A Project Report On “the Study Of Marketing”

A Project Report On “The Study of Marketing”

Submitted to:

As a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of Bachelor of Business Administration Programme BBA (Class of 2016-2019)

Under the Guidance & Supervision Of Dr Rajani Chandrashekhar Faculty Guide AGBS Hyderabad

Summer Assignment Project Submitted by: Mohammed Usama Khan A3030313035

AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL HYDERABAD

AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL HYDERABAD College Certificate This is to certify that Mr. Abdur Rahman Khan student of BBA Semester 3 Class of 20162019 has completed the Summer Assignment Project titled Marketing Management in Marks And Spencer under my guidance has worked sincerely for the partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Business Administration for the year 2016 to 2019 to the best of my knowledge and wish him/her success for the future endeavors.

Dr Rajani Chandrashekar AGBS Hyderabad

Date:- 25.07.17 Place:- Hyderabad

AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL HYDERABAD

DECLARATION I Abdur Rahman Khan, Student of Amity Global Business School, Hyderabad hereby declare that the Project titled Marketing Management is the record of authentic work done by me for submission of the Summer Assignment Project as a partial fulfillment and has not been submitted in any other university or Institute for the award of any other Degree. An attempt has been made by me to provide all relevant and important details regarding the topic to support the theoretical aspect and practical evidence related to the topic.

Abdur Rahman Khan.

(A3030313034) Date:- 25.07.17 Hyderabad

Acknowledgment My heartfelt sincere Thanks to Dr P Prasada Rao, Director General, Amity Global Business School Hyderabad for giving me this opportunity for doing my project in Marks And Spencer. My sincere & grateful thanks to my Faculty Guide Dr. Rajani Chandrashekar for guiding me throughout my Project. My sincere thanks to my Family members who stood by me motivating me to complete my project successfully.

Abdur Rahman Khan

(A3030313034)

Date:- 25.07.17 Hyderabad

Table of Contents 1.

2.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 2 1.1.

OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................................... 4

1.2.

IMPORTANCE ..................................................................................................................... 5

1.3.

NEED ..................................................................................................................................... 5

1.4.

LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................... 5

1.5.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................ 11

1.6.

LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................... 11

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 13 2.1.

RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................................ 13

2.2.

SAMPLING DESIGN ......................................................................................................... 13

2.3.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUES ............................................................................................. 13

2.4.

SAMPLING FRAME ......................................................................................................... 13

2.5.

SAMPLING UNIT .............................................................................................................. 14

2.6.

DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................... 14

2.7.

THEORTICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ....................................................... 14

3.

COMPANY PROFILE ............................................................................................................... 22

4.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ....................................................................... 28 4.1.

AGE OF RESPONDENTS ................................................................................................. 28

4.2.

GENDER ............................................................................................................................. 30

4.3.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATION .................................................................................... 31

4.5.

INCOME OF RESPONDENTS ......................................................................................... 34

4.6.

OCCUPATION ................................................................................................................... 36

4.7.

SHOPPING PRODUCTS IN MARKS AND SPENCER ................................................ 37

4.8.

FREQUENCY OF PROCURING FMCG PRODUCTS ................................................. 39

4.9.

PRODUCTS CONSUMING IN MARKS AND SPENCER ............................................ 40

4.10.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION .................................................................................. 41

4.11.

REASONS ........................................................................................................................ 42

4.12.

NATURE .......................................................................................................................... 44

4.13.

FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND ........................................................................... 45

4.14.

TYPES OF SHOPPING ................................................................................................. 47

4.15.

FACTORS INFLUENCE IN ACQUIRING PRODUCTS .......................................... 48

4.16.

SHOPPING OF PRODUCTS ........................................................................................ 50

4.17.

PRICE DECISION ......................................................................................................... 51

4.18.

VARIABLES INFLUENCE PRICE DECISION ......................................................... 52

5.

4.19.

LEVEL OF SATISFACTION........................................................................................ 54

4.20.

MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS ..................................................................... 56

4.20.1.

SWOT ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 56

4.20.2.

PESTLE ANALYSIS .................................................................................................. 60

4.20.3.

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS ..................................................................................... 63

FINDINGS, SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION ................................................................. 66 5.1.

FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................... 66

5.2.

SUGGESTIONS .................................................................................................................. 69

5.3.

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 69

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 70

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Age of respondents.................................................................................................................. 28 Table 2: Gender..................................................................................................................................... 30 Table 3:Education qualification ............................................................................................................ 31 Table 4: Marital status .......................................................................................................................... 32 Table 5: Income .................................................................................................................................... 34 Table 6: Occupation .............................................................................................................................. 36 Table 7: Shopping products .................................................................................................................. 37 Table 8: Frequency of procuring FMCG products................................................................................ 39 Table 9: Products consuming in Marks and spencer ............................................................................. 40 Table 10: Sources of information.......................................................................................................... 41 Table 11: Reasons ................................................................................................................................. 42 Table 12: Nature ................................................................................................................................... 44 Table 13: Factors influencing brand ..................................................................................................... 45 Table 14: Types of shopping................................................................................................................. 47 Table 15: Factors influence in acquiring products ................................................................................ 48 Table 16: Shopping of products ............................................................................................................ 50 Table 17: Price decision ........................................................................................................................ 51 Table 18: Variables influence price decision ........................................................................................ 52 Table 19: Level of satisfaction .............................................................................................................. 54

LIST OF CHARTS

Figure 1: Age of Respondents ............................................................................................................... 29 Figure 2: Gender of Respondents.......................................................................................................... 30 Figure 3: Education Qualification ......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 4: Marital Status ........................................................................................................................ 33 Figure 5: Income ................................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 6: Occupation............................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 7: Sources influence green in FMCG products.......................................................................... 42 Figure 8: Types of shopping ................................................................................................................. 47 Figure 9: Factors influence in acquiring products................................................................................. 49 Figure 10: Shopping of products........................................................................................................... 50 Figure 11: Price decision ...................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 12: Internal Variables and external variables ............................................................................ 53 Figure 13: Level of satisfaction ............................................................................................................ 55

INTRODUCTION

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is nobody in the world who is left out of the class of consumers. The consumer hood continues till one’s last breath in the world. The consumer purchases a variety of goods and services to satisfy his wants and he is always influenced in his purchasing activities by some considerations which lead him to select a particular commodity or a particular retail store in preference to others. So, consumer buying is more complex. Consumer purchases are likely to be influenced Physiological, psychological and sociological factors. The commodities and services which brought consumers in satisfying basic needs for Comfort, Pleasure, recreation and happiness. Every individual who has physiological need includes the following to be satisfied for survival. 

Hunger



Shelter



thirst, etc.,

The psychological factors like status prestige and social factors like friends, neighbours, job and relatives influence their purchasing activities. People bear certain beliefs and attitudes towards certain types of goods, brands of commodities and retail outlets based on their previous experience. When there is a need, they are able to discover some new commodities capable of satisfying their needs. Before the commodities and brands are selected, these commodities must compete successfully against alternatives in the market. The selection of a particular commodity becomes important for consumer since there are wide varieties of consumer goods in the market. Again selection of a particular commodity depends on income of the consumer and necessity of the product to the individual. Before the selection of the commodity purchased, an individual requires information regarding the various sources of supply of the commodity, its brands, relative merits and demerits, uses and value of their characteristic features and services offered. The common sources through which individual gathers information are from advertising media (television, radio and news papers), friends, retailers in the locality, displays in shops and food labels.

Hence this study focus on a retail store has become an important part for our daily shopping and merchandise. A large part of consumer goods are being marketed through these

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supermarket and stores. Thus retail stores are now an important segment of market economy. We define ourselves by looking at others. The self is defined through clothes, makeup, hairstyles and so on. In addition, the car we drive, our jobs, the house we live in, recreational activities - all these play a crucial role in creating the persona that we show to the world. When we define ourselves in relation to the world, shopping plays an important part, because most of the items that define us involve shopping. An interesting question to ask is why we prefer some stores to others. It's been centuries now since the retailers are trying to understand and satisfy customer needs and wants, thus generating profit. Seeing successful centers implies that others may not have followed the best practice in research, design and marketing. Since early history, retailers sought to make shopping a pleasurable experience, and for this we can consider the Sumerian and Mesopotamian caravanners, 4000 years ago, who knew how important it was to create the proper atmosphere for selling, and when departing from Damascus, they were accompanied by snake charmers, magicians, story tellers and so on. For the 21st century person is only natural to buy different products under a different roof, but such a thing was unthinkable some time ago. Medieval Europe was dominated by guilds who used to control whom and what was to be sold, and most stores were kept small and specialized. The mercers' place where retailers sold food products and textiles, came as close as possible to the idea of variety. But not only the guilds were in the way of retailers opening large and varied stores, but also the fact that only a small group of rich people afforded to buy manufactures. Moreover, in payment money was rarely used, most often merchandise being acquired through credit, thus the prices were high and the business was small. In addition, there were no fixed prices, bargaining being the order of the day (Seth and Geoffrey,1999). When the middle class rose, people started wanting products that will give them the aura of stability and class, thus a foundation for stores. Apart from this, the public transportation contributed to the phenomenon, allowing clients spread all over the city to gather, leading to the development of universal stores. The railroads connected cities and towns, which helped manufacturers to ship large quantities of merchandise, and also facilitating access to the residents who were living on the outskirts. A retail store has become an important part for our daily shopping and merchandise. Large parts of consumer goods are being marketed through these supermarkets and stores, making retail stores an important segment of market economy. With increasing importance, recently

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this industry has also become very competitive. Since this industry is importantly associated with sale to consumer, it is mandatory to have a better impression in customers' mind about the brand value of a particular store. Like any other business entities, these stores too have brand-value, multinational operations and huge investments and other related different strategies. These strategies often focused to understand the decision making process of consumer. On the basis of certain preferences, a consumer choose a particular supermarket, understanding of these strategies are important for formulating new marketing plans and assessment of existing marketing policy (Taylor and Houthakker, 2009, p. 8). For the purpose of management and marketing studies, much attention was given on these strategies. There have been several researches to identify important aspects which affect the consumer decision-making process while selection of a particular supermarket or retail store. The research problem of consumer decisions in special reference to retail store is more complex as it is based on different factors including comparison shopping, branding, types of goods and services, location and modern service like order on call or internet purchasing. The factors like age and gender, price, marketing, convenience etc. also affect the consumer decisions. These factors are very complex when it comes to the analysis of the shoppers of supermarket and retail stores. With the growing diversification of retail stores and their expanding domain, many other factors are also involved like specialized services, mode of payment etc. While pricing remain the major factor for the formulation of retail marketing strategy and it largely affects the consumer decision. The individual outlet plays important role in this respect. As consumer choose for the least cost store, the store-level shopping decisions regarding a product depend on the relative price of entire market at different stores (e.g., Bell, Ho and Tang, 1998; Bell, Bucklin, and Sismiero, 2000). This study is focused on the question of how consumers will make choices relative to available retail alternatives; which are the key variables for the making of related decision; what are the factors for choosing Marks and Spencer.

1.1.OBJECTIVES 

To find out the consumer decision making process in case of Mark and Spencer

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

To determine the major factors controlling consumer preference for selection of Mark and Spencer



To analyse the marketing strategy of Mark and Spencer for a particular kind of consumer base.

1.2.IMPORTANCE This helps to know the behavior of consumer who consume products from Marks and Spencer. This is very complex mainly with regard to different opinions, attitudes and availing products. Changes in standard of living, trends, advancement in technology which influence the consumer to prefer the brand. 1.3.NEED The purpose of the study is satisfying demands and wants of the consumers. This helps in understanding the purchasing decision process who consume products based on factors. It is necessary to retain the customers who consume products. There are many factors which influence the consumers based on prices, quality, advertisements and the like. This aids in attracting the attention of consumers who obtain products based on packaging, labeling and the like. 1.4.LITERATURE REVIEW A literature survey enquires about the subject matter and provides a holistic understanding of earlier research and findings. The conceptual framework for the study is based on the background of thorough understanding of the related literature and theories for marketing in retail sector. The secondary information are very useful for the understanding and conceptualizing theoretical framework for the study. One of the most recent and relevant study on consumer demand and behavior is done by Taylor and Houthakker (2009). Though this particular study is focused to the US consumers which are different from other places; it provides a theoretical background on the subject matter. This contemporary study consists of a review of the present state of demand theory, its application for consumer's demand. It also has an overview of the econometric techniques used for analyzing the demand theory. This study also provides a comparison between Conventional Theory of Consumer Choice and Neoclassical Demand Theory. The consumer behavior dynamics and consumption models are studied along with their econometric derivations. These

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theories discussed in this study are useful to construct the conceptual background for consumer preferences. In order to understand the process of consumer decisions, number of theories has been postulated. Among these, the ‘Theory of reasoned action' is focused on consumer's decision making process based on rational thinking. Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) have studied ‘the theory of reasoned action' (TRA). The TRA proposes that behavior is determined by an individual's intention to perform the behavior, and intention is influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. This study underlined the importance of rational action while decision making. Taylor and Todd (1995) have used TRA successfully to identify key elements of consumer decisionmaking. While most of the support for the theory has come from the social psychology literature, there has been success in applying this theory to consumer decision-making (Sheppard et al., 1988). For the theoretical construction of consumer preferences, there is another theory named as ‘theory of planned behavior' (TPB). According to Bagozzi and Kimmel (1995), the ‘theory of planned behavior' (TPB) can be thought of as an extension of the TRA in that it ‘‘accounts for behaviors that a decision-maker regards as potentially subject to interference by internal or external impediments.'' These impediments could be anything related with the personal convenience of the individuals. In case of the buyers, these impediments could be the result of various interferences including proximity and quality and brand loyalty and so on. The rational of a consumer is based on the pricing greatly. Therefore, setting optimal prices is of great importance. Nevertheless, firms often experiment with different pricing schemes at great cost (Essegaier, Gupta, & Zhang, 2002). Though, most of the time, buyers do not prefer for price comparison, still the pricing factor is a major issue in determination of particular retail shop. A research by Dickson and Sawyer (1990) provides the consumers' selection of retail store based on pricing. Comparative pricing could play a crucial role in decision making process of buyers. This Study suggests that consumers may have relatively poor knowledge of individual product prices; hence it might not be a single factor to choose a particular retail store. On this issue, there is another study by Alba et al. (1994), which found that consumers can make accurate distinctions about price levels in different stores. Here, the comparative pricing became one of the crucial factors while choosing a particular shop.

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Once the brand is selected, many times, it develops a kind of loyalty among the buyers. Krishnamurthi and Raj (1991) show that brand loyal households are relatively inelastic in brand choice; they tend to prefer the particular brand. However, when it comes to the purchasing quantity, these households are relatively free in making such decisions. On the matter of brand loyalty, Bucklin, Gupta, and Siddarth (1998) have also observed the same tendency. The specific study of M&S marketing history by Christopher and Peck (2001) provides an over view of the shifting priorities. In its early days and up to 1920s the business adopted by M&S was then revolutionary policy of buying direct from manufacturers, instead of through wholesalers. It was a unique innovative way for this business. These unique suppliers gave the business an advantage that few of its rivals could match. In later years it was already recognizable as an established and effective practitioner with its supply base. Historically M&S has designed most of its clothes in-house before putting the designs forward to favoured manufacturers with notoriously strict specifications regarding the finished product. These manufacturers provided dedicated facilities for M&S who required suppliers to refrain from bidding for work from other clients. But this UK based supply strategy was inhibiting the development of the retail business in Asia and the Pacific. Also M&S still officially encouraged its suppliers to source in the UK, enabling it to maintain its ‘buy-British' marketing stance. But their suppliers were now struggling to remain price-competitive. Hence some had therefore opted to supply at least a proportion of M&S's orders from overseas facilities or buy-in virtually finished goods produced in low-cost manufacturing centres such as China (Seth and Randall, 1999). With an advent of globalization and scale of economies such marketing strategies are getting older, eventually M&S too is also coming up with new marketing ideas. Some of the specific studies underline the importance of M&S in retail business and its success in Asia and Europe markets. There is an interesting case story presented by Seth and Randall (1999). This book provides thorough details about different retail chains. Chapter five is dedicated to the Marks and Spencer. Here, the authors have tracked the development of M&S since its foundation time. The founder Michael Marks was a Polish born Russian Jew who had arrived Britain as penniless. This study has linked this fact with the retail store's pricing strategy of early days, which is known as ‘Don't ask the price, it's a penny.' Further elaborating on this, authors have stated

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‘Given the spending power of his customers, he (Michael Marks) sold only items on which he could make a profit at the price of one penny. It is said that he coined the famous slogan, ‘don't ask the price, it's a penny' because of his poor English: if so, it was one of the more inspired ways of adapting to a limitation' (Seth and Randall, 1999. p. 117). It was an innovative pricing strategy for that time. This study also provides the interesting account of the successor Simon, who emphasized on quality and value. Further, innovative pricing, quality, supplier partnership and focusing on food items became the seasons of M&S growth. The specialization in food retailing provided an edge to M&S over others. Putting together, the M&S success strategies and consumer preference theories, we find that there is close resemblance and similarity. These studies bring about a clear picture of the consumer behavior which can be incorporated for the study of the marketing strategy of M&S. Adopting new marketing strategies are very crucial for the survival in competitive market. With the development of markets, M&S has always introduced the innovations (Christopher and Towill, 2002). Singh and Singh have found that consumers have a single or multi-brand fidelity based on the nature of the product. The factors that influence brand loyalty are the choice of brand preference and brand loyalty. These also affect the brand loyatly. Factors that influence and improve loyalty with the help of 

quality of product



habit of use and ready



regular availability.

Sabeson in his study stated that the major factor consumers choose processed fruits and vegetables. 

high quality



price



taste of the products

Ashalatha studied the manipulative factors of BAMUL milk considered 100 responsive. The study found that what follows is important for influencing the decision of the milk buyer BAMUL.

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

door delivery



clean packing



quality



hygienic preparation



time saving and reliability



good value for money



freshness and desired flavour

Sheeja's study in Coimbatore District has considered aspects of quality such as aroma, taste, freshness and purity as the main factors that decide the preference of a particular brand of processed spices. Raj Reddy and Pruthviraj have studied the purchase of rural consumer motives on seeds and on various sources of brand information regarding seeds. He found that the following factors are important dealer’s suggestions, quality product and co-farmers. Farmers faces issues mainly with regard to seed supply at 

poor quality



higher price



adulteration



irregular supply of seeds.

Gaur and Waheed conducted a study on the buying behavior of fine rice in Chennai and Coimbatore. The study revealed that the primary source of information is gathered by retailers and family members regarding refined brand rice. The main source of consumption is the families of Chennai and Coimbatore. The quality and image of the brand have been classified as the first and second factor that is manipulated as brand preference in both the cities of Chennai and Coimbatore. Sanjaya et al. He reported that the decision to purchase fine rice was mostly made by the family's wives.Resellers have been classified as the first sources of information on brand refined rice. Monthly purchase was the most prevalent purchase rate that may be due primarily to the monthly wage class and would have planned the purchase in accordance with other layout items. The brand's quality and image have been classified as the main factors for brand preference in the purchase of brand refined rice.

9

In a study conducted by Sarwade it was noted that price was the manipulated factor with the buying decision as regards the quality of the products. It is very interesting to find that the company image and brand image have not been totally considered by families. Nandagopal and Chinnaiyan have studied the preference of brand names for soft drinks in rural Tamil Nadu with the help of the Garrets ranking technique mainly to determine the factors influencing the non-alcoholic beverages preferred by rural consumers. It has been discovered that the quality of the product has been ranked as the first followed closely by the retail price. Good quality and availability were the main factors that manipulate rural consumers who prefer the brand. FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER PREFERENCES Eight hundred ninety consumers at a local food festival were surveyed about their specialty cheese purchasing behavior and asked to taste and rate, through nonforced choice preference, 1 of 4 cheese pairs (Cheddar and Gouda) made from pasteurized and raw milks. The purpose of the survey was to examine consumers' responses to information on the safety of raw milk cheeses. The associated consumer test provided information about specialty cheese consumers' preferences and purchasing behavior. Half of the consumers tested were provided with cheese pairs that were identified as being made from unpasteurized and pasteurized milk. The other half evaluated samples that were identified only with random 3-digit codes. Overall, more consumers preferred the raw milk cheeses than the pasteurized milk cheeses. A larger portion of consumers indicated preferences for the raw milk cheese when the cheeses were labeled and thus they knew which samples were made from raw milk. Most of the consumers tested considered the raw milk cheeses to be less safe or did not know if raw milk cheeses were less safe. After being informed that the raw milk cheeses were produced by a process approved by the FDA (i.e., 60-d ripening), most consumers with concerns stated that they believed raw milk cheeses to be safe. When marketing cheese made from raw milk, producers should inform consumers that raw milk cheese is produced by an FDA-approved process. Shopping malls are the most happening places these days where people spend their weekends to relax and shop. With the changing tastes and preferences of customers, shopping malls extend a global impact across metros, cities and towns. In this scenario, it is necessary to understand the preferences of youth, and the factors that govern them to visit shopping malls. The study was conducted on Hyderabad youth and the analysis revealed that shopping malls with their modern culture and environment have become a convenient hangout for the youth.

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1.5.STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In line with some researches indicated above, the research problem addressed in this study is: How does a consumer factor influence a store brand purchase and how consumer satisfaction leads to store loyalty. The research work replicates and extends Collins-Dodd and Lindley‘s (2003) and Chen (2005) study on the influence of store brand on store image and identifies the impact of store image on overall satisfaction leading to store loyalty. The research work proves that store choice attributes have effect on store loyalty. It affects the attitudes to store brands, although the extent of the effect depends on the satisfaction of store brands on the store image. The research work further proves that the quality of the products carried by the store is a key determinant of attitudes to specific store brands. There are some supports for the original study conclusion that attitudes to store brands are influenced by the unique positioning of stores. Thus store choice has link between store image and brand image and more recent theoretical constructs relevant to store image are also briefly covered. The consumer’s preference for a particular retail shop is result of complex decision making process of consumer. The consumer preferences are outcome of certain rationales based on the factors like pricing, quality, schemes, loyalty and so on. The non-related issues like parking facilities, online ordering, payment options are also important for a consumer to decide the retail shop. For the consumer preferences, the understanding of choices is vital. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

What are the factors affecting consumer’s preferences?



How expenditure and frequency of visit helps in understanding of consumer’s choice.



How much the price factor influences the consumer’s decision?



What are the other factors, which help consumer in making choices?



How M&S is preferable for the consumer?



What are the factors which make M&S better for consumers?

1.6.LIMITATIONS Due to time basic of master the audit was compelled.

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 The clients had put aside long chance to return back the surveys.  The outcome of the examination is completely in light of the appraisal of the individual so the authenticity may be distorted because of uneven answers.

12

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research is a process in which the researcher wishes to find out the end result for a given problem and thus the solution helps in future course of action. Research has been defined as “A careful investigation or enquiry especially through search for new fact in any branch of knowledge”. The procedure using, which researchers go about their work of describing, explaining and predicting phenomena, is called Methodology. Methods are the ways of obtaining information useful for assessing explanation. Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It is a plan of action for a research project and explains in detail how data are collected, analyzed and presented, so that they will provide meaningful information. 2.1.RESEARCH DESIGN A research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted, it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The type of research that will be used in this project will be descriptive in nature. Descriptive research is a description of the state of affairs, as it exists at the present. The main characteristics of this type of research is that the researcher has no control over the variables, he can only report what has happened or what is happening. 2.2.SAMPLING DESIGN A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample. 2.3.SAMPLING TECHNIQUES The sampling technique adopted for the study was non-probability sampling. The respondents were chosen on the basis of Convenience sampling. The reason why this sampling method will be used is because of the time constraints, lack of knowledge about the entire universe and the main reason being that it will not be easy to collect the data from all the customers who worked on this project. 2.4.SAMPLING FRAME

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A sampling frame is simply the list of the study sample. In this research study the sampling frame will consist of customers who belong to Marks and Spencer.

2.5.SAMPLING UNIT A sampling unit is a set of elements considered for sampling process. The sample unit in this project consists of regular customers who belong to Marks and Spencer 2.6.DATA COLLECTION The two sources of data collection are namely primary & secondary. 

PRIMARY DATA

Primary data are those that are collected for the first time and thus they are found to be original in character. The primary data to be used for this project will be collected using a structured questionnaire which was a combination of 5 point rating scale questions. The data is to be collected from the customers. 

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data includes data which exists already and are directly applied for the study. Secondary data will collected with the help of websites, journals and also through personal discussion with the customers 2.7.THEORTICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY CONSUMER PREFERENCE The underlying foundation of demand, therefore, is a model of how consumers behave. The individual consumer has a set of preferences and values whose determination are outside the realm of economics. They are no doubt dependent upon culture, education, and individual tastes, among a plethora of other factors. The measure of these values in this model for a particular good is in terms of the real opportunity cost to the consumer who purchases and consumes the good. If an individual purchases a particular good, then the opportunity cost of that purchase is the forgone goods the consumer could have bought instead. We develop a model in which we map or graphically derive consumer preferences. These are measured in terms of the level of satisfaction the consumer obtains from consuming various combinations or bundles of goods. The consumer’s 14

objective is to choose the bundle of goods which provides the greatest level of satisfaction as they the consumer define it. But consumers are very much constrained in their choices. These constraints are defined by the consumer’s income, and the prices the consumer pays for the goods. We will formally present the model of consumer choice. As we go along, we will establish a vocabulary in order to explain the model. Development of the model will be in three stages. After a formal statement of the consumer’s objectives, we will map the consumer’s preferences. Secondly, we present the consumer’s budget constraint; and lastly, combine the two in order to examine the consumer’s choices of goods. THEORY OF THE CONSUMER Consumer make decisions by allocating their scarce income across all possible goods in order to obtain the greatest satisfaction. Formally, we say that consumers maximize their utility subject to budget constraint. Utility is defined as the satisfaction that a consumer derives from the consumption of a good. As noted above, utility’s determinants are decided by a host of noneconomic factors. Consumer value is measured in terms of the relative utilities between goods. These reflect the consumer’s preferences THEORY OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES Consumer preferences are defined as the subjective (individual) tastes, as measured by utility, of various bundles of goods. They permit the consumer to rank these bundles of goods according to the levels of utility they give the consumer. Note that preferences are independent of income and prices. Ability to purchase goods does not determine a consumer’s likes or dislikes. One can have a preference for Porsches over Fords but only have the financial means to drive a Ford. These preferences can be modeled and mapped through the use of indifference curves. In order to graphically portray consumer preferences, we need to define some terms. First, since we will be working in two dimensions (2-d graphs), we assume a two good world. These could be any two goods. One common treatment is to define one good, say food, and let the other good be a composite of all other goods. For expository simplicity (making things easier for me), let’s define the two goods as Good X and Good Y. The axes of the graph then measure amounts of Good X on the horizontal, and amounts of Good Y on the vertical. Each point in this Cartesian space then defines some combination of goods X and Y. We call these combinations commodity bundles. The goal of the theory of preferences is for the consumer to be able to rank these commodity bundles 15

according to the amount of utility obtained from them. In other words, the consumer has different preferences over the different combinations of goods defined by the set of commodity bundles. In order to develop a model we need to make some assumptions about the consumer’s preferences . There are four assumptions. The first is decisiveness. Here, given any two commodity bundles in commodity space, the consumer must be able to rank them. In Figure 1, suppose we randomly chose two commodity bundles A and B. This assumption means that the consumer must be able to say that they prefer commodity bundle A over B, or B over A, or that bundles A and B provide the same level of utility.

The second assumption is consistency. The consumer must be consistent in preference and rankings. Again referring to Figure 1, suppose we now include bundle C. Let the consumer prefer commodity bundle A over B, and also commodity bundle B over C. Then by this assumption the consumer must prefer A over C

FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER PREFERENCE Consumer preferences describe the reasons for the choices people make when selecting products and services. Analyzing the factors that determine consumer preferences helps businesses target their products towards specific consumer groups, develop new products and identify why some products are more successful than others. Advertising 16

Advertising plays an important role in consumer preference, especially for non-durable goods such as food or magazines. Advertising informs consumers of available goods and services and also shapes their impressions of these products. Advertising can also create demand; for example, a consumer may not have wanted a new cell phone until he saw flashy new phones on TV. Social Institutions Social institutions, including parents, friends, schools, religion and television shows also influence consumers’ preferences. For example, kids might want to have the same toys their schoolmates have, while young adults may purchase the same products their parents used to buy. Cost Consumers usually choose to purchase more of a good if the price falls. For example, a sale or reduced prices may increase consumption of a good. On the other hand, an increase in price may cause reduced consumption, especially if the good has available substitutes. Consumer Income Consumers often desire more expensive goods and services when their income increases. If they suffer a decrease in income, they are more likely to choose less expensive goods and services. For example, a business selling luxury goods, such as jewelry, will probably be more successful in a high-income area than a low-income area. Available Substitutes If a product has several substitutes – alternative products that consumers may choose instead a particular brand of product – consumers will be more sensitive to changes in price. However, if consumers do not perceive similar products to be effective substitutes – for example, consumers who do not think Coke and Pepsi are equally delicious – they will be less likely to switch to a substitute based on price. This concept is called the price elasticity of demand.

MARKETING STRATEGY Marketing strategy is the comprehensive plan formulated particularly for achieving the marketing objectives of the organization. It provides a blueprint for attaining these marketing objectives. It 17

is the building block of a marketing plan. It is designed after detailed marketing research. A marketing strategy helps an organization to concentrate it’s scarce resouces on the best possible opportunities so as to increase the sales. A marketing strategy is designed by: 1. Choosing the target market: By target market we mean to whom the organization wants to sell its products. Not all the market segments are fruitful to an organization. There are certain market segments which guarantee quick profits, there are certain segments which may be having great potential but there may be high barriers to entry. A careful choice has to be made by the organization. An indepth marketing research has to be done of the traits of the buyers and the particular needs of the buyers in the target market. 2. Gathering the marketing mix: By marketing mix we mean how the organization proposes to sell its products. The organization has to gather the four P’s of marketing in appropriate combination. Gathering the marketing mix is a crucial part of marketing task. Various decisions have to be made such as – 

What is the most appropriate mix of the four P’s in a given situation



What distribution channels are available and which one should be used



What developmental strategy should be used in the target market



How should the price structure be designed

DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGY Strategic planning begins with a scan of the business environment, both internal and external, this includes understanding strategic constraints.[5] An understading of the external operating environment, including political, economic, social and technological which includes demographic and cultural aspects, is necessary for the identification of business opportunities and threats.[6] This analysis is called PEST, it stand for Political, Economic, Social and Technological. A number of variants of the PEST analysis can be identified in literature, including: PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Legal and Environmental); STEEPLE (adds ethics); STEEPLED (adds demographics) and STEER (adds regulatory The aim of the PEST

18

analysis is to identify opportunities and threats in the wider operating environment. Firms try to leverage opportunities while trying to buffer themselves against potential threats. Basically, the PEST analysis guides strategic decision-making.[8] The main elements of the PEST analysis are:[9] 

Political: political interventions with the potential to disrupt or enhance trading conditions e.g. government statutes, policies, funding or subsidies, support for specific industries, trade agreements, tax rates and fiscal policy.



Economic: economic factors with the potential to affect profitability and the prices that can be charged, such as, economic trends, inflation, exchange rates, seasonality and economic cycles, consumer confidence, consumer purchasing power and discretionary incomes.



Social: social factors that affect demand for products and services, consumer attitudes, tastes and preferences like demographics, social influencers, role models, shopping habits.



Technological: Innovation, technological developments or breakthroughs that create opportunities for new products, improved production processes or new ways of transacting business e.g. new materials, new ingredients, new machinery, new packaging solutions, new software and new intermediaries.

When carrying out a PEST analysis, planners and analysts may consider the operating environment at three levels, namely the supranational; the national and subnational or local level. As businesses become more globalized, they may need to pay greater attention to the supranational level In addition to the PEST analysis, firms carry out a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. A SWOT analysis identifies:[11] 

Strengths: distinctive capabilities, competencies, skills or assets that provide a business or project with an advantage over potential rivals; internal factors that are favourable to achieving company objectives



Weaknesses: internal deficiencies that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to rivals; or deficiencies that prevent an entity from moving in a new direction 19

or acting on opportunities. Internal factors that are unfavourable to achieving company objectives 

Opportunities: elements in the environment that the business or project could exploit to its advantage



Threats: elements in the environment that could erode the firm’s market position; external factos that prevent or hinder an entity from moving in a desired direction or achieveing its goals

After setting the goals marketing strategy or marketing plan should be developed. This is an explanation of what specific actions will be taken over time to achieve the objectives. Plans can be extended to cover many years, with sub-plans for each year. Although, as the speed of change in the merchandising environment quickens, time horizons are becoming shorter. Ideally, strategies are both dynamic and interactive, partially planned and partially unplanned. To enable a firm to react to unforeseen developments while trying to keep focused on a specific pathway, a longer time frame is preferred. There are simulations such as customer lifetime value models which can help marketers conduct “what-if” analyses to forecast what might happen based on possible actions, and gauge how specific actions might affect such variables as the revenue-per-customer and the churn rate. Strategies often specify how to adjust the marketing mix; firms can use tools such as Marketing Mix Modeling to help them decide how to allocate scarce resources for different media, as well as how to allocate funds across a portfolio of brands. In addition, firms can conduct analyses of performance, customer analysis, competitor analysis, and target market analysis. A key aspect of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing consistent with a company’s overarching mission statement.[12] Marketing strategy should not be confused with a marketing objective or mission. For example, a goal may be to become the market leader, perhaps in a specific niche; a mission may be something along the lines of “to serve customers with honor and dignity”; in contrast, a marketing strategy describes how a firm will achieve the stated goal in a way which is consistent with the mission, perhaps by detailed plans for how it might build a referral network. Strategy varies by type of market. A well-established firm in a mature market will likely have a different strategy than a start-up. Plans usually involve monitoring, to assess progress, and prepare for contingencies if problems arise

20

IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING STRATEGY 

Marketing strategy provides an organization an edge over it’s competitors.



Strategy helps in developing goods and services with best profit making potential.



Marketing strategy helps in discovering the areas affected by organizational growth and thereby helps in creating an organizational plan to cater to the customer needs.



It helps in fixing the right price for organization’s goods and services based on information collected by market research.



Strategy ensures effective departmental co-ordination.



It helps an organization to make optimum utilization of its resources so as to provide a sales message to it’s target market.



A marketing strategy helps to fix the advertising budget in advance, and it also develops a method which determines the scope of the plan, i.e., it determines the revenue generated by the advertising plan.

21

3. COMPANY PROFILE Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S) is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It 22rganize2222e in the selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products. M&S was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.[3] The company also began to sell branded goods like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in November 2008.[4] M&S currently has 959 stores across the U.K including 615 that only sell food products. In 1998, the company became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion, although subsequently it went into a sudden slump, which took the company, its shareholders, who included hundreds of thousands of small investors, and nearly all retail analysts and business journalists, by surprise. In November 2009, it was announced that Marc Bolland, formerly of Morrisons, would take over as chief executive from executive chairman Stuart Rose in early 2010; Rose remained in the role of non-executive chairman until he was replaced by Robert Swannell in January 2011. M&S have 959 stores throughout the UK, as well as many international stores; 52 stores in India, 48 stores in Turkey, 37 in Russia, 27 in Greece, 17 in Ireland, 14 in France, 11 in Poland, 6 in Hungary and Finland and 5 in Spain. In recent years its clothing sales have fallen whilst food sales have increased after the axing of “St. Michael’s” naming for their own brand.

HEAD OFFICE LOCATIONS The headquarters of M&S was for a hundred years at Michael House, 55 Baker Street, London. In 2004 the company moved to a new headquarters designed by mossessian & partners at Waterside House, in the new Paddington Basin, London. As well as the main offices in London, there are a number of other head office sites across the UK; Stockley Park (IT Services), Salford Quays and Spinningfields, Greater Manchester (Marks &

22

Spencer

Shared

Services

Ltd.

Which

provides

human

resources,

and

finance

administration) and Chester (HSBC’s M&S Money and Retail Customer Services). The company has overseas sourcing offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, China, Italy, Indonesia and Sri Lanka PARTICULARS Founder

DESCRIPTION Sir Michael Marks Thomas spencer

Headquarters

London, UK

Revenue

10,554.4 Million

Operating Income

784.9 Million

Profit

404.4 Million

Number of employees

82,904

STORES AT UK The largest shop is at Marble Arch, on Oxford Street in London, which has around 16,000 square metres (170,000 sq ft) of shop floor. The second largest is in Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port, which 23

is the largest outside London.[78] The third largest shop is at the Gemini Retail Park in Warrington. In 1999 M&S opened its shop in Manchester’s Exchange Square, which was destroyed in the 1996 Manchester bombingand rebuilt. At re-opening, it was the largest M&S shop with 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft) of retail space, but half was subsequently sold to Selfridges, the company’s second site in Manchester. The smallest branch is an outlet located in the Grainger Market in Newcastle upon Tyne. M&S has opened a number of stores at out of town locations since the trend to build shopping centres away from town centres became popular in the 1980s. The first was at the MetroCentre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, which opened in 1986. Another notable example is the store at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre at Brierley Hill, West Midlands. This store opened on 23 October 1990 shortly after the closure of stores in the nearby town centres of Dudley and West Bromwich; the Merry Hill store was not originally intended to replace these two town centre stores, but both the Dudley and West Bromwich stores had experienced a downturn in trade as the opening of the Merry Hill store loomed, and both stores were closed on 25 August 1990.[80] Before Christmas 2006, twenty-two M&S shops were open for 24-hour trading including the recently opened new retail park stores at Bolton Middlebrook and at the Abbey Centre, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. The company’s website has received criticism for having its prices in Pound sterling and not in euro, and for providing a search for its Irish stores through a “UK Store Finder”.The Irish Times pointed out that M&S failed to explain why the company is in a position to deliver goods ordered from its website to Brazil, Argentina, Iraq and Afghanistan but not to Ireland. M&S did not comment.

Senior Management: The following have served as the Chairman of the company since it was founded:  1884–1907: Michael Marks (set up first stall in Leeds in 1884)  1907–1916: William Chapman.  1916–1964: Simon Marks (Lord Marks) 24

 1964–1967: Israel Sieff (Lord Sieff)  1967–1972: Edward Sieff  1972–1984: Marcus Sieff (Lord Sieff)  1984–1991: Derek Rayner (Lord Rayner)  1991–1999: Sir Richard Greenbury  2000–2004: Luc Vandevelde  2004–2006: Paul Myners  2006–2009: Lord Burns  2009–2010: Sir Stuart Rose  2011 – present: Robert Swannell

Store Format: 1.Core shops: M&S core shops typically feature a selection of the company's clothing ranges and an M&S food hall. The range of clothing sold and the space given to it depends on the location and customer demographic (an example would be that some London shops do not stock the Classic Collection, but stock Limited Collection and a full Autograph range). Most core shops feature a Food hall. 2. New store format: A new store format designed by Urban Salon Architects was introduced in 2009. 3. M&S Foodhall: All the St Michael Food hall supermarkets were renamed M&S Food hall when Marks & Spencer dropped the St Michael brand in 2000. Each M&S Foodhall sells groceries, which are all under the Marks & Spencer brand. However, in 2009 the company began selling a limited range of other brands, such as Coca-Cola and Stella Artois, without reducing the number of M&S goods they sold. This marked the first time in its 125-year history that Marks & Spencer had sold any brands other than its own. M&S introduced self check-out tills in the food-halls of a small number of trial stores in 2002. Self check-out was implemented in the general merchandise sections in three trial stores in 2006.

25

4. Hospitality: Many large shops, such as Lisburn Sprucefield, Westfield, White City, Cribbs Causeway and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, also offer other hospitality outlets, such as a modern Deli Bar (champagne, canapés, seafood), Restaurant (table service—the first of which was opened in Newcastle) M&S Kitchen (traditional home cooking & lunches) or Hot Food To Go (burgers, chips, soups). Many of these outlets are run in conjunction with Compass Group under franchise arrangements. 5. Home stores:In 2007, M&S announced that new, dedicated shops for home furnishings were to be launched. Shops have now been opened in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, Tunbridge Wells in Kent, Lisburn Sprucefield in Northern Ireland and in the Barton Square section of The Trafford Centre, Manchester.

6. Outlet stores: As of 2010, M&S have 50 outlet stores and growth expansion plans for future. The Outlet division offers M&S products with the majority of them discounting at least 30% from the original selling price. The first of these stores opened at Ashford in Kent in 2000. Many of the Outlet shops are in locations such as retail parks and outlet centres, though some, including the shop in Woolwich, South London and Newton Abbot, Devon were previously main M&S shops which converted to the Outlet format. Meadow Bank Outlet Store in Edinburgh became the model for all the Marks and Spencer Outlet shop in the early months of 2010. There are now also stores which combine a mainline M&S store and an Outlet store to create a store which offers both the main current full-price M&S ranges and the discounted Outlet ranges: one such store is at the Lewisham Shopping Centre, where the previously closed upper level of the M&S store was reopened in January 2009 as an Outlet format sub-store. 7. M&S Simply Food: M&S launched a convenience format, branded Simply Food in 2001, with the first stores opening in Twickenham and Surbiton. The stores predominantly sell food but also carry a small selection of general merchandise.

26

A number of these are run under franchise agreements:  SSP Group runs the stores at mainline railway stations and airports.  Moto has stores at 37 of its motorway service stations.  BP has over 120 petrol stations with Simply Food offerings. Orders from M&S accounted for more than half of Uniq's food product supplies to UK retailers in 2010 after several years service as a major M&S food product supplier. In 2011 it was noted that M&S were operating express pricing; i.e., charging more in their Simply Food branches than in regular branches. A spokesperson stated that "prices are a little higher than at our high street stores but this reflects the fact that these stores are open longer and are highly convenient for customers on the move". The Simply Food brand has been phased out in all stand-alone larger stores since the rebrand in 2015 and the stores have now been branded as "M&S Foodhall." 8. Online services: M&S owned website launched in February 2014 and acts as a 24/7 window to our products and stores. As shopping habits change, M&S combining the best of the web and store to extend our reach and drive more spend from customers. In-store technologies mean that even M&S smallest stores can offer customers more of its product catalogue. Products could be ordered online since the mid-2000s, in response to Tesco launching their pioneering Tesco.com home shopping delivery service in the early 2000s. Both Tesco, M&S and others are expanding rapidly into this new niche market.

27

DATA ANALYSIS 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION This chapter presents the analysis of data collected from primary and secondary source and interpretation of the same as a presentation in the form of descriptions, tables and diagrams wherever necessary. Analysis refers to the course of finding out answers to the questions that had arisen and interpretation finds out relationship among the available data and the variables .The following are statistical tools applied to find out results through chi-square method and percentage method. It gives a clear idea regarding the status of the analysis and coverage of objectives. 4.1.AGE OF RESPONDENTS TABLE 4. 1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

18 years to 25 years

12

8

25 years to 30 years

25

17

30 years to 35 years

55

37

35 years to 40 years

35

23

Above 40 years

23

15

Grand Total

150

100

Source: Primary Data Table 1:

Age of respondents

In this research there is variety of customer’s age distribution. From the respondents profiles it is observed that 37% of respondents between the age category of 30 years to 35 years while 23% of between 35 years to 40 years closely followed by 17% of between 25 years to 30 years and 15% of are above 40 years and 8% of between 18 years to 25 years Hence it is concluded that there are more customers in the age range of 30 to 35 years and less customers in the range between 18 to 25 years.

28

Number Of Respondents 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 18-25

25-30

30-35

35-40

40 above

Number Of Respondents

Figure 1:

Age of Respondents

29

4.2.

GENDER TABLE 4. 2 GENDER

PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Male

45

30

Female

105

70

Grand Total

150

100

Source: Primary Data Table 2: Gender In this research female respondents have majority. There are 45 male respondents and 105 female respondents considered for our study. The researcher have control on this distribution and hence the responses are collected based on procuring products which is available in Marks and Spencer.

No. Of Respondents

Male

Female

Figure 2: Gender of Respondents

30

4.3.

EDUCATION QUALIFICATION TABLE 4. 3 EDUCATION QUALIFICATION

PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Under graduate

35

23

Graduate

25

17

Post Graduate

45

30

Doctorates

15

10

Others

30

20

Grand Total

150

100

Source: Primary Data Table 3:Education qualification In this research education distribution also considers for our study. From the table 4.3 it is observed that 30% of respondents are post graduates closely followed by 23% of are undergraduates while 20% of are others, 17% belong to graduates and 10% of are PHD holders.

Majority of the

respondents are post graduates who like to avail Marks and Spencer products available in the market.

31

Qualification 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5

0 Under Graduate

Graduate

Post Graduate

Doctorates

Others

Qualification

Figure 3: Education Qualification 4.4. MARITAL STATUS TABLE 4. 4 MARITAL STATUS PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Unmarried

60

40

Married

70

47

Divorced

20

13

Grand Total

150

100

Source: Primary Data Table 4: Marital status

It is observed from the study that 47% of respondents are married closely followed by 40% of unmarried whereas 13% of divorced respondents. Hence, it is concluded that highest number

32

of customers are married who like to obtain products from Marks and spencer for themselves.

No. Of respondents

Unmarried

Married

Divorced

Figure 4: Marital Status

33

4.5.

INCOME OF RESPONDENTS TABLE 4. 5 INCOME OF RESPONDENTS PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Less than Rs. 1, 00, 000/-

63

42

Rs. 1 Lakh and one to Rs. 3 Lakh

43

29

Rs. 3 Lakh and one to Rs. 6 Lakh

18

12

Rs. 6 Lakh and one to Rs. 9 Lakh

12

8

Above Rs. 9 Lakh

14

9

Grand Total

150

100

Source: Primary Data Table 5: Income It is depicted from the study that 42% of respondents earning income less than Rs.1, 00,000/- while 29% of between Rs. 1 lakh one and Rs. 3 lakh closely followed by 12% of between Rs. 3 lakh and one to Rs. 6 lakh, 9% of above Rs. 9 lakh and 8% of respondents between Rs. 6 lakh and one to Rs. 9 lakh. Thus, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents are earning income which is less than Rs. 1, 00, 000/-.

34

Income

less than 1 lakh

1-3 lakh

3-6 lakhs

6-9 lakhs

Above 9 lakhs

Figure 5: Income

35

4.6.

OCCUPATION TABLE 4. 6 OCCUPATION

PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Students

22

15

Job

37

25

Business

79

53

Unemployed

5

2

Others

7

5

150

100

Grand Total Source: Primary Data

Table 6: Occupation It makes crystal clear that 53% of respondents are doing business whereas 25% of carry out job while 15% of students, 5% of others and 2% of are unemployed. Hence, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents are business men.

Figure 6: Occupation

36

4.7.SHOPPING PRODUCTS IN MARKS AND SPENCER TABLE 4. 7 SHOPPING PRODUCTS IN MARKS AND SPENCER PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

47

31

18

12

26

17

16

11

25

17

13

9

5 150

3 100

Daily Several times in a week Weekly Monthly Once in 6 months Once in a year Never Grand Total Source: Primary Data

Table 7: Shopping products

It depicts that 31% of respondents who shop products daily to meet out their day to day needs while an identical 17% of weekly and once in a 6 months closely followed by 12% of acquire several times in a week, 11% of monthly while 9% of shop once in a year and 3% of never purchase products. Hence, it concludes that maximum number of respondents shop products daily in Marks and Spencer.

37

38

4.8.FREQUENCY OF PROCURING FMCG PRODUCTS TABLE 4. 8 FREQUENCY OF PROCURING FMCG PRODUCTS Daily USAGE

N.O.

Weekly N.O.

%

R

R

%

Monthly N.O. R

%

Regular

Occasionally

Interval N.O. R

N.O.

%

R

%

House hold care

47

40.8 7

34

29.5 7

17

14.7 8

14

12.1 7

30

2.61

12

10.4 3

33

28.7

59

51.3

7

6.09

40

3.48

0

0

77

66.9 6

25

21.7 4

5

4.35

80

6.96

0

0

12

10.4 3

99

86.0 9

4

3.48

0

0

12.1 7

73

63.4 8

24.3 5

Personal care Beverage s Educatio n

and

stationery Processe d Foods

0

0

14

10

0.87 10.4 3

3

0

0

28

5

4.35 32.1 7

6

Safety Matches Others 12 Source: Primary Data

15

2.61 13.0 4

100 170

86.9 6 14.7 8

370

340

5.22 29.5 7

Table 8: Frequency of procuring FMCG products

39

4.9.PRODUCTS CONSUMING IN MARKS AND SPENCER TABLE 4. 9 PRODUCTS CONSUMING IN MARKS AND SPENCER PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

Home and furniture

35

18

Clothes

40

20

Grocery

57

29

Fruits and vegetables

43

21

Others

25

12

200

100

TOTAL Source: Primary Data

Table 9: Products consuming in Marks and spencer It is observed from the table 4.9 that 29% of respondents procure grocery while 21% of are fruits and vegetables closely followed by 20% of obtaining clothes, 18% of procuring home and furniture and 12% of procuring other products. Thus, it is clear that highest number of respondents consume grocery

40

4.10.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION TABLE 4. 10 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

340

23

230

15

400

27

170

11

360 1500

24 100

Advertisements Product labels Word of mouth Social media websites Digital campaign Grand Total Source: Primary Data

Table 10: Sources of information It is found that 27% of respondents getting awareness through word of mouth communication is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication, 24% of through digital campaign in the form of Cold water challenge and the like 23% of through advertisements which is a form of marketing communication used to encourage, persuade people to take action to support environment while 15% of through product labels and 11% of through social media websites. Thus, it concludes that majority of respondents obtain through word of mouth communication.

41

Sources Information

Adv

Product Label

Word Of Mouth

Social Media

Digital Campaign

Figure 7: Sources influence green in FMCG products 4.11.

REASONS TABLE 4. 11 REASONS

(5-Strongly Agree, 4-Agree, 3-Neither Agree nor disagree, 2-Disagree and 1-Strongly Disagree) PARTICULARS

5

4

3

2

1

Readily available

50

40

65

25

20

Taste

70

60

40

20

10

Preferred by children and teenagers

75

55

25

30

15

Convenient to avail

40

60

50

25

25

Save preparation time

46

54

50

30

20

Table 11: Reasons INFERENCE From the table, it is inferred that number of respondents of 50 strongly agree, 40 agree, 65 neither agree nor disagree, 25 disagree and 20 disagree mainly because of it is readily 42

available. Respondents of 70 strongly agree, 60 agree, 40 neither agree nor disagree, 20 disagree and 10 strongly disagree as to taste. Respondents of 75 strongly agree, 55 agree, 25 neither agree nor disagree, 30 disagree and 15 strongly disagree regarding convenient to avail whereas save preparation time secures 46 as strongly agree, 54 agree, 50 neither agree nor disagree, 30 disagree and 20 strongly disagree.

43

4.12.

NATURE TABLE 4. 12 NATURE PARTICULARS

NO.OF

PERCENTAGE

RESPONDENTS Impulsive buying

90

60

Planned purchase

60

40

150

100

TOTAL Source: Primary Data

Table 12: Nature From the table 4.12, it is inferred that 60% of respondents nature is impulsive buying whereas 40% of making planned purchase. Thus, it is clear that highest number of respondents nature of buying is impulsive

44

4.13.

FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND TABLE 4. 13 FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND

PARTICULARS Price

NO.OF RESPONDENTS 27

Taste

28

Quality

30

Quantity

13

Brand image Availability Advertisements Packaging design Friends

2 20 15 3 7

Freshness TOTAL

5 150

PERCENTAGE 13 14 15 7 6 15 13 6 4 7 100

Table 13: Factors influencing brand Table shows that 13% of respondents influence through price, 14% of through taste, 15% through quality, 7% of quantity, 6% of through brand image, 15% of through availability, 13% of influence through advertisements, 6% of through packaging design, 4% of through friends and 7% of through freshness. Hence, it is concluded that highest number of respondents influence through quality and availability of products.

45

CHART 4. 1 FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND

46

4.14.

TYPES OF SHOPPING TABLE 4. 14 TYPES OF SHOPPING

PARTICULARS Online shopping Offline shopping Grand Total

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

35

30

115 150

70 100

Source: Primary Data Table 14: Types of shopping It is found from the table that 70% of respondents buy products through offline shopping whereas 30% of through online shopping. Hence, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents shop products through offline shopping.

Figure 8: Types of shopping

47

4.15.

FACTORS INFLUENCE IN ACQUIRING PRODUCTS TABLE 4. 15 FACTORS INFLUENCE IN ACQUIRING PRODUCTS

PARTICULARS

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

27

23

53

41

41 150

36 100

Emotional value toward environment Product quality Green value Grand Total Source: Primary Data Table 15: Factors influence in acquiring products From the table, it is observed that 41% of respondents procure products because of product quality which has the ability to fulfill respondent’s needs and expectation while 36% of through green value and 23% through emotional value attached towards environment. Hence, it concludes that maximum number of respondents acquire green products mainly because of product quality.

48

Figure 9: Factors influence in acquiring products

49

4.16.

SHOPPING OF PRODUCTS TABLE 4. 16 SHOPPING OF PRODUCTS

PARTICULARS Daily Weekly Monthly Once in 6 months Once in a year Grand Total

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

16

14

35

30

27

23

19

17

18 150

16 100

Source: Primary Data Table 16: Shopping of products It is observed from the table that 30% of respondents shop products weekly closely followed by 23% of consume monthly while 17% of once in 6 months, 16% of consume once in a year and at last 14% of consume daily. Thus, it concludes that maximum number of respondents shop products weekly.

Figure 10: Shopping of products

50

4.17.

PRICE DECISION

TABLE 4. 17 PRICE DECISION PARTICULARS Internal factors External factors Grand Total

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

88

77

70 150

23 100

Source: Primary Data Table 17: Price decision

It makes clear from the table that 77% of respondents get influence based on internal factors whereas 23% of through external factors. Therefore, it is concluded that highest number of respondents gets influence through internal factors.

Figure 11: Price decision

51

4.18.

VARIABLES INFLUENCE PRICE DECISION TABLE 4. 18 VARIABLES INFLUENCE PRICE DECISION

VARIABLES

Product differentiation Environment Sustainability Social Responsibility

1

2 3 4 N.O.R % N.O.R % N.O.R % N.O.R INTERNAL VARIABLE 47 53.41 32 36.36 50 5.68 30

5 %

N.O.R

%

3.41

10

1.14

69

78.41

12

13.64

10

1.14

40

4.55

20

2.27

78

88.64

4

4.55

20

2.27

30

3.41

10

1.14

EXTERNAL VARIABLES 18.52 4 14.81 20 7.41

30

11.11

130

48.15 3.7

Government policies Competition

5 15

55.56

8

29.63

10

3.7

20

7.41

10

Demand

18

66.67

9

33.33

0

0

0

0

0

Source: Primary Data Table 18: Variables influence price decision

It makes clear from the table that 54% of respondents strongly agree while 36% of agree, 6% of neither agree nor disagree, 3% of disagree and 1% of strongly disagree about product differentiation. Respondents of 78.41% strongly agree, 13.64% of agree, 1.14% neither agree nor disagree, 4.55% of disagree and 2.27% of disagree about environment sustainability. Respondents of 89% of strongly agree, 4.55% of agree, 2.27% of neither agree nor disagree, 3.41% of disagree and 1.14% of strongly disagree about internal variables of social responsibility. Under external variables, 19% of strongly agree, 15% of agree, 7.41% of neither agree nor disagree, 11.11% of disagree and 48.15% of strongly disagree of government policies. Respondents of 56% strongly agree, 29.63% of agree, 3.7% of neither agree nor disagree, 7.41% of disagree and 3.7% of strongly disagree about competition. Respondents of 67% strongly agree and 3% agree about demand.

52

0

Figure 12: Internal Variables and external variables

53

4.19.

LEVEL OF SATISFACTION TABLE 4. 19 LEVEL OF SATISFACTION

PARTICULARS Strongly satisfied Satisfied

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

69

60

26

23

12

10

5

4

3 150

3 100

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Dissatisfied Strongly dissatisfied Grand Total Source: Primary Data Table 19: Level of satisfaction It is found from the table that 60% of respondents strongly satisfied while 23% of agree, 10% of neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 3% of respondents strongly dissatisfied with the green attitudes towards consuming products in Marks and Spencer. Thus, it concludes that highest number of respondents strongly satisfied with the products mainly to consume in Marks and Spencer.

54

Figure 13: Level of satisfaction

55

4.20. MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS 4.20.1.SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis assesses the external environment and internal capabilities of a company (Harrison, 2015). The ensuing analysis aims to look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by M&S

STRENGTHS 

Marks & Spencer plc is known through its 1,382 stores worldwide. The company’s international expansion via franchise agreements gives it a strong competitive advantage compared with other UK businesses that trading only on the UK market (Rogers, 2012).



M&S, currently operating in 59 territories across Europe, Asia and the Middle East via wholly owned retail businesses, retail joint ventures, retail franchise operations or website only territories (Marks & Spencer, 2016) is developing particularly well in priority markets

56

such as India, while its food business is growing in regions such as Hong Kong and Europe (Marks & Spencer, 2015). 

The geographical diversification inherent in the international strategy of M&S mitigates any potential risks of being overly exposed in a single country whilst its two-fold international business (food and clothing) is providing even more stability (BBC, 2013).



Marks & Spencer plc is an iconic brand which has been trading since 1884 and is still considered one of the UK’s top ten brands today (Vizard, 2015).



Its decision to maintain investments in innovations and brand-building advertising throughout the recession has successfully strengthened its brand positioning as a company offering high quality and good value products (Marks & Spencer, 2016)



The company’s strong food business managed to deliver like-for-like growth in every quarter in the last financial year, maintaining its margins and outperforming the market by 3.5% due to its distinct and differentiated specialist strategy (Marks & Spencer, 2015).



A shift from a strong focus on products to a more consumer-focussed strategy has benefited the company. The company’s new focus on providing customers with a superb experience including in the online sector on top of its High Street chains has enabled the growth of M&S.com in the last quarter of 2014 (Marks & Spencer, 2015).

WEAKNESS 

Multiple initiatives including adding new sub-brands such as Autograph and Per Una, attracting employees from rival companies as well as launching a website in 2014 have been introduced in an attempt to strengthen the clothing arm of the business and thus reverse a decade of market share decline in what was once considered the company’s most profitable business (The Telegraph, 2014). Yet, these attempts have so far not resulted in a desirable outcome (BBC, 2013).



Despite a slight rise in April 2015, the company’s clothing sales have being falling for four years in a row with the company facing its worst quarter since 2005 in the second quarter of 2016 (Davey, 2016). According to analysts, a steeper fall is expected in the coming years (Macalister, 2015).



The decline in sales lead to the head of the clothing branch of the company, John Dixon, leaving the company in July 2015 (Macalister, 2015). 57



The company is losing key employees to its main competitors, including product developers, food technologists and General Merchandise design team members. This will not only result in the company having to invest in the recruitment, hiring and training of new employees, but also in the company facing the risk of its show how, know-how and contacts (related to current or potential contracts and business) becoming readily available to competitors (Davey, 2016).



Having only decided on implementing a digital transformation strategy in 2010, the company has been a latecomer into the digital user-centred retail space. Its own M&S.com was only launched in 2014 after three years of development (The Telegraph, 2014). In addition, the company experienced technical difficulties and privacy breaches on its website when introducing their members’ club and card scheme at the end of 2015, leading to a temporary website shutdown (Curtis, 2015).

OPPORTUNITIES 

While sales in the clothing branch of the company are falling M&S, has a strong hold in the food business with a successful specialist strategy leading to an increase in sales. The company is 58rganize58 this trend by expanding its network of convenience stores, Simply Food, and planning the fastest food store opening programme in the history of the company in 2015/2016 (The Economist, 2015).



The M&S website currently has six million online customers and has yet to reach, engage and convert 14.5 million customers who engage with the company only at its High Street stores and shop online with its competitors (The Telegraph, 2014). The launch of a members club called Sparks at the end of 2015 with four million registered members is expected to drive online footfall through the introduction of a 58rganize5858ed shopping experience and individually tailored loyalty schemes.



M&S Bank, which was started in 1985, recently (2014) launched a current account facility with no monthly fee and a £100 M&S gift card. This initiative has been largely praised and with its operating performance strong in 2015 (Marks & Spencer, 2016), is considered a ‘threat’ to High Street banks (Jones, 2014). Further developments in this regards can present opportunities for the company (Brignall, 2016).

THREATS 58



M&S has been affected by the recession and has seen a big slump in sales in 2009, a fouryear decline in its clothing sales and most recently, a ten-year low in its clothing sales in the second quarter of 2016 (Davey, 2016). Macroeconomic factors and a weakening euro are still considered to be a challenge, especially in the Middle East (Marks & Spencer, 2016).



Once the biggest clothing retailer by volume, M&S has now dropped to third position after Primark and Asda (Butler, 2015). Even though the company still holds the first position in terms of sales by value, its 14 quarter slump preceding a one-off rise in sales in the first quarter in 2015 makes it likely that the company will be moving its focus from clothes to food (The Economist, 2015)



Unstable political and economic conditions in several international franchise markets in which the company operates such as the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine pose a threat to both franchise receivables and on the company’s development in these areas (Marks & Spencer, 2015).



Increasing terrorism attacks across Europe are also impacting consumer confidence and retail spending (Marks & Spencer, 2016). The company’s food and clothing and homewear stores are often located in locations that are attractive as targets for terrorists due to the large footfall and whilst there has been an increase in safety measures, the latter can also alienate customers if, for example, screening or security measures are implemented (Whitehead & Foster, 2015).



The economic uncertainty prior to and after the Brexit referendum has already posed a threat to M&S – in addition to the impact that was immediately felt, such as a decrease in the buying power of the pound, the vote will have an impact on product imports in ways that will probably make the retailer restructure its supply chains (Reuters, 2016).



In addition, with regard to the free movement of people, work visas or residence permits would be required for both UK citizens working abroad and EU workers employed in the UK. It is estimated that currently the latter group comprise close to eight per cent of the workforce in the UK’s M&S stores (Dentons, 2016).

59

4.20.2.PESTLE ANALYSIS A PESTEL analysis provides a framework to investigate a company’s noncontrollable external factors that have the potential to affect its operations. By examining these, a company is in a better position to consider likely implications and 60rganize any future organisation-related risk

60

POLITICAL FACTORS According to analysts, M&S has been favourably affected by the European Commission’s free trade agreements which have made product imports much easier (EC, 2013) and have led to a decrease in sourcing costs. However, the run-up to and outcome of the British EU referendum on 23 June 2016 resulted in a dip in the company’s sales in its last quarter (Davey, 2016). Due to a comparatively higher cost structure, the company has also suffered market share losses when entering new markets (Marks & Spencer, 2015). In 2015, M&S experienced stalled growth in its international business due to global uncertainties, substandard infrastructure and decreased profitability in new markets which lead to the closing of twelve stores in 2016. Geopolitical unrest also affected the company’s overseas operations (Marks & Spencer, 2016). The international franchise businesses of M&S in the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine also suffered significant decline due to geopolitical instability, local currency fluctuations and decreased consumer demand (Marks & Spencer, 2015). The company, eponymous with its environmental and ethical ‘Plan A’ green strategy, has also been critical of the lack of clarity in the government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme, the green deal, as well as in its shifting green measures legislation. One example is the lack of a charge on plastic carrier bags and how this is affecting the company’s efforts to implement sustainability measures SOCIO CULTURAL FACTORS Two external factors that affect the retailer include changing values in the population and a generation shift – with the Baby Boomer generation retiring, the company has to redirect its attention to Generation X and the Millennials. Different generations bring perceptible shifts in consumer 61rganize, from the way customers do their shopping, the channels and technology they use to how products are perceived. Two trends the retailer should take into consideration are the different generations’ customer preferences for fashionable items and/or the growing perception that British produce is no longer considered to be of high quality (Experian, 2015). Green consumerism and customers’ ethical concerns about the socio-environmental costs of brands they use is one of the factors contributing to the development of companies’ sustainability reporting and related activities. In the case of M&S, the company has placed considerable emphasis on its social agenda. As stated in its last annual report, and as part of its Plan A, the now nine-year-old strategic sustainability plan of the company – building relationships with customers and suppliers 61

and the communities in which they operate – is essential for the company. In 2015, food surpluses were allocated by working with redistribution partners through a ‘Community Shop’ programme, whilst in 2016 a ‘Spark Something Good’ campaign engaged 1000 employees in community work and charity action days (Marks & Spencer, 2016). TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS M&S is in a good strategic position to enjoy the benefits of an altering media landscape, the proliferation of social networks and a rising mobile wave. As regards its fashion business, the speed with which the latest trends are being communicated to designers has increased as has the speed of transportation. The shopping experience is now largely seamless through the integration of online, tablet, mobile and the physical experience in the shop (TaylorWessing, 2015). It has moved from a platform hosted by Amazon to its own web platform which was launched at the end of 2014 to provide more delivery options and streamlined multichannel services. The company has also launched big data projects such as predictive analytics system and allocation replenishment (Thomson, 2014), adapted its digital strategy using the ‘mobile first approach’ thus answering the needs of consumers who are increasingly accessing the latest trends via mobile. A dedicated digital lab team of 150 in-house software engineers is working to make sure the company stays at the forefront of technological developments (Marks & Spencer, 2016) ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS With stricter environmental rules and regulations both at European and international level and increasing consumer pressure concerning business practices, major international retailers and brands have to examine the life cycle of its products from cradle to grave – from the suppliers to end usage and disposal – to be completely transparent about their strategic and tactical environmental practices and be fully accountable. Plan A, the environmental and ethical plan M&S has adopted to serve as a backbone to the way business is being conducted within and outside the company, has helped the company stay ahead of the curve by sourcing responsibly, reducing waste and helping stakeholder communities. In 2015 a third of the company’s products had been sourced from Gold and Silver sustainability standard producers, while another initiative called Shwopping has resulted in 10.6 million garments (equating to £7.3 million) being donated to Oxfam (Marks & Spencer, 2015). Continuous investment in the scheme has resulted in numerous Plan A products, 62

a Plan A incubator for the development of sustainable products and services as well as the first UK ecofactory (European Commission, 2011). In 2016 the company has also become completely transparent about its supply chain by publishing a map of where the company sources its products (Marks & Spencer, 2015). With sustainability becoming an increasingly necessary and lucrative strategy, the company is ahead of its competitors in this area LEGAL FACTORS Health and safety regulations, consumer rights, environmental, antitrust and other legal factors affect the company. One of the company’s initiatives, ‘Behind the Barcode’, gives consumers an omni-channel experience by enabling them to order items online for home delivery or in-store collection by scanning a product in-store (Thomson, 2012). This is an example of the high standards by which the company abides. M&S has to ensure that it does not obstruct any laws or regulations both in its home market, in international markets during expansion as well as in the countries alongside its value chain. The company’s legal environment and hence its legal department were paramount during the company’s ‘Simply Food’ chain expansion in 2007 and especially in allocating new store sites at BP petrol stations (Dry, 2007). The new reporting regulations M&S adopted in 2014, including a summary of their remuneration framework (Marks & Spencer, 2015) aim to provide even greater transparency to its stakeholders. Following the UK’s decision to exit the EU, the company, as will other UK retailers, is likely to face legal issues. Losing access to the common market will affect supply chains, the free movement of people, IP rights, international contracts and more. The decision will require new VAT rules as opposed to the VAT zero rating for intra-EU purchases and import duties and tariffs will be imposed (Dentons, 2016). In combination with the reduced buying power of the pound and with £1.1 billion in revenue coming from international markets, the company needs to put together a strategic plan on how the likely impact on it. 4.20.3.VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS A value chain analysis is a strategic tool use to identify the activities in and close to an organisation which lead to the creation of a product or a service. They consist of the following: INBOUND LOGISTICS

63

Inbound logistics concern the transport, storage and delivery of goods coming into a business. With the launch of the company’s Plan A in 2007 and having won the GBS supply chain award for implementing a truly disruptive supply chain (Purt, 2012) the company is ahead of its competition as regards the social and environmental impact of its business. Its 180 supply chainrelated targets backed by financial incentives for its buying teams include ethical trade, energy efficiency and sustainable sourcing and are helping make M&S ‘the world’s most sustainable retailer’ (Purt, 2012). Further, the company has decreased its former dependency on full-service vendors (FSVs) and provided more corporate control of its supply chain. It is expected to source sixty-five per cent of its inventory from direct vendors (O’Reilly, 2010). OPERATIONS M&S has invested in a multitude of sub-brands, in-store bakeries and an improved instore customer experience, thus meeting the changing needs of its consumers (Marks & Spencer, 2016). However, in 2014–2015 the company experienced difficulties in marrying its online operations and distribution from its Castle Donington centre. This resulted in customers cancelling delayed orders (Butler, 2015). Further investments are being made in GM IT systems and a logistics network with the aim of delivering better supply chain flexibility and customer availability. At the end of 2015 the company had to temporarily shut down its website due to a security breach (Curtis, 2015) and in 2016, poorly integrated IT systems in the company are still being experienced. OUTBOUND LOGISTICS Outbound logistics concerns the transport, storage and delivery of goods going out of a business. M&S has multiple channel operations and allows customers flexibility in terms of order and delivery options, including online shopping. Following the appointment of Mark Bolland in 2010, the British retailer has accelerated a programme of making its supply chain more efficient by targeting $280 million in savings by 2020. The company has closed its smaller regional warehouses and in 2010 it opened a super warehouse in Bradford. It is expected to launch a redeveloped Bradford National Distribution Centre in 2016 (Marks & Spencer, 2016). In addition, in 2009 the company set annual recycling targets (Waste Management Word, 2010) and in 2012 achieved zero waste to landfill (Russell, 2012).

64

MARKETING AND SALES The marketing strategy of M&S is to emphasise the quality and style of its products. To 65rganize65, simplify and create a distinct brand across its various offerings, in 2014–2015 the company created a unified storytelling-based brand identity for its food and clothing markets via ‘Only M&S’ while preserving ‘Est. 1884’ thus celebrating its heritage (Swift, 2014). M&S is investing in its digital development which is evident through the launch of marksandspencer.com in 2014, engaging with 2.6 million people via social media, platforms and social media websites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (Ratcliff, 2014). The company has traditionally invested in TV and magazine advertising as well as in-store visual merchandising. Recently it has 65rganize its customer loyalty data to 65rganize targeted marketing and promotional activities and focus on high-impact promotions, which result in better value for customers and increased sales (Spencer, 2015) SERVICES Despite several setbacks in its in-store service, such as an increasing number of out-of-stock items (Ruddick, 2016) and online service (Curtis, 2015) M&S is investing in customer service. In its clothing business, it has introduced free delivery for purchases above £50, free next day store collection and free returns by post or in store up to 35 days after purchase. In its food sector, the company has introduced staff zoning across food halls and is increasing the number of staff in the store on an ongoing basis

65

FINDINGS, SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION 5. FINDINGS, SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION 5.1.FINDINGS 

In this research there is variety of customer’s age distribution. From the respondents profiles it is observed that 37% of respondents between the age category of 30 years to 35 years while 23% of between 35 years to 40 years closely followed by 17% of between 25 years to 30 years and 15% of are above 40 years and 8% of between 18 years to 25 years



In this research female respondents have majority. There are 45 male respondents and 105 female respondents considered for our study.

The researcher have control on this

distribution and hence the responses are collected based on procuring products which is available in Marks and Spencer. 

In this research education distribution also considers for our study. From the table 4.3 it is observed that 30% of respondents are post graduates closely followed by 23% of are undergraduates while 20% of are others, 17% belong to graduates and 10% of are PHD holders.

Majority of the respondents are post graduates who like to avail Marks and

Spencer products available in the market. 

It is observed from the study that 47% of respondents are married closely followed by 40% of unmarried whereas 13% of divorced respondents. Hence, it is concluded that highest number of customers are married who like to obtain products from Marks and spencer for themselves.



It is depicted from the study that 42% of respondents earning income less than Rs.1, 00,000/- while 29% of between Rs. 1 lakh one and Rs. 3 lakh closely followed by 12% of between Rs. 3 lakh and one to Rs. 6 lakh, 9% of above Rs. 9 lakh and 8% of respondents between Rs. 6 lakh and one to Rs. 9 lakh. Thus, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents are earning income which is less than Rs. 1, 00, 000/-.



It makes crystal clear that 53% of respondents are doing business whereas 25% of carry out job while 15% of students, 5% of others and 2% of are unemployed. Hence, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents are business men.



It depicts that 31% of respondents who shop products daily to meet out their day to day needs while an identical 17% of weekly and once in a 6 months closely followed by 12% 66

of acquire several times in a week, 11% of monthly while 9% of shop once in a year and 3% of never purchase products. Hence, it concludes that maximum number of respondents shop products daily in Marks and Spencer. 

It is observed from the table 4.9 that 29% of respondents procure grocery while 21% of are fruits and vegetables closely followed by 20% of obtaining clothes, 18% of procuring home and furniture and 12% of procuring other products. Thus, it is clear that highest number of respondents consume grocery



It is found that 27% of respondents getting awareness through word of mouth communication is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication, 24% of through digital campaign in the form of Cold water challenge and the like 23% of through advertisements which is a form of marketing communication used to encourage, persuade people to take action to support environment while 15% of through product labels and 11% of through social media websites. Thus, it concludes that majority of respondents obtain through word of mouth communication.



From the table, it is inferred that number of respondents of 50 strongly agree, 40 agree, 65 neither agree nor disagree, 25 disagree and 20 disagree mainly because of it is readily available. Respondents of 70 strongly agree, 60 agree, 40 neither agree nor disagree, 20 disagree and 10 strongly disagree as to taste. Respondents of 75 strongly agree, 55 agree, 25 neither agree nor disagree, 30 disagree and 15 strongly disagree regarding convenient to avail whereas save preparation time secures 46 as strongly agree, 54 agree, 50 neither agree nor disagree, 30 disagree and 20 strongly disagree.



From the table 4.12, it is inferred that 60% of respondents nature is impulsive buying whereas 40% of making planned purchase. Thus, it is clear that highest number of respondents nature of buying is impulsive



Table shows that 13% of respondents influence through price, 14% of through taste, 15% through quality, 7% of quantity, 6% of through brand image, 15% of through availability, 13% of influence through advertisements, 6% of through packaging design, 4% of through friends and 7% of through freshness. Hence, it is concluded that highest number of respondents influence through quality and availability of products. 67



It is found from the table that 70% of respondents buy products through offline shopping whereas 30% of through online shopping. Hence, it is concluded that maximum number of respondents shop products through offline shopping.



From the table, it is observed that 41% of respondents procure products because of product quality which has the ability to fulfill respondent’s needs and expectation while 36% of through green value and 23% through emotional value attached towards environment. Hence, it concludes that maximum number of respondents acquire green products mainly because of product quality.



It is observed from the table that 30% of respondents shop products weekly closely followed by 23% of consume monthly while 17% of once in 6 months, 16% of consume once in a year and at last 14% of consume daily. Thus, it concludes that maximum number of respondents shop products weekly.



It makes clear from the table that 77% of respondents get influence based on internal factors whereas 23% of through external factors. Therefore, it is concluded that highest number of respondents gets influence through internal factors.



It makes clear from the table that 54% of respondents strongly agree while 36% of agree, 6% of neither agree nor disagree, 3% of disagree and 1% of strongly disagree about product differentiation. Respondents of 78.41% strongly agree, 13.64% of agree, 1.14% neither agree nor disagree, 4.55% of disagree and 2.27% of disagree about environment sustainability. Respondents of 89% of strongly agree, 4.55% of agree, 2.27% of neither agree nor disagree, 3.41% of disagree and 1.14% of strongly disagree about internal variables of social responsibility. Under external variables, 19% of strongly agree, 15% of agree, 7.41% of neither agree nor disagree, 11.11% of disagree and 48.15% of strongly disagree of government policies. Respondents of 56% strongly agree, 29.63% of agree, 3.7% of neither agree nor disagree, 7.41% of disagree and 3.7% of strongly disagree about competition. Respondents of 67% strongly agree and 3% agree about demand.



It is found from the table that 60% of respondents strongly satisfied while 23% of agree, 10% of neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and 3% of respondents strongly dissatisfied with the green attitudes towards consuming products in Marks and Spencer. Thus, it concludes that highest number of respondents strongly satisfied with the products mainly to consume in Marks and Spencer. 68

5.2.SUGGESTIONS 

A successful strategy should consider the comparative costing while farming a consumer attractive plan. Since financial vitalities have been growing in past, the price factors has become very crucial.



The quality is second most important issue, and most important in case of M&S vs Others. Thus, the branding though quality products is very helpful in shaping retail marketing.



This strategy should also incorporate the daily and weekly needs of the households, so that they can optimize maximum number of buyers.



The futuristic pricing and quality management The preferences of consumers are equally a question of human behavior, and human

behavior could be affected by many factors including, branding, advertisement, schemes and other convinces. As a large part of consumer goods are being marketed through these supermarkets and stores, the marketing strategies could be diverse yet well researched and focused on buyers' choices. 5.3.CONCLUSION Finally it concludes that customer loyalty is significant factor in Marks and Spencer. It is difficult for customers inducing themselves for brand switching. The quality aspects coupled with competitive price may lead to change of brands. The firms should keep these points in mind while selling products. There is a chance of consuming alternative purchase plans of products suggested that majority of the respondents of are brand loyal as they postpone their purchases until they get their required brands. Hence, supply chain management of the popular brands should be such that the product of these brands should be readily available in all the Marks and spencer shop.

69

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http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/16/marks-spencersclothing- director-setto-quit-after-sales-slip 

Seth, Andrew and Randall, Geoffrey (1999). The grocers: the rise and rise of the supermarket chain; Kogan Page Limited; London.

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Sheppard BH, Hartwick J, Warshaw PR.(1988). The theory of reasoned action: a metaanalysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research, 1988;15:325- 43.

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Taylor S, Todd P. Decomposition and crossover effects in the theory of planned behavior: a study of consumer adoption intentions. International Journal of Research and Market. 1995;12:137- 55

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ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Name 2. Age a. Below 18 years b. 18 to 28 years c. 28 to 38 years d. 38 to 48 years e. Above 48 years

3. Gender a. Male b. Female

4. Education qualification a. Below Under Graduation b. Under Graduation c. Post Graduation d. Professional Qualification e. Others

5. Occupation a. Students b. Business c. Government Employees d. Private Employees e. Others

6. Monthly income a. Below Rs. 20, 000/b. Rs. 20, 000 to Rs. 40, 000/c. Rs. 40, 000 to Rs. 60, 000/74

d. Rs. 60, 000 to Rs. 80, 000/e. Above Rs. 80, 000/-

7. Which of the following segment do you prefer most? a. Home and furniture b. Clothes c. Grocery d. Fruits and vegetables e. Others

8. How do you come to know about green marketing FMCG products? a. TV b. Newspaper c. Product labels d. Social Media Websites e. Awareness Campaign

9. State the reason for purchasing products? (5-Strongly Agree, 4-Agree, 3-Neither Agree nor disagree, 2-Disagree and 1-Strongly Disagree) PARTICULARS

5

4

3

2

1

Readily available Taste Preferred by children and teenagers Convenient to avail Save preparation time 10. State the frequency of purchasing products in Marks and spencer? a. Daily b. Twice in a week c. Once in a week 75

d. Fortnightly e. Whenever needed 11. What is your nature of purchasing products from Marks and spencer? a. Impulsive buying b. Planned purchase 12. What are all the factors influencing you to prefer a brand in Marks and spencer? a. Price b. Taste c. Quality d. Quantity e. Brand image f. Availbaility g. Advertisements h. Packaging design i. Friends j. Freshness 13. Would you like to shift to different supermarket if available? a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neither agree nor disagree d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 14. State your level of satisfaction of consuming products from Marks and spencer? a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neither agree nor disagree d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

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