Consumer Survey Concept Testing And After Usage Test Marketing Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

For a long time, as regards to personal cleanliness, there was only one frontline fighter: bar soap. Of course, bar soap came in many guises square bars and rounded bars, scented and unscented, clear and opaque but it's essential look and function went unchanged for hundreds of years. Then Bar cleansers were joined by liquid products, which were first used primarily for hand washing. The market eventually became flooded with shower gels, also known as body washes, which quickly became a popular alternative to bar soap.

This study focuses on the factors that lead to the popularization of body washes. People have become more conscious about their skin nowadays. They want more than just cleansing their body like moisturize to take care of their skin. So which is better -- bar soap or liquid soap? In bar soap or liquid soap which brand is better? The study also focuses on the usage habits of soaps, which brands used, how much used, Why is it used ,when is it used, what is used by the rest of the family, what was the brand previously used (both body wash/bath soap), why and how the shift happened from bar soaps to body wash.

This study is divided into three phases Consumer Survey, Concept Testing and After Usage Test. In phase one user profiling and usage consumption were extracted from the questionnaire based survey. The attitude and expectation was derived from Regression Analysis. In phase two advantages of body wash like Moisturizing, Hygiene, Perfume and Massaging were broken down individually and were introduced as concepts to users. In phase three the post usage test will determine the real fact how really people think that body wash is more advantages to bar soap.

Consumer's response revealed the various reasons for changing from Soap to Body Wash. Study also revealed the Brand loyalty in the body wash industry tends to decrease. From the survey respondents are likely to try new products and use various brands depending on their habit. The quality of product seems to be an important factor for purchasing of body wash. The most important product attributes in the product factor are non-allergic, non-irritating, non-skin drying, added moisturizers and easily available respectively.

The study is presented in five chapters; first chapter is the introduction explaining background, objective and scope of study. Second chapter is literature review of various studies related to consumers' buying behavior towards soaps and the existing usage patterns of consumers. The third chapter explains the research method adopted for the study. Chapter four presents the analysis of the responses of 120 respondents. Finally chapter five explains the findings, conclusion and recommendation based on the study.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Over the last few years, a debate has flared up over which is better: stalwart bar soap or showy shower gel. Before one choose sides, it is necessary to be reading to learn more about the main contenders. The bathing and showering experience has not only become a task to cleanse the body but achieving evolved needs like skin nourishment and spa treatment. Indian body wash market is dominated by bar soaps, which contributes over 90% of total market. Penetration is 94% [1] , while the market share of liquid soap is 10% of total market. Liquid soaps offer convenience; they hold scents longer, lather better. They are better for moisturizing and hygiene.

As Indian consumers are obsessed and spend lot of money over their grooming and care, they are getting more demanding about even mundane activities such as their daily shower, with an increasing number of urban households beginning to use shower gels and body washes instead of a good old soap bar. The aspiration is also being fuelled by marketers looking at shoring up sliding profits in traditional soaps.

With an estimated Rs6,500 crore annual business, the traditional soaps category has become increasingly cut-throat with new brands and rising raw material costs putting intense pressure on margins. Meanwhile, the Rs300 crore annual shower gel and body wash segment appears poised to grow at a much faster pace in the next three to five years and commands better margins, at least for now.

"India still has a very low penetration of shower gels but the category is growing especially in the urban centres. Higher disposable incomes and the trend to indulge self will fuel the growth of the segment," said Anil Chug.

Body care products are a part of FMCG industry [2] . In some words we can say that body care products are the backbone of FMCG industry. As per the time passes away, the demand of personal care products are also increasing day per day and future of these products are also very bright and profitable. Modern media and advertisement plays an important role in the increasing of demand of personal care goods. People of metro cities are too much brand conscious but if we look at the people of semi urban and rural areas, they are also looking for a good brand for the particular product.

Background

Overview of the Indian Soap Category

India is a vast country with a population of 1,030 million people. Household penetration of soaps is 98%. People belonging to different income levels use different brands, which fall under different segments (see table below), but all income levels use soaps, making it the second largest category in India (detergents are number one). Rural consumers in India constitute 70% of the population. Rural demand is growing, with more and more soap brands being launched in the discount segment targeting the lower socio-economic strata of consumers.

Soap Price (per 75 gram cake)

Segment in rupees in US$

Carbolic* 5.00 10 cents

Discount 7.00 15 cents

Popular 11.00 23 cents

Premium 17.00 36 cents

Super Premium 35.00 75 cents

* The carbolic segment consists of soap that has crysellic acid (e.g. carbolic acid) as an active ingredient to remove body odor. These soaps have a strong medicated/germ killing connotation.

Brand Positioning Then and Now

Soap manufacturers originally targeted their products to the lowest income strata in urban as well as rural areas, positioning their brands as a way to remove dirt and clean the body. For some brands, that positioning persists even today with a focus on removal of body odor and keeping the user healthy. However, soap positioning are moving towards skin care as a value-added benefit.

Consumer Use Today

Toilet soaps are always used in the bar form-there is no other form in the Indian market-and they are used in the bath. Showers are a distant dream for 70% of India's population, who live in the villages where there is not even a regular supply of drinking water. In the urban areas, people bathe by using a bucket of water, mug, and a bar of soap. In villages, they usually bathe by the river bank or village ponds. Although most of the urban houses have a shower facility, showers are seldom used because of the scarcity of water.

Consumer Preferences

Consumer preferences are varied and are more regionally specific : North, East, West, and South.

Consumers in the North prefer pink colored soaps, which have floral profiles. Here the fragrance preference is for more sophisticated profiles reflecting their lifestyles. Freshness soaps with lime and citrus notes are also popular preferences as the climate in the North is very hot and citrus/lime scented soaps are seen to be refreshing.

The East is not a big soap market; hence no particular preference skews.

Consumers in the West exhibit preferences for strong, impactful fragrances and somewhat harsher profiles compared to the North. Preferences are more for the pink soaps with floral fragrances, primarily rose, which are positioned on the beauty platform.

In the South, the skew is towards specific soap segments like the Herbal/Ayurvedic profiles and also the Sandal profiles. Consumers here do not exhibit high brand loyalty and are ready to experiment and try out new brands. Hence, most fast moving consumer goods companies tend to launch their new brands in these markets, which they call test launch markets.

Marketing

Soap is primarily targeted towards women, as they are the chief decision-makers in terms of soap purchase. Medicated positioning like germ killing and anti-bacterial are marketed to families.

Problem Statement

As is the case in many other markets, the soap and personal products industry is being driven to a large extent by the changing age composition of the population, specifically by the bulge of the baby boom "passing through the snake." For example, baby boomers have established anti-aging preparations as the chief benefit of cosmeceuticals (products aimed at correcting or improving the physiological condition of the skin). Now turning age 50 at the rate of one every 7 seconds, India baby boomers have put anti-aging on the top of the cosmeceutical benefit list. Two-thirds of this group approve of concealing aging signs, which resulted in driving the cosmetic surgery market up 47% and spurring an increase in wellness product growth [3] . It is for good reason, then, that baby boomers are the focus of many personal care product manufacturers. They have led the broad personal care sector of the economy to focus on the potential in aging consumers and their expanding pocketbooks. Growth is occurring in a variety of age-sensitive product markets, from soaps and skin creams to massagers and body fat analysis machines. Other trends are discernable as well. Not only are the boomers aging, which will drive spa and wellness categories to new heights, but they are entering their peak earning years. As their lives get busier, stress relief products will become more important to them.

Baby boomers are not, however, the only group important to the growth of this industry. The number of personal care products designed specifically for children is increasing. Health and beauty aids suppliers are using licensing to tap into the growing demand of children. Estimates suggest that money spent for children between the ages of 4 and 12 are around Rs 10000 each year [4] . Recognizing children's power to influence parents' purchases, suppliers have adorned their products with the images of characters from popular child-oriented movies and television programs. Doy Care, has developed unique shape soaps that resemble cute animals and cartoon characters. Marketers of kids' personal care products that are not licensed are more likely to utilize advertising or promotions.

Bar soap sales accounted for 62.7% of rupes sales for bath and hand soaps in 2010 [5] , making bar soap by far the largest segment in the hand and bath soap category. While liquids and gels for personal cleansing have become a fact of life, the traditional soap bar is fighting back, initially with translucent soaps and now with transparent products. A number of manufacturers of liquids and gels are now also looking at the new clear bars as a way of extending their market coverage. Increasingly popular are specialty soaps, such as those with some sort of historical connotation or with protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Smaller companies are attempting to break into the market with such specialized goods. For example, Medieval, based in Los Angeles, CA, offers oils, soaps, bath blends, perfumes, and lotions with a Camelot theme.

While bar soaps remain the largest segment and have been growing at a low rate in absolute terms, there has been a relative shift away from bar soaps toward liquid soaps. Many women feel that body washes are superior because they both moisturize and provide long-lasting fragrance. Shower gels are focusing as much on exotic fragrances as on offering effective cleansers. Fiama Di Will notes that the Generation Y groups are very interested in the kinds of fragrances they use. "Customers come into a store and see rows of shower gels and liquid soaps, many of which come in very colorful containers and have exotic scents that say, 'escape from your troubles,'" says a store manager."Those fragrances, as well as the moisturizers that these products contain now, make them more popular than bar soaps."

Purpose of the Study

The study aims at understanding the consumer habits which should answer questions related to usage habits which brands used, how much is used, why shift from soap to body wash, awareness on body wash and opinion on body wash among users

Objective of the Study

The object of this study is to

To assess the purchase habits/preference of body wash products.

To examine the factors influencing consumers to prefer particular brands.

To assess the possible need Gap in the body wash category.

Research Questions

What is the current purchase habits/preference of body care products?

What are the factors influencing consumers to prefer particular brands?

What is the impact of brand promotion on purchasing behaviour?

Scope & Limitations of Operation

This study is confined to the consumers in Mumbai Metropolitan. Due to time constraint only one metropolitan city is considered. Hence the results cannot be generalized. Given the changes in market and consumer behaviour results may be valid only for the study period.

CHAPTER 2

Literature Review

This chapter presents the review of the relevant literature concerning consumers' buying behavior towards soaps and the existing usage patterns of consumers. To understand the attitudes of consumers towards different brands of soaps, it is imperative to understand the soap market in general, and also factors influencing consumers to prefer particular brands in the Indian context.

The literature review is classified as Conceptual Review, Empirical Evidence and contextual Review.

Conceptual Review

Purchasing Behaviour

Leko-simic (1999) focused his survey on the use of marketing in 23 companies of the food industry in East Croatia. The results showed that only just over half of these companies had an organized and purposeful marketing policy. Their evaluations of most business elements (their own supply and demand coordination, competitive ability, business activity efficiency, and analysis of their own advantages and possibilities on the home and international markets, etc.) were significantly better than those companies without such a marketing strategy.

Siguaw and Enz (1999) conducted an overview of recent study on champions of best practice in hotel marketing strategy. First, those companies that had excelled in sales management were examined, and this was followed by a discussion of champions in the area of promotions. Next, the practices of these champions in other key areas of marketing were explained, including channel relationships, target marketing, marketing research, product development, and pricing.

Vignali and Vrontis (1999) in their study investigated the possibility of Dairy Crest, the UK dairy foods company, launching its milk products on the German market. The study gave a brief overview of the company's activities, including its recent joint venture with Yoplait (France) and analysed its internal capabilities. It then examined the German market - its structure, the competition in the dairy sector, and the existing retail outlets and the impact that these might have on any marketing strategy. Finally, strategies and marketing approaches that could be used by Dairy Crest in optimizing performance when targeting the German market were proposed.

Scrimgeour and Wilson (2000) in his paper discussed future directions for the New Zealand dairy industry with particular reference to industry structure and marketing strategy. Contractual relationships between farmers and the marketing chain and off-farm investments were also considered.

Orth (2000) study of a consumer survey was conducted in a German city of 40, 000 inhabitants to assess the competition at the local market for floricultural products and services. 294 out of 300 distributed questionnaires could be utilized. The consumer barometer provided information on consumer shopping behaviour and on market shares of various competitors (retail institutions like garden centres, retailing growers, retail floral shops, etc.). Additional findings extend on individual strengths and weaknesses of relevant retailers, structured by product groups and performance features indicating their current position in the competition. For one selected garden market an adequate marketing strategy had been developed to increase its competitiveness and to ensure future existence of the company. The paper concluded with considerations on an application of the method for evaluating marketing measures and to develop a marketing controlling system.

Lages (2000) in his study discussed that Portuguese wine manager's views on the following determinants of export performance: internal and external forces, business orientation and marketing strategy. The research on these marketing and business topics was supported by qualitative data obtained through internal sources, semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The interviews were initially conducted with the chairmen of institutions that played a key role in the Portuguese wine industry. Research was then carried out with the export managers of port and table wine companies. Theoretical links with the contingency perspective, business orientation, export marketing and performance literatures were illustrated. Insights for future research were also presented.

Elam et al. (2000) study found that when the planting time, price of December cotton futures was high relative to the long-term average, the harvest price would tend to be lower; and vice versa. This process was called mean reversion. Hedging/speculation strategies, devised to take advantage of mean reversion, showed significant returns in a 19-year simulation.

Gonner (2001) study dealt with the local resource use in Lampunah, a Dayak Benuaq village in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, which consisted of hundreds of forest gardens (rattan, rubber and mixed fruit gardens), swidden fields and fallows. Studying the local resources use over several years revealed substantial dynamics with frequent switching between different income sources as well as significant variation in the number and kind of swidden fields. These irregular temporal patterns were the result of general resource use strategies and individual decision-making rationales. The plausibility of the latter can be shown by analysing causal webs, which integrated economic, ecological, social, religious, political, historical and emotional aspects.

The most relevant livelihood strategies were based on three principles:

(1) Food security through subsistence;

(2) Flexible use of diversified resources; and

(3) Use of natural dynamics.

Shivakumar and Giram (2004) in this paper states consumption of various products was an integral part of human life. Hence everybody was engaged in buying different types of goods. Consumer tried to obtain maximum satisfaction from the goods purchased. It required the study of consumer behaviour. Now it was up to the industrial unit to fix the marketing strategy so as to attract the consumer towards its products. Consumers were influenced by the factors like price of goods, quality, brand name, advertisement, consumer income, discount and free gifts etc.

Strydom and Museler (2005) studied the strategic position of the Namibean Red meat industry was international business and meat companies in Namibia were global role players. Poultry consumption had increased at the expense of beef, primarily due to quality and price. A study was commissioned to determine the strategic success factors, approaches and options of the major beef and sheep meat exporting industries of the world for extrapolation on Namibia. The most common business strategy involved cost orientation, although a differentiated marketing strategy with innovative and branded products targeted into niche markets was required for Namibian businesses. Developments in trace ability, quality control, branding, added value and consistency should satisfy the concerns consumers have over health and safety issues.

Brand preferences and advertisement

Consumers leant about FMCG products from many sources, mainly from friends and families, through advertisement and from their own experience. Whether a promotion and advertising hurt or help a brand is under-researched (Mela, Gupta & Lehman, 1997). In the long-run, advertisement help brands by making consumer less price sensitive and more loyal. Exposure of an ad is crucial to be effective in changing consumer knowledge, attitude and behaviour (Evans, Moutinho & Van Raaj, 1996). And for the ad to be seen, it must grab the attention of its target audience. 'Ads originality' as defined from Pietes, Warlop and Wedel, (2002) were easier for customer to remember than ordinary ads by increasing attention to it. This thus increased attention to the brand being advertised. However, regardless of the content, ads for brand leaders are more successful due to the influence of the brand (Simon, 1970). Ads for less popular brands may be less successful even though the content may be good.

Liking towards the brand itself can influence liking for the brand (Hawkins, Best &Coney, 1992). However according to study by Biehal, Stephens and Curlo (1992) whether consumers like or dislike an ad does not necessarily lead to brand acceptance or rejection. So, even though consumers may like the ad that they see, it does not necessarily mean that they will go out and buy the brand advertised. Usually the consumer uses their attitude towards the ad (Aad) in brand choice equaled that of attitude towards the brands (AB)

Brand preference and product attribute

Attributes are the characteristic or features that an object may or may not have and includes both intrinsic and extrinsic (Mowen & Minor, 1998) .Benefits is the positive outcomes that come from the attributes. People seek products that have attributes that will solve their problems and fulfills their needs (Mowen & Minor, 1998). Understanding what consumer choose a product based upon its attributes helps marketers to understand why some consumers have preferences for certain brands (Gwin & Gwin, 2003). In the study by Gwin and Gwin (2003), the Lancaster model of consumer demand (1966, 1979), also referred to as the product attributes model, was used to evaluate brand positioning. This model assumes that consumer choice is based on the characteristics (or attributes) of a brand. Each product is a bundle of attributes and that choice is based on maximizing utility/satisfaction from the attributes subject to budget constraints. However there were two limitations of the model: (1) the model is static and deterministic and (2) the model does not explain how the preferences for attributes were formed. This article also did not mention if experience with the product played a part in influencing attributes preferences

Both tangible and intangible attributes of a product are equally important in choosing a product or brand (Myers, 2003). There is no evidence that certain attributes are more related to customer loyalty than others (Romariuk & Sharp, 2003). It was, found though, that the more attributes (non-negative) associated with a brand, the more loyal the customer (Romariuk & Sharp,2003). Romariuk and Sharp (2003) suggested that marketers should focus more on how many attributes the brand should be associated with and not what attributes. However, this study did not specify what sort of attributes marketers should associate the brand with; i.e. whether they should be relevant or irrelevant attributes, tangible or intangible etc. This is because it is important that consumer accurately lean about product attribute performances since it would influence their interpretations of product performance by causing memory encode and retrieval bias. Unfounded product attribute relationship beliefs can mislead them into expecting something that is not there.(Mason & Bequette, 1998). Hence if products fall short of customer expectations, then dissatisfaction would result. Nevertheless, it was found that through irrelevant, some attributes may still be important in influencing consumer choice. Persistent preferences for product attributes occurs when there is low ambiguity in the initial potential choice for salient attributes coupled with experience ,although those attributes maybe irrelevant (i.e. an attributes usually not associated with favourable brand outcomes (Muthukrishnan & Kardes, 2001). Consequently, Mason and Bequette (1998) also said that perceptions on product performance based on salient attributes are more important in influencing the consumer purchase behaviour than actual product attribute performances. Similarly, Myers (2003) concluded that brand equity may be more influenced by attribute knowledge more than consumer preference.

However perception of product performance on the salient attributes are more important than actual performance (Mason & Bequette, 1998).Mowen and Minor (1998)suggested that marketing managers should know the attributes that consumers expect in a product and how positively or negatively they rate these attributes to help develop and promote a successful product. Retailers need to be knowledgeable of the product attributes perceived as the most important by each individual consumer group in order to build and maintain market share (Warrington & Shim, 2000). It is the consumer who determines which attributes matter to them. Different consumer groups place different importance on different attributes (Warrington & Shim,2000).It was found that consumers categories as LP/SB (low product involvement/strong brand commitment) placed greater importance on product attributes and product orientations than LP/WB (weak brand commitment)consumers, which placed the most importance on price.

Empirical Evidence

A study was conducted by the Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (Gihan Wijesundera, Ruwan Abeysekera, 2009 ) to explore how the marketing mix & demographical factors influence the brand preference & purchasing behaviour of beauty soap among the female consumers in the greater Colombo region. The usage of beauty soap among Sri Lankan consumers had been declining since 2003 to 2009, while globally accepted & fully localized brands were recording a negative growth in terms of the usage.

Sample consisted of 91 female consumers in greater Colombo region. Data were gathered by administrating questionnaires. The independent variables are 4Ps, Age, Income Level, Education, Marital status, Occupation, skin type, social factors, substitute products & dependent variable is the brand preference. Analysis was done using the Chi-square method at the significant level of 0.05. The research model was designed as below as per the above variables, Which describes the price, place, promotion, product, age, income level, education, marital status, occupation, skin type, social factors, substitute products as independent variables while brand preference becomes the dependent variable.

Figure 2.1: The Research Model

In Sampling Method the questionnaires were only distributed among the female consumers who lived in greater Colombo. Also Questionnaires were only given to the consumers who use toilet soap at home. It was ensured that the sample would cover adequately all the considered brands in the study, sampling method were convenience judgmental quota sampling. Sample size was 91 and which covers all the brands used by different respondents. Moreover all the demographical variables were covered in the sample.

In Data Analysis the statistical data analysis was done mainly thorough descriptive statistics, using Chi-Square method. The SPSS software was used to execute the analysis process. Methods such as bar charts and tabular formats were used to derive and summarize the data. The MS Excel was also used in data summarization process. The desired level of significant is 0.05 with the chi square test.

Finding of the study concluded that there was a statistical significant relationship between price & product with the brand preference at 0.05 significant level.

In the study (Karlsted University, Per Skalen, Sofia Molander , 2010) of factors affecting on Men's Skin Care Products Purchasing, Particularly In Karlsted, Sweden examines in some depth the influences of marketing mix, social factors, emergence of the metro sexual, evolution of femininity and masculinity, self-esteem and customer decision making on the male consumer behaviour in purchasing skin care products in Sweden, particular in Karlstad. In do so, the theories of masculinity and femininity, customer behaviour theory, customer decision making's theory, theory of metro sexual and theory of the four Ps in marketing mix strategy are employed as a theoretical framework and also adapted with theory of the self esteem involvement. It also endeavours to find out the reasonable impacts of perception on the relationship between variables and consumer behaviours. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to men who are in the age range between 15-45 years old and living in Karlstad, Sweden. The total sample consists of 94 respondents. Further, the returned questionnaires were analyzed by using factor analysis, correlation and path analysis in SPSS version 16.0.

Additionally, the factors influencing the purchase at the purchasing point, such as choices of products, packaging, product odor, promotion and etc, are studied whether it can affect to decision making at that moment. To do so, the study can permit to understand more the customer's behaviours, market trends and purchasing evaluation in skin care market of men in Sweden.

The research methodology was deductive approach. According to Brymen & Bell (2007) and Greenspum (2010) noted that deductive approach begins with a general ideas (such as theory, laws, principles) and based on them, specific hypotheses are formed which can be tested in order to support the general ideas. Then observation will be conducted to test all issues.

Regarding the sample size the study was concentrated in Sweden's market only instead of the global market due to time limitation and point's focusing. And in order to keep away from the cultural differences between nation that can be one factor to affect customer's purchasing decision making, doing survey across multi-nationality is avoided in this study.

Principally the data were analyzed by SPSS version 16.0. The descriptive statistic is employed for the basic features of data in this study. It offers simple conclusions about the sample and the measures (Trochim, 2008). At first part of analysis, summarizing the data deriving from mean value by frequency is mainly considered. Corresponding with simple graphics analysis, it shapes the basic of virtually every quantitative analysis of result.

Unlike descriptive statistics, inferential statistics are highly involved in analysis to extend further than the data alone. For instance, this study use inferential statistics to infer some judgments or conclusions of the probability which relate to an observed difference between groups and factors is the reliable one or one that might happen in this study. Therefore, the inferential statistics is used to make inferences and connection between the obtained data and related theories (Trochim, 2008).

The result of this study indicates that many men are more comfortable to use and buy skin care products more than it used to be. It might be seen that skin care for men become more important in beauty care industry because skin care products are not seen as something that has been launched only for women anymore. Using skin care product can be seen as one way to take care of themselves as well, not only be labeled as 'gay'. It can be seen that men have gone so far from the past and men have changed a lot on their consumption behaviour but 'men are still men'.

In another study Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products (Hee Yeon Kim and Jae-Eun Chung , 2011) used the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to examine the effects of consumer values and past experiences on consumer purchase intention of organic personal care products, this study aims to consider further the moderating effect of perceived behavioural control on the attitude-intention relationship.

The methodology approach was an online survey was conducted with 207 online panel members, and multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationships among the variables. The results indicate that environmental consciousness and appearance consciousness positively influence attitude toward buying organic personal care products. The addition of past experiences as a predictor of purchase intention and perceived behavioural control as a moderator of the attitude-purchase intention relationship yielded an improvement on the TPB model. This study suggests that retailers can develop effective marketing strategies emphasizing ecological beauty, product safety, and affordable prices to increase consumers' intentions to buy organic personal care products.

This study provides valuable insight into US consumer behaviour regarding organic personal care products by examining the factors that influence consumers' attitudes toward buying organic personal care products and consumers' purchase intentions for the products. Furthermore, this study extends an application of the TPB by examining the moderating influence of perceived behavioural control on the attitude-intention relationship.

The TPB, which has been applied previously to predict green consumer behaviour, and robustness of the theory has been confirmed (Bamberg, 2003; Chan and Lau, 2001; Kalafatis et al., 1999), is used to explain the antecedents of intention to buy organic skin/hair care products. Specifically, this study considers consumer values as an antecedent of attitude, consumers' past experiences as a predictor of purchase intention, and perceived behavioural control as a moderator of the attitude-purchase intention relationship.

Figure 2.2: Research Framework

A California company specializing in online marketing research recruited online participants for this study. A quota sample was used in terms of age (18 years or older) and residence in the USA. Of the 207 responses collected, 202 valid responses were used for the empirical analysis. 53.5 percent of the respondents were females and the mean age was 44.3 years. Based on market share reports and store observations, the most available product from the skin care category and the hair care category were chosen as targets for the questionnaire: organic body lotion and organic shampoo. The survey questionnaire included questions on consumer values, the TPB constructs, and consumers' past experiences and they were measured on a seven-point scale. Questions on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were also included.

Turning first to the findings of the relationship between consumer values and attitude, environmental consciousness and appearance consciousness rather health consciousness were found to be important in predicting consumers' attitudes toward organic personal care products. This result provides a difference in consumer purchase behavior regarding organic foods and organic personal care products. Moreover, the results showed that all TPB predictors are significantly correlated with purchase intention for organic personal care products. The findings of this research revealed that an individual's past experiences with other organic products have a significant impact on purchase intention for organic personal care products, which provides evidence that an organic lifestyle is reflected in an individual's consumption pattern. Furthermore, this study extended an application of the TPB by examining the moderating influence of perceived behavioural control on the relationship between attitude toward buying organic personal care products and purchase intention for them. Based on the findings of this study and the study's limitations, several suggestions for future research were made. First, although an online survey provided the sample from various geographic locations in the USA, only people who had access to a computer and the internet were able to participate in this study. Thus, future research could use both methods, an online and offline survey such as a mall-intercept method, to compensate for the weakness of each method. Second, the findings of this study may not be applicable to other product categories of organic personal care products or to other organic products even though the results revealed there were no product differences in attitude and intention between the two products. Therefore, further study needs to obtain greater generalization with a variety of product categories. Finally, it would also be valuable to explore the factors that influence consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward stores offering organic products. Future research might help organic product retailers understand how consumer values influence attitude toward the stores. It could suggest that establishing a positive attitude toward stores might play an important role in increasing consumers' store purchases as well as enhancing store preferences.

This research provides valuable insights for organic personal care product retailers and manufacturers by indicating attitude is the most important determinant of purchase intention among the four predictors. The findings of this study suggest that creating a positive attitude toward buying organic personal care products may be a significant consideration for retailers to increase consumers' purchase intentions for the products. As a result, this study suggests that retailers develop effective marketing strategies emphasizing ecological beauty or product safety to satisfy the values of potential consumers. In addition, this research shows the significant moderating role of perceived behavioural control on the relationship between attitude and purchase intention and hence, it suggests that retailers might try to change consumers' perceptions of higher prices to affordable prices using marketing strategies (e.g. discount, advertisement, new product development), which would make consumers believe that they are capable to buy organic personal care products. Furthermore, over 70 percent of respondents who had experiences with organic products have purchased organic foods. The findings of this study suggest that organic personal care product retailers might attract potential consumers by displaying their products near the organic food sections at a grocery store. Or organic personal care product retailers might develop combined management activities called co-marketing with organic food product retailers.

In the study of Brand Preference of Soap (IIM-K , Sunita , 2011) the main objective was To find out brand preference of customers in a particular town , find out category preference , find out brand loyalty of customers , find out the source of influence of customer purchase and to rank the various attributes while selecting a brand.

The scope of the study was to understand the consumer buying pattern and the result can be used in deciding the channel selection for distribution of toilet soap.

In Research Methodology study was carried out among the toilet soap users in Kolenchery town, to study the consumer buying behaviour with respect to the same. The task of data collection begins after a problem has been defined and research design/plan chalked out. While deciding about the method data collection, the research keeps in mind two types of data viz, primary and secondary. The primary data those collected fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. These secondary data were passed through the statistical process. Percentage analysis has been used for analysis and interpreting data. Analysed data are displayed in the form of table, pie chart and bar chart. Chi-square test is conducted to determine the acceptability of the null hypothesis formulated for the study.

The findings of the research were briefed as the people in the age group of 36-45 form the major chunk of customers. They form about 47% of the customers. More than half of the customers use soap twice a day. Only 10% respondents use specific brand for a considerable period of time. The popular category soaps forms the most selling category of soaps.75 g was found to be the most popular volume among customers. Supermarkets are preferred by majority of the respondents to buy soaps. The experience from the product in terms of its quality, value for money etc has a higher say in purchase decision.

For a customer the quality of the soap is the paramount criteria while selecting soap. Brand name of the product is another criterion along with the fragrance of the soap.

The average consumer has become sensitive to value offered by brands, either in terms of price or in terms of the intrinsic benefit offered at higher price point. The emergence of several discount brands and higher- priced improved offerings can be seen in the soap category. Godrej No. 1is an example of how the brand initiated the strategy of offering several variants (like sandal) in the lower segment when such variants have been associated with higher segments in the category. Apart from expecting value, the consumer is also caught in generic competition which may force him/her to downgrade in a few categories while testing other categories. For instance, the consumer, in order to

Balance her household budgets, may alternate between a good brand of soap and a low-priced soap .Balancing functional benefits, symbolic appeals and timing the right combination of good functional attributes and symbolic brand orientation (which can be beyond advertising like an event associated with beauty care/hair care) within a price band is likely to be a conceptual approach to get over the complexities of the FMCG markets.

Contextual Review

In the globalization era, improvement of technology, science, society, economy and education provide people to have better standard of living and styles. Relating to the development of purchasing power in consumers and market trend that people become more conscious of hygiene and beauty (Souiden & Diagne, 2009), it affects to the rapid growth in beauty care industry, especially in this decade. Because of the characteristic of the market is quite high by value, thus it attracts many companies to enter to this market continually. Not only domestic companies that try to take as much as advantages in their local market but multinationals also desire to reach the market. Even there is intensive competition in beauty care market; many companies still pay attention to invest in this market to respond for the high demand available in market.

Most of people would like to be beautiful, healthy and good looking. The global world we are living in sets stereotypes that become models. Models are presented widespread all around us in daily life such as on the television, in the commercials, in the magazines, on the billboard, in the fashion shows, in the streets and even at school or at workplace. There is a normal fact that most people want to look like the models. Men and women are alike, a smooth and bright skin with an ideal body shape for a wonderful life (Nair et al, 2007).

This desire and trends are growing and seen as a gold mine for the beauty care market. Beauty care products imply psychologically that customers are taking care of their hygiene, beauty and healthiness by using some products items to support.

The beauty industry in women has been obviously growing since long times ago whereas the men's market have just become blooming in men aspects lately. Currently men are more aware of their body and the demand for beautifulness, aesthetics, youthfulness, healthiness, and thinness which drag them away from old opinion about "only sanitation". The advancement of fashion magazines for men emphasizes this point of view against their appearance (Souiden & Diagne, 2009).

The explosion of the male press commonly affects more or less toward the consumption of men's beauty products. As a result, men pay more attention to support patterns of beauty and are more sensitive to the products alternatives, like many products are launched to the market to convince customers to believe that its can improve their appearance, to put it in scene, to dramatize it. Nevertheless, even though men buy more beauty products as grooming and skin care products, it is predicted that these products are still bought approximately 80% by their wife or companions (Data panel, 2002). It's also important to study if there is any internal or external reason which can be factor affects men purchasing toward this kind of skin care products, just because men do not have many experiences against the products, or there is any masculine issue involvement. In general, some fear to buy these kinds of products directly can lead into question their virility, associating them to a female, effeminate or homosexual universe.

In whole, as research purpose, it is concerned significantly to understand and know which factors have the impacts of decision making toward purchasing of skin care products. What these terms mean at present in customer aspect, taking into consideration the evolution of consumption and mentalities on another side, and of customer's orientation or preference for one or another sex. In contrast, male have no exactly the same "toiletry" speech apparently as female (Solomon et al, 1998), which mention about the product's failure issues relate to packaging consideration to be too womanly characteristics. Like other marketing mixes considerations, it supposes to have considerably the impact on men's purchasing decision making. Unlike homosexuals, products attributes for heterosexuals may be expected to have dissimilar uses and experiences (Blanchin et al, 2007).

Apparently, there are many disparities between men's and women's market for skin care product. Hence, the companies have had to deep in details about the strategies of marketing to this new market target to persuade men's attention to their products. Those adjustments suppose to concern all the areas of the marketing mix: product, promotion, place and price, including other related factor influences on their masculinity and metro sexual perspectives.

The definition of a niche market is a subset of targetable portion of the market on which a specific product is focusing, therefore a business that head to a niche market is addressing a specific need for a product or service feature that is not being provided by mainstream providers, aimed to satisfying a relatively tiny part of market only as a narrowly defined group of potential customers. As well as the price range, production quality and demographics that is determined to crash (Dalgic, 2006).

The market of hygiene and beauty for men, there are not many products alternative providing available in the market as countless as offering for women. There are a few brands that see this market as a niche and unique that can develop in the future. L'Oréal brand is perceived as a pioneer in this segment because in 1985, the L'Oréal group has launched itself with Biotherm Homme to serve in the men market. According to Antoinette (2005), the interview below, there is some idea about L'Oréal's attitude toward men' market.

"We feel we launched it at just the right time because the category was tiny, and it is starting to bubble and move," said Carol Hamilton, president of L'Oréal Paris, in a past interview with Drug Store News.

In fact, Biotherm Homme had lonely stood in this market for 20 years at least as opening this new market in 1985 with building new special line which donated to men market to react for the idea that men also require for the skin care products to look after themselves, to clean their skin, responding their wellness by using creams, lotion, toners, moisturizers, bath & body, hair care, even anti-aging creams (Jones, 2010).

As the development of this segment, in the 90s, Nickel, a superior brand for men, created masculine beauty institutes that give the credit to carrying of the institutes; the brand realized the opportunity and growth in this market. Then, in 1996, it built its own line toward particularly for men. This new brand tie itself up to men segment even just noticed the market potential and know how to capture this market (The Nickel website, 2010). The real revolution was taken place in 2001 by Vichy and in 2002 by Clarins. As a result the market has been increasingly captured and competed intensively from time to time toward this potential growth among many famous brands such as Nivéa for Men, Klorane, Vichy, Nickel, Phytomer, Clarins Men, L'Oréal and etc (Blanchin et al, 2007).

Promotion is the communication process which the company or product itself attempt to convey with customers in order to attract and establish the customer's demand and consumption (Borden, 1994). Here are the main key issues related to promotion are branding, packaging and advertising.

Branding: Building a trademark or identification of a distinctive image to the products. During the intensive competition in many markets, the word 'brand' is primarily considered as main element as competitive advantage to differentiate it from others if the company has reputed brand as a commercial application (Clifton, 2004). Besides, brand name communicates product image which connect to certain values. So the name should correspond to its positioning.

Packaging: is the combination of the science, technology, art and fashion to protect and keep the products to customers that involve with the considerations of products attribute, distribution, storage, use, sale, production, cost, public image, customers, etc. (Soroka, 2002). Marketer has to pay attention on the package design because package is the first thing that customer sees, so it should present product in an enviable and suitable way to draw the customer's attention. The vital points that should be realized carefully are the form, texture, the smell and colors of packaging. All that criteria on package can be seen as sensory marketing to capture the male customer (Blanchin, 2007).

Advertising: it is one of promotional activity to inform and activate the public in order to rise up the product sales. There are many forms of these promotions such as press, television, internet, sponsoring, public relation and sale promotions (Moungthong et al, 2008). Regarding to men's skin care market, the marketers have to consider who your target are, and what you want to communicate to them.