BID-1: Study the consumption behavior of old age population

According to the Indian Census Bureau, the proportion of people aged 60 years and
over has increased from 5.3 % to 8 % from 1981 to 2011. United Nations
Population Fund found the number of over-60s will increase from around 100
Million today to more than 300 Million by 2050. Given the important
consequences that this phenomenon is having and will continue to have on society,
we are interested in studying the consumption behavior of the old age population.
The study can be carried out in two major streams of research.

Research on Information processing

Research on Consumer Behavior (Cognition, Attitude and Behavior)

Following theoretical framework can be used for carrying out the research.
Age Related Needs
Responses
Psychological
Processing
Emotions
Personality
Social
Relations
Availability
Behavior
Purchase
Products
Purchase
Brands

Lifestyle

Consumer

Lifestyle Products

Interests/ Hobbies
Activities

Cognition
Sources of
information
Store Selection
Attitude
Advertisements
Technology

Biological
General
of
Symptoms
Senses
of

We aim to undertake primary research and develop

detailed consumer understanding. The research
methodology would include Consumer Immersions/ Dipsticks to identify their
specific needs. The exploratory research would be led by a Discussion Guide that
would help us to identify: their daily activities, their specific interests and hobbies,
where do they spend their money and purchase patterns. As the relevant purchase
behavior cannot be observed in the customers natural environment, we aim to
undertake experimentation to determine Causality e.g impact of product
design, advertising message etc.
As a final deliverable we would like to derive different Buyer Personas from our
demographic, psychographic and behavioral evaluation. This will help identify the
needs of this TG and also give an idea about the critical drivers of liking.
Steps:
Designing the Questionnaire; Preparation of discussion guide
Primary Research
Qualitative Analysis and Buyer Persona creation
Source:http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=8729,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9690781/India-facing-elderlypopulation-time-bomb.html

BID 2: Perception of Salesman Intervention

Group 1 (Section B) Business Management

When it comes to lifestyle goods, do salesmen help consumers buy or do

they just sell to them? Do consumers really believe that a salesman is an
important part of the buying decision process or is the old stereotype of a pushy
salesman still a reality? In order to understand the opinions and perception of
Indian urban middle class consumers towards salesman intervention in a store, we
need to find the answer to the following questions:

What consumers feel about the roles of salesmen at different stages of the
buying processes?
What qualities do consumers truly value in a salesperson?
Have their expectations of salesperson changed and are the current
expectations being met?
Do consumers want a trusted business advisor or just an order taker?

Our target group here is Indian urban middle class population between the age
group of 20-45, which accounts for 36.7% of Indian population.
How we will go about doing the research:

First Step

Second Step

Third Step

Fourth Step

Drawing the Purchase Funnel for different

Lifestyle goods in order to understand the stages
involved in the buying process and to get an
idea of need of salesman intervention at different
stages. The companys sales representative can
Taking verbal in-depth interviews to understand
consumers perception and analyzing what they
say (and dont say), and how they say.
Use of Observational Research to understand the
unspoken consumer behavior (perception) comes
next. We will go to shops/stores and observe the
interactions taking place between consumer
and salesman at different levels/stages.
Using the insights from the earlier process, we will
create a detailed report about the perception of
consumers across different segments and at
different stages of buying process. We will
compare our findings with the existing
knowledge about the same that we had at

*The findings can be used by companies to face the challenges of

selling effectively and non-intrusively to an ever changing customer
base and overcoming any negative perception (of consumers) by reevaluating their attitudes and processes.

Group 1 (Section B) Business Management