Research report

On

a study of impact of mobile marketing for sales

promotion of clothing and apparel

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Any fruitful work is incomplete without a word of thanks to those involved

directly or indirectly in its completion. With my sincere gratitude I would like

to thanks everyone who has supported me in my project.

I would like to extend my sense of acknowledgement to Mr for their

immense help & guidance that they have provided me during this summer

training. The present work has taken its Sharpe largely to their wise

counsels, concrete and constructive suggestion and sincere courtesy.

I would like to thanks Ms. for their support and encouragement during this

summer training. The opportunity provided by his was an immense learning

experience.

The help received from something without which the project would not have

been complete. Their insight as well as guidance helped me to understand

the essentials of the Project. I would like to thank them for their support.

I extend my gratitude to the entire Sales department for guiding me during

the summer training.

I would also like to place on record my sense of gratitude to my parents

and friends for their support and encouragement, which has always guided

me my entire endeavourer.
 Abstract:

Indian organised retail industry is poised for growth. Apparel sector in

particular has a great opportunity with alignment of Indian economy to

globalised markets. With the widespread use of sales promotions- short

term activities which provide material inducements to consumers and trade

it becomes imperative for managers to understand such practices and

understand challenges. This study investigates sales promotion activities of

six apparel stores in Ahmedabad market and compares them on various

dimensions. It presents major findings and provides insights on consumer

behaviour.

Lifestyle, for instance, has a loyalty programme called `The Inner Circle',

while Pantaloons offers a `Green Card' Rewards programmes, Westside

has `Club West' to woo the customers. Managerial challenges are posed in

planning and implementing such activities. The paper concludes with future

bright outlook.
 PREFACE

Sales promotion is one of the four aspects of promotional mix. (The other

three parts of the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, and

publicity/public relations.) Media and non-media marketing communication are

employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand,

stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples include:

 contests

 point of purchase displays

 rebates

 free travel, such as free flights

Sales promotions can be directed at either the customer, sales staff, or

distribution channel members (such as retailers). Sales promotions targeted

at the consumer are called consumer sales promotions. Sales promotions

targeted at retailers and wholesale are called trade sales promotions.

Some sale promotions, particularly ones with unusual methods, are

considered gimmick by many.

 CONTENT

1. Introduction

2. SWOT

3. Research Methodology

4. Analysis of Data

5. Conclusion

6. Suggestion

7. Bibliography

8. Annexure
 INTRODUCTION

In India, clothing retail accounts for 36% of organised retail business. It is

the largest sector. Ready-made apparel accounted for an estimated 20% of

domestic clothing sales in 20051. With growing working women wearing

western wear to work, and pressed for time, market for good readymade

clothes is likely to grow.India is a film-crazy nation, and the largest

producer of films, with more than 1,000 every year. They provide

entertainment and an escape from reality for India’s masses, and set the

popular fashion trend. Bollywood fashions have become pan Indian. They

affect various sectors of the market including clothing, footwear, weddings

and fashion accessories.

With the advent of modern format retailers and the growth of plastic cards,

affluent urban Indian women are shopping like never before. They spend

mornings browsing in stores looking for deals or latest styles.Upper income

urban women are adopting ethnic chic. These are designer clothes that

incorporate Indian motifs, ethnic fabrics and are a fusion of western and

Indian styles.
In the large urban centres, apparel retailers, like Shoppers Stop, Westside

and Pantaloon have popularised their private labels, which have attracted

urban shoppers. Westside carries only its own private labels, while for the

other stores, 20-30% of their apparel turnover is from private labels.

Customers have loyalty to a store rather than any particular garment brand.

This has led to a thriving unbranded or local brand market for ready-to-

wear clothes leading to severe competition. Hence organized retailers like

Lifestyle, for instance, has a loyalty programme called `The Inner Circle',

while Pantaloons offers a `Green Card' Rewards programmes, Westside

has `Club West' to woo the customers. Customers look to design and fit of

the clothes, and use the shop’s name as a quality standard.

According to a report by Datamonitor (2006) 2, global apparel, accessories

& luxuries market is likely to grow by 4.5% annually and Asia Pacific region

is anticipated to acquire leadership position by 2011. Apparel sector in

India poses a lot of challenges to a marketer. So far India’s share in world

apparel trade has been insignificant(less than 3%). World garment trade is

estimated at around 195 Billion US$ annually. The Biggest manufacturer &

supplier is China producing over 50 billion $, followed by Mexico which

produces over 8 billion and followed by many countries like India, Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh, being the third place countries making and exporting

garments worth 5 - 6 billion $ annually.

Characteristics of Apparel retail sector

As apparel retail is led by fashion, a player needs to keep a close watch on

fashion amongst teenagers as they are the trend setters. Role of Bollywood

in spreading fashion needs to be understood. Seasonal variations on

stocking pattern and need to clear inventory at the end of season should be

understood by apparel retailer. Typically once an item is sold from the

outlet, retailer ensures that there is no repetition of same. It gets replaced

by different design, style, colour. Importance of store layout, décor is very

critical. A browser visiting the store frequently likes to see changes in the

layout otherwise he may carry the impression that stocks are not moving

out of the store. Category management becomes very crucial function as

transformation of design into production and delivery has to be completed

before fashion or fad changes in the market.

This highlights the importance of sales promotions- short term activities

which induces trade or consumer to buy now rather than in future as the

value of apparel after the season, goes down substantially and inventory

carrying burden turns out to be very high. Apparel retailer needs to

understand critical role of sales promotions. Attractive promotions induces

purchase acceleration, stock piling and brand switching on the part of a

consumer which substantially reduces retailer’s financial and inventory risk

and consumer’s financial risk and psychological risk.

This paper compares various sales promotion activities followed by apparel

retail stores in organized sector. Both exclusive and multibrand retailers in

apparel retail sector are studied. On the basis of practices, it poses few

challenges which managers in the sector encounters.

Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organisation to

promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service (i.e.

initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of the marketing

communications or promotions mix). Sales promotions are varied. Often

they are original and creative, and hence a comprehensive list of all

available techniques is virtually impossible (since original sales

promotions are launched daily!). Here are some examples of popular

sales promotions activities:

(a) Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGOF) - which is an example of a self-

liquidating promotion. For example if a loaf of bread is priced at $1, and

cost 10 cents to manufacture, if you sell two for $1, you are still in profit -
especially if there is a corresponding increase in sales. This is known as

a PREMIUM sales promotion tactic.

(b) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) incentives such as

bonus points or money off coupons. There are many examples of CRM,

from banks to supermarkets.

(c) New media - Websites and mobile phones that support a sales

promotion. For example, in the United Kingdom, Nestle printed

individual codes on KIT-KAT packaging, whereby a consumer would

enter the code into a dynamic website to see if they had won a prize.

Consumers could also text codes via their mobile phones to the same

effect.

(d) Merchandising additions such as dump bins, point-of-sale materials

and product demonstrations.

(e) Free gifts e.g. Subway gave away a card with six spaces for stickers

with each sandwich purchase. Once the card was full the consumer was

given a free sandwich.

(f) Discounted prices e.g. Budget airline such as EasyJet and Ryanair,

e-mail their customers with the latest low-price deals once new flights

are released, or additional destinations are announced.

(g) Joint promotions between brands owned by a company, or with

another company's brands. For example fast food restaurants often run

sales promotions where toys, relating to a specific movie release, are

given away with promoted meals.

(h)  Free samples (aka. sampling) e.g. tasting of food and drink at

sampling points in supermarkets. For example Red Bull (a caffeinated

fizzy drink) was given away to potential consumers at supermarkets, in

high streets and at petrol stations (by a promotions team).

(i) Vouchers and coupons, often seen in newspapers and magazines,

on packs.

(j) Competitions and prize draws, in newspapers, magazines, on the

TV and radio, on The Internet, and on packs.

(k) Cause-related and fair-trade products that raise money for

charities, and the less well off farmers and producers, are becoming

more popular.
(l) Finance deals - for example, 0% finance over 3 years on selected

vehicles.

Many of the examples above are focused upon consumers. Don't forget

that promotions can be aimed at wholesales and distributors as well.

These are known as Trade Sales Promotions. Examples here might

include joint promotions between a manufacturer and a distributor, sales

promotion leaflets and other materials (such as car), and incentives for

distributor sales people and their retail clients.

SALES PROMOTION

Marketing

Key concepts
Product / Pricing / Promotion

Distribution / Service / Retail

Brand management

Account-based marketing

Marketing ethics

Marketing effectiveness

Market research

Market segmentation

Marketing strategy

Marketing management

Market dominance
Promotional content

Advertising / Branding

Direct marketing / Personal Sales

Product placement / Public relations

Publicity / Sales promotion

Sex in advertising / Underwriting

Promotional media
 Printing / Publication / Broadcasting

Out-of-home / Internet marketing

Point of sale / Novelty items

Digital marketing / In-game

Word of mouth
This box: view • talk • edit

Sales promotion is one of the four aspects of promotional mix. (The other

three parts of the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, and

publicity/public relations.) Media and non-media marketing communication are

employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand,

stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples include:

 contests

 point of purchase displays

 rebates

 free travel, such as free flights

Sales promotions can be directed at either the customer, sales staff, or

distribution channel members (such as retailers). Sales promotions targeted

at the consumer are called consumer sales promotions. Sales promotions

targeted at retailers and wholesale are called trade sales promotions.

Some sale promotions, particularly ones with unusual methods, are

considered gimmick by many.

Consumer sales promotion techniques

 Price deal: A temporary reduction in the price, such as happy hour

 Loyal Reward Program: Consumers collect points, miles, or credits

for purchases and redeem them for rewards. Two famous examples

are Pepsi Stuff and AAdvantage.

 Cents-off deal: Offers a brand at a lower price. Price reduction may

be a percentage marked on the package.

 Price-pack deal: The packaging offers a consumer a certain

percentage more of the product for the same price (for example, 25

percent extra).

 Coupons: coupons have become a standard mechanism for sales

promotions.

 Loss leader: the price of a popular product is temporarily reduced in

order to stimulate other profitable sales

 Free-standing insert (FSI): A coupon booklet is inserted into the local

newspaper for delivery.

 On-shelf couponing: Coupons are present at the shelf where the

product is available.

 Checkout dispensers: On checkout the customer is given a coupon

based on products purchased.

 On-line couponing: Coupons are available on line. Consumers print

them out and take them to the store.

 Mobile couponing: Coupons are available on a mobile phone.

Consumers show the offer on a mobile phone to a salesperson for

redemption.

 Online interactive promotion game: Consumers play an interactive

game associated with the promoted product. See an example of the

Interactive Internet Ad for tomato ketchup.

 Rebates: Consumers are offered money back if the receipt and barcode

are mailed to the producer.

 Contests/sweepstakes/games: The consumer is automatically

entered into the event by purchasing the product.

 Point-of-sale displays:-

o Aisle interrupter: A sign that juts into the aisle from the shelf.

o Dangler: A sign that sways when a consumer walks by it.

o Dump bin: A bin full of products dumped inside.

o Glorifier: A small stage that elevates a product above other

products.

o Wobbler: A sign that jiggles.

o Lipstick Board: A board on which messages are written in

crayon.

o Necker: A coupon placed on the 'neck' of a bottle.

o YES unit: "your extra salesperson" is a pull-out fact sheet.

Trade sales promotion techniques

 Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to

stock up on a product.

 Dealer loader: An incentive given to induce a retailer to purchase and

display a product.

 Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product.

 Point-of-purchase displays: Extra sales tools given to retailers to

boost sales.

 Training programs: dealer employees are trained in selling the

product.

 Push money: also known as "spiffs". An extra commission paid to

retail employees to push products.

Trade discounts (also called functional discounts): These are payments to

distribution channel members for performing some function .

POLITICAL ISSUES

Sales promotions have traditionally been heavily regulated in many

advanced industrial nations, with the notable exception of the United States.

For example, the United Kingdom formerly operated under a resale price

maintenance regime in which manufacturers could legally dictate the

minimum resale price for virtually all goods; this practice was abolished in

1964.

Most European countries also have controls on the scheduling and

permissible types of sales promotions, as they are regarded in those

countries as bordering upon unfair business practices. Germany is notorious for

having the most strict regulations. Famous examples include the car wash

that was barred from giving free car washes to regular customers and a

baker who could not give a free cloth bag to customers who bought more

than 10 rolls.

PROMOTIONAL MIX

There are four main aspects of a promotional mix. These are:

1 Advertising- Any paid presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or

services by an identified sponsor. Examples: Print ads, radio, television,

billboard, direct mail, brochures and catalogs, signs, in-store displays,

posters, motion pictures, Web pages, banner ads, and emails.

2 Personal Selling - A process of helping and persuading one or more

prospects to purchase a good or service or to act on any idea through the

use of an oral presentation. Examples: Sales presentations, sales

meetings, sales training and incentive programs for intermediary

salespeople, samples, and telemarketing. Can be face-to-face or via

telephone.

3 Promotions- Incentives designed to stimulate the purchase or sale of a

product, usually in the short term. Examples: Coupons, sweepstakes,

contests, product samples, rebates, tie-ins, self-liquidating premiums, trade

shows, trade-ins, and exhibitions.

4 Public relations - Paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service,

or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favorable

presentation of it in the media. Examples: Newspaper and magazine

articles/reports, TVs and radio presentations, charitable contributions,

speeches, issue advertising, and seminars.

Direct Marketing is often listed as a the fifth part of the marketing mix
Sponsorship is sometimes added as a sixth aspect.

CATEGORY:SALES PROMOTION

Subcategories

This category has only the following subcategory.

 [+] Customer loyalty programs (1)

Pages in category "Sales promotion"

The following 29 pages are in this category, out of 29 total. This list may not

reflect recent changes (learn more).

 Sales promotion G P cont.

BBargain  Grand opening  Promotional item

 Buy one, get one free H R

C  Happy hour  Rebate (marketing)

 Hoover free flights  Running of the Brides

 Clip strip
promotion
  Coupon
I S

D
 Institute of Sales  Sample sale

Promotion
 Discounts and allowances  Serverbuster

 Doorbuster L  Specialty catalogs

 Drug Coupon  Student Price Card

 Ladies' night

F V
M

 Free sample  Visual merchandising

 Magalog

 Money back W
guarantee
 Wiki wiki dollar
P
Y
Pick 'n' mix

 Young America
 Point of sale display
Corporation
Marketing

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,

communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for

customers, clients, partners, and society at large. It generates the strategy

that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business

developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build

strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for

themselves.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, satisfy the customer, and keep

the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be

concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of

business management. Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in developing

new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3

centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift

their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their

customers as the means of staying profitable.

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals

depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering
the desired satisfactions.[2] It proposes that in order to satisfy its

organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and

wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors. [2]

Further definitions

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA) as "the

activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,

delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,

partners, and society at large. Marketing is a product or service selling

[3]
related overall activities. The term developed from an original meaning

which referred literally to going to a market to buy or sell goods or services.

Seen from a systems point of view, sales process engineering marketing is

"a set of processes that are interconnected and interdependent with other

functions,[4] whose methods can be improved using a variety of relatively

new approaches."

The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as "the

management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying

customer requirements profitably."[5] A different concept is the value-based

marketing which states the role of marketing to contribute to increasing

shareholder value.[6] In this context, marketing is defined as "the

management process that seeks to maximise returns to shareholders by

developing relationships with valued customers and creating a competitive

advantage."[6]

Marketing practice tended to be seen as a creative industry in the past,

which included advertising, distribution and selling. However, because the

academic study of marketing makes extensive use of social sciences,

psychology, sociology, mathematics, economics, anthropology and

neuroscience, the profession is now widely recognized as a science,

allowing numerous universities to offer Master-of-Science (MSc)

programmes. The overall process starts with marketing research and goes

through market segmentation, business planning and execution, ending

with pre- and post-sales promotional activities. It is also related to many of

the creative arts. The marketing literature is also adept at re-inventing itself

and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture.

Evolution of marketing

An orientation, in the marketing context, related to a perception or attitude a

firm holds towards its product or service, essentially concerning consumers

and end-users. Throughout history, marketing has changed considerably in

conjunction with consumer tastes.[7]

Earlier approaches

The marketing orientation evolved from earlier orientations, namely, the

production orientation, the product orientation and the selling orientation. [7][8]

Western
Profit
Orientation European Description
driver
timeframe
A firm focusing on a production

orientation specializes in producing as

much as possible of a given product or

service. Thus, this signifies a firm

exploiting economies of scale until the

Production until the minimum efficient scale is reached. A

[8]
Production
methods 1950s production orientation may be

deployed when a high demand for a

product or service exists, coupled with

a good certainty that consumer tastes

will not rapidly alter (similar to the sales

orientation).
Product[8] Quality of until the A firm employing a product orientation
 is chiefly concerned with the quality of

its own product. A firm would also

the
1960s assume that as long as its product was
product
of a high standard, people would buy

and consume the product.

A firm using a sales orientation focuses

primarily on the selling/promotion of a

particular product, and not determining

new consumer desires as such.

Consequently, this entails simply

selling an already existing product, and

Selling 1950s and using promotion techniques to attain

Selling[8]
methods 1960s the highest sales possible.

Such an orientation may suit scenarios

in which a firm holds dead stock, or

otherwise sells a product that is in high

demand, with little likelihood of

changes in consumer tastes that would

diminish demand.
[8]
Marketing Needs and 1970 to The 'marketing orientation' is
 perhaps the most common orientation

used in contemporary marketing. It

involves a firm essentially basing its

marketing plans around the marketing

concept, and thus supplying products

wants of present to suit new consumer tastes. As an

customers day example, a firm would employ market

research to gauge consumer desires,

use R&D to develop a product attuned

to the revealed information, and then

utilize promotion techniques to ensure

persons know the product exists.

Contemporary approaches

Recent approaches in marketing include relationship marketing with focus

on the customer, business marketing or industrial marketing with focus on

an organization or institution and social marketing with focus on benefits to

society.[9] New forms of marketing also use the internet and are therefore

called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing, online marketing,

search engine marketing, desktop advertising or affiliate marketing. It

attempts to perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing.

It targets its audience more precisely, and is sometimes called

personalized marketing or one-to-one marketing. Internet marketing is

sometimes considered to be broad in scope, because it not only refers to

marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and

wireless media.

Western

Orientation Profit driver European Description

timeframe
Emphasis is placed on the whole

Relationship Building and relationship between suppliers

1960s to
marketing / keeping good and customers. The aim is to
present
Relationship customer provide the best possible
day
[9]
management relations customer service and build

customer loyalty.
Business Building and 1980s to In this context, marketing takes

marketing / keeping present place between businesses or

Industrial relationships day organizations. The product focus

marketing between lies on industrial goods or capital

organizations goods rather than consumer

 products or end products.

Different forms of marketing

activities, such as promotion,

advertising and communication to

the customer are used.

Similar characteristics as

marketing orientation but with the

1990s to added proviso that there will be a

Social Benefit to
present curtailment of any harmful
[9]
marketing society
day activities to society, in either

product, production, or selling

methods.
In this context, "branding" is the
2000s to
main company philosophy and
Branding Brand value present
marketing is considered an
day
instrument of branding philosophy.

Customer orientation
Constructive criticism helps marketers adapt offerings to meet changing

customer needs.

A firm in the market economy survives by producing goods that persons

are willing and able to buy. Consequently, ascertaining consumer demand

is vital for a firm's future viability and even existence as a going concern.

Many companies today have a customer focus (or market orientation). This

implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer

demands. Generally, there are three ways of doing this: the customer-

driven approach, the market change identification approach and the

product innovation approach.

In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all

strategic marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test

of consumer research. Every aspect of a market offering, including the

nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers.

The starting point is always the consumer. The rationale for this approach

is that there is no reason to spend R&D funds developing products that

people will not buy. History attests to many products that were commercial

failures in spite of being technological breakthroughs. [10]

A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA[11]

(Solution, Information, Value, Access). This system is basically the four Ps

renamed and reworded to provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model

provides a demand/customer-centric alternative to the well-known 4Ps

supply side model (product, price, placement, promotion) of marketing

management.

Product → Solution

Price → Value

Place → Access

Promotion → Information

If any of the 4Ps were problematic or were not in the marketing factor of the

business, the business could be in trouble and so other companies may

appear in the surroundings of the company, so the consumer demand on

its products will decrease.

Organizational orientation

In this sense, a firm's marketing department is often seen as of prime

importance within the functional level of an organization. Information from

an organization's marketing department would be used to guide the actions

of other departments within the firm. As an example, a marketing

department could ascertain (via marketing research) that consumers

desired a new type of product, or a new usage for an existing product. With

this in mind, the marketing department would inform the R&D department

to create a prototype of a product/service based on consumers' new

desires.

The production department would then start to manufacture the product,

while the marketing department would focus on the promotion, distribution,

pricing, etc. of the product. Additionally, a firm's finance department would

be consulted, with respect to securing appropriate funding for the

development, production and promotion of the product. Inter-departmental

conflicts may occur, should a firm adhere to the marketing orientation.

Production may oppose the installation, support and servicing of new

capital stock, which may be needed to manufacture a new product. Finance

may oppose the required capital expenditure, since it could undermine a

healthy cash flow for the organization.

Herd behavior

Herd behavior in marketing is used to explain the dependencies of

customers' mutual behavior. The Economist reported a recent conference

in Rome on the subject of the simulation of adaptive human behavior. [12] It

shared mechanisms to increase impulse buying and get people "to buy

more by playing on the herd instinct." The basic idea is that people will buy

more of products that are seen to be popular, and several feedback

mechanisms to get product popularity information to consumers are

mentioned, including smart card technology and the use of Radio

Frequency Identification Tag technology. A "swarm-moves" model was

introduced by a Florida Institute of Technology researcher, which is

appealing to supermarkets because it can "increase sales without the need

to give people discounts." Other recent studies on the "power of social

influence" include an "artificial music market in which some 19,000 people

downloaded previously unknown songs" (Columbia University, New York);

a Japanese chain of convenience stores which orders its products based

on "sales data from department stores and research companies;" a

Massachusetts company exploiting knowledge of social networking to

improve sales; and online retailers who are increasingly informing

consumers about "which products are popular with like-minded consumers"

(e.g., Amazon, eBay).

Further orientations

 An emerging area of study and practice concerns internal marketing,

or how employees are trained and managed to deliver the brand in a

way that positively impacts the acquisition and retention of

customers, see also employer branding.

 Diffusion of innovations research explores how and why people adopt

new products, services, and ideas.

 With consumers' eroding attention span and willingness to give time

to advertising messages, marketers are turning to forms of

permission marketing such as branded content, custom media and

reality marketing.

Marketing research

Main article: Marketing research

Marketing research involves conducting research to support marketing

activities, and the statistical interpretation of data into information. This

information is then used by managers to plan marketing activities, gauge

the nature of a firm's marketing environment and attain information from

suppliers. Marketing researchers use statistical methods such as

quantitative research, qualitative research, hypothesis tests, Chi-squared

tests, linear regression, correlations, frequency distributions, poisson

distributions, binomial distributions, etc. to interpret their findings and

convert data into information. The marketing research process spans a

number of stages, including the definition of a problem, development of a

research plan, collection and interpretation of data and disseminating

information formally in the form of a report. The task of marketing research

is to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and

current information.

A distinction should be made between marketing research and market

research. Market research pertains to research in a given market. As an

example, a firm may conduct research in a target market, after selecting a

suitable market segment. In contrast, marketing research relates to all

research conducted within marketing. Thus, market research is a subset of

marketing research.
Marketing environment

Market segmentation

Market segmentation pertains to the division of a market of consumers into

persons with similar needs and wants. For instance, Kellogg's cereals,

Frosties are marketed to children. Crunchy Nut Cornflakes are marketed to

adults. Both goods denote two products which are marketed to two distinct

groups of persons, both with similar needs, traits, and wants.

Market segmentation allows for a better allocation of a firm's finite

resources. A firm only possesses a certain amount of resources.

Accordingly, it must make choices (and incur the related costs) in servicing

specific groups of consumers. In this way, the diversified tastes of

contemporary Western consumers can be served better. With growing

diversity in the tastes of modern consumers, firms are taking note of the

benefit of servicing a multiplicity of new markets.

Market segmentation can be defined in terms of the STP acronym,

meaning Segment, Target and Position.

Types of marketing research

Marketing research, as a sub-set aspect of marketing activities, can be

divided into the following parts:

 Primary research (also known as field research), which involves the

conduction and compilation of research for a specific purpose.

 Secondary research (also referred to as desk research), initially

conducted for one purpose, but often used to support another

purpose or end goal.

By these definitions, an example of primary research would be market

research conducted into health foods, which is used solely to ascertain the

needs/wants of the target market for health foods. Secondary research in

this case would be research pertaining to health foods, but used by a firm

wishing to develop an unrelated product.

Primary research is often expensive to prepare, collect and interpret from

data to information. Nevertheless, while secondary research is relatively

inexpensive, it often can become outdated and outmoded, given that it is

used for a purpose other than the one for which it was intended. Primary

research can also be broken down into quantitative research and

qualitative research, which, as the terms suggest, pertain to numerical and

non-numerical research methods and techniques, respectively. The

appropriateness of each mode of research depends on whether data can

be quantified (quantitative research), or whether subjective, non-numeric or

abstract concepts are required to be studied (qualitative research).

There also exist additional modes of marketing research, which are:

 Exploratory research, pertaining to research that investigates an

assumption.

 Descriptive research, which, as the term suggests, describes "what

is".

 Predictive research, meaning research conducted to predict a future

occurrence.

 Conclusive research, for the purpose of deriving a conclusion via a

research process.

Marketing planning

The marketing planning process involves forging a plan for a firm's

marketing activities. A marketing plan can also pertain to a specific product,

as well as to an organization's overall marketing strategy. Generally

speaking, an organization's marketing planning process is derived from its

overall business strategy. Thus, when top management are devising the

firm's strategic direction or mission, the intended marketing activities are

incorporated into this plan. There are several levels of marketing objectives

within an organization. The senior management of a firm would formulate a

general business strategy for a firm. However, this general business

strategy would be interpreted and implemented in different contexts

throughout the firm.

Marketing strategy

The field of marketing strategy encompasses the strategy involved in the

management of a given product.

A given firm may hold numerous products in the marketplace, spanning

numerous and sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan

is required in order to effectively manage such products. Evidently, a

company needs to weigh up and ascertain how to utilize its finite resources.

For example, a start-up car manufacturing firm would face little success

should it attempt to rival Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, or any other large

global car maker. Moreover, a product may be reaching the end of its life-

cycle. Thus, the issue of divest, or a ceasing of production, may be made.

Each scenario requires a unique marketing strategy. Listed below are some

prominent marketing strategy models.

Marketing specializations

With the rapidly emerging force of globalization, the distinction between

marketing within a firm's home country and marketing within external

markets is disappearing very quickly. With this in mind, firms need to

reorient their marketing strategies to meet the challenges of the global

marketplace, in addition to sustaining their competitiveness within home

markets.[13]

Buying behaviour

A marketing firm must ascertain the nature of customers' buying behavior if

it is to market its product properly. In order to entice and persuade a

consumer to buy a product, marketers try to determine the behavioral

process of how a given product is purchased. Buying behavior is usually

split into two prime strands, whether selling to the consumer, known as

business-to-consumer (B2C), or to another business, known as business-

to-business (B2B).

B2C buying behaviour

This mode of behaviour concerns consumers and their purchase of a given

product. For example, if one imagines a pair of sneakers, the desire for a

pair of sneakers would be followed by an information search on available

types/brands. This may include perusing media outlets, but most commonly

consists of information gathered from family and friends. If the information

search is insufficient, the consumer may search for alternative means to

satisfy the need/want. In this case, this may mean buying leather shoes,

sandals, etc. The purchase decision is then made, in which the consumer

actually buys the product. Following this stage, a post-purchase evaluation

is often conducted, comprising an appraisal of the value/utility brought by

the purchase of the sneakers. If the value/utility is high, then a repeat

purchase may be made. This could then develop into consumer loyalty to

the firm producing the sneakers.

B2B buying behaviour

Relates to organizational/industrial buying behavior. [14] "B2B" stands for

Business to Business. B2B marketing involves one business marketing a

product or service to another business. B2C and B2B behavior are not

precise terms, as similarities and differences exist, with some key

differences listed below:

In a straight re-buy, the fourth, fifth and sixth stages are omitted. In a

modified re-buy scenario, the fifth and sixth stages are precluded. In a new

buy, all stages are conducted.

Use of technologies

Marketing management can also rely on various technologies within the

scope of its marketing efforts. Computer-based information systems can be

employed, aiding in better processing and storage of data. Marketing

researchers can use such systems to devise better methods of converting

data into information, and for the creation of enhanced data gathering

methods. Information technology can aid in enhancing an MKIS' software

and hardware components, and improve a company's marketing decision-

making process.

In recent years, the netbook personal computer has gained significant

market share among laptops, largely due to its more user-friendly size and

portability. Information technology typically progresses at a fast rate,

leading to marketing managers being cognizant of the latest technological

developments. Moreover, the launch of smartphones into the cellphone

market is commonly derived from a demand among consumers for more

technologically advanced products. A firm can lose out to competitors

should it ignore technological innovations in its industry.

Technological advancements can lessen barriers between countries and

regions. Using the World Wide Web, firms can quickly dispatch information

from one country to another without much restriction. Prior to the mass

usage of the Internet, such transfers of information would have taken

longer to send, especially if done via snail mail, telex, etc.

Services marketing

Services marketing relates to the marketing of services, as opposed to

tangible products. A service (as opposed to a good) is typically defined as

follows:

 The use of it is inseparable from its purchase (i.e., a service is used

and consumed simultaneously)

 It does not possess material form, and thus cannot be touched, seen,

heard, tasted, or smelled.

 The use of a service is inherently subjective, meaning that several

persons experiencing a service would each experience it uniquely.

For example, a train ride can be deemed a service. If one buys a train

ticket, the use of the train is typically experienced concurrently with the

purchase of the ticket. Although the train is a physical object, one is not

paying for the permanent ownership of the tangible components of the

train.

Services (compared with goods) can also be viewed as a spectrum. Not all

products are pure goods, nor are all pure services. An example would be a

restaurant, where a waiter's service is intangible, but the food is tangible.

 LITERATURE REVIEW:

Several studies on apparel retail sector and usage of promotions are

reported in the context of developed markets. A brief overview is presented

below:

Deeter-Schmelz, Dawn R.; Moore, Jesse N.; Goebel, Daniel J, (2000)

examined Prestige clothing shopping by consumers by a confirmatory

assessment and refinement of the PRECONscale. Aspects studied include

background on the symbolic aspects of consumption; prestige shopping

behavior; reassessment and refinement of the PRECON scale and impact

of income and age on prestige shopping. The paper concludes with

managerial implications for the United States apparel retailers dealing in

prestige clothing.

Kincade, Doris H.; Woodard, Ginger A.; Park, Haesun (2002) studied

Buyer–seller relationships for promotional support in the apparel sector

which is critical for success. The purpose of the study was to define

promotional support categories offered to apparel retailers by

manufacturers, to identify the retailer's perceptions of the offering frequency

and importance of the promotional support, and to investigate the

relationship between offering frequency and perceptions of importance.

Results indicated that monetary support was regarded as the most

important promotional support.. A positive and significant correlation was

found between items the buyers perceived as important and the frequency

of offerings of these items.

Liu, Yuping, (2007) found out the Long-Term Impact of Loyalty Programs

on Consumer Purchase Behavior and Loyalty. Using longitudinal data from

a convenience store franchise, the study found out that consumers who

were heavy buyers at the beginning of a loyalty program were most likely to

claim their qualified rewards, but the program did not prompt them to

change their purchase behavior. In contrast, consumers whose initial

patronage levels were low or moderate gradually purchased more and

became more loyal to the firm. For light buyers, the loyalty program

broadened their relationship with the firm into other business areas. Thus

there is a need to consider patronage to decide rewards for loyalty

programmes.

In the context of French market, Meyer-Waarden, Lars; Benavent,

Christophe. (2006) studied the Impact of Loyalty Programmes on Repeat

Purchase Behaviour based on the Behavior Scan single-source panel

which has been compared with the store data base . The double jeopardy

phenomenon was present and loyalty programmes did not substantially

change market structures. When all companies had loyalty programs, the

market was characterized by an absence of change of the competitive

situation.

Hyllegard, Karen; Eckman, Molly; Descals, Alejandro Molla; Borja, Miguel

Angel Gomez (2005), studied Spanish consumers' perceptions of US

apparel speciality retailers' products and services. The study emphasized

that speciality retailers' success in international markets is contingent upon

their knowledge of culturally-defined values, norms and behaviour that

influence consumer decision making and impact acceptance of products

and services. The study examined consumers' store patronage and apparel

purchase behaviour, acceptance of US apparel brands, perceptions of

retailers' products and services, and perceptions of the impact of foreign

retailers on local communities. It found out that the perceptions differed

regarding quality, fashionability, product assortment, extent and quality of

customer service, convenience of location, payment options, national

brands and store layout. Consumers' acceptance of US apparel brands

was a function of age, household income, apparel product country of

manufacture and price.

Motivation for the study

In spite of the widespread use of sales promotion activities in India no study

was found examining sales promotion practices in apparel retail sector.

Apparel sector is poised for growth in domestic and global markets due to

liberalization. With the rapid growth organized retailing in India, there is a

dire need to understand such practices, explore rationale behind it and

pose managerial challenges.

 OBJECTIVES

Hence, the present study attempts study practices of sales promotion of

apparel retail outlets

i) To compare usage across exclusive and multi brand outlets

ii) To explore rationale behind such activities by examining consumer

behaviour

iii) To pose challenges ahead

 RESEARCH Methodology

Six apparel retail outlets in organized sector were selected for studying

sales promotion practices. As the purpose of the study was exploration,

sample of six was deemed fit as they would represent the population of

organized apparel retail outlets in Lucknow market- a mini metro in western

part of India. Lucknow being an important hub for textile industry in past as

well as current times such practices were studied in this market. Also

nature of such activities is not likely to vary across different markets

because most of the outlets were a part of chain and their head office

would typically plan such activities and endorse the budget and promotional

calendar which these outlets would undertake during the year. An in depth

structured guide was prepared to gather the data about store profile and

sales promotion activities undertaken by the store.

The report is the result of a survey which was undertaken in sales promotion of

mobile by clothing and apparel . The objectives of the project has been fulfilled

by getting response from the customer associated to these segments through a

personal interview in the form of a questionnaire. The responses available

through the questionnaire are used to evaluate the brand loyalty for the products
of CLOTHING AND APPAREL and the willingness of the customer to purchase its

products on future.

The project also covers an analysis of the switch over of customers to competitors

products in the market.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

The problem formulation is the first step to a successful research

process. The project undertake the problem of analyzing the customer

satisfaction level of the CLOTHING AND APPAREL and to find the marketing sales

promotion of the product in comparison to other products.

 THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Hence, the present study attempts study practices of sales promotion of

apparel retail outlets

i) To compare usage across exclusive and multi brand outlets

ii) To explore rationale behind such activities by examining consumer

behaviour

iii) To pose challenges ahead

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design used in the project is exploratory design.

The investigation is carried upon the customers in CLOTHING AND APPAREL . The

reason for choosing this design is to get responses from the customers so that

their perception about the products of the company and their loyalty could be

predicted.
 THE DATA SOURCE

The data has been taken from two sources

 Primary data source

The primary data source has been collected through questionnaire by personally

interviewing each respondent on a number of queries structured

in a questionnaire.

 Secondary data source

Secondary data was collected from following sources

Prior research reports

Websites

Books

Newspaper

Personal consultation
 THE AREA OF WORK

The field work is conducted in the lucknow city in various show

rooms situated in different location all over the city.

THE ANALYTICAL TOOLS USED

The analytical tools used are mostly graphical in nature which include

 Pie charts

 Cylindrical charts

 Column charts

 Tables showing percentage

 THE SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size consists of 50 units out of which the most

logical and non biased response are selected thus the sample size is taken out to

be 50 units.
 DATA ANALYSIS

Monthly Income No. of respondent

30000-50000 31

51000-100000 12

above 100000 7

No. of respondent

14%

24%
62%

30000-50000 51000-100000 above 100000

1. – Information source about sales promotion of mobile ?

No. of
respondent
Clothing and apprel 7
T.V ad 2
Trade show 10
Internet 1
Peer group 21
Personal approach by dealer 14

No. of respondent

7; 13%
2; 4% Clothing and apprel
14; 25% T.V ad
Trade show
Internet
10; 18% Peer group
Personal approach by
dealer

21; 38% 1; 2%
2. - Which language do you prefer?

No. of
respondent
Hindi 19
English 26
Other 5

No. of respondent

10%
38%

52%

Hindi English Other

3. - Have you seen Advertisement on clothing and apparel?

No. of

respondent
Yes 47
No 3
 No. of respondent
3; 6%

Yes
No

47; 94%
4. -

Was that Advertisement effective clothing apparel?

No. of respondent
Yes 47
No 3
 No. of respondent
3; 6%

Yes
No

47; 94%

6. - What was the influencing power of advertisement?

No. of respondent
Clothing and apparel 34
Brand ambassador 3
Free gifts 2
performance 11
 No. of respondent

22%
Clothing and apparel
Brand ambassador
Free gifts
4%
performance
6%
68%
7. - How many times do you see advertisement clothing and apparel?

No. of

respondent
(monthly) 9

(Weekly) 13

(daily) 17

(15 days) 11

No. of respondent

22% 18%

26%
34%

(monthly) (Weekly)
(daily) (15 Days)

8. - What is the influencing power of the advertisement?

 No. of respondent

Look 21

Technology 4

After sales service 17

performance 8

No. of respondent

16%

42%

34%
8%

Look Technology After sales service performance

11. – Are you satisfied by advertising by clothing apparel ?

Attributes No. of respondent

Yes 47

No 3

No. of respondent
6%

Yes
No

94%
13. Sales promotion activity for clothing and apparel

Feed back from customer

No. of respondent
Fair 13

Good 19

Excellent 18

No. of respondent

26%
36%

38%

Fair Good Excellent

 FINDINGS

13% respondent collect information from news paper, 4% are

from T.V., 18% are trade show, 2% are internet, 38% are peer

group and 25% are personal approach by dealer.

Maximum respondent read English news paper which are

52%.

Maximum respondent watch Clothing and

appareladvertisement in print media.

Advertisement is more effective tool for sales promotion.

 RECOMMENDATION

Though, best efforts have been made to make the study fair,

transparent and error free. But there might be some inevitable and inherent

limitations. Though outright measure are undertaken to make the report most

accurate.

The limitation of the survey are narrated below:

 The project is valid for CLOTHING AND APPAREL only.

 It was not possible to cover each and every showroom due to time

constrains.

 There may be some biased response form the respondents

 Some respondents did not provide the full data.

 Unwillingness on the part of the customers to disclose the information

as per the questionnaire.

 The decisiveness on the part of the customers regarding some question

hence difficulty faced in recording and analyzing the data.

 SUGGESTION

This effort for the innovation in sales promotion of car will help the

road shows, TV Advertisement, Mouth publicity etc.

And other thing is provide some offers like Discount, Diwali offers,

Free Gift like music system, Accessories etc.

My project is a key to open the door of greater comfort to the middle

segment.

In this age of electronic sector who is given tractor in low prices they

will blow like sun and clothing and apparel product is low prices.

 The customers of clothing and apparel are brand loyal with only a small

percent want to shift over to other brands. Trying of other brands by

customers is mainly because the customer wants to try something new.

 The performance of clothing and apparel product good in comparison to

other brands.

 Mileage is the basic feature influencing brand loyalty.

 The best selling product of Electronics good clothing and apparel,

Samsung, least selling is videocon.

 The competition of CLOTHING AND APPAREL product is majorly with

samsung.

 Due to high brand loyalty the customers of CLOTHING AND APPAREL

product recommend it product to others Like CLOTHING AND

APPAREL product .

 The customers are satisfied with the product range of CLOTHING AND

APPAREL product.
 CONCLUTION

Apparel sector is likely to grow with growing Indian economy. Many

multinational players either have already plunged into Indian market or plan

to do so in apparel sector. They will bring many promotional practices

which they have been following in developed markets which will increase

the use of sales promotion activities even further. Indian brands will have to

withstand turbulent conditions and learn to survive. If the role of such

activities is understood well it may help any player a long way to survive

and grow.
 APPENDIX

Findings
The table-1 below gives Comparative Apparel Store Profile and information about sales promotion

activities.

Table-1
Store profile and information on sales promotion activities
Store name Pantaloon Megamart Lifestyle Westsi Wills lifestyle Max
de
Format Multibrand Exclusive Multibra Exclusi Exclusive ITC Multibrand
Type Arvind’s brand nd ve Landmark
Tata(T group
rent
group
Positioning Family store Value for Money Style & Enjoying the change Family
affordabil shopping
ity destination &
value pricing
store
Floor Size 28000 sq. ft 5000 sq.ft. 50,000 sq. ft 15,000-30,000sq.ft
Location CG Road,Ahmedabad Drive in Road, Satellite CG C.G. Road, Ahmedabad Gallops Mall,
(posh locality) Ahmedabad (not very Highwa Road, Sarkhej
posh, crowded) y, Ahmed Highway,
Cross abad Ahmedabad
Road
categories Apparel &accessories Menswear, women Apparel Stylize Relaxed wear, Foot wear,
for men, women & wear, home & d body care products, appareal accessories,
children furnishing accessor clothes & accessories home
ies for , furnishing
men, footwe
women ar &
access
ories
#of skus 45000 450 categories 34 NA NA NA
categori
es
#of 20-25 1 (Arvind Mills) 94 NA NA NA
suppliers
Average Rs.1800 NA Rs 800 Rs199- 3000 during sales promotion Rs750 to 1450
billing per 1999 and 2500 without sales
customer promotion
Average 1000on weekday & 100-120 on weekday 1200 in 25-45 65 per day & rise upto 120 450 per day &
footfalls 1500 to 2000 on & upto 250 on week per Weekend 1200
weekends, holidays weekends days & hour
6000
during
week
end
Sales Promtions
1.End of season Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
2.Festive Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Promotions
(Diwali,
Christmas etc)
Loyalty card Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
Programme
Special Promotion Yes (Exchange Yes Yes No Yes No
(event) offer)
Joint promotion No No Yes No No No
Media used Hoardings,prin Instore, Hoardings, Print, Tele In store
t,electronic Electronic In store electronic, marketing,
(SMS, E- hoardings, In print,
mail),POP store Electronic,
outdoor
Promotion Price off, free Price Lucky draw, Cause Discounts, Lucky
type gifts, exchange promotion, discounts, related, gift gift draw, free
offer free gifts, contests, free vouchers, vouchers coupons,
contests, gifts discount, discounts
combo contest,comb
offer o, coupons
Evaluation Sales, Sales Sales Sales,Quarte Conversion, Sales,
of promotion Quarterly rly profit footsize, average
profit sales, bill size,
average bill conversion
size, stock (footfall)
movement
  From the above table which gives comparative picture of various

sales promotion activities and manner of announcement,

evaluation etc., it is clear that four out of six stores engage in end

of season sale. This reinforces the fact that seasonality affects

apparel sector and hence it becomes critical for a retailer to clear

off the stocks at the end of season otherwise he may have to incur

substantial inventory carrying costs, allocate scarce shelf space

and out of fashion apparels maybe worthless- may remain unsold

forever! Thus stock clearance seems to be very important

objective for apparel retailer in using end of season sale twice in a

year wherein discount given is upto 50% of the MRP(Maximum

retail price).

• Four stores, both mulitbrand and exclusive use loyalty cards to reward

loyal users and encourage them to visit the store often and buy more

by offering wide range for men, women and children. Some store also

offer home furnishings, accessories and footwear, thereby providing

convenience for one stop shopping. Examining the various terms and

conditions of loyalty programme revealed that some rewards were

quite complex and confusing. e.g. lifestyle’s card- Inner circle. The
 conditions to be fulfilled is not very clear to a card member.For

example, if any other promotions are prevalent then purchase made

during those promotions would entitle for the card reward points or

not was not very clear.

• All the stores used in store media to announce promotions. However

use of mass media and electronic media varied across the sample

under study. Use of only instore media would restrict the

announcement to those who walk into the store. It can be assumed

that only loyal/ frequent visitor would know about the offers. Whereas

variety of media used would enhance footfalls to the store and trigger

word of mouth.

• Only one store used joint sales promotion tieing up with brands like,

MacDonald, Havmore, Gold’s (local) Gym and Kaya skin clinic. No

other store has yet explored avenue of joint sales promotion. Such

joint promotions have advantages in terms of sharing costs of

promotions, cross selling opportunities to each other’s customers,

higher visibility etc.

• In terms of type of consumer sales promotions, almost everyone used

discount, coupon programmes and few used lucky draws, contests, gift,

buy one get one free type of promotions. Only Pantaloon had a unique

scheme of an exchange offer which is normally prevalent in durable goods

industry. Relating it to a cause-

donating old pairs collected in exchange scheme to charity would

enhance the brand value among the consumers.

• Every retail outlet measures impact of sales promotion activities by

looking at sales made during the promotional period. Few others also

look at the footfalls, conversion from footfall to buyers, average bill

size during promotions etc. Very few measure profits made during

promotions by relating revenues to costs of promotions. Beyond that

no evaluation is done. The problem of isolating effect of different

promotions in a situation of promotion overlap is not addressed. Rich

database that a retailer possesses is yet to be explored for further

diagnosis and building future promotions.

Rationale for sales promotion activities

Usage of sales promotion activities has a direct impact on behaviour as it

motivates a consumer to buy now rather than in future, enhances value of

an offer temporarily till the promotion period, encourages switching,

reinforce or reward loyalty etc. Broadly, objectives set for these activities

are; i)to generate store traffic, ii) to move excess inventory, iii)to enhance

store image and iv)to create a price image( high or low). Traffic building is

achieved by special event promotions like Diwali, Rakshabandhan

promotions; inventory reduction through end of season sale; creation and

building store image through feature advertising and displays and joint

promotions and price image by highlighting the discounts. It helps

consumer reduce not only financial risk but also psychological and social

risk by making consumer confident of his/her purchase, conformation to

group norms by shopping at famous stores/brands and possibility of

acquiring well known branded apparel during promotions. Promotions may

induce non buyers to walk in to the store and loyalty programmes may

encourage to buy more, more often or upgrade to better quality. Exciting

promotions also have tendency to generate positive word of mouth and

help consumer feel a smart shopper. Thus not only utilitarian benefits like,

saving of money, time or quality upgradation but hedonic benefits like

feeling confident, feeling of excitement and entertainment etc.

Managerial challenges
From the findings it is apparent that use of sales promotions is quite

widespread and variety of activities are used to address variety of

objectives; clear off old stock, load the consumer, encourage brand

switching, to reward the loyal user, to create excitement at point of

purchase etc. The manager in charge of apparel retail operations need to

understand impact of various types of promotions on consumer behaviour

and objectives attained. In a crowded promotional environment it is

challenging to retain loyal consumers. Too frequent use of promotions may

evoke indifferent attitude among consumers or shape deal to deal buying.

Predictability of promotions (promotions linked to festivals like Diwali) may

result in coinciding purchase with such promotions leading to loss of margin

an opportunity loss to sell at full price. A manager needs to be aware of

these problems and have to plan strategies to overcome them. Loyalty card

programmes require good administrative support and good database

records and data mining abilities to exploit to the fullest. Also IT

investments are required to keep records and evaluate the impact. Big

players like Pantaloon have a policy to invest in IT. They have implemented

SAP so database is available. Such investments in decision support

systems may give competitive edge to retailers. For that one would need

trained people to handle decision support systems.

Manager needs to strike a delicate balance between percentage split

across proactive and reactive promotions. If it gives a first mover

advantage then manager needs to allocate higher proportion of budget to

proactive promotions. Mangers also need to plan such activities which will

synergise company’s positioning and advertising campaign efforts rather

than erode brand image or equity. He needs to understand critical role of

integrated marketing communications which will signal unified message

and image about the brand/ store. To what extent promotional calendars

need to be unified across markets for the chain and to what extent local

managers need to be given freedom to plan their promotions in local areas

is a constant struggle between head quarter and regional chain stores.

Execution of these activities also require proper coordination of selling

effort, availability of promoted merchandise and managing product

line pricing. At times, if certain item in a product line is promoted, it

may disturb the logic of line pricing.

 QUESTIONAIRE

30000-50000

51000-100000

above 100000

1. –Information source about sales promotion of mobile ?

Clothing and apprel

T.V ad
Trade show
Internet
Peer group
Personal approach by dealer

2. - Which language do you prefer?

Hindi
English
Other
3. - Have you seen Advertisement on clothing and apparel?
Yes
No
4. - Was that Advertisement effective clothing apparel?

Yes
No
6. - What was the influencing power of advertisement?

Clothing and apparel

Brand ambassador
Free gifts
performance
7. - How many times do you see advertisement clothing and apparel?

(monthly)

(Weekly)

(daily)

(15 days)

8. - What is the influencing power of the advertisement?

Look

Technology

After sales service

performance
11. – Are you satisfied by advertising by clothing apparel ?

Yes

No

13. Sales promotion activity for clothing and apparel

Feed back from customer

Fair

Good

Excellent