CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

India is the world's fastest growing major economy and has already made it to the list of 10
biggest economies of the world. According to the International Monetary Fund, India is the
ninth largest economy with a nominal GDP estimated at around US$ 2.04 trillion. In terms
of the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), India is the third largest economy with US$ 7.96
trillion, and that is what makes it one of the biggest markets in the World. The contribution
of soft drinks industries to the Indian economy is remarkable one. India is a major
manufacturer and importer of soft drink beverages. The Indian soft drink industry is vast
and it has been rapidly growing by the day. No matter what time of the year soft drink
beverages are consumed in great volume. According to official reports, the volume of soft
drinks consumed in India stood at a whopping 11,755 million litres in 2013. These
numbers suggest that there was an increase of about 170 per cent in the consumption of
soft drinks in comparison to 2008. It is further expected that the sale of soft drinks may go
up by annually 19 per cent till 2018. There are two leading competitors in the soft drink
industry viz., PepsiCo India and Coca-Cola India.

Pepsi is one of the most popular and most widely consumed soft drink brands in India. It is
the flagship brand of the PepsiCo India. Pepsi was introduced to India in 1990 and was an
instant hit amongst the Indian youth. It grew in popularity rapidly and never looked back.
According to the information given in the official website of PepsiCo India, Pepsi is loved
by over 200 million people worldwide and is the largest selling soft drink brand in India.

Coca-Cola is the world's highest selling and most popular soft drink brand by far.
However, Coca-Cola has not been able to make the same impression over the Indian
people. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola is one of the most sought- after and largest selling soft
drink brand in India. It is the signature brand of Coca-Cola India. Coca-Cola was re-
launched in India in 1993 after a span gap of 16 years.

143
These two companies have introduced different brands of soft drinks in order to attract
more consumers. In this perspective, the researcher aims to know to what extend the
consumers of soft drinks in the major cities of Tamil Nadu are satisfied with their favourite
soft drinks and the factors influencing them to prefer the branded soft drinks.

1.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

1.2.1 Concept of Consumer

Any individual who purchases goods and services from the market for his/her end-use is
called a consumer. In simpler words, a consumer is one who consumes goods and services
available in the market. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not
to purchase an item at the store and someone who can be influenced by marketing and
advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or
anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer.

It can also be said that any person who enjoys the goods and services generated or
produced by any organization is known as a consumer. When a person consumes any good
and service according to his/her personal need or demand then he is the one who is sharing
the activities generated by any company. Consuming according to ones need and demand is
a tough task because here a person tries to get the best product or service.

Generally, when we talk about consumers, we usually stick on those particular people who
consumes. Whereas, those people who are consuming any service provided by any firm are
also known as consumers because they are also the part of that particular firm or
organization. Every consumer is thus known as an important part because they are the only
one who actually tells us how our product is working and how it is giving something
special to them. According to the behaviour of consumers, companies do try to improve
their performances and thus enhance their level depending on the needs and demands of
every single consumer.

In law and politics, consumer‟s protection laws are also imposed in order to protect their
rights and to give them freedom of decision and choice too. Giving them rights is the only
way that can lead towards any betterment and with the help of this process companies will
144
also come to know about their present position and will work further in order to improve
their future position too.

1.2.2 Concept of Consumer Preference

Consumer preference is defined as a set of assumptions that focus on consumer choices

that result in different alternatives such as happiness, satisfaction, or utility. The entire
consumer preference process results in an optimal choice. Consumer preferences allow a
consumer to rank different bundles of goods according to levels of utility, or the total
satisfaction of consuming a good or service.

"Consumer preference" is a marketing term meaning a consumer likes one thing over
another. For instance, a trend may indicate consumers prefer using debit cards over credit
cards to pay for goods. Consumer preference is used primarily to mean to select an option
that has the greatest anticipated value among a number of options by the consumer in order
to satisfy his/her needs or desires. Preferences indicate choices among neutral or more
valued options available. The preference of the consumer is the result of their behaviour
they show during searching, purchasing and disposing the products. Consumer preferences
are defined as the personal 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.

The preferences are independent of income and prices. Ability to purchase goods does not
determine a consumer's likes or dislikes. In other words, the consumer has different
preferences over the different combinations of goods defined by the set of commodity
bundles. Consumer preferences are measured in terms of the level of satisfaction the
consumer obtains from consuming various combinations or bundles of goods. The
consumer's 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. Consumer value is measured in terms of the relative utilities
between goods and these reflect the consumer's preferences. It is important to understand

145
that consumer preferences are not dependent upon consumer income or prices. So a
consumer's capacity to buy goods does not reflect a consumer's likes or dislikes.

1.2.3 Concept of Brand

According to Seth Godin1, a brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and
relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer‟s decision to choose one product
or service over another. If the consumer (whether it‟s a business, a buyer, a voter or a
donor) doesn‟t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value
exists for that consumer. „A brand is „the intangible sum of a product‟s attributes: its
name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it‟s advertised‟-David
Ogilvy2. Moreover, Al Ries3 defines brand that it is a singular idea or concept that one
who owns inside the mind of a prospect whereas according to Haigh Robert4 „a brand (or
marque for car model) is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes
one seller‟s product from those of others. Brands are used in business, marketing, and
advertising‟.

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “A name, design, symbol or any
other feature that identifies one seller‟s good or services as distinct from those of other
sellers. The legal term for brand is trade mark. A brand may identify one item, a firmly of
items or all items of that seller. If used for the firm as a whole, the preferred form is trade
name”. From the perspective of Ashely Friedlein5 - E consultancy, it is understood that a
brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Branding is
about shaping perception.

Ann Handley argues that Brand is the image. People have of your company or product. It‟s
who people think you are or quoting Ze-frank, it‟s the “emotional after taste” that comes

1
Seth Godin (2010), “Linchip”, Hachette Digital 2010, Publishers in London
2
David Oglivy (1983), “Ogilvy on Advertising”, Published in the United states by Random House, Inc., New
York.
3
Alries& Jack Trout, “The Marketing classic positioning”, The McGraw-Hill companies Inc., United States
of America, and ISBN: 0-07-137358-6.
4
Haigh, Robert (18 February 2014)."Ferrari – The World's Most Powerful Brand"Brand Finance. Retrieved
9 February 2015
5
Ashley Friedlein Founder, E consultancy & Chairman, Ably London, United Kingdom

146
after an experience with a product service or company. A brand is the meaningful
perception of a product, a service or even your self-good, bad or indifferent- that marketers
want people to believe based on what they think they hear, see smell, taste and generally
sense from other around them. Josh Moritz states that brand is the intangible sum of a
product‟s attributes; its name, packaging and price, its history, its reputation and the way
it‟s advertised. Al redefines brands “It‟s a singular idea or concept that you inside the mind
of a prospect”. According to Sergiozyman6, a brand is essentially a container for a
customer‟s complete experience with the product or company.

1.2.4 Concept of Branding

Branding refers the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in
the consumer‟s mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme.
Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that
attracts and relations loyal customers.

„Branding is the management process by which a product is branded. It is a general term

covering various activities such as giving a brand name to a product, designing a brand
mark and establishing and popularizing it‟.7

It is evident from the perspective of Margie Clayman that Branding is the encapsulation of
a company‟s mission statement, objectives and corporate soul as expressed through the
corporate voice and aesthetic. But from the point of view of Gini Dietrich-Spin Sucks,
branding to him is identifying of a product or service. It‟s the name, the logo, the design or
a combination of those that people use to identify and differentiate what they‟re about it
buys. However, Gini Dietrich-Spin Sucks further argues that a good brand should deliver a
clear message, provide credibility, connect with customers emotionally, motive the buyer
and create user loyalty.

In today‟s social, customer-controlled world, marketers may be spending their money to

build a brand. But they don‟t own it. In their influential book, Groundswell, ChareneLi and

6
Sergio Zyman, “The end of advertising as we know it”, John Wivey&Sons,In., Hoboken, New Jersey
(2001), ISBN: 0-471-22581-9
7
Dr.N.Rajan Nair and SanjithR.Nair, (2015), “Marketing”, Sultan Chand &sons,Educational Publishers,
New Delhi, ISBN: 978-81-8054-577-1.(PP-224-229).

147
Josh Bernoff8 state “Your brand is whatever your customers say it is”. As marketers, this
means that, while a brand is the emotional relationship between the consumer and the
product, they must engage with consumers and build positive brand associations. But Neil
Feinstein True North specifies that the deeper the relationship, the more brand equity
exists.

1.2.5 Brand image and product image

Brand image is partially derived from a product image. The product image relates to the
fundamental aims and satisfaction which the consumers find in a particular product.
Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the brand image relates to the specific versions of the
product image.

1.2.6 Branding decisions

Branding has become a management technique as it involves consideration of alternatives

and choosing the best alternative. Some of the practical hints have been discussed above.
Brand managers have to develop a local order of action in developing brand awareness and
ultimately leading to Brand loyalty. Brand Preference – Making the consumers buying out
of habit a particular brand.

1.2.7 Concept of soft drinks

The term “soft drink” though is now typically used exclusively for flavored carbonated
beverages. This is actually due to advertising. Flavored carbonated beverage makers were
having a hard time creating national advertisements due to the fact that what you call their
product varies from place to place.

A soft drink characteristically contains carbonated water, a sweetener, and a natural or

artificial flavouring. The sweetener may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit
juice, sugar substitutes or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also
contain caffeine, colourings, preservatives and other ingredients.

8
Charlene Li and Josh Bern off, “Grounds well; winning in a World Transformed by Technologies”
Harvard Business Press (2008)

148
Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast to "hard drinks" (alcoholic beverages). Small
amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than
0.5% of the total volume, if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Fruit punch, tea,
and other such non-alcoholic beverages are technically soft drinks by this definition but are
not generally referred to as such.

Soft drinks may be served chilled, over ice cubes or at room temperature. In rare cases,
some soft drinks, such as Dr Pepper, can be served warm. Soft drinks are available in many
formats, including cans, glass bottles, and plastic bottles (the latter in a variety of sizes
ranging from small bottles to large 2-liter containers). Soft drinks are also widely available
at fast food restaurants, theatres, convenience, casual dining restaurants, and bars from soda
fountain machines. Soda fountain drinks are typically served in paper or plastic disposable
cups in the first three venues. In casual dining restaurants and bars, soft drinks are often
served in glasses. Soft drinks may be drunk with straws or sipped directly from the cups.

Soft drinks are mixed with other ingredients in several contexts. In Western countries, in
bars and other places where alcohol is served (e.g., airplanes, restaurants and nightclubs)
many mixed drinks are made by blending a soft drink with hard liquor and serving the
drink over ice. One well-known example is the rum and coke, which may also contain lime
juice. Some homemade fruit punch recipes, which may or may not contain alcohol, contain
a mixture of various fruit juices and soda pop (e.g., ginger ale). At ice cream parlours and
1950s-themed diners, ice cream floats are often sold. Two popular ice cream floats are the
coke float and the root beer float, which consist of a scoop of ice cream placed in a tall
glass of the respectively named soft drinks.

While the term "soft drink" is commonly used in product labelling and on restaurant
menus, in many countries these drinks are more commonly referred to by regional names,
including carbonated beverage, coke, fizzy drink, fizzy juice, cool drink, cold drink, lolly
water, pop, seltzer, soda, soda pop, tonic, and mineral. Due to the high sugar content in
typical soft drinks, they may also be called sugary drinks.

In the United States, the 2003 Harvard Dialect Survey tracked the usage of the nine most
common names. Over half of the survey respondents preferred the term "soda", which was

149
dominant in the North-eastern United States, California, and the areas
surrounding Milwaukee and St. Louis. The term "pop", which was preferred by 25% of the
respondents, was most popular in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, while
the generalized trademark "coke", used by 12% of the respondents, was most popular in
the Southern United States. The term "tonic" is hyper local to eastern Massachusetts,
although usage is declining.

In the English-speaking parts of Canada, the term "pop" is prevalent, but "soft drink" is the
most common English term used in Montreal. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the
terms "fizzy drink" and the generalized trademark "coke" are common. "Pop" and "fizzy
pop" are used in northern England, while "mineral" is used in Ireland.
In Australia and New Zealand, "Fizzy Drink" or "soft drink" is typically used. In South
African English, "cool drink" and "cold drink" are used, but in Indian English "cool drink"
is most prevalent.

However in India, Soft drinks are classified into major heads namely carbonated and non-
carbonated drinks on the basis of their composition. A soft drink carbonated beverage is a
non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water, a sweetener, and a flavouring agent.
The sweetener may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or a sugar substitute (in the case of
diet drinks).For e.g. Coca-Cola, Thumbs up,, Mountain Dew, Sprite, 7Up,Marinda, Fanta,
Limca, Appy Fizz, Grappo Fizz. Whereas non-carbonated drinks can be further classified
into nectar and juices. Nectar is made from fruit or vegetables but with 25-99 % juice
content and usually with added sugar and juice mostly contains natural fruit or vegetables.
It is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fresh fruits or vegetables. Juice is
always 100 % fruit juice For example, Saint Juices, Real Fruit and Vegetable Juices,
Tropicana Juices etc. to name a few.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In the modern world, companies are running their business in high competitive market and
ever changing environment. Because, in accordance with the consumers life style, their
taste and preference are also changing day to day so that every organization has to make
efforts to retain their consumers. Because, they are the kings in the market. They will

150
decide themselves what to buy, when to buy and where to buy. Soft drink companies in
India are performing very well. These companies are launching varieties of drinks in
different brand names in India. So it is necessary to soft drink companies to identify the
factors which influence the consumers to prefer the soft drinks so as to enable the
companies to take further steps to supply the consumers expected quality. In this
perspective, the researcher undertakes a study on consumers‟ preference towards branded
soft drinks in major cities of Tamil Nadu. This study would be helpful to the manufactures
to identity the consumer perception, taste, beliefs and behaviour for improving them to
introduce new strategies and increase in sales

1.4 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

More than 2000 million rupees have been invested in Indian soft drink industry. There is a
stiff competition between the carbonated drinks and non-carbonated drinks in the industry.
A high growth has been noticed in the non-carbonated drinks in the last ten years. For that
reason of this significant growth, many competitors have entered the market where a
number of new brands have flooded. Besides, sellers of fresh and fruit Juices etc. have also
captured a sizeable share of the market. As a result of these changes in the beverage market
there is a need to identify and evaluate the reasons for the shift in the consumer purchasing
pattern. The present study aims to find out the various factors influencing the consumer
preference for purchase of branded soft drinks among the people of the major cities in
Tamil Nadu. Moreover, since there is an increase in the competition between the two giant
companies a need arises to understand the awareness levels towards various brands
amongst the consumers in these cities. This research, of course, will be more useful to the
soft drink companies in identifying the awareness levels of their respective brands and
preference of the consumers towards branded soft drinks in the state of Tamil Nadu.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study emphases on the consumer preferences of branded soft drinks in selected cities
of Tamil Nadu. Consumer preferences are more complex and even more important not only
manufacturers but also for retailers today than in past. In fact, it is an edge to understand
what the consumers of soft drinks think of while they are buying their favourite soft drinks.

151
The study will help the manufacturers of soft drinks to understand the underlying consumer
preferences factors and which factors mostly influence the consumers of the selected cities
in the state and help them to craft their marketing strategies.

1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Generally objectives are more specific and easier to measure than goals. Objectives are
basic tools that underlie all planning and strategic activities. They serve as the basis for
creating policy and evaluating performance. In this perspective, the objectives for the study
have been framed and are presented as given below.

1. To identify the factors which effect on consumer preference towards the branded

soft drinks in the selected cities of Tamil Nadu

2. To study the consumers‟ awareness level of the soft drinks in Tamil Nadu

3. To analyze to what extent the advertisements inspire the consumers to consume the

soft drinks

4. To assess the satisfaction level of people „at the time of‟ and „after‟ consuming the

branded soft drinks in the selected cities of Tamil Nadu

5. To evaluate the awareness regarding the effect of soft drinks on health of

consumers

1.7 HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

A hypothesis is a proposition which can be put to a test to determine its validity. It may
seem contrary to or in accord with common sense. It may prove to be correct or incorrect.
In any event however, it leads to an empirical test. Whatever the outcome, the hypothesis is
a question put in such a way that an answer of some kind can be forthcoming. The function
of the hypothesis is to state a specific relationship between phenomena in such a way that
this relationship can be empirically tested. The basic method of this demonstration is to
design the research so that logic will require the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis
on the basis of resulting data.

152
The following hypotheses have been framed for the study

 There is no significant influence of type of products over the frequency of

purchasing the soft drinks

 There is no significant influence of demographic characters over the level of

satisfaction with regard to size of packaging of the soft drinks

 There is no significant influence of demographic characters over the level of

awareness of branded soft drinks

 There is no significant influence of demographic characters over the preference of

branded soft drinks

 There is no significant association between the product and factors influencing to

purchase preferred branded soft drinks

 There is no significant association between the product and attributes influencing to

purchase preferred branded soft drinks

 There is no significant difference between the mean scores relating to the

satisfaction of consumers with regard to attributes of the branded soft drinks.

 There is no significant difference between the mean scores relating to the

satisfaction enjoyed “at the time of” and “after” consuming their favorite soft
drinks.

 There is no significant difference between the mean scores and the opinion with
regard to size of packaging the soft drinks.

1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

All items in any field of inquiry constitute a „Universe‟ or „Population‟. A complete

enumeration of all items in the population is a census enquiry. It can be presumed that in
such an enquiry, when all items are covered, no element of chance is left and highest
accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be true. Even the slightest element of
bias in such an enquiry will get larger and larger as the number of observation increases.
Moreover, there is no way of checking the element of bias or its extent except through a

153
resurvey or use of sample checks. Besides, this type of enquiry involves a great deal of
time, money and energy. When the field of enquiry is large, this method becomes difficult
to adopt because of the resources involved. At times, this method is practically beyond the
reach of ordinary researcher.

Further, many a time it is not possible to examine every item in the population and
sometimes it is possible to obtain accurate results by studying only a part of total
population. In such cases there is no utility of census survey. Under census method, each
and every unit of the population or universe is studied. Census method will give more
representatives, accurate and reliable results. Since it involves enormous amount of time
and money, this method is not used for this research.

1.8.1 Sampling

Instead of obtaining information from each and every unit of the universe, only a small
representative part is studied and the conclusions are drawn on that basis for the entire
universe or whole population. Hence, this research uses sampling method for collecting
data. For this research convenient sampling is used for collecting the data.

This sampling is judgment sampling as the interviewer can select the first few sample items
quickly rather than going through the laborious process of obtaining a random sample.
Samples are chosen simply because they are most readily available or accessible or easy to
measure. In order to study consumers‟ preferences towards the branded soft drinks in major
cities of Tamil Nadu, 665 sample respondents have been selected from the selected cities
of Tamil Nadu.
 
 SS 
Required Sample size for Group =  
 SS  1 
1 
 N 
 Z 2 * p(1  p) 
Where Sample size SS=  2
 ,
 C 
Z = Standard normal value = 2.58 for 99 % confidence and 1.96 for 95 % confidence.

P = Percentage picking a choice normally 0.5,

154
C = Level of significance = 2.5 % = 0.025

Example
 2.58 2 * 0.5(1  0.5) 
SS =   = 1.6641/0.0025 = 666
 .05 2 

 
 666 
Hence the Required Sample size =   =  384.16  = 665
 666  1   1.000044 
1 
 15213745 

Table 1.1 describes the selection of samples based on population of the selected cities of Tamil
Nadu. There are 12 cities in the state, out of which 6 cities are randomly selected. The number of
samples to be collected from each city is decided based on the population of the city. In this
context, the total samples to be collected would be 665. The data related to the study from the
selected cities are collected arbitrarily by adopting random sampling method.

TABLE 1.1

Statement showing samples from the selected cities of Tamil Nadu

Area Population Sample

S. No Cities Sample
(Sq. Km) (as per Census 2011) percentage
1 Chennai 178.20 8696010 380 57.14
2 Coimbatore 7469.00 2151466 94 14.13
3 Madurai 3741.73 1462420 64 9.62
4 Tiruchirapalli 4407.00 1021717 45 6.76
5 Thiruppur 5186.34 962982 42 6.31
6 Salem 5205.00 919150 40 6.01
Total 15213745 665 100
Source: Secondary Data

155
From the above Table, it is understood that exactly 57.14% of the total samples is drawn
from Chennai whereas 14.13% of the samples is collected from Coimbatore. Besides,
9.62% of samples from Madurai, 6.76% from Tiruchirapalli and 6.31% from Tiruppur have
been collected. In addition to the above, 6.01% of the samples are drawn from Salem.

1.8.2 Pilot study and pre – testing

In order to study the preference of branded soft drinks among the consumers in the selected
cities of Tamil Nadu, data are collected by interview schedules. At the point of inception, a
pilot study is planned and pre tested with a well-defined questionnaire. One of the main
research instruments for collecting primary data is questionnaire. Questionnaire method
helps in fulfilling several purposes, like measurement, descriptions and drawing inferences.
The primary data is collected through the well framed questionnaire comprising optional
type and Likert‟s five point scales.

The main aim of the pilot study is to check the feasibility and reliability of the
questionnaire which is used as a main tool of analysis. A tentatively well framed
questionnaire is circulated among 50 respondents. The responses obtained are
systematically transformed into the data spread sheet with suitable numerical coding. The
Cronbache‟s Alpha method is applied on the primary responses and found that the
reliability value related to factors influencing the consumers to prefer the branded soft
drinks, consumers awareness level of branded soft drinks, effectiveness of soft drink
advertisements, satisfaction level of consumers at the time of and after consuming their
favourite branded soft drinks and awareness regarding the effect of soft drinks on
consumers health is observed as 0.67. This shows the reliability of the questionnaire
circulated among the respondents. It is concluded out of these results that the questionnaire
so framed is suitable in ascertaining the responses from the respondents.

1.8.3 Instruments for data collection

One of the main research instruments for collecting primary data is questionnaire.
Questionnaire method helps in fulfilling several purposes, like measurement, descriptions
and drawing inferences. The primary data is collected through the well framed
questionnaire comprising optional type and Likert‟s five point scales.
156
1.8.4 Sources of data

Two types of data have been used for the study viz., Primary data and Secondary data.
Primary data refers to those data which are collected first hand by the investigator. Such
data are original in character and are generated in a large numbers of surveys conducted,
mostly by government and also by some individuals, institutions and research bodies.
There are several methods of collecting primary data like survey method, observation
method to name a few. In this research, survey method is used to collect the primary data
through a well-designed questionnaire. In this method, the enumerator makes personal
contacts with the informants either directly or indirectly and collects the required data.
Various devices such as telephone, mailed questionnaire are used to collect information. As
the enumerator is personally involved in collecting data, the information is more reliable
and accurate. The data which are not originally collected but collected from either
published or unpublished sources are called secondary data. In this research secondary data
is also used.

1.8.5 Period of the study

The study is to be carried out by the researcher in a period of two years from April, 2015 to
March, 2017. The primary data related to the study has been collected from April, 2016 to
September, 2016.

1.9 TOOLS USED

The study results are analysed by using various statistical tools. The data collected from the
respondents are examined and presented in the form of tables. Bar charts are used at
various places as a statistical tool. The results are compared and analysed by using
descriptive analysis and inferential analysis.

1.9.1 Descriptive analysis

Descriptive analysis, also termed as percentage analysis, is used for each question
contained in the interview schedule mainly to ascertain the distribution of respondents
under each category. Diagrams and charts are mainly used for clear understanding of the
data collected in pictorial form. Pie-charts and bar charts are used for this purpose.

157
1.9.2 Non Parametric Friedman Test

The Friedman test is a nonparametric alternative to the repeated measures of analysis of

variance. It is the non-parametric equivalent of a one-sample repeated measures design
or a two-way analysis of variance with one observation per cell. Friedman tests the null
hypothesis that k related variables come from the same population. In order to ascertain
the factors that will influence the respondents Friedman test is used for analyzing to
“Frequency of purchasing the soft drinks, Satisfaction level of consumers with regard to
attributes of the branded soft drinks, level of satisfaction enjoyed “at the time of” and
“after” consuming favorite soft drinks, level of satisfaction with regard to size of
packaging the soft drinks”.

12
G=
nK ( K  1)
 R 2j  3n( K  1)

1.9.3 Garrett’s ranking technique

To find out the most significant media of advertisement mostly influences the respondent to
buy soft drinks; significant influence of Taste & Preference in preferring the branded soft
drinks the Garrett’s ranking technique is used. As per this method, respondents have been
asked to assign the rank for all factors and the outcomes of such ranking have been
converted into score value with the help of the following formula:

Percent position = 100 (Rij – 0.5) / Nj

Where Rij = Rank given for the ith variable by jth respondents

Nj = Number of variable ranked by jth respondents

With the help of Garrett’s Table, the percent position estimated is converted into scores.
Then for each factor, the scores of each individual are added and then total value of
scores and mean values of score is calculated. The factors having highest mean value is
considered to be the most important factor.

158
1.9.4 Chi-square analysis

The Chi-square analysis is used to test the significance of association between two
attributes. In other words, this technique is used to test the significance of the influence of
demographic characters over the flavour of soft drinks prefer to purchase, Average amount
of money to be spent monthly by the respondents for the soft drinks, Reason for purchasing
preferred branded soft drinks, attributes of products by which respondents are influenced
to purchase soft drinks, reasons for not buying the soft drinks, type of packaged soft drinks
the respondents wish to buy, awareness of offers and discounts of soft drinks, awareness of
adulterated soft drinks available in the Market. All the tests are carried out at 5 per cent
level of significance.
The chi-square statistic is

 
2 O  E 2
E
Here O: Observed frequency, E: Expected frequency

1.9.5 Average score analysis

Parametric test of two sample t-Test and One way analysis of variance for more than two
groups are applied to for judging the significance of the difference between means scores,
after testing the normality by Q-Q plot. The test for mean score analysis (ANOVA) test
procedure is used to compares mean scores of more than two groups. The procedure
assumes that the variances of the groups are equal and it was tested with Levene‟s test
statistics.
S12
F  2 ~ F( n1 1), ( n2 2 ) df
S2

After converting the qualitative information into a quantitative one using a five point scale,
the average scores are obtained on various issues to determine the factors influencing the of
consumers with regard to attributes of the branded soft drinks, level of satisfaction enjoyed
“at the time of” and “after” consuming favourite soft drinks, level of satisfaction with
regard to size of packaging of the soft drinks. Parametric test of two samples Z-Test and
One way analysis of variance for more than two groups are applied to for judging the

159
significance of the difference between means scores after testing the normality by Q-Q
plot.

1.9.6 Independent-Samples T Test

The Parametric test of two samples Z-Test procedure is used to compare mean scores of
two groups. The procedure assumes that the variances of the two groups are equal and it
was tested with Levene‟s test statistics.
__ __
| X 1 X 2 | (n1  1) s12  (n 2  1) s22
t ~ t n1  n2  2 df where S 
1 1 n1  n2  2
S 
n1 n2
The significant difference between the mean scores is tested with respect to the scores
regarding factors influencing the of consumers with regard to attributes of the branded soft
drinks, level of satisfaction enjoyed “at the time of” and “after” consuming favourite soft
drinks, level of satisfaction with regard to size of packaging the soft drinks,the Z test
procedure is used.

1.9.7 Multiple Regression analysis

Multiple regression analysis is used to find out the significant influence in Satisfaction
level of consumers with regard to attributes of the branded soft drinks Taste, Price,
Quality, Availability, Advertisement, Packaging, and Size.
The equation applied to find out the loyalty is as follows
Y = b0 + b1X1 + b2X2+ b3X3+ b4X4

Dependent variable Y = Satisfaction level of consumers

Independent variables are X1 = Taste
X2 = Price
X3 = Quality
X4 = Availability
X5 = Advertisement
X6 = Packaging
X7 = Size

160
1.9.8 Discriminant Function Analysis

Discriminant Analysis is a statistical tool with an objective to assess the adequacy of a

classification, given the group memberships; or to assign objects to one group among a
number of groups. For any kind of Discriminant Analysis, some group assignments should
be known beforehand. When Discriminant Analysis is used to separate two groups, it is
called Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) while when there are more than two groups
– the Canonical Varieties Analysis (CVA) method is used. Discriminant Analysis has
various benefits as a statistical tool and is quite similar to regression analysis. It can be
used to determine which predictor variables are related to the dependant variable and to
predict the value of the dependant variable given certain values of the predictor variables.
Discriminant Analysis is also widely used to create Perceptual Mapping by marketers and
has some benefits over other methods that use perceived distances; like the option of using
tests of significance to check for dissimilarities among products and that the distances
between two products would not be impacted by other products included in the study.

In order to find out how respondents preference towards PepsiCo Products differ from
preferences of the respondents Coca-Cola Products, multivariate discriminant analysis is
used. Do the attributes of the branded soft drinks, satisfaction with regard to size of
packaging the soft drinks differ among these two groups? In general, what are all the
variables which significantly discriminate the respondents of one group (PepsiCo
Products) from other group (Coca-Cola Products) is identified through the multivariate
discriminant analysis.

1.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In spite of various efforts being taken by the researcher for collecting data, the researcher
confronted some challenges while doing this study. At the outset, majority of the
respondents are not interested and negligent in filling the questionnaire. Some do not
give values to the questionnaire and some others do not return it totally. Besides this,
though orientations were given to the respondents, some people see the questionnaire
diplomatically. Furthermore, since respondents have been in a tight work, some were not

161
as such willing to fill the questionnaires. Finally, since the respondents were strewn in
different sites, some problems were faced in giving orientations, following up
respondents and collecting responses. Therefore, these conditions might affect the
quality of the thesis to a certain extent.

1.11 CHAPTERS SCHEME

On the basis of the objectives, the study is structured into five chapters including
introduction and conclusion.

Chapter I titled ‘Introduction’ is introductory in nature. It introduces the

conceptual aspects of consumer preference, Brand, Brand Image and Soft Drinks. It
also deals with importance of the study, statement of the problem, hypothesis,
objectives, methodology, limitations and chapter scheme.

Chapter II entitled „Review of Literature’ is devoted to present the review of

literatures related to Consumer Preferences towards branded soft drinks and other
products.

Chapter III entitled ‘Soft Drink Industry in India’ describes the growth and
development of soft drink industry in India, Profile of the selected companies, their
products and profile of the selected state.

Chapter IV entitled ‘Analysis and Interpretations’ looks at the analysis of data using
various tools based on the objectives of the study. In this context, the chapter is divided
into eight sections.

Chapter V entitled ‘Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion’ presents findings, of the

research, suggestions drawn on the basis of the results of the study and conclusion.

162