PERCEIVED VALUE BASED BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS TOWARDS PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS OF TIRUPPUR

Abstract

Fast Moving Consumer Goods are popularly known as Consumer Packaged Goods. This includes all consumables (other than grocery/pulses) bought at regular intervals. The most common in the list are toilet soaps, detergents, shampoos, toothpaste, shaving products, shoe polish, packaged foodstuff, household accessories and certain electronic goods. The Personal Care Products (PCP) market in India is estimated to be worth USD 4 billion per year. Personal hygiene products (including bath, shower products, and deodorants etc.), oral care, hair care, skin care, cosmetics, colour cosmetics, and fragrances are the key segments of the personal care market. It is said that India lies in villages, even today, though there are lots of talk about migration of population to cities, 70% of the Indian population still live in villages. There is a very stark difference in pace of rural and urban growth. Unless there isn't a balanced development, Indian economy cannot grow. Tiruppur is a city, situated in southern region of the Indian state, Tamil Nadu. Tiruppur is an administrative headquarters of Tiruppur district and the fifth largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. The study focuses on understanding the problems related to Product Quality, Perceived Risk and Relative Price that have impact on perceived value based buying behaviour of consumers towards personal care products in rural and urban areas of Tiuppur District. Therefore, the objective framed is to analyze the perceived value based buying behaviour of consumers towards personal care products in rural and urban areas of Tiuppur. The research is descriptive in nature. Primary and secondary data are used for data collection. The study area is limited to Tiruppur District limits and all prominent places where consumers visit that includes - Retail outlets, Open Market, Shopping Complex, Departmental Stores, etc. Five hundred and twenty five (525) samples were taken using convenient sampling method. It is found that only perceived risk and perceived value are found to be significant and no significance is achieved between price and value. Also, quality and perceived value was found to be supporting the null hypothesis. Advertisement and its impact on consumers buying personal care products can significantly influence the consumers in most of the aspects and therefore it is concluded that if the suggestions and recommendations may be considered by the policy makers to formulate appropriate methods to reach the minds of public, which can help them to establish their authority with safe and sound growth in the rural and urban markets, not only in Tirupur district but also in the India as well