Seeking Guidance on Shopping Behavior Project for College Students in Kolkata

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, Pratik Agarwal, a student of 1st year B.Com at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, India, am currently working on a project regarding the 'Shopping Behavior of College-goers in Kolkata with respect to Casual Clothes and the Influence of External Factors on them.'

I have searched all the reputable libraries in my city but have not been able to find any scales related to the objectives I have finalized. While browsing the internet, I discovered your remarkable site. I believe you could provide me with some scales that would assist me in my project. I am only 18 years old, and undertaking such a project requires expertise that I feel I lack. However, with your esteemed guidance, I am confident I can succeed.

The scales I require are as follows:

1. Shopping companions (friends, parents, siblings, etc.) and their influence
2. Purpose of shopping (including window-shopping and shopping for hedonistic reasons)
3. Customer influences (i.e., the opinions of other customers shopping at the store)
4. Peer influence (interpersonal)
5. Choice of shopping destinations (location, distance, features, etc.)
6. Price-consciousness (including the frequency of purchases)

Sir, it would be greatly appreciated if you could assist me with this project. I eagerly await your favorable response.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Pratik Agarwal

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply, but I just came across your post. I think your deadline for the project must have passed. I am a student myself and have completed several marketing projects. Here are some suggestions:

1. Primary research should be your main method of collecting information. Focus your questionnaire on your project objectives. Since you have chosen to study college customer behavior in Kolkata, consider looking at areas that represent the entire city. Essentially, sample your target market. I recommend a sample size of at least 80.

2. To incorporate some theory on customer behavior, you could refer to the fundamental marketing book by Philip Kotler. Many articles and research materials are available online.

To simplify the process, you can distribute questionnaires within your college to your friends and classmates. Target places to distribute your questionnaire could include malls, crowded shopping centers, especially on weekend evenings and Sunday mornings. Look for individuals accompanied by friends, siblings, parents, or guardians.

As mentioned earlier, I am not sure how helpful this response will be as your deadline has likely passed. Nevertheless, I hope this information proves useful.

Regards,

Vinisha.

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply. My project deadline is still far off, so I have plenty of time on hand (although you know how time flies).

I appreciate the suggestions you provided. I am aiming for a sample size of 400 students, with an equal split of 200 students of both sexes.

My primary research for the literature review is nearly complete. However, I am in need of the scales that I will require for constructing the questionnaire. I had planned to create my own questionnaire, but a professor mentioned that a significant amount of research is involved in developing the scales (i.e., the statements for the questionnaire). I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Best regards,
Pratik

Hi,

Sample size of 400 is a pretty good target you are aiming at. As suggested earlier, your questionnaire must be focused on the objective of your project, that is, the 6 pointers you have listed. Assuming you have no secondary data to rely upon, your primary research must have a subjective element to it. Also, the basis of customer behavior remains the same; hence, objectivity is quite easy to achieve. We usually have used the scales allowing people to rate from 1-5, with 1 being the lowest/worst/least likely. However, I would not be able to suggest much regarding the rating scale without looking at the questions in your questionnaire.

Regards,
Vinisha.

Hi Vinisha,

Thank you for all your help. The thing is, I have taken on one more project, this time as an internship with a big MNC. I will be working in the retail clothing segment of their company. We have been tasked with the following objectives for this project:

1) Profiling the customers who visit their stores in City Centre (a shopping mall).

2) Exploring the external influences on the shopping behavior of customers, who are usually young professionals aged between 25-40.

3) Investigating whether their brand ambassador (a Bollywood actor) is perceived as a style icon for clothing.

Currently, I am in the process of:

1) Identifying the parameters I can use for profiling customers (e.g., age group, clothing preferences, etc.).

2) Researching questionnaires related to the aforementioned objectives from previous studies or widely accepted literature.

3) Seeking permission from individuals on this platform to pre-test my questionnaire.

I am looking forward to your assistance on this topic. Please recommend some reliable websites or books where I can find appropriate questionnaires and parameters for customer profiling.

Regards,

Pratik

Hi, why don't you host your questionnaire online? There are websites available for that. They will also help you create questions, I think. The ones with pre-made questions are not free, but still, check them out.