Miniso consumer behaviour
- 1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOWARDS THE BRAND MINISO SUBMITTED TO: M.ANNAJI SARMA SUBMITTED BY: JOBANPREET SINGH BATTH AND MANIPRIYA TYAGI
- 2. I.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (i) STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES To study the consumer behaviour and perception towards the brand MINISO. The primary objective of the study is to understand the consumer behaviour by studying how many consumers actually buy MINISO products. Our Secondary Objectives are: • To study the problem with the brand as perceived by customers. • To identify all the factors that still motivates them to buy MINISO products. (ii) STATEMENT OF METHODOLOGY Since, data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of interest, and in an established and systematic order enabling people to answer queries, identifying research questions and evaluating the outcomes by: Quantitative Data i.e. Customer Survey through questionnaire- This data deals with quantities, values or numbers and is considered to be of a measurable form and is usually expressed in numerical form, such as length, size, amount, price and even the duration. This data uses statistics to generate inferences and in turn analyse the type of data adding credence and credibility to it so that the data becomes more reliable stating a defined objective. (iii) STATEMENT OF MAJOR FINDINGS: After gathering all the primary data, the research is directed in a way that the brand has a unique and distinguished selling proposition in the Indian market. The research shows how the choices and perception of the customers affect their buying behaviour and the motivation factors for Indian customers to buy MINISO products. (iv) STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS: While considering and analysing the questionnaire filled by the customers, we will be concluding their interest in the brand on the basis of the brand’s approach towards providing economical and wide variety of cosmetics and how do the customers perceive it to be of value for money. It also concludes how a customer is driven to buy any product influenced by the brand’s positioning in India. II. INTRODUCTION (i) CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR The term consumer behaviour is defined as the behaviour that consumer display in searching for purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer behaviour focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort) on consumption related items. This includes what they buy, why they buy it, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how they evaluate
- 3. it after the purchase and the impact of such evaluation on future, and how they dispose of it. The study of consumer behaviour is very important to the marketers because it enables them to understand and predict the buying behaviour of consumers in the Marketplace. The Black Box Model The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics and consumer responses. The black box model is related to the black box theory of behaviourism, where the focus is not set on the processes inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the consumer. The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search is perception. Perception is defined as the process by which an individual receives, selects, organises and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world. There are 5 stages of a consumer buying process, they are: 1. The problem recognition stage, meaning the identification of something a consumer needs and wants. 2. The search for information, which means a customer search for their knowledge bases or external knowledge sources for information on the product. 3. The possibility of alternative options, meaning whether there is another better or cheaper product available. 4. The choice to purchase the product and then finally the actual purchase of the product. 5. The choice of complete process that a consumer will most likely, whether recognisably or not, go through when they go to buy a product.
- 4. (ii) FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR The marketers try to understand the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and the underlying motives for such actions. These motives are the factors that influence the consumer behavior. These are: A. Psychological Factors: The human psychology plays a crucial role in designing the consumer’s preferences and likes or dislikes for a particular product and services. Some of the important psychological factors are: ✓ Motivation ✓ Perception ✓ Learning ✓ Attitudes and Beliefs B. Social Factors: The human beings live in a complex social environment wherein They are surrounded by several people who have different buying behaviours. Since the man is a social animal who likes to be acceptable by all, tries to imitate the behaviours that are socially acceptable. Hence, the social factors influence the buying behavior of an individual to a great extent. Some of the social factors are: ✓ Family ✓ Reference Groups ✓ Roles and status C. Cultural Factors: It is believed that an individual learns the set of values, perceptions, behaviors, and preferences at a very early stage of his childhood from the people especially, the family and the other key institutions which were around during his developmental stage. Thus, the behavioral patterns are developed from the culture where he or she is brought up. Several cultural factors are: ✓ Culture ✓ Subculture ✓ Social Class D. Personal Factors: There are several factors personal to the individuals that influence their buying decisions. Some of them are: ✓ Age ✓ Income ✓ Occupation ✓ Lifestyle E. Economic Factors: The last but not the least is the economic factors which have a significant influence on the buying decision of an individual. These are: ✓ Personal Income ✓ Family Income ✓ Income Expectations
- 5. ✓ Consumer Credit ✓ Liquid Assets of the Consumer ✓ Savings These are some of the underlying factors that influence consumer behaviour, and the marketer must keep these in mind, so that appropriate strategic marketing decision is made. (iii) INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION Perception is a cognitive process. Cognitive process involves the way in which people process / understands that information. Perception is the process through which the information from outside environment is selected, received, organised and interpreted to make it meaningful to you. This input of meaningful information results in decisions and actions. According to Joseph Reitz, “Perception includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment- seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. The study of these perceptual processes shows that their functioning is affected by three classes of variables- the objects or events being perceived, the environment in which perception occurs and the individual doing the perceiving.” Features of Perception • Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects a data from the environment, organizes it, and obtains meaning from it. • Perception is a psychological process also. The manner in which people perceive the environment affects his behaviour. • Perception, being an intellectual and psychological process, becomes a subjective process and different people may perceive the same situations differently. Perceptual Selectivity While selection, certain aspects of stimuli are screened out and others are admitted. For example: when people read a newspaper, they do not read the entire newspaper but read only that news which interests them. This is known as perceptual selectivity. This is caused by variety of factors which may be grouped into two categories: 1. External factor 2. Internal factor EXTERNAL FACTORS ➢ NATURE: By nature, we mean, whether the object is visual or auditory, and whether it involves pictures, people or animals. It is well known that pictures attract attention more readily than words. ➢ LOCATION: The best location of a visual stimulus for attracting attention is in the center of the page. When this position is not available in the newspaper or a magazine, a position in the upper portion of a page is more favourable than on in the lower portion and left-hand side receive more attention than the right-hand side. ➢ SIZE: Generally, objects of larger or bigger size attract more attention than the
- 6. smaller ones. For Example: in an advertisement in newspaper full page spread attract more attention than a few lines in the classified section. ➢ INTENSITY: The intensity principle states that more intense the external stimulus is, the more likely is to be perceived. A loud sound, or bright light is noticed more as compared to soft sound, or dim light. ➢ CONTRAST: Contrast is a kind of uniqueness which can be used for attention getting. Letters of bold types, persons dressed differently than others, buildings of different colors in the same locality, etc. get more attention. ➢ MOTION: Motion principle states that a moving object draws more attention as compared to a stationary object. For Example: commercial on televisions get more attention than print media. INTERNAL FACTORS ➢ SELF-CONCEPT: The way a person views the world depends on the concept or image he has about himself. People's own characteristics affect the characteristics which they are likely to see in others. They select only that aspects which they find match with their characteristics. ➢ INNER NEEDS: People's perception is determined by their inner needs. People with different needs select different items to remember or respond to. When people are not able to satisfy their needs, they are engaged in wishful thinking, which is a way to satisfy the needs not in the real world but in the imaginary world. ➢ INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDE: The person tries to fit his attitude (whether positive or negative) in the situation and perceive something. For Example: if a person always thinks negative, he thinks that whatever is happening in his life will be negative, he will perceive everything in the negative way. On the contrary if he thinks positive, he is optimistic, he will perceive everything in a positive way. ➢ INTEREST: If a person is interested in something, he will perceive that thing in a better way. For Example: children watch television with the good interest and curiosity, so they perceive quickly whatever is shown on TV. ➢ LEARNING EXPERIENCE: People perceive many things differently according to their learning and experience of the past. If a person has wrong impression or bad past experience of something, he sees the things negative and he perceive that thing in only negative way because it is his experience that forces him to perceive in this way. (iv) INTRODUCTION TO MOTIVATION Consumer motivation is an internal state that drives people to identify and buy products or services that fulfil conscious and unconscious needs or desires. The fulfilment of those needs can then motivate them to make a repeat purchase or to find different goods and services to better fulfil those needs. Motivational Levels
- 7. Depending on how important a purchase is to an individual, his motivational levels may vary from low to high. Influences include familiarity with the purchase, status factors and overall expense and value. Where fulfilment rewards are low, as with groceries, motivation levels are also relatively low and involve little decision-making behavior. Conversely, with a complex, risky and emotionally-charged process such as buying a new house, the drive to achieve the “right” result is high. Motivational Behavior The behavioral aspect of consumer motivation concerns the actions someone takes before purchasing and consuming goods or services. A person might do a lot of research--evaluating alternatives, testing and sampling--before making a selection. She might decide to buy something based on which goods or services most closely meet and satisfy motivational wants and needs. Marketers aim to gain the most impact and eventual sales by linking their products and services to clearly defined consumer needs and by understanding what motivates people to buy. Motivational Influences Motivational levels differ greatly between individuals and are influenced by many external variables. These include the social value of making the “right” decision, beliefs about brands and alignment of brand values and personal values. If other people are involved in the decision, their motivation also affects the behavior of the primary Consumer. (v) INTRODUCTION TO MINISO MINISO is a Chinese low-cost retailer and variety store chain that specializes in household and consumer goods including cosmetics, stationery, toys, and kitchenware. Founded in 2011 by Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu, the company is headquartered in Guangzhou, China under their Chinese holding company Aiyaya. In 2016, the company's sales revenue reached $1.5 billion, up from $769.9 million one year previous.
- 8. Miniso has expanded outside of the Chinese market and operates over 2600 stores in Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa, North America, and South America. Initially claiming to be a famous Japanese brand, despite operating in Mainland China under Chinese company Aiyaya and had no outlets in Japan. Miniso has since expanded outside of China and opened over a thousand stores worldwide. MINISO’S MARKETING Miniso's marketing strategy has been compared to Japanese retailers such as Muji, Daiso, and Uniqlo due to similarities in both store aesthetics, brand design, and inventory. Because of its Japanese-influenced branding strategy, the company's products have been criticized as "made in China to look Japanese", particularly when most of the company's stores are located in China, where people trust Japanese brands more than domestic offerings. It has also been criticized for affixing grammatically incorrect Japanese-language labels to many products, a consequence of using Baidu Translate to produce Japanese language copy, as admitted by Miniso management. Nevertheless, because of Miniso's success in expanding its number of retail stores, AllianceBernstein, a global asset management company, called its market strategy a success by "filling a price-point niche left unaddressed by the Japanese formats it was imitating". PRODUCT CATEGORIES ❏ Bags and Accessories ❏ Daily life products ❏ Digital and electronics ❏ Fashion and Accessories ❏ Health and Beauty ❏ Household items ❏ Seasonal products ❏ Stationary and Gifts ❏ Textiles ❏ Toy series KEY FACTS ❏ MINISO started when the physical economy was in decline or when e-commerce was taking its pace in the market. ❏ MINISO is a brick-and-mortar-only business model. ❏ MINISO is a Chinese brand.
- 9. VISION AND MISSION MINISO advocates the philosophy of quality life and, in the brand spirit of “respecting consumers”, dedicates itself to providing customers with products of “high quality, competitive pricing and creativity”. (vi) PEOPLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES INVOLVED The following people are involved in completion of our research- a) A team of 2 people who carried out the whole research. b) -- respondents who use MINISO products or are familiar with the brand. Conducting a market survey involved following responsibilities: a) Planning b) Coordination c) Sampling d) Field work e) Analysis and Reporting (vii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to express our special thanks and gratitude to all those people who were a part of the survey and have encouraged us throughout our work and helped us complete our project successfully. We would like to thank our professor and mentor Mr. Annaji Sarma for his constant support and guidance throughout our work. The study has indeed helped us to explore more knowledge avenues related to our topic of research and we are sure to be benefited through this, in future. (viii) LITERATURE REVIEW Perception and Motivation Factors The term Perception is derived from the Latin perception, meaning, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment across the market (Schacter, Daniel, 2011). However, perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs of the human body (Goldstein,2009). According to the author Goldstein (2009) the Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system, but subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside one’s conscious awareness. Understanding the 'Consumer Perception' is important because there is a significant impact on consumer behaviour as the behaviour of consumers is directly proportional to their perceptions based on previous experiences and judgments upon the products or services they had used.
- 10. III. ANALYSIS (i) TYPES OF ANALYSIS PIE CHARTS A Pie Chart is a type of graph that displays data in a circular graph. The pieces of the graph are proportional to the fraction of the whole in each category. In other words, each slice of the pie is relative to the size of that category in the group as a whole. This tool made the analysis of results for the research much easier through the pictorial depiction of data. BAR CHARTS A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The main objective of our report is to analyse the perceived value of the Miniso brand by the customers. In order to analyse this, data was collected from the customers who use Miniso products in their day to day chores and their belief about the quality and variety of the range of Miniso that is available in the market. The first step was to find out the perception of the customers towards Miniso and identify what category of products attract customers to Miniso more. CHART 1: PRODUCT PREFERENCE The Pie chart depicts survey taken for 70 customers(48 Female, 22 Male) who use Miniso products in the daily chores and we can infer that: Maximum number of customers i.e. 28 out of 70 prefer buying Bags and Accessories products from Miniso store. The second preferred product categories are Household items,Health & Beauty and Travel accessories having 14 out of 70,11 out of 70, 8 out of 70 customers each. The least preferred product categories are Stationary and Digital & Electronics having 6 out of 70, 3 out of 70 customers each.
- 11. CHART 2: WILLINGNESS TO SPEND From the above bar graph, we can calculate the amount that the people are willing/are actually paying on cosmetics per month: Majority of people i.e. 39 out of 70 tend to spend approximately Rs. 500-1000 per month on their favourite products of MINISO. While on the other hand, a quietly negligible proportion of people i.e. only 2 out of 70 spend more than Rs. 2000 on MINISO, per month.
- 12. CHART 3: MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS TO BUY FROM MINISO Let’s see what individuals believe are the motivation factors to buy from MINISO: Of the total responses, customers feel that the wide variety of the brand’s products, trendy products and reasonability of the products are the driving factors that have impacted their brand loyalty. All other factors are secondary as perceived by the surveyed customers. CHART 4: RECOMMEND MINISO TO FRIENDS/COLLEAGUES While considering the level of recommendation of the brand, we are able to infer the following: 58 out of 70 (i.e. 82.9% of the surveyed customers) are found to be satisfied with the overall performance of the brand. Only 3 out of 70 customers said that they would not recommend the brand to anyone, clearly showing the level of dissatisfaction.
- 13. IV. FINDINGS • It is observed that majority of the respondents i.e. 58 out of 70 respondents that accounts to 82.9% of the total population taken for the survey are using MINISO products or prefers their products as compared to others. • The research validates that out of 70 people, 39 people spend between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 per month on MINISO products and even less than 2.9% customers (i.e. 2) actually spend more than Rs. 2000. This analysis proves that since Indians are price sensitive when it comes to observing their buying behaviour. They do not tend to invest huge amounts into products of daily use. • Since Maximum number of customers i.e. 28 out of 70 prefer buying Bags and Accessories products from Miniso store. The second preferred product categories are Household items,Health & Beauty and Travel accessories having 14 out of 70,11 out of 70, 8 out of 70 customers respectively and the least preferred product categories are Stationary and Digital & Electronics having 6 out of 70, 3 out of 70 customers respectively. •Also out of the total responses, customers feel that the wide variety of the brand’s products, trendy and product being economical are the driving factors that have impacted their brand loyalty. All other factors like value for money and availability of the products are secondary as perceived by the surveyed customers. V. SUGGESTIONS ● They should focus on the lower price range as the products between Rs500 to Rs1000 are the ones that are providing more revenue as compared to others. ● Since the product category that is gaining huge attraction is Bags and Accessories, they can try to invest time and money in making more sub varieties or categories or more inventory under the respective category. ● Wide variety being the USP of the brand followed by trendy products, it is clearly showing that today’s customer wants new designs and styles, so the brand can invest in bringing more variety and vogue designs in the product. VI. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (i) SIGNIFICANCE OF DATA SELECTED Awareness of the brand: The data collected regarding this will yield us information about the awareness of the brand (MINISO) within the people of the Hyderabad city. This will give us a brief insight of the popularity of the brand amongst consumers of all strata. Is the Product worth the money: A direct question is being asked about the worth for the money for merchandise
- 14. provided by the brand? The brand we took to research upon is MINISO. They generally target people of all income groups and brags for its USP as the wide variety, trendy and have kept the prices decent enough that people do not have to think before buying a MINISO product. The brand is already popular in INDIA and to expand its roots they need to act according to this data and responses. Dependency of brand preference with the Availability of the products: The availability of the MINISO’S products is perceived to not have a good inventory control as observed in the survey as well. Sometimes the decision made by the customer to buy from this brand is influenced by the price of the products at MINISO. Since the price and quality together plays a vital role in the sale of the product, it is very important for the brand to know about the expectations of the customer from the brand. India is a developing marketplace flourishing with many opportunities; the Price can be a game changer in this scenario. (ii) SOURCES OF DATA Primary Source of Data- Primary data is the first-hand data collected by the researcher himself / herself thus they are original in character, they are collected for a particular purpose. A well-structured questionnaire was personally administered to the selected sample to collect the primary data. Secondary Source of Data- Secondary data is something, which has already been collected by some other persons for their purpose and published. External data was generated from research books and the internet. (iii) TYPE OF SURVEY Qualitative Data - Survey through questionnaire: • A Survey through questionnaire- A detailed questionnaire with specific questions was formed to understand the consumer perception about the various factors that can affect their customer retail experience. • The questionnaire was filled by the people who are frequent users of MINISO products, via online mode and the true perception of the customers was assessed. (iv) LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODS OF PRESENTING QUESTIONNAIRE: Google forms: sometimes the data collected tends to be superficial and not authentic. Face to face survey: Sometimes the people being surveyed get irritated and generally very less people pay proper attention to survey agents. This process is tiring and time taking. Mail survey: This technique is generally considered obsolete since the communication via mail and post has dropped down with the passage of time and very few people care to return the response in this digital world. (v) INTENT OF THE STUDY Objective - The main objective of the study is to understand the consumer behaviour and perception towards MINISO products. Also, to determine their decision-making process to buy from MINISO.
- 15. (vi) DEFINITION OF POPULATION All the customers who buy from the brand and have been using MINISO products for a long time. Our population consists of customers of all age groups. (vii) SAMPLE DESIGN AND TECHNIQUE Definition of a sample unit- Any individual who uses any of MINISO products. Type of design- In this research, a non-probability method of sampling is used. Non Probability sampling methods offer two potential advantages - convenience and cost. The main disadvantage is that non-probability sampling methods do not allow you to estimate the extent to which sample statistics are likely to differ from population parameters. Only probability sampling methods permit that kind of analysis. It is a sampling technique where the odds of any member being selected for a sample cannot be calculated. (viii) DATA SAMPLING METHOD Questionnaire: After a critical analysis of the aspects upon which data has to be collected, a set of questions are being prepared keeping in mind the objectives of the research. The questions are precisely framed to bring out the required data from the person. After several drafting of the questions are precisely framed to bring out the required data from the person. After several drafting of the questions a set of questions, orderly placed one after another is prepared, capable of driving the desired data out. For our research, we developed a closed ended questionnaire for collecting data, though there is one open ended to know the competitors of the brand. Google form: A Google form containing the questionnaire is being prepared for the survey. After the preparation of the google form, a link is generated. The link is then circulated through social media. This method gives wide visibility to the questionnaire. Candidates fill up the Google Form online and a copy the responses is then being stored in the Google drive. The representation of data in tabular form gives clarity about the data and makes the analysis easier. (ix) QUESTIONNAIRE • A set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purpose of survey or statistical study. • A brief questionnaire was formed with the idea of understanding how a customer perceives the variety of the products and what motivates customers to be loyal to the brand. The questionnaire also included other factors that can affect the customers perception. • In order to gauge customers' perceptions, special types of questions were used. Multiple choice questions have been used for the ease of understanding and convenience of filling the survey for the customers. • The level of satisfaction has been analysed by judging the level of recommendation of the brand to other people.
- 16. VII. LIMITATIONS (i) SAMPLE SIZE LIMITATIONS: A sample size of just 70 customers is too less to draw results from a segment of population of unknown size. Since the sample size was too small, the analysis is based on less conclusive results. Thus, the survey lacks strong statistical power. A small sample size also leads to low reproductivity and an inflated discovery rate, which might be a limitation in this research. This survey is inclusive of the customers who are residing in Hyderabad. (ii) SAMPLE SELECTION LIMITATIONS: The method of Convenience sampling (A sample that is made up of people who are easy to reach) was used for this research. We only approached customers of Hyderabad. This sample is only a very small proportion of the entire population of consumers of MINISO products. Therefore, research studies with much larger sample size would be required to ensure appropriate generalization of findings of the study. (iii) TIME RESTRICTION LIMITATIONS: The study demanded on field analysis considering all the consumers who have been using MINISO products which was difficult to analyse in a shorter time span. Since time restriction was there, we collected the data through surveys by means of questionnaires (through google forms).
- 21. REFERENCES ● Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ● Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action: Henry Assael:1992 ● About Miniso. Available at (Accessed on 20/04/20) https://www.minisoindia.com/about-miniso/ ● About Motivation. Available at (Accessed on 20/04/20) https://bizfluent.com/about-6572429-definition-consumer-motivation.