RECKITT BENCKISER
MARKET RESEARCH ON ECOMMMERCE TRENDS
MBA PROJECT
GROUP MEMBERS:
Khadija Abubakar, Sarah Zubair, Sarosh Mustafa,
Sehrish Khan, Shafaq Tariq and Sidra Javaid
Project Highlights
Client name Reckitt Benckiser (Pakistan) Ltd
Client’s Contact Mr. Umer Mehmood
Project Coordinator Mr. Asad Ilyas
Project Advisor
Khadija M. Abubakar
Sarah Zubair
Sarosh Mustafa
Project Members
Sehrish Khan
Shafaq Tariq
Sidra Javaid
Engagement duration 2 Semesters (Fall 2015, Spring 2016)
Project Beginning January 2016
Project End August 2016
Project Background:
RB Pakistan (formerly known as Reckitt & Colman Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.) began operations in the late '50s.
Today, RB operates one manufacturing unit in the country, providing quality household and
pharmaceutical products to a diversified consumer base. The head office is located in Karachi and the
sales operations are spread across the country with four regional offices and 16 area offices.
The transition into global digital market is phenomenal and in Pakistan foreign internet companies are
tapping into this developing industry. The digital evolution is such that a lot of companies/vendors are
opting for COD and swiping. RB Pakistan is looking to expand into the e-retail market and requires
estimation to gauge the scope of this initiative.
Main Objectives:
1. Estimate the size of the total e-tailing universe in Pakistan
2. Define the e-tailing landscape that is relevant to Fast Moving Consumer Goods. This will
encompass:
a. Identify the major players in e-tailing industry, keeping in mind 3 year horizon
b. Determine the sales/market share/annual growth rate of these e-tailers
c. Estimate the profit margins
d. Operational set-up (inventory/warehousing, cash flow mechanism)
e. Future outlook for e-tailing industry in Pakistan
3. Competitor analysis of top 3 (based on market share) ecommerce websites
a. Marketing strategy (4Ps, segmentation, targeting, positioning, promotions)
b. SWOT and PESTEL analysis
c. Porter’s 5 forces analysis
d. Competitors Profile Matrix
e. Perceptual mapping
4. Qualitative and quantitative research describing the online shopping habits in Pakistan
in general. This will consist of:
a. Consumer preferences when they go online for shopping, specifically for FMCG
products
b. What is the prevalent mix of consumers shopping for groceries online?
c. How do price, promotions and perceptions about product quality determine
purchases?
d. What are the triggers and barriers for online shopping of FMCG products?
5. Suggestions and recommendations on:
a. The relevant basket of goods from RB portfolio to focus on for online sales
b. Strategies to maximize impact when marketing/selling FMCG products to the
Pakistani consumer
c. Tactics to address barriers to online shopping
d. Future trends in e-tailing industry (e.g. possible entry of international players
like Amazon) given the current market dynamics
Implementation Methodology
Secondary research
Secondary research will include literature review, data provided by the company, studying research
journals, research reports and other internet resources. Secondary research will focus on the following
areas:
● Demographics of current customers (gender, age, education, income, amount spend on online
purchase)
● Consumer behavior for ecommerce purchasing
● Ecommerce industry of Pakistan (who and what the players are, both big and small. Popularity
of ecommerce in Pakistan)
● Market share of some ecommerce companies, MNC/local companies share segmentation, and
the trend in the last 3 years
Primary research
After determining the major factors affecting the Consumer behavior in ecommerce and getting to know
the basic Industry dynamics primary research would be conducted to better understand the Pakistani
consumers in depth
● Focus group: Two focus groups will be conducted with the consumers to understand the
following questions :
● Are consumers aware of ecommerce websites? Do they have proper knowledge of these
websites and how to use them?
● When, why and for what products, if any do consumers use these sites?
● What sort of products are consumers looking for on the ecommerce websites? Is there
any type of product which is currently not available on the sites?
● In-Depth Interviews: We would conduct in-depth interviews with consumers to get to know the
consumer buying behavior. Following questions will be asked:
● What sort of products are consumers looking for on an ecommerce website?
● Why do consumers go for buying products through ecommerce websites compared with
traditional way of buying products? What are the advantages/disadvantages?
● How frequent do consumers shop through any ecommerce website?
● How the product quality is determined when the product is purchased through
ecommerce?
● Does brand name and image play major role in forming customer decision for
purchasing online?
● Does the website play major role in forming customer decision for purchasing online?
● What is the role of customer education in ecommerce?
● What percentages of total spend on online purchasing is spent on grocery products?
● Questionnaire: The effect and relevance of the factors identified via focus group and in depth
interviews will be put to test with a large sample size of Karachi. The response and data
collected will allow us to run models, SPSS and analysis to draw conclusion between dependent
and independent variables.
Project Deliverables
1. Overview of e-commerce industry in Pakistan.
2. Understand online shopping patterns and preferences of consumers in Pakistan.
3. Determine the prevalent mix of consumers shopping online for groceries.
4. Identify triggers and barriers for online shopping of FMCG products.
5. Competitive analysis of ecommerce companies.
6. Determine products from Reckitt Benckiser’s existing portfolio to be sold online.
7. Propose suggestions for addressing barriers to online shopping.
8. Give recommendations for maximizing impact when marketing FMCG products to the Pakistani
consumers.
Allocation of Activities to Diagnosis, Design and Analysis, and
Recommendation
Diagnosis and Tools
This is the initial stage of the project in which secondary research and interviews with the client will be
conducted to gain comprehensive understanding of the management problem and to develop research
objectives and project deliverables. Different tools such as in-depth interviews with the company and
competitors, focus groups with customers, and surveys will be used to gather required data for
diagnosing the problem areas.
Design and Analysis
The findings of the initial research will help in designing a model for the project and identifying
dependent and independent variables. Analysis will be done using SPSS to study the relationship
between different variables and the impact of each variable on the dependent variable.
Recommendation
Recommendations will be made on the basis of the findings of primary, secondary research and analysis.
They will facilitate in addressing the management problem, identifying products for selling online,
overcoming barriers to online shopping, and maximizing impact when marketing FMCG products to the
Pakistani consumers.
Resource Requirements
● Detailed meetings with the company’s managers at least once a month.
● The client will share information about current and future(e-commerce) product portfolio,
pricing strategy and price trends, segment-wise and region-wise sales trends, promotions and
trade/retailer discounts, usage of products/clientele, profit margin and other aspects as need
arises.
● The Heads of Marketing and Sales departments will be available for meetings.
● Reimburse the amount for any visits that group members make to competitors for analyzing
their strategies, competencies and methodologies.
Project Timeline
January
● Preliminary meeting with the company requesting for MBA project.
February
● TOR approval by the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
March
● Literature Review
● Approaching ecommerce companies to provide Google analytics data
● Studying e-commerce models of Reckitt Benckiser in other countries
● Focus group with customers
● Transcription and analysis of the focus groups
● Meeting with the Marketing dept. personnel/Head of Marketing & Sales
● Designing the questionnaire for quantitative analysis, sampling (selected/stratified)
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
April
● Conduct survey based on questionnaire
● Conduct in-depth interviews with contact persons of key players in the industry
● Transcription and analysis of the interviews
● Analysis of survey data on SPSS
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
May
● Consumer report finalization
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
June
● Further interviews with key players in the industry
● E-tailers report finalization
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
July
● Develop go-to-market strategy
● Write conclusion and recommendations
● Report progress to the company, Faculty Advisor and Faculty Coordinator
August
● Submission and presentation of final report
Terms of the Project
● The research will be carried out according to the needs of the client.
● The client will agree to meet with the group at least once a month to discuss the progress on the
project.
● The students will ensure that the project is conducted within the ethical and moral boundaries
to the best of their and the client’s interests.
● Once the TOR has been approved and signed by both the client and the project team, the
parties shall abide by the terms until the completion of the project.
● The team members of this project will only be responsible for presenting a Marketing strategy
for e-tailing FMCGs to the client and not for implementing it.
● The project is expected to be completed and submitted by August 19, 2016.
