Consumer purchasing behaviour relating to household articles

Abstract

India has the world s largest number of professionally qualified and also more working women. This includes the female workers at all levels of skills from surgeon and airline pilot to bus conductors and labours. But, still on an average, the Indian women are socially, politically and economically gained more attention and prominence only after the economy has liberalized which provided them ample work opportunities inside and outside the country in the recent past. Along with this, the Indian family system has undergone a dramatic change resulting in more and more nuclear families in the urban cities, nowadays. This change in the family systems has given an opportunity to work outside and actively participate in major family purchase decision. This changing role of women from housewife to home manager/earning member has been successfully exhausted the attention of both national and international marketers and retailers. The purchasing behaviour of women consists of both physical and mental activities. The physical activities involve visiting a shop, examining the product, selecting products and eating/drinking outside that is the actual act of consumption. Mental activities, on the other hand, involve deliberations on formation of attitudes, perceiving communication material and learning to prefer a particular brand of product. Women are gatherers and men are hunters. Consequently, women have better peripheral vision than men and would benefit them as gatherers. Men are interested in finding the right product and want quick answers and being able to leave the store quickly. Women, on the other hand, prefer to have a more personal interaction with the sales associate with more eye contact, support and collaboration during the buying process. newline