Page 1 of 13
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 08
July 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 327
Brand and Store Selection Behaviour of Female Consumers
towards Clothing
Harpreet Singh & Ella Mittal
1Assistant Professor, PIET for Women, Patiala
email: harpreetsingh_24@ymail.com
2Assistant Professor, UCoE, Punjabi University, Patiala
email: ellaom1986e@gmail.com
Abstract
The behaviour and interest of
consumers has been consistently changing
over past few decades as apparel and
fashion industry has transformed in India
recently. The present study explores the
brand selection and store selection
behaviour of female consumers in
Chandigarh (tri-city) area. The study
examines the factors influencing the brand
and store selection behaviour of female
consumers and the effects of Age, Income
and Place of Residence on the factors
affecting their behaviour. The primary
data has been collected by distributing
questionnaire to 150 consumers in various
markets of tri-city (Chandigarh). The study
will serve as a tool to get information
regarding preferences and factors
affecting choice of female consumers for
new as well as existing companies to frame
brand and other marketing strategies.
Keywords: Behaviour, Apparel, Brand,
Preference, Strategies.
Introduction:
Strong brands are a powerful asset
and commonly used to extend product
lines to expand the scope and distribution
of the company. It is a name, term, design,
symbol or any other feature that
distinguishes an organization or product
from its competitors, while branding is a
set of marketing and communication
methods that help to differentiate the
company or product. The brand indicates
quality, originality, validity and product
differentiation. Hence, with proper
execution, a brand can be a powerful asset
for new product development.
Shopping is a day to day activity,
which includes selecting the store and type
of item to be purchased. The clothing
preference reflects the culture, life style,
standard of living and growth in an
economy. Individually as a form of non- verbal communication it reflects the
wearer's identity. The behaviour and
interests of the consumer especially female
consumers has been changing over the
years due to increasing number of
available variety of products, stores and
brands in the market. The fashion, living
standard and life style and spending habits
have also changed during recent period.
So, the trends regarding brand selection
and store selection by the consumers has
become more complicated or diverse,
especially in case of fashionable products.
Everyone has his/her own attitude towards
shopping as someone may see it as an
entertainment, leisure activity and an
opportunity to spend time with friends
while for someone it may be a necessity or
even a boredom or torture.
The present study has been
conducted to determine the preference and
Page 2 of 13
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 08
July 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 328
behaviour of consumer's towards clothing,
both in terms of type of cloth and type of
brand, as large variety of Indian and
foreign brands are available in market.
Further, the major factors like friends,
family and celebrities' etc. that have an
impact on purchase decisions have been
analysed. Shopping malls, company
showrooms and multi-brand showrooms
have emerged recently in India. Further,
by analysing factors which affect store
selection behaviour the major factors were
identified. As the demographic profile
(Age, Income and Residence Area) also
affect the preferences and perception of
human beings, so present study also
attempts to explore the effect of female
consumer's demographic profile on brand
and store choice.
Chandigarh is a city as well as
Union Territory of India, which serves as
the capital of the states of Haryana and
Punjab. The metropolitan of Chandigarh- Mohali-Panchkula collectively is known as
Tri-city with a population of over 2
million. It is one of the early planned cities
in India and internationally known for its
architecture and urban design popularly
known as city beautiful. The city is known
for its high literacy rate, human
development index, standard of living, per
capita income and developed fashion
market. There exist many shopping points
or markets and availability of almost every
kind of clothes and clothing brand. So it
can be considered the best place to study
the brand and store selection behaviour of
consumers towards clothing in northern
India as people from all the parts of the
country come for shopping in Chandigarh.
Review of Literature:
Jantan M. and Kamaruddin A.R. (1999)
examined the factors that are salient to
store image in determining the choice of
retail outlets in the island of Penang,
Malaysia. The findings revealed that five
attributes of store i.e. image, location,
merchandise, price and service emerged as
salient attributes, having a bearing to
determine store patronage and further it
was found that location and service have a
strong impact on consumer's store choice.
Venkateswaran P.S., Ananthi N., et.al.
(2011) studied the influence of brand
loyalty on apparel buying behaviour of
consumers at Dindigul. The researchers
opined that branding communicates
several meanings to the consumer, which
include the attributes, benefit, value,
culture, personality and user. The study
indicated strong correlation between brand
name/brand image and brand loyalty and
significant relationship between factors
like brand name, product quality, price,
store environment and brand loyalty.
Prasad G.H.S. (2014) analysed the
customer's buying behaviour and
underlying factors determining the
customer's buying behaviour at a selected
apparel retailer. The study is based on
primary data collected from 100 customers
of selected apparel retailers in Hyderabad.
The research found that customers gave
high priority for availability of latest
designs, availability of options, shopping
for middle class and convenience of pick
up. The major factors affecting buying
behaviour are shopping as social
compliance and for discount, value for
money and family shopping.
Hassan S.T., Hurrah B.H. and Lanja A.
(2014) examined the factors that dominate
in buying behaviour of youth of Jalandhar
city for apparel along with investigating
the relation between purchase behaviour of
youth with the consumer attributes and
personal characteristics. The research
found that majority people wear branded
clothes because it provides more quality
and value for money and price is less
Page 3 of 13
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 08
July 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 329
important as compared to quality and
comfort for people. However, the people
are not very loyal towards branded clothes
and fashion, family and friends influence
most consumers regarding their brand
choice.
Erdil T.S. (2015) investigated the effects
of price, brand image and perceived risk
on store image and purchase intention of
consumers' in apparel sector. The findings
of the paper shows direct effect of price
image, brand image and perceived risk on
purchase intention and mediating effect of
store image on the relationship between
price image and risk perception and
purchase intention.
Tiwari G. (2015) studied the attributes and
preference of young girls buying decision
in case of Kurties. The Study is based on
primary data including sample of 100 girls
of 18-22 years age group from Jaipur city.
The study shows price and quality as
major attribute as it strongly affects the
purchasing decision of young girls.
Further, use of fabric in kurties and
embroided kurties are major preference of
young girls, as it reflects elegance in
dressing style.
Narayana L. and Sreenivas D.L. (2016)
investigated the relationship between the
factors that affect the buying behaviour
towards branded apparels in Bangalore
city. The paper concluded that there is
positive significant relationship between
reference group, store attributes, income of
respondents, occupation and consumer
purchase intention and consumer buying
behaviour.
Objectives of the Study:
The main aim of the study includes:
1. To study the behaviour of female
consumers regarding brand and store
selection towards apparel
2. To study major factors affecting brand
selection behaviour of female consumers
towards clothing.
3. To study major factors affecting store
selection behaviour of female consumers
towards clothing.
4. To study the effect of demographic
factors (Age, Income and Place of
Residence) that affect the brand and store
selection behaviour of female consumers
towards clothing.
Research Methodology:
Research Design:
The research study has been
designed to explore the female consumer's
behaviour while selecting the brand and
store for clothing in Chandigarh the capital
city of Punjab and Haryana. This kind of
study has not been conducted by any
researcher over the female consumers of
the city Chandigarh (Tri-city). So the
research is said to be exploratory in nature.
It aims to explore brand and store selection
behaviour of female consumers towards
clothing and effect of their demographic
profile over their opinions.
Data Collection and Sampling:
The primary data has been
collected by using a closed ended
questionnaire and secondary data has been
used to identify major factors effecting
consumer behaviour towards clothing
which have been considered in the study.
The questionnaire was based on previously
available literature and includes the
questions and factors previously used by
various researchers. The sample frame
consists of the female customers. The
markets included were Sector 17, Sector
22, Elante Mall in Chandigarh. Further 50
female consumers were selected on
convenience bases from each market for
