IMPACT OF IN-STORE CHARACTERISTICS ON

STORE LOYALTY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

RELIANCE TRENDS

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted To
MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY
IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRMENT FOR THE AWARD OF
THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted By
NANDHU PRASANNAN
190021085497

Under the guidance of

Asst.Prof. LESLIE VEENA JOY
Department of Management Studies

BISHOP SPEECHLY COLLEGE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES

PALLOM, KOTTAYAM

2019-2022

pg. 1
 CERTIFICATE
BISHOP SPEECHLY COLLEGE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
PALLOM, KOTTAYAM
(Affiliated To Mahatma Gandhi University)

Department of Management Studies

This is certify that report “IMPACT OF IN-STORE CHARACTERISTICS ON
STORE LOYALTY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RELIANCE TRENDS” is a
bonafide piece of work done by MR. NANDHU PRASANNAN (190021085497),
during the sixth semester of BBA(2019-2022 batch) in Bishop Speechly College for
Advanced Studies, Pallom under the guidance of Asst. Prof. LESLIE VEENA JOY,
Department of Management Studies and submitted to Mahatma Gandhi University,
Kottayam in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of Bachelor of
Business Administration.

Prof. ABRAHAM K GEORGE

Project Guide Head of the Department,
Dept. of Management Studies

Dr. ROY SAM DANIEL

Principal External Examiner

pg. 2
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “IMPACT OF IN STORE-

CHARACTERSTICS ON STORE LOYALTY WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO RELIANCE TRENDS” submitted in partial fulfilment
for the BACHELORS DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION from
Mahatma Gandhi University is a record of bonafide research work carried
out by me under the guidance and supervision of Mr. VEENA LESLIE
JOY, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, BISHOP
SPEECHLY COLLAGE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES, PALLOM

I also declare that the empirical findings in this report are based on the data
collected by me and no part of this report has been submitted fully or
partially for any other degree, diploma, title or recognition earlier.

PALLOM NANDHU PRASANNAN

31/12/2021

pg. 3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my profound and sincere gratitude to my

supervising teacher Mrs.: Leslie Veena Joy, Assistant Professor, Department
of Commerce, Bishop Speechly Collage for Advanced Studies, Pallom for
his valuable guidance and encouragement throughout on the period of this
study.

My sincere gratitude to Roy Sam Daniel, Principal, Bishop Speechly

Collage for Advanced Studies, Pallom for giving me an opportunity to take
up this study.

I express my sincere gratitude to other faculty members of the department of

commerce for their constant encouragement and valuable help in completing
this study within the stipulated time.

I also express my heartfelt gratitude to all my friends for their

encouragement and for helping me a lot for making this work a success. I
am greatly indebted to my parents for their moral support at all levels.

Above all I thank God almighty for the blessings showered on me for
completing this study successfully.

PALLOM NANDHU PRASANNAN

31/12/2021

pg. 4
 CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER TITLE
NO.

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

1 INTRODUCTION 1-4

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 5-9

RELIANCE INDUSTRY-
3 10-32
THEORETICAL ASPECTS

DATA ANALYSIS AND

4 33-47
INTERPRETATION
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS, AND
5 48-50
CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

pg. 5
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE
TITLE
NO. NO.
4.2.1 Analysis on the basis of gender 33
4.2.2 Analysis on the basis of residential location 34
4.2.3 Analysis on the basis of status of respondents 35
4.2.4 Analysis on the basis of income 36
4.2.5 Analysis on the basis of educational qualification 37
4.2.6 Analysis on the basis of the reason to visit reliance trends 38
4.2.7 Average level of appearance on the basis of age of respondents 39
Average level of appearance on the basis of gender of
4.2.8 39
respondents
Average level of appearance on the basis of residential location
4.2.9 40
of respondents
4.2.10 Average level of appearance on the basis of status of respondents 40
Average level of appearance on the basis of level of income of
4.2.11 41
respondents
4.2.12 Average level of convenience on the basis of age 41
4.2.13 Average level of convenience on the basis of gender 42
4.2.14 Average level of convenience on the basis of residential location 42
Average level of convenience on the basis of status of the
4.2.15 43
respondent
4.2.15.1 ANOVA analysis on the basis of status of respondent 43
4.2.16.1 ANOVA analysis on the basis of income of the respondent 44
Average level of social groups on the basis of status of
4.2.17 44
respondents
Average level of social groups on the basis of income of the
4.2.18 45
respondents
Average level of service quality on the basis on gender of the
4.2.19 45
respondents
4.2.20 Average level of service quality on the basis of income 46
Average level of store characteristics attracts customers to
4.2.21 46
reliance trends
4.2.22 Average level of facilities inside the store ranked 47

pg. 6
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE PAGE
TITLE
NO. NO.

4.2.1 Gender of respondent 33

4.2.2 Residential location of the respondent 34

4.2.3 Status of the respondent 35

4.2.4 Level of income of the respondent 36

4.2.5 Level of educational qualification 37

4.2.6 Reason to visit reliance trends 38

pg. 7
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

pg. 8
INTRODUCTION
Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or services to
customers, for the purpose of selling that product or services. Marketing can be looked at
as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, delivering and
communicating value to customers and managing the customer relationship in ways that
also benefit the organization. The degree to which a consumer consistently patronizes the
same store when shopping for a particular type of products. Store loyalty is when a
customer repeatedly makes purchases from the same store. Store loyalty may be induced by
various factors such as variety of goods in the store, ambience, salesperson response, good
loyalty programs, availability of discounts and many other factors. The store must offer a
positive ambience to the customers for them to enjoy their shopping. Proper Space, lighting,
placing of dummies, color of the walls, type of furniture, music, fragrance of the store all
help in increasing the sale of the products. Store characteristics comprise all the functional
attributes related to the physical characteristics of a store's merchandise (e.g., quality, variety,
price, and availability).

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Reliance Trends is a leading lifestyle retail chain with over 777 retail stores across India.
Reliance Trends offers stylish, high-quality products across Womenswear, Lingerie,
Menswear, Kids wear and fashion accessories through a diversified portfolio of own
brands, national and international brands. The purpose of this research paper is to
discover the relationships between in-store characteristics (Appearance & environment,
convenience, employees, service quality & social group) & store loyalty. A total of 60
respondents being investigated in this research.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Analyzing the impact of in-store characteristics on store loyalty is a complex task. The
fundamental objective is to maximize sales by improving store loyalty. Many factors affect
the store loyalty of a customer like appearance & environment, convenience, employees,
service quality & social group and many more. Creating superior store loyalty seems to be
one of the central objectives in today’s retailing environments. The in-store environment
creates the overall customer and store loyalty. All these are closely related to the store
loyalty and have significant impact on the in-store characteristics of a retail firm.

1
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The main significance of the study is to identify the impact of in-store characteristics on
store loyalty. Then to find out the satisfactory level of customers. Companies are sending
lot of amounts for attracting the customers towards there shop. Various in store
characteristics are playing a very crucial role in influencing the customer towards there
shop. The study will help to find out the major reasons for choosing cloths. This will help
the stores to append money for necessary components.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The research will throw light on the current strengths and weaknesses and help them to
take necessary actions. It helps the researcher to find out the different in-store
characteristics that affects the store loyalty. The study will help the company to develop
new techniques that improves the store loyalty. All the customers of reliance trends are
come under the study. The in-store characteristics of the reliance trends are analyzed and
evaluated and evaluated in the study. Convenient sampling method is used for the study,
so I have selected the persons who are going to reliance trends.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
➢ To analyze the impact of in-store characteristics on customers store loyalty.
➢ To identify the in-store characteristics that attract customers to the reliance trends
➢ To understand the attitude of the customers towards the various in store-
characteristics on store loyalty
➢ To understand the relationship between in-store characteristics on store loyalty.

HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED
1. H0: There is no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to
the level of income
2. H0: There is no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to
the current status of respondents.

2
METHODOLOGY
Source of data
Data constitutes the foundation of research. Both primary and secondary data is used for
the study.

Primary data
The primary data was collected with 60 samples with the help of self- prepared
questionnaire and observations collected from Reliance Trends. Among 60 respondents
one can be identified as invalid.

Questionnaires: The Questionnaire is based on the product knowledge that are provided
from the Reliance Trends and customers. The data collected for research study is
concerning with appearance and environment, convenience, employees, service quality
and social group in store environment and other relevant information’s that serves from
large diverse group of peoples on behave of their buying behavior.

Secondary data
The secondary data was collected from company websites, organizational manuals,
previous reports, journals and other online and offline sources.

Sampling Plan
The information is collected from the customers in Reliance Trends, which reveals the
characteristics of the population. Convenient sampling method was used to select the
sample for the study. The sampling area was Kottayam district. The sampling size of this
study is fixed as 60.

PERIOD OF THE STUDY

The study was carried out from 1ST DECEMDER to 31ST DECEMBER 2021

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Some of the respondents were reluctant to respond because of fear and lack of
interest.
 Since the study is based on sampling. The limitations of sampling also affect
the study.
 As the sample size is only 60, sampling inadequacy may arise.

3
CHAPTERISATION
 Chapter I - Introduction
 Chapter II - Review of Literature
 Chapter III - Theoretical Framework
 Chapter IV - Data analysis and Interpretation
o Detailed study of data
o Testing of hypotheses
 Chapter V - Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion

4
 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Literature review on effect of in-store characteristics on store loyalty of
the customer

Store loyalty
The area of store loyalty embraces great importance for the market researchers and
marketing academics for many years (Kunkel and Berry, 1968; Lessing, 1973; Zimmer
and Golden, 1988; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Yoo and Chang, 2005; Orth et al. 2009;
Mohammadi, 2012). Retail marketing managers are also interested in exploring this area
in order to be remain competitive in the market and to win the market share by creating
loyalty towards the store (Shamsher and Hossain, 2011; Imran et al. 2013). To a great
extent, the success of every retailer depends on its ability to build and maintain store
loyalty. It has become a central theme of marketing theory and practice in establishing
sustainable competitive advantage. Loyal customers are willing to pay more for their
preferred stores and only repurchase from the same store despite of having other store
options available (Kotler, 2010).

The concept of store loyalty is derived originally from the brand loyalty concept which
refers to the tendency to repeat purchase the same brand. Osman in his review paper,
concludes that at the store level, it refers to the tendency to repeat purchase at the same
store [for similar or other products].1 Though much work has been done there is still no
clear conceptualization of what store loyalty means. It has been construed both as related
to store patronage dimensions (repeat purchase over time indicates loyalty Reynolds,
Darden, Martin p 76), as related to attitudes (brand loyalty is an attitude which may
result in a purchase behavior” (Tidwell and Horgan, 1992). Most often it has been taken
to imply a mix of both behavior and attitude. In their book, Ajzen and Fishbein 2,
provide a model of attitude comprising three elements: affect, cognitive and behavioral.
According to Prion quoting from the work by Lewison, all these three components of
attitude contribute to Loyalty3.Piron also refers to the model by Dick and Bask, who
have conceptualized loyalty as the relationship between relative attitude and patronage
behavior. Earlier studies by Cunningham4, Enis and Gordon5, Reynolds et al.6, found
that it is beneficial for a store to identify and retain its loyal customers. Eni’s and Gordon
found that store loyal consumers spent a larger portion of their total expenditure at the
store. Tate, as stated in the paper by Reynolds, Darden and Martin, 1974, found that

5
loyalty implies an increased number of shopping trips as compared to other stores.

Loyalty (henceforth used to mean intended loyalty) is the prime attitudinal objective that
every marketer/retailer aims for with his marketing/retail mix elements. Loyalty assures a
retailer of patronage, of not just constancy and longevity of his business but creates an
effective competitive advantage and an entry barrier which is difficult to erode.

In-store characteristics
Numerous academic and experimental evidences have identified the importance of
different store characteristics that influence consumer store choice and repeat purchase
behavior. Store Characteristics can be defined as the collection of physical attributes that
are apparently accessible in the store that a consumer will used to reference and evaluate
for making the store choice decision (Helgeson and Nesset, 2010). Over five and half
decade ago Martineau (1958) described store characteristics as the combination of both
functional attributes and psychological attributes of the store. Location, assortment of
products, store convenience, store layout combined the former category and
psychological attributes represented the shoppers’ feelings stimulated by the functional
attributes of the store. The six important store characteristics as identified by Fisk, (1961)
were location accessibility, merchandise suitability, value for price, sales efforts and
store service. Kunkel and Berry, (1968) proposed twelve store features which included
price of merchandise, quality, assortment, fashion of merchandises, sales personnel, sales
promotion, advertising, store atmosphere, locational accessibility, service, reputation on
adjustments and other accessibility factors. After that a succeeding study conducted by
Berry, (1969) acknowledging three primary broad factors for influencing consumer’s
store choice behavior namely, quality and variety of merchandise, sales staff, and store.

Lindquist, (1974) conducted study by reviewing 19 research articles and combined into a
set of nine groups: merchandise, service, clientele, physical facilities, promotion, and
accessibility, and store atmosphere, institutional and post-transaction satisfaction. In the
corresponding year Doyle and Fenwick, (1974) proposed five stores ‘attributes including
product, price, assortment, styling and location. Subsequently, another study conducted
by James et al. (1976) resulting six dimensions from their study, namely assortment,
personnel, atmosphere, service, quality and price. On the other hand, Bearden (1977)
suggested seven dimensions of store image as important for store patronage behavior

6
including price, quality of merchandise, assortment, atmosphere, location, parking

facilities, and friendly personnel. Greenberger al. (1983) research outcome on US fashion
market revealed that product choice, promotion and the store atmosphere found to be the
most important factors influencing consumer decision making. However, Ghosh (1990)
introduced nine store image elements such as location, merchandise, store atmosphere,
customer service, price, advertising, personal selling, and sales incentive programs. Some
recent studies have focused on the importance of store attributes on the highly
competitive and dynamic retail market (Visser et al. 2006; Vyver, 2008; Verma and
Madan, 2011). Visser and Noordwyk, (2006) conducted a study to identify the apparel
store image attributes for the selected group of female consumers. Among the nine store
characteristics the research outcome revealed that merchandise and clientele were
deemed to be the most important, followed by service. Seemingly, Verma and Madan
(2011) discovered the importance of apparel store image attributes from Indian female
customers’ perceptions. The five identified factors through Factor analysis were Store's
Product and Operational Quality, Store's Overall Visual Appeal, Customer Convenience,
Perceived Price and Past Satisfaction and Store's Promotional Effectiveness were Store’s
Product and Operational. Quality found as the most important factor for determining
overall image of the store.

Store Appearance
Store appearance referred as the physical appearance and facilities of the store (Sirohi et
al. 1998). Store appearance mentioned in literature by different authors as effects of
layout accessibility, facility aesthetics, electronic equipment, seating comfort, and
cleanliness (Wakefield and Blodgett 1996) clean and pleasant shopping environment,
spacious and open aisle (Sirohi et al. 1998), store atmospherics such as color, lighting,
odor, music,

and the like (Arnoldet al. 1983; Fotheringham, 1988; Freymann, 2002), store ambience
(Baker et al. 1992). Literature evident that advertising, graphic and interior design, clean
environment, properly displayed merchandize (Štursa, 2009) showed as components of
store appearance that essentially impact on store choice decision. Therefore, to validate
the influence of store appearance on store loyalty the following null hypothesis is
developed.

7
Store Convenience
In general consumers have a common tendency to shop from convenient location. In a
study by Ahmad, (2012) found that store convenience and accessibility influenced the
Saudi shopper small shopping behavior. As far store loyalty is concerned, Rajaguruand
Matanda (2006) investigated that store convenience significantly influenced customer
loyalty of Indian shoppers. Similarly, Fatima and Rasheed (2012) showed store
convenience as the strongest relationship with loyalty of the Pakistani consumers.
However, to know the influence of store convenience on store loyalty the following null
hypothesis is developed.

Quality of Service
Traditionally, service quality has been conceptualized as the difference between
customer expectations regarding a service to be received and perceptions of the service
being received (Grönroos, 2001; Parasuraman et al. 1988). In some earlier studies,
service quality has been referred as the extent to which a service meets customers’ needs
or expectations (Dot chin and Oakland, 1994). In a study by Clottey et al. (2008) service
quality was found to influence

customer loyalty among the U.S. women’s apparel retail market. Wangara, (2013)
established direct and significant relationship between service quality and customer
loyalty in Indonesian department store. Therefore, to verify the influence of service
quality on store loyalty the following null hypothesis is developed.

Employees
Employee relation 1s a kind of interpersonal relationship concept which is drawn by
western scholars in the 20 centuries to replace the industrial relation It focuses on the
sight and responsibility management and obeying caused by the interest between the
organization and the employees as a total of cooperating conflict. strengthen and power
relations and is influenced by economic technology legal system and socio-cultural
background in a certain community Yongia 2010). Employee relation 1s defined as the
relationship between employees and managers to enhance moral, commitment and trust
of employees and to create Suitable working environment which enables them to exert
they’re at most effort for the achievement of organizational goals Bajaj et al, 2013). An
effective employee relation involves creating and cultivating a motivated and productive
workforce

8
Relationship between store characteristics and store loyalty
In a more recent study Jhamb and Kiran, (2012) found that product attributes like
improved quality, variety of brands and assortment of merchandise and store attributes
like parking facility, trained sales personnel and complete security deemed to be
important among the Indian younger consumers’ preference towards modern stores. In
the parallel time, Virvilaite and Daily diene (2012) showed the influence of store
characteristics on private brand image where convenience and store atmosphere were
found to have the largest positive influence on the private brand image. After reviewing
the literature this study considered store characteristics as product assortment, quality of
service, store conveniences, quality of product, price of product, and store appearance for
influencing store loyalty.

9
 CHAPTER III
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
RETAIL INDUSTRY

Introduction
In general, retailing is perceived as a rather traditional business sector. Many
practitioners and exports believe that this industry is mostly concerned with making good
deals, putting high pressure on suppliers, and selling at competitive prices. However,
over the last few years, the world of retailing has changed dramatically. Retail operations
of companies like Carrefour, Tesco, Wal-Mart, METRO Group and many more, have
greatly increased in complexity and sophistication. Similar developments in retail
industry in India are inevitable with rising of major retail houses like Future Group,
Reliance Retail, Shoppers’ Stop, and Max Retail etc. Today, the retailing sector is one of
the leading industries in applications of innovations such as Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) and self-service technologies and other state-of-the-art
technologies such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (Garg, 2010). Retailing leads
other sectors in customer data capture, data warehousing and analyses. Retailing
provides the setting for research development and applications of advanced analytical,
econometrics and optimization methods in domains like pricing and integrated marketing
communications management. Retailing, specifically online retailing, is still the main
commercial application area of the Internet and is at the front line of the globalization of
business.

In additions, many of these advances in modern retailing remain largely unknown to the
outside world where the old image of retailing as a slow-moving business with few
management challenges and unexciting career prospects remains prevalent. Even within
the retailing profession, many practitioners remain unfamiliar with all the current trends
and advances in retailing management methods, technologies and applications. However,
decades back, these trend and practices were unknown to the industry. Indian retail
industry has seen many up and downs in recent futures. To estimate the future prospects,
practitioners and researchers should have a sound knowledge of the past trends and
evolutions of the industry. Thus, to improve contemporary retailing’s public image,
enhance the knowledge of its practitioners, and stimulate further retailing research, there
is a great need for a source that documents and provides objective information on the
current trends and advances in retailing. We believe that the current study effectively
meets these broad objectives by carefully analyzing the evolution.

10
HISTORY
The origin of retailing in India can be traced back to the emergence of Kirana stores and
mom-and-pop stores. These stores used to cater to the local people. Eventually the
government supported the rural retail and many indigenous franchise stores came up with
the help of Khadi & Village Industries Commission. The economy began to open up in
the 1980s resulting in the change of retailing. The first few companies to come up with
retail chains were in textile sector, for example, Bombay Dyeing, S Kumar's,
Raymond’s, etc. Later Titan launched retail showrooms in the organized retail sector.
With the passage of time new entrants moved on from manufacturing to pure retailing.
The evolution of retailing in India can be better understood as:

Early Eighties

● 'Retailing' in India was synonymous with peddlers, vegetable vendors,

neighborhood kirana stores (small grocery stores) or sole clothing and consumer
durable stores in a nearby town.
● These retailers operated in a highly unstructured and fragmented market. Very
few retailers operated in more than one city.

Before 1990

● Organized retailing in India was led by few manufacturers owned retail outlets,
mainly from the textile industry, Ex: Bombay Dyeing, Raymond’s, S Kumar's,
and Grasim.
● Later, Titan successfully created an organized retailing concept and established a
series of showrooms for its premium watches
● Nineties:
● Liberalization of the Indian economy led to the dilution of stringent restrictions.
● Entry of few multi-national players like Nanz into the Indian market.
● Changing profile of the Indian consumers,
● Increasing wages of the employees working in Greenfield sectors with higher
purchasing power.
● Setting up of retail chains by domestic retailers like Cotton World (Mumbai),
Narula’s (Delhi) and the Vivek’s and Nilgiris in the South.
● The latter half of the 1990s saw a fresh wave of entrants with a shift from
Manufactures to Pure Retailers. For e.g., Food World, Subhiksha and Nilgiris in

11
 food and FMCG; Planet M and Music World in music; Crossword and
Fountainhead in books.
● 1995 onwards saw an emergence of shopping centers, mainly in urban areas, with
facilities like car parking targeted to provide a complete destination experience
for all segments of society.
● Emergence of hyper and super markets trying to provide customer with 3 V’s -
Value, Variety and Volume.

The concept of retail as entertainment came to India with the advent of shopping malls.
Shopping malls emerged in the urban areas giving a world-class experience to the
customers. Eventually hypermarkets and supermarkets emerged. The evolution of the
sector includes the continuous improvement in the supply chain management,
distribution channels, technology, back-end operations, etc. this would finally lead to
more of consolidation, mergers and acquisitions and huge investments.

GLOBAL SCENARIO
UNORGANIZED RETAILING/TRADITIONAL RETAILING

According to the National Accounts statistics of India ‘the unorganized sector includes
units whose activity is not regulated by any statue or legal provision, and/or those, which
do not maintain regular accounts. In the context of retail sector, it could therefore be said
to cover those forms of trade which sell an assortment of products and services ranging
from fruits and vegetables to shoe repair. These products or services may be sold or
offered out of a fixed or mobile location and the number of people employed could range
between 10- 20 people. Thus, the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example,
the neighborhood baniya, the local kirana shop, owner manned general stores, provision
stores, flea (Thadi) markets, hand cart and pavement vendors, the vegetable, fruit vendor,
Mom and Pop Stores, local sabji mandi, weekly hats, general readymade garment shop or
a footwear shop, general electronic shop etc. the, the paanwala, the cobbler, etc. would
be termed as the unorganized sector.

ORGANIZED OR MODERN RETAILING

Organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is,
those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-
backed Hypermarkets and retail chains, departmental store, discount stores, drug stores,

12
factory outlets, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. The organized retail
stores are characterized by professionally managed stores or large chain of stores,
providing goods and services that appeal to customers, in an ambience that is
encouraging for shopping and agreeable to customers. For example: Vishal Mega Mart,
Big Bazaar, Wills Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Trends, Spencer’s, Reebok, Nike,
Atmos, Lilliput, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Barista, Cafe Coffee Day, Kou tons, Cotton
County, Peter England, Titan, Raymond’s, Sony, Samsung, Next, LG, Apollo Pharmacy,
etc.

INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY

The Indian retail industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting for over 10
percent of the country’s GDP and around 8 percent of the employment. The retail
industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries
with several players entering the market. But all of them have not yet tasted success
because of the heavy initial investments that are required to break even with other
companies and compete with them. The Indian retail industry is gradually inching its
way towards becoming the next boom industry. The total concept and idea of shopping
has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying
behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retailing has entered into
the retail market in India as is observed in the form of bustling shopping centers, multi-
stored malls and the huge complexes that offers shopping, entertainment and food all
under one roof.

A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in
urban areas, along with increasing workingwomen population and emerging
opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key factors in the growth of the
organized retail sector in India. The growth pattern in organized retailing and in the
consumption made by the Indian population will follow a rising graph helping the newer
businesses to enter the India retail industry.

In India the vast middle class and its almost untapped retail industry are the key
attractive forces for global retail giants wanting to enter into new market, which in turn
will help the Indian retail industry to grow faster, Indian retail is expected to grow 25
percent annually. Retail market in India is projected to grow from an estimated US$ 672
billion in 2017 to US$ 1,200 billion in 2021F. India's modern retail to double in size over

13
the next three years. The modern retail market in India is expected to grow from US$
13.51 billion in 2016 to US$ 26.67 billion in 2019. The food retail industry in India
dominates the shopping basket. The mobile phone retail industry in India is already a
US$ 16.7 billion business, growing at over 14 percent per year.

The future of the Indian retail industry looks promising with the growing of the market,
with the government policies becoming more favorable and the emerging technologies
facilitating operations. Retail industry reached to US$ 950 billion in 2018 at CAGR of 13
per cent and expected to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by 2020. Online retail sales are forecasted
to grow at the rate of 31 per cent year-on-year to reach US$ 32.70 billion in 2018.
Revenue generated from online retail is projected to grow to US$ 60 billion by 2020.

Revenue of India’s offline retailers, also known as brick and mortar (B&M) retailers, is
expected to increase by Rs.10, 000-12,000 crore (US$ 1.39-2.77 billion) in FY20.

India is expected to become the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market, driven by
robust investment in the sector and rapid increase in the number of internet users.
Various agencies have high expectations about growth of Indian e-commerce markets.

Luxury market of India is expected to grow to US$ 30 billion by the end of 2018 from
US$ 23.8 billion 2017 supported by growing exposure of international brands amongst
Indian youth and higher purchasing power of the upper class in tier 2 and 3 cities. (IBEF,
2019)

MAJOR PLAYERS IN RETAIL INDUSTRY

RELIANCE RETAIL LIMITED
Reliance retail limited is a subsidiary company of reliance industries. Founded in 2006
and based in Mumbai, it is the largest retailer in India in terms of revenue. Its retail
outlets offer foods, groceries, apparel and footwear, lifestyle and home improvement
products, electronic goods, and farm implement and inputs. The company’s outlets also
provide vegetables, fruits, and flowers. It focuses on consumer goods, consumer
durables, travel service, energy, entertainment and leisure, and health and well-being
products, as well as on educational products and services. It has a total of 3383 store as
of June 2016 in India with an area of over 13 million square feet across 210 cities.

14
PROVOGUE INDIA LIMITED
Prorogue is an Indian clothing and accessories retail based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It
was launched in 1997 as a menswear fashion brand for contemporary clothing. Over the
years the brand has expanded its collection of men’s and women’s fashion apparel and
accessories.

SHOPPERS STOP
Shoppers’s stop is an Indian department store chain, owned by the K. Raheja crop group.
There are 83 stores across 38 cities in India, with clothing, accessories, handbags, shoes,
jeweler, fragrances, cosmetics, health and beauty products, home furnishing etc.

The first store was opened in Andheri, Mumbai in 1991. An e-store with delivery across
major cities in India was launched in 2008, with a smart phone app for smart phones in
2016.

V2 RETAIL LTD

V2 Retail Ltd is one of fastest growing retail groups in India. The company offers a
portfolio of products, including apparel and non-apparel. The company sells readymade,
apparels, household merchandise and other consumer goods like footwear, toys, games,
handbags, fragrance, cosmetics,

TREND LIMITED
Trend is a retail hand of the Tata group. Started in 1998, Trend operates west side, one of
the many growing retail chains in India based in Mumbai, Maharashtra and landmark, a
book store chain with brick-and-mortar stores in various location of India.

In 1998 Tata sold off their 50% stake in the cosmetic products company Lakme to HLL
for Rs 200 crores (approx. 45 million US$), and created trend from the money it made
through the sale. All shareholders of Lakme were given different shares in Trend the
chairperson of Lakme went on to head Trend. The reason behind the sale was that Tata
saw a greater growth potential in retail and believed that it would be much more difficult
for an Indian company to realize new cosmetic products in a market that had opened up
to global companies.

15
ADITYA BIRLA RETAIL

Aditya Birla Retail ltd (ABRL) is the retail arm of Aditya Birla group company. ABRL
is the fourth largest super market chain in the country after future group, reliance retail,
D-mart. It operates two different store format-supermarket and hypermarket under the
brand (more). It has about 494 supermarkets and 19 hypermarkets around the country.
ABRL plans to open 100 supermarkets and 6-8 hypermarkets. To fund this expansion,
ABRL has borrowed Rs.500 crores from Yes bank. Besides this, it has decided to
increase its borrowing limit to Rs.7500 crores from Rs.5000 crore.

ABRL provides customers products under its own labels. Private label food brands
include Feasters, Kitchens Promise, and Best of India. Home and Personal care brands
include Enriched, 110%, Pester, Paradise and Germen. As per a report in Economic
Times, ABRL with its 500+ ‘More’ branded super markets and 14 hypermarkets reported
sales of Rs 1966 crore and a net loss of Rs.650 crore in the year ended March 2012. The
company has accumulated losses of Rs.2984 crore since it entered the segment over 6
years ago.

FABINDIA
Cabinda is India's largest private platform for products that are made from traditional
techniques, skills and hand-based processes. It started as a wholesale export company
and has since successfully established itself as a major retail player in the Indian market.

BUSINESS MODELS IN INDUSTRY

STORE BASED RETAILERS

These operate at fixed point of sale locations. Their stores are located and designed to
attract a high volume of walk-in customers. In general, store-based retailers offer a wide
variety of merchandise and use mass media advertising to attract customers. These can
be further classified on the basis of various parameters like:

I. Ownership

II. Strategy-mix

III. Service vs. Goods retail mix.

16
I. OWNERSHIP BASED RETAILERS

Depending on the ownership pattern, stores can be divided into six categories as:

1. Independent Stores
a. Owned by a single retailer
b. Low entry barriers
c. Low initial investments
d. Simple licensing procedures
e. Owner holds the right to decisions
f. Can act as specialized stores
2. Chain stores
a. Have two or more retail outlets
b. Common ownership & control
c. Centralized purchase & merchandising.
d. Sell similar lines of merchandise
e. Bulk purchaser, high bargaining power
f. E.g.: Bata, Liberty, Kodak, Archies, Titan, Raymond’s, LG, McDonald’s, Barista etc.
3. Franchise stores
a. Store based on contractual agreement between a Franchiser (manufacturer) & a
Franchisee, which allows the franchisee to conduct a given form of business under
an established name & according to a given pattern of business.
b. Franchisee gets well-known brands.
c. Exclusive rights to sell.
d. Benefit of the nationwide promotional activities.
e. Exposure to standard operating procedures.
f. E.g. - Aptech, McDonald’s, Monte Carlo, Kou tons, Pizza-Hutments.
4. Leased Departmental store
a. A department in a retail store that is rented to an outside party.
b. The lessee is accountable for all activities of the leased department.
c. Adds variety to the merchandise offered by the store.
d. No cannibalizing of sales of existing product lines of the stores.
e. Reduced cost of establishment.
f. Increased customer traffic.

17
5. Vertical Marketing system
a. A distribution system in which the producers, wholesalers, & retailers act in a
unified manner to facilitate the smooth flow of goods & services to the end-user.
b. One channel member owns the other or has contracts with them.
6. Consumer Cooperatives
a. Retail operations owned & managed by its customer members.
b. A group of customers invest in the retail operations in return of stock certificates,
which entitle them to a share in the profits of the retail store.

II. STRATEGY-MIX BASED RETAILERS

Depending on the strategic mix retailers adopt, they can be classified into two groups:

A. Food oriented Retailer

1. Convenience stores
a. small stores located near residential areas.
b. Open long hours, seven days a week, & carry a variety of products with limited
c. Assortment of merchandise.
d. Operate in 3000-8000 sq.ft. area.
2. Conventional supermarkets
a. Similar to departmental stores.
b. Focus on food & household maintenance products.
c. Self-service operations
d. Variety of merchandise with deep assortments.
3. Food-based supermarket
a. Larger & more diversified than a conventional supermarket.
b. Operates in 25,000-50,000 sq.ft. area.
c. Range includes- grocery items, garden supplies, flowers, & small household
appliances.
4. Combination Stores
a. A Blend of a supermarket & general merchandise (>40%) store.
b. Maintains identity of both food store & drug store
c. One stop shopping experience.
d. Operate in 30,000-100,000 sq.ft. area.

18
5. Box (Limited-line) store.
a. Food based discount store that concentrates on a small selection of goods.
b. Limited- shopping hours, service & stocks.
c. Refrigerated perishable goods are not available.
d. Prices are displayed on the shelf/overhead signs. Priced 20-30% below market
price.
e. Self-service.
6. Warehouse stores
a. Discount food retailers, offer low price deals.
b. Average size of 100,000 sq. ft.
c. Merchandise is displayed in cut boxes or shipping pallets & services are limited.
d. Lack consistency of products available as they warehouse retailers buy goods only
when a manufacturer or a wholesaler offers deep price or quantity discount.
B. General Merchandise retailers
1. Variety store
a. Offer deep assortment of inexpensive & popular goods like stationary.
b. Gift items, woman's accessories, house wares etc.
c. Also called as 5 and 10-cent stores.
2. Department store.
a. large retail units offering wide variety and a deep assortment of goods & services.
b. Separate depts. for separate types of merchandise
c. One-stop shopping experience.
d. Offer’s clothing, shoes, cosmetics, gifts, luggage, jewelry other household items.
e.g.- Shopper’s stop, Westside, Lifestyle & Pantaloons etc.
According to U.S. Bureau of Census, a store should specify the following four
criteria to be considered as department store:
i. A department store should employ a minimum of fifty people.
ii. The store should generate at least 20 percent of its total revenue from the sale of
apparel and soft goods.
iii. The store should have the following product lines: furniture and home
furnishings; appliances, radio and T.V. sets; a general line of apparel for the
family’ household products and dry goods.
iv. The annual sales of the department store should be under $10 million, where no
single product line should contribute more than 80 percent of the total sales.

19
3. Off-price Retailer
a. Offer an inconsistent assortment of branded fashion-oriented soft goods at low
prices.
b. Purchase goods from manufacturers who have excess inventory.
c. Purchase in bulk & sell at off-prices.
4. Membership club
a. Customer has to pay annual fee to become the members of the club.
b. Membership allows them to purchase goods at low price.
c. Purchases directly from manufacturers.
5. Flea Market (Outdoor Bazaar)
a. An outdoor or indoor facility that rent out space to vendors who offer merchandise,
services & other goods.
b. Many retail vendors offering a variety of products at discount prices at places
where there is high concentration of people.
III. SERVICES Vs GOODS RETAIL MIX BASED
SERVICE RETAILING
The retail entities primarily selling services rather than products are in retailing of
services. Services also play a significance role in the retail merchandise mix of the retail
organization selling merchandise as a core product. The main differences between
retailing of products and retailing of services are on account of the intangibility,
simultaneous production and consumption, perishability and inconsistency.

i. Sale or rental of an intangible activity, which usually cannot be stored or

transported, but satisfies the needs of the user.
ii. Service can be along with goods or pure service.
iii. E.g. - Hospitals, banks, beauty salons, entertainment firms etc.

NON-STORE RETAILERS
A. Traditional
1. Direct Marketing
i. Customer is informed about the product through personal media.
ii. The customer places an order through mail or phone.
iii. Less investment as compared to store-based retailing.
iv. Wide geographic area is covered.

20
2. Direct selling
i. Door-to-door selling
ii. Person-to-person selling (Eureka Forbes)
iii. Multilevel (network) marketing (Amway, Japan Life)
3. Vending machines
i. Involves coin or card operated dispensing of goods & services.
ii. Round the clock sales
iii. Machines are placed at the most convenient places for the customers
iv. Soft drinks vending machines, ATMs, coffee vending machines etc.
4. Catalog marketing
i. Sales made through catalogs mailed to a select list of customers or made available
in a store.
ii. Delivery or order can be through mail, express service, and parcel post.
5. Tele-Marketing
I. Telephone as a media for sales.
ii. Informing customers about new merchandise & upcoming sales events.
6. TV home shopping
I. Shop – by- TV, demonstration of the product, its features, benefits etc. (Asian sky
shop, tele-shopping etc.)
B. Non-traditional
1. e-tailing or World Wide Web
i. Internet as a medium for promoting their products.
ii. People access information about products using the web address of the retailer’s
homepage.
iii. Retailers’ website allows customers to order with a click of mouse.
2. Video kiosk Freestanding
Interactive computer terminal that displays product & related information on a video
screen, are often touch screen.

3. Video catalog
A retail catalog on a CD-ROM disk, to be viewed on a computer monitor (ARORA,
INTRODUCTION TO RETAIL INDUSTRY, 2012).

21
Types of Retail business models

● Mom-and-pop stores: These are generally family-owned businesses catering to

small sections of society. They are small, individually run and handled retail
outlets.
● Category Specialists / killers: These are big box discount stores that offer a
narrow but deep assortment of merchandise. These retailers are basically discount
specialty stores. By offering a complete assortment at low prices, category
specialists can “kill” a category of merchandise for other retailers and thus are
frequently called category killers. For example, Office Depot, electronics (Best
Buy) and sporting goods (Sport Authority), The Home Store, Landmark, Music
World etc. are some of the category specialists.

Malls: These are the largest form of retail formats. They provide an ideal shopping
experience by providing a mix of all kinds of products and services, food and
entertainment under one roof. Examples are Sahara Mall, TDI Mall, MGF Metropolitan,
Great India Place, Pacific Mall, Galaxy Mall, Shipra Mall etc. in Delhi and NCR regions.

Specialty Stores: The retail chains, which deal in specific categories and provide deep
assortment in them are specialty stores. Examples are RPG's Music World, Mumbai's
bookstore Crossword, etc.

Discount stores: These are the stores or factory outlets that provide discount on the
MRP items. They focus on mass selling and reaching economies of scale or selling the
stock left after the season is over.

Supermarkets: A predominantly self-service format offering a full line of groceries,

meat, and produce with limited sales of non-food items, such as health and beauty aids
and general merchandise. Perishables like meat and produce account for 44 percent of
supermarket sales and typically have higher margins that packaged goods. It operates
between 5,000 to 30,000 square feet of total selling area. These stores typically carry
approximately 30,000 SKUs. The largest supermarket chains of US are Kroger,
Albertson’s, Safeway, Ahold USA, and Publix. Although, there is no standardization on
the parameters of what makes a supermarket in India, it is one of the fastest growing
business formats in the country. Nilgiris’s, Food world, Subhash, Food Bazaar and Vital
are some of the Supermarkets in India.

22
Supercenters: The fastest growing retail category, are large stores (150,000-220,000 Sq.
ft.) that combine a supermarket with a full-line discount store. By offering broad
assortments of grocery and general merchandise products under one roof, supercenters
provide a one-stop shopping experience. Supercenters offer larger percentage of non-
food items and focus more on dry groceries such as breakfast cereal and canned goods,
instead of fresh items. Wal-Mart, Meijer, Kmart, Fred Meyer (a division of Kroger) etc.
are some of the major supercenters of the world.

Hypermarkets: A very large retail unit that offers products at a low price. It is a
combination of a general merchandise store and the supermarket. These are characterized
by large store size, low operating costs and margins, low prices and comprehensive range
of merchandise. Hypermarket operates in over 50,000 sq. ft. area and offers over 50,000
different items for sale. Hypermarkets carry a larger proportion of food items than
supercenters with a greater emphasis on perishables-produce, meat, fish and bakery.
They offer an expanded selection of non-food items, including health and beauty
products and general merchandise at low prices. Typically, between a third to two-thirds
of the mix in a hypermarket is from “food”. These are generally large self-service outlets,
offering a variety of categories with deep assortments. Hypermarkets generally, own
spacious parking facility exclusively for their customers and employees. Some popular
hypermarkets in Indian market include Pantaloon’s Big Bazaar, Spencer’s, Food World,
Vishal Mega Mart etc.

Full-Line Discount Stores: These are retailers that offer a broad variety of merchandise,
limited service and low prices. Discount stores offer both private labels and national
brands, but these brands are typically less fashion oriented than the brands in the
department stores. The big three full-line discount store chains are Wal-Mart, Kmart, and
Target, which account for 84 percent of the sales in this retail format.

Extreme Value Retailers: These are small; full-line discount stores that offer a limited
merchandise assortment at very low prices. The largest extreme value retailers are Dollar
General and Family Dollar Stores.

Franchising: It is a contractual agreement between a franchisor and a franchisee that

allows the franchisee to operate a retail outlet using a name and format developed and
supported by the franchisor. In a franchise contract, the franchisee pays a lump sum plus
a royalty on all sales for the right to operate a store in a specific location. The franchisee

23
also agrees to operate the outlet in accordance with procedures prescribed by the
franchisor. The franchisor provides assistance in locating and building the store,
developing the products or services sold, training managers, and advertising. To maintain
each franchisee’s reputation, the franchisor also makes sure that all outlets provide the
same quality of products and services. Some of the retail stores using franchise model are
Haldiram, Baskin Robins, Domino’s Pizza, Lilliput, Ebony, Air Hostess Academy,
VLCC etc.

Cash and Carry: The term cash and Carry means that customers do their own order
picking, pay in cash and carry the merchandise away. The cash and carry are a wholesale
format that aids small retailers and businessmen. Metro AG, Germany and Shoprite of
South Africa, Bharti–Wal-Mart etc. are some of the major players in Cash and Carry
format.

Airport Retailing: In the present era airports are focusing on retail to convert airports
into exciting, energized business and retail/entertainment centers-as well as
transportation hubs. Airports in many cities of the western world, the Far East and
Middle East serve as mini shopping Plazas for the traveler, the trend is catching up in
India. Across the globe, major airports that are upgrading or adding terminals are
equipping them with copious amounts of retail and restaurant space.

The Public Distribution System: PDS in India is more than half a century old as
rationing was first introduced in 1939 in Bombay, by the British Government, as a
measure to ensure equitable distribution of food grains to urban consumers in the face of
rising prices. The PDS, as understood today, is a means for the distribution of essential
commodities to a large number of people, through a network of Fair Price Shops (FPS),
on a recurring basis. The commodities include Wheat, Rice, Sugar, Kerosene etc.

EMPLOYMENT

Today, the retail sector accounts for about 22% of India’s GDP. According to a recent
KPMG report on Indian retail, the overall size of the industry is estimated to be $534
billion in 2013-14 with a CAGR of 15% over last five years. Going forward, the overall
retail sector growth is likely to witness a CAGR of 12-13 %, which would be worth $948
billion in 2018-19.

24
As per a report by NSDC, India will need around 56 million strong work-forces for the
booming retail sector. The sector will have one of the highest incremental human
resource requirements of 17.35 million by 2022, offering opportunities in sales,
merchandising, store management, central management and procurement.

Major proportion of the employment in the retail sector is in front-end/retail assistant

profiles in stores. Store operations account for 75%-80% of the total manpower
employed in the organized retail sector.

Retail industry in India has the potential to provide employment to a large number of
youths. The latest announcement by the government to allow 100% FDI in retail (e-
commerce, wholesale and in the marketing of food products) has already indicated a
surge in employment opportunities in this sector. A direct result of FDI would be
increase in the number as well as the formats of retail, which would result in the
generation of jobs in multiple categories. (The author of this article is Executive Vice
President – Skills Development Network [SDN], 2016).

Retail sector is an emerging market which is vibrant enough to attract a lot of employers
and thus provide tremendous opportunities. This huge growth and expansion of the retail
industry will result in the creation of huge demand for professionals. One can take up a
job depending on one’s interest and aptitude, since retail industry is an array of activities
starting from marketing to branding. This makes retail profession one of the most
demanding careers of the era.

Customer Sales Associate: It is the entry-level post of retail business. But as every retail
shop is completely dependent upon the sales they get; this is one of the important posts in
this profession. To be a good sales person, one should have good knowledge about the
products, the shop, the customers etc.

Department Manager / Floor Manager/ Category Manager - These are some of the posts
one could handle in the store.

Store Manager: Store managers sometimes called General Manager or Store Director, are
responsible for managing an individual store and its day-to-day functioning. The store
manager is in charge of the employees of the store and he himself may report to a District
or Area manager or the store’s owner.

25
Retail Buyers and Merchandisers: They are the persons who select and buy the goods for
the retail shop. They should understand the needs of the customer, should be aware of the
trends in the market, and should possess great enthusiasm and energy.

Visual Merchandisers: These people give the brand a face, so they hold one of the very
important positions in the industry. Being a part of concept and design, one could also be
a technical designer, product developer and store planner.

Retail Operation Manager: It is the duty of a retail manager to plan and coordinate the
operations of the outlet. This involves the layout of merchandise, monitoring the retail
orders and stock, analyzing the supply etc. Candidates with Master Degree can start off
as retail managers.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IN RETAIL SECTOR

● Manager Back-end Operations

● Logistics and Warehouse Managers
● Retail Communication Manager.
● Manager Private Label Brands
● Retail Marketing Executives

GROWTH
The Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced
industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and around 8 per cent of the employment.
India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space.

Indian Retail Industry has immense potential as India has the second largest population
with affluent middle class, rapid urbanization and solid growth of internet.

India’s retail market is expected to increase by 60 per cent to reach US$ 1.1 trillion by
2020, on the back of factors like rising incomes and lifestyle changes by middle class and
increased digital connectivity. While the overall retail market is expected to grow at 12
per cent per annum, modern trade would expand twice as fast at 20 per cent per annum
and traditional trade at 10 per cent. Indian retail market is divided into “Organized Retail
Market contributes 93 per cent of the total sector and “Unorganized Retail Market
contributes the rest 7 per cent of the sector.

26
India’s Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 700
billion by 2020. Online retail is expected to be at par with the physical stores in the next
five years and has grown 23 per cent to $17.8 billion in 2017.

India is expected to become the world's third-largest consumer economy, reaching US$
400 billion in consumption by 2025.

The size of modern retail in India is expected to reach US$ 11.25 billion in 2019 from
US$ 70.45 billion in 2016.

There has been an increase in purchasing power of the consumer due to easy availability
of credit which has given a push to the higher value items and encouraged repeated
purchases. There has been a clear shift in consumer mindset in buying. They are more
educated and well informed. They have become more experimenting and are willing to
try and buy products which they haven’t been used as yet. The expansion of middle class
has led to higher purchases of luxury products and brand consciousness. Significant
growth in discretionary income and changing lifestyles are among the major growth
drivers of the Indian retail industry with GST taking its shape, it has helped the retailers
simplify its tax structure. This will lead to better supply chain structure, better cash
flows, pricing and profitability (The Boston Consulting Group and Retailers Association
of India, 2018)

CONTRIBUTION TO THE COUNTRY

The Indian retail trading has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows
totaling US$ 1.14 billion during April 2000–December 2017, according to the
Department of Industrial Policies and Promotion (DIPP).

With the rising need for consumer goods in different sectors including consumer
electronics and home appliances, many companies have invested in the Indian retail
space in the past few months.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) approved three foreign direct
investments (FDI), Mountain Trail Food, Kohler India Corporation, and Merlin
Entertainments India in the single brand retail sector and two FDI proposals of over Rs
400 crore (US$ 62.45 million) within the retail sector.

27
With 2017 being a successful year for herbal-Ayurveda brands, new Indian organic
labels in hair care, cosmetics, food and apparel are belting up to carve an organic niche in
the growing herbal segment.

Investments by private equity firms and wealth firms in Indian retail sector reached US$
800 million in 2017.

India’s retail sector attracted Rs 9.5 billion (US$ 147.40 million) investments in FY18,
at a growth rate of 35 per cent year-on-year from Rs 7 billion (US$ 104.34 million) in
FY17

Retail industry in India

Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for 14 to 15 percent
of its GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be US$450 billion and one of the top
five retail markets in the world by economic value. India is one of the fastest growing
retail markets in the world, with 1.2 billion people.

India's retailing industry is essentially owner manned small shops. In 2010, larger format
convenience stores and supermarkets accounted for about 4 percent of the industry, and
these were present only in large urban centers. India's retail and logistics industry
employs about 40 million Indians (3.3% of Indian population).

Until 2011, Indian central government denied foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-
brand retail, forbidding foreign groups from any ownership in supermarkets, convenience
stores or any retail outlets. Even single-brand retail was limited to 51% ownership and a
bureaucratic process.

In November 2011, India's central government announced retail reforms for both multi-
brand stores and single-brand stores. These market reforms paved the way for retail
innovation and competition with multi-brand retailers such as Wal-
Mart, Carrefour and Tesco, as well single brand majors such as IKEA, Nike,
and Apple. The announcement sparked intense activism, both in opposition and in
support of the reforms. In December 2011, under pressure from the opposition, Indian
government placed the retail reforms on hold till it reaches a consensus.

28
In January 2012, India approved reforms for single-brand stores welcoming anyone in
the world to innovate in Indian retail market with 100% ownership, but imposed the
requirement that the single brand retailer source 30 percent of its goods from India.
Indian government continues the hold on retail reforms for multi-brand stores. June
2012, IKEA announced it has applied for permission to invest $1.9 billion in India and
set up 25 retail stores. Fitch believes that the 30 percent requirement is likely to
significantly delay if not prevent most single brand majors from Europe, USA and Japan
from opening stores and creating associated jobs in India.

On 14 September 2012, the government of India announced the opening of FDI in multi
brand retail, subject to approvals by individual states. This decision has been welcomed
by economists and the markets, however has caused a massive upheaval in India's
delicate governance structure.

Growth of Retail industry in India

29
This graph shows the growth of retail industry in India starting from 2006- 2016. When
reliance came into the organized retail there was very few corporate backed retail giants
Like BATA. After 2006 when reliance came into this sector other players also came into
existence egg: - Big Bazar, Vishal mega-mart, shisha. Contribution of retail industry in
Indian GDP is 28% approx.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company logo

Reliance Trends is a leading lifestyle retail chain with over 777 retail stores across India.
Reliance Trends offers stylish, high-quality products across Women’s wear, Lingerie,
Menswear, Kid swears and fashion accessories through a diversified portfolio of own
brands, national and international brands.

The uniqueness of the store is the core, which delivers "fashion at great value". Spread
over 8,000 – 24,000 square feet of shopping area, each Reliance Trends store is designed

30
to offer a unique shopping experience for the entire family through wide aisles,
coordinated displays and highly trained fashion professionals offering best in class
customer assistance.

Reliance Trends customer through www.reliancetrends.com can access a large collection

of fashionables, high quality products at great value delivered at their door steps.

The own brand portfolio includes:

● Rio - a vibrant range of snazzy trends for young women
● Fig - fashion wear for discerning, independent & working women
● Vaasa - a range of Indian wear for women offering the finest collection of Salwar
Kurtas, Churidars and a fast-evolving Mix n Match range of garments
● Fusion – a range of fusion wear for women where east meets west & style meets
comfort
● Hush - the lingerie line for women offers an extensive range of innerwear and
sleepwear
● Frendo - range of garments that complements the wardrobes of the growing
generation of boys and girls
● Peraza – a collection of pure Cotton & Linen shirts for men
● Network – offering a range of garments which comprises of formal office wear
collection for men and women
● Net play - range showcases a smart casual collection for the evolving workplace
● The DNMX - range has been developed with a clear focus on the youth of India,
offering them exclusively crafted fashion garments like Denims, T shirts etc.
● Performa - the specialized sportswear or active wear brand, which supports
performance in sporting activity
● Gravity - the innerwear range for men offering the best of inner and lounge wear
● Point Cove – Kid swear brand that features bold colors bringing the California
spirit to India

MILESTONES
2008

Reliance Retail opens its first fashion & lifestyle store under Reliance Trends and
Reliance Footprint brands.

31
2012

Reliance Trends becomes India’s largest fashion Retailer

Announces partnerships with Iconix, Kenneth Cole, Thomas Pink and Brooks Brothers

2016

Launches www.ajio.com a curated fashion e-commerce platform and

www.Footprint360.com a multi-channel e-commerce platform for Reliance Footprint

Top Competitors
● The Hambleton
● Ann's Cottage
● Calorie
● LovelyWholesale.com
● Vishal E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd
● urbanog.com
● PINK QUEEN
● Trending

32
 CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The present chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data collected from
the respondents (n=59). To realize the objectives of the study both the descriptive
statistics and inferential statistics are employed. The statistical techniques used to do the
data analysis are Mean, Standard deviation and ANOVAS. The statistical tool used for
analysis is SPSS (Version 26).

4.2 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Descriptive Statistics is used to describe the demographic characteristics of the study.
Percentage Analysis is used to explain the profile of the demographic statistics.
Subsequently, bar charts and pie charts are employed for easy understanding of the
descriptive statistics. The following are the demographic profile of the study.

Table 4.2.1
Analysis on the basis of Gender
Gender Frequency Percent
Male 26 44
Female 33 56
Total 59 100.0

Source: Primary Data

Figure 4.2.1

Inference: From the above data it is clear that the majority of the respondents are female
with 55.9 per cent and the rest 44.1 per cent are male respondents. Survey details are
given in Table.

33
 Table 4.2.2
Analysis on the basis of Residential Location

LOCATION Frequency Percent

Urban 9 15.3

Semi-urban 28 47.5

Rural 22 37.3

Total 59 100.0

Source: Primary Data

Figure 4.2.2

Inference: the above table shows details regarding the respondents’ locations. Out of 59
respondent’s 47.5 percent are from semi urban area,37.3 percent are from rural area and
only 15.3 percent are from urban area. Survey details are given in table no 4.2 2

34
 Table no. 4.2.3
Analysis on the basis of status of respondents

Current Status Frequency Percent

Study 38 64.4

Job 19 32.2

Others 2 3.4

Total 59 100.0

Source: primary data

Figure 4.2.3

Inference: the above analysis reveals that out of 59 respondents, the current status of
64.4 percent of respondents are studying, current status of 32.2 percent of respondents
are engaged in job and current status of 3.4 percent of respondents are other activities.
Hence, the majority of the respondents are students.

35
 Table no.4.2.4
Analysis on the basis of income

Income Frequency Percent

No Income 36 61.0

Below 10000 4 6.8

10000.50000 14 23.7

Above 50000 5 8.5

Total 59 100.0

Source: Primary data

Figure 4.2.4

Inference: the data analysis reveals that out of 59 respondents,61 percent of respondents has no
income,6.8 percent respondents have income below 10000, 23.7 percent has income between
10000.50000, and 8.5 percent of respondents has income above 50000. Hence, majority of the
respondents has no income.

36
 Table no.4.2.5
Analysis on the basis of education qualification

Education Qualification Frequency Percent

Plus, two 20 33.9

Degree 37 62.7

Post Graduate 2 3.4

Total 59 100.0

Source: Primary data

Figure 4.2.5

Inference: the above analysis reveals that the educational qualification of 33.9 percent of
the respondents are plus two, 62.7 percent of the respondents have degree, and 3.4
percent of their respondents are post graduate. Hence, the majority of the respondents of
educational qualification is plus two.

37
 Table 4.2.6
Analysis on the basis of the reason to visit reliance trends

Reason to visit reliance trends

Age Requirements To spent time Due to offers Total
Frequency Frequency Frequency
Up to 21 5 1 2 8
21 to 25 20 2 17 39
25 to 30 7 0 5 12
Total 32 3 24 59

25

20

15

10

0
Requirements To spent time Due to offers

Up to 21 21 to 25 25 to 30

Source: Primary data

Figure 4.2.6

Inference: the respondents are asked to reveal the real reason behind their visit to
reliance trends. Three options are given first one was “requirements” means the visit is
basically for buying dresses second one was “spent time” and the third option was “due
to offers”. The above analysis reveals that, 54.2 percent of the respondents are there for
their “requirements”. A group of 5.1 percent of the respondents visit the shop to spent
time and 40.7 percent of the respondents visit reliance trends due to offers. Hence, the
majority of the respondents visit reliance trends for their shopping requirements. It is also
noted that another 41 percent are there due to the different offers of the company.

38
 Table no. 4.2.7
Age of respondents

Age Class of Respondents N Percentage

Up to 21 years 8 14
21 - 25 years 39 66
25 - 30 years 12 20
Total 59 100

From the above table it is clear that majority of the respondents are belongs to the age
category of 21 to 25 years.

The respondent asked to rate the appearance and internal environment of the reliance
trends in a five-point scale. The statements given are “It is easy to circulate in the store”,
“The product sections are well defined and organized”, “The lighting and air
conditioning are pleasant and comfortable”, “The store has cleaned, attractive and
convenient public areas (restrooms, washrooms etc.)”.

Level of appearance
Table no. 4.2.8
Average level of appearance on the basis of age of respondents

Age Mean N Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

Up to 21 years 3.5 8 1.21 1.25 4.75
21 - 25 years 3.58 39 .93 1.00 4.75
25 - 30 years 3. 12 .72 2.00 4.50
Total 3.58 59 .92 1.00 4.75

The store appearance and its influence on the respondents based on the age category are
analyzed in the above table. The mean value of the analysis is 3.58 which is significantly
higher than the mean of the response scale. The result indicates that the samples from all
the age categories are highly influenced by the store appearance of reliance trends.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.75 that is very close to 5, is also indicating the
high-level preference of the different age categories towards the appearance of the shop.
The minimum value of the whole analysis is 1.

39
 Table no. 4.2.9
Average level of appearance on the basis of Gender of respondents

Gender of the respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Male 3.5288 26 1.02549 1.00 4.75

Female 3.6136 33 0.84569 1.00 4.75
Total 3.58 59 0.92 1.00 4.75

The store appearance and its influence on the respondents based on the gender of the
respondents are analyzed in the above table. The mean value of the analysis is 3.58 with
a standard deviation of 0.92. the mean value is significantly higher than the mean of the
response scale. The result shows that the samples from both the genders are highly
influenced by the store appearance.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.75 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the both male and female towards the appearance of the shop.

Table no. 4.2.10

Average level of appearance on the basis of residential location of respondents

Residential location Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Urban 3.47 9 .87 2.00 4.50
Semi urban 3.59 28 .97 1.00 4.75
Rural 3.60 22 .91 1.75 4.75
Total 3.58 59 .92 1.00 4.75

The residential location of the respondents and its relationship with the store appearance
are analyzed here. The mean value of the analysis is 3.58 with a standard deviation of
0.92. The mean value is significantly higher than the mean of the response scale. Among
the different categories, the rural customers are influenced more by the appearances of
the shop.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.75 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the both male and female towards the appearance of the shop.

40
 Table no. 4.2.11
Average level of appearance on the basis of the current status of respondents

Status of respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Study 3.56 38 1.03 1.00 4.75

Job 3.56 19 .70 2.00 4.50
Others 4.00 2 .000 4.00 4.00
Total 3.56 59 .91 1.00 4.75

Store appearance and its influence on the current status of the respondents are evaluated.
The mean value of the analysis is 3.56 with a standard deviation of 0.91. The mean value
is significantly higher than the mean of the response scale. The result shows that the
samples from all categories are highly influenced by the store appearance. The maximum
value of the analysis is 4.75 is also indicating the high-level preference of the both male
and female towards the appearance of the shop.

Factors related to the “convenience” of the customers are ranked by the respondents in a
five-point scale. The different components with regard to the convenience aspect are
identified and they are “The store is close to my home or workplace”, “The store has
operating hours convenient to all their customers”, ‘” The store provides enough parking
facilities to their customers” and “The store accepts multiple payments options”.

Level of Convenience
Table no.4.2.12
Average level of convenience on the basis of age of respondents

Age class of respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Up to 21 years 3.2813 8 .80664 1.50 4.00
21 to 25 years 3.3141 39 .72936 1.00 4.50
25 to 30 years 3.3542 12 .74968 2.00 4.50
Total 3.32 59 .73 1.00 4.50

The convenience of the respondents and its influence on the respondents buying decision
are analyzed with different age categories. The mean value of the analysis is 3.32 with a
standard deviation of 0.73, which is higher than the mean of the response scale. The

41
result indicates that all the age categories are influenced by the “convenience factors” of
the reliance trends.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.50 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the different age categories towards the convenience aspect. The minimum value of the
whole analysis is 1.

Table no. 4.2.13

Average level of convenience on the basis of gender of respondents

Gender of the respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Male 3.24 26 .71 1.50 4.00
Female 3.37 33 .76 1.00 4.50
Total 3.31 59 .73 1.00 4.50

The convenience of the respondents and its influence on the respondents buying decision
are analyzed with gender categories. The mean value of the analysis is 3.31 with a
standard deviation of 0.73, which is higher than the mean of the response scale. The
result indicates that both male and female customers are influenced by the “convenience
factors” of the reliance trends.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.50 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the different gender categories towards the convenience aspect. The minimum value of
the whole analysis is 1.

Table no. 4.2.14

Average level of convenience on the basis of residential location of respondents
Residential location of Std.
Mean N Minimum Maximum
respondents deviation
Urban 3.25 9 .60 2.25 4.00
Semi urban 3.43 28 .81 1.00 4.50
Rural 3.20 22 .68 1.75 4.00
Total 3.32 59 .73 1.00 4.50

The residential location of the respondents and convenience factors on buying decision
are analyzed. The mean value of the analysis is 3.32 with a standard deviation of 0.73,
which is higher than the mean of the response scale. The result indicates that customers

42
from different residential status are influenced by the “convenience factors” of the
reliance trends.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.50 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the different gender categories towards the convenience aspect. The minimum value of
the whole analysis is 1.

Table no.4.2.15
Average level of convenience on the basis of status of the respondents
Status of respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum
Study 3.23 38 .72 1.00 4.50
Job 3.54 19 .66 2.00 4.50
Others 2.88 2 1.59 1.75 4.00
Total 3.32 59 .73 1.00 4.50

The convenience of the respondents and its influence on the respondents buying decision
are analyzed with the status of the respondents. The mean value of the analysis is 3.32
with a standard deviation of 0.73, which is higher than the mean of the response scale.
The result indicates that all categories are influenced by the “convenience factors” of the
reliance trends.

The maximum value of the analysis is 4.50 is also indicating the high-level preference of
the different gender categories towards the convenience aspect. The minimum value of
the whole analysis is 1.

Table no. 4.2.15.1

ANOVA table of status of respondent
Convenience*status of the Sum of Mean
Df F Sig.
respondents squares square
Between groups 1.617 2 .808 1.542 .223
Within groups 29.362 56 .524
Total 30.979 58

H0: There is no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to the
current status of respondents
H1: There is significant difference among convenient factors with regard to the current
status of respondents

43
ANOVA is used for testing hypothesis. The above table, the significant value of F
statistics is greater than .05, so it is clear that the null hypothesis is accepted. So, it is
concluded that there is no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to
the current status of respondents

Table no.4.2.16.1
ANOVA Table of level of income

convenience* Level of Income of Sum of Mean

Df F Sig.
the Respondents Squares Square

Between groups(combined) 2.460 3 .820 1.582 .204

Within groups 28.519 55 .519
Total 30.979 58

H0: There is no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to the level
of income
H1: There is significant difference among convenient factors with regard to the level of
income

ANOVA is used for testing hypothesis. The above table, the significant value of F
statistics is greater than .05, so it is clear that the null hypothesis is accepted. So, there is
no significant difference among convenient factors with regard to the level of income

The influence of various social and peer groups in selecting the store are analyzed. The
following statements are tested in a five-point scale. “The store has customers with
whom I have direct friendship or relationship” and “This store is chosen on the options
of those I trust”

Table no. 4.2.17

Average level of social group on the basis of status of the respondents

Status of the respondents Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Study 3.20 38 .78 1.67 4.67

Job 3.33 19 .84 1.67 4.67
Others 3.00 2 1.41 2.00 4.00
Total 3.24 59 .80 1.67 4.67

44
The analysis of the above table shows that all the categories of the respondents are
influenced by their social groups. The mean vale 3.24 is greater than the man of the
response scale. Minimum value of the response was 1.67 and maximum value is 4.67.

Table no. 4.2.18

Average level of social groups on the basis of income of the respondents

Level of income of the Std.

Mean N Minimum Maximum
respondents deviation
No income 3.12 36 .76 1.67 4.67
below 10000 3.00 4 1.41 1.67 4.67
10000 to 50000 3.40 14 .76 2.00 4.33
more than 50000 3.60 5 .76 2.67 4.67
Total 3.24 59 .80 1.67 4.67

Monthly income of the respondent and social factors on store selection are analyzed here.
The analysis of the above table shows that all the income categories of the respondents
are influenced by their social groups. The mean vale 3.24 with a standard deviation of
1.67 is greater than the man of the response scale. Minimum value of the response was
1.67 and maximum value is 4.67.

The service quality

The service quality of the reliance trend is analyzed with the help of given statements.
“Customers feel safe in their transactions with this store”, “Employees in this store are
able to handle customers complaints directly and immediately”, “This store willingly
handles return and exchanges” and “When a customer has a problem, this store shows a
sincere interest in solving it”

Table no. 4.2.19

Average level of service quality on the basis on gender of the respondent

Gender of the respondent Mean N Std. deviation Minimum Maximum

Male 3.44 26 .60 2.00 4.25
Female 3.28 33 .54 2.25 4.25
Total 3.36 59 .57 2.00 4.25

Male and female customers are influenced by the service quality of the reliance trend.
While evaluating the gender categories individually, it is found that female categories are

45
less satisfied by the provided service quality. The analysis of the above table shows that
male and female respondents are influenced by service quality of the store while
selecting the reliance trends. The mean vale 3.36 with a standard deviation of 0.59 is
greater than the man of the response scale. Minimum value of the response was 2 and
maximum value is 4.25.

Table no. 4.2.20

Average level of service quality on the basis on income

Level of income of the Std.

Mean N Minimum Maximum
respondent deviation
No income 3.33 36 .53 2.25 4.25
below 10000 2.88 4 .43 2.25 3.25
10000 to 50000 3.36 14 .67 2.00 4.00
more than 50000 3.85 5 .38 3.25 4.25
Total 3.35 59 .57 2.00 4.25

The above table shows the monthly income of respondents and their attitude towards the
service quality. The analysis of the above table shows that all categories of the
respondents are influenced by service quality of the reliance trends. The mean vale 3.35
with a standard deviation of 0.59 is greater than the man of the response scale. It shows
the influence of service quality on different income categories. Minimum value of the
response was 2 and maximum value is 4.25.

Table no. 4.2.21

Store characteristics Attract customers to Reliance
Std.
N Minimum Maximum Mean
deviation
Store label/brand 59 2.00 5.00 3.88 .87
Previous experience 59 2.00 5.00 3.81 .86
Price value 59 2.00 5.00 3.78 .87
Store assortment 59 2.00 5.00 3.61 .91
Merchandise quality 59 2.00 5.00 3.59 .81
Personalized
59 1.00 5.00 3.36 1.09
communication/message
N 59

46
From the above table, it is observed that all the store characteristics have a positive
impact on the respondents. All the cases the mean value is above the mean of the
response scale. And the store / brand name is creating more influence with a mean value
of 3.88 with a standard deviation of 0.87. Personalized communication or message from
the reliance store has lowest or minimum value among the given different components.
And in all the cases the maximum value is five. All the situations except the
“Personalized communication or message from the reliance store”, the minimum value is
two. All these indicate the influence of different components in the selection of the
reliance store.

Table no. 4.2.22

level of facilities inside the Store Ranked
Std.
N Minimum Maximum Mean
deviation
Store layout and design 59 1.00 5.00 3.58 1.02
In store information available 59 1.00 5.00 3.53 .88
Hassle free complaint handling
59 1.00 5.00 3.49 .94
in the store
Safety measure against Covid
59 1.00 5.00 3.47 1.12
19
Sales personnel assistance 59 1.00 5.00 3.31 1.00
N 59

From the above table, it is observed that majority of the respondents have agreed that
they have the name of trends in the top of their mind. From above observation, it was
identified that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the store layout, store
information, hassle free complaint, safety measures and sales personal assistance. All the
cases the mean value is above the mean of the response scale. And in the case of store
layout and design the highest mean value was obtained, i.e., 3.58 with a standard
deviation of 1.02. And in all the cases the maximum value is five and the minimum value
is one.

47
 CHAPTER V
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS
FINDINGS
• Majority of the customers (86%) of reliance trend are belongs to the age category
21-30.

• It is found that female respondents of the study were 56 percent and male
respondents are 41 percent.

• Among the total respondents, 64.4% of respondents are full time students. That is
most of the customers of Trends are students.

• The study reveals that nearly half of the customers (47.5%) are from the semi urban
areas and another 37.3% are from the rural area.

• Among the total respondents 61% of the respondents had no income at all. They all
are depends their parents or guardians for the purchase requirements.

• It is clear from the analysis that 54.2 % of customers visit Trends because of
“requirements”. It means the visit is basically for buying dresses These findings
confirm that appearance is positively related to the in- store loyalty.

• The samples from all the age categories are highly influenced by the store
appearance of reliance trends.

• The respondents from both the genders are highly influenced by the store
appearance of the reliance store.

• It is found that among the different categories of residential status, the rural
customers are influenced more by the appearances of the shop.

• The study reveals that the respondent from all status is highly influenced by the
store appearance.

• All the age categories of the respondents are influenced by the various “convenience
factors” of the reliance trends.

• It is found that both male and female customers are influenced by the “convenience
factors” of the reliance trends in the selection of their retail store.

• It is evident from ANOVA there is no significant difference among convenient

factors with regard to the current status of the respondents.

• It is evident from ANOVA there is no significant difference among convenient

factors with regard to the level of income.

48
 • The customers from different residential status are influenced by the “convenience
factors” of the reliance trends.

• The study confirms that social and service quality is positively related to the in-store
loyalty.

• It is revealed from the study that average level of facilities available inside the store
attracts the customers likes store layout and design, instore information available
etc.

SUGGESTIONS
• More customers of Reliance trends are female. So new and variety brands of
apparels should be introduced.

• The store should concentrate more on male customers, by introducing attractive

offers.

• Most of the customers are young people. So, the store should focus and make the
aged people aware of Reliance Trends.

• Majority of the customers are belonging to the category of students with no income.
So, they are depending others for their buying decisions. The company can add new
offers to help and attract such group of customers.

• From the respondent’s analysis in-store environment, cleanliness and parking

facilities has high impact on store loyalty. The company should concentrate on these
variables.

• Feedback should be taken from consumers. This will help them to increase the
efficiency of the organization.

• The organization should conduct a deep market research every year or twice a year.

• The physical location of the store is not visible hence it may be suggested that the
store place more hoardings and sign boards in order to attract customers and make
them aware about the store’s existence in the particular locality.

• The product availability has due impact on customers store loyalty therefore it may
be suggested that the store may ensure the availability of apparels at all times

49
CONCLUSION
Reliance Trends is a leading lifestyle retail chain with over 777 retail stores across
India. Reliance Trends offers stylish, high-quality products across Women swear,
Lingerie, Menswear, Kids wear and fashion accessories through a diversified portfolio of
own brands, national and international brands.

The study conducted at Reliance Trends has given me an insight about the relevance of
in-store characteristics, and how it influences the tore loyalty. It was also helpful to
classify the in-store characteristics into different dimensions and to find out which is the
top-rated factor and least rated factor that creates store loyalty. Also, there is significant
relationship between store loyalty on demographic factors like age, gender, income,
status etc.

The project at Reliance Trends was a very effective one. It has given an opportunity to
experience and has helped to gain theoretical knowledge about in-store characteristics
and store loyalty within the organization. The study leads to find the influence of in-store
characteristics and store loyalty and it has proved that there is significant relationship
between the variables.

50
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
• Kotler, P., 2000, Marketing Management. 10th ed., New Jersey, Prentice-Hall.
• Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml. V. A. & Berry, L. L. 1988. 'SERVQUAL: A multiple-
item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality'. Journal of
Retailing, 64(1): 12-40.
• Laroche, M. K. C., & Zhou, L. (1996). Brand familiarity and confidence as
determinants of purchase intention: an empirical test in a multiple brand context.
Journal of Business Research, 37, 115-120.
• Thorpe, D.I. & Avery, C.E. 1983. 'A demographic and psychographic assessment of
a specialty store's customers and non-customers ‘, Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal, 2: 35-41.
• Wilson, A. (2002), ―Attitudes towards customer satisfaction measurement in the
retail sector ―, International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 44., Quarter 2., pp.
213-222.
• Kothari, C.R, 2004, Research Methodology, 2nded, New Age International.
• Schmitt, B. H. (2003). Customer experience management: A revolutionary approach
to connecting with your customer. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons.

WEBSITES
• Retrieved from the URL https://www.Reliancetrends.co.in/URL? Sa=source=web
&rat=jury on 5 the Jan 2020.
• Retrieved from Trends website named, www.Decathlon.in on 5 the Jan 2020.
• Retrieved from the URL, http://corporate.Trends.com/en/who-are-we/keyfigures/ on 7
the Jan 2020.
• Retrieved from the URL, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Group/ on 10th Jan
2020.
• Retrieved from the URL, https://www.citeman.com/7776-business-models-inretail.
html
APPENDIX
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondent, the following survey is conducted to study about “A Study on the
impact of in-store characteristics on store loyalty with special reference to Reliance
Trends”. This is done as part of the M. Com project.

Your cooperation is being expected. Thanking you in advance for your time and effort.
1. Age

2. Sex
Male
Female
Others
3. Location
Urban
Semi
Urban
Rural
4. Current status
Study
Job
Others
5. Income
No income
Below 10000
10000.25000
25000.5000
Above 50000
6. Educational Qualification
Plus two
Degree Post
Degree
Others
7. What is the reason to visit reliance trends?
Requirements
To spent time
Due to offers
8. Appearance and Environment
Appearance and Strongly- Strongly
Disagree Neutral Agree
Environment Disagree Agree
It is easy to
circulate in the
store
The product
sections are well
defined and
organized
The product
sections are well
defined and
organized
The store has
cleaned, attractive
and convenient
public areas
(restrooms,
washrooms etc.

9. Convenience
Strongly- Strongly
Convenience Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
The store is close
to my home or
workplace
The store has
operating hours
convenient to all
their customers
The store provides
enough parking
facilities to their
customers
The store accepts
multiple payments
options
10. Social groups

Strongly- Strongly
Social groups Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
The store has
customers with
whom I have
direct friendship
or relationship
This store is
chosen on the
options of those I
trust

11. Service quality

Strongly- Strongly
Service quality Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
• Customers feel
safe in their
transactions
with this store
• Employees in
this store are
able to handle
customers
complaints
directly and
immediately
• This store
willingly
handles return
and exchanges
• When a
customer has a
problem, this
store shows a
sincere interest
in solving it
12. Store characteristics that attract customers to the reliance trends
Store characteristics that
Strongly- Strongly
attract customers to the Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
reliance trends
• Merchandise quality
• Store assortment
• Price value
• Store label/ brand
• Previous experiences
• Personalized
communication/
message

13. Facilities available inside the store that attract customers to the reliance trends

Facilities available inside the

Strongly- Strongly
store that attract customers Disagree Neutral Agree
Disagree Agree
to the reliance trends
• Store layout and design
• In store information
available
• Sales personnel
assistance
• Hassle free complaint
handling in the store
• Personalization
• Safety measures against
Covid 19