focused is that the findings which have been achieved by the research are explained realistically. It mainly includes the statements of the valuation of the findings in research aim. Also, the connection between the literature review and the finding has been explained very finely. And also, some more factors are identified for further research. Some recommendations are suggested to the FMCG retailer about Visual Merchandising on the basis of the findings of this research which might help the retailers and FMCG companies in acquisition a sustainable competitive advantage. At the end of this chapter, I state my own learning experience gained through doing this research work.

5.1 Conclusion
Now let us consider the introduction of this dissertation in which it was stated that the Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry now days cover almost 60% of market and it is very competitive on an international level as well. However, FMCG industry is in front of a constant and heavy growth in Ireland. The growing chart of sale of FMCG product is influenced by consumer impulsive buying. Well, the findings of this thesis support the implication of visual merchandising in a retail atmosphere. And also the results of this study further support the fact that the customers imagery processing through viewing a retailers visual display can raise consumers aesthetic response and therefore encourage approach response and reduce perceived risk associated with the products displayed. The most important point that has to be focused is that impulse buying is a sudden and immediate purchase with no pre-shopping intention either to buy the specific product or to full fill a specific buying task. Well, some similarities were determined by the researcher among customers who often take on in impulse buying behavior.

This research also further explores some outdoor factors that influence impulse buying behavior very much. In attempt to examine this relationship, studies are made to explain the relationship between consumer impulse buying behavior and various types of visual merchandising .An important point to be focused of this research was that, visual merchandising practices certainly influence consumers impulsive buying behavior. The outcomes of studies made above in the desertion states that Visual merchandising impact consumers impulse buying. It has been found that all the factors of visual merchandising are important and they influence the consumers impulsive buying behavior. 5.2 Objective related question:1. To study whether Impulse buying for FMCG product is greater in the case of better visual merchandising? Researcher set this objective to know the relation between Impulsive buying and Visual Merchandising. To meet his objective he put some question in customer questionnaire i.e. Q1, Q2 and Q8. The response of these questions showed that the Visual Merchandising affect the impulsive buying of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products at great extent. 2. To find out is there any difference in sale if there is change in packaging (one of the major factors of Visual Merchandising) of FMCG products. Packaging is one of the important factors of Visual merchandising. FMCG companies keep changing their products packaging on regular basis. As customer some time look for convenient packaging, some time they concern with eco-friendly packaging. Q6 and Q5 of customer questionnaire are based on this objective. From the collected responses researcher conclude that the change in packaging affect the sale. 3. To find out is there any difference in sale if there is change in Visual Merchandising factors (Display and Positioning) of FMCG products. Q3,Q7 of customer questionnaire and Q2,Q3 of Manager Questionnaire is based on this objective. Majority of respondents think that positioning and display really matters to them, i.e. they affect the sale of FMCG. As if there is better display and positioning of products, then people get attracted towards products that can increase product sale.

4. Evaluate consumers aesthetic responses (attitudes toward), approach responses and perceived risk to the items displayed. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products are not too expensive and their sale is basically influenced by consumer aesthetic response. Researcher came to know that customer have average type of reaction because it doesnt affect their pocket too great extent .Q4 of customer questionnaire is related to this objective and the responses states that the perceived risk is less in buying of FMCG products.

5.3Implications:
It has been seen that impulse buying occurs when a consumer experience a sudden, powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. And also impulse to buy the product is hedonically complex. The hedonic value of shopping mainly suggests that it reflects shoppings potential entertainment and emotional worth. It has been suggested that browsing, or shopping without specific intent, may be more important than actual acquisition of products. It can also provide an enjoyable shopping experience. Therefore, in addition to exposing consumer to stimuli, such as retail settings, browsing also tends to produce positive feelings for many shoppers. These positive feelings produced by browsing, plays an important role as positive affects to encourage consumers impulsive buying behavior. Retail setting, such as Visual merchandising,therefore, can influence consumers impulsive buying by providing information or reminding needs as well as producing positive feelings. At the stages of the impulse buying process, retailers can attempt to provoke consumers desire for the products, and the awareness of the products, which can satisfy the desire, can be achieved by browsing and being exposed to the stimuli, such as visual merchandising. The way in which merchandise will eventually be displayed and promoted at the store level is an important consideration in the strategic marketing /merchandising plan. The finding of this study provided information concerning the influence of Visual merchandising on consumers impulse buying behavior. The result signified importance of visual merchandising influences on impulsive buying behavior. Since a previous study proved that physical attractiveness of a store had a higher correlation with a choice of a store than did merchandise quality, general price level, and selection , retailers should put more efforts creating attractive and eye catching window display providing information regarding new products. The findings of this study provided sufficient evidence that retailers can utilize Visual Merchandising to increase

desirability of products and to help customers being aware of the products as well as to create favorable attitudes. This study also provided insights to retailers about types of visual merchandising that can influence consumers impulse buying behavior. The positive impulse buying experiences mainly contribute to establishing store loyalty and customers perceived value and satisfaction which directly influence future buying decisions. Effective Visual merchandising practices can directly influence consumers positive impulse purchase experiences

5.4 Recommendations:
At the end of this research, researcher found some recommendation for the retailers and companies who dealing with FMCG products. In sale of FMCG product, Visual merchandising plays a very important role. Visual merchandising influence impulsive buying which results into FMCG sale. It means companies and retailers have to be very careful while dealing with different Visual merchandising factors. Better merchandising can boost their sale, however if merchandising is not good might be they lose their customers. Researcher give following recommendations:-

1. There should be proper shelving: The retailers should positioned each product in the shelve according to the targeted

group, like the candies should be placed in middle shelves , so that children get influenced, the new product should be kept at eye- catching positions ,like cash counter so that customer know noticed that.

2. Proper Packaging: The retailers has to provide proper and full information of product on packaging, so that it is easy for customers to find product, e.g. like vegetarian customer always check package to see whether the product is pure vegetarian or not.

3. There should be proper display: If the display of store is better than its stimulate the customers mood, that results in increase in sale, so that proper display is really important.

4. Timely Advertisement with full information: -

The retailers have to provide timely and up to date information and advertisement for offers and upcoming products. Both outdoor and in store advertisement and posters helps, in getting new customers to increase the sale and helps in getting competitive advantage.

6. Learning outcomes
6.1 Introduction:
The purpose of this chapter is to outline the approach to learning underpinning the research, while also documenting the personal learning achieved and the planned methodologies for the consolidation and extension of this learning beyond the academic context in which it was acquired. This chapter attempts to explain how the International MBA programme has provided the researcher with invaluable personal development and how such learning has helped him to improve certain skills that will undoubtedly benefit his performance in future employments.

6.2 Background
In 2009, the researcher received Bachelor of Computer Application, Engineering from Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, one of the most prestigious institutes in India. Researcher own retail store in India He has gained extensive knowledge of international business with his association for 1 year with the company, thus providing him great exposure to International work culture. This all helped him to develop the so-called hard skills. During the course of International MBA, he has gained valuable insights into how international business is done across national boundaries. He realised that business studies and environment is considered more humanistic, involving the development of a large number of soft skills. Thus this course offered him new challenges and opportunities to develop extensive skills in many areas. It is important to review all the skills that I have learned so that any weaknesses can be identified and improved. The most significant area that learning took place in were research and time management.

6.3 Development of Skills:

6.3.1 Academic Research and Report Writing

The researcher found academic research and report writing very challenging and enterprising with full of logical imaginations. In due course of time, he realised that academic research and report writing is substantially different from engineering and management briefing/reports.

 Formulating the research topic: Conducting an academic research involves logical and

sequential steps like formulating and clarifying the research topic, creating the research hypothesis, obtaining and evaluating/reviewing the literature, gathering primary data, designing questionnaire, data analysis and then concluding research with valid recommendations. The key challenge was to find an exciting research topic, which can add value to the self and to the industry under considerations. Saunders et al (2000: p13) argue that research topic chosen area should be an area that researcher is capable of undertaking, that excites their imaginations and fits with their desired career goals. The research area Impact of visual merchandising on buyer is a very suitable topic for researcher to conduct a research. When researcher arrived in Ireland and started the job in Centra, Seabury, where he learn importance and technique of visual merchandising.
Reviewing the Literature: In the initial stages of the research project, researcher looked for

academic books on the research topic. The majority of the books covered the topic broadly and most of the information was not current. At the start, researchers major weakness was the ability to scan journal articles for relevant information. He spends hours on just one journal article and read it covers to cover. He realised that this approach was not good, given the amount of reading and the huge range of material he had to complete in order to execute a comprehensive literature review. The he started to do an initial scan of the articles to determine their relevancy. It involved scanning the articles for introduction and literature review. This approach was priceless as it saved a lot of hassles related with time and effort. Initially, in writing literature review, researcher simply compiled a list of authors and highlighted their contribution to the research topic. Upon reading the initial draft, he realised that there was no particular structure or logical flow to the review and it did not relate clearly to research questions and objectives. In order to provide a clear picture of how the literature had developed to date, it was important to draw out any key points and ideas and present them in a logical flow, and by doing so it provide the reader with a background knowledge to research questions and objectives. With this in mind, researcher was able to draw out the key theories of recognised experts in the research area and was able to highlight the issues where his research would provide fresh insights.

 Data Collection: The process of gathering primary data is an area in which researcher

have no prior experience. After much consideration, he decided to use questionnaire as he felt this method of data collection would most efficiently enable him to meet his research objectives.
Data Analysis: Given the fact that researcher had not previously undertaken primary

research, administering the questionnaire and the subsequent data analysis was a huge learning curve. For data analysis, researcher used Microsoft Spreadsheet that involves computer skills. This give pictorial representation of data accumulated over time. All these research skills could be very important for developments in the future when he gets employed. The researcher believes that during his future career endeavour, he might be required to present projects and presentations in relation to various subjects.
6.3.2 Numeric and Quantitative skills

To be able to function in decision making in any business today, there is a need to understand the financial aspect of business. Against this backdrop, the researcher has acquired skills relating to effective analysis of financial data and as such has the ability to make business projections and reconciliations. This was facilitated by the in depth guidance offered by International Business & Trade (Finance) module. The module also shed light on costing which is germane for the survival of any business.
6.3.3 Time Management and Personal Organisation Time management: researcher got only two months to complete the thesis, but his

instructor helps him a lot and providing him proper guidelines and instruction. Only because of it he is able to finish the dissertation on time. Firstly he divided the dissertation into different parts, like introduction, literature etc and give one week to each part. Then he manages his time for survey and he fixed the appointment with store manager. Researcher was on time at each place so that he completes his research on time.
Personal Organisation: The most important thing researcher learned during the course of

study is the involvement of self disciplinary action. In the initial stages of the research, researcher found that he was overwhelmed with the information and he had journal articles and various pieces of information relating to research scattered everywhere. He

found it very time consuming to locate articles or to even determine what information he had collected on the topic. To overcome this, he started to file the articles into folders. He kept a separate folder for each chapter of literature review. Papers that were broadly related to research topic but less relevant were filed in a separate folder. He also referenced each article in a Word document using the Harvard referencing style. The self disciplinary actions developed a positive attitude leading to enormous working environment. This also helped him in managing self-esteem with good conduct and personal ethics. He realised his strengths and working with limitations by overcoming obstacles. Resources like time and money has to be spent in a safer way so as to respect diversity and change in living environment. Everything learnt from this experience can be applied to the researchers day to day activities at work, as he is required to manage a number of different campaigns and projects simultaneously, while continuing to meet certain deadlines, organising activities and tasks, managing people and interacting with customers.

6.4 Future Application of Learning

Like any other skill, be they physical or mental, the skills learned throughout the course of completing this dissertation, will become blunted and diminish in potency if not regularly exercised. Therefore it is imperative that these skills be maintained and improved upon. The experiences of this dissertation have not only given the researcher a worthwhile insight into conducting a research project, but they have also contributed to improve his skills and capabilities, which can be leveraged in both his professional and personal life. These newly learned skills would improve his prospects of getting a high level management position. The researcher likes to say that developments of cognitive, critical, team working, research, personal management skills through this program has contributed immensely in his personality developments and has put forward cohesive lesions learnt by him after acquiring those skills. The MBA International programme has helped him to extensively develop in key skill areas. Based on his learning and knowledge gained during the course, it has helped him to develop as a better individual both academically and personally. He has extensively developed his numerical and quantitative skills during the course of the programme. Having worked individually and as a member of a team with different people it has helped him to draw different perspective from both lecturers and his peers. It is well known that one never stops learning. The researcher thinks he was always dependent on others to guide him and correct him.

6.5 Conclusion
Finally the researcher believes that he has acquired a substantial number of new skills, keeping all these insights in mind. In his point of view, the development is satisfactory and feels that this all will play a crucial role in his professional as well as academic career. This has considerably brought an instrumental change in his outlook towards life supporting his overall motto of life. He thinks that he has evolved as a mature and integral person, not only in the educational aspect but also because of the everyday life experience on living independently in a foreign and multicultural environment. He believes that someone can have plenty of skills, but his own experience has shown that to success in business and in life, your personal values and your capacity to respect, understand and connect with people are as important or even more as any other ability that you can learn. The researcher feels that this research project has been a valuable learning experience and he is confident that it has provided him with a wide range of skills that he will be able to use in his future professional career.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

7.1 Books

Abratt, R. and D.G. Stephen (1990). Unplanned Buying and In-Store Stimuli in Supermarkets, Managerial and Decision Economics, Vol. 11, No. 2. (May, 1990), pg. 111-121.

Bultez, A. and P. Naert, (1988). Shelf Allocation for Retailers Profit, Marketing Science, (1988), Vol. 7, No. 3, pg. 211-231. Consumer Buying Habits Studies, E. I. du Pont De Nemours and Company, 1945, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1965. David j. Ketchen, jr. Donald d .bergh (2004), research methodology in strategy and management, vol 1. Engel, J.F. et al. (1978). Consumer Behavior, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Geoff Lancaster(2005), research methodology in management. Harvey Maylor and Kate Blackmon (2005),Researching Business and Management, Howard Stumpf ,P-O-P state-of-the art review, marketing communication ,September 1976 , p.75. Kollat, D.T. (1966). A Decision-Process Approach to Impulse Purchasing, Science, Technology and Marketing, American Marketing Association, September, pg. 626. Kotler, P. (1984). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning and Control, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill, (2009) Research methods for business students, 5th edition, Prentice Hall Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill, (2007) Research methods for business students. Patterson, L. W. (1963). In-Store Traffic Flow, New York: Point-of-Purchase Advertising, Institute, Institute, Inc., (1963), pg. 2. Peak, H. S. and E. F. Peak (1997), Supermarket Merchandising and Management, Englehood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall POPAI Supermarket Consumer Buying habits study, point of-purchase advertising institute, Inc, fort lee, NJ, 1987. Quelch, J. A. (1983). It's Time to Make Trade Promotion More Productive, Harvard Business Review May/June, pg. 130-36.

Ramanuj Majumdar (2004). Product Management in India. PHI Learning. pp. 26 28. ISBN 9788120312524. Retrieved 2010-06-19.

Sayman, S et al., 2002, Positioning Of Store Brands, Marketing Science, Vol. 21, No. 4, (Autumn 2002)m pg. 378-397. Sewell B. (1984). Merchandising Seminar, Institute of Marketing Management, London, April. Visual Planning, the power of thinking visually, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 161-173 Visual Merchandise and Display, second edition, Martin M. Pelger

7.2 Journals

African Journal of Marketing Management Vol. 1(4) pp. 102-108 July, 2009 Bellenger, N. et al. (1978). Impulse Buying Varies by Product, Journal of Advertising Research 18, December, pg. 15-18. Cox, K. (1964). The Responsiveness of Food Sales to Shelf Space Changes in Supermarkets, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 1, No. 2. (May, 1964), pg. 63-67. Clover, V.T. (1950). Relative Importance of Impulse-Buying in Retail Stores, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 1. (Jul., 1950), pg. 66-70. Chevalier, M. (1975). Increase in sales due to in-store display, Journal of Marketing Research 12, November, pg. 426-31. Dennis W. Rook The buying impulse. Journal of consumer research, 14:189-199, September 1987. European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.28 No.4 (2009), pp.522532 EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009 Hawkins Stern, the significance of impulsive buying today, journal of marketing, 29:59-60, April 1962. John, W.C. (1951). Results of Two Years of Study into Impulse Buying, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 3. (Jan., 1951), pg. 362-363. International Journal of Business and ManagementVol. 6, No. 8; August 2011. Kennedy, J. R. (1970). The Effect of Display Location on the Sales and Pilferage of Cigarettes, Journal of Marketing Research 7, May, pg. 210-15.

Kollat, D.T. and R. P. Willett (1967). Consumer Impulse Purchasing Behavior, Journal of Marketing Research 4, February, pg. 21-31. Kollat D.T. and R. P. Willett (1969). Is Impulse Purchasing Really a Useful Concept for Marketing Decisions? Journal of Marketing 33, January, pg. 79-83. Ronald C. curhan, self space allocation and profit maximization in mass retailing, journal of marketing, 37:76, July 1973. Ronald C. Curhan ,The Relationship between Shelf Space and Unit Sales in SupermarketsJournal of Marketing Research ,Vol. 9, No. 4 (Nov., 1972), pp. 406-412 Stern, H. The Significance of Impulse Buying Today, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 26, No. 2. (Apr., 1962), pg. 59-62. Sunil Gupta,impact of sales promotion on when what and how much to buy, journal of marketing research, 25:342-355, November 1988. Twedt, D.W. 1968, How Much Value Can Be Added Through Packaging, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan. 1968), pg. 58-61. Vernon T. Clover, Relative Importance of Impulsive buying in Retail store, journal of marketing, 15:66-70, july 1950. Wilkinson J.B. et al. (1982). Assessing the impact of short term supermarket strategy variables, Journal of Marketing Research 19, February, pg. 72-85.

7.3 website
www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm

Available online www.academicjournals.org/ajmm www.oed.com

8. Appendix
8.1 Questionnaire for employees
Dear customers,

I, Nitin Kumar, conducting a research as a part of my Masters degree and I would like to invite you to participate in a questionnaire as a part of this research. The objective of this questionnaire is to share your experience of working with a multicultural team. All information gathered will be kept strictly confidential and will be used for the purpose of this project only. Being a confidential, the questionnaire is anonymous. So please take your time to complete the questionnaire. I would appreciate it if you could complete all questions. 1. Does the shop environment matter to you?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Has shop Visual Merchandising ever affected your buying behavior in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Does the better shelving of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) affect your buying behavior?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. After buying a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) product, have you ever felt that this product is not that good as it was appearing in the shop?
Strongly Agree Agree

Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Do you change the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) product, you purchase as the packaging changes?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Does packaging of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) influence you to buy a particular product?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Have you ever preferred to buy a substitute product due to better display than actual product?
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

2. Do you buy the products kept just near the billing counter at the time of billing?
Yes No Moderate

Thank you for giving your valuable time to complete the questionnaire

8.2 Questionnaire for manager

1. How important do you think Visual Merchandising is in case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. If positioning, then how big a role it plays for your store promotion?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. If display, then how big a role it plays for your store promotion? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Where do you use Visual Merchandising in your store? (Outdoor/Indoor/both) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Do you get instruction from headquarters regarding the use of Visual Merchandising tool or is it your own decision? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Do you copy Visual Merchandising methods from your competitors or local market? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Can you name one of your competitors who use visual merchandising strongly? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Do you think companies should spend more for better Visual Merchandising? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------