EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834

EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),

Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AT RELIANCE FRESH,

PATTABIRAM, CHENNAI
M.VENUGOPAL*, BIRENDRA LAXAM** AND A.K.SUBRAMANI***
*
I YEAR M.B.A,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062. TAMIL NADU, INDIA.
**
I YEAR M.B.A,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062. TAMIL NADU, INDIA.
***
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

ABSTRACT:
Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion
and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and
organizational goals. Customer satisfaction is a must in business. Satisfaction is a persons
feelings of pleasure of disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived
performance in relation to his or her expectations.
Customer Satisfaction research identifies how well an organization is performing from
the customers viewpoint. It allows any organization to understand how their customers are with
level of service they are providing at any point in time, and to track how satisfaction levels
change over time.
With the changing scenario, continuously monitoring the market and studying the buying
behavior plays a vital role. So in current situation a comprehensive market survey for finding out
the trends of various brands will pay in the long run to adjust the demand and supply factors and
curtail competition.

KEYWORDS: Customer Satisfaction, Buyer Behavior, factors influencing purchase frequency.

I. INTRODUCTION
Customer satisfaction is the degree of satisfaction provided by the goods or services of
a company as measured by the number of repeat customers. Customer satisfaction survey is a
process of discovering whether or not a company's customers are happy or satisfied with
the products or services received from the company. It may be conducted face to face, over the
phone, via email or internet, or on handwritten forms. Customer answers to questions are then
used to analyse whether or not changes need to be made in business operations to increase
overall satisfaction of customers. It is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total
customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services exceeds specified
satisfaction goals. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers,

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element
of business strategy.

II. COMPANY PROFILE

Reliance Fresh is the convenience store format which forms part of the Retail
Business of Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Makes. Reliance plans to invest in
excess of 250 billion in the next 4 years in their retail division. The company already has 1691
Reliance Fresh outlets across the country. These stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples,
groceries, fresh juice, bars and dairy products. A typical Reliance Fresh store is approximately
30004000 square feet and caters to a catchment area of 23 km.

III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

With the reviving of the economy, our highly improved life quality booms service industries
and causes economic growth. Among the service industries, the department stores having a great
to do with economic development for its great amount of cash flow is especially worthy of
attention. Furthermore, many large department stores have been opened in the recent years and
they do their best to promote in order to attract consumers and boost sales. Since 20% off for all
and price reduction is very common, sellers start rewarding their customers with large numbers
of prizes to draw their attention. Saravanan, an investigation of user perception and attitude to
Reliance Fresh store in Madurai an unpublished submitted to Kama raj University, July 2011.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Primary Objective
o To understand the buying behavior of the customers and to find out their level of
satisfaction at Reliance Fresh products.

Secondary Objectives
o To know about customers expectation before purchasing the product.
o To identify the interest of the people.
o To find the satisfaction level of customer in the terms of price and performance of
Reliance Fresh.
o To analyze the factors influencing purchase frequency.
o To recommend suggestions to increase customer satisfaction.

V. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

o Some amount of bias cannot be ruled out as the sample size is not enough to cover a large
population and lack of interest by the respondents.
o The respondents response may have the bias, which may not give true picture about the
chosen research topic.
o The sample size is restricted to Chennai and the sample size of this survey is 52.
o The study depends on the Availability of the customers.
o The study depicts customer strength to wider market network.
o The data are collected through questionnaire.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

VI. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Descriptive research is followed in this research. The universe of the population
includes the respondents who are the customers of Reliance Fresh, located at Pattabiram. The
samples (i.e. sample size 52) were selected among the customers of Reliance Fresh, located
at Pattabiram for this research. The samples were chosen from the population, by using
Convenience sampling technique (i.e. Non-probability sampling technique), because the
exact population size is unknown and the accessibility of the customer is difficult. Survey
method of data collection was used in this research. The primary data were collected using
structured questionnaire.

VII. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

FREQUENCY TABLE
Table 1. Demographic classification of the Respondents
S. No. Particulars Frequency Percent
1 Gender
Male 28 49.1
Female 29 50.9

2 Monthly income in Rs.

Below 10000 28 49.1
10001 - 15000 10 17.5
15001 - 20000 5 8.8
20001 25000 6 10.5
Above 25000 8 14.1
Source: Primary data)

From the table 1, it is inferred that number of male and female respondents are almost
equal. The maximum number of customer who prefer to buy from Reliance Fresh is at the
income level of Below 10000.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

Table 2. Respondents perception about Reliance Fresh store

S. No. Particular Frequency Percent
1 Frequency of purchase at Reliance Fresh store
More than 8 times a Month 19 33.3
6-8 times a month 11 19.3
3-5 times a month 5 8.8
1-2 times a month 11 19.3
Less than once a month 11 19.3

2 Segment of product preferred by respondent at the Reliance Fresh store

Food and Bakery 13 25
Fruits and Vegetables 19 36.5
Dairy Products 7 13.5
Home Ware 8 15.4
Health care 5 8.8

3 The best segment of product available at the Reliance Fresh

Food and Bakery 28 49.1
Fruits and Vegetables 10 17.5
Dairy Products 5 8.8
Home Ware 6 10.5
Health care 8 14.1

4 Frequency of interaction by the customer service associates at the Reliance

Frequently 25 43.9
Rarely 12 21.1
Never 15 26.3
On Requirement 5 8.8

5 The pricing of the products of Reliance

Very Low 25 43.9
Low 12 23.1
Almost Same 10 17.5
High 7 12.3
Very High 3 5.3

6 Recommendation of Reliance Fresh to their near ones

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

Yes 37 64.9
No 14 26.9
Not Sure 6 10.5

(Source: Primary data)

From the table 2, it is inferred that the table shows that 33.3% of the respondents visit
Reliance Fresh more than 8 times a month and only 8.8% % of the respondent visit the store 3-5
times a month.
36.5% of customers prefer to buy fruits and vegetables, 25% of the respondents like to
purchase food and bakery items, 13.5% like to choose dairy products, 15.4% of the respondent
like to buy Home ware and the rest choose to purchase Health care.
From the table, infers that 43.9% of the respondent feels that the customer service
associates at the store interact with the customers and the 8.8% of the respondents feel that they
interact only on requirement. 21.1% of the respondent feels that they rarely interact and 26.3%
said that they never interact at all.
From the above table it is inferred that 43.9% of the customer feels that the pricing at
Reliance Fresh store is very low, 23.1% responded as low and 17.5% responded as almost same
price.64.9% of the respondent responded positively regarding the recommendation of Reliance
Fresh to their near ones & 26.9% responded as No and 10.5% responded as Not Sure.

Table3. Mean and Standard Deviation

S. No Particulars Mean Median Standard
Deviation
1 Best segment of product available at the Reliance Fresh 3.11 3.00 0.963
2 Frequency of interaction by the customer service associates 1.90 2.00 1.034
at the Reliance Fresh
3 Pricing of the products of Reliance Fresh 2.15 2.00 1.319
4 Recommendation of Reliance Fresh to their near ones 1.65 2.00 0.683
5 Respondents perception regarding the Reliance Fresh store 1.82 2.00 0.603
(Source: Primary Data)

From the table 3, Customers are more satisfied regarding the segment of product
available and preferred at the Reliance Fresh Stores as they have the highest mean of 3.11.

Table 4. Respondents perception regarding the reliance fresh store

S. No Particulars Frequency Percent
1 Is the Best 23 44.2
2 Among the God ones 17 32.7
3 Not up to the mark 9 17.3
4 Not at all Good 8 15.4
Total 52 100
(Source: Primary Data)

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

The table 4 showing that, 44.2% of the total respondent agreed that it is the best store
while 32.7% responded as it airs among the good ones. 17.3% said as not up to the mark while
15.4% said it not good at all.

DISCUSSIONS
o Both the male and female customers were equally found as the customer of Reliance
Fresh.
o Maximum of the customer were of the income group of below 10000 i.e. 49.1% and the
minimum of the customers were from the age group of 16000-20000 i.e. 8.8%.
o 33.30 % of the respondents were found to visit Reliance Fresh Store more than 8 times a
month 5% consisted the customer who visits 3-5 times a month.
o Most customer i.e. 36.5% preferred fruits and vegetables followed by 25% of the
customer group who preferred food and bakery items.
o Almost 49.1% believed that food and bakery items are the best segment in the Reliance
Fresh store.
o 26.3% of the customer felt that the customer service associate never interact and 43.9%
responded positively regarding the interaction of the customer service associates.
o 43.9% of the responded felt that the price here at Reliance Fresh is very low and 3% of
them felt it as very high price range.
o 64.9% of the total respondent were found though recommend the Reliance Fresh store to
their near ones and relatives.
o 44.2% agreed that it is the best store while 15.4% felt it not good at all.

IMPLICATIONS
o The store should target the people with higher income level as they were found lesser in
comparison to the other income level group.
o Scheme should be made to attract more customers as it was found that still there are
customers who just visit 1-2 times month.
o Health care products should also be given equal importance as very few people were
found to visit the store for health care products.
o Home ware and dairy products should be given extra emphasis to increase the range of
customers.
o Customer care associates need to be more disciplined and enthusiastic to help the
customers.
o The price should be made optimum as there are still few customers who believe that the
price at Reliance Fresh is very high.
o Service of store should be providing in such way which full the need of the customer.
o The price of the product can be still lowered.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015),
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

CONCLUSION
A survey on customer satisfaction was conducted on behalf of the Reliance Fresh product
to understand the preference of customers. The quality of the product is the primary parameter
that influenced purchase decisions. Its popularity is very high. Customers are very much
influenced by the satisfaction level.

REFERENCES
BOOKS
1. Philip Kotler, Principles of management McGraw-Hill Publishing Co, New Delhi- 1993.
2. Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., Managing Customer Relationships, 2nd Edition, John Wiley and
Sons, 2011.
3. Gronoos, C., Service Management and Marketing: Customer Management in Service
Competition, 3rdEdition, Wiley India, 2011.
4. Kothari, Research Methodology Methods and techniques, New Age international (p) Ltd,
New Delhi-985.
5. S.M.Jha, Service markets-Mumbai, Himalaya Publishing House, New Delhi-1994.

JOURNALS
1. Allen M. Weiss, and Shantanu Dutta (2009), Marketing in Technology-Intensive Markets:
Toward a Conceptual Framework, Journal of Marketing, 63 (Special Issue).
2. Bettman, James R. and Mita Sujan (2006), "Research in Consumer Information Processing,"
in Review of Marketing.
3. Coughlin, Maureen (2006), "Fear of Success: Reaction to Advertising Stimuli and Intention
to Purchase," doctoral dissertation, Department of Marketing, City University of New York.

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