International Journal of Sales & Marketing Management

Research and Development (IJSMMRD)

ISSN (P): 2249-6939; ISSN (E): 2249-8044
Vol. 9, Issue 1, Jun 2019, 33-42
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF INDIAN SEMI-URBAN WOMEN FOR

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

NIDHI SHRIVASTAVA1 & R. P. TIWARI2

1
Research Scholar, Faculty in Department of Business Administration, Awadesh Pratap Singh University,
Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India
2
Retired Professor,(Ex) Principle of Commerce College, Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, India
ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to examine buying behavior of females and their preference towards Personal care
product in Semi-urban areas of Madhya Pradesh. In this research main focus was given on the variables that affect the
consumption of personal care product by the female as well as the factors that affect their decision-making process for
purchasing the personal care products. In this research, the women respondents from semi urban areas were chosen for
the study. For conducting the study data was collected from the female with a minimum age of 18 years. This study also
helps various marketers for formulating various strategies for selling personal care products to women belonging to
semi-urban location. Primary data was obtained through the questionnaire. The results were analyzed through SPSS

Original Article
version 18.

KEYWORDS: Personal Care Products, Women Buying & Consumption Patterns

Received: Dec 02, 2018; Accepted: Dec 22, 2018; Published: Jan 10, 2019; Paper Id.: IJSMMRDJUN20193

INTRODUCTION

Women view buying as a fun, satisfying and joyful activity. The female attitude towards buying seems
very positive and they look forward to this with cheerful prospects. Personal care is an important part of women’s
life and plays an impressive role in building the identity of women. Personal care products are usually mixtures of
chemical compounds or organic ingredients. Some of these products using a blend of functional additives found
around us for decades and many of these products are simply variations on the existing theme.

All important experiences of women while buying and its importance create a constant demand for
Personal care Products which gives this market a great potential for growth and expansion. There are many factors
which cause-impact on the buying of females like need, style, rising income, concern for a self, wide variety of
products and multiple brands available in the market.

Today women have a lot of interest regarding Personal hygiene and she is having awareness about these
product attributes with respect to Personal care also. The marketers of the Personal care companies need to
understand their attitude on Personal care Products buying behavior which brings success and improved market
share to the company. The researcher of this study focuses on the factors that affect the buying decisions of women
in order to get reliable and valid results that help the company for focusing on future marketing strategies.

We know that a segment of women today moves towards the career and also there is a large portion of
women who prefer to stay at home and shoulder the responsibility of managing home. The lifestyle of this group

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34 Nidhi Shrivastava & R. P. Tiwari

differs from that of working women. The attitude, perception and habits and even the brands and products they prefer,
along with the process of making a purchase decision, are different between the working woman and homemaker.

According to the HPIC market opportunity report, Indian Personal care product market is observing different
trends for different users. On the one hand, there are urban customers whose needs are evolving and require customization
of the product offering. On the other hand, the penetration of these products is increasing in the rural market but their price
sensitivity requires cost-effective product offerings. India is a diverse market with urban, semi-urban and rural consumers.
Not only in urban but also in semi-urban areas the popularity of these products is increasing, as the women in rural and
Semi-urban areas try themselves to look like their urban counterparts.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

As per the latest researches, the global Cosmetic market was 460 billion USD in 2014 and is estimated to reach
675 billion USD by 2020 growing at a rate of 6.4%and as of the cosmetic products, Skincare has the highest market share
compared to Oral Cosmetics would be the fasted growing market during the forecasted period under this study.

(Haque, 2016)The personal care products we use in one way indicate our lifestyles and standards of living.
From soaps, toiletries, oral care, and shampoos, face creams in the morning and sunscreen products in summers to
moisturizing lotions in winters, all these personal care products literally are part of our daily lives. The young and students
community today are much more health and beauty conscious. The common perception amongst the young student’s group
is that the use of personal care products may help them to groom up their look and style and psychological association with
their dream celebrities to follow and admire. They use the maximum of personal care products and thus become the most
interesting and important target group for the marketers.

According to an article by Fona International, “Women represent the largest market opportunity in the world.
Women handle the bulk of purchasing decisions for everyday items even for those items targeted at men”.

As Jeff Falk mentioned in GCI magazine (2009)that, “Women are more emotional in terms of their product
purchasing habits, whereas men are drawn to technical, functional things”.

The Indian middle class is growing rapidly and so is its demand for the best quality products. Today they want to
use international brands whether they are mass market or premium” (Bhattacharya, 2007).

(Lawson & Gilman, 2015)Women’s spending priorities differ from men’s, with women particularly more likely to
buy goods and services that improve the family’s welfare. Thus, as women gain decision-making power, household
spending patterns are likely to shift.

A. Sudhakar and T. Suchitra Rani (2012) conducted a study and from the study, it was found that family
influences purchase decision of different categories of beauty soaps, fairness creams, shampoo, henna, hair oil, and kajal
brands. However, friends were found to be the main influencing social factors in the purchase of face wash, eyeliner, and
nail paint brand.

According to (Steven & Hubert)“In many densely populated regions, a clear distinction between “urban” and
“rural” is not possible anymore: areas containing complex properties of urbanized areas as well as the “open space” land
use of land cover categories (agricultural and natural). Determining and monitoring these hybrid and dynamic landscapes
forms a major challenge. This publication is a summary of the state-of-the-art concepts proposed to describe and study

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.0894 NAAS Rating: 3.37

Buying Behaviour of Indian Semi-Urban Women for Personal Care Products 35

those areas or landscapes not rural nor urban (Meeus & Gulinck, 2008)

(Nair & Pillai, 8-10 April 2007)Main reasons for the boom in the cosmetic industry as increasing fashion and
beauty consciousness coupled with rising incomes and focus on health and fitness. To complement this, beauty culture or
cosmetology has emerged as a major occupational avenue with significant commercial potential. New scientific
developments, techniques, products and media hype, has contributed the Indian fashion industry in generating mega
revenues and this has in turn added to the growth of the cosmetic industry.

Vinith Kumar Nair. Prakash Pillai R (2007) observed that male and female consumers generally prefer to
purchase and make the brand selection of cosmetics individually. Quality is the major factor influencing the purchase
decision of male consumers. It also reveals that one of the main sources of information among the females about different
brands of cosmetics is friends group.

Prialatha, P.; Mathi, K. Malar conducted a study in the Coimbatore district. The study intends to identify the level
of influence of various factors on the purchase of personal care products by rural consumers. The study shows that rural
consumers give more importance to the 'quality' of the personal care brands they buy.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research was conducted by administering the structured questionnaire for collecting primary data.
It was considered to be the most effective method for studying women’s buying behavior as regards personal care products.
And secondary data has been taken from various sources like reference books, academic journals were consulted to
determine the existing level of knowledge about consumer buying behavior, internet, newspaper, magazines were used to
through light on the different aspect of women buying. The population for this research study consists of women using
personal care products. The sampling unit is the individual consumer of personal care products sample size is 500 women
living in semi-urban areas of Madhya Pradesh and the sample was selected by a non-probability convenience sampling
method. The analysis was done through SPSS version 18 and the statistical tools used are bar charts and pie charts.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

• To know the various factors affecting buying decision of women for personal care products in semi-urban areas.

• To identify the preferred personal care product category among women of semi-urban areas.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Factors Affecting the Buying Decision

This research has taken certain measures to identify factors that affect buying decision of women for Personal
Care Product that may range from consumption Behaviour to their level of agreement towards keeping in view the specific
aim to ascertain factors.

Consumption Influencing Factors

It is found from various studies that some factors influence the consumption of personal care products by women
respondents. These factors are shown in below table and the respondents were asked to tick the factor that according to
them what influence the consumption of personal care products. Seven such factors identified in this regard and responses
were recorded on multiple tick option.

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36 Nidhi Shrivastava & R. P. Tiwari

Table 1: Consumption Influencing Factors

Factors Influencing Consumption N Percent
Changing Life Style 294 28.6%
Media Exposure 98 9.5%
Increase in Disposable Income 69 6.7%
Previous Experience 259 25.2%
Easy Availability Of Wide Range of Personal Care Product 198 19.3%
Corporate Culture 109 10.6%
Total 1027 100.0%

Graph 1: Percentage Showing Factors Influencing Consumption

Table 1 shows that 294 respondents (28.6%) percent of the female are using the Personal Care products due to
changing lifestyle. While 259(25.2%) women were consuming it because of some previous experience associated with that
product. Easy availability of wide range of Personal care products is another factor for its consumption as 198(19.3%)
women responded. Corporate culture is the fourth-factor influencing consumption that is 109(10.6%). 98(9.5%) women
said media exposure and 69(6.7%) said due to increase in disposable income they were consuming Personal care Products.

Thus, it is clear that Changing Lifestyle and Previous Experience regarding products contributed maximum
towards the consumption of Personal care Products by women respondents.

Duration of using Personal Care Products

Next question in this research is focused to find out the duration since when the respondents are using personal
care products. In these four options were there like just started, between 1 -5 years, more than 5 years and over a long
period of time option were given.

Table 2: Duration since using Personal Care Product by the Respondents

Duration of Using Personal Care Product Frequency Percent
Just started 27 5.4
Between 1-5 years 52 10.4
More than 5 years 146 29.2
Over long period of time 275 55.0
Total 500 100.0

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.0894 NAAS Rating: 3.37

Buying Behaviour of Indian Semi-Urban Women for Personal Care Products 37

Graph 2: Duration since using Personal Care Product by the Respondents

Table 2 exhibits that 55% women purchase Personal care Products over the long period of time. 29.2% of women
purchase Personal care Products from last 5 years. 10.4% of women purchase Personal care Products between 1-5 years.
And only 5.4% of women recently purchase Personal care Products.

Interest in Personal Care Product

In many studies, it is seen that the interest of women varies in personal care product. So to check the same the
respondents have been asked for their interest in personal care product.

Table 3: Interest in Personal Care Product

Interest Frequency Percent
Very much interested 192 38.4
Fairly interested 227 45.4
Somewhat interested 60 12.0
Not interested at all 21 4.2
Total 500 100.0

Graph 3: Interest in Personal Care Product

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38 Nidhi Shrivastava & R. P. Tiwari

Table 3 shows that 192(38.4%) women are very much interested in Personal Care Product. 227(45.4%) women
were fairly interested in Personal Care Product. 60(12%) women are somewhat interested in Personal Care Product.
Only 21(4.2%) women are not interested in Personal Care Product

Level of Agreement Regarding the Importance of Personal Care Products

It was found in the literature review that perception of women regarding personal care product varies according to
her personal characteristics. So her level of agreement on different parameters was identified that is Necessity, stylish and
Trendy. And women were asked to respond in 3 point scale from 1 as agree to 3 as disagree.

Table 4: Level of Agreement regarding Importance of Personal Care Products

Agree Neutral Disagree N Mean
Frequency % Frequency % Frequency %
Necessity 334 66.8% 131 26.2% 35 7% 500 1.4020
Stylish 232 46.4% 215 43% 53 10.6% 500 1.6420
Trendy 188 37.6% 205 41% 107 21.4% 500 1.8380

Graph 4: Level of Agreement Regarding the Importance of Personal Care Products

It is found in the table 4 that according to 66.8% of women personal care products is Necessity; according to
46.4% of women it is stylish and trendy according to 37.6% women. While according to 7% respondents personal care
products are not the necessity, not stylish according to 10.6% respondents and nor trendy according to 21.4% respondents.
Other respondents were not clear about her opinion as found in the study.

From the above, it is found that the majority of women buy Personal Care Product because of Changing lifestyle
and also their previous experiences associated with such product. Respondents were using personal care products for more
than 5 years and their interest varies according to individual nature. Personal Care Products are considered as a Necessity
by most of the women.

Preference of Personal Care Product

Females are mostly concerned about their skin and look found in various studies so in case of Personal care
product also it is desirable to know that weather their preference is towards the natural and herbal cosmetic or not as there
is a shift in buying behavior towards the herbal and natural product.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.0894 NAAS Rating: 3.37

Buying Behaviour of Indian Semi-Urban Women for Personal Care Products 39

Table 5: Preference of Personal Care Product

Preference of Personal Care Product Frequency Percent
Herbal 283 56.6
Chemical/synthetic 19 3.8
Both 198 39.6
Total 500 100.0

Graph 5: Preference of Personal Care Product

It is clear from the table 5 that 56.6% respondent preferred herbal Personal care Products. Only 3.8% respondent
preferred chemical/synthetic Personal care Products. And 39.6% respondent preferred both herbal and chemical/synthetic
Personal care Products. It may be due to the respondent felt that these natural products can increase their physical
appearance in a better way as compared to product from the synthetic origin.

Product Categories Purchased by Respondent

In the case of Personal care, there are various categories of products. For identifying the usage of the particular
product by the women respondent it has been categorized into five categories that are Healthcare, Soaps, Haircare, Baby
care, and Bath and Body. Individual buying of product in each category is determined.

In Health care, category four products i.e. Oral care Product, Feminine care product, body powder, and other
health product were taken. Next category is soap in which four products were taken i.e hand soap, bar soap, antibacterial
hand soap, and acne product. The third category is hair care in which Shampoo, conditioner, hair styling, and coloring
product were taken. Fourth category was dedicated for baby product in which Baby shampoo, Baby powder, baby lotion,
and other baby care product was listed and the last category is for bath and body in which body wash, bubble wash, creams
and body lotion were given separately and women were to tick those products which they were using on a regular basis.

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40 Nidhi Shrivastava & R. P. Tiwari

Table 6: Product Categories Purchased by Respondent

Responses
Products Categories Products
N Percent
Using oral care product 392 8.4%
Using femine care product 240 5.1%
Health Care
Using body powder 196 4.2%
Using other health product 164 3.5%
Using hand soap product 341 7.3%
Using bar soaps 252 5.4%
Soaps
Using antibacterial hand soaps 202 4.3%
Using acne product
149 3.2%
Using shampoo 467 10.0%
Hair care Using conditioner 355 7.6%
Using hair styling product 140 3.0%
Using colouring product 192 4.1%
Using baby shampoo 128 2.7%
Using baby soap product 151 3.2%
Baby care
Using baby lotion 154 3.3%
Using Other baby care product 167 3.6%
Using body wash 298 6.4%
Using bubble wash 69 1.5%
Bath and Body
Using creams 231 4.9%
Using body lotion and cream 395 8.4%
Total 4683 100.0%

Table 6 shows that Shampoo is used by 467 respondent, Body lotions and creams 395 respondent, Oral care 392,
Conditioner 355, hand soaps 341, Body wash 298, Bar soaps 252, feminine products 240, creams used by 231.
Likewise, details of other products are given in the table. The product which is used very little by women in semi-urban
areas is bubble wash used by only 69 women.

Thus it is found that in Health Care Product category Oral care Product are mostly purchased by women
respondents. In case of soaps, Hand soap is mostly purchased by women respondents. As far as Hair care Products are
considered shampoo is purchased mostly. For Baby Care Product category Baby care products purchased by women but
their number is less as compared to other product categories. It may be used by only families having a baby. Lastly in the
case of Bath and Body Lotions and creams are used mostly by women.

FINDINGS OE STUDY

• It is found from the study that 28.6% of women use personal care products due to Changing lifestyle, 25.2%is due
to previous experience, 19.3% is due to the easy availability of such products, 10.6% is due to corporate culture,
9.5% is due to media exposure and 6.7% is due to an increase in disposable income.
• Further, it is found that 55% women purchase Personal care Products over the long period of time, 29.2% women
purchases Personal care Products from last 5 years, 10.4% women purchases Personal care Products between 1-5
years and 5.4% women recently purchases Personal care Products.
• Results of the study show 45% women are fairly interested, 38% of women are very much interested, 12% are
somewhat interested and only 4% are not interested at all in personal care products.
• It is also clear that 66.8% of respondents perceive personal care products as Necessity, 46.4% as stylish and
Trendy as per 37.6% respondents.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.0894 NAAS Rating: 3.37

Buying Behaviour of Indian Semi-Urban Women for Personal Care Products 41

• According to study 56.6% respondent preferred herbal Personal care Products, Only 3.8% respondent preferred
chemical/synthetic Personal care Products. And 39.6% respondent preferred both herbal and chemical/synthetic
Personal care Products
• Also it was found that Oral care Products are mostly purchased in Health Care Product, Hand soap in case of
soaps, Shampoo in Haircare Products, Other Baby Care Products in Baby care products but there number is less as
compared to other product category. It may be used by only families having baby and Lotions and creams in Bath
and Body product category.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

With the help of findings of the study, I conclude that Women in semi-urban areas are not lagging behind with her
counterparts living in different urban areas of the country. She has concern for self and her buying decision can greatly
influence the market. Although it was found that women purchase Personal care product over a long period of time as it
was considered as necessity purchase item so it becomes a routine purchase item. But the usage of personal care products is
influenced by the changing consumption pattern due to varying life-styles by the different sections of the society and media
exposure.

Although the market is filled with a variety of brands and endless products from herbal, synthetic and mixture of
both type of products. But the inclination of women is more towards the natural or herbal products. Women are purchasing
different category of products which satisfy her varying needs but the demand for basic product is more when compared
with other products. So marketers must focus on such products which satisfy the basic needs of women. Marketers and
manufacturers must realize, understand and recognize her unfulfilled needs of women and satisfy them.

REFERENCES

1. Haque, C. A. (2016). “The impact of celebrity endorsement on the buying behaviour of students towards personal care
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3. Mishra, A. K. A Study on Relation between Effective After Sales Service and Customer Overall Satisfaction at Tata Motor’s
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5. Nair, V. K., &Pillai (2007). “A Study on Purchase Pattern of Cosmetics among Consumers in Kerala”. International
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8. A.Sudhakar and T.Suchitra Rani (2012).” Social Factors Influence on the Buying Behavior of Personal Care Products”,
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42 Nidhi Shrivastava & R. P. Tiwari

9. Prialatha, P.; Mathi, K. Malar (2011). “ A Study on factors influencing Rural Consumer Buying Behaviour Personal Care
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Impact Factor (JCC): 7.0894 NAAS Rating: 3.37