CRBR PROJECT

C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O U R T O WA R D S

S P O R T S S H O E S S E G M E N T

Group: B11

Name:

Prashant Piyush 14S727

Nishal Shah 14S724

Rutwik 14S639

Mitesh 14S722

Siddharth 14S742

Executive summary

The purpose of this report is to elaborate on the Consumer buying behavior of the consumer

while purchasing a sports shoe. The buying behavior were mainly categorized on the basis of

Branded sports shoe user and non-branded users. The report begins with a statement of problem

and objectives of study of this project. We have then furnished the method of the current study

and discussed the different methods employed to do the qualitative analysis. We have then

studied the scope and limitation of the current study in order to have better understanding of

the project. We started the project with Focused Group Discussion on sports shoe users where

various factors affecting the buying behavior were identified. The respondents were also

analyzed on their store selection, external & internal influencers and other buying decision

making process. These factors were later then analyzed to understand the motivation,

personality and influencing attitudes of the consumers.

The project also emphasize on the five decision making process which the users go starting

from need recognition to post purchase and thus gauge in the mind of consumers. The findings

of the frame work has been discussed after that. The last part of the report explain show the

factors like demographics and personality affect the decision making process when selecting a

sports shoe. After getting different evaluation criteria which are used by the consumers before

selecting a sports shoe is made, and from all the possible factors, some important ones like

price, comfort, brand and purpose are considered to be important. Interesting findings are

shown throughout the report evidencing how a branded sports shoe must position themselves

to differentiate themselves from non-branded sports shoe. The report ends with a conclusion

of the main findings in the report where in purpose of buying sports shoe is given an important

position as that is what affects how decisions are made about selection of a sports shoe.

Statement of the Problem:

How does branded sports shoes affects the consumer buying behaviour in the sports shoes

category

Objective of the Study

The important objective of our study is to find out the prominent factors that affects the

consumer’s decision to purchase the branded sports shoes. It further subgroups to the

involvement level in the product category and their post purchase behaviour. Report also covers

the important factors which can compel students, who are non-earning part of the demography,

to spend more on it. Also how location of purchase affects purchase behaviour.

Method of the Study:

A Focused GD was conducted among the different age groups. The purpose was to come across

the various instances when consumers were motivated to buy the sports shoes. During that we

also came across the factors which they considered while buying the shoes. Other purpose was

to know the reasons why consumers aspired for and or bought some well-known brands. A

survey was then conducted to verify the universality of the responses. Observational study was

conducted by visiting the company outlets and observing the consumer’s reactions when they

looked at the products.

Scope of the Study:

The scope of our study was limited till current sports shoes users. In that we sought diversity

in terms of gender, age and occupation. We studied the responses of both male and female, the

age group ranged from 21 to 65 and occupation included both students and working

professionals.

Limitations of the Study:

The results of this study is based only till Manipal and Udupi. The authenticity of the response

was considered on the basis of answer given by the different respondents.

During Focus GD we came across some of the important factors that affected their

buying behaviour:

People bought sports shoes for various purpose other than playing sports like fashion

statement, for some casual exercise and as an alternative to sandals.

The factors that were kept under consideration while purchase of branded sports shoes

were price of the shoes they are buying and that of alternatives, purpose of use like for

running or playing Cricket, brand which is being bought, durability of the shoes,

celebrity endorsements, events sponsored by the brand and the comfort while wearing

The hard-core branded shoes user preferred to stick to a particular brand because of the

trust they built upon them over the years. On the other hand there were aspirational

users who just started using the branded shoes keeps on experimenting to suit their

above mentioned buying factors

The most preferred mode of purchase of these population were company outlets, multi-

brand showrooms, big malls with international brands as well as online shopping

After getting the factor information from the mentioned study, we went ahead to look into the

External and Internal influences responsible for driving their purchase decision process.

Following are the internal and external influences that compelled the purchase of

branded shoes:

Internal Influential factors.

A. Motivation is a construct representing an unobservable inner force that stimulates and

compels a behavioural response and provides specific direction to that response.

In branded sports shoes segment we observed an inner drive because of which the buyers

wanted to own a particular brand. In many instances cost didn’t bother them much.

We are classifying our respondents on the basis of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. In our

population we observed 3 types of motivational force in them, namely:

1. Belongingness force was high in the students. They were from the because of the

affiliation groups they were part of. As per them, their circle judged them from what

they wear and they always wanted to be the centre of that circle. This made them

prefer the branded items and shoes was one of them.

2. Esteemed needs force was observed among the working professionals. They

perceived that they can measure their achievement in life by the lifestyle they live.

Purchasing the branded items was a part of this lifestyle. We even saw fitness

enthusiast in this category. They had a source of income to support their lifestyle,

thus they didn’t mind spending on branded shoes.

3. Self-actualization need was observed among the professional sport players. During

interaction we found out that these players wanted to excel the game they play. They

didn’t have any particular desire of affiliation by the brands they use yet they

preferred to show loyalty to that brand because of performance they delivered,

which helped them in their sport.

B. Personality theory refers to an individual’s characteristic response tendencies across the

similar situation. In personality theory, we found multitrait theory more useful in our

context. Here we are grouping our respondents as per the Five Factor model of the theory,

which is as follows:

Core Trait Respondent Types

Extroversion students, young working professionals

Instability NA

Agreeableness NA

Openness to Experience Novice sports players, Above 60 years

sports enthusiast

Conscientiousness Sports Professionals

On the basis of above classification we judged the following:

Extroverts are the people who are bold in their choice related decisions. They don’t

mind trying something new. In branded sports shoes segment, during interrogation we

found out that they are the early adopters of the new models launched in the market and

even reject if it doesn’t suits their needs. They are the most connected segment of

population.

In openness to experience segment we categorised respondent who haven’t developed

any particular choice and are ready to experience whatever they come through. These

are casual sports players and don’t have any specific need.

The conscientious trait holder of the population are expert in their field and want

everything to be perfect, exact and precise to suit their needs.

C. Self-concept defines the totality of the individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference

to themselves. Many of the respondents considered the buying of sports shoes as a high

involvement product. In this process they also believed that the product they buy defines

themselves. In fact the promotional campaigns by the companies like Nike and Puma

strengthens such kind of belief. They loyalist of Nike considered themselves as serious and

professional players, in the same way Puma depicted the youth culture and ardent football

fan culture. The purchase of such brands depicted satisfaction of egos and beliefs of the

population.

D. Lifestyle shows how a person lives. This depends on people past experience, current

situation and innate characteristics. The buying of branded sports shoes for college students

depended upon their attitude towards the other people thoughts about them. The working

professional chose the brand based on the activities and interest during their leisure time.

Their usage rate was also defined under the lifestyle they lived. i.e. for the usage rate of a

professional sports person was high as compared to the casual sports player. Thus the

branded category of sports shoes was highly dependent on the lifestyle lived by an

individual.

E. Consumer Attitudes towards selection of branded shoe selection reflected consumer’s

predisposition towards brands due to its past reinforcement. Formation of attitude first

passed though the brand belief, image and association in the minds of customer. Attitude

formation hence outcome brand belief.

Consumers expressed their interest to buy the branded shoe with best affordable price. In order

to get best possible price they showed keen interest to compare style, colors, design and price

of best branded sports shoes available under different categories. They expressed interest to

physically examine, feel the comfort and then select the one it best suited.

Exposure of advertisements with finer information or siting cue to search that shoe on website

would build brand knowledge, awareness, and purchase of the branded shoe, performance

delivery and brand belief.

In this process already built up consumer attitude would reduce information searching cost and

time involved substantially

External Influential Factors

A. Cultural Values:

During course of Focused group discussion consumers of branded sports shoe revealed that

wearing branded sports shoe was termed as social norm such as being stylish, cool, modern

and pronounce conspicuous consumption at social gathering, functions and formal get together.

Also selection of branded shoes goes hand in hand with due deliberation, discussion and

physical visit to multiband outlets with either family/friends or peers to evaluate different

alternatives. Finding the best alternative and wearing first time (at social events/ jogging) was

termed as joy, excitement and sense of achievement. Hence we found that selection of branded

shoes has social fabric and emotions embedded in it.

B. Demographics:

Extraction from primary research data we found that Male preferred style, durability and

finishing whereas female preferred variety in different colors. Users of sports shoes in Working

class in middle and high income group in the age group of 25-35 years valued performance,

design, comfort and convenience. Member of this cluster were brand loyal (Nike and adidas)

and price insensitive. Influencers to choose the branded sports shoes that they use were desire

f for social status, opinions of peers & family. Students in the age group of 18-25 years valued

style, durability, comfort and variety. Member of this cluster were brand loyal (puma) but price

sensitive. Selection of branded shoe was influenced by sports celebrity endorsement, friends

and family.

After getting the influencing factors and deducing the customer’s external and internal

behaviours we tried to focus on the Consumer Buying Decision Process

Following are the stages in which shoppers decided purchase the sports shoes. A. Need Recognition: The respondents mentioned the factors which affected their buying behaviour. The respondents

who were regularly using the sports shoe for the casual exercise such as running, jogging were

using it for their own need and were not largely affected by external stimuli such as TV

advertisement. They were mostly for the safety and comfort aspect of the shoe. Their need were

mostly driven by the functional importance rather than social. On the other hand the

respondents who were using the sports shoe for fashion were mostly driven by hedonic factors

and social needs. They were keen to watch new advertisements on internet and TV which were

externally influencing their physiological needs. B. Information Search: The brand loyal respondents showed very low involvement in the information search stage and

were looking for internal information to buy new style variants. The respondents who were

mostly using non branded sports shoes revealed that they were also collecting information for

the branded product by visiting online portals or sometimes even went to the nearby branded

shoe shops. They justified this behavior as collecting external information to know if there is

considerable difference between the unbranded product and the branded shoe. The respondents

who were using the sports shoe for fashion statement turned out to be brand conscious and took

ample time to collect the information from different channels. C. Alternative evaluation: Most of the respondents who were using the shoes for causal exercise mentioned that in order

to evaluate different sports shoes they mostly valued objective characteristics such as the

features and functionality of shoe. They asked for more comfortable, sweat absorbing and non-

stinking features in their shoes. The respondents who were wearing it mostly as a style factor

or a replacements of slippers were evaluating in terms of subjective characteristics such

as perceived value of the brand by the consumer. They used the information previously

collected and their perception or image of a brand to establish a set of evaluation criteria. Most

of them also said that they already had the consideration set of brands before visiting any store.

They were mostly driven by the celebrities, models and friends and relatives. They also

revealed that they usually try to go with their friends to help in the evaluation of shoe. D. Purchase decision Most of the respondents’ purchase decision were dependent on the information and the

selection made in the previous phase based on the perceived value, features and purpose of

buying. When we asked about the store selection for the sports shoe purchase then the

responders who were using branded shoes asked for exclusive company outlet, online portals

and big malls. Non-branded shoe used to purchase from online stores or the small

shops. Brand loyal respondents of top sports shoes were looking for the shopping experience

and were particular in store selection and their consideration set. General non-branded users

were looking for the availability of a promotions, return policy etc. to buy the mid and lower

end branded shoes.

E. Post-purchase behaviour The sports shoe category has a limitation in the brand loyalty. Most of the brand loyal

respondents said that even after being loyal to a particular sports shoe, they use to change the

brand after two to three times of purchase. They find the increase in brand attachment when

enforced with advertisements. Non branded users said that they are satisfied by the shoe they

wear and were unable to find the difference between the branded and non-branded sports

shoe. The users of branded product were equally satisfied and said that they usually can feel

the difference in the branded shoe from the unbranded shoe.

Analysis and Recommendations:

In our study we found out various reasons which impact the consumer’s buying decision of the

sports shoes. On that basis we also judged how the relevance of our study to a particular brand

of sports shoes. We then developed a communication strategy that can be designed for the

target groups.

Findings

After the analysis of the different aspects of consumer behaviour in buying the sports shoe, we

came up with the following findings:

The brand loyal people have the attachment with the present brands, but a strong

enforcement from other brand can affect the above attachment. They are highly

meticulous about the store ambience and design.

The people who use sports shoe for the casual exercise and comfort are mainly brand

indifferent and can even switch to non-branded shoes if they can find the same or better

utility.

The people who use sports shoe for fashion and style are brand conscious and mostly

shop with the friends and relatives.

The non-branded consumers are also moving to low and mid-priced branded shoes and

wait for the discounts and offers, mainly on online stores.

Communication Strategy:

Companies need to creatively build brand image by providing hedonic values,

developing symbolic cues which are culturally meaningful and solve the problems of

consumers in sports shoes. This would reinforce patronage towards brand

Target Segment of Branded Sports Shoe :

Students

Professional sports Players

Working professionals

Communication Channel : Website, Social Media & TV advertisements

1. Website

Since users of Branded sports shoe identified first service encounter to be website after

the recognition of need is triggered. As Elaboration likelihood model cues stored in the

mind of consumers takes central route to find information relevant to their need.

Building positive brand belief starts with experience of website

2. Social Media: A fan page on social media platform and bogs will help customers stay

updated about their favorite sport and how their favorite brand had significant

contribution in that sport.

Communication Strategy: Attitude formation

3. TV Advertisement: The message communication in shot TV ad. Film should

create a value expressive appeal. This will attempt to build personality of the brand

and will connect with the users.

4. Reference group and expert opinion: YouTube and Quara platforms can be used

to connect with fan base to solve their regular sport related queries, just like trend

shows in MTV. This will increase brand knowledge among the users.

5. Event Sponsorship: Provide sponsorship for College and state level events. This

will satisfy the attitude related selection factor as there will be incremental

acceptance of the brand among the social groups.

Building up attitude towards website

Cognitive thiking and evaluation

Thinking about the

brand

Purchase Intention

References (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thegoodpitch.com/wp-

content/uploads/2011/09/CommunicationsStrategyGuide.pdf.