TABLE OF CONTENT

Acknowledgment………………………………………….…………….1

Introduction…………………………………………………….….…….2

Literature Review…………………………………………….…….……4

Retail Industry: An Overview…………………………………….……...6

Objective of Study……………………………………………………….11

Westside: Retail Giant…………………………………………………...13

Research Methodology…………………………………………………..21

Hypothesis……………………………………………………………….22

Data Analysis…………………………………………….………………27

Consumer Pull Factors……………………………………………….…..35

Recommendations…………………………………………………….….36

Conclution……………………………………………...………….……..37

Bibliography………………………………………………………….…..39
 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as
a department store, shopping mall etc .The retailer buys goods or products in large
quantities from manufacturers either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells
smaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or
stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the
process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy.

In the retail outlet various type of good and service are provide to the customer but
all the goods and services are generally homogenous in nature through all the other
retail outlets. Product and services of every company are available in every retail
outlet. It is also find that many customer only used to shopping in own decided
outlet rather from every outlets even there is homogenous among the product and
service offer by the every retail outlet .So This put the question in the mind of the
every retailer that is there is any gap between what customer expected from retailers
and what retailer provides to customer during shopping.

No two customers have the identical likes and preferences. Delivery value and
narrowing down the zone of tolerance is a tightrope walk for marketer in organized
retail sector. Especially in market like India the challenges is formidable because
organizations need to cater to a wide and diverse group of customers .Thus building
equity and generating volumes in such complex market tapers down to the function
of managing customer expectation.

Customers take their time to first sketch their needs and then arrive at a specific
decision. At the end of the day the question is what does the customer expect? How
to fulfill the glaring gap between need and expectations? The answers to this
question are “by delivering the value “

But in many case retailers are not aware of what their customer expect. Hence they
are unable to deliver the right value to the right customer and satisfy them
.Especially in this competitive scenario where the customer are well informed,
commanding and demanding at the same time it has become imperative for the
organization to be updated on the “WHAT”,”WHY”and “HOW” of each and every
customer. This calls for empathizing with the customer by indulging into their
priorities and decision making.

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Even in the case of a product as simple as beauty soap, customer have versatile
expectations like, good packaging fragrance, herbal or medical benefit, glowing skin
etc. and all this at an affordable price. A daunting task but companies have no option
but to offer the expected value, that too by keeping the operating costs low.

Following general expectations of a typical customer

• Value of Money
• Availability and location
• Service expectations
• Quality in Product
• Need based solution

So in other to deliver the value, Retail outlets in addition to providing products and
services, need to cater for a wide range of motives. The various determinants of retail
outlet preference include cleanliness, well-stocked shelves, and range of products,
helpful staff, disabled access, wide aisles, car parking, multiple billing points and
environmentally friendly goods. These differing motives arise as retailers cater to
different types of shoppers who include economic consumers (concern with value),
personalized consumers (concern with relationships), recreational shoppers (shopping
as a leisure activity) and apathetic consumers (who dislike shopping). Retailers have
to satisfy budding customers, older consumers as well as time crunched individuals
whose motives all tend to be conflicting as well as different. Retailers need to
establish a good image to prevent customers from shopping around. They must cater
to shoppers need for pleasure and practicality.

If expressed as a calculation, customer satisfaction might look something like this:

Customer expectations = Companies Performance/ Companies Satisfaction

Satisfaction is a consumer’s post-purchase evaluation of the overall service

experience. It is an affective reaction (Menon and Dubé, 2000) in which the
consumer’s needs, desires and expectations during the course of the service
experience have been met or exceeded (Lovelock, 2001). Satisfaction in this sense
could mean that a supermarket has just barely met the customer’s expectations, not
exceeded nor disappointed those expectations. The benefits of taking the customer’s
response beyond satisfaction at this level by exceeding expectations, is a competitive
strategy many retailers aspire to achieve. There is a recurrent struggle for existence
and survival in the wake of deep competition, drastically changing customer attitudes
and expectation levels.

The study would enable us to understand the impact of various factors that influence a
consumer’s shopping behavior in a departmental store. It would also help in knowing
the magnitude and direction of movement of these factors amongst each other. These
factors have been divided into three heads- Store, Situation and Shopper factors.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of store loyalty is derived from the concept of brand loyalty which refers to
the tendency to make repeat purchases of products of the same brand. Store loyalty
refers to the tendency to repeatedly shop at the same store for similar or other products.
A loyal customer would give preference to a specific store and would tend to be far
more forgiving of errors of the store

There are three main set of variables that have been found to have an impact on
loyalty of customers:
1. Store Related Variables
2 .Shopper Related Variables
3. Situation Related Variables
Loyalty has been found to be greatly influenced by Store Related Variables. Some of
the important store related variables are Shop location, Products Range and Store
Image. In consumer priorities, assortment and variety come after convenience and
price. (Arnold, Stephen J., Tae H. Ourn, Tigert, and Douglas 1983,’ Determining
Attributes in Retail Patronage) Shop location is an influencing variable on loyalty as
convenience of shopping is among the main criteria of the customers. Location related
variables are given importance in analyzing both trade areas and retail patronage
behavior (Hubbard, Raymond 1978,’ A review of Selected Factors Conditioning
Consumer Travel Behavior’, journal of Consumer Research) .The consumers are
favorably inclined to revisit a store where they have positive shopping experiences
like a great range of assortments , good environment etc. The image of the store has
also great effect on the loyalty of the customers. Store image reflects shopper’s
perception of a store in terms of functional and psychological attributes.

Loyalty is also influenced by shopper related variables. Several factors such as age,
income and social class of the shopper have found to influence on customer’s
decisions.(Moore, Charles Thomas , and Joseph Barry Mason 1969, ‘ A research Note
on major Retail Centre Patronage) Customers belonging to different age groups prefer
different stores. There have been researches done which suggests that the greater the
congruence between self image and store image, the greater is the probability that the
customer is loyal. (Pathak, D.S., W.J.E .Crissy, and R.W Sweitzer 1974,’ Customer
Image Versus the Retailers’ Anticipated Image,’ Journal of Retailing, Vol.50).There is
a direct linkage between personal values and desired consumer benefits. This means
different customers have different levels of desired consumer benefits which vary
according to their own perceived values.

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Loyalty is also influenced by the situation related variables. These factors include task
definition, level of involvement, shopping orientation and usage of information. These
indicate the intensity of need and the comfort of the shopper in taking a purchase
decision. The store choice has been found to depend on buying situations that differ
with the level of involvement (Moschis, G.P .1976,’ Shopping Orientations and
Consumer Uses of Information)

Thus we can say that the existence of the customer is integral to the existence of the
retailer. The ability to understand consumers is the key to developing a successful
retail strategy. A key factor in understanding customers is identifying the customers
for product or service, which means the target segment, and the demographics of this
segment, their needs and buying behavior.

Recognition of the need for a product or a service is the first stage that may lead to a
consumer buying. The need may be psychological or functional.

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 RETAIL INDUSTRY: AN OVERVIEW

The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world. Comprising of organized and
unorganized sectors, India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries in
India, especially over the last few years. Though initially, the retail industry in India
was mostly unorganized, however with the change of tastes and preferences of the
consumers, the industry is getting more popular these days and getting organized as
well. With growing market demand, the industry is expected to grow at a pace of 25-
30% annually. The India retail industry is expected to grow from Rs. 35,000 crore in
2004-05 to Rs. 109,000 crore by the year 2010.

According to the 8th Annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) of AT Kearney,
India retail industry is the most promising emerging market for investment. In 2007, the
retail trade in India had a share of 8-10% in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the
country. In 2009, it rose to 12%. It is also expected to reach 22% by 2010.

Top Retailers Worldwide: Rank Retailer Home Country

Leading global retail players by revenue

Sr. Company Name Country Banner Sale 2007E No of Outlets

No. (In (US $ million) 2007
1 Wal- Mart Store US 395,305 7,331
2 Carrefour France 142,229 13,419
3 Tesco UK 103,573 3,750
4 Metro Group Germany 102,942 2,541
5 Seven & I (ii) Japan 84,375 22,590
6 Kroger US 73,633 3,672
7 AEON (i) Japan 73,416 14,803
8 Target US 71,125 1,591
9 Schwarz Group Germany 70,969 8,575
10 Costco US 69,704 518
Source – Planet retail

According to a report by Northbride Capita, the India retail industry is expected to grow
to US$ 700 billion by 2010. By the same time, the organized sector will be 20% of the
total market share. It can be mentioned here that, the share of organized sector in 2007
was 7.5% of the total retail market.

Tata group is another major player in Indian retail industry with its subsidiary Trent,
which operates Westside and Star India Bazaar. Established in 1998, it also acquired the
largest book and music retailer in India ‘Landmark’ in 2005. Trent owns over 4 lakh sq.
ft retail space across the country.

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The Future

The retail industry in India is currently growing at a great pace and is expected to go
up to US$ 833 billion by the year 2013. It is further expected to reach US$ 1.3 trillion
by the year 2018 at a CAGR of 10%. As the country has got a high growth rates, the
consumer spending has also gone up and is also expected to go up further in the
future. In the last four year, the consumer spending in India climbed up to 75%. As a
result, the India retail industry is expected to grow further in the future days. By the
year 2013, the organized sector is also expected to grow at a CAGR of 40%.

Malls in India

Over the last 2-3 years, the Indian consumer market has seen a significant growth in
the number of modern-day shopping centers, popularly known as ‘malls’. There is
an increased demand for quality retail space from a varied segment of large-format
retailers and brands, which include food and apparel chains, consumer durables and
multiplex operators. Shopping-centre development has attracted real-estate
developers and corporate houses across cities in India. As a result, from just 3 malls
in 2000, India is all set to have over 220 malls by 2005. Today, the expected demand
for quality retail space in 2006 is estimated to be around 40 million square feet.
While previously it was the large, organized retailers –with their modern, up-market
outlets, and direct consumer interface- who had been a key factor driving the growth
of organized retail in the country, now it is the malls which are playing the role.

Factors such as availability of physical space, population densities, city planning, and
socio-economic parameters have driven the Indian market to evolve, to a certain
extent, its own definition of a ‘mall’. For example, while a mall in USA is 400,000 to
1 million sq.ft. in size, an Indian version can be anywhere between 80,000 sq.ft. and
500,000 sq.ft. By 2005, total mall space in the 6 cities of Mumbai, Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and National Capital Region (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon)
is expected to increase to over 21.1 million sq. ft. Compared to other big cities,
Kolkata and Hyderabad are relatively new entrants in the mall segment, but are
witnessing quick growth. Smaller cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana,
Jaipur, Chandigarh and Indore, are also expected to see a formidable growth in the
growth of malls in the near future. But malls in India need to have a clear positioning
through the development of differential product assortment and differential pricing, in
order to compete effectively in a growing mall market. Segmentation in malls, like
up-market malls, mid-market malls, etc., proper planning, correct identification of
needs, quality products at lower prices, the right store mix, and the right timing,
would Ensure the success of the ‘mall revolution’ in India.

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Challenges of Retailing in India

Retailing as an industry in India has still a long way to go. To become a truly flourishing
industry, retailing needs to cross the following hurdles:

• Automatic approval is not allowed for foreign investment in retail.

• Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws.
• Taxation, which favors small retail businesses.
• Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management.
• Lack of trained work force.
• Low skill level for retailing management.
• Intrinsic complexity of retailing – rapid price changes, constant threat of product
obsolescence and low margins.

The retailers in India have to learn both the art and science of retailing by closely
following:

How retailers in other parts of the world are organizing, managing, and coping up with
new challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. Indian retailers must use innovative
retail formats to enhance shopping experience, and try to understand the regional
variations in consumer attitudes to retailing.

Retail marketing efforts have to improve in the country - advertising, promotions, and
campaigns to attract customers; building loyalty by identifying regular shoppers and
offering benefits to them; efficiently managing high-value customers; and monitoring
customer needs constantly, are some of the aspects which Indian retailers need to focus
upon on a more pro-active basis.

Despite the presence of the basic ingredients required for growth of the retail industry in
India, it still faces substantial hurdles that will retard and inhibit its growth in the future.

One of the key impediments is the lack of FDI status. This has largely limited capital
investments in supply chain infrastructure, which is a key for development and growth
of food retailing and has also constrained access to world-class retail practices.

Multiplicity and complexity of taxes, lack of proper infrastructure and relatively high
cost of real estate are the other impediments to the growth of retailing. While the
industry and the government are trying to remove many of these hurdles, some of the
roadblocks will remain and will continue to affect the smooth growth of this industry.

Fitch believes that while the market share of organised retail will grow and become
significant in the next decade, this growth would, however, not be at the same rapid pace
as in other emerging markets. Organised retailing in India is gaining wider acceptance.
The development of the organised retail sector, during the last decade, has begun to
change the face of retailing, especially, in the major metros of the country. Experiences
in the developed and developing countries prove that performance of organised retail is
strongly linked to the performance of the economy as a whole.

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This is mainly on account of the reach and penetration of this business and its
scientific approach in dealing with customers and their needs. In spite of the positive
prospects of this industry, Indian retailing faces some major hurdles (see Table 1),
which have stymied its growth. Early signs of organized retail were visible even in the
1970s when Nilgiris (food), Viveks (consumer durables) and Nallis (sarees) started
their operations.

However, as a result of the roadblocks (mentioned in Table 1), the industry remained
in a rudimentary stage. While these retailers gave the necessary ambience to
customers, little effort was made to introduce world-class customer care practices and
improve operating efficiencies. Moreover, most of these modern developments were
restricted to south India, which is still regarded as a ‘Mecca of Indian Retail’.

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 SEASONS OF RETAILING

Summer Season
• It’s usually from May to July.

• Low sales are recorded during this period.

• This season is good for promotions and launching new advertisement

campaigns.

Fall Season
• August and September are important months.

• Retailers are provided a good opportunity to increase their share.

Holiday Season
• It begins usually at the end of October and carries through the fourth quarter ending
in January.
• Festivals like Dusherra, Diwali, Halloween, Christmas and New Year Eve bring
more customers.
• Usually it’s the best time for retailers.

Spring Season
• It lasts from February to May

• Fewer footfalls are recorded in malls.

CUSTOMERS

Men
• While guys tend to prioritize fashion to a lesser degree than girls, “right-
look” and the “dude” image is still important to them.

• Boys tend to spend more money on electronic gadgets, food, sports goods
and music.

Women
• “Tween” girls represent a lucrative opportunity for retailers. They are going to
become the future buyers.

• “Teen” girls are more trend savvy. It’s not just the clothes and accessories, but
the whole look that the teen girls aspire to define.
‘Post teen” girls spend more on jewellery and household items and thus they
contribute a lot more in terms of revenue
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDT

SHOPPER FACTORS
1) What influences a shopper to patronize a National Brand or Private Label?

2) Which of the two ‘manifest satisfaction’ or ‘latent satisfaction’ has stronger impact
on store loyalty?

3) Does the similarity between retail mix-elements and desired benefits of customer
lead to higher shopper loyalty?

SITUATIONAL FACTORS

1) Is there any impact of ‘recency of purchase experience’ and ‘frequency of visit to a

store’ on probability of repurchase from that store?
2) Is there any impact of ‘buying situations’ and ‘level of involvement’ on the store
choice?
3) Of the three, ‘mall image’ (tenancy mix), ‘socio-economic status,’ and ‘store
format’ of shoppers, which has the highest impact on ‘store image’?

STORE FACTORS
1) How convenience and location influences a shopper’s loyalty for a store?
2) How differentiation in type and quality of assortment offered by a store affects the
buying behavior of shopper?
3) How similarity between self-image and store-image leads impacts store loyalty?
4) How store image impacts store loyalty and how it influences store satisfaction in
shaping shoppers’ overall store loyalty?

The location of the retail store had, for a long time, been considered the most important
‘P’ in retailing. If a retail store was located in the right place, it was considered to be
adequate assurance for success. Over the years, with advent of non-store retailing and
the rise in web-based retail, merely choosing the right location can’t be considered
adequate. However, the retail location is an important part of the retail strategy, as the
location of the store conveys a fair amount of its image. It also influences the
merchandise mix and the interior layout of the store

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While a retailer can change his merchandise mix, adjust prices, improve
communication with consumers and offer better services, once a store comes into
existence, it is fairly difficult to change the location. Moving from one location to
another may result in the loss of customers and employees. Moreover, the new
location may not always have the benefits of the earlier one.

Types of Locations

Various options are available to the retailer, for choosing the location of this store.
The choice of the location of the store again, depends on the target audience and the
kind of merchandise to be sold. For ex, the location of a convenience store would not
be suitable for that of an expensive jewellery boutique. Typically, a store maybe

1. Freestanding/ Isolated Store,

2. Part of a business district, or

3.Part of a Shopping Center- A shopping center has been defined by the

International Council of Shopping Centers as “a group of retail and other
commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned and manager as a
single property”. The availability of parking is an important feature of every
shopping center. Westside - Mani Square Mall in Kolkata is a part of the
shopping center.

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 WESTSIDE – RETAIL GIANT

Established in 1998 as part of the Tata Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside, one of
India's largest and fastest growing chains of retail stores. The Westside stores have
numerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of customers. These include
Menswear, Women’s wear, Kid’s wear, Footwear, Cosmetics, Perfumesand
Handbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The company has already
established 36 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet
each) in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad & Noida (to be
considered as 1 city), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Lucknow,
Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Jammu. The company
hopes to expand rapidly with similar format stores that offer a fine balance between
style and price retailing.

Trent ventured into the hypermarket business in 2004 with Star Bazaar, providing an
ample assortment of products made available at the lowest prices, aptly exemplifying
its ‘Chota Budget, Lambi Shopping’ motto. At present Star Bazaar has 4 stores in 3
cities located in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. This store offers customers an
eclectic array of products that include staple foods, beverages, health and beauty
products, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, consumer electronics and household items
at the most affordable prices. Star Bazaar also includes a large range of fashionable
in-house garments for men, women and children, exclusively available at the store.

In addition, Trent recently acquired a 76% stake in Landmark, one of the largest
books & music retail chains in the country. Landmark began operations in 1987 with
its first store in Chennai with a floor space of 5500 sq. ft. At present Landmark have
10 stores, varying in size from 12,000 sq. ft. to 45,000 sq. ft, 3 in Chennai and 1 each
in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Vadodara, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow and
Ahmedabad. Until 1996, Landmark’s product portfolio comprised books, stationery,
and greeting cards. It was later that music was added to it. Landmark also sparked the
trend of stocking curios, toys and other gift items. What separates Landmark from
other stores of its kind is the range and depth of its stock.

This story began circa 1998 when The Tatas acquired Littlewoods – a London based
retail chain. This acquisition was followed by the establishment of Trent Ltd (a Tata
enterprise that presently operates Westside). Littlewoods was subsequently renamed
Westside.

In a rapidly evolving retail scenario, Westside has carved a niche for its brand of
merchandise creating a loyal following. Currently, the company has 46 Westside
stores measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each across 20 cities. With a variety of
designs and styles, everything at Westside is exclusively designed and the
merchandise ranges from stylized clothes, footwear and accessories for men, women
and children to well-co-coordinated table linens, artifacts, home accessories and
furnishings. Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations and coffee
shops enhance the customers’ shopping experience.

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 VISION STATEMENT

“To be the most preferred, consistently profitable lifestyle retailer “

By this vision statement it is very clear that company wants to express yourself the
most prefer retailer to the people. It means when people will think about shopping
people will think about Westside. Not only this, as well as company wants to be
constantly profit gainer by providing lifestyle product.

MISSION STATEMENT

“Our mission is to be seen by our customers as the most relevant retailer in the
country

To achieve the goal, we will understand their needs; win their confidence, and
offer best in class products and services at affordable price.

We shall always be in the forefront of fashion and services by anticipating and

exceeding the expectations of our customer.

Our leadership will be the product of our styling, quality and service
consciousness.

We will continue to scale new heights of excellence through teamwork, in an

atmosphere which encourages creativity and innovativeness.”

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 CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY

“It is a policy to satisfy our customers with the range, quality and value of our offer.
However, if you are not satisfied with any item that you have purchased we will be
happy to assist you.

For unused merchandise please return the items together with your receipt within
30 days we will change them or give you a complete refund. If you don’t have a
receipt we will give you an exchange or a gift voucher to current or last known
selling price.

We have very confidence in the quality of our merchandise but should you have a
problem, please bring it our attention. If you have receipt, we will change the item
or give you complete refund. If you don’t have receipt, we will give you an exchange
or refund to the current or last known selling price.”

By the customer service policy it is very clear that the company give more importance
to their customer. Customer satisfaction is more important for the company in terms of
quality of product, price of product, range of product. Company is very confidence an
honest in their product quality. Company give their loyal customer one year quality
assurance. It means in case of any manufacturing problem like colour bleeding,
stitching problem within a year, company will exchange the product or give them
complete salling price.

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 STORE LAYOUT

PRIVATE BRAND IN WESTSIDE

• NUON
• SRC
• GIA
• URBAN ANJEL
• INTIMA
• ASCOT
• RICHMOND
• DAVID JONES
• AZZUREO

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EXTERNAL BRAND IN WESTSIDE

• LEVIS
• KILLER
• PROVOGUE
• LEE
• WRANGLAR
• MUFTI
• SPYKAR
• BLACKBERRY

.Ladies wear

Kids wear

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.
 Mens wear

SERVICES & STORE ATMOSPHERE IN WESTSIDE

Helpfulness of the store staff – Store staff are always ready to help their customer.
They always attain their every customer with very polite behavior. They always
suggest their customer correct perfect fit and combination. Staffs are always
informing their customer correct product care instructions.

Alteration facilities- Westside store are give free alteration service for better fit.
Westside customers can alter their garments which they purchased from Westside
store, in any Westside store in India.

Special care for customer demand- Westside store are very careful for their
customers. If customer are not found their size or pattern of any product in a particular
store, on customer demand the store bring that particular product from other store.

Lighting- Stores are very brightly lit from inside and CFL tubes are put all over the
store. Lights are focused on clothes

Color- Wall color is cream so that light can be reflected easily and visibility is good
in store. Paint has a luster in itself i.e. paint is having mirror finish so that light gets
reflected and clothes and other stuff are clearly visible. Color is also such that it
doesn’t get dirtier easily due to people leaning against the wall and resting thei5r foots
on the wall.

Visual communication- The signage and graphics are put all over the place to
promote various brands. Promotional schemes are displayed by posters hanging over
the various product ranges. The brand names are clearly mentioned on boards. Also

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directional signage are there showing the way to washrooms, drinking water, exit etc.
Category signages, Point Of Sale (POS) signages and departmental signage are present
in many numbers.

Westside’s name,logo and store identity is very clear from the posters

Music- Basically english as well as hindi songs are put inside the store but normally
english songs are put up which are famous and are latest. The volume is kept low so
that people can talk among themselves and can easily interact with store personnel’s.
Continous announcement of schemes are done in between this music playing to draw
the attention of customers and lure them for impulse buying.

Smell- A fragrant is put in the air conditioning duct so as to spread good smell inside
the store and remove any bad odours present in air. It gives a pleasant experience to
customer and is refreshing.

Security- Security of the store is pretty good. Cc TV’s are put all over thestore to
keep check on notorious customers. Infrared detectors are put at the entrance and exit
which alerts gaurds if person is trying to steal the things. Each and every floor has a
security manager and 3 security guards are appointed for each floor. Security guards
specially take care outside the trial rooms so as to stop people from hiding things
inside their clothes.

Mirrors- They are put all over the store so that people can see how the clothes,
watches, jewelry etc. looks on them. These mirrors are also cleaned at regular
intervals. They are also put inside the trial rooms for customer’s convenience.

Escalators- they are put one at each floor for going down and going up at a normal
speed that makes shopping convenient without making the people getting tired. All
the 3 floors are connected through escalators.

FACING THE CHALLENGE

The greatest challenge for Westside in its quest for a place in the retail sun is not the
competition from similar organized players, but from the unorganized sector (98 per
cent of India’s retail garment industry operates in the unorganized sector).

The other challenge for Westside is that the retail fashion business in the country is
becoming increasingly crowded with new players, Indian and foreign. Among the
new entrants have been Wills Sport, Lifestyle, Raymond’s (Be), Primus Globus,
Nike, Crocodile, Mango and the latest, Marks & Spencer.

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 PROMOTIONS

1. Club west card program

An assured return-and-exchange policy reinforces customer confidence in the

chain. Another winning Westside idea is Club West, a customer loyalty programme
launched in May 2001. The 30,000-plus members of this club get rebates at
restaurants and on holiday packages from the Taj Group of Hotels, home delivery
of alterations, and best of all, special shopping hours on the first day of any
discount sales event organized by the chain.

Important benefits of clubwest card

• Most attractive rewards shopping

• Instant use of the card
• Easy to operate
• Extra convenience
• Validity at all stores

Westside does its regular brand building through advertisements in the media with
brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh and other young models; more important are its
in-house promotions, which peak during the three main festive seasons: summer,
Diwali and Christmas. The promotions are mostly theme based, with decorations to
match, live bands and other attractions.

2. Fashion Logy

Westside has launched a new ad campaign titled 'Fashion Logy'. The campaign is
designed to provide the buyer with not just clothing, but also guides and aid on
dressing smart, styling and accessorizing. The campaign sees on-ground activities
and promotions designed to interact with the consumer about their style It includes
women’s corporate wear, girls wear, and glam denim.

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 THE THREE Cs

Corporate clothing is a major component of Westside merchandise. The emphasis

here is on the three Cs: Comfort, Crispness and Coordination, and the goal is to
provide the complete corporate look, where color, clothes and accessories are
mixed and matched in a manner that creates harmony between the person and the
clothes he or she wears.

Westside employees are given regular training for better interaction. Some things
may take longer. The wish list, a tool for customers to let Westside know their
preferences, cannot be realized immediately. Only if there is an optimum demand
can the store look at fulfilling it. Gia, Westside’s brand for larger-sized
requirements, was the outcome of one such need.

The company identifies star employees in each store and designates them as
coaches responsible for the training of their own store staff. Today, each store has
three kinds of coaches — a customer service coach, an IT skills coach and a
product knowledge coach. The success of this programme has made it a
benchmark for all Tata Group companies

WESTSIDE PROVIDES FOUR LEVELS OF SERVICE


Self service- Self service is the corner stone of all discount operations.
Many customers are willing to carry out their own locate compare select
process to save money.

Self selection- Customer find own goods, although they can ask for
assistance

Limited Service- Westside also offers services like credit, merchandizing
etc.

Full Service- Sales people are ready to assist to any phase of the locate
compare select process. Customers who like to be waited own prefer these
types of stores
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample and data collection

This survey was conducted in the context of retail. For 70 percent of the interviews,
data were collected in face-to-face interviews of customers coming to Westside
while exiting point-of-sale venues. For the remaining 30 percent, because certain
retailers prohibit the interviewing of their clients exiting their stores, interviews took
place in the subjects' homes, as a function of the store they attended most frequently.
The study provides a representative sample of the main Shopping centre in Delhi. In
order to reckon with possible multi-loyalty, questions related to satisfaction, loyalty
and behavior were asked for the regular main store visited (at least once a week).

Research design

The research design would be descriptive and cross sectional

Data collection

The data would be collected from primary source through questionnaires,

interviews, observations etc. The sample would be surveyed on the basis of
questionnaire and data would be quantified for further analysis.

Sample size

The sample would be selected on random basis at the store itself. A sample of 100
respondents would be used in the research. These would be further divided amongst
the stores for an evenly distributed data collection.

Data Sources

Both Secondary and Primary Sources of data will be used.

The major type of information used is primary data. This is done thru primary
survey. The literature review is a secondary data type. The sources include books,
periodicals, websites, printed literature etc.

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 HYPOTHESIS
The various hypotheses are based on the store related factors,
situation related factors and shopper related factors.

Hypothesis Based on Store Related Factors

Loyalty is affected by factors that are related to the store, including-

a. Trade Area Related

Convenience is the primary reason that customers show patronage towards a
particular store. These studies assume that convenience is the primary reason
for loyalty. Most work in this area stems from a model proposed by Huff
(1964). The Huff Model states that consumer patronage is directly
proportional to utility factors given by square feet and inversely proportional
to disutility factors given by physical distance. The limits to enhancing
loyalty are essentially seen as limited centripetal pull of a store/ shopping
center. Location-related factors are given importance in analyzing both trade
areas and retail patronage behaviour (Hubbard, 1978). These studies most
often count the benefits of locating a store in a shopping center/ mall to
increase the store’s ‘destination’ traffic rather than just stay with the
convenience pull. In fact these studies determine shopping center traffic more
accurately than single store traffic. Huff’s model has subsequently been
studied by introducing trade overlap areas for effects on store patronage .
Generally speaking, these studies have resulted in the formation of the Theory
of Gravitational Pull in the field of retailing patronage studies. Apart from
distance, several other factors such as income and social class perceptions
have also been studied from the perspective of retail center patronage
decisions.
Convenience is the main motive for shoppers repeat buying at a
store.

b. Product Related-

Within a given trade area, studies emphasize the ‘uniqueness of assortment’ as a way
of influencing store loyalty and patronage. In consumer priorities, assortment and
variety comes after convenience and price (Arnold, Tae, and Douglas, 1978; Craig,
Gosh, and McLafferty, 1984; Louviere and Gaeth, 1987). Given that consumers are
favourably inclined to revisit a store where they have had positive shopping
experiences (found something they could not find anywhere else), these stores
suggest that competing stores need to differentiate themselves based on type and
quality of assortment offered. The emphasis here is on tailoring the environmental
clues using retail mix elements to foster patronizing.

One of the used strategies is to develop own store Private labels. Consumers have
distinct perceptions of national and local brands vis-à-vis the retail private store
brands. Categories such as paper, plastic and wraps, and food products have high
penetration of private brands. The lowest share is observed in case of cosmetics and
baby foods. In India, private brands are found in more than fifty percent of stores.
Category such as grocery and washing products show a higher presence of such
brands (Business Today, 26 October 2003). It has been observed that the impact of
the store brands on the consumer loyalty is lower in product categories where the
‘quality believability’ of national brands is higher.

Hypothesis Based on Shopper Related Factors

Several factors such as age, income and social class of the shopper have been
found to influence retail patronage decisions (Moore and mason, 1969). The
orientation of the shopper also impacts the preference of a store. Several studies have
found a correlation between shopping orientations and lifestyle and with store loyalty
and preference for stores. It has been found that shopper seeking more hedonic
gratification from the shopping tends to patronize ‘new’ format stores that focus on
experimental marketing and offer better ambience and service (Sinha, 2003).
Shopping orientation correlates differently with the information mix elements,
varying with source, source credibility, and preference for a source by some
consumers and usage of such information,

24 Page
The aspect of congruity between the retail mix elements as designed by the retailer
and the self-image/ self-concept of the consumer has received much attention.
Research has shown the greater the congruence between self-image and store-
image; the greater is the probability that the customer is loyal. It has also been
found that if retail mix elements are in congruence with the desired benefits, it
results in customer loyalty (Osman, 1993). There is a direct linkage between
personal values and desired consumer benefits. Past experience with the outlet has
also emerged as one of the major drivers of loyalty. It acts as an influencer in
forming expectations about desired benefits from purchasing at a store (Guttman,
1990). A consumer’s selection of a store is not completely random. The more
recent the purchase experience and more frequent the visits to the store, the more
is the likelihood of repurchasing that product in that store (Aaker and Jones, 1971).

Several theories can be applied to study information processing by consumers.

One set of theories assumes that evaluation criteria are considered simultaneously.
This theory states that consumers do not distinguish between objective and
subjective evaluation criteria. They tend to use both simultaneously when arriving
at a decision (Hirschman and Krishnan, 1981). Another set of theories hold that the
process happens sequentially- first there are certain factors used to make a choice
among clusters and then, within the chosen cluster, other parameters are used for
decision-making (Fotheringham, 1988). It is generally agreed that as dimensions
of comparison among stores increase and, the consumer has to process vast
amounts of information before making a choice, the hierarchical process becomes
more relevant (Black, 1984).

The third set of theories states that consumers use a limited set of evaluative
criteria when making a choice and this varies depending on personality, context
and product. To assess store perception on attributes that are meaningless to
consumers can be misleading to a retailer. These theories draw significantly from
automatic cognitive information processing models and the threshold model of
consumer behaviour and examine how attitude leads to behaviour/ patronage).

25 Page
Hypothesis Based on Store Satisfaction

Satisfaction has often been regarded as an antecedent of store loyalty (Bitner,

1990). Store satisfaction can be defined (Engel et al., 1990, p. 481) as: The
outcome of the subjective evaluation, that the chosen alternative (the store) meets
or exceeds expectations. This definition is within the tradition of
conceptualizations of satisfaction that are used in the product literature. The basis
for the definition forms the disconfirmation paradigm (Oliver, 1980). According to
this paradigm, satisfaction is believed to occur through a matching of expectations
and perceived performance. In case a consumer makes this comparison, he or she
elaborates on the evaluation of a store. In order to do so, a consumer must both
have the motivation and the ability to evaluate the store relative to the reference
point employed (Petty et al., 1983).

However, in some cases it may be very hard for consumers to generate

expectations to evaluate store performance and to compare the expectations and
performance as if they were independent elements. However, to the extent that an
explicit comparison is made between expectations and performance, the consumer
is likely to be aware of the outcome of this evaluation. We label it as manifest
satisfaction. Manifest satisfaction is the result of an evaluation, which is well
elaborated on.

Hypothesis Based on Store image

The image of store is found to drive loyalty. The more positive the store image, the
greater is the degree of loyalty. Several studies report direct linkages between store
image and intensity of store loyalty. Store image reflects shoppers’ perception of a
store in terms of functional and psychological attributes. These can also be
classified as tangible and intangible attributes. The tangible attributes of the store,
such as merchandise, location, sales people, and displays, are explicit and
observable. The intangible aspects, such as ambience, co-shoppers and other
psychosocial factors are difficult to measure and hence manage (Martineau). The
retail literature also discusses the congruence between self-image and store image.
Studies show that this congruence leads to loyalty. Shoppers select cues from the
store environment and draw inferences about the characteristics of a typical
shopper of the store. The tenant mix also affects the store image. Malls, which
anchor stores tend to, absorb the image of the store. A mall with a department store
as an anchor reflects an image of high quality merchandise and customer service.
A mall a price format store as an anchor has an image of a low service mall. It has
also been found that shopping at an upscale mall is more likely to create high level
of self-congruity. Shoppers belonging to high economic strata are more likely to
perceive stores housed in downscale mall to have a lower quality image. The study
propounds that store image should be seen as a result of an interaction between the
mall image, socio-economic status of shoppers, and store type.

26 Page
The Relationship between Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

In our view, manifest satisfaction is directly and unequivocally related to store

loyalty. Manifest store satisfaction means that an explicit evaluation of the store is
made, which in case of a positive evaluation leads to store commitment. So,
manifest satisfaction will be positively related to store loyalty. Latent satisfaction
is the result of an implicit evaluation of the store choice, which is not elaborated
on and of which the consumer is not fully aware. Latent satisfaction means mere
acceptance of the store, which will not necessarily lead to commitment.
Nevertheless, latent satisfaction may also be positively related to store loyalty, but
less strongly than manifest satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis 61 can be formulated
as follows:
The fact that the amount of consumer satisfaction and store loyalty in general are
positively related, as we expect, is hardly supported by the literature. Although a
number of studies address the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty as
related to products and services,there is little empirical evidence to support the
explicit relationship between store satisfaction and store loyalty .

Customers’ patronage behaviour towards a particular store is dependent on their

image of that particular store . The more favourable the store image, the higher the
valence of the store to the customer. However, the exact relationship between store
image and store loyalty has remained inconclusive. There is both evidence for a
direct relationship and an indirect relationship whereby store satisfaction acts as a
mediator.

27 Page
 DATA ANALYSIS

Price of the item

Statement Percentage
Very Dissatisfied 1
Dissatisfied 16
Moderate 28
Satisfied 44
Very Satisfied 11
Total 100

Very Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Moderate
Satisfied
Very Satisfied

28 Page
 Store Ambiance

Statement Percentage
Dissatisfied 11.0
Moderate 17.0
Satisfied 52.0
Very satisfied 20.0
Total 100

60

50

40 Dissatisfi
Moderate
30
satisfied
20 V Satisf

10

29 Page
 Ease of availability

Statement Percentage
Dissatisfied 11.0
Moderate 27.0
Satisfied 40.0
Very satisfied 22.0
Total 100

Dissatisfied
Moderate
Satisfied
Very Satisfied

30 Page
 Sales Promotion Offers
Statement Percentage
Very Dissatisfied 12.0
Dissatisfied 33.0
Moderate 28.0
Satisfied 23.0
Very Satisfied 4.0
Total 100

35

30

25 V Dissfi
dissatified
20
moderate
15 Satisfied
V Satisfie
10

31 Page
Ambience would be an important factor

Statement Percentage
Not at all 10
Week 27
Moderate 26
Strongly 10
Very Strongly 27
Total 100

Not at all
Week
Moderate
Strongly
Very Strongly

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Convenience would be given special attention

Statement Percentage
Not at all 6.0
Week 20.0
Moderate 20.0
Strongly 34.0
Very Strongly 20.0
Total 100

Not at all
Week
Moderate
Strongly
Very Strongly

33 Page
 Word of mouth is important

Statement Percentage
Not at all 6.0
Week 14.0
Moderate 48.0
Strongly 24.0
Very Strongly 8.0
Total 100

Not at all
Week
Moderate
Strongly
Very Strongly

34 Page
 Consideration to Rebate and Discounts on Purchase

Statement Percentage
Not at all 7.0
Week 22.0
Moderate 16.0
Strongly 21.0
Very Strongly 34.0
Total 100

35

30

25
not at all
20 weak
moderate
15 strongly
Very Stro
10

35 Page
 CONSUMER PULL FACTORS
• A critical factor in Westside’s success has been its strategy to attract
shoppers & keep them in stores- the amount of time shoppers spend in a store is
perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much they will
buy. . In having understood the pulse of the customers in India, Westside has
clearly established itself as a brand with an Indian heart.

• Over the years Westside has also developed and successfully introduced
a range of new brands especially suited to the Indian palate. These brands like
NUON (earlier 2F 4U) have been a tremendous success amongst the new
generation. What has also given Westside a competitive edge is that in addition
to an extensive range of internationally renowned brands like Spykar, Lee and
Fast Track they also offer the option of a less known brands for low budget
customers.

• All the two floor floors are carefully structured. Ground floor floor and
First floor caters exclusively to Women and Men respectively. Thus giving
them privacy and more freedom to look into their products.

• Women’s need more space and look for comfort. They are less likely to
buy if the place is congested and makes them feel uncomfortable. At Westside
sofas have been placed in the women section so as to make the females more
comfortable.

• Westside has been able to create a brand image and is consistently

maintaining its brand identity by new additions in products and catering to the
market need.

• They are catering to different age groups under one roof. For ex. On the
1st floor which is men’s section both formal and college wear is available. This
way they are able to build a huge customer loyal base.

 Westside caters to not only the clothing needs and desires of its
customers. They have bed sheets, kitchenware, jewellery, perfumes, baby
products, household items, etc. This way a customer who enters Westside just to
buy one or two items usually ends up buying a lot more.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

• To increase more footfalls more promotional activities must be carried

out. For this Westside can either offer more discounts or increase their
advertisements. Increase in the number of footfalls will lead to increase in sales.

• Since Westside is not only catering to apparel need of the society a few
additions like Books, Music items, Electronic gadgets etc can also be added to the
products available inside their store. The demand for the above products is always
in the market.

• Allowing more space between the entrance of a store and a product gives
it more time in the shopper’s eye as he or she approaches it. It builds a little
visual anticipation.

• The number of trial rooms available at Westside is very less as compared

to the number of people coming. This usually results in long queues and waiting
by customers.

• Install more full length mirrors inside the store so as to assist the
customers to make better purchase decisions.

• Play light music inside the store to make the shopping a pleasurable
experience.

• They can also exhibit their new line of clothing through events like
fashion shows.

• Baskets should be scattered throughout the store, wherever shoppers

 CONCLUTION
This research has a number of limitations that must be acknowledged.

• First, the sample used for this study consisted mostly of college
students. Therefore, these results may not be applicable to the wider population
in general.
• Secondly, the results of this study are limited to a specialty retail
branded purchasing context.

Lastly, it must be acknowledged that there may be numerous other variables that
contribute to the development of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word
of mouth communication which are briefly touched upon below.

All of the hypotheses in the study were supported by the data. The hypothesis test
results indicated that both utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits have a positive
effect on customer satisfaction. The results also indicate that customer repurchase
is positively associated with customer loyalty and word of mouth communication.

There are studies which have contributed for extending the consumer
benefit/loyalty framework to the retail branding context. Customer satisfaction is
an antecedent of word of mouth communication, but customer loyalty (favorable
relative attitude) must be present to mediate the relationship. This finding is
important for theory building in this and other marketing and consumer contexts.

In the increasingly competitive environment faced by today's retailers, the pursuit

of consumer loyalty is paramount. In order to be competitive, retailers must
identify the key ingredients of consumer loyalty and the relationships between the
benefits delivered to the consumer and important outcomes (i.e. satisfaction,
loyalty, word of mouth communication).

This study doesn’t identify two types of benefits mostly desired by the consumer:
utilitarian and hedonic. Retailers should understand this if they expect to provide
utilitarian benefits to consumers by way of having the right product on hand at the
right place and time. In addition, they must recognize that the consumer also
desires a hedonic benefit in terms of the shopping experience. The results of this
study doesn’t indicate that consumers expect the purchase experience to offer
hedonic qualities such as excitement, entertainment, escapism, fantasy, and fun.
Retailers that utilize the store-as-the-brand strategy should recognize this and work
to deliver hedonic value throughout the purchase experience. In addition, retailers
should recognize that performance in the delivery of these consumer benefits is
linked to important outcomes such as satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouth
communication.

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Another important finding not undertaken in this study indicates that consumer
satisfaction is linked to attitudinal loyalty. Although one could argue that other
variables not examined in this study contribute equally to attitudinal loyalty,
satisfaction appears to be an important antecedent. Therefore, retailers should
recognize that in order to create a loyal customer base, they must satisfy the desires
and needs of the consumer. One way that retailers can provide satisfaction to the
consumer is through the delivery of value in the form of utilitarian and hedonic
benefits associated with the purchase experience. Retailers should recognize that they
must meet or exceed the consumer's expectations in terms of the benefits the consumer
is seeking. It is also important for retailers to understand the link between satisfaction
and other important outcome variables (i.e. attitudinal loyalty, word of mouth
communication) because satisfaction contributes to these outcomes.

The finding of this study doesn’t talk about the attitudinal loyalty which serves as a
mediator between consumer satisfaction and consumer word of mouth
communication. It is reasonable that attitudinal loyalty would mediate the relationship
between these constructs because it is a more enduring concept when compared to
consumer satisfaction. In their pursuit of customer loyalty, it is important for retailers
to understand this relationship and the associated implications. Delivering a satisfying
purchase experience can lead to attitudinal loyalty, and in turn, that attitudinal loyalty
can lead to the consumer engaging in word of mouth communication about the retail
store brand.

The extant body of literature on the consumer benefits/loyalty framework is in an early

stage of development. The primary goal for future research should be to identify and
examine the various types of consumer benefits that influence consumers' satisfaction,
loyalty, and word of mouth communication. In-depth qualitative research in the form
of personal interviews and focus groups would provide a better understanding of the
benefits desired by consumers. This qualitative research would, in turn, contribute to
the development of better measures to capture each type of benefit. In turn, it is
important to continue to examine the relationships between consumer benefits and
outcome variables that are crucial to the success of the retail firm (e.g. customer
satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication). A particularly
important area of investigation is the role of attitudinal loyalty as a mediator between
customer satisfaction and word of mouth communication.

Future research should also focus on replicating this study with a different target
respondent. A large survey of consumers of various backgrounds in various geographic
areas could help to make the findings of this study more generalizable to the overall
population.

39 Page
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

CII Report on Retail 2008,

Journals from www.emeraldinsight.com

www.esnips.com

www.wikipedia.org

Search engine used www.google.com

www.mywestside.com

Suggestions from Why We Buy? By Paco Underhill

www.retailinsights.com

Baker, J., D. Grewal, and Levy 1992, ‘ An Experimental Approach to Making

Retail Store Environment Decisions’, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 68, Winter,
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Baker, J., D. Grewal, and A. Parasuraman and B. Glenn 2002, ‘The Influence of
Multi-Store Environmental Clues on Perceived Merchandise Value and Patronage
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Bell, David R., Tech-Hua Ho, and C.S. Tang 1998, ‘Determining Where to Shop:
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Bellenger, Danny N. 1980, ‘Shopping Center Patronage Motives’, Journal of

Retailing, Vol. 53, April, pp 29-38.

Bitner, M.J. (1990), ‘Evaluating Service Encounters: The Effects of Physical

Surroundings and Employee Responses’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp. 69-82.

Black, William C. 1984, ‘Choice-set Definition in Patronage Modeling’, Journal of

Retailing, Vol. 60, No. 2, Summer, pp. 63-85.

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