EXPLOITATION

OF CONSUMERS
IN THE MARKET

BY SHRUTHI HARIHARAN

XB
index

– Acknowledgement
– Content
– Methodology
– Tools
– Sampling
– Analysis of data
– Findings
– Conclusion
– References
acknowledgement

I am very thankful to my teachers who helped me in completion of this

project. I would like to thank Mr. nazim sain who guided me throughout
and awoke my dormant thoughts on this vast topic.
I'm thankful to all my friends and seniors who provided apt suggestions for
the project.
I would like to thank the school for providing me a wonderful chance and
opportunity to do the project.
content

– The consumer is the one who pays something to consume goods and
services produced. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic
system of a nation. Without consumer demand, producers would lack
one of the key motivations to produce: to sell to consumers. The
consumer also forms part of the chain of distribution.
– Recently in marketing instead of marketers generating broad
demographic profiles and Fisio-graphic profiles of market segments,
marketers have started to engage in personalized marketing, permission
marketing, and mass customization.[2]
– Largely due to the rise of the Internet, consumers are shifting more and
more towards becoming "prosumers", consumers who are also producers
(often of information and media on the social web), influence the
 Consumer rights

– Generally accepted basic consumer rights are:

– (1) Right to safety: protection from hazardous goods.
– (2) Right to be informed: availability of information required for weighing alternatives,
and protection from false and misleading claims in advertising and labeling practices.
– (3) Right to choose: availability of competing goods and services that offer alternatives
in terms of price, quality, service.
– (4) Right to be heard: assurance that government will take full cognizance of the
concerns of consumers, and will act with sympathy and dispatch through statutes and
simple and expeditious administrative procedures.
Some basic consumer rights

– The right to safety

– The assertion of this right is aimed at the defense
of consumers against injuries caused by products
other than automobile vehicles, and implies that
products should cause no harm to their users if
such use is executed as prescribed. The right was
further formalized in 1972 by the US federal
government through the consumer product safety
commission act (CPSC). This organization has
jurisdiction over thousands of commercial
products, and powers that allow it to establish
performance standards and require product
testing and warning labels.
– The right to be informed
This right states that businesses should always
provide consumers with enough appropriate
information to make intelligent and informed product
choices. Product information provided by a business
should always be complete and truthful. Aiming to
achieve protection against misleading information in
the areas of financing, advertising, labeling, and
packaging, the right to be informed is protected by
several pieces of legislation passed between 1960 and
1980.
-The right to choose
The right to free choice among product
offerings states that consumers should have a
variety of options provided by different
companies from which to choose. The federal
government has taken many steps to ensure the
availability of a healthy environment open to
competition through legislation including limits
on concept ownership through patent law,
prevention of monopolistic business practices
through anti trust legislation, and the outlaw of
price cutting and gouging.
– The right to be heard
This right has the ability of consumers to voice complaints and concerns
about a product in order to have the issue handled efficiently and
responsively. While no federal agency is tasked with the specific duty of
providing a forum for this interaction between consumer and producer,
certain outlets exist to aid consumers if difficulty occurs in communication
with an aggrieving party. State and federal attorneys general are equipped
to aid their constituents in dealing with parties who have provided a
product or service in a manner unsatisfactory to the consumer in violation
of an applicable law. Also, the better business bureau is a national non
governmental organization whose sole agenda is to provide political
lobbies and action on behalf of aggrieved consumers.
Exploitation of consumers in
the market place
– Consumers get exploited in the market in various ways:
– When traders get indulged in unfair trade practices such as when
shopkeepers weigh or measure less than what they should. This happens
usually in materials sold loose like rice, flour milk etc.
– When traders add charges that were not mentioned before, like handling
charges, packing charges etc.
– When adulterated goods or expired medicines are sold.
– Black marketing.
– Selling goods more than maximum retail price.
Objectives:

 To find out the percentage of consumers who are exploited in the market.
 To find out the consumer rights awareness level and its role to protect the interests of
consumers.
 To find out the level of consumer awareness with regard to consumer protection act.
1986.
 To find out the attitude of consumers towards the enforcement of consumer rights.
 To find out the attitude of consumers towards the enactment and implementation of
the act.
 To find out the consumer option about the act in respect of its utility and effect.
 To find out the ways and means to popularize consumer movement.
 To measure consumer awareness on the basis of selective components.
 To find out whether there is any significant difference in mean score of consumer
awareness test.
methodology

– In completion of this project, survey method has been used.

SURVEY METHOD
A field of applied statistics of human research surveys, survey
methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a population
and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire
construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of
responses to surveys. Survey methodology includes instruments or
procedures that ask one or more questions that may or may not be
answered.
– Researchers carry out statistical surveys with a view towards making
statistical inferences about the population being studied, and such
inferences depend strongly on the survey questions used.
The most important methodological challenges of a survey
methodologist include making decisions on how to:
•Identify and select potential sample members.
•Contact sampled individuals and collect data from those who
are hard to reach (or reluctant to respond)
•Evaluate and test questions.
•Select the mode for posing questions and collecting responses.
•Train and supervise interviewers (if they are involved).
•Check data files for accuracy and internal consistency.
•Adjust survey estimates to correct for identified errors.
Tools

In completion of this project, rating scale has been used as a scale.

RATING SCALE
A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a
qualitative or quantitative attribute. In the social sciences, the Likert
response scale and 1-10 rating scales in which a person selects the number
which is considered to reflect the perceived quality of a product.
 Types of rating scales

– All rating scales can be classified into one or two of three types:
– Numeric rating scale
– Graphic rating scale
– Descriptive graphic rating scale
Some data are measured at the ordinal level. Numbers indicate the relative position of items,
but not the magnitude of difference. Attitude and opinion scales are usually ordinal; one
example is a likert response scale:
Statement
e.G .”I could not live without my compute “.
Response options
– Some data are measured at the interval level. Numbers indicate the magnitude of
difference between items, but there is no absolute zero point. A good example is a
Fahrenheit/Celsius temperature scale where the differences between numbers matter
but placement of zero does not.
– Some data are measured at the ratio level. Numbers indicate magnitude of difference
and there is a fixed zero point. Ratios can be calculated. Examples include age, income,
price, costs, sales revenue, sales volume and market share.
– More that one rating scale question is required to measure an attitude or perception
due to the requirement for statistical comparisons between the categories in the
polytomous rasch model for ordered categories.
In terms of classical test theory, more than one question is required to obtain an index of
internal reliability such as cronbach’s alpha, which is a basic criterion for assessing the
effectiveness of a rating scale and, more generally, a psychometric instrument
sampling

– Sampling errors can lead to results which have a specific bias, or are only
relevant to a specific subgroup. Consider this example:
– Suppose that a film only appeals to a specialist audience- 90%of them
are devotees of this genre, and only 10% are people with general interest
in movies. Assume the film is very popular among the audience that
views it, and that only those who feel most strongly about the film are
inclined to rate the film online ; hence the raters are all drawn from the
devotees. This combination will lead to very high ratings of the film,
which do not generalize beyond the people who actually see the film (or
possibly even beyond those who actually rate it).
Qualitative description

– Qualitative description of categories improve the usefulness of a rating

scale. For example, if only the points 1-10 are given without description,
some people may select 10 rarely, whereas others may select the
category often. If instead, “10” is described as “nearly flawless”, the
category is more likely to mean the same thing to all different people.
This applies to all categories, not just the extreme points .
the above issues are compounded, when aggregated statistics such as
averages are used for lists and rankings of product. User ratings are the best
ordinal categorizations. While it is not uncommon to calculate averages or
means for such data, doing so cannot be justified because in calculating
averages, equal intervals are required to represent the same difference
between levels of perceived quality.
– The key issues with aggregate data based on the kinds of rating scales
commonly used online are as follows:
– Averages should not be calculated for data of the kind collected.
– It is usually impossible to evaluate the reliability or validity of user
ratings.
– Products are not compared with respect to explicit, let alone common.
– Only users inclined to submit a rating for a product to do so.
– Data are usually published in a form that permits evaluation of the
product ratings.
 NAME OF THE SAMPLES DESIGNATION
• Sudha hariharan • housewife
• Ramanathan hariharan • Bank manager
• Rajesh • Business man
• Shaima • Student
• Meghaa mugunthan • Student
• Talina swain • Student
• Fahima • Student
• Annat benshy • Student
• Priya • Student
• Rahim.A • Teacher
• Gopalakrishnan E.A • Researchist
• Nikhil.V..jones • Teacher
• Midhul ramadas • Teacher
• Rithika Thomas • Student
• Radha • Administrator
• Vijaya Lakshmi • Housewife
• Hariharan ramanathan • Mechanical engineer
• Vasantha M.G • Housewife
• Anandhitha • Teacher
• rama • manager
Si no statement Percentage of percentage of Percentage of
always sometimes never

1 Consumers who insist 50% 25% 25%

on a bill
2 Consumers who keep 15% 45% 40%
the bill careful
3 Consumers who have 55% 30% 15%
been tricked by
shopkeeper and have
bothered to complain
to him
4 Consumers who have 60% 40% None
been able to convince
him that they have
been cheated
5 Consumers who None 30% 70%
believe that it is their
fate and are often
being victimized
6 Consumers who look 90% 10% None
for ISI mark, expiry
date etc.
7 Consumers who insist 50% 30% 20%
on a fresh packet if
the expiry date
mentioned is one
month away.
8 Consumers who 15% 30% 55%
weigh new gas
cylinders or
newspapers
themselves before
buying or selling
9 Consumers who raise 55% 20% 25%
an objection if a
vegetable seller uses
stones in place of the
exact weight
10 Consumers who have 45% 45% 10%
a suspicion about
brightly colored
vegetables
11 Consumers who are 40% 40% 20%
brand conscious
12 Consumers who 35% 40% 25%
associate high price
with good quality
13 Consumers who 30% 60% 10%
unhesitatingly
respond to catchy
officers
14 Consumers who 35% 40% 25%
compare the price
paid by them with
those of others
15 Consumers who 25% 45% 30%
believe that their
shopkeeper never
cheats them
16 Consumers who favor 15% 45% 40%
home delivery of
provisions without
checking the weight
17 Consumers who favor 30% 55% 15%
home delivery of
provisions without
checking the weight
INTERPRETATION

1. 50% of consumers always insist on bills.

2. 45% of consumers sometimes keep the bill carefully.
3. 55% of consumers always have bothered to complain to the shopkeeper if they have been
tricked.
4. 60% of consumers have always been able to convince the shopkeeper that they have been
tricked.
5. 70% of consumers never believe that it is their fate and are often being victimized.
6. 90% of consumers always look for ISI mark expiry date etc.
7. 50% of consumers always insist on a fresh packet if the expiry date mentioned is one
month away.
8. 55% of consumers never weigh new gas cylinders or newspapers themselves before
buying or selling them.
9. 55% of consumers always raise an objection if a vegetable seller uses stones in place of the
exact weight
10. 45% of consumers always and sometimes have a suspicion about brightly colored
vegetables.
11. 40% of consumers always and sometimes are brand conscious .
12. 40% of consumer sometimes associate high price with good quality .
13. 60% of consumers sometimes unhesitatingly respond to catchy officers.
14. 40% of consumers sometimes compare the price paid by them with those of others
15. 45% of consumers sometimes believe that their shopkeeper never cheats them.
16. 45% of consumers sometimes favor home delivery of provisions without checking the
weight.
17. 55% of consumers sometimes insist on paying by meter in an auto.
 BAR CHART GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF DATA
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
ST1 ST2 ST3 ST4 ST5 ST6 ST7 ST8 ST9 ST10 ST11 ST12 ST13 ST14 ST15 ST16 ST17
always sometimes never
Findings:

– Classification of samples
 Sudha Hariharan is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Vasantha E.A is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Hariharan Ramanathan is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Vijayalakshmi is an extremely aware consumer.
 Rithika need to wake up as a consumer.
 Radha is extremely aware as a consumer.
 Mithul Ramadas is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Nikhil V. Jones is an extremely aware consumer.
 Gopalakrishnan E.A is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Rahim Akkekara is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Priya Pramod Dhas is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Annat is extremely aware as a consumer.
 Talina is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Meghaa Mugunthan is an extremely aware consumer.
 Shaima is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Rajesh E.A is an extremely aware consumer.
 Ramanathan Hariharan is an extremely aware consumer.
 Rama is somewhat aware as a consumer.
 Anandhita is an extremely aware consumer.
 Fahima is somewhat aware as a consumer.
Conclusion

– In this age of capitalism and globalization, the main objective of each

producer is to maximize his profit. In each and every possible way the
producer are trying to increase the sale of their products. Therefore, in
fulfillment of their aim they forget the interests of consumer s and start
exploiting them for example – overcharging, under weighing, selling of
adulterated and poor quality goods, misleading the consumers by giving
false advertisement etc. Thus in order to save himself from being
cheated, it is necessary for a consumer to be aware. In this way,
consumer awareness means creating awareness of a consumer
towards his rights and duties.
– Following facts classify the need of making consumers aware:
1. To achieve maximum satisfaction : The income of every individual is
limited. He wants to buy maximum goods and services with his income.
He gets full satisfaction only by this limited adjustment. Therefore it is
necessary that he should get the goods which are measured
appropriately and he should not be cheated in any way. For this he
should be made aware.
2. Protection against exploitation : Producers and sellers exploit the
consumers in many ways as underweighting, taking more price than
the market price, selling duplicate goods etc. Big companies through
their advertisement also mislead the consumers. Consumer awareness
shields them from the exploitation by producers and sellers.
– 3.Control over consumption of harmful goods : There are several such
goods available in market which cause harm to some consumers. For
example we can take goods like cigarette, tobacco, liquor etc. The
consumer education and awareness motivate people not to purchase
such goods which are very harmful for them
– 4. Motivation for saving : The awareness controls people from wastage of
money and extravagancy and inspire them to take right decision. Such
consumers are not attracted by sale, concession, free gifts, attractive
packing etc due to which people can use their income in a right way and
can save money.
– 5. Knowledge regarding solution of problems : The consumers are
cheated due to illiteracy, innocence and lack of information. Therefore it
becomes necessary that the information about their rights should be
provided to them so that they cannot be cheated by producers and
sellers. Through consumer awareness they are also made known to the
proceedings of laws so that they can solve their problems.
6. Construction of healthy society : Every member of the society is a
consumer. So, if the consumer is aware and rationale, then complete
society becomes healthy and alert towards their rights.