General Management Project on

To study the consumer buying behaviour towards cosmetic products”

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR

THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE

MASTER OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES (MMS)

(Under University of Mumbai)

SUBMITTED BY

RASHMI BHAKRE

M2123005

Under the Guidance of

Dr. (CA) MEGHA SHARMA

Assistant Professor

MMS BATCH-2021-23

THAKUR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

C-Block, Thakur Educational Campus, Shyamnarayan Thakur Marg, Thakur Village,
Kandivali (East), Mumbai 400101

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 CERTIFICATE

TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that project title “To study the consumer buying behaviour towards

cosmetic products” is successfully completed by Ms. Rashmi Bhakre during the IV semester in
partial fulfillment for the award of Master’s in Management Studies recognized by University of Mumbai
for the academic year 2021-2023 through Thakur Institute of Management Studies and Research. This
project is original and not submitted earlier for the award of any degree, diploma or associateship of any
other University / Institution

Dr. (CA) Megha Sharma Dr. Pankaj Natu

(Asst. Professor, TIMSR) (Director, TIMSR)

Signature of Guide:

Date:

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 DECLARATION

I, Ms. Rashmi Bhakre declare that this Project Report –“ To study the consumer buying behaviour
towards cosmetic products“ is submitted by me to the University of Mumbai through Thakur Institute
Of Management Studies And Research is a bonafied work undertaken by me is not submitted to any other
University or Institution for the award of any degree diploma certificate or publish any time before.

Student Signature

Name: Rashmi Bhakre

Roll No.: M2123005

Specialization: Finance

Batch: MMS 2021-2023 F1-A

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is not possible to prepare a project report without the assistance and encouragement
of other people. This one is certainly no exception.

On the very outset of this report, I would like to extend my sincere and heartfelt
obligation towards all the personages who have helped me in this endeavor. Without their
active guidance, help, cooperation and encouragement, I would not have made headway in the
project.

I would like to thank our Director Dr. Pankaj Natu - Thakur Institute of Management
Studies and Research for giving me an opportunity to learn and understand about the Finance
and Research aspects.

Special thanks to Dr. Megha Sharma for her valuable guidance in completing this
project and helping me to understand this project better and supporting me with her experience
on the same to make my project worth for my own benefit and also for the overall benefit of
the objective of the summer project.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to all my teachers at the department of MMS, Thakur
Institute of Management Studies and Research for their valuable support and guidance.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Personal care sector is one of the most lucrative and important sectors at the present time. The
increasing trend of different cosmetic products, beauty care products, skin care products, hair
care products etc. fuels the market growing opportunity for cosmetic products. Cosmetics and
toiletries are not just the domain of women any longer and Indian men too are increasingly
using these products for personal care. With rising demand, changing trends of consumer
behavior; Indian personal care sector is emerging.

The sole objective of my study is to study consumers buying behavior towards cosmetics. The
consumer behavior suggests how individual, groups and organization select, buy, use and
dispose of goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and wants. The
heterogeneity among people makes understanding consumer behaviour a challenging task to
marketers. Apparently, there are many disparities between men’s and women’s market for skin
care products or to be specific cosmetics. Hence, the companies have had to go deep in details
about the strategies of marketing to cater these two segments. Finally this knowledge acted as
an imperative tool in the hands of marketers to forecast the future buying behavior of customers
and devise the marketing strategies in order to create long term customer relationship. The
strategy adjustments suppose to concern all the areas of the marketing mix, social factor, and
self-esteem influences on their masculinity or feminity perspectives.

This study is divided into three parts: First part, introduction talks about insights of cosmetic
industry in India. Second part covers the theoretical background of study i.e. consumer
behaviour and factors that influence decision-making. The dissertation ends with analysis and
suggestions in order to modify current outlook for a higher growth rate.

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SR. NO. TOPIC PAGE
NO.
1. INTRODUCTION 7

2. SITUTATIONAL ANALYSIS 9

3. LITERATURE REVIEW 13

4. METHODOLOGY OF STUDY 17

5. DATA ANALYSIS 19

6. OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS 34

7. CONCLUSION 36

8. SUGGESTION 37

9. LEARNING OUTCOME 41

10. REFERENCE 42

11. PLAGIARISM 44

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Consumer behaviour is comparatively a new field of study which evolved just after the Second
World War. The sellers’ market has disappeared and buyers’ market has come up. This led to
paradigm shift of the manufacturer‘s attention from product to consumer and specially focused
on the consumer behaviour. The evaluation of marketing concept from mere selling concept to
consumer-oriented marketing has resulted in buyer behaviour becoming an independent
discipline. The growth of consumerism and consumer legislation emphasizes the importance
that is given to the consumer.

Consumer behaviour is a study of how individuals make decision to spend their available
resources (time, money and effort) or consumption related aspects (What they buy? When they
buy? How they buy? etc). There are many disparities between men’s and women’s market for
skin care product. It is therefore, important to investigate women and men’s attitude towards
purchasing of skin care products.

1.2 Purpose of study

As firms and markets have grown in size, marketers have lost direct contact with their
customers and now must turn to retail shopper research. Each consumer is unique and this
uniqueness manifests itself in search, purchasing, consuming, reacting etc. Now-a-days,
consumers have lot of interest regarding the cosmetic products and also have awareness about
cosmetic product attributes. The cosmetics companies must understand

• Why consumers make the purchases that they make?

• What factors influence consumer purchases?

• The changing factors in our society.

• The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that
satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when
and how consumers buy.

• Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies and
thus, accordingly craft marketing strategies.

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Therefore, the purpose of this study is:

a) To examine the influence of attitude on cosmetics buying behaviour

b) To identify the important factors that determines the buying behaviour.

c) To focus on the relationship between their consumption habit and market characteristic.

1.3 Scope of study

The scope of study is to get an insight into what provokes a customer to visit and patronize a
cosmetic product.

Changing Trends of Cosmetics usage due to:

• Increase in disposable income

• Changing lifestyles

• Information explosion

Thus, retailing in cosmetics has become a major challenge with cosmetics competing with other
segment of products for shelf space in a retail outlet

1.4 Limitations

 The study is restricted to consumer buying behaviour towards cosmetics and more
inclined towards men grooming market.

 Due to time constraint, there is lack of a detailed analysis.

 The study is quite general and lacks in-depth information.

 The cosmetics and toiletries is divided in 11 categories which are baby care, bath and
shower products, deodorants, hair care, color cosmetic, men's grooming products, oral
hygiene, fragrances, skin care, depilatories and sun care. However this study is limited
to only the skin care products.

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2. SITUTATIONAL ANALYSIS

 Introduction

The word “cosmetics “is derived from the Greek word kosmetikos which means “skilled at
decorating”. Cosmetics colloquially known as makeup or make-up are care substances used to
enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. According to Euromonitor, the cosmetics
and toiletries is divided in 11 categories which are baby care, bath and shower products,
deodorants, hair care, color cosmetic, men’s grooming products , oral hygiene, fragrances, skin
care, depilatories and sun care. The beauty and cosmetics sector is experiencing outstanding
growth. It has been one of the world’s leading industries. In India the cosmetic and toiletries
market has developed rapidly. The U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which
regulates cosmetics, defines cosmetics as "intended to be applied to the human body for
cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting
the body's structure or functions."

Specifically, Demand for skin whitening products by men as well as women, is driving the
IJEMR –June 2013-Vol 3 Issue 6 - Online - ISSN 2249–2585 - Print - ISSN 2249-8672 2
www.aeph.in trend, but other beauty products are not far behind (Alexander, 2011). The growth
of cosmetics and beauty products markets have surged significantly as consumers are
increasingly becoming aware about appearance, beauty grooming and choice of person al care
products (Hamza salim khraim). To meet consumers’ needs, manufacturers are likely to be
aggressive across all categories in cosmetics. However, the concentration of new product
launches will be particularly visible in dynamic categories such as skin care and emerging
categories such as mouthwashes/ dental rinses.

Grooming is a moderately arbitrary term, and the meaning is culturally defined and varies.
Commonly, even if the connotation is that one's personal hygiene practices as freely traditional
to the customary cultural norm (Waters, 2002). To have the same comprehension, the word of
‘Men’s grooming products’ here covers five categories as bath Products, deodorant, hair care;
shampoo, conditioner/treatments, styling products, hair color and others, shaving products;
shave cream, lotions/balms, disposable razors/shavers, manual shavers, electric shavers , others
and skincare products (MarketResearch.com, 2009).

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Consumers buy products according to their needs, preferences and buying power. Consumer
buying behaviour depends on his perception, self concept, social and cultural background and
their age and family cycle, their attitudes, beliefs values, motivation, personality, social class
and many other factors that are both internal and external (Kotler and keller, 2009).
Specifically, the attitudes of consumers can have a significant effect on buying behaviour.

 Indian Cosmetic industry

Beauty and hygiene is a $10 billion market and is estimated to grow at a 10% compounded
annual growth rate to $17 billion by 2020, according to a February report by the Indian Beauty
and Hygiene Association (IBHA), Bain and Co and Google India for FY 2017.

The Indian cosmetic industry is going through active phase in terms of product development
and marketing. According to CII the total Indian beauty and cosmetic market is showing growth
between 15-20% per annum. This industry can be broadly classified into body care, skincare,
eye care, color cosmetics, hair care and makeup. There is great demand for more advanced and
specialized cosmetics.

Demand for natural, herbal products was on rise in 2015 due to strong promotional campaigns
by the concerned companies. The cosmetic industry in India is still in growth stage of its life
cycle. The emphasis of the herbal cosmetic has been on the spectacular growth of the herbal
and ayurvedic beauty products business as conveyed by beauty expert Shahnaz Husain who
was the first to introduce the concept of ayurvedic cosmetics to the world when she launched
her products way back in 1970. Top ten or Leading Cosmetics Brands in the Indian Market are
Lakme, Lotus, Biotique, L'Oreal, Shahnaz Husain, Revlon India, Maybelline, Himalaya,
Colorbar and Elle 18.

A KPMG Wellness Sector report indicates that India's beauty and wellness market would
nearly double to Rs 80,370 crore by 2017/18 fromRs 41,224 crore in 2012/13. Business is so
good that it has caught the attention of private equity firms as well. An AC Nielsen report
estimates the hair-care market in India at Rs 3,630 crore, with average annual growth of about
20 per cent.Another segment expanding rapidly is bridal makeup. Earlier, it was usually only
the bride who visited the salon prior to the wedding ceremony, but now friends and relatives
often join her and salons offer special packages for them. A bridal package cost ranges from
Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh for 10 people, which includes head-to-toe grooming and makeup. The
government's Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council runs various training schemes.
Naturally, employment opportunities in the sector are booming, too. The KPMG Wellness

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Report estimates that workforce requirements in the beauty and salon segment will grow from
3.4 million in 2013 to 12.1 million in 2022.

Marketers have noted the changes and are developing new marketing strategies to serve the
Indian consumer. Marketers are spending sizable amount of money and time to analyze
different demographic and psychographic characteristics of the Indian population.

 Types of Companies

There are three principal types of companies in the organized sector:

 Foreign-owned / international companies: Unilever, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal,

Revlon, Oriflame, Avon, Amway, Gillette, Wella AG, Shisaido, Schwarzkopf, etc.

 Large indigenous companies: Patanjali, Ayur herbal, Dabur, Marico, Godrej, Cavin Kare,
Emami, Biotique and Paras

 Small/medium companies: about 100 players

In addition to the organized sector, there is a very large unorganized sector comprising of
hundreds of micro/cottage scale enterprises, spread across the country, thriving on products
based on traditional and local recipes.

 Urban and Rural Market Trends

Urban India leads consumption, with about two-thirds of all personal care products by volume
and more than four-fifths of the cosmetics segment consumption. However, rural consumption
exceeds urban consumption in toilet soaps and is almost equal to urban sales of hair oil, the
lowest end of the hair care market. Many companies are targeting the rural markets to push
volume sales in categories like lip and nail care, and some skin care products as well.
Meanwhile, urban consumption is evolving, moving from basic functional to more advanced
and specialized products, and greater expenditure levels. There is a rise in consumption of
men’s products, including skin care products, which were earlier considered purely the
woman’s domain.

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 Essentiality Perceptions

In an emerging market, budgetary constraints influence the usage levels of various products,
and create hierarchies in product needs, with more products in the ‘essential’ category than
‘desirable’ or purely ‘luxury’ categories. Therefore, essentiality perceptions define the
market’s maturity in terms of various personal care products.

Essentiality perceptions, gauged by a survey by the Italian Cosmetic Association (2004),

indicate that shampoo and hair oil are perceived to be the most essential products (polled by
96% and 94% respondents respectively), followed by face wash and fairness creams (84% and
83%), while moisturizers (63%) and sun screen lotion (40%) are not as popularly perceived as
essential personal care products. At the same time, anti-ageing and anti-wrinkle products are
perceived as non-essential, luxury products by more than 70% of all respondents. To an extent,
liquid soap (36%) and sunscreen lotions (29%) are also perceived as non-essential products.

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3. LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Kotler (2012), on the one hand, the market place is in a constant changing thanks
to the evolution of marketing techniques, tools and the evolution of the technological
environment. On the another hand, customers are changing as well; indeed their expectations,
their ways to consume, and the relationship they expect with brands are changing too.
Marketers have to adapt their strategies to the new market and the new consumer because
companies understand they have the power to influence consumers on their behaviour in
several ways and consequently on their decision making process.

Consumer buying behavior

Understanding consumer behavior completely may not be possible because of its complex
nature and number of factors involved. Several definitions of consumer behavior are available
in literature.

Subrahamanyam & others (2022) conducted a study on “Marketing of consumer goods” in

Vishakapatnam. It was found that large number of respondents purchased consumer products
from private retail shop followed by super bazaar & consumer co-operative store and housewife
played a vital role in taking purchase decision.

Mowen and Minor (2021) described consumer behavior as the study of the buying units and
the exchange processes involved in acquiring, consuming and disposing of goods, services,
experiences and ideas. The term buying units is used rather than consumers.

The field of consumer behavior is thestudy of individuals, groups or organizations and the
processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, service experiences, or ideas
to satisfy needs and the impacts these processes have on the consumer and society. Situational
influencers are factors particular to a time and place that do not follow from knowledge of
personal (intra-individual) and stimulus (choice alternative) attributes and that have a
demonstrable and systemic effect on current behavior. Hawkins et al (2019).

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A1-Ashban and Burney (2019) found that cosmetics buying behaviour literature in developing
countries in general is inadequate and ambiguous. As it is known from Theory of Reasoned
Action and Theory of Planned Behaviour, attitudes have considerable impact on behaviour
(Ravikumar, 2019).

According to Loudon and Della Bitta (2018) consumer behavior may be defined as the decision
process and physical activity individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring, using or
disposing of goods and services. Consumer behavior involves a mental decision process as well
as physical activities the actual act of purchase is just one stage in a series of mental and
physical activities that occur during a period of time. Some of the activities precede the actual
act of purchase and others follow it.

Briney (2018) describes an interesting trend among Indian cosmetic consumers, while other
global countries are taking to the traditional Indian herbal and ayurvedic applications for beauty
solutions, Indian consumers are increasingly looking to international personal care brands as
lifestyle enhancement products, in the belief that the association with and use of an
international brand confers one with a sophisticated and upper class image.

New scientific developments, techniques, products and media hype, has contributed the Indian
fashionindustry in generating mega revenues and this has in turn added to the growth of
cosmetic industry.Rising hygiene and beauty consciousness due to changing demographics and
lifestyles, deeper consumerpockets, rising media exposure, greater product choice, growth in
retail segment and wider availabilityare the reasons reported by (Euromonitor International,
2006).

Duff (2018) investigated the niche market in women's herbal cosmetics and observed that
herbal cosmetics buyers were becoming more fashion conscious and were demanding products
with more attractive design; furthermore, consumers have a tendency to use different makeup
designs for different occasions. It is further argued that design or visual appearance is the
important part of the product, which includes line, shape and details

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affecting consumer perception towards a brand. According to Joel R. Evans and Barry Berman
(2009), demographic, social and psychological factors affect the way final consumers make
choices and can help a firm understand how people use the decision process. An
affluent consumer would move through the process more quickly than a middle-income one
due to less financial risk. An insecure consumer would spend more time consuming decisions
than a secure one.

Schiffmanet.al (2017) defined consumer behavior as the behavior that consumers display in
searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they
expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer behavior focuses on how individual consumers and
families or households make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort)
on consumption related items.

“Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals or groups buy, use and dispose of goods,
services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants” (Kotler, 2017). In his definition,
Kotler lays the foundations of consumer behaviour and then explains that this area is a big part
of marketing studies. Indeed, understanding customers’ behaviour can help companies to
respond to consumers’ needs toward segmentation and targeting (Solomon, 2017). According
to Kotler (2017), buyers’ decisions can be influenced by several things such as culture, social
groups but also the individual itself. This influence can affect consumer behaviour at different
degrees; indeed consumer behaviour can be conscious or unconscious.

Debiprasd Mukherjee (2017) conducted a study entitled, “Impact of celebrity endorsement on

Brand Image”. This study shows that consumers report higher self-brand connection for brands
with images that are consistent with the image of a celebrity that they aspire to be like,
particularly in the case when the image of the celebrity and the brand match.

Kisan Shivajirao Desai (2017) stated that “A study on Consumer Buying Behaviour of
Cosmetic Products in Kolhapur”, The research attempts to study the consumer buying behavior
of cosmetic products in an Indian settings , specifically with reference to Kolhapur .The

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purpose of this paper is to investigate the various factors that has impact on buying decision of
consumers. In this paper, respondents were selected by convenient sampling method and data
was analyzed and interpreted with the help of statistical techniques. The study reveals that
different factors have significant influence on buying behavior. This study also contributes to
the knowledge of how cosmetic companies will be able to understand buying habits of the
consumers.

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4. METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

4.1 Research Objective

To study the consumer buying behaviour towards cosmetics product category

4.2 Research Design

Exploratory Research Design

4.3 Data Collection

Data in the study was collected from primary as well as secondary data sources

a) Primary data sources:

Primary data is the specific data which the researchers collect or observe by themselves such
as conducting a questionnaire and interview. This specific data can be seen as an important
data because the data is unique and it is collected and observed according to the specific
purpose draw by researches (Brymen & Bell, 2007)

Observations and personal one-to-one conversation formed a primary data source for my study.

b) Secondary data sources:

According to Brymen & Bell (2007), secondary analysis is the scrutiny of available data by
previous studies or other researchers who probably have not been involved in the collection of
those data. This data is concerned as an important tool for gathering all relevant data according
to the purposes of this thesis. Moreover, secondary data provides many benefits to this research
such as cost and time saving with high-quality data. Those are the reasons to support why
secondary data was applied in this research.

External data was generated from research journals, internet resources, visual media, blogs and
newspapers.

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c) Beneficiaries:

• Researchers

This report will help researchers to impart knowledge about the consumer’s (both men and
women) buying behavior towards cosmetics. What factors affect their behavior?

• Management students

The project will help the management student to understand the insights of necessities for
formulating marketing strategies.

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5. DATA ANALYSIS

Unlike descriptive statistics, inferential statistics are highly involved in analysis to extend
further than the data alone. For instance, this study use inferential statistics to infer some
judgments or conclusions of the probability which relate to an observed difference between
groups and factors is the reliable one or one that might happen in this study. Therefore, the
inferential statistics is used to make inferences and connection between the obtained data and
related theories (Trochim,

2008).

Penetration of most cosmetics and toiletries is still quite low in India. Current consumption of
many products is well below that of many countries in Asia. The low market penetration of
many cosmetics and personal care products offers room for growth. The Indian toiletries
market is well developed and dominated by major multinational companies and a few large
Indian players. The urban population with increasing purchasing power is the major force
driving demand for cosmetics and toiletries. India is a very price-sensitive market and mass-
market products constitute the major part of the cosmetics and toiletries market. The hair and
beauty industry has seen a per capita annual spend of $1.2 in FY 2013.

 Factors influencing the consumer buying behavior:

A buying decision goes through different stages, which are always influenced by behavioral
forces. Culture, sub-culture and social class are very important in influencing shoppers’
behaviour. Buying behaviors covers the underlying influences and motives for purchase. It also
tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference
groups, and society in general. The factors like economic, cultural, technological and political
factors influence the retail shopper behaviour.

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 Cultural Factors

Culture influences shoppers’ behaviour through the buying process. It is one of the fundamental
determinants of shoppers’ buying behaviour.

a) Culture

The study of culture is the study of all aspects of a society – its language, knowledge, laws,
customs – that give that society its distinctive character and personality. In the context of retail
shopper behaviour, culture is defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs
that serve to regulate the consumer behaviour of members of a particular society. However
culture offers order, direction, and guidance to members of society in all phases of human
problem solving. Culture is dynamic, and gradually and continually evolves to meet the needs
of society.

Culture is learned as part of social experience. The elements of culture are transmitted by three
pervasive social institutions: the family, the church, and the school. A fourth social institution
that plays a major role in the transmission of culture is the mass media - both through editorial
content and through advertising. Thus culture and values provide an effective basis for the
segmenting consumer markets.

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b) Sub-Culture

Each culture consists of smaller sub-cultures that provide more specific identification and
socialization for its members. This specifies shoppers’ identification and specialization which
includes nationalities, religions, racial groups and geographical regions. Many sub cultures
make up important market segments and marketers often design product and marketing
programmes tailored to their needs. They influence food preferences, clothing choices,
recreation etc. The subculture makes it possible for a person who understands another culture
with reference to his own subculture. These subcultures are used by the companies as the basis
of segmentation.

c) Social Class

Social classes relatively are homogeneous and enduring divisions in society, and each division
with similar values, interest and behavior. It is identified as relatively permanent and
homogeneous group of people having certain identifiable characteristics. Social classes are
relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society, which are hierarchically ordered
and whose members share similar values, interests and behavior (P.Kotler,).

The marketer has to study the behavioral patterns of these classes so as to formulate his
marketing strategy and promotional communication.

Social classes show distinct product and brand preferences due to different characteristics,
which includes:

• Persons of two different social classes tend to behave differently.

• Persons are perceived as occupying inferior or superior positions according to their

social class.

• A person’s social class is indicated by a number of variables as occupation, income,

wealth, education rather than by any single variable.

• Individuals can move from one social class to another up or down, during his life time.

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 Social Factors

Consumer’s behavior is also influenced by social factors, which includes reference groups,
family, roles and status.

a) Reference group and family

The influence from group of people (friends and colleagues, etc.) or family is considered as an
important element that affects other purchasing behavior. According to Elsey & Sukato (2009),
friends or family possibly convinced consumers into purchasing a particular product.
Moreover, Antoinette (2006) noted that women (wife or partner) have an influence on men
behavior such as men will buy skin care products easier or take care more on themselves if they
are encouraged and accepted by people who surround them.

b) Roles and Status

Shoppers’ behavior is reflected by his/her role and status in different groups. Each role carries
a status. A person belongs to many groups – family, clubs, and organizations. The person’s
position in eaah group can be defined in terms of both role and status.

 Personal Factors

Each retail shopper has distinctive personal factors like age, life cycle stage, occupation,
economic conditions, life-style, personality & self-concept, which influence the Retail shopper
behaviour as given under:

a) Age and Life-Cycle Stage

Customers in different age groups have different needs and want. While people who belong to
same age group differ in many other ways, they tend to share a set of values and common
cultural experiences that they carry throughout life (Askegaard et al., 1999). In term of skin
care products, younger generation tend to be more open to skin care products than older
generation. In a relation with this kind of market, Amanda (2004) revealed that men who are
in the 18-24 years old, were driving apparel spending and are increasingly spending money on
appearance related products as well. Young adults require trendy clothes, recreational facilities,
transportation, etc.

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b) Occupation

It might be one factor that affects purchasing behavior because some occupations have to take
care and maintain their appearance. Staying competitive in term of appearance in workplace is
becoming more and more importance. As Antoinette (2001) said that many working men
believe personal appearance does influence whether someone is promoted or succeed
professionally. Therefore, spending patterns is found among different occupational groups
(Prakask and Vinith, 2007).

c) Income

Income plays as an important factor in purchasing behavior. According to Chunhapak et al.,

2008, noted that people who have different income have different selection of product.
Moreover, people who have high income are more ready to buy expensive products but people
who have low income are not. Therefore, income is one factor that affects purchasing behavior.
In term of skin care product, Blanchin et al., (2007) said customers should have enough time
and sufficient income to purchase and use the product.

d) Living area

Living area is one factor that influences on customer’s consumption. Elsey and Sukato (2009)
said that consumer behavior might change according to location; urban and rural area. People
who live in urban area do not have the same desires as people who live in rural area. In case of
skin care products, rural men do not concern more about using skin care products because the
lifestyles there are less competitive and relatively relaxed but many urban people do (Elsey &
Sukato, 2009). Location of living area can make the difference in purchasing behavior.
According to the research of Prakask & Vinith (2007), 50% of the urban respondents and 53.3%
of those belonging to the sub urban areas made their purchases individually, while 32 % of
urban consumers purchased cosmetics with their spouses.

e) Personality and Self-Concept

Each person has got a distinctive personality which will influence his buying behaviour.
Personality may be defined as “the person’s distinguishing psychological characteristics that
lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to his own environment”. Personality can
be used to analyses shopper behaviour because marketers have seen that there exists a
correlation between personality types and product/brand choices.

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Some of the traits used to describe a person’s personality are: self-confidence, dominance,
aggressiveness, defensiveness, achievement, deference, etc. While personality, ‘self-concept’
is a related term. It refers to the person’s image of himself each person carries a self-image of
himself/ herself and will purchase goods or services that match the self-image. Most of the top
cosmetics companies use this concept as marketing tool.

 Psychological Factors

The psychological factors like motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitude also
influence consumer behaviour.

a) Motivation

Motivation refers to the way a person is enthused to intensify his willingness to use his
potentiality for the achievement of his objectives.

b) Perception

Perception is the process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture of the world. It has strategy implications for marketers
because consumers make decisions based on what they perceive, rather than on the basis of
objective reality.

Products and brands also have images (i.e., symbolic meanings) for the consumer. The way a
product is perceived (i.e., positioned) is probably more important to its ultimate success than
are its actual physical characteristics. Products that are perceived favorably obviously have a
better chance of being purchased. The brands that a cosmetic consumer considers in making a
purchase choice in a particular product category are known as the evoked set.

c) Learning

When people act, they learn. Learning describes changes in an individual’s behaviour arising
from experience. An individual’s response to a drive or stimulus (cue) often depends on
previous learning, which in turn is often the result of the type and degree of reinforcement
received. Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a specific response will occur in the
future as the result of particular cues.

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d) Beliefs and Attitude

A belief is a thought that a person holds about something. People act based on their beliefs.
These beliefs help in building up product and brand images. An attitude can be said to be
“person enduring favorable or unfavorable cognitive evaluation, emotional feelings, and action
tendencies towards some object or idea.

Attitudes make people to behave in a fairly consistent way towards similar objects.

People do not interpret and react to everything in a fresh way. A person’s various attitudes
settle into a coherent pattern and to change, one may require difficult adjustment in many other
attitudes. Thus the marketer should try to link his products into existing attitudes rather than
trying to change people’s attitudes.

e) Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity endorsement is one factor that affects on customer’s purchasing behavior. It can be
seen as a significant impact nowadays. They (celebrities) have influences on product’s
perspective. In term of skin care products, celebrities such as David Beckham and Brad Pitt
have changed perception about men who use cosmetic. According to Cheng et al (2010), it
noted that, “Increasing endorsement of metrosexual celebrities opinion-former such as David
Beckham and Brad Pitt who openly admits to using skincare product and publicizing that men
can make themselves look better with the product had contributed to making men more
comfortable and positively changed men’s attitude toward the idea of consuming male
grooming products. Young men choose brand or product through the imitation of celebrity
endorser such as David Beckham and Brad Pitt because they are known for their looks and
style which resonate well with the metrosexuals tastes”.

So it is becoming more acceptable nowadays for men who take care themselves by using skin
care products.

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 Evolution of femininity and masculinity

In the past, men were supposed to be assertive, competitive and tough but women were
supposed to be more concern with taking care of their home, of children and of people in
general (Hofstede, 1991). Women evolution might be one factor that affects men’s behaviors.
Today women do not have to stay at home and take care of their home anymore; women can
do whatever they want such as get a college education, participate in sport events and run for
president. Women can be doctors, police officers and whatever if they yearn for. A large
increase in mothers working outside the home and in women entering male-dominated
professions has influenced masculine and feminine roles (Twenge, 1997). So it seems that the
gap between masculinity and femininity have been reduced in term of value from time to time.
Twenge (1997) supported that it is possible for both men and women to adapt feminine and
masculine roles in their life. In a relation with this study, Hofstede (1991) mentioned that
Sweden and Norway are seen as the most feminine countries. There was no difference between
score of masculine and feminine, and both (males and females) expressed equally tender,
nurturing values. However, men’s value and women’s value need not be identical in all aspects,
only they do not differ along a tough-tender dimension. Moreover female can learn to function
in a masculine way and vice versa. So it is not surprise that men also have feminine side when
talking about how to take care and maintenance their appearance and body (Hofstede, 1991)
Emerging new kind of men such as metrosexual, is the affect from those evolutions. This new
kind of men will be seen easier nowadays and become more and more acceptable because it is
more accepted by men to apply some feminine way in their life.

It is also observed consumption of personal care products centres on young women, with the
age group 15-44 years accounting for about 70% of the market. Consumption begins in the
teens and tapers off after 45, and declines substantially after 55.

 Improving the self-esteem through the self-image

Self esteem is the opinion of yourself. High self esteem is a positive opinion of yourself and
low self esteem is a negative opinion of yourself (More-selfesteem, 2010). Self-esteem depends
on many factors such as physical appearance, career and social status, etc. Moreover, self-
esteem is a basis positive attitude toward living. High self-esteem people are confident, willing
to try new things, responsible for their action either good or bad and open for it, etc. In contrast,
low self-esteem people are opposite such as be afraid to try new thing, blame the other for their

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problem and compare themselves with others, etc. Therefore, it is significant to improve the
self-esteem because it affects thinking, action and even relationship with other people
(Blanchin et al., 2007 and More-selfesteem, 2010). High- and low-esteem subjects are
motivated to maintain favorable self-images, but that low-esteem subjects are constrained in
this effort by less favorable beliefs about themselves (Lynch et al., 1992). Therefore, improving
self-image might be one step to improve self-esteem.

Nowadays, many people turn to take care themselves more than in the past, especially men.
They have changed their lifestyle by taking care more on themselves, not only going to the
gym but also using skin care products. Using men’s skin care product is not something far away
from their life any longer because physical appearance and youthful have become more and
more important in this current society. According to Sturrock & Pioch (1998), the main stimuli
for the consumption of male grooming products were the creation, development and
maintenance of a self-image. So many men are trying to improve their image and maintain their
youthful in order to stay competitive in workplace (Antoinette, 2007). Moreover, Martin &
Kennedy (1994) found that physical attractiveness appears to be an imperative factor
determining male’s levels of self-esteem. Grooming products may not improve only the
physical appearance of the man but also his psychological image by increasing his confidence
level about his appearance (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Users feel more pleasant on themselves
after using skin care products. So they feel more confident on their image and it pasts through
to their behaviors and make them more believe in themselves (Amanda, 2004).

 Consumer’s need recognition for Cosmetics:

The need for cosmetics is generally seen as self-esteem needs where Indian women perceive
beauty not just in terms of face but also in terms of fit body, confident attitude and impressive
personality.

Thus, brands try to cater to this specific need with tag lines like;

L’Oreal – Because I’m are worth it

Maybelline – May be she’s born with it. May be its Maybelline.

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 Consumer decision-making process

According to Askegaard et al (1999), they stated that there are 5 stages in customer decision
making. All the steps are followed by the consumers for some purchase but not every time.

o Problem recognition

It occurs whenever the consumer sees a significant difference between his/ her current state of
affairs and some desired or ideal state. The consumer perceives that is a problem to be solved.
In case of skin care products, consumers might concern about their skin and appearance so
using skin care products may help them to maintain or repair their skin problem.

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 o Information Search & Alternative Evaluation

Information Search

Once the problem has been recognized, consumer needs information to resolve it. So consumer
will begin survey or search his/her environment for appropriate data to make reasonable
decision. In skin care products, females receive information from family and friends more than
men. However, males depend more on advertisement (Prakask & Vinith, 2007).

Alternative Evaluation

In this stage, customer will use all information that acquired from stage 2 to evaluate all product
choices. Once the relevant options from category have been assembled and evaluated, customer
will choose product among them. So in a relation with skin care market, the variety of product
alternative for men is not so intensive competition comparing with women’s.

a) Major Driving force for the Indian Consumers to buy Cosmetics: Word-of-Mouth
or Opinion leaders (peers, friends & Beauticians).

b) Advertising & Promotions are effective but In-store displays do not have much
impact.

c) In-store Sales girls (Beauty Consultants) exert an influence over the purchase.
However, there is greater preference for tried & tested products.

d) The factors which influence the final purchase most is quality, followed by price
and variety.

o Product choice

Once the relevant options from category have been assembled and evaluated, customer will
choose product among them. So in a relation with skin care market, the variety of product
alternative for men is not so intensive competition comparing with women’s.

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 o Outcome

After customer have bought and used product for a while, customer will have an experience or
satisfaction/dissatisfaction about the product. And the outcome would affect for the repeating
the purchase or searching for new product in the future. Consequently it is important that
products providers should offer products, including the related offering to content men’s
customer for their repetition of purchase.

 Key aspects of Indian cosmetics buyer’s behavior:

MEN WOMEN

Sources of  TV advertisements  Advertisements

information
 Hoardings and print advertisements  Friends
for latest and
new products  Window/Shelf display in stores  Window shopping

in cosmetics &  For international brands  Word of mouth

personal care
- Friends’/recommendations  Personal visits
products
- Visits to shops  Some shops are very old and well
established – so it is safe to buy
- Advertisements are important
from there due to competitive
for creating awareness but not
pricing and genuine products.
very important for purchase
decision

Frequency of  As and when required, say once in  For regular use - usually pre-
purchase a month decided

 Non non-regular products such as

perfumes – impulse buying (e.g.
while visiting a shop for some
other purchases)

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Where  Neighborhood shops - general  Neighborhood General Store
store, chemist (often servants are
 Drug/ Chemist Store
sent for purchase of routine items)
 Department Store/Super market
 Department Store/Super market
 Direct Marketing companies
 Smuggled goods' outlets - not
genuine products  Special Women's boutiques – Not
regularly
 Purchased abroad – Yes, e.g.
Perfumes (duplicate/spurious  Company Showrooms - Not

products is the main apprehension) regularly

(Company exclusive showrooms, Mail (Smuggled goods' outlets, mail order

order catalogue, Direct Marketing catalogue are not popular among
companies are not popular among men) women consumers)

 Reasons of cosmetic product choice

o Medical reasons: The highest frequency toward their perceived level of importance for
using skin care products is because of medical reason.

o Personal hygiene: Consumers believe that it is extremely important to use skin care
products for their personal hygiene. Primary reason for men to buy skin care products
is personal hygiene.

o Improving the skin: Men and women use skin care products for improving skin. Skin
lightening or even tone skin care products have huge demand in the market.

o Anti-aging/ solving skin problem: No consumer likes to have the signs of ageing.
Perception of younger looking skin through anti-aging or skin problems solving
products is evident. Moreover, attractiveness is seen as very important reason driving
them to use the products.

o Self-esteem/ self-confident: Unconscious motive of using cosmetics is for self-esteem

or self-confidence. Grooming is not only related to appearance but also to one’s body
image.

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 Factors influencing purchase intention

o Quality/attribute of product: Most of the consumers who use skin care products see
quality or attribute of product is extremely important in their attitude.

o Ingredient: Consumers who use skin care products think that product’s ingredient is
moderate importance affecting them for decision making to buy the products.

o Promotion and advertising: Promotion and advertising directly forms perception about
brands in consumer’s mind and thus, affects their decision making.

o Packaging: It has been observed that packaging attracts women more than men during
cosmetics purchase.

o Store location and environment: Retail store servicescape has strong impact on the
decision making of the consumer especially women. Servicescape includes ambience,
temperature, sales consultant, sound, aroma, etc. enhances the shopping experience.
Location of store is related to the convenience of buying and impacts sales.

Case Analysis: “Himalaya’s big gamble”

Marketing ‘herbal’ or ‘natural’ products should be a cakewalk right? In reality, however,

selling “herbal” products is a unique challenge. First, you’re selling to a niche market. Second,
there are skeptics who would question the authenticity of the ingredients and raw materials you
use. And if you happen to put a higher price tag, you’ve just about had it — both competitors
and consumers will sneer at your products’ genuineness and efficacy.

That’s precisely how Himalaya is approaching the men’s grooming market — being cautious
and applying insights picked up from the women and child care products markets. It entered
the category in 2014, having established itself as a trusted brand in women’s grooming. But
nearly three years down the line, Himalaya is now making some headway in the grooming
market which comprises bath and shower products, hair care, skin care, deodorants and shaving
products.

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Influencing men is harder and a long-term proposition unlike in women’s category. The biggest
challenge for brands in men’s grooming is product efficacy. Men in general are barely affected
by emotional appeals. They judge a product by its performance rather than packaging. With
multiple products, women take longer in choosing their brand, while a shelf for men would
have limited products. In terms of product line, it translates into limited offerings (variants) for
men in comparison to women. Affordable pricing strategy is used to grow its men’s portfolio

Himalaya has cornered a 23 per cent market share in the face wash segment. It is targeting a
16 per cent market share in the men’s face wash segment, as against eight per cent at present,
in the next one year.

Key to success: Being proactive in everything you do and learning from both your and your
competitor’s experiences.

Source: business-standard

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6. OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS

 The study envisages that the women and men’s growing markets are different. The
profile and preferences of the two consumer groups are vastly different. Women’s
grooming category is an evolved one, while that of men’s is still evolving.

 The task of changing men’s habit is a lot tougher. In women’s category, the user enjoys
exposure to grooming products and is far more open to experimenting.

 Men in general are barely affected by emotional appeals. They judge a product by its
performance rather than packaging. The gap between promise and performance is larger
for most brands in the men’s grooming segment. This is both a challenge and an
opportunity.

 With multiple products, women take longer in choosing their brand, while a shelf for
men have limited products. In terms of product line, it translates into limited offerings
(variants) for men in comparison to women. If men like a particular brand they don’t
bother to look around for options.

 Interestingly, men who fall in the age group of 18 to 25, spend more money on
grooming and personal care products than women in India. The aspirations and
requirements of today’s young Indian men are rapidly evolving.

 Men are more concerned about the benefits a product offers while women are more
interested in knowing what delivers the stated benefits or action. These behavioral
insights reflect in product design and packaging sported by men’s products. For
example, they sport masculine look and feel, are sturdier and available in brighter
colours.

 There has been sharp increase in number of beauty salon and spa in the country. It is
estimated that about 25-30 percent of total salon business come from men’s treatment.

 With marketing initiatives too, the approach to building men’s product portfolios is
hugely different from that of women’s. For women, general entertainment channels are
the preferred media vehicles, but for men big sports events are ideal.

 With more men buying grooming products online the cosmetic companies are focusing
to create a lot more conversation in the digital world for men than women.

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 Within the cosmetic product segment now-a-day it is observed that consumers’
preferences are going towards those cosmetic products which contain herbal ingredients
or are made from the natural origin. However, selling “herbal” products is a unique
challenge.

 The herbal cosmetics industry is also driving growth in the beauty business in India and
is expected to grow at a rate of 12 percent. The Indian cosmetics industry has a plethora
of herbal cosmetic brands like Forest Essentials, Biotique, Himalaya, Blossom
Kochhar, VLCC, Dabur and Lotus and many more.

 It was identified that in this market, the consumer is expecting some extra benefits like
some gifts, quality and suitable pricing of these products.

 It was found that the word of mouth flow of information is better in most of the cosmetic
as well as personal care brands.

 The impact of advertising is reasonable in creating the product awareness or brand

identification by the present as well as potential consumers of these products. The
publicity campaign through road shows, newspaper and advertisement would be more
suitable to attract the consumers and also there is a need of competitor study to devise
suitable marketing strategies to predict the consumer attitudes as well as preferences
for cosmetics as well as personal care products in this piece of research.

 By creating conducive environment for purchasing cosmetics with the help of excellent
ambient conditions, planned sales people and customer interactions, making available
quality and variety merchandise i.e. servicescape improves purchase urge in consumers
thus, market penetration of cosmetic products can be achieved.

 The Indian cosmetic industry has seen rapid strides over the past few years. With the
development of cosmetic industry in the country, there has been influx of many
international brands. The entry of more number of cosmetic brands in the Indian market
has also been provoked by growing demand of branded products among people due to
aggressive advertising strategies of players coupled with immense western influence.
New product launches catering to consumers' growing requirements are also fuelling
growth in the industry, carving bright prospects for the industry in the future.

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7. CONCLUSION

In India too, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are reaping the benefits of rising
consumer sophistication. Higher incomes, exposure to international trends and concerns about
aging, in addition to interest in personal appearance and grooming, have spawned whole
product ranges catering to diverse needs and tastes.

Contrary to popular belief, men don’t typically use grooming products only to increase their
appeal to the opposite sex. Rather, most respondents said they felt the need to improve
themselves—evolve their personal hygiene. Good grooming, they believe, is conducive to
boosting self-confidence.

In fact, a market that was once was limited to shaving foam, deodorant and razors has made
way for a dazzling array of products, spanning hair care, skin care and hygiene. As a result,
male grooming is one of the fastest growing sectors in India’s personal care segment.

People are more brands conscious and they are satisfied with the range of products available
there. It can be observed also that still more inclination is towards indigenous product over
imported products for herbal cosmetics. This is because of the relatively higher price of
imported product. Local players enjoy the market share through affordable pricing strategy.

Every person plays multiple roles in their daily life, professional role or social role. Each of
these roles has a certain effect on consumers buying behavior. Each role has a particular status
in society and consumer behavior is considerably depended on the status factor .If the marketers
easily understand the factors that mainly influence in buying decision the sales can be increased
a lot. The modern market is highly competitive in nature. The consumer is the king in the
market. The importance gained by the individual consumer in the present market compel the
marketers to look the buying habits, preferences, taste, like and dislikes of consumers and
accordingly they need to revise its policies and marketing mix.

Personal and Professional image building is primary motivation for consumers. Grooming
perceptions are stronger in metros than in smaller towns.

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8. SUGGESTIONS

 According to Euromonitor, the Indian men's grooming market is projected to touch sales
of Rs 14,200 crore by 2020, up from Rs 7,500 crore in 2015. Cosmetics market, once female
dominated, has started earning high revenues from male counterparts as well, by catering
to male-specific needs. The revenue generated through male cosmetic market has increased
the total revenue of Indian cosmetic industry.

 Extensive research and analysis of the cosmetic industry by Indian Cosmetic Market
Outlook 2018 revealed that the share of hair care market is maximum in the cosmetic
industry, with hair oil being the dominant segment. In future, although hair oil is expected
to remain the leading market but hair color will attain the fastest growth rate in the segment.
Marketers can plan advertising and promotions accordingly.

 Herbal cosmetic products are increasing foothold in the Indian cosmetics industry with the
growing demand for natural products and awareness about their benefits among the
population. As per our analysis, it is expected that this high demand will be led by Southern
India, as the region is more inclined towards home-made natural cosmetic products.

 Grooming perception is stronger is metros and urban towns. Men's grooming market has
long been ignored by FMCG companies. Their focus has always been women since they
account for 90% of the personal care market and traditionally women have been influencers
for purchase decisions at home. Recently, Dollar Shave Club – American men’s grooming
startup was acquired by Unilever for $1bn, a price tag that is five times its sales. This
suggests that globally the cosmetic industry is shifting its focus to men’s segment which
has been ignored for long.

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 Challenges which cosmetic companies could face

• Online market presence is still nascent

• Low brand awareness especially for men’s grooming products

• Hooking customers particularly price sensitive ones

• Penetration in rural market

 The study on consumer behaviour suggests that customers like best quality product on any
price so company should add latest technology to their products. Customer’s behavior
always looks for some extra benefit with purchasing. They demand for affordable price for
product and gifts with purchasing.

 After sales services is the area where Indian and International Company can highly satisfy
the existing customer, because they can make more customer through their word of mouth.
So companies should provide latest and reliable service to their last mile customers for
better market penetration.

 The Indian company should give more emphasis on advertising to create market awareness
and to make a brand image in the minds of investors.

 Companies should do more publicity through road shows, newspaper and advertisement.
As this will create awareness about the fund and schemes that are at present managed by
the International Company. They should keep a close eye on competitor strategy.

 Few aspects cosmetic companies must look into from consumer behaviour analysis

a) Product Category Selection

The study clearly brings out that the Indian market is by and large for basic and essential
personal care: essential products like hair oil, shampoo and beauty creams (fairness creams,
cold creams, etc) are the most important categories. Therefore a presence in these mainstream
segments is essential to develop a national brand in personal care. However, it is also important
to have a product portfolio covering as wide a range of products as feasible (hair colours/dyes,
colour cosmetics, talcum powder etc.) to optimize the cost and effort of establishing itself in
the Indian market. It is important for a new entrant to offer a new/ unique benefit in order to
establish a niche for itself.

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 b) Customization and Adaptation of Products

India has its own unique traditional and cultural characteristics, which need to be respected and
used favourably. Local adaptation needs to manifest in communications, language, promotions,
selection of brand ambassadors, and in the product attributes themselves. Several global brands
have had to change their global practice to succeed in India: for instance, McDonald’s serves
only no-beef products in India, and it had to launch its first vegetarian burgers in India. Even
L’Oreal rewrote its ad campaigns using Indian models, which resulted in a huge consumer
demand for unconventional hair colours. In the personal care segment, the use of natural and
herbal ingredients, based on age-old traditional recipes, has been well-exploited by several
brands.

c) Small Pack size

Small pack sizes have proved to be very popular in the Indian market as it offers a consumer
lower purchase cost and the opportunity to try new products. Given the price-sensitivity of the
Indian consumer who do not normally prefer to fork out a large sum at one time, many cosmetic
and toiletries companies launched their products in smaller pack sizes to make them more
affordable.

E.g. Olay came up with small trail package of Olay Total for its customer.

d) Gift Packs

Since premium cosmetics are quite popular as gift items, it may be worthwhile to introduce
special gift packs, including hampers containing a combination of products.

e) Brand Identity and Positioning

With the easy access to information across the world, and the increasing exposure through
international travel, Indians are in greater alignment with international market trends than
before. Therefore, the history and parentage is an important reinforce for new international
brands being introduced in India.

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Traditionally, Europe is considered the face of fashion and beauty, and the easy acceptance of
long-standing European brands in India is well explained by the parentage and origin.
Considering the nature of the Indian market, the best bet for new international players is to
introduce a wide range of basic, moderately priced products with an extra dimension or feature,
without being positioned as a premium brand.

Small and medium sized companies from abroad can take a niche approach, focusing on
consumer care as the basic positioning. The positioning for premium Italian products could be
to offer a holistic beauty treatment, which extends beyond specific benefits. For professional
products, there is a niche market for advanced solutions, involving intensive and multiple
sittings, which are presently not offered by the market.

E.g. The secret behind Patanjali’s rise and rise is its positioning. The brand has positioned as
swadeshi, low-priced, natural and pure proposition.

f) Different forces are driving consumer expectations

Though the world is more and more interconnected, paradoxically it is also more and more
local and individualistic: consumers are seeking products and services that are personal to
them. For our industry, this means meeting demands for products tailored to diverse individual
factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, geographies and climate, lifestyle,
health and wellbeing.

Consumers are increasingly conscious of the environment, and the social and ethical
ramifications of consumption and production. They expect businesses to share their concerns,
which means we as an industry must commit to a responsible use of resources in development
and production, across our entire value chains, which gives rise to a whole new level of
innovation across all areas of our industry. A marketing myopia may lead to losing your
existing customers to your competitors.

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9. Learning Outcomes

 Consumer behaviour is complex but can be understood with better segmentation of the
market. Lack of analysis on the target segment’s buying behaviour may cause marketing
myopia for the cosmetic companies.

 To gauge the engagement level, brand equity parameter can be used. This would give better
insights about the consumer purchase decisions to researchers and also marketers.

 Indian cosmetic industry is undergoing a revolution which is evident with

• Increase in footfalls at salons and spas

• Launch of make-up apps and other technological innovations

• Exclusive skin care brands on high streets and malls, etc.

 The cosmetic market is highly competitive and so the brand spends have substantially
increased in order to sustain competition.

 Grooming is important to the urban consumers and they have understood its contribution
to their professional and personal presence.

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10. REFERENCES

 Blackwell R., Miniard P., Engel J., (2020) Consumer behavior, Harcourt college
publishers,pp.7
 MowenJ.,Minor M.,Consumer behavior, Prentice Hall International (UK) ltd.,London
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 Hawkins, Best, Coney,( 2018) Consumer Behavior: building marketing strategy,
Irwin/McGraw Hill, pp7, 478 Joshi, Girdhar. Information Technology for Retail,
Oxford UniversityPress,2009,pp.188-189

 Loudon,D.A.,DellaBitta,A.J.,Consumerbehavior:conceptsandapplications, Mcgraw-
Hill,c2019,pp.8,13,68
 Ajay Prasher “Marketing Practices and Marketing Strategy” Kalyani Publisher,
Ludhiana, 2020.

 Burke SJ, Milberg SJ (2021). The Role of Ethical Concerns in Consumer Purchase
Behavior: Understanding Alternative Processes. Adv. Consumer Research, pp. 119-
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 Graillot L (2018). Emotions and Consumer Behaviour. Res. Appl. Mark., 13(1): 5-25.

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11. Plagiarism Report

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