Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study

G M Shafayet Ullah* and Panuel Rozario Prince**

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is one of the largest sectors in the economy of Bangladesh. In the last few years, the FMCG industry in Bangladesh has experienced a dramatic growth; both qualitative and quantitative improvements have taken place in the consumer durables segment. FMCG in marketing means convenient and low involvement products like, salt, flours, pens, chocolates, etc. In recent years, the FMCG industry worldwide has experienced a difficult market condition. In some categories, formerly popular brands have either been deleted or squeezed between the category leaders and low-cost competitors. The study has identified eight primary factors that influence consumers purchase decision of FMCG products in Bangladesh. These factors are sales promotion, unavailability of brand, time constraint, in-store TVC, variety-seeking behavior, product features, end of aisle display and product convenience. This study recommends focusing on three important factors, i.e., sales promotion, time constraints and unavailability of brand to smoothen the progress of the FMCG industry in Bangladesh. The FMCG industry will find better development opportunities, if the findings of this study are used as an input in its strategic decision making.

Introduction
The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is one of the largest sectors in the economy of Bangladesh, characterized by a strong multinational companies presence well-established distribution networks, intense competition between the organized and unorganized segments, and low operational costs (PPFAS, n.d.). Being a developing economy, Bangladesh is gradually becoming a large market, especially for the FMCG. In the last few years, the FMCG industry in Bangladesh has experienced a dramatic growth; both qualitative and quantitative improvements have occurred in the consumer durable items (Hamid et al., 2008). While purchasing high involvement products like electronic goods, luxury items or lifestyle products, the prior in-home decisions of purchase are not usually altered in the store environment. On the contrary, for the convenient and low involvement products like salt, flours, pens, chocolates, etc., a significant level of distortion from the prior decision of brand choice is frequently observed (Russo et al., 1996). These convenient and low involvement products are also known as FMCG in
* Lecturer, School of Business Studies, Southeast University, House # 64, Road # 18, Block # B, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: shafayet_seu@yahoo.com

* * Lecturer, Department of Business Administration, Victoria University of Bangladesh, 58/11/A, Panthapath, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh; and is the corresponding author. E-mail: panuelprince@yahoo.com Factors the Reserved. Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding 2012 Influencing IUP . All Rights Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 7

marketing. For the marketers, it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to track consumers brand preference. Marketers may help form a consumers intention to buy and facilitate his purchasing process by providing essential information. According to Perner (n.d.), the final decision as to which brand to buy from the available brands comes from an internal information processing that marketers can never fully influence from outside. Sometimes, after deciding which brand to buy, consumers change their decision at the time of actual purchase from the retail outlet. The end result of any marketing activity is to persuade the prospective group of consumers to acquire what the marketers are offering in the marketplace in exchange for consumers money. To accomplish this goal, marketers are constantly applying diversified marketing tools to influence the consumers to buy their offerings. Companies are striving to attain the wallet share of their consumers through fierce marketing strategies. Every marketer dreams that only his products will be stocked in the shelves of his consumers homes. However, in marketing, it is always said, In the end, the consumer is king! (Gee, n.d.). This study focuses on identifying the factors influencing the consumers preferences for the FMCG products during the actual purchase. The goal of this research is to identify the factors that significantly affect the consumers decision to purchase FMCG products from the retail outlets.

Literature Review
According to Wikipedia, FMCG are the products that are sold quickly at relatively low prices. Though the profit made on FMCG products is relatively small in terms of retail sales, they are generally sold in large quantities in wholesale. So, the cumulative profit on such products can be large. Brand Careers Glossary (n.d.) states that FMCG is an expression used to describe frequently purchased, low cost, low involvement, convenient consumer items, i.e., snack foods, cleaning products, stationeries, toiletries, etc. The main characteristics of FMCG from the consumers perspective arefrequent purchase, low involvement (little or no effort to choose the itemproducts with strong brand loyalty are exceptions to this rule), and low price. Additionally, from the marketers angle, the main characteristics of FMCG arehigh volumes, low contribution margins, extensive distribution networks and high stock turnover (Majumdar, 2004). There are other definitions regarding FMCG from various viewpoints. FMCG are usually everyday low-priced and low-risk products that require very little thought when purchasing (Food and Safety Promotion Board, 2005). Examples of FMCG generally include a wide range of frequently purchased consumer products such as toiletries, cosmetics, oral hygiene products, shaving products and detergents, as well as other nondurables such as glassware, light bulbs, batteries, stationery products and plastic goods. FMCG may also include pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, packaged food products and soft drinks, although these are often categorized separately. Some of the best known examples of multinational FMCG companies in Bangladesh include Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestl, Unilever, Procter & Gamble
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(P&G), Coca-Cola, Kraft, PepsiCo., etc. Some national FMCG companies are Square, PRAN, BD Foods, ACI, etc. One of the thrust areas of interest could be FMCG segments, given Bangladeshs large population with progressive increase in purchasing capacity (Rashid, 2010). Bangladesh saw a growth of over 8% for the year 2003-04. These findings on growth trends around the fast emerging South Asian sub-regional consumer market were released by the research firm AC Nielsen. Bangladesh has discovered the catalytic effect of lower unit packs as an evolutionary path. In Bangladesh, changes in consumers buying behavior and aggressive distribution by marketers have helped the branded packaged goods to hold the sectors growth. Categories such as hair oil, detergents, milk powder and toothpaste recorded double-digit growth rates (Business Standard, 2004). The US giants like P&G and Johnson & Johnson have already recorded encouraging surge in sales of their products in Bangladesh. The FMCG market watchers say good performance of Unilever, having around $500 mn annual turnover in Bangladesh, might have opened the eyes of $80 bn plus P&G and $60 bn plus Johnson & Johnson on Bangladeshs fast growing market of middle-class consumers (Positive Bangladesh, 2011). This is consistent with the previous industry studies and with research conducted by marketing academics which found that approximately 50% of grocery purchases can be classified as unplanned (Kollat and Willett, 1967; Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI) Special Report, 1978; and Park et al., 1989). Consumer promotions constitute a significant part of the marketing effort of consumer nondurables (Neslin et al., 1985). For products sold in supermarkets, point-of-purchase promotion is particularly attractive, because a large proportion of grocery purchase decisions are made after entering the store. A recent study by the POPAI found that two-thirds of the supermarket purchases are the result of an in-store decision (Agnew, 1987). Brand choice probability is an opportunistic state and a function of prevailing marketing activity (e.g., feature, display, and price), and the consumers established preferences for the brands in the category. It is well known that the mechanism governing the purchase decisions of consumers is influenced by marketing mix variables (nonstationary) and that it varies over the population (heterogeneous) (Wagner and Taudes, 1986). Morrison (1966) argued that consumers can be characterized based on their brand purchasing patterns within a product class (cited in Kahn and Raju, 1991). For example, some consumers purchase behavior can be characterized as reinforcing, i.e., a tendency to repurchase the last brand bought (Morrison, 1966; Jeuland 1979, cited in Kahn and Raju 1991), while other consumers purchase behavior can be characterized as variety-seeking, i.e., a tendency to shift away from the last brand purchased (Givon, 1984; Lattin and McAlister, 1985; Kahn et al., 1986; Lattin, 1987, and Kahn and Raju, 1991). Advertising is the vehicle by which producers inform consumers of the existence and attributes of their brands. The effect of advertising on sales or market share of a firm is probably the most researched relationship in marketing. Advertising encourages
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 9

consumers to try a new brand or a brand they have not bought for a long time (Givon and Horsky, 1990). One potential consequence of these promotions is their tendency to accelerate consumer purchases. That is, in response to a promotion, consumers may buy more quantity of the product category, or buy at an earlier time (Shoemaker, 1979; Wilson et al., 1979; and Blattberg et al., 1981). A number of marketing researchers suggested that dealing patterns might influence purchase behavior (Winer, 1986; and Krishna, 1991). The previous research on state dependence indicates that a brands purchase probabilities vary over time and depend on the levels of inertia and variety seeking, and on the identity of the previously purchased brand (Chintagunta, 1998). The study of Kahn and Raju (1991) indicates that for a minor brand, price discounts have a relatively larger effect for the reinforcement segment than for the variety-seeking segment. Conversely, for a major brand, price discounts have a relatively larger effect for the variety-seeking consumers than for the reinforcement consumers. Lee and Labroo (2004) suggest that consumers prefer brands that are easy to recognize and brands whose information is easy to understand. Earlier research has shown that ease of processing may be perceptual or conceptual in nature. Perceptual processing is featurebased and has more to do with the ease of recognition. Perceptual processing ease benefits brand choice in situations where all the brand choices are present in the environment, as in a supermarket.

Conceptual Framework
Depending on the findings of the previous studies and exploratory research, 20 variables are primarily being considered for analysis (Exhibit 1). It is assumed that these 20 variables generally affect consumers brand preference for FMCG in store environment. They are: Exhibit 1: Conceptual Framework of Factors Influencing the Purchase Decision of FMCG Products
Influential Variables Sales Promotion Point of Purchase Advertising Product Features Product Display Competitive Pricing Dealing Pattern Ease of Recognition End of Aisle Display In-Store TVC Salesperson Influence Unavailability of Preferred Brand Attractive Packaging Convenience Variety-Seeking Tendency of Consumer Influence of Other Customers Store Environment Time Constraints Cash Constraints Delightful Mind of Consumer Level of Involvement of Consumer

Purchase Intention (for FMCG)

Purchase Decision

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sales promotion, point of purchase advertising, product features, product display, competitive pricing, dealing pattern, ease of recognition, end of aisle display, in-store TVC, salesperson influence, unavailability of preferred brand, attractive packaging, convenience, variety seeking tendency of consumer, influence of other customers, store environment, time constraints, cash constraints, delightful mind of the consumer, and the level of involvement of the consumer.

Methodology
Data Collection
The research is descriptive in nature, as it tends to portray what actually works as the motive for changing the predetermined brand while purchasing the FMCG products from the store. Secondary data was used to construct the basic framework of the study before proceeding with the primary data. Primary data was collected from a group of respondents through structured questionnaires (see Appendix) by personal in-home interview procedure.

Samples
The primary data was collected from a group of 143 respondents from Dhaka city, Bangladesh. The respondents were selected through the convenience sampling technique, since it is a less time-consuming and convenient procedure.

Analysis Techniques
In the first step of the study, some variables were identified which may have effect on consumer decision making at store environment through exploratory study on previous research works and focus group discussions with small group of respondents. In the second phase, a statistical analysis was conducted on those previously identified influential variables on the basis of primary data collected through the survey. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: first part elicited the basic demographic information of the respondents through some close-ended questions and the second part drew out the respondents attitude toward 20 statements through the 5-point Likert scale. Each statement represented a variable that is being studied in this research. Likert scale is one of the most prominent scales to researchers that is used to find the level of agreement or disagreement of the respondent toward any statement of interest. Two statistical techniques have been used to analyze the data. These were descriptive statistical analysis techniques (i.e., mean, standard deviation, frequency, etc.) and multivariate statistical analysis technique (i.e., factor analysis). Factor analysis is a class of procedure primarily used for data reduction and summarization. In marketing research, there may be a large number of variables, most of which are correlated and which must be reduced to a manageable level. Relationships among sets of many interrelated variables are examined and represented in terms of a few underlying factors. It is an interdependence
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 11

technique, in which an entire set of interdependent relationship is examined (Malhotra, 2008). The marketing and social science literature is abundant with applications of factor analysis (Timm, 1975; Urban and Hauser, 1980; and Churchill, 1987). This widely used statistical technique is frequently employed by researchers who wish to identify a relatively small number of factors or underlying dimensions that can be used to represent relationships within a large variable set (Stewart, 1981).

Findings and Discussion

The demographic profile of the sample respondents are presented in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1: Demographic Profile (I)
Gender Male Female Frequency (%) 74 69 51.7 48.3 Age <15 16-25 26-35 36-45 >45 Total 143 100 Total Frequency 3 82 33 15 10 143 (%) 2.1 57.3 23.1 10.5 7.0 100 Education Level Below SSC SSC HSC Graduate Masters Above Masters Total Frequency (%) 6 6 52 58 16 5 143 4.2 4.2 36.4 40.6 11.2 3.5 100

Table 2: Demographic Profile (II)

Profession Govt. Service Service to Local Private Company Service to MNC Professional Teacher Business Student Others Total 26 5 4 6 4 83 11 143 18.2 3.5 2.8 4.2 2.8 58.0 7.7 100 Total 143 100 5,001-10,000 TK 10,001-15,000 TK 15,001-20,000 TK 20,001-25,000 TK 25,001-30,000 TK Above 30,000 TK 22 5 15 6 8 6 15.4 3.5 10.5 4.2 5.6 4.2 Frequency 4 (%) 2.8 Income Range <5,000 TK Frequency 81 (%) 56.6

From Table 3 it is evident that 44% of the people still buy the FMCG products from the small local stores. Another 37% people like to buy those products from the groceries in the local markets. Only 17.5% of the people prefer the super/mega shops as their choice for purchasing FMCG products.
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Table 3: Store Preference

Store Choice Small Local Store Grocery in Local Market Super Store Total Frequency 64 54 25 143 (%) 44.8 37.8 17.5 100.0

Table 4 also shows that 58% of the people go for purchasing FMCG products more than twice in a month. On the other hand, 22.4% of the people go for shopping those products twice in a month. Another 19.6% keep only one day in a month for shopping FMCG products. Table 4: Purchase Frequency
Occurrence Once in a Month Twice in a Month More than Twice in a Month Total Frequency 28 32 83 143 (%) 19.6 22.4 58.0 100.0

Reliability
Cronbachs alpha is a coefficient of consistency and measures how well a set of variables or items measure a single, one-dimensional latent construct. Some professionals, as a rule of thumb, require a reliability of 0.70 or higher (obtained on a substantial sample) before they use a scale (MacCallum et al., 1996). Obviously, this rule should be applied with caution when has been computed from items that systematically violate its assumptions. In our study, the Cronbachs alpha value is found to be 0.761 which is more than the standard value of 0.70. Therefore, it is assumed that the variables are very reliable for the study (Table 5). Table 5: Reliability Statistics
Cronbachs Alpha 0.761 No. of Items 20

The results show that the KMO value is more than 0.60 (actual is 0.684) (Table 6) which authenticates the adequacy level of the sample as tested by the KMO and Bartletts test. So obviously the data support the use of factor analysis and suggest that the data may be grouped into a smaller set of underlying factors. Table 6: KMO and Bartletts Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy Bartletts Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square Df Sig.
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study

0.684 522.265 190 0.000

13

Moreover, the significance value of Bartletts Test of sphericity is less than 0.05 (actual is 0.00). As a rule of thumb, it is necessary to get a significant Bartlett value (i.e., less than 0.05) for expecting relationships between the studied variables and validating the appropriateness of factor analysis technique.

Analysis
From the study, it was found that eight factors are responsible for altering consumers preference from the predetermined FMCG brands while they perform the actual shopping at the retail store. Those factors are sales promotion, unavailability of brand, time constraints, in-store TVC, variety-seeking behavior, product features, end of aisle display, and product convenience. Those eight factors explain almost 64.065% variance in the data. Among them, the leading factor, sales promotion influences mostly in altering the consumer brand choice with an eigenvalue of 3.885 and ables to explain 19.426% variance. Other leading factors are unavailability of brand (eigenvalue 1.773), time constraints (eigenvalue 1.455) and instore TVC (eigenvalue 1.298). Unavailability of brand means out of stock situation of any particular brand. Time constraints imply the allocation of limited time by the consumer for shopping a particular product. These three factors can explain 8.867%, 7.277% and 6.490% of variance in the data, respectively. The rest of the factors are presented in a descending order in Table 7 based on respective eigenvalues. This study has considered only those factors which have eigenvalue over 1.0. The cutoff point is selected as a rule of thumb proposed by the Cattell-Nelson-Gorsuch (CNG) Scree Test for principal component analysis (see Gorsuch, 1983). Here, the cumulative variance of the study is 64.065%. The rotated factor loadings matrix summarizes the structure by indicating which variables associate primarily with which factors. Based on the notion of simple structure (Thurstone, 1947), here the word structure is to denote the identification for each Table 7: Factors Affecting the Consumers to Switch from the Predetermined Brands While Shopping FMCG in the Retail Outlet
Factor Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
14

Factors Name Sales Promotion Unavailability of Brand Time Constraints In-Store TVC Variety-Seeking Behavior Product Features End of Aisle Display Product Convenience

Eigenvalues 3.885 1.773 1.455 1.298 1.185 1.109 1.089 1.017

Variance (%) 19.426 8.867 7.277 6.490 5.926 5.545 5.447 5.086

Cumulative Variance (%) 19.426 28.293 35.570 42.060 47.986 53.532 58.978 64.065

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variable of the factor with which it is primarily associated; these variables have been classified with specific factor loadings into eight specific factors. The cumulative variance confirms that the study result is quite acceptable as the extracted factors should account for at least 60% of the variances. DeVellis (2003) claimed that a value of 0.70 is the lowest acceptable bound for Cronbachs alpha, although some claim it may decrease to 0.60 in exploratory research (Hair et al., 1998).

Factor 1
Table 8: Sales Promotion
Variable Number 1 9 4 19 Variable Name Sales Promotion In-Store Advertising Product Display Consumer Delight Factor Loading 0.747 0.722 0.548 0.448

Sales promotion is found to be the most influential factor that influences the consumers to change their purchase decision from a predetermined brand to a new brand. Since the FMCG are the low involvement products, sales promotions always breed higher product sales. This factor is loaded with some other variables like in-store advertisement (722), product display (0.548) and consumer delight (0.448) (Table 8).

Factor 2
Table 9: Unavailability of Brand
Variable Number 11 15 5 12 Variable Name Unavailability of Brand Influence of Other Customer Competitive Pricing Product Packaging Factor Loading 0.760 0.636 0.541 0.524

When consumers do not find their preferred FMCG brands in the store, they generally switch to other brands. This factor is the second top influential element that affects to change the consumer brand preference in case of FMCG products. Generally, all FMCG brands, from any particular product category, offer somewhat same type of product. So, consumers do not hesitate to buy another brand in case of unavailability of brand. This factor is loaded with other variables like influence of other customer (0.636), competitive pricing (0.541) and product packaging (0.524) (Table 9).
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 15

Factor 3
Table 10: Time Constraints
Variable Number 17 18 Variable Name Time Constraints Cash Constraints Factor Loading 0.834 0.717

Time constraints is the third top factor that has the influential ability over the consumer of FMCG products. The factor is loaded with other variable, i.e., cash constraints (0.717) (Table 10). Since consumers involvement is very low in total purchasing process of FMCG products, constraints like shortage of time and cash sometimes hinder the level of brand loyalty.

Factor 4
Table 11: In-Store TVC
Variable Number 2 10 Variable Name In-Store TVC Salesman Influence Factor Loading 0.810 0.474

In-store television advertisement or in-store TVC is the fourth factor that has the influential power over consumers of FMCG at the time of actual purchase from the store. In-store television advertisement helps to remind the consumer about any past positive attitude toward any brand or encourages consumers to try a new brand. And this factor is loaded with another variable, salesman influence (0.474) (Table 11). Salesman in the store plays a vital role in determining which brand to buy while shopping for FMCG goods.

Factor 5
Table 12: Variety-Seeking Behavior
Variable Number 14 6 7 20 Variable Name Variety-Seeking Behavior Dealing Pattern Ease of Recognition Consumers Level of Involvement Factor Loading 0.756 0.523 0.486 0.415

Consumers tendency to seek variety at the time of actual purchase constantly affects the brand switching in case of FMCG. When consumers look for variety, they definitely try some new brands. This factor has loaded with other variables like dealing pattern (0.523), ease of recognition (0.486) and consumers level of involvement (0.415) (Table 12). The negative loadings are caused by questions that are negatively oriented to the factor, thus consumers level of involvement has a negative loading on the variety-seeking behavior factor.
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Factor 6
Table 13: Product Features
Variable Number 3 Variable Name Product Features Factor Loading 0.871

The study also shows that attractive product features sometimes induce consumers to try an alternative FMCG brand instead of a predetermined one. Generally, all the FMCG brands offer somewhat same features for the consumers. So there is no way to clearly distinguish the difference among the brands. Therefore, any attractive or new feature always persuade consumer to try that brand (Table 13).

Factor 7
Table 14: End of Aisle Display
Variable Number 8 Variable Name End of Aisle Display Factor Loading 0.835

Sometimes, end of aisle display in the shop, i.e., floor decorated with brand name-stickers, influence consumers to try that brand while purchasing FMCG products. Those tools assist the consumer in recalling other brand names from the subconscious mind (Lindquist and Sirgy, 2008) (Table 14).

Factor 8
Table 15: Product Convenience
Variable Number 13 16 Variable Name Product Convenience Appearance of the Store Factor Loading 0.797 0.470

The study also validates that product convenience, i.e., the ease of handling the product, sometimes influences consumer to choose an alternative brand from the store while shopping FMCGs. This factor has loaded with other variable, appearance of the store (0.470) (Table 15). The store appearance is also very significant. Consumer tends to rely on well-appeared stores for trying new or alternative brands. They generally avoid trying alternative brands from a poor looking store. Therefore, considering the evidence, the revised model of factors influencing the purchase decision of FMCG products in Bangladesh is shown in Figure 2.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, some recommendations are prescribed below. These recommendations will be useful if aligned with FMCG companys marketing decision making.
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 17

Figure 2: Revised Framework of Factors Influencing the Purchase Decision of FMCG Products
Factor 1: Sales Promotion Variance Explained: 19.426% Factor 2: Unavailability of Brand Variance Explained: 8.867% Factor 3: Time Constraints Variance Explained: 7.277% Factor 4: In-Store TVC Variance Explained: 6.490% Factor 5: Variety-Seeking Behavior Variance Explained: 5.926% Factor 6: Product Features Variance Explained: 5.545% Factor 7: End of Aisle Display Variance Explained: 5.447% Factor 8: Product Convenience Variance Explained: 5.086% Purchase Intention (for FMCG) (Total Variance Explained: 64.065%)

Purchase Decision

FMCG companies should focus more on the small local stores and groceries for their promotional activity, combining both the push and pull strategies. Consumers of Bangladesh still prefer those shops over super/mega shops for FMCG product purchasing as it is evident from this research finding (see Table 3). Since most of the consumers purchase FMCG products more than twice a month, FMCG companies can generate a stream of sales throughout the year. But to do so, those companies need to establish a strong market position by creating positive image among the prospective customer groups through various innovative and strategic marketing tools like promotional events, sponsorship, viral marketing, etc. Sales promotions are found to be the most effective tools for generating sales of FMCG. Companies may develop well-defined, objective-based, short-term sales promotion strategies to gain market advantage over their competitors. Focus has to be given both to sales promotion and trade promotion. Salespersons should be well chosen and trained, since they play a vital role in facilitating consumer choice decision at the time of actual purchase of FMCG products from the shops.
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An effective distribution system is the most significant issue in product marketing. Since it was proved through the factor unavailability of brand that the consumer generally switches to another brand, if their preferred brand is not available at the time of purchase, the FMCG companies have to ensure the distribution of their products along with other promotional activities at the doorstep of the consumer. A perfect synchronization between promotional activities and distribution is very crucial in this regard. Another important factor that influences the FMCG consumers is time constraints. FMCG products are low involvement in nature, so consumers want to spend the least amount of time possible for purchasing them. Consumers want to spend most of their time and effort on high involvement products. Point-of-purchase advertisements like buntings, cut-ups, posters, stickers, etc. are very much applicable in these cases for gathering consumer attention at the last moment. And in case of low involvement products, grabbing the attention may sometimes increase the chance of sales. Some innovations have to be made by the FMCG companies to make this marketing tool a more attractive one to the consumer. Besides these factors, there are other factors, i.e., in-store TVC, variety-seeking behavior of the consumers, product features, end of aisle display and product convenience, which merit the FMCG companies attention. For the last few years, markets of FMCG products are experiencing different reformations. The increasing threat posed by generic products, pricing pressure through initiatives such as everyday low pricing, and the ever-growing options for consumers have made the marketers task tough. In some categories, formerly popular brands have been deleted, squeezed between the category leader and lower cost competitors. Therefore, the FMCG industry will find a better development opportunity if it uses the findings of this study as an input to its decision-making strategies. Limitations and Directions for Further Research: Like all research, there were some constraints that were faced during this study. Respondents did not actually know what they really felt about the area of the study. It was difficult to extract the answer that was required without actually experiencing it. Respondents were busy enough with their own lives and jobs. They did not have a lot of time for analyzing the real experience of that specific situation of this study. This study can provide an insight into the future either by asking people what they plan to do or extrapolating from the past or present trends. There are problems with this however. People often do not know what they will do in the future and what they think they will do is often very different from what they actually do. Also, in a fast-changing environment, extrapolation from the past is highly unreliable (Makridakis, 1996). A majority of the respondents in this study were students. Many arguments exist, both in favor of and against convenience samples containing students. Several authors, including Oakes (1972) and Beltramini (1983), have specified the dangers of using student samples in research. They have commonly mentioned threats to external validity as their
Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study 19

prime concern, arguing that students are atypical of the general population; therefore any findings based on student samples may not be generalizable to other populations (Cunningham et al., 1974). Still, some scholars diverge on this concern. Oakes (1972) argues that such arguments are unfounded because regardless of what population is sampled, generalization can be made only with caution to other populations. As generalization of the finding with student subjects is limited; this research, comprising a majority of student respondents, too may experience the same consequences. Thus, future research should consider better samples, combining more people other than students in an attempt to replicate the model developed in this study that would allow for greater external validity. Only generic FMCG product class was considered for evaluation in this study. But there are many types of FMCG products within this class, each with their own different characteristics. For example, there are highly perishable FMCG products, i.e., meat, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, baked goods, etc. There are also FMCG products having high turnover rates, i.e., alcohol, toiletries, pre-packaged foods, soft drinks, cleaning products, etc. Future studies must explore how the proposed model in the present research works for a wider range of FMCG product types, situations, settings, and populations. The findings of this study are limited to some common and narrow range of FMCGs. As a result, it raises the question whether the results of this study can be reproduced for the FMCGs which were not considered for the study. An extensive study has to be conducted to generalize the findings of the study. According to a recent study by the Nielsen Company, aspirational products, i.e., breakfast cereals, cold cream, fragrances and chocolates will drive the future of the consumer products industry in the neighboring country India. As the present research took place in Bangladesh, this future trend will certainly be of an impact here. To capture the business opportunities and lead in these markets, marketers must make decisions based on an in-depth understanding of the competitive environment and consumer demands in their own sector (Moodi, 2005). Moreover, key impulse products, such as biscuits, chocolates, salty snacks and confectionery, which are essentially unplanned purchases for instant gratification, are clocking high double-digit growth rates and a rapid increase in retail presence (Mukherjee, 2011). Further research should offer enough variety in terms of FMCG product types, in addition to the generic FMCG product class used here. Especially, certain FMCG product types, i.e., aspirational FMCG products, key impulse FMCG products, highly perishable FMCG products, high turnover FMCG products, etc., deserve more focused, extensive empirical future studies in the context of Bangladesh.

References
1. Agnew J (1987), POP Displays are Becoming a Matter of Consumer Convenience, Marketing News, Vol. 9, No. 14. 2. Beltramini R F (1983), Student Surrogates in Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 11, Fall, pp. 438-443.
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20. Lee A Y and Labroo A (2004), Effects of Conceptual and Perceptual Fluency on Affective Judgment, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 151-165. 21. Lindquist J D and Sirgy J S (2008), Shopper, Buyer, and Consumer Behavior, 2/E, Biztranza, New Delhi. 22. MacCallum R C, Browne M W and Sugawara H M (1996), Power Analysis and Determination of Sample Size for Covariance Structure Modeling, Psychological Methods, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 130. 23. Majumdar R (2004), Product Management in India, 2/E, PHI Learning, pp. 26-28, available at http://books.google.com/?id=ESJzaCJE3fQC&pg=PA26&dq=what+ is+fmcg&q=what%20is%20fmcg 24. Makridakis S (1996), Factors Affecting Success in Business: Management Theories/ Tools Versus Predicting Changes, European Management Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 1-20. 25. Malhotra N K (2008), Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, 5/E, Pearson Education India. 26. Morrison D G (1966), Testing Brand-Switching Models, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 401-409. 27. Neslin S A, Henderson C and Quelch J (1985), Consumer Promotions and the Acceleration of Product Purchases, Marketing Science, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 147-165. 28. Oakes W (1972), External Validity and the Use of Real People as Subjects, American Psychologist, Vol. 27, pp. 959-962. 29. Park C W, Iyer E S and Smith D C (1989), The Effects of Situational Factors on InStore Grocery Shopping Behavior: The Role of Store Environment and Time Available for Shopping, The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 422-433. 30. Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute (1978), POPAI/DuPont Consumer Buying Habits Study: Special Report, POPAI, New York. 31. Russo J E, Medvec V H and Margaret G Meloy (1996), The Distortion of Information During Decisions, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 102-110. 32. Shoemaker R (1979), An Analysis of Consumer Reactions to Product Promotions, in Educators Conference Proceedings, pp. 244-248, American Marketing Association, Chicago. 33. Stewart D W (1981), The Application and Misapplication of Factor Analysis in Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 51-62. 34. Thurstone L L (1947), Multiple Factor Analysis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
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Appendix
Questionnaire This study aims to identify the factors that significantly affect the brand choice for frequently purchased products like salt, soap, toothpaste, chewing gum, chanachur, etc. at the time of actual buying from the shop. The result of the study will be used for academic purposes only and the information elicited from the questionnaire will be exclusively confidential. You are requested to give your valuable opinion to the questions presented below. Section 1 1. 2. Please specify your gender: (a) Male (b) Female What is your age? Please choose from the following: (a) Below 15 years (b) 16 to 25 years (c) 26 to 35 years (d) 36 to 45 years (e) Above 45 years What is your level of education? Please choose from the following: (a) Below SSC (b) SSC (c) HSC (d) Graduate (e) Masters (f) Above Masters What is your profession? Please choose from the following: (a) Government Service (b) Service to Local Private Enterprises (c) Service to MNCs
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3.

4.

Appendix (Cont.)
(d) Professionals (physicians, advocates, etc.) (e) Teacher (f) Business (g) Student (h) Other 5. What is your monthly income? Please choose from the following: (a) Below 5,000 TK (b) Between 5,001 to 10,000 TK (c) Between 10,001 to 15,000 TK (d) Between 15,001 to 20,000 TK (e) Between 20,001 to 25,000 TK (f) Between 25,001 to 30,000 TK (g) Above 30,000 TK 6. From where do you regularly purchase products like salt, soap, toothpaste, chanachur, etc.? (a) Small Local Store (b) Grocery in Local Market (c) Super/Mega Shops 7. How often do you go for shopping in a month for the above-mentioned products? (a) Once (b) Twice (c) More than twice Section 2 In the following table, a few statements are presented about buying products like branded salt, flour, chips, soap, toothpaste, etc., from a retail outlet on a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Please mark your position by putting a () mark on the scale in accordance with your agreement to the statements. S. No. 1. Statements In the store, sales promotions like price discount, free samples or gifts influence me to change my predetermined brand. In-store advertising like posters, stickers, and danglers influence me to change my predetermined brand. Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Disagree (1) (2) (3) (4) Strongly Agree (5)

2.

Factors Influencing the Bangladeshi Consumers Purchase Decision Regarding Fast Moving Consumer Goods: An Exploratory Study

25

Appendix (Cont.)
S. No. 3. Statements Features of the new brand attract me more to buy instead of the predetermined one. Good-looking product display at the shelf sometimes influences me to buy another brand instead of the predetermined one. I change the brand in the store when the other brand offers at a competitive price. Dealing pattern of the store sometimes influences me to buy an alternative brand. I like to choose the brands, which I can easily recognize in the store. Shelf or space decorated specially with a specific brand name induces me to try that brand. Advertisement (TVC) running in the stores television sometimes induces me to try that brand of the TVC. In the store, the salesman influences me more to try a new brand. When I do not find my preferred brand, I generally switch to another. Product packaging sometimes induces me to change from my preferred brand. Convenience of the product always influences me to buy an alternative brand. When I seek variety, I always change the brand. In the store, other customers around me sometimes influence me to try a new brand. Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Disagree (1) (2) (3) (4) Strongly Agree (5)

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14. 15.

26

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Appendix (Cont.)
S. No. 16. 17. Statements The appearance of the store encourages me to try a new brand. Sometimes, when I have limited time for shopping, I buy the brands those were not in my favorite list. Sometimes, when I have shortage of money, I need to buy the brands those were not in my favorite list. When I feel delighted in the store for any reason, I dare to try a new brand. Since I have very low level of involvement while shopping, sometimes I unconsciously buy from various available brands in the store. Thank you for your participation! Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Disagree (1) (2) (3) (4) Strongly Agree (5)

18.

19.

20.

Reference # 25J-2012-03-01-01

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