Study on Decision Making Styles of Consumers in Malls (Reference to malls in Ernakulam in Kerala)

The retailing sector in India has undergone significant transformation in the past 10 years. The organised retail industry in India is expected to grow at 25-30% annually and would triple in size from Rs. 35,000 crore in 2004-05 to Rs.109,000 crore ($24 billion) by 2010. Retailing is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. The consumer decision-making process is a complex phenomenon. The purchase of goods or services includes a number of factors that could affect each decision. Decision making is more complex and even more important for consumers today than in the past. The objectives of this study were to investigate the decision-making styles of Indian shoppers in shopping malls and to study the variations in these styles across different demographic variables. Mall intercept survey was conducted to study the decision-making styles of Indian shoppers in shopping malls. The sample included 128 active mall shoppers. The Consumers decision- making styles were identified by a structured questionnaire and captured in six styles by conducting factor analysis. These decision-making styles were price consciousness, quality consciousness, recreational, confused by over choice, novelty consciousness, and variety seeking. This study will help managers of shopping malls to understand the underlying decision making styles of the shoppers in the malls and help them to craft their marketing strategies. Profiling consumers by their decision-making styles provide more meaningful ways to identify and understand various consumer segments and to target each segment with more focused marketing strategies.