1.

INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION The end of all the marketing activities is the satisfaction of human wants - Barker & Abshen. Exchanges of commodities have been in existence since the evaluation of man kind, but the dimensions changed from time to time. Initially commodities were exchanged for commodities called the Barter system. Then production came into existence. An individual produced substantial level of products with the assumption that a customer will buy only at reasonably price and good quality. Later they realized production alone cannot help them to maximize profit; Selling is that which makes it happen so they switched on to selling approach. During 1950s as competition increased in Global Economy the producers wanted to survive, hence they build a new concept called the Marketing Oriented Concept, which mainly focused on customer satisfaction. The necessitated the study of consumer behavior because if the behavior of the consumers is identified it enables the marketer to satisfy them effectively.

Total customer value Total customer value is a composition of: The value of the product The value of service provided by the product The value personally perceived by the buyer and The image value a customer place on the product based on the above three values Total Customer Cost Apart from monetary cost exerted by the customer there is time, energy and physic cost, which a customer evaluate before buying a product. He always requires the total customer cost lesser than the total value of the product. In the sense a marketer wants to make effective his marketing he has to reduce the total customer cost and increase total customer value. Who is a customer? A customer is the most important person in any business. A customer is not depending on us, we are dependent on them. A customer does as a favor when they call us; we are not doing them a favor by serving them.

A Customer is a person who brings us their wants; it is our job to fulfill those wants.

A customer is the life blood of every business.

A customer is someone who makes use of or receives the products or services of an individual or organization. The word historically derives from custom, meaning habit, a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future. Customer needs may be defined as the goods or services a customer requires to achieve specific goals. Different needs are of varying importance to the customer. Customer expectations are influenced by cultural values, advertising, marketing, and other communications, both with the supplier and with other sources. Customer expectation will be influenced by a customer's perception of the product or service and can be created by previous experience, advertising, hearsay, awareness of competitors, and brand image. The level of customer service is also a factor, and a customer might expect to encounter efficiency, helpfulness, reliability, confidence in the staff, and a personal interest in his or her patronage. If customer expectations are met, then customer satisfaction results. Handling customer expectations Most customers have positive expectations but some have negative
3

ones too and often unreasonable demands. It requires a great deal of tact to cope with customer expectations Positive expectations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. They believe you have what they need. They think you will be able to solve a problem. They believe you will care. They believe you will be professional. They believe your products or services will be reliable. They believe you will be trustworthy. They believe their business is valuable to you. They expect you to be cheerful. They expect your prices to be fair. They expect you to stand behind your products or services.

No two customers, it seems, have identical expectations of you and your store. Some customers like you immediately and become loyal, while others take an instant dislike to you, and become cold and distant. Some think youre an idiot; some think youre a hero. Some come in expecting the best; other expect the worst. As Ive suggested, there are many factors that contribute to these
4

expectations. They fall into five basic categories: needs, personal situations, circumstances, personalities, and pre-dispositions. With the success of any business hinging on customers, keeping them happy and satisfied is both a challenge and necessity. A loyal customer is not just a buyer but also an asset in more than one way. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The India Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting for over 10 per cent of the countrys GDP and around 8 per cent of the employment. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But all of them have not yet tasted success because of the heavy initial investments that are required to break even with other companies and compete with them. The India Retail Industry is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retailing has entered into the Retail market in India as is observed in the form of bustling shopping centers, multi-storied malls and the huge complexes that offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing workingwomen population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be
5

the key factors in the growth of the organized Retail sector in India. The growth pattern in organized retailing and in the consumption made by the Indian population will follow a rising graph helping the newer businessmen to enter the India Retail Industry. In India the vast middle class and its almost untapped retail industry are the key attractive forces for global retail giants wanting to enter into newer markets, which in turn will help the India Retail Industry to grow faster. Indian retail is expected to grow 25 per cent annually. Modern retail in India could be worth US$ 175-200 billion by 2016. The Food Retail Industry in India dominates the shopping basket. The Mobile phone Retail Industry in India is already a US$ 16.7 billion business, growing at over 20 per cent per year. The future of the India Retail Industry looks promising with the growing of the market, with the government policies becoming more favorable and the emerging technologies facilitating operation. The retailer who understands Indian consumer the best will win in the end. The Consumer might be the teenager or housewife or retired men. The Indian consumer is hard to pin down. As someone wisely said, the Indian consumer shifts loyalties with every 25 kilometers and with every 10 Rupees. The dimensions to deal with include class, education, language, caste and local customs in addition to the standard marketing dimensions used in the West. A retailers ability to devise and apply a sound strategy depends on how well that firm identifies and understands its customers and forms its retail strategy mix to appeal to them. This entails identifying the
6

characteristics, needs and attributes of consumers, as well as recognizing how people make purchase decisions and then devising an appropriate target market plan. Retailers have long depended on their ability to size up people when they walk in the door. Customers give themselves away by their clothing, speech and mannerisms. Todays retailers are much better at knowing their customers, predicting their needs and wants and delivering products and shopping experiences that consistently exceed their expectations. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To know the level of awareness & buying behaviour of customers To identify the level of satisfaction of the Customer To analyze the factors that made Customers to consume Reliance Fresh products To study the customers opinion about Reliance fresh in terms of price, Service, quality, etc. To find out the problems faced by the Customers

1.4 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY Limitations are unavoidable for any research study. For this study the following are the limitation.

1. The study is conducted at Reliance Fresh, Coimbatore so it is restricted to Reliance Fresh situated in Coimbatore. The study would not be applicable to Reliance Fresh in other cities & other hyper/ super markets which is located inside Coimbatore city. 2. The data collected is done through questionnaire, so the limitation of questionnaire method is applicable. 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The present study was to know the customers expectation about Reliance Fresh with special Reference to Coimbatore City. Although the study was carried out in Coimbatore. The emphasis is on the general buyer behavior. Through the study an attempt is made to explore various factors influencing the respondents in selecting goods. The findings of the study are purely based on the data collected through the survey conducted among buyer of Reliance Fresh Coimbatore. The study is limited to Coimbatore City.

1.6 RESEARCH MEHTODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 1. TITLE OF THE STUDY: Title of the study is A Study on Customers Expectation about Reliance Fresh with Special Reference to Coimbatore City Reliance Retail Limited. 2. AREA OF THE STUDY: The area of the study is confined to Coimbatore District. 3. SOURCES OF DATA: Both primary and secondary data are collected so as to fulfill the various objectives of the present study. This study is of descriptive in nature. For the purpose of collection data, a detailed Questionnaire has been prepared and collected from the consumers. the consumers covered in the study is 300. 4. SAMPLE SIZE: For the purpose of the study, 300 questionnaires were collected in coimbaotre District. 5. SAMPLE DESIGN: Adequate care has been exercised to collect unbiased data from the respondents. The total number of

The Questionnaires is well structured, simple and understandable so as to cover the objectives of study. The method of sampling adopted for the study is a Convenience Sampling method. 6. TOOLS USED FOPR THE STUDY: For the purpose of the study the following tools have been considered. Percentage analysis or descriptive analysis for exhibiting ordinary tables and Chi-Square analysis used to test the significant association between two attributes used for the study. 1. DESCRIPTIVE / PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS: Percentage analysis is carried out for the answer given by the respondents towards the questions given in the questionnaire. 2. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS; In this section the researcher was interested to test whether the variable considered has any significant relationship or not. formula for calculating Chi-Square analysis is following : To prove statistically the researcher has selected CHI SQUARE ANALYSIS. The

( O E) 2 x = E
2

Where O = Observed Frequency , E = Expected Frequency.

10

3. Ranking Method (Weighted Average Method) This technique was used to rank out the opinion about the characteristic of the vehicle. The order of merit given by the respondents was converted into ranks by using the following formula. Weightage Score = Where Xj Wi WiXj Weightage value Ranking position value

11

2. AN OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY

2.1 INTRODUCTION: Retail, according to Concise Oxford English Dictionary, is the sale of goods to the public for use or consumption rather than for resale. Retailing is derived from the French word 'retailer' meaning 'breaking bulk' and breaking bulk quantities into smaller sellable units. Usually, a retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, whether directly or through a wholesaler, and then sales individual items in small quantities to the general public or end users. The world over the retail sector has grown rapidly with increasing sophistication and modernization of the life-style of households and individuals and with increasing globalisation of trade; India has begun to cater up rather astonishingly rapidly. An Overview of Indian Retail Sector: The retail sector has helped in giving strong impetus to overall economic growth as a significant driver of the growth of services sector, which contributes as mush as 54 per cent of GDP. It has strong backward and forward linkages with other sectors like agriculture and industry through stimulating demand for goods and through mass marketing, packaging, storage and transport. Moreover, it creates considerable direct and indirect employment in the economy. Also, the consumers have benefited in terms of wide range of products available in a market.

12

Size of the Modern Retail Sector: The emergence of new formats and the evolution of modern retail in India has attracted attention in recent years. [The data sets published by different authorities are not strictly comparable as they are based on surveys, but they give some idea of the trends and prospects.] The retail sector, currently, is said to contribute 10 per cent of Indias GDP (Confederation of Indian Industry), and is expected to grow at a robust rate of 36 per cent per annum by the end of 2008 (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, ASSOCHAM). This growth would expand the size of the market to over Rs.14,79,000 crores from its current level of Rs.5,88,000 crores. The Indian retail market is estimated at Rs.9,300 billion and is expected to grow at a compounded rate of 30 per cent over the next five years (Retailers Association of India). Moreover, the retail sector employs over 7 per cent (21 million) of the national workforce (Aggarwal, 2000), the second only to agriculture. The retail density more than doubled between 1978 and 1996 and the number of outlets per 1000 people at an all India level, increased from 3.7 in 1978 to 5.6 in 1996. For the urban sector alone, the shop density increased from 4 per 1000 people in 1978 to 7.6 per 1000 people in 1996 (Venugopal, 2001). Because of their small size, Indian retailers have very little bargaining power with manufacturers, unlike in the case of retailers in developed countries, (Sarma , 2000). Structure of Indian Retail Sector: The retail sector is classified broadly into two: Organised Retail Sector and, Unorganised Retail Sector. The organised segment is mainly
13

characterized by typically large number of retailers, greater enforcement of taxation mechanisms and better labour law monitoring systems. It is not just a stocking and selling, but is more about efficient supply chain management, developing vender relationships, quality customer service, efficient merchandising and timely promotional campaigns. It, however, constitutes a very little share of at around 3 per cent (Rs.300 billion) of the total retail market. According to the Retailers Association of India, the share of organised sector to the overall retailing market in India is expected to grow from 3 per cent to 20 per cent in the next 10 years. It is estimated that by 2005, the organised retail sector would be employing in excess of 2,50,000 individuals directly and perhaps 8-10 times as many indirectly in the supply chain. The organised retailing has been successful in metropolitan cities so far, more so in the south and west India . It is expected that the tier II cities would take another 5 years to absorb modern retailing opportunities. Moreover, the case for Indian retailers to explore rural markets is also strong due to the size of rural population and agricultural income growth in last couple of years. A clear indicator of this potential is the share of rural market across most categories of consumption. The unorganised sector, on the other hand, which represents 97 per cent of the total retail market is mainly characterised by typically small retailers, more prone to tax evasion and lack of labour law supervision. India is one of the largest unorganised retail markets in the world and more than 96 per cent of the retailers work in less than 500 sq ft of area.

14

Components of Retail Sector: The major components of the retail sector are: Food and Grocery, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), Consumer Durables, Apparel, Footwear and leather, Watches, Jewellery, and Health and Beauty. The anatomy of the retail market has shown that the clothing and textiles constitutes 39 per cent of the organised retail pie, followed by food and grocery, which accounts for 11 percent of the total retail market. However, according to the survey conducted by KPMG for Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), among these, the food and grocery is expected to witness the fastest growth followed by clothing as the second-fastest growing segment. Key drivers in retail growth: The trends that are driving the growth of the retail sector in India are: Low share of organized retailing Falling real estate prices Increase in disposable income and customer aspiration Increase in expenditure for luxury items (CHART) Favorable demographics Increasing population of women

15

 Raising aspirations- value added good sales. RETAILING FORMAT IN INDIA: Malls: The largest form of organized retailing today. Located mainly in metro cities, in proximity to urban outskirts. Ranges from 60,000 sq ft to 7,00,000 sq ft and above. They lend an ideal shopping experience with an amalgamation of product, service and entertainment, all under a common roof. Examples include Shoppers Stop, Pyramid, and Pantaloon. Specialty Stores: Chains such as the Bangalore based Kids Kemp, the Mumbai books retailer Crossword, RPG's Music World and the Times Group's music chain Planet M, are focusing on specific market segments and have established themselves strongly in their sectors. Discount Stores: As the name suggests, discount stores or factory outlets, offer discounts on the MRP through selling in bulk reaching economies of scale or excess stock left over at the season. The product category can range from a variety of perishable/ non-perishable goods. Department Stores: Large stores ranging from 20000-50000 sq. ft, catering to a variety of consumer needs. Further classified into localized departments such as clothing, toys, home, groceries, etc. Departmental Stores are expected to
16

take over the apparel business from exclusive brand showrooms. Among these, the biggest success is K Raheja's Shoppers Stop, which started in Mumbai and now has more than seven large stores (over 30,000 sq. ft) across India and even has its own in store brand for clothes called Stop. Hyper marts/Supermarkets: Large self-service outlets, catering to varied shopper needs are termed as supermarkets. These are located in or near residential high streets. These stores today contribute to 30% of all food & grocery organized retail sales. Super Markets can further be classified in to mini supermarkets typically 1,000 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft and large supermarkets ranging from of 3,500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft. having a strong focus on food & grocery and personal sales. Convenience Stores: These are relatively small stores 400-2,000 sq. feet located near residential areas. They stock a limited range of high-turnover convenience products and are usually open for extended periods during the day, seven days a week. Prices are slightly higher due to the convenience premium MBOs: Multi Brand outlets, also known as Category Killers, offer several brands across a single product category. These usually do well in busy market places and Metros.

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3. PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZAITON

3.1 COMPANY PROFILE Reliance Group The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group's annual revenues are in excess of US$ 27 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India. Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration - in polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production - to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain. The Group's activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles and retail. Reliance enjoys global leadership in its businesses, being the largest polyester yarn and fibre producer in the world and among the top five to ten producers in the world in major petrochemical products. The Group exports products in excess of US$ 15 billion to more than 100 countries in the world. Major Group Companies are Reliance Industries
18

Limited (including main subsidiaries Reliance Petroleum Limited and Reliance Retail Limited) and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited. Reliance Fresh Reliance Industries on Sunday launched its first retail format called Reliance Fresh in Hyderabad. Spread over 2,000-5,000 sq ft, Reliance Fresh Supermarkets Type Founded Supermarket 30 October 2006

Headquarters Mumbai, India Key people Industry Slogan Website Mukesh Ambani, CEO Retail Growth Through Value Creation www.ril.com

Reliance Fresh is the retail chain division of Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance has entered into this segment by opening new retail stores into almost every metropolitan and regional area of India. Reliance plans to invest Rs 25000 crores in the next 4 years in their retail division and plans to begin retail stores in 784 cities across the country. The Reliance Fresh supermarket chain is RILs Rs 25,000 crore venture and it plans to add more stores across different , and eventually have a pan-India footprint by year 2011. The super marts will sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy
19

products and also will sport a separate enclosure and supply-chain for nonvegetarian products. Besides, the stores would provide direct employment to 5 lakh young Indians and indirect job opportunities to a million people, according to the company. The company also has plans to train students and housewives in customer care and quality services for part-time jobs. Reliance Fresh recently (24th Jan, 2007) opened several "Fresh" outlets in Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad,Jaipur, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ludhiana increasing its total store count to 40. Reliance is still testing its retail concepts by controlled entry beginning in the southern states. According to Deccan Herald, the company is planning on opening new stores with store-size varying from 1,500 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft, which will stock fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, FMCG products and dairy products. Each store is said to be within a radius of 1-2 km of each other, in relation to the concept of a neighbour store. However, this is only the entry roll-out that the company has planned. Bangalore is said to have 40 stores in all by the end of the year. In a dramatic change due circumstances prevaling in UP, West Bengal and Orissa, It was mentioned recently in News Dailies that, Reliance Retail is moving out stocking. Reliance Retail has decided to minimise its exposure in the fruit and vegetable business and position Reliance Fresh as a pure play super market focusing on categories like food, FMCG, home, consumer durables, IT, wellness and auto accessories, with food accounting for the bulk of the business. The company may not stock fruit and vegetables in some states, Orissa being one of them. Though Reliance Fresh is not exiting
20

the fruit and vegetable business altogether, it has decided not to compete with local vendors partly due to political reasons, and partly due to its inability to create a robust supply chain. This is quite different from what the firm had originally planned. When the first Reliance Fresh store opened in Hyderabad, not only did the company said the stores main focus would be fresh produce like fruits and vegetables at a much lower price, but also spoke at length about its farm-to-fork theory. The idea the company spoke about was to source from farmers and sell directly to the consumer removing middlemen out of the way. Growth through Value Creation Reliance is gearing up to revolutionize the retailing industry in India. Towards this end, we are aggressively working on introducing a pan-India network of retail outlets in multiple formats. A world class shopping environment, state of art technology, a seamless supply chain infrastructure, a host of unique value-added services and above all, unmatched customer experience, is what this initiative is all about. The retail initiative of Reliance will be without a parallel in size and spread and make India proud. Ensuring better returns to Indian farmers and manufacturers and greater value for the Indian consumer, both in quality and quantity, will be an integral feature of this project. By creating value at all levels, we will actively endeavor to contribute to India's growth. The project will boast of a seamless supply chain infrastructure, unprecedented even by world standards. Through multiple formats and a wide range of categories, Reliance is aiming to touch almost every Indian customer and supplier.

21

4. PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA

Marketing strategy is a set of objectives, policies and rules that guide over time firms marketing efforts. Since it is true to over come the hurdles in the market the marketing efforts like price, product, promotion and physical distribution must up dated and evaluated. Since the customers view towards these efforts to be analyzed and according to their wants and needs the marketing strategies to be modified as to guide the marketing efforts. This study to examine the marketing the strategy provide a deep knowledge about the marketing efforts and it points the strength and weakness of the efforts and more over it helps to overcome the existing drawbacks also helps to adopt a new strategy.

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5. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

TABLE-5.1 GENDER GENDER Male Female Total INFERENCE It is cited that 75.7% of the respondents comes under male category and 24.3% the respondents comes under female category RESPONDENTS 73 227 300 PERCENTAGE 24.3 75.7 100.0

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CHART 5.1 GENDER

80 70 60 PERCENTAGE 50 40 30 20 10 0 Male GENDER Female

24

TABLE-5.2 AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS AGE GROUP Below 20 20-35 36-50 Above 50 Total RESPONDENTS 7 100 112 81 300 PERCENTAGE 2.3 33.3 37.3 27.0 100.0

INFERENCE It is highlighted from the above table that majority of respondents belong to the age group 36-50, 33.3% of the respondents belong to the age group of 20-35, 27% of the respondents belong to age group above 50 and 2.3% of the respondents belong to the age group of below 20.

25

CHART-5.2 AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

40 35 30 25
PERCENTAGE

20 15 10 5 0

BELOW 20

20-35

36-50

Above 50

AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

26

TABLE-5.3 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION School Level UG PG Professional Others Total

RESPONDENTS 44 97 103 37 19 300

PERCENTAGE 14.7 32.2 34.3 12.3 6.5 100.0

INFERENCE From the above table it is inferred that 34.3% of the respondents belong to post graduate and 32.2% of the respondents belong to under graduate, 14.7% of the respondents belong to school level, 12.3% of the respondents are professionalist and 6.5% of the respondents belong to other category.

27

CHART-5.3 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

35 30 PERCENTAGE 25 20 15 10 5 0 School Level

UG

PG

Professional

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

28

Others

TABLE 5.4 OCCUPATION OCCUPATION Govt. Employee Private Employee Business Others House Wife Total INFERENCE From the table it is clear that 38.7% of the respondents are house wives , 24.7% of respondents are private employees, 23% of respondents are doing business, 11.3% of respondents are government employees, 2.3% of the respondents are students. RESPONDENTS 34 74 69 7 116 300 PERCENTAGE 11.3 24.7 23.0 2.3 38.7 100.0

29

PERCENTAGE 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0 Govt. Employee Private Employee 5

CHART 5.4

OCCUPATION

OCCUPATION

30 Business Others House Wife

TABLE 5.5 INCOME LEVEL INCOME LEVEL Below Rs.5000 5000-10000 10001-20000 Above Rs.20000 Total INFERENCE From the above table it is inferred that 44.7% of respondents income level falls above Rs.10001 Rs.20000, 36.7% of respondents falls on income level between Rs 5000-Rs10000, 13% of the respondents income level are below Rs.5000 and 5.7% of the respondents income level are above Rs.20000. RESPONDENTS 39 110 134 17 300 PERCENTAGE 13.0 36.7 44.7 5.7 100.0

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PERCENTAGE 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0 Below Rs.5000 5000-10000 5

CHART 5.5

INCOME LEVEL

INCOME LEVEL

32 10001-20000 Above Rs.20000

TABLE - 5.6 SOURCE THROUGH WHICH YOU KNOW ABOUT RELIANE FRESH SOURCES Friends Relatives / Neighbours Advertisement Walk-in by Others Total INFERENCE It reveals that 56% of the respondents comes to know about Reliance fresh through relatives, 31% of the respondents comes to know about Reliance fresh through friends, 7.7% of the respondents comes to know about Reliance fresh through advertisement, 2.7% of the respondents comes to know about Reliance fresh through walk in, and 2.7% of the respondents comes to know about Reliance fresh through other sources. RESPONDENTS 93 168 23 8 8 300 PERCENTAGE 31.0 56.0 7.7 2.7 2.7 100.0

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CHART - 5.6 SOURCE THROUGH WHICH YOU KNOW ABOUT RELIANE FRESH

60 50 PERCENTAGE 40 30 20 10 0 Friends Relatives / Neighbours

Advertisement

SOURCE THROUGH WHICH YOU KNOW ABOUT RELIANE FRESH

34

Walk-in by

Others

TABLE - 5.7 FREQUENCY OF VISIT TO STORES FACTORS Daily Once a week Twice a week Once in a month Rarely TOTAL INTERENCE It is pinpointed that 41.3% of the respondents visits the store once in a week, 24.7% of the respondents visits the store twice a week, 24.3% of the respondents visits the store once in a month, 14% of the respondents visits the store daily and 5% of the respondents visits the store rarely. RESPONDENTS 14 124 74 73 15 300 PERCENTAGE 4.7 41.3 24.7 24.3 5.0 100.0

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CHART - 5.7 FREQUENCY OF VISIT TO STORES

45 40 35 30
PERCENTAAGE

25 20 15 10 5 0
DAILY ONCE A WEEK TWICE A WEEK ONCE IN A MONTH RARELY

TIME DURATION

36

TABLE 5.8 SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE NUMBER OF SHOPS IN THE CITY SATISFACTION LEVEL Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total INFERENCE It is noticed that 38.3% of the respondents are satisfied, 28.7% of the respondents are dissatisfied, 23.3% of the respondents stands neutral, 6% of the respondents are highly satisfied and only 3.7% of the respondents are highly dissatisfied with the number of shops available in the city. RESPONDENTS 18 115 70 86 11 300 PERCENTAGE 6.0 38.3 23.3 28.7 3.7 100.0

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TABLE 5.8 SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE NUMBER OF SHOPS IN THE CITY

40 35 30 PERCENTAGE 25 20 15 10 5 Neutral 0 Highly Satisfied Satisfied

SATISFACTION LEVEL

38

Highly Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

TABLE 5.9 PURCHASE PLACE BEFORE RELIANCE FRESH FACTORS Department Stores Petty Shops / Stores House Vendors Market Others Total INFERENCE It is noticed that 33.7% of the respondents purchases are made in petty shops / stores before purchase made in Reliance Fresh, 27% of the respondents purchases are made in department stores before purchase made in Reliance Fresh, 23.7% of the respondents purchases are made from house vendors before purchase made in Reliance Fresh, 11.7% of the respondents purchases are made in markets before purchase made in Reliance Fresh, 4% of the respondents purchase from others before purchase made in Reliance Fresh. RESPONDENTS 81 101 71 35 12 300 PERCENTAGE 27.0 33.7 23.7 11.7 4.0 100.0

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CHART 5.9 PURCHASE PLACE BEFORE RELIANCE FRESH

35 30 25
PERCENTAAGE

20 15 10 5 0

DEPARTMENT PETTY STORES SHOPS

HOUSE VENDORS

MARKET

OTHERS

PLACE OF PURCHASE

40

TABLE 5.10 FREQUENTLY PURCHASED PRODUCTS IN RELIANCE FRESH VARIOUS PRODUCTS Fruits & Veg. Dairy & Bakery Groceries Others All Total INFERENCE It is evident from the above table that 42% of the respondents purchase all kind of products, 23% of the respondents purchase products like fruits & vegetables, 18.7% of the respondents purchase groceries, 10.7% of the respondents purchase dairy & bakery products, and 5.7% of the respondents purchase other kind of products.

RESPONDENTS 69 32 56 17 126 300

PERCENTAGE 23.0 10.7 18.7 5.7 42.0 100.0

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CHART 5.10 FREQUENTLY PURCHASED PRODUCTS IN RELIANCE FRESH

45 40 35 30
PERCENTAGE

25 20 15 10 5 0
FRUITS & DAIRY & GROCERIES OTHERS VEG BAKERY ALL

PRODUCTS PURCHASED FREQUENTLY

42

TABLE 5.11 IMPORTANT FACTOR CONSIDERED IN CHOOSING A PRODUCT FACTORS Price Quality Brand Name Packing Offers Total INFERENCE It is observed that 30.7% of the respondents choose quality as the most important factor in choosing a product, 22.7% of the respondents choose price as the most important factor in choosing a product, 20.7% of the respondents choose offers as the most important factor in choosing a product, 17.2% of the respondents choose brand name as the most important factor in choosing a product, and 8.7% of the respondents choose packing as the most important factor in choosing a product. RESPONDENTS 68 92 52 26 62 300 PERCENTAGE 22.7 30.7 17.2 8.7 20.7 100.0

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CHART 5.11 IMPORTANT FACTOR CONSIDERED IN CHOOSING A PRODUCT

35 30 25 PERCENTAGE 20 15 10 5 0 Price Quality Brand Name Packing Offers

FACTORS

44

TABLE 5.12 EXPECTATION FROM RELIANCE FRESH FACTORS Quality Brand Price Discounts Total INFERENCE It is stated 39.3% of the respondent expects quality from Reliance Fresh, 33.7% of the respondent expects price from Reliance Fresh, 21% of the respondent expects discount from Reliance Fresh, and 6% of the respondent expects brand from Reliance Fresh. RESPONDENTS 118 18 101 63 300 PERCENTAGE 39.3 6.0 33.7 21.0 100.0

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CHART 5.12 EXPECTATION FROM RELIANCE FRESH

40 35 30 PERCENTAGE 25 20 15 10 5 0 Quality Price Discounts Brand FACTORS 46

TABLE 5.13 SATISFACTION LEVEL - MEMBERSHIP CARD LEVEL OF SATISFACTION Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total INFERENCE It is obvious that 58% of the respondents are satisfied, 17% of the respondents are neutral, 14.7% of the respondents are highly satisfied, and 10.3% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the membership card.

RESPONDENTS 44 174 51 31 0 300

PERCENTAGE 14.7 58.0 17.0 10.3 0 100.0

47

CHART 5.13 SATISFACTION LEVEL - MEMBERSHIP CARD

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Highly Satisfied Satisfied

PERCENTAGE

Neutral

LEVEL OF SATISFACTION

48

Highly Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

TABLE 5.14 MODE OF PAYMENT MODE OF PAYMENT Hot Cash Credit Card Debit Card Food Coupons Total INFERENCE It is noticed that 62.7% of the respondents prefer hot cash payment, 21% of the respondents prefer debit cards, 14% of the respondents prefer credit cards, and only 2.3% of the respondents prefer food coupons. RESPONDENTS 188 42 63 7 300 PERCENTAGE 62.7 14.0 21.0 2.3 100.0

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CHART 5.14 MODE OF PAYMENT

70 60 50
PERCENTAGE

40 30 20 10 0

HOT CASH

CREDIT CARD

DEBIT CARD

FOOD COUPON S

MODE OF PAYMENT

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TABLE 5.14 OPINION ABOUT THE TIME TAKEN FOR BILLING AT THE STORE SATISFACTION LEVEL Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total INFERENCE It is obvious that 59.3% of the respondents are satisfied, 16.3% of the respondents are neutral, 11% of the respondents are highly satisfied, and 13.3% of the respondents are dissatisfied about the time taken for billing.

RESPONDENTS 33 178 49 40 0 300

PERCENTAGE 11.0 59.3 16.3 13.3 0 100.0

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CHART 5.15 OPINION ABOUT THE TIME TAKEN FOR BILLING AT THE STORE

60 50 40
PERCENTAGE

30 20 10 0

HIGHLY SATISFIED

SATISFIED

NEUTRAL

DISSATISFIED

HIGHLY DISSATISFIED

SATISFACTION LEVEL

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TABLE 5.16 SATISFACTION LEVEL ABOUT RELIANCE FRESH FACTORS Price Quality Product availability Customer service Hygienic Freshness Door delivery INFERENCE H.S 11.7 7.3 11.7 20.7 29.7 13.7 7 S 57.3 71.4 65.3 53.7 46.3 66 63.3 N 20 11.3 19 18.3 16.7 14.3 13.7 D.S 8 10 4 7.3 7.3 6 13.7 H.D.S 3 0 0 0 0 0 2.3 Total 300 300 300 300 300 300 300

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CHART 5.16 SATISFACTION LEVEL ABOUT RELIANCE FRESH

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H.S S N D.S H.D.S

70

60

50 Percentage

40

30

20

10

0 Price Quality Product availability Customer service Factors Hygienic Freshness Door delivery

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TABLE 5.17 COMPARING RELIANCE FRESH WITH OTHER RETAILERS FACTORS Price Quality Product Availability Total INFERENCE It is observed that 53.7% of the respondents compare on the basis of quality, 25.3% of the respondents compare on the basis of product availability, and 21% of the respondents compare on the basis of price with other retailers. RESPONDENTS 63 161 76 300 PERCENTAGE 21.0 53.7 25.3 100.0

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CHART 5.17 COMPARING RELIANCE FRESH WITH OTHER RETAILERS

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Price Quality FACTORS Product Availability

PERCENTAGE

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TABLE 5.18 RANKING OF FACTORS OF RELIANCE FRESH 1 Rank 25 188 12 29 17 29 2 Rank 43 29 12 154 38 36 3 Rank 8 7 21 36 29 187 4 Rank 0 39 30 18 183 30 5 Rank 195 25 22 52 11 18 6 Rank 29 12 203 11 22 0 Weighted Weighted Score Average 816.00 1480.00 553.00 1257.00 1001.00 1228.00 38.86 70.48 26.33 59.86 47.67 58.48

Factors Product Availability Quality Store Location Brand Image Customer Service Price INFERENCE

Total 300 300 300 300 300 300

Total V I VI II IV III

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TABLE 5.19 OFFERS WILL INFLUENCE THE BUYING BEHAVIOR YES / NO Yes No Total INFERENCE It is clear from the above table 71% of the respondents buying behaviour are influenced when there is an offer and 21% of the respondents are not influenced. RESPONDENTS 213 87 300 PERCENTAGE 71.0 29.0 100.0

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CHART 5.19 OFFERS WILL INFLUENCE THE BUYING BEHAVIOR

80 70 60 PERCENTAGE 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes YES/NO No

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TABLE 2.20 OPINION ABOUT DISPLAY OF PRODUCTS SATISFACTION LEVELS Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total INFERENCE It is evidenced that 65.7% of the respondents are satisfied, 14.3% of the respondents stands neutral, 11% of the respondents are dissatisfied, and 9% of the respondents are highly satisfied above the display of products.

RESPONDENTS 27 197 43 33 0 300

PERCENTAGE 9.0 65.7 14.3 11.0 0 100.0

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CHART 2.20 OPINION ABOUT DISPLAY OF PRODUCTS

70 60 50 PERCENTAGE 40 30 20 10 0 Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied

SATISFACTION LEVELS

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TABLE - 5.21 FACED PROBLEM UTILIZING RELIANCE FRESH SERVICE YES / NO Yes No Total INFERENCE It is noticed that 84.7% of the respondents do not faced any problems while utilizing Reliance Fresh whereas only 15.3% of the respondents face problems. RESPONDENTS 46 254 300 PERCENTAGE 15.3 84.7 100.0

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CHART - 5.21 FACED PROBLEM UTILIZING RELIANCE FRESH SERVICE

90 80 70 PERCENTAGE 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes YES/NO No

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TYPES OF PROBLEM FACED BY THE CUSTOMERS WHILE UTILIZING THE RELIANCE FRESH SERVICE FACTOS 1 2 3 4 Weighted Weighted Total Total Rank Rank Rank Rank Score Average 34 12 0 0 12 34 0 0 0 0 34 12 0 0 12 34 46 46 46 46 172.00 150.00 80.00 58.00 17.20 15.00 8.00 5.80 I II III IV - RANK

FACTORS Parking Lack of Service Poor Location Price

INFERENCE

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TABLE 5.22 RECOMMEND OTHERS TO UTILIZE RELIANCE FRESH YES / NO Yes No Total INFERENCE It is clear from the above table that 92.3% of the respondents recommend Reliance Fresh towards others whereas 7.7% of the respondents are not recommending about Reliance Fresh. RESPONDENTS 277 23 300 PERCENTAGE 92.3 7.7 100.0

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CHART 5.22 RECOMMEND OTHERS TO UTILIZE RELIANCE FRESH

100 90 80 70 PERCENTAGE 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes YES/NO No

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TABLE 5.23 CROSSTABLE BETWEEN EDUCATIONL QUALIFICATION AND MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR WHICH YOU CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING A PRODUCT MOST IMPROTANT FACTOR BEFORE CHOOSE A PRODUCT Price 50 3 6 7 2 68 Brand Quality Packing Offers Name 6 45 11 24 6 92 10 26 3 6 7 52 15 4 5 1 1 26 22 19 12 6 3 62

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

Total

School Level UG PG Professional Other / Diploma Total Source: Primary Data

103 97 37 44 19 300

(H0) : There is no significant relationship between educational and most important factor which you consider before choosing a product. (H1) : There is significant relationship between educational and most important factor which you consider before choosing a product.

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CHISQUARE TEST Calculated 2 Value Degree of freedom Table value Significant level INFERENCE It is observed above the table that the calculated value is of chi-square is greater than the table value. Hence the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is significant relationship between educational and most important factor which you consider before choosing a product. = = = = 16 26.296 Significant at 5% level 114.78

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TABLE 5.24 CROSSTABLE BETWEEN GENDER AND NUMBER OF TIMES VISIT STORES NUMBER OF TIMES VISIT STORES GENDER Daily 11 3 14 Once a week 31 93 124 Twice a week 12 62 74 Once in a month 17 56 73 Rarely 2 13 15 Total

Male Female Total

73 227 300

Source: Primary Data (H0) : There is no significant relationship between gender and number of times visit stores. (H1) : There is significant relationship between gender and number of times visit stores.

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CHISQUARE TEST Calculated 2 Value Degree of freedom Table value Significant level INFERENCE It is observed above the table that the calculated value is of chi-square is greater than the table value. Hence the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is significant relationship between gender and number of times visit stores. = = = = 26.075 4 9.488 Significant at 5% level

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TABLE 5.25 CROSSTABLE BETWEEN INCOME LEVEL AND SATISFACTION LEVEL OF PRICE INCOME LEVEL Below Rs.5000 5000-10000 10001-20000 Above Rs.20000 Total Source: Primary Data (H0) : There is no significant relationship between income level and satisfaction level of price. (H1) : There is significant relationship between income level and satisfaction level of price. H.S 7 11 11 6 35 S 26 85 58 3 172 N 3 17 35 5 60 D.S 2 15 5 2 24 H.D.S 1 6 1 1 9 Total 39 134 110 17 300

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CHISQUARE TEST Calculated 2 Value Degree of freedom Table value Significant level INFERENCE It is observed above the table that the calculated value is of chi-square is greater than the table value. Hence the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is significant relationship between income level and satisfaction level of price. = = = = 39.727 12 21.026 Significant at 5% level

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TABLE 5.26 CROSSTABLE BETWEEN OCCUPATION AND SATISFACTION LEVEL OF NUMBER OF SHOPS IN THE CITY OCCUPATION Govt. Employee Business Others House Wife Private Employee Total H.S 7 2 1 7 1 18 S 2 10 1 45 57 115 N 3 22 2 35 8 70 D.S 21 32 2 24 7 86 H.D.S 1 3 1 5 1 11 Total 34 69 7 116 74 300

Source: Primary Data (H0) : There is no significant relationship between occupation and satisfaction level of number of shops in the city. (H1) : There is significant relationship between occupation and satisfaction level of number of shops in the city.

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CHISQUARE TEST Calculated 2 Value Degree of freedom Table value Significant level INFERENCE It is observed above the table that the calculated value is of chi-square is greater than the table value. Hence the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is significant relationship between occupation and satisfaction level of number of shops in the city. = = = = 114.921 16 26.296 Significant at 5% level

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TABLE 5.27 CROSSTABLE BETWEEN AGE AND CUSTOMERS EXPECT FROM RELIANCE FRESH AGE Below 20 20-35 36-50 Above 50 Total Source: Primary Data (H0) : There is no significant relationship between age and customers expect from Reliance Fresh. (H1) : There is significant relationship between age and customers expect from Reliance Fresh. Quality 3 32 46 37 118 Brand 1 8 5 4 18 Price 2 38 34 27 101 Discounts 1 22 27 13 63 Total 7 100 112 81 300

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CHISQUARE TEST Calculated 2 Value Degree of freedom Table value Significant level INFERENCE It is observed above the table that the calculated value is of chi-square is lesser than the table value. Hence the null hypothesis is accepted and it is concluded that there is no significant relationship between age and customers expect from Reliance Fresh. = = = = 7.001 9 16.919 Not Significant at 5% level

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CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS Majority of the respondents are female. 37.3% of the respondents are belong to the age group of 36-50. The people who visit the shop are mostly well educated. 38.7% of the respondents are house wife. 44.7% of the respondents are belong to the income level of 10000-20000. Majority of the respondents comes to know about Reliance Fresh through relatives. 41.3% of the respondents are visit the store once a week. 33.7% of the respondents preferred petty shops/stores for their purchase or shopping before purchases are made in Reliance Fresh. Majority (42%) of the respondents are preferred to buy all products from Reliance Fresh.

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39.3% of the respondents are expect quality from the Reliance Fresh.

Almost 58% of the respondents are satisfied with the membership card.

Majority of the respondents i.e. 62.7% are preferred to pay hot cash.

59.3% of the respondents are satisfied with the time taken for billing at the store.

Most of the respondents are satisfied with the billing speed. 38.3% of the respondents are satisfied wit the number of shops in the city.

Mostly customers compare Reliance Fresh with other stores on the basis of quality.

Majority of the respondents (i.e. 71%) buying behaviour is influenced when there is an offer. About 65.7% of the respondents were satisfied with the display of the products. Only very few number of customers face problems while utilizing the Reliance Fresh.
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Most of the customers face problems while parking the vehicles.

Majority of the customers recommend about Reliance Fresh towards others.

There

is

significant

relationship

between

educational

qualification and most important factor which you consider before choosing a product. There is significant relationship between gender and number of times visit stores. There is significant relationship between income level and satisfaction level of price. There is significant relationship between occupation and satisfaction level of number of shops in the city. There is no significant relationship between age and customers expect from Reliance Fresh.

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SUGGESTIONS There is no standard advertisement, so the management may take necessary action for designing an advertisement program. The boards add banners might be increased at right places to attract more customers. People tend to visit the shop most frequently, only when offers are announced; the shop may try to rectify this. Sometimes some of the products are not available with the shop. They should make proper arrangements for billing. Gift items should be packed at the same place where it is purchased, when it is purchased at one floor and packed at the other place, it makes the customers irritated. Proper arrangements should be made for parking facilities.

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CONCLUSION
Customers Expectation is a major area where every organization must concentrate to get success in the market. long run. Reliance Fresh, a hypermarket store became a hit, as it combined the look and feel of Indian markets with aspects of modern retail like choice, convenience and quality. The store, through its various seasonal offers, reasonable price and good quality and service, can maintain a good customer relationship which would ultimately result in increase in sales along with increased customer satisfaction level. Above all, it always concentrates in delivering everything, everywhere, every time to every Indian consumer in the most profitable manner that drives the success of the store. Without knowing the buyer expectation its impossible for any organization to achieve their targets in

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APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Name: 2. Gender: Male 3. Age: Below 20 20-35 36-50 above 50 Female

4. Educational Qualification: Professional School Level 5. Occupation Government Employee Business 6. Income Level (Per Month in Rs): Below 5,000 Above 20,000 5,000-10,000 10,001-20,000 Private Employee House Wife Others Post Graduate Others Under Graduate

7. How do you know about Reliance Fresh? Friends Walk-in by Relatives/Neighbour Others Advertisement

8. How often do you visit stores? Daily Once in a month Once a week Rarely
82

twice a week

9. State your level of satisfaction with number of Reliance Fresh available in the Coimbatore City? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied 10. Where you purchased before using Reliance Fresh? Departmental Store Market Petty Shop/Store Others House Vendors

11 .What kind of products do you purchase most frequently from the Store? Fruits & Veg Others Dairy & Bakery All Groceries

12. The most important factor which you consider before choosing a Product? Price Packing Quality Offers Brand Name Others

13. What do you expect more from Reliance Fresh? Quality Brand Price Discounts

14. What do you feel about membership card in Reliance Fresh? Highly Satisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Highly Dissatisfied Neutral

15. What mode of payment you feel more comfortable with? Hot Cash Credit Card Debit Card Food Coupons

16. What is your opinion about the time taken for billing at the store? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied
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17. State your level of satisfaction for the following factors: Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Particulars Price Quality Product Availability Customer Service Hygiene Freshness Door Delivery Highly Satisfied Neutral Satisfied Dissatisfie d Highly Dissatisfied

18. What other products and services would you like us to make available? (Please specify): _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 19. What do you like about Reliance Fresh when compared to other Retailers? Price Quality Product Availability

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19. What do you like the best of Reliance Fresh? (Pls rank the following from 1-6) Particulars Product Availability Quality Store Location Brand Image Customer Service Price 20. Whether the offers will influence your buying behavior? Yes No Ranks

21. What is your opinion about display of the products? Highly Satisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Neutral Highly Dissatisfied

22. Have you faced any problem while utilizing our services? Yes If yes, please rank the following, Particulars Parking Lack of service Poor Location Over crowd
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No

Rank

23. Would you recommended others to utilize the Reliance Fresh? Yes No

If no, Please specify the reason _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ 24. Please give your valuable suggestions to improve, if any _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

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