INTRODUCTION

Retailing consists of those business activities involved in the sale of goods and services to consumers for their personal, family or household use. It is the final stage in a channel of distribution, which comprises all of the businesses and people involved in the physical movement and transfer of ownership of goods and services from producer to consumer. Any business that directs its marketing efforts towards satisfying the final consumer based upon the organization of seiting goods and services as a means of distribution"

A typical distribution channel is shown below

Manufacture

Wholesaler

Retailer

Final Consumer

In a distribution channel, retailing plays an important role as an intermediary between manufacturers, wholesalers, and other suppliers and final consumers. The retailer collects an assortment of goods and services from various sources and offers them to consumers. This procedure is called the sorting process. To maximize their efficiency, many manufacturers would like to make one basic type of item and sell the entire inventory to as few buyers as possible. Yet, many customers want to choose from a variety of goods and services and purchase a limited quantity. Through the sorting process, the retailer bridges the gap between manufacturers and final consumers. Another distribution function that retailers perform is to communicate with their customers and with their manufacturers and suppliers. Customers are informed about the availability and characteristics of goods and services, special sales etc. via ads, sales personnel and store displays. Manufacturers and wholesalers are informed about sales forecasts, customer complaints, defective products etc.

from retailers. Many goods and services have been modified as a result of retailer feedback to suppliers. The development of a 'motor car economy'. This has led to one stop shopping where families buy all of their supplies at one shop. Own branding- large retailers have developed brands of their own made by large leading manufacturers, New technology at the checkout and in the packaging and preserving of food has been developed, which has speeded up the checkout process and reduced the delivery times from suppliers. Faster transport links across the world, which has made available a wider range of goods. The growing sophistication of the customers and a general rise in the standard of living, which has led to the fierce competition in the market. New technology in the home, which may cause a revolution in the shopping methods in the future. Since the consumer is God, he has to be kept in mind when deciding on a retailing strategy. Consumers do not want something to be sold to them; it is enough to merely facilitate a sale. They want their retail outlets to do more for them in terms of service and convenience. They know what they wish to buy even before they enter a store, and, often, even before they leave the house. So, despite whatever marketers say about impulse-purchases, they are actually rare occurrences. The large number of repeat customers in a store implies that customers are driven more by their feelings towards the store than those towards the brand. This presents super-retailers with an opportunity to build storebrands.

However, supermarkets would do well to start with non-store brands, build a loyal customer-base through schemes similar to frequent-flier programmes, and then, launch store-brands. Significantly, since the expectations of most customers from super markets have not crystallized yet, a super-retailer can, actually, drive expectations by developing need- based retail formats. There were 5.13 million retail outlets in 1996; today, the figure is closer to 6 million. Most of them are either grocers or paan-plus stores that stock everything from cigarettes to smuggled Scotch. But these figures could be misleading. Just 3 per cent of the country's retail outlets can be called large; 64 per cent are small. For functional products like plain-vanilla FMCGs, traditional formats will do. For innovative products, like high-value FMCGs, cosmetics, garments, or consumer durable, innovative formats are a must. It has been noticed that, while supermarkets have a computerized billing system, they make no effort to capture any other information about their customers. Marketers will find this information invaluable: ''Data on preferences, family background, and purchase-patterns will help companies address specific consumer needs.'' Keeping the consumer in mind, the study attempts to find whether a shift from the kirana store to the supermarket exists today or not.

PRESENT SCENARIO IN RETAIL SECTOR IN INDIA The organized retail sector is expected to grow at 6% by 2010 and touch a retail business of $ 17 billion as against its current growth level of 3% which at present is estimated to be $ 6 billion, according to the Study undertaken by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The Study has revealed that the retail sector will grow at GDP 7% by 2010 and enlarge its market share to $ 280 billion from its present estimated level of $ 200 billion. Cities and metropolitans in which retailing will show booming prospects include Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Kanpur and the popular mode adopted for building shopping malls in these cities will be based on build, operate, lease and sell basis. This system, as per the findings of ASSOCHAM will lead to establishments of closer linkages and relationship between real estate developers, state governments, financial institutions and retail industry. As per ASSOCHAMs estimates, investment opportunities that the retail sector will create in next 4-5 years will result into continued urbanization and increase the per capita income of Indian populace which will finally lead to greater consumerism. The growth of retail sector will lead to greater shift towards service economy in which need for real estate will be paramount. Franchising in retailing will emerge as a popular mode of retailing as their will be proliferation of availability of brands with both foreign and Indian companies acquiring strong brand equity for their products in near future. The retail boom currently being witnessed in India is likely to have a significant impact on the commercial real estate sector as the large metropolitans will have sizable retail construction projects underway. However, there will be few stumbling blocks that may restrict the growth of retail sector. These include very high stamp duties on transfer of property which vary from state to state level. A case in example is Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and few other states where the stamp duty is charged at 12.5%, while there are certain states like Delhi in which the stamp duty levied is within the range of 8%.

Urban Land Ceiling Act, Rent Control Act and Land Acquisition Act until amended will continue to distort property markets and cities, leading to exceptionally high property prices. Presence of strong pro-tenancy laws will also make it difficult for retailers to grow as this problem is compounded by lack of clarity over titles to ownership. The government should encourage People of Indian Origin (PIO) to invest in real estate and township building should encourage People of Indian Origin (PIO) to invest in real estate and township building and foreign investment in real estate business and retailing should also be opened up. On the domestic taxation front, sales tax rates differ across the various Indian states, making supply chain management a challenging task for organized retailers. Inter-state sales attracts Central Sales Tax while for some categories of products, certain states levy import duties namely entry tax on entry of goods into their territory. Simultaneously, states levy export duties where goods are moved for sale outside state border. Sales tax evasion by small retailers to offer lower prices, fetch higher margins is also commonplace in local markets. In addition to state taxes, certain local authorities also levy octroi. All these things put together cause irritation and therefore, restrict the growth of our economy. If retailing has to grow than the corrective measures will be needed to be initiated for correcting the aforesaid anomalies to lure investment in Indian retailing.

Introduction to the companies

Big Bazaar
Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. The Company's principal activity is to operate chain retails stores in names of Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central and Pantaloons. The Big Bazaar is the discount store which offers a wide range of products under one roof. The products include apparels and non-apparels such as utensils, sports goods and footwear. The Company also has its presence into gold retailing by launching Gold Bazaar. The Company's Food Bazaar provides a range of food and grocery products ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, FMCG products and ready-to-cook products. The Central offers a chain of stores including books and music stores, global brands in fashion, sports and lifestyle accessories grocery store and restaurants. The Pantaloon retail stores focus largely apparels and accessories.

Pantaloon: Fashion by Pantaloon

Pantaloon is the company's departmental store and part of life style retail format. In fact, PRIL took its very initial steps in the retail journey by setting up the first Pantaloon store in Kolkata in 1997. ln a short time Pantaloon has been able to carve a special place for it self in the hearts and minds of the aspirational Indian customers. The company has depth of offering for both men and women at affordable prices. A striking characteristic of Pantaloon has been the strength of its private label programme. John Miller, Ajile. Scottsvile, Lombard Annabelle is some of the successful brands created by the company. With13 stores across the country and an ever-increasing stable of private brands, Pantaloon - in the coming years is poised to become a leading fashion trendsetter.

Food Bazaar- Wholesale prices

Food Bazaar's core concept is to create a blend of a typical Indian Bazaar and International supermarket atmosphere with the objective of giving the customer all the advantages of Quality, Range and Price associated with large format stores and also the comfort to See Touch

and Feel the products. The company has recently launched an aggressive private label programme with its own brands of tea, salt, spices, pulses, jams, ketchups etc. With unbeatable prices and vast variety (there are 42 varieties of rice on sale), Food Bazaar has proved to be a hit with customers all over the country

Big Bazaar: Is se sasta aur acha kahin nahin

Big bazaar is the company's foray into the world of hypermarket discount stores, the first of its kind in India. Price and the wide array of products are the USP's in Big Bazaar. Close to two lakh products are available under one roof at prices lower by 2 to 60 per cent over the corresponding market prices. The high quality of service, good ambience, implicit guarantees and continuous discount programmes have helped in changing the face of the Indian retailing industry. A leading foreign broking house compared the rush at Big Bazaar to that of a local suburban train. 1, 70,000 products at 5- 5O % discount. At Big Bazaar, you will get: A wide range of products at 6 - 60 % lower than the corresponding market price, coupled with an international shopping experience. Apparel and Accessories for Men, Women and Children. Baby Accessories. Cosmetics Crockery Dress Materials Suiting & Shirting Electrical Accessories Electronics Footwear Home Textiles Home Needs Household Appliances Household Plastics

 Hardware Home Dcor Luggage Linens Sarees Stationery Toys Utensils & Utilities Big Bazaar is both big and a bazaar. It is unlike, say, a Wal-Mart or even a Food world. Big Bazaar is almost an aircon8itioned version of any Indian bazaar. It is a slightly orderly and organized version of, say Chickpet for Bangalore guys or Dadar for Mumbaiites. There is a huge crowd which can move in almost any direction. You can buy anything (pretty much everything is available at Big Bazaar). It is not a place where you can browse through at leisure and pick up a few things here and there. This is a place if you are serious about your shopping. Life at Big Bazaar is pretty self-sufficient. If you were trapped in there for a week, you could live a good life. But to appreciate the nuances of home economics, one should try comparing prices. The clothes especially deserve an independent feature of their own. Particularly designed for the regular middle-class family that requires clothing that lasts and doesnt burn holes into the pockets of existing clothing, this store offers good bargains. What you won't get here is designs your friends will drool over. Checks and stripes are like the far end of the creative exercise here, and the best bet for the fashion conscious would be the plain colors on display. Choice is one factor that suffers here, as there is immense quantity but hardly any variety. If you want to clothe an entire troupe of extras in executive stuff for a dance number, this is the place! You get hordes of stuff, but it's all the same. If you are looking for anything in particular, then this is really not such a hot place. The accessories are good, though predictable. Brands make an appearance here as watches of Casio and Titan are displayed, and the prices range from 300 to some really heart-in-mouth figures

The rest of the stuff is not really very interesting as the prices are just a shade below the MRP. Groceries, home appliances, plastic goods, luggage, stationery, cosmetics... you name it, this place has it. Again, choice may suffer and you may not get that particular deo of yours which has the opposite sex going randy. There are small sub-departments for footwear, music cassettes and even consumables. There is an in-house cafeteria that offers pretty good chow at reasonable rates. And now that the bazaar is spread over only two floors as opposed to the earlier four floors, I guess the intimidation factor stands reduced too. Big Bazaar has an exchange offer where you can get rid any old item and get yourself a new one. The offer is applicable to products like utensils, plastics, footwear, luggage accessories, garments, toys, Watches, glass, electronics items, and so on. Customers can get their old household items valued. Big Bazaar says it offers better value because old, broken utensils and plastics can be exchanged for as much as Rs. 40 a kilo. What is more, consumers need not exchange their old items for similar items. They can bring in an old piece of luggage and walk off with a salwar kameez instead. Similarly, old shoes and can exchanged for an electric rice cooker. Food Bazaar had announced a special shopping offer which attracted around 20,000 shoppers. On a normal day, Center One's. Food Bazaar has 10 security guards. However, on July 26 the management had to call in around 30 guards on special duty. In the last week of February 2006, Big Bazaar, through a television commercial, announced an exchange offer in which customer can bring junk and get discount on certain items. January, the bazaar had offered massive discount on a particular day called Sabse Sasta Din. "About 2 million people showed up that day, which is almost four times than those visited the shop on Sunday before Diwali. Meanwhile, sales at Big Bazaar have been growing steadily. In January 2005 the sales were of Rs 56.21 crore but in January 2006, it rose to Rs 129.61 crore.

SWOT Analysis Of Big Baazar

Strengths Prime location, presence in malls etc. Large floor space allowing for better visual merchandising Large area also allows to stock a large variety of products under one roof Financial backing from Pantaloon Group. Experienced and competent management Good goodwill in the market. Bulk purchases leads to "economies of scale" Pan India Presence. Various schemes launched from time to time. Goods available at the cheapest rates. Weaknesses Large scale of operations sometimes acts as a barrier to personalized customer relations Large scale operations lead to reduced flexibility by increasing the amount of overheads and a huge commitment in terms of fixed costs Sometimes its discount & exchange schemes lead to hamper its brand image. Employees are unable to cater to the large customers especially on exchange schemes days like on 26th of January etc. Opportunity
In India Retailing is still a new concept. Hence there is still much of untapped

market left out.

According to the Consumer Outlook study, consumers are generally

satisfied with the service that organized retailers extend to them. More

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importantly, they are increasingly regarding these organized retailers as providing 'value-for-money', These findings indicate that large retailers will capture most of the higher consumer spending.

Threat
Many new retailers are coming up. Retailers like easy day are

adopting the same pattern of Big Baazar. Therefore Big Baazar will have a stiff competition from its competitors like Easy Day, Vishal Mega Mart .

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VISHAL MEGA MART

What started as a humble one store enterprise in 1986 in Kolkata(erstwhile, Calcutta) is today a conglomerate encompassing 46 showrooms in 34 cities. Indias first hyper-market has also been opened for the Indian consumer by Vishal. Situated in the national capital Delhi this store boasts of the singe largest collection of goods and commodities sold under one roof in India. The Group has a turnover of Rs 150 crore for 2004-05. Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal the group is expecting to touch the turnover of Rs 300 crore by the end of March 2006 and Rs 650 crore for the period2006-07. The groups prime focus is on retailing. The Vishal stores offer affordable family fashion at prices to suit every pocket.The groups philosophy is integration and towards this end has initiated backward integration in the field of high fashion by setting up a state of the artmanufacturing facility to support its retail endeavors.

Vishal is one of fastest growing retailing groups in India. Its outlets cater to almost all price ranges. The showrooms have over 70,00 products range which fulfills all your household needs, and can be catered to under one roof. It is covering more than 11 Lacs of sq. ft. in retail space and more than 5 Lacs sq.ft. under construction. Each store gives you international quality goods and prices hard to match. The cost benefits that is derived from the large central purchase of goods and services is passed on to the consumer. Vishal Retail Ltd. has a factory in Gurgaon, Haryana. This factory has more than 700 imported machines that have a capacity to manufacturer 150000 pieces a month. The factory occupies 80000 sq ft of covered space. The Vishal group indirectly gives employment to more than a 1000 people. These people work in ancillaries that supply finished goods to the company Our 10 warehouses cater to 46 showrooms in 34 cities. These have a covered space of 11,00,000 sq ft. By the end of March 2007 we will expand our outlets to 61 companies owned outlets and many franchise operations

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SWOT Analysis of Vishal Mega Mart

Strengths Prime location Large floor space allowing for better visual merchandising Large area also allows to stock a large variety of products under one roof Financial backing Highly trained and motivated sales force. Brand equity Large scale operations in various cities throughout the country allows them to reap the benefits of "economies of scale" Weaknesses
Large scale of operations sometimes acts as a barrier to personalized customer

relations Large scale operations lead to reduced flexibility by increasing the amount of overheads and a huge commitment in terms of fixed costs A large organization structure leads to delayed decisions. This can prove fatal for a business in the dynamic fashion industry. Vishal Mega Mart has a centralized purchasing department in Delhi, this fact sometimes results in delayed decisions in adapting to changing market tends Opportunity Apart from the metro cities, cities like Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Indore and Coimbatore have shown substantial retail presence. These markets are expected to show exponential growth in the next few years. Thus Shoppers Stop has the opportunity to explore new markets
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 According to the Consumer Outlook study, consumers are generally satisfied with the service that organized retailers extend to them. More importantly, they are increasingly regarding these organized retailers as providing 'value-for-money', These findings indicate that large retailers will capture most of the higher consumer spending. Increasing penetration of the Internet into Indian homes has provided Vishal Mega Mart to break the geographical barriers and to increase their customer base. The entry into online retailing, would, in fact, expand the product categories available to the consumer. The choices open to the consumer would not be restricted to those available in Vishal Mega Mart. Threat
The time when retailers had to worry about competition only from their peers down the

street has come to an end, Vishal Mega Mart is now facing increased competition in the form of international retail chains that are making a beeline towards the highly potential Indian markets. Moreover many big Indian business houses are also trying a space in the Indian retail scene.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Retail has played a major role world over in increasing productivity across a wide range of consumer goods and services .The impact can be best seen in countries like U.S.A., U.K., Mexico, Thailand and more recently China. Economies of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Dubai are also heavily assisted by the retail sector. Retail is the second-largest industry in the United States both in number of establishments and number of employees. It is also one of the largest world wide. The retail industry employs more than 22 million Americans and generates more than $3 trillion in retail sale annually. Retailing is a U.S. $7 trillion sector. Wal-Mart is the worlds largest retailer. Already the worlds largest employer with over 1million associates, Wal-Mart displaced oil giant Exxon Mobil as the worlds largest company when it posted $219 billion in sales for fiscal 2001. Wal-Mart has become the most successful retail brand in the world due its ability to leverage size, market clout, and efficiency to create market dominance. WalMart heads Fortune magazine list of top 500 companies in the world. Forbes Annual List of Billionaires has the largest number (45/497) from the retail business. Retailing is the final step in the distribution of merchandise - the last link in the Supply Chain - connecting the bulk producers of commodities to the final consumers. Retailing covers diverse products such as foot apparels, consumer goods, financial services and leisure.

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A retailer, typically, is someone who does not effect any significant change in the product execs breaking the bulk. He/ She is also the final stock point who makes products or services available to the consumer whenever require. Hence, the value proposition a retailer offers to a consumer is easy availabilities of the desired product in the desired sizes at the desired times. In the developed countries, the retail industry has developed into a full-fledged industry where more than three-fourths of the total retail trade is done by the organized sector. Huge retail chains like Wal-Mart, Carr four Group, Sears, KMart, McDonalds, etc. have now replaced the individual small stores. Large retail formats, with high quality ambiance and courteous, and well-trained sales staff are regular features of these retailers.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are: 1. To do a comparative study of Vishal Mega Mart & Big Bazzar. 2. Finally to relate the above findings so as to get a comprehensive picture of where the retail store is today and where it is headed

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Sources of data: 1. Primary data was collected through questionnaires, which were filled by customers 2. Secondary Data sources comprised of newspapers, books from the library, other periodicals as well as the Internet. Sample size: Number of consumers Sample Chosen:
Vishal Mega Mart(In Phagwara)

75 (selected at random)

Big Baazar(In Phagwara)

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AN OVERVIEW

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The total sample for the survey was 75 across the city of Phagwara. The response was as follows:-

SEX RATIO
In the survey conducted among 75 people, 49 respondents were male & 26 were female.

Sex No. Of Respondents Male 49 Female 26

INTERPRETATION
The study clearly shows that the sample taken were most of them were Male.

Age Group
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Age Group 15-25 25-35 35-45 Above 45

Total No. Of Respondents 24 20 15 16

Vishal Mega Mart 16 13 6 6

Big Baazar 8 7 9 10

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Vishal Mega Mart Big Baazar

15-25

25-35

35-45

Above 45

INTERPRETATION
From the above bar graph it is clear that Vishal Mega Mart caters to the needs of younger part of consumers that is between 15-25 yrs & 25-35 yrs, whereas Big Baazar caters to the needs of the elder part of the consumers that is above 35 yrs.

AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME

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Monthly Income(Rs) Below 10,000 10,000-20,000 20,000-30,000 Above 30,000

No. Of Respondents 5 35 25 10

Monthly Income
Monthly Income Below 10,000 Monthly Income 10,000-20,000 33% 47% Monthly income 20,000-30,000 Monthly Income Above 30,000

13%

7%

INTERPRETATION
The survey clearly shows that there are more number of people in the income group of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 as compared to the other groups of income. Hence it clearly shows that both the retail stores cater to the needs of the middle class segment as compared to the other class of segment

PREFERENCE OF SHOPPING
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Retail Outlet Vishal Mega Mart Big Bazaar Any Other

No. Of Respondents 24 37 14

Interpretation
It is clear from the above pie chart that out of 75 consumers surveyed Big Baazar caters to more consumers & hence is more popular as compared to Vishal Mega Mart & other retail stores.

FREQUENCY OF VISIT
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Frequency

Vishal Mega Mart (24)

Big Bazaar (37) 6 12 9 3 7

Others (14) -

Once in two months Once a month Twice a month Once a week or more

5 7 3 1

Your own pattern of 8 visits.

Interpretation
The above diagram clearly shows that consumers visited the retail store at least once a month. Otherwise they had their own pattern of visits. This means that they do not have any particular pattern to follow but they visited the retail store according to their own choice.

Type of Visit

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Alone With Family With Friends

No. Of Respondents 11 23 41

Interpretation
Consumers visited the retail stores mostly with their friends. Then the second was with their family members & then alone.

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Retail outlet for purchasing.

Frequency

Vishal Mega Mart (24)

In %

Big Bazaar (37)

In %

Others (14)

Most of the time Quiet often Sometimes Rarely

8 6 7 03

33.33 25 29.16 12.5

16 8 6 03

43.24 21.62 16.21 8.10

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

43.24 33.33 25 21.62 29.16 16.21 Vishal Mega Mart 12.5 8.1 Rarely Big Bazzar

Most Of The Time

Quiet Often

Sometimes

Interpretation
We can clearly observe that Big Baazar was more effective in delivering the goods as when a consumer entered the Big Baazar retail store 43.24 % of the 37 consumers surveyed, bought some or the other commodity as compared to Vishal Mega Mart where it was 33.33% only.

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Time of Visit
Time of visit Vishal Mega In % Mart (24) 10AM-1 PM 1 PM-4 PM 4 PM-7PM 7PM-10PM 3 5 10 6 12.5 20.83 41.66 25 5 6 16 10 13.51 16.21 43.24 27.02 Big Bazaar (37) In % Others (14)

7 PM-10 PM 04 PM-07PM 01 PM -04 PM 10 AM - 01 PM 0

27.02 25 43.24 41.66 16.21 20.83 13.51 12.5 10 20 30 40 50 Big Baazar Vishal Mega Mart

Interpretation
It is quiet clear from the above graph that the retail stores had sales more in evening and that too in 4 PM- 7 PM slot & the second being 7 PM- 10 PM. Big Baazar attracted 43.24 % of consumers & Vishal Mega Mart attracted 41.66 % of consumers in 4 PM 7 PM of slot time.

SPENDING BY THE CONSUMER

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Amount Of Vishal Mega In % Money Spent. Mart (24) Less 1000 than 7 8 4 3 2 29.16 33.33 16.66 12.5 8.33

Big Bazaar (37) 15 9 6 4 3

In %

Others (14)

40.54 24.32 16.21 10.81 8.10

1000- 2000 2000-3000 3000-4000 Above 4000

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Vishal Mega Mart Big Bazaar

Less than 1000

10002000

20003000

3000- Above 4000 4000

Interpretation
The money spend by the consumer when he or she visited Vishal Mega Mart was between the slot of 1000 to 2000 whereas in the case of Big Baazar it was between the slot of les than 1000.

ITEM PURCHASED FROM THE RETAIL OUTLET

Items Purchased Vishal In % Mega Big Bazaar (37) In %

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Apparels Accessories Utility Grocery Cosmetics Consumer Durables

Mart (24) 8 6 4 2 3 1

33.33 25 16.66 8.33 12.5 4.16

3 3 4 13 8 6

8.108 8.108 10.81 35.13 21.62 16.21

Big Bazaar Vishal Mega Mart

Cosmetics Utility

Apparels 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Interpretation
The above graph states that Big Baazar had 35.13% of income from the sale of grocery whereas Vishal Mega Mart has major portion of income from the sale of apparels which is 33.33 %.Hence both the above retail store deal to the different category of customers.

COMPARISION BETWEEN VISHAL MEGA MART & BIG BAZAAR

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Various Parameters Attractive Discount,schemes Display Location Parking space Ambience Sales Personnel Membership privilege Returns & exchanges High quality merchandise Layout of store Reasonable price for its merchandise Stores operating hours

Vishal Mega Mart 30 42 36 44 38 37 43

Big Baazar 45 33 39 31 37 38 32

39 35 38 31 37

36 40 37 44 38

50 40 30 20 10 0 Attract. Dis. & Sch. Location Ambience Vishal Mega Mart Big Bazaar

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50 40 30 20 10 0 Member. Priv. Quality Price Vishal Mega Mart Big Bazzar

Interpretation
On the basis of the above parameters when a comparison was done between Vishal Mega Mart & Big Baazar, it was found that big Baazar was more popular for its schemes and discount offers whereas Vishal Mega Mart was more popular for its parking space and its display of its products.

FINDINGS
Findings in Vishal Mega Mart: Consumers in Vishal Mega Mart were mostly in the age group of 15 25 yrs and 25 - 35. The sales of the retail store were mainly from apparel. The average spending was in the store between Rs 1000 2000.The store had maximum sales between the time slot of 4 PM to 7 PM. CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR IN VISHAL MEGA MART Consumers usually spend their money on Apparels accessories and utility items.

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1. Consumers in the age group of below 15 25 yrs and 25 35 were in the maximum numbers. 2. Consumers in the store come to the store either once in a month or once in two months. 3. The best features that were liked by the consumers was its Display, parking space and its membership. For example features that were liked the consumers was its Display, parking space and its membership. For example the recently launches membership scheme in collaboration with SBI Bank.. FINDINGS IN BIG BAAZAR Consumers in Big Baazar were mostly in the age group among 35- 45 and 45 years and above. The sales of the retail store are from grocery, cosmetics and consumer durables. The average spending was less than Rs 1,000.The store had maximum sales between the time slot of 4 PM to 7 PM.

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR IN BIG BAAZAR The best features that were liked by the consumers were its attractive discount schemes and other schemes (like ifs exchange schemes etc.), reasonable price for its merchandise and its location. Consumers in the store come to the store either once in a month or twice in a month. Big Baazar caters to the needs of the middle class.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Customer experience should be enhanced by focusing on all the four aspects: communication, store experience, customer interaction and post purchase experience. In case of Vishal Mega Mart store experience is at the satisfactory level and the communication is also good, whereas Big Baazar was lacking in post purchase experience. Hence it should pay special attention on the consumers post purchase experience.

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 The retailer should take care of all the activities in a retail store right from speed of the checkout process, availability of information, friendliness of the staff, availability of products on the shelf, ability to handle special orders and special needs, hours of operation.

Retailers should manipulate their environment to create a desired atmosphere. The social atmosphere, defined in terms of the music played, lighting etc should be created in such a way to soothe the customers.

The retailers should create a connection with customers.

Parking space is an extremely important factor for the respondents that make them choose the right retail store. This could be well understood as we see that most of the shoppers like to visit with their family or friends for whom they require four wheelers. There is a genuine lack of parking space across the cities making the task of parking an arduous one. If this space is not there, then it can act as an impediment against the retail outlets.

Retail stores like Vishal Mega Mart and Big Baazar caters to the needs of the middle class of the segments .Hence they should now start focusing on the other segments of the society.

Efforts should be made to capture markets in Mumbai, Bangalore and other big cities like Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Indore etc. These areas are populated with educated high disposable income groups. Such individuals usually have a time constraints and shopping experience under one roof would seem appealing.

REPOSTIONING: -Retail Stores provides an array of facilities to its customers. Unfortunately the customer is unaware of all the benefits he/she can enjoy as a part of the shopping experience. I believe that the store s needs to redraft its ambience and use other forms of advertising. The print media, which is currently used for advertising, has reached out to only a small segment of the desired consumers. This makes it inevitable for the store to harness other sources of advertising. To create the impression of Experience, Value for money and merchandise these store have to firstly work on the merchandise and secondly promote the quality goods. Each section should be considered as an autonomous unit i.e. every department should have a specialist

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responsible for the purchasing of goods and quality control. Then an advertising strategy should be drafted which connects all the departments and creates the need in the minds of the customer to shop at Retail Stores.

Conclusion
The organized retail in India is expected to cross INR 1000 billion mark by 2010 .Ten years ago, there wasn't a single mall in India (not, at least, as the rest of the world saw them). By end 2006, India is expected to have more than 100
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operational malls. According to Cushman & Wakefield Retail Research esti mate, approximately 70 million square feet of retail space is under development, of which 41 million square feet happens to be in seven major cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad).

Eager to avail of first-mover advantages, retailers are fanning out to unexplored Tier-2 cities in search of broad-based visibility and brand loyalty. In the process, they are intro ducing new concepts, identifying properties to be developed and exploring new formats

In the more mature markets of metros, retailers are beginning to realise that merely air-conditioning enclosed spaces and offering branded merchandise may not be enough to draw additional footfalls (or even to sustain them, once the element of novelty has worn off). The need has been felt for a greater degree of specialization. Segmentation of malls based on the needs of catchment zones into luxury, up-market and mass or low-end help in guiding consumers to the right outlets. From a supply perspective, many developers have identified organized retail as a core busi ness activity and have committed themselves to developing more than one location. The strong economic growth has also led to increased levels of interest from international developers and investors in Indian real estate. Retail development, in particular, has attract ed big players in large numbers. ment consultants to opers are ment's While Indian developers are busy hiring various develop exploring opportunities to demon

improve the quality of real estate offering, international mall devel strate their expertise. The central govern ments to international standards.

decision to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in construction is also expected to elevate Indian realty develop

The government recently announced that up to 51% FDI in retail would be allowed for sin gle-brand products. This is aimed at attracting investment, technology and best global prac tices. Analysts believe that the present policy

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may soon be extended to allow 100% FDI in retailing in many other areas as well. There are 35 operational hyper markets in the country at present. International sive expansion plans.

and domestic food retailers have charted out aggres

Cushman & Wakefield estimates that by the end of 2010, there may be around 650 hypermarkets operational across India. There is an increasing demand for stand-alone large box retail spaces that will house hyper markets and superstores. -

Favorable demographic and psychographic changes relating to India's consumer class, international exposure, availability of increasing quality retail space, wider availability of products and brand communication are some of the factors that are driving the retail in India. Over the last few years, many international retailers have entered the Indian market on the strength of rising affluence levels of the young Indian population along with the heightened awareness of global brands and international shopping experiences and the increased availability of retail real estate pace.

Around 70 million square feet of retail space is under development in India, with 60% of it in seven major cities. The country is expected to have around 650 hypermarkets by 2010, up from the current figure of just 35. Rental values for high street retail spaces have raised 30-70% in the last 12 months. High-street retailing figures high on the agenda of most big retailers. This is largely due to the fact that brand identity is best created on the high streets. The retail revolution, apart from bringing in sweeping, positive changes in the quality of life in the metros and bigger towns, is also introducing change in lifestyles of the smaller towns. The learning curve for developers and retailers is still a steep one. While we have first-generation malls in metros, the second-gener ation ones are opening

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doors to a wider base of consumers, offering evolved layouts and bigger floor plates. Through this evolution, retailers and mall developers are progressively working on what will be the third-generation in malls. Built over a million square feet or more, these malls will offer consumers an international shopping experi ence, branded merchandise, restaurants with the best cuisine and a wide array of entertain ment options (Cineplexs, game parlors and the like). Everything about these outlets will revolve around customer interactivity. Shopping as an activity has evolved beyond what it was even as recently as a decade ago (a need-driven activity) to an indulgence based on leisure and a quality experience. This, at once, is an opportunity and a chal lenge for retailers looking at the Indian mar ket. As consumer expectations rise, loyalties tend to shift if the results don't match up. In such a dynamic environment, the developers and retailers have to measure up and work towards making shopping much more of an entertaining experience for customers. Specialization is the new mantra, and developers are hiring consultants to improve quality of real estate offering The past 4-5 years have seen increasing activity in retailing. Various business houses have already planned for few investments in the comi ng 2-3 years. Though the retailers will have to face increasingly demanding customers and intensely competitive rivals, more investments will keep flowing in and the share of organized sector will grow rapidly. Organized retailing in India is surely poised for a takeoff and will provide many opportunities both to existing players as well as new entrants.

Analysts have compared the socio-economic changes in India to the ones that occurred in the US and they argue that the way malls and big retailers became a common phenomenon in the US the same would happen in India. The fact however remains that while the socio-economic changes have taken time to trickle down the technological changes especially in terms of internet etc. have been faster, which therefore may lead to a totally new scenario in India.

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REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS Fundamental of Marketing; William J. Stanton Retail Management-Gibson Vedamani Marketing Planning for Services; Malcolm McDonald, Adrain Payne A.T.Kearney Report on Retail scenario 2005

MAGAZINE Business India: The Magazine of the Corporate World\ Image Retail Magazine JOURNAL Journal of Marketing; November 2008 Times Of India WEBSITES www.businessworld.com www.vishalmegamart.net www. bigbazaar.com www.retailindustry.com

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam, I am currently engaged in a study on Comparative study on Vishal Mega Mart & Big Bazaar. In this connection I request you to read the following items carefully & answer them .The answers you give will be held confidential & used purely for academic purposes. Indicate your response by tick marking when applicable. 1.) 2.) 3.) Name:Sex:Age: Male 15-25 years 35 45 years 4.) Average monthly income: Female 25 35 years 40 and above.

Below 10,000 Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 5.) Where do you prefer shopping?

Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 Above Rs 30,000

Vishal Mega Mart

Big Bazaar

Any other

6.)

How frequently do you visit the retail outlet?

Frequency Once in two months Once a month Twice a month

Vishal Mega Mart

Big Bazaar

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Once a week or more Your own pattern of visits.

7.)

When you visit the retail outlet, you go. Alone With Family With Friends

8.)

Do you visit the retail outlet for purchasing?

Frequency Most of the time Quiet often Sometimes Rarely Never

Vishal Mega Mart

Big Bazaar

9.)

What are the timings during which you usually make these visits?

Time of visit 10AM-12 PM 12 PM-3 PM 3 PM-6PM 9PM-11PM

Vishal Mega Mart

Big Bazaar

10.)

How much do you usually spend while shopping in the retail outlet?

Time of visit Less than 1000

Vishal Mega Mart

Big Bazaar

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1000- 2000 2000- 3000 3000-4000 Above 4000

11.)

What do you generally purchase from the particular retail outlet? Apparels Accessories Utility Grocery Cosmetics Consumer durables

Vishal Mega Mart Big Bazaar

B.)

Please rate the factors given below that influence your visit to at the retail outlet. 2-Somewhat important, Vishal Mart Attractive Discount,schemes Display Location Parking space Ambience Sales Personnel Membership privilege Returns & exchanges Entertainment center for children High quality merchandise Layout of store Acceptance of
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1-Not at all important,

3-Important,

4-Extremely

Mega Big Bazzar

credit cards Reasonable price for its merchandise Stores operating hours

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