Consumer Behaviour in the Purchase Process of Household Product

Household products have become an inseparable part of our daily life. Their purchase is an infrequent, expensive and technical one so it gains high momentum. The consumer has to make the decision under significant brand differences because their purchase results in a long lasting bond between him and the product. The present study was conducted on a sample of 300 consumers in Varanasi city to get an overview of their purchase behavior and product related perceptions. Further they were divided into three income categories to find the attitudes with relevance to income level. The products selected for the study were Television, Refrigerator and Food processor. The primary objective of the research was to study the relation of income level with the perceptions regarding product attributes; major choice determinants viz. reference groups, effective modes of communication and consumer attitude regarding advertising. The findings revealed that purchase of household product was not a single man’s decision. It was inferred from the study that lower and middle income category consumers evaluated products in more utilitarian terms such as sturdiness rather than style or fashion ability. They were less likely to experiment with new products. In contrast, upper category consumer was mainly concerned about appearance and body image.