Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836

Vol.2 (3), March (2013)

Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RETAILER’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS

PEPSI IN TIRUCHIRAPPALLI DISTRICT

S.P.KARUPPASAMY PANDIAN*; S.P. NIVETHA VARTHANI**

*LECTURER
CYRYX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, MALE’,
MALDIVES.

** B.COM, MBA (PURSUING) , PGDCA

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
IST YEAR MBA
SARANATHAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
TRICHY, INDIA.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT
Retail is an emerging sector in India. Marketers are leaving no stone unturned to influence the
customers by offering them in various ways, at various locations, in various forms resulting in
emergence of various retail formats throughout the country. Customers are highly influenced by
image of the retail outlet, its attributes, product range, variety, services, employee’s behaviour,
décor, music and marketing strategies. In this study the researcher wants to know the factors
influencing retailer’s perception and expectation towards Pepsi in Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu.
This study is a descriptive one. Primary data was collected by the researcher with the help of
structured questionnaire administered to the retailers in Tiruchirappalli District. 251 retailers
constitute the sample size. Fifteen questionnaires were distributed for the purpose of pre-testing
the questionnaire's contents a complete questionnaire was developed based on the comments
collected during the pre-testing period. Type of sampling method used was Convenience
sampling. Using statistical package for social science (SPSS) the following test were
administered 1.Factor Analysis and 2.Multiple Regression. To check the reliability and validity
of the data collected Cronbach’s alpha test administered. Based on the test results, some of the
relevant findings were derived that will be significant and relevant to the present Indian scenario.
KEYWORDS: Retailing, Perception, Outlets
______________________________________________________________________________

Introduction
Retail is an emerging sector in India. Marketers are leaving no stone unturned to
influence the customers by offering them in various ways, at various locations, in various forms
resulting in emergence of various retail formats throughout the country. Customers are highly
influenced by image of the retail outlet, its attributes, product range, variety, services,
employee’s behaviour, décor, music and marketing strategies. Retailing includes all the
activities involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumers for personal,
nonbusiness use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sales volume comes
primarily from retailing. Any organization selling to final consumers—whether it is a
manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer—is doing retailing. It does not matter how the goods or

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

services are sold (by person, mail, telephone, vending machine, or Internet) or where they are
sold (in a store, on the street, or in the consumer's home). In this study the researcher wants to
know the various factors that influence the perception of retailers towards Pepsi soft drinks in
Tiruchirappalli City.

Review of Literature

Blattberg, Peacock, and Sen (1976, 1978) describe 16 purchasing strategy segments based on
three purchase dimensions: brand loyalty (single brand, single brand shifting, many brands), type
of brand preferred (national, both national and private label), and price sensitivity (purchase at
regular price, purchase at deal price). Kretter,Kadekova et al (2010) ― country of the origin of
food and consumer preference in segment of university students‖ consumers prefer the attributes
like freshness, flavour and also the price. Consumer prefers fruit juices because of their flavour
and freshness. Gupta & gupta (2008) ―fruit drinks: how healthy and safe‖ discussed that fruit
drinks are popularly used in most urban households today markets are flooded with a large
variety of juices e.g.; mango, apple, guava, litchi. The main reason for increased consumption is
changing lifestyles & rising level of health consciousness among consumers and parents. They
believe that these drinks provide superior nutrition because of their status & high beverage cost.
Gupta parul (2003), studied the coke & Pepsi’s rural drive to push sales soft drink giants coca-
cola & Pepsi have signed on thousands of new retailers in a drive into rural India that has pushed
up sales steeply. Coca-cola has made its beverages available in 40,000 additional villages in the
last 3 years. Jyoti k arun (2002), studies the coca-cola India’s marketing plan for the summer
peak sales season is vested with a rural thrust & rides on the back of its newly launched 200-ml
bottle, priced between Rs. 5 to Rs 6 across the country. While the soft drinks sales showed flat
growth last year, sales in that year are up by 80% for the company. Nishu Sharma (2011),
―Comparative study on consumption patterns of soft drinks and fruit juices‖ studies how
different consumers consume soft drinks and fruit juices with respect to different patterns of
consumption.
Deepak Kumar Chechani (2008), A study of ―FACTOR influencing choice of soft Drinks‖ in
Udaipur City studies different factors influencing the choice of soft drinks consumption.
Bhushanmehta (2012) Project Report Organized Retailing in India reveals important aspects of
retail sector in India. Bhushanmehta (2012) Analysis of Brand Preference of Soft Drinks in
Global Market provides details regarding consumers preference on soft drinks.
Consumer behaviour is a key success of any Company. Consumer behaviour is depending upon
culture, value, traditions. When marketers o ffer unique benefits in a new product
they encourage consumer to subtype. When Pepsi Co introduced a new product in a market it
will change the consumer behaviour. When Pepsi attempted to introduce another category
breakfast cola’s by introduced Pepsi AM, it was less successful.

Report on Indian Beverage Industry (2012) discloses the following things regarding beverage
market.A Beverage is a drink specifically prepared for human consumption. Beverages almost
always largely consist of water. Drinks often consumed include: Water (both flat or
carbonated),Juice based drinks, Soft drinks, Sports and Energy drinks, Alcoholic beverages like
Coffee, tea ,Dairy products like milk. Commonly, drinks are filled into containers, like glass or
plastic bottles, steel or aluminum cans as well as cardboard supported packages, like the "Tetra

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

Pak" or others. India has a population of more than 1.150 Billion which is just behind China.
According to the estimates, by 2030 India population will be around 1.450 Billion and will
surpass China to become the World largest in terms of population. Beverage Industry which is
directly related to the population is expected to maintain a robust growth rate.

Research Questions

 To study the factors influencing retailers perception and expectation towards Pepsi in
Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu.

 To find out whether advertisements have an impact on retailer’s perception towards

Pepsi.

Hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1
There is a relationship among different factors that influences perception and expectation of
retailers towards Pepsi.

Hypothesis 2

Advertisement, quality and offers can enhance the retailers’ perception and expectation.

Research design
The researcher carried out the study with descriptive research. The descriptive research is
concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group. Five point
likert-type scale was used and that varied from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Likert
scale is being adapted to measure and quantity ―Factors influencing perception and expectation
of retailers‖.

Pilot study

Fifteen questionnaires were distributed for the purpose of pre-testing the questionnaire's contents
a complete questionnaire was developed based on the comments collected during the pre-testing
period.

Data source

Primary data has collected through questionnaire administered to retailers, Questionnaires

were used to find out ―Perception and expectation of Pepsi among retailers‖ in Trichy city with
the help of the questionnaire, filled by 251 retailers, the result was analyzed. The sample data
was collected through interview from retailers in convenience stores, supermarkets and
departmental stores. The secondary data was collected from updated journals, magazine and
websites. The sample size was 251. Sampling technique used is convenient sampling.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

Statistical tools

The researcher analyzed the data by using the SPSS – Statistical Package For Social
science. The following tests were administered, 1)Factor analysis 2)Multiple regression
3)Reliability

Cronbach’s (alpha) is a statistical used in this study. It is commonly used as a measure of

the internal consistency or reliability of a psychometrics test score for a sample of examinees.

Table.1 Reliability Test

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.715 30

An examination had been made from the reliability of the data to check whether random
error causing inconsistency and in turn lower reliability is at a manageable level or not, by
running reliability test. From the above table, it is clear that values of coefficient alpha
(Cronbach’s Alpha) have been obtained, the minimum value of coefficient alpha was. This
shows data has satisfactory internal consistency reliability.

FACTOR ANALYSIS
Hypothesis 1 is being tested using factor analysis.
Hypothesis 1 - There is a relationship among the factors that influences perception and
expectation of retailers.
Table 2 KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.

.577

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 639.443

Df 253
Sig. .000

KMO measure of sampling adequacy is an index to examine the appropriateness of factor

analysis. High values 0.5 and 1.0 indicate factor analysis is appropriate. Values below 0.5 imply
that factor analysis may not be appropriate. From the above table it is seen that Kaiser-Meyer-
olkin measure of sampling adequacy index is 0.577 and hence the factor analysis is appropriate
for the given data set. Bartlett’s test of Sphericity is used to uncorrelated. It is based on chi-

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

square transformation of the determinant of correlation matrix. A large value hypothesis. In turn,
this would indicate that factor analysis is appropriate. Bartlett’s test of Sphericity Chi-square
statistics is 639.443, that shows statements are correlated and hence as inferred in KMO, factor
analysis is appropriate for the given data set.

Rotated Component Matrix

This table (called the pattern matrix for oblique rotation) reports the factor loading for
each variable on the component or factor after rotation. Each number represents the partial
correlation between the item and the rotated factor. These correlations can help us to formulate
an interpretation of the factor or components. From the below table, each factor loading values
represent the partial correlation between the variables the rotated factor by inferring a common
thread among the variables that have large loading above 0.5 values for a particular factor.

Table 3 Rotated Component Matrix

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ADVERTISEMENT .845
PROMOTION
.586
MSRS
AVAILABILITY .903
TASTE .824
OFFERS BY PEPSI .844
UNBIASED .812
PREFERENCE .857
ATTRACTION .854
AMBASSADOR .594
DIFFERENT
.716
PACKS
QUALITY .721
SATISFIES THAN
.437
OTHER
CLIMATE
.548
CONDITION
REFIDGERATOR .586
DELIVERING THE
.690
STOCK
EXACT
. .675
QUANTITY
PRICING
.782
STRATEGY
APPROACH THAN
.803
COMPETITOR

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

PRODUCT LINE .452

QUALITY OF
.832
PEPSI
TASTE OF PEPSI .788
PACKING OF
.823
PEPSI
STOCK
.821
DELIVERY
ADVERTISEMENT
. .523
AND PROMOTION
PEPSI BRAND .715
FACILITIES .575
INTRODUCE
MORE .885
FLAVOURS
MORE OFFERS .730
PROMOTE PEPSI
.480
IN STORES
HELP IN
.530
ARRANGING

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a Rotation converged in 12 iterations.

MULTIPLE REGRESSIONS
Hypothesis 2 is being tested using multiple regressions.
Hypothesis 2 – Advertisement, quality and offers can predict the retailers’ perception and
expectation.
Regression analysis is used to assess the relationship between a dependent variable (DV) and
several independent variables (IVs). This is one of the most commonly used techniques in much
of the social science research.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Enter method in multiple regression analysis used for this study. Engagement variables
under various dimensions were regressed with the overall satisfaction of the employees.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
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Table 4 Model summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .978a .957 .951 .270

From the above table, model summary table shows R-Square for this model is .957. This means
that 95.7 present of the variation in overall satisfaction (dependent variable) can be explained
from the 24 independent variables. This table also shows the adjusted R-square for the model as
.951.

Table 5 ANOVA

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Regression 359.625 28 12.844 175.664 .000b

1 Residual 16.232 222 .073

Total 375.857 250

The ANOVA table as displayed above, shows the F ratio for the regression model that indicates
the statistical of the overall regression model. The larger the F ratio there will be more variance
in the dependent variable that is associated with the independent variable. The F ratio = 175.664.
The statistical significance is .000- ―sig‖. There is relationship between independent and
dependent variables.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
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CORRELATIONS
Table 6 Coefficients
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig.
Coefficients Coefficients
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) .399 .146 2.734 .007
AVAILABILITY -.043 .036 -.042 -1.183 .238
TASTE .025 .027 .021 .947 .345
OFFERS BY PEPSI .018 .032 .017 .554 .580
UNBIASED -.009 .023 -.010 -.407 .684
PREFERENCE .023 .023 .023 .991 .323
ATTRACTION .000 .029 .000 -.004 .997
AMBASSADOR .026 .028 .028 .912 .363
DIFFERENT PACKS -.069 .030 -.066 -2.320 .021
QUALITY .012 .030 .012 .412 .681
SATISFIES THAN
-.028 .031 -.026 -.905 .366
OTHER

CLIMATE CONDITION .014 .028 .017 .486 .628

VISI COOLER .124 .027 .158 4.633 .000
DELIVERING THE
-.017 .031 -.017 -.541 .589
STOCK
EXACT QUANTITY .005 .029 .005 .187 .852
PRICING STRATEGY .039 .027 .040 1.433 .153
APPROACH THAN
-.003 .032 -.002 -.084 .933
COMPETITOR
PRODUCT LINE .029 .030 .029 .980 .328
QUALITY OF PEPSI -.051 .030 -.041 -1.711 .089
TASTE OF PEPSI .017 .027 .013 .649 .517
PACKING OF PEPSI -.013 .022 -.012 -.597 .551
STOCK DELIVERY .976 .035 .976 27.611 .000
ADVERTISEMENT
-.042 .035 -.034 -1.194 .234
AND PROMOTION
PEPSI BRAND -.044 .036 -.050 -1.251 .212
FACILITIES .015 .029 .014 .517 .606
INTRODUCE MORE
-.011 .026 -.013 -.411 .681
FLAVOURS
MORE OFFERS .005 .028 .005 .164 .870
PROMOTE PEPSI IN
-.100 .036 -.072 -2.769 .006
STORES

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

To determine if one or more of the independent variables are significant predictors of

retailers’ perception and expectation score, we examine the information provided in the
coefficient table. From the above ten independent variable only two independent variables are
having larger beta value and statistically significant.
The standardized coefficient beta column reveals that delivery of sock in time has a beta
coefficient .976, which is significant (0.000provision of visi cooler has a beta coefficient .158,
which is significant (0.000).

CONCLUSION
Retailers are the important marketing channels paving way to better customer relationship.
Retailers play important role in increasing company’s profit and product preference. They are the
end of the marketing communication process providing effective reach of the product and thus
increasing brand value of the company. Hence retailer need to be motivated for the effectiveness
of organisation’s marketing practises. In case of Pepsi retailers are motivated only to certain
level. Hence Pepsi need to focus on satisfying the retailers in selling Pepsi products as they are
the valuable assets to the organisation. Pepsi should come out with more offers to satisfy the
retailers. They need to focus on building positive image regarding the product on retailer’s mind.
Hence they need to concentrate on taste of the product and introducing new product line.
Retailers need to be rewarded with respect to the performance to the sales. Satisfied retailer will
always be the worthy asset to the organisation and thus increasing competitive advantage over
the rivalries.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review__________________________________________ ISSN 2319-2836
Vol.2 (3), March (2013)
Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

Parker, K. (1991), " Sponsorship – the research contribution", European Journal of

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WEBSITES

 http://www.marketingmasters.co.uk/communications.htm

 http://www.allwords.com/word-communication+mix.html

 http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-communications.html

 http://qundeel.com/comparison-of-advertising-strategy-of-pepsi-with-that-of-coke

 http://www.pepsiindia.co.in

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