SZABIST

To study the impact of visual merchandising and brand name on

consumer impulsive buying behavior

ADVANCE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Proposal
MAB-Eve
Section 1-H

Submitted To
Arshad Siddiqui

Submitted By
Hammad Channa (1435106)
Muhammad Haseeb Khan (1435233)
Waqas Shams (1435243)

11/25/2014

Research Topic:
The impact of visual merchandising and brand name on consumer
impulsive buying behavior
INTRODUCTION:
As Apparel retail industry is emerging drastically in Pakistan, competition and sales generating
techniques are going on new dimensions. Retailers are trying new techniques and methods to attract
consumers. New international chains are entering in the market and bringing competition on next level.
According to Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), Pakistan rank amongst the top 50 countries in the world
which indicates the strong purchasing power of the consumers and attracts retailers to invest in Pakistan.
Fashion industry also plays a greater role in apparel retail industry. Brands, trends and new apparels are
attracting consumers to buy. Local and international retailer are coming into the market and creating
values to their products and extensively planning to attract new consumers.
Competition is at peak thus evoking retailers to use methods and techniques which attract more
consumers. Visual Merchandising is one technique which is creating competitive edge among the
retailers.. According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English1999, Oxford University Press, Visual
merchandising is an activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in the retail
outlets.It involves everything the customers see both exterior as well as interior, that creates positive
image of a business and results in attention, interest, desire and action (AIDA) on the part of the customer
Bastowshoop et al., (1991), p.1. Visual merchandising includes product display (interior), sales promotion
display (exterior), atmosphere and ambiance of the store.
Impulse buying is a sudden and immediate purchase with no pre-shopping intentions either to buy the
specific product category or to fulfill a specific buying task (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998, p170).The impulse
buying behavior occurs after experiencing an urge to buy and tends to be spontaneous without a lot of
reflection (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998). Since impulse buyers are not actively looking for a certain product
and dont have prior plans or intention to make a purchase, internal states and environmental/external
factors can serve as cues to trigger their impulse behavior. This impulse buying is recognized by retailers
and thus they use visual merchandising techniques to attract consumers and influence them to do
impulsive buying.
Many researches are done before on linking impulsive buying behavior with visual merchandising. We
are adding one more variable which effects impulsive buying i.e. Store brand name. The purpose of this
paper is to study the combine effect of visual merchandising and store brand name on consumer impulsive
buying behavior.
Apparel market is a very spontaneous not only in Pakistan but in most countries of the world shifting
styling trends can be observed. In Pakistan, apparel market is growing day by day, as mentioned, and
people are now very much conscious about how to dress. Also, people turning out to be more brand
responsive. These leads apparel markets towards excessive competition. Foreign brands are also trying to
penetrate in this potential market.

Greater competition taking apparel industry to another level, igniting the new concepts of visual
merchandising and creation of unique brand name to magnetize potential buyers. These buyers are usually
of young age because it fascinates them to look apart from others and they are ready to adopt new fashion.
The role of store environmental stimulation and situational factors in impulse purchasing is very
significant Mahmood and Ahmadinejad, (2011). When we talk about Karachi, it is a dynamic city and
people within the city live a busy lifestyle but regardless of this hectic life schedule they prefer to be in
style, due to which, they seek for known reputable and foreign brands. The frequency of visiting
stores/outlets is high. Therefore, visual merchandising is one of the major strategies used by retailers to
incite them to buy undecidedly. It will arouse them to choose the most liked store, spend more time in it,
and examine the products and ultimately resulting in a purchase. This study addresses two questions
discussed in the next part.
Research Questions:
1. What is the effect of visual merchandising on consumer impulsive buying behavior?
2. What is the influence of brand name on consumer impulse buying behavior?
Research Objectives:

To find the impact of display of clothes on consumer impulse buying.

To investigate the role of sales promotion on consumer impulse buying.
To study the relation between the store ambiance and consumer impulse buying.
To study the impact of brand name on consumer impulse buying

Hypothesis:

Price of product remain same

Consumer preference may change.
Whatever the respondent is saying it is true

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research philosophy
Our study is based on the philosophy of optimistic approach, as this particular research topic has been
examined and studied many times before both internationally and domestically in Rawalpindi Punjab, so
we ought to verify this knowledge and study it further in detail in the city of Karachi.

Approach
Our approach towards our research paper is inductive and the reason for choosing this approach is that we
are using an existing model that was already given in the literature review we have deducted some
variables and added some new variable into the model.

Strategies
A survey method is used to collect the data. The survey will be conducted in different Textile universities
and malls in Karachi.

 Methods
We will use mono method to conduct the survey and the reason for selecting this method is that the
survey will give enough insights for our research over consumer buying behavior.

Time Horizon
Cross sectional method is to be used as we will collect the data once in our research.

Data type
Our research is Quantitative because we are working on explanatory research and it is based on cause
and effect relationship as we are finding the cause of consumer impulsive buying behavior which is
affected by visual merchandising and store brand name. We are working on the philosophy of Positivism.
We have selected our variables from different literature review.

Research Population:
The population of the study is 100. The selected population is youngsters and will aging from 18 to 25,
and the will all be students studying at different private universities of Karachi. The data will also be
collected from different shopping malls of Karachi. The reason of selecting this particular age group and
specially students of different universities is because they are the one who change their lifestyle and they
quickly adopt the changing trends around them.

Research Procedure:
First of all for this research a preliminary study was being done from different research papers which help
us to develop our literature review after this study objective was being developed and along with that a
research design was established in which we planned to do a survey by the help of questionnaire and after
that we conducted the survey at different Textile universities and shopping malls. The responses from the
respondents was than analyze and processing of data was being done and then finally generalization of
data was conducted by using different statistical tools and software in which we concluded our research.

Questionnaire:
The questionnaire will be designed based on our research question and objective
Will be in three parts / close ended
Information about respondent
What force drove them to impulse buying
Consumer expectation from brands

Sample and Sampling methods:

Through convenient sampling method we have selected 100 respondents for our research.

Variables:

Independent Variable
VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Product Display

Dependent Variable
Consumer Impulse Buying Behavior

Sales Promotion
Store Ambiance (Music)
STORE BRAND NAME
Plan of Analysis/ Statistical tools:
As our outcomes would be quantitative we would use following statistical tools:
Z-test
Mean Median Mode

Software Employed:
Following are the software will be used for generalization of our findings:

SPSS
MS Excel

Limitations:
The possible limitations could be as under:
1. The data would be collected from Karachi hence the sample size would be geographically
limited, so the data from other cities might produce different results.
2. The tool to gather data is narrowed down to the quantitative method.
3. The qualitative research for this may differ in outcome.
4. Participants were limited to students enrolling in the College and university. Students shopping
traits and dependability on visual merchandising may vary as we go to the other parts of the
country due to some cultural differences.
Scope\ De-Limitation:
As the population of Karachi is so large we cannot go for everyone. We have selected YOUTH which is a
greater proportion of entire population. From youth we have limited ourselves to the age group of 18-30.
We have selected this range because mostly people of this age group are STUDENTS. They are
continuously changing their lifestyle and are opting for new trends. They are more on fashion trends and
style which connects them to our study of impulsive buying behavior in apparels market.
Justification of Research:
The main beneficiaries from this report are mostly retailers because most of the retailers strive to ensure
that their stores are appealing to their target market and our research paper would help them in identifying
the most important factors of visual merchandising. Most of the literature was focused only on one factor
of consumer impulse buying behavior in apparels industry which is visual merchandising but this
research paper also highlight one more important factor which is store brand name. Most of the

consumers impulsively purchase garments by the store name like Ideas, Khaadi, Chen One, Debenhams
and many more and this factor is not considered by many retailers therefore, this study will provide
insights to retailers about types of visual merchandising and effects of Store brand name that can
influence consumers impulse buying behaviors. The way in which merchandise will eventually be
displayed and promoted at the store level is an important consideration in the buying function as well as
in the strategic marketing/merchandising plan.

Research Schedule:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week4
Week 5
Week 6

Identification of problem & Literature Review

Preparing Research Objective & Research Design
Visiting Different textile universities to conduct the research
Visiting two malls Dolmen & Ocean for conducting the research
Processing & Analysis of Data
Generalization & Writing Report

Budgeting
Copies of consumer survey questionnaires 1x150 @ 2rs
Printing cost of final report 100 pages @ 6rs
2 Photocopies of final report 100 pages @ 2rs
Binding 3 reports @ 100rs
Travel cost / food
Miscellaneous 10%
Total

300rs
600rs
400rs
300rs
2000rs
360rs
3960rs

Definitions of key terms:

Visual Merchandising: The use and manipulation of attractive sales displays and retail floor
plans to engage customers and boost sales activity. In visual merchandising, the products being
sold are typically displayed in such a way as to attract consumers from the intended market by
drawing attention to the product's best features and benefits.
Impulse Buying Behavior: An impulse purchase or impulse buying is an unplanned decision to
buy a product or service, made just before a purchase.
Store Brand name: Store brands are a line of products strategically branded by a retailer within a
single brand identity.
Sales promotion: Sales promotions are the set of marketing activities undertaken to boost sales
of the product or service.
Store ambiance: Retail-store factors such as display design and fixtures, flooring, smell, sound
level, store lighting and temperature, wall coverings, and other elements of store's ambience,
which can be studied and controlled by a retailer to influence the consumer's buying mood.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Neha P. Mehta , Pawan K. Chugan (2013). The Impact of Visual Merchandising on Impulse Buying
Behavior of Consumer: A Case from Central Mall of Ahmedabad India.
JIYEON KIM (1991). COLLEGE STUDENTS APPAREL IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIORS IN
RELATION TO VISUAL MERCHANDISING FROM BFA, American Intercontinental University, 2000
Ridmi Gajanayake, Sashini Gajanayake, H.A.K.N.S. Surangi (2011). THE IMPACT OF SELECTED
VISUAL MERCHANDISING TECHNIQUES ON PATRONAGE INTENTIONS IN
SUPERMARKETS.
Maymand, M.M., Ahmedinejad, M. (2011). Impulse buying: the role of storeenvironmental stimulation
and situational factors (An empirical investigation). AfricanJournal of Business Management, Vol. 5(34),
pp. 13057-13065, DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.2112, ISSN 1993-8233 2011 Academic Journals.
Beatty, S. E. and Ferrell, M. E., 1998: "Impulse Buying: Modeling its Precursors," Journal of Retailing
(74) 2, pp. 169-191