In the world we live today, businesses and top companies have to understand what their companies have to offer to their customer and they have to understand the needs of the consumers in their markets. Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations. The way customer buys their product and the ways they select their particular products in Singapore. (Customer behavior, 2010)
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Sportswear market is one of the leading markets in the world and the biggest players in the sports wear are Nike and Adidas these are the biggest market leaders in the world for the creativity and the sports equipments they have to offer to the people. Singapore is a very diverse country with different ethnic backgrounds from places live in Singapore as this is sports loving country as the Youth Olympics were held in Singapore in August 2010, as is the one of the biggest target market for the sports equipments as the people of Singapore are sports loving people. Singapore is one of the famous tourist destinations in the world famous for shopping, tourist destination, Santosa beach, and two newly opened Casinos
The Customer behavior of visitors on sportswear in Singapore is mostly influenced by social, cultural, personal and Psychological factors. (Kotler, Armstrong, & Yau Hon Ming, 2009) Consumer behavior is affected by many diverse factors for example, what influences you before you buy a product or service? Your friends, your raising, your culture, the media, a role model or influences from certain groups. (Learn Marketing, 2010)
On a more personal level, I have always had a deep interest in trying to understand how other people think and what makes them behave in the way that they do. I feel that in doing this we come more rapidly to understand our own individual ways and patterns of thought and ways of behavior. Singapore market is growing rapidly as they have recovered from the economic crisis and the people of Singapore are purchasing the products as they are being influenced as their spending power is more than before as the economy of the country is recovered and Singapore is attracting lots of visitors to Singapore for shopping, Casinos, Travel and leisure. This gives the opportunity to the sports accessories companies a better target market to occupy and generate ways of attracting their target customer.
1.1 Objectives of the Research
The main objectives of this research is to understand the factors that are affecting the customer behavior and the way they act while purchasing the product and these factors helps the sportswear companies to know and to understand and predict buying behavior of consumers in the market place and what are the trends, behavior of the customer and the way they buy products in the market, from a sporting wear like Manchester United Jersey to a Football shoes or jogging shoes, it is concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with why they buy it, when and where and how they buy it. (Himansu. S. M, 2008)
Sportswear market is growing in Singapore as the tourism industry is growing rapidly as it is attracting lots of visitors to Singapore. However, a sporting culture in Singapore and the passion for sports excellence and a vast business plan have the potential to produce results well beyond our dreams. The timing is excellent as it has never been before and for the customers and companies active in Singapore’s sports scene. (Kotler and keller, 2009). The sports market in Asia Pacific is booming. The total value of the market should reach $17 billion in 2009, according to a global study by an independent management consulting firm. (Sports Industry, 2009)
The factors that influence the customer behavior are
Role, Status and Age
Lifestyle
Personality and attitude
We have to understand how these factors play an important role in influencing the customer buying behavior towards buying sports equipments in Singapore.
There is big change in the number of visitors coming to Singapore from couple of years and the Singapore market is booming as the figures show there is vast change in the number of visitors coming to Singapore from the year 2007 to 2010.
Figure 1,2,3 Visitor arrive in Singapore 2007 to 2010C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitordec 07,dec08.pngC:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itVisitor10-23-2010 2-22-36 PM.png
C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itjuly 2010 visitors.png
Source: STB, 2010
Research focus
The focus of this research is to understand how Role, Status, Age, Lifestyle and Personality and Attitude of an individual and how it plays an important role on buyer mood, conditions that affect the customer behavior when they are purchasing a sportswear product. The reason for coming out with a model is that this gives us an understanding how the visitors in Singapore behave when they are buying sportswear and this will help us to understand the customers better and how they react and what are the factors that influence the consumer behavior of visitors on sportswear in Singapore. According to the research we have derived on this that most of the visitors coming to Singapore are for shopping purpose and travelling purpose. As shown below for several years. Fig 4, (Major Expenditure Items for 2008) Fig 5 Major Expenditure Items for 2004-08)
For the year
2008
Source:
STB, 2010
Fig 1C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2008expenses.png
For the year
2004-08
Source:
STB, 2010
Fig 2
C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it20082004.2008.png
Fig: 6 Major Expenditure Items for 2007 Source: (STB, 2010)
C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2007 travelling ppl.png
Figure 7 Shopping items purchased. Source: (STB 2010)
C:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag it2006.2007 shopping lists.pngC:UsersDickeyDesktopSnag itshopping.png
Research questions
In this report we have to invest the characteristics that affect the consumer behavior when they are buying a sports accessories product and how these characteristics play the important role in consumer behavior.
How the role, status and age of an individual affect on consumer behavior.
How does lifestyle of an individual affect on consumer behavior.
How does personality and attitude of an individual affect on consumer behavior.
Value of the research
This research will give us the understanding how the consumer behave when they are buying a sportswear product and this will help the practitioner to understand how the consumer reacts and what are the factors that influences him to buy a product. The study of consumer behavior is the study where are going to learn how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources.
Chapter 2
Literature review
The purpose of literature review is to make sure that we analyze all the characteristics that play an important role in affecting the consumer behavior. The purpose of the literature review is to select promising measure, methods (Mamchak and Mamchak, 1994). Identify and highlight the important variables and document the significant results of earlier research that will serve as the basis on which the theoretical framework of the investigation can be built and the hypothesis developed (Sekaran, 2003). Based on the research objectives, the researcher will provide relevant concepts in the review of current literature in this chapter.
Consumer behavior is the way a person reacts to purchase products and there are several factors that affect the consumer behavior they are
2.1 Role, status and age – All of us hold positions within groups, organizations and institutions. Associated with each position there is an important role to play, there are set of activities a person in particular position is supposed to perform based on expectations of both individual and surrounding people, because a person can occupy different roles for example role of a son, husband, father, mother, church priest, employee, and student. There are multiple set of expectations which are placed on an individual person so this affects the consumer behavior. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007)
An individual role influences the buying behavior, the demand of a person’s many roles may be diverse and inconsistent. Considering the various types of sports accessories that may an individual buy and wear will be depending on whether you are sporting which type of sports or what type of sports accessories an individual may like, and others involved in these types of setting and environment has expectations what is acceptable accessories for the purpose. The expectations of those consumers may affect the purchase of those sports accessories and products. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007)
Consumers usually choose sportswear products appropriate to their roles and status. Considering the various roles a working mother plays. In her company she plays an important role of a brand manager of Nike or Adidas she would be wearing mostly sportswear but on the other hand a working mother working in a bank she would be wearing uniform. So we have to understand the role and status of an individual and these factors play a vast role in consumer behavior. As she may be fan of a sporting event as she would be wearing her favorite sports accessories as she plays a role of avid fan. As a brand manager of Sports Company she will buy the kind of clothes that reflects her role and status in her company.
People buy different goods and services over their lifetime. They wear different kinds of clothes and eat different food in the early years, most. People’s taste in clothes is age related the youngster nowadays like to wear sportswear clothes as they prefer to have sporting looks. Age plays an important role on consumer behavior as consumer needs and wants change with age. Sportswear companies offer different types of clothes for all ages and they are also youth oriented. Such as Michael Jordan shoes and jersey will attract young kids in the market who would like to relate themselves as Michael Jordan fans. The taste for sportswear items is different between the youngsters and the mature people. Mature people tend to buy less sporty looking wear and more comfortable clothes.
2.2 Lifestyle – Lifestyle is a popular concept for understanding consumer behavior because it’s more contemporary than personality and values and lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living as expressed in her or his psychographics. It involves measuring consumer’s major activities which an individual do such as hobbies, sports, shopping, social events, interests, fashion, family and opinions about themselves. Lifestyle captures something more than a consumer’s social class or personality. It helps a person’s whole pattern of acting and interacting in the world. (Kotler, Armstrong, Ang, Leong, Tan, 2009)
Lifestyles have a strong impact on many aspects of consumer behavior process, from problem recognition to purchase stage. Lifestyle influences consumer’s product needs, brand preferences, type of media used and how, when and where they shop. Lifestyle of an individual person plays a vast role in consumer behavior. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007)
As we have understand that lifestyle refers to the pattern of consumption reflecting to a person choice on how he or she will spend money, but in some cases it refers to the attitude and values attached to these pattern. Every consumer has a different lifestyle and they all behave according to their lifestyle and this affects on the consumer behavior. Ones choice on sporting accessories would identify a person lifestyle and what are his preferences and the sports accessories an individual wears makes a statement about who the one is and the type of people he wishes to be identified as and the other people who are keeping some distance. (Solomon, Bamossy, Askegaard & Hogg, 2006)
2.3 Personality and Attitude – Personality is a set of internal traits and different behavioral tendencies that result in consistent pattern of behavior in certain situations. An individual personality comes from hereditary characteristics and personal experience that makes a person unique. Personality is described to be having one or more characteristics such as ambition, authoritarianism, competitiveness and dogmatism. Personality of an individual person plays a major role in consumer behavior as he or she has its own ambition or characteristics. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007)
Everyone is different just look at fingerprint, so every individual personality is different, personality has many meaning, according to consumer behavior it is defined as a rapid response to environmental stimuli, it is an individual unique psychological makeup, which consistently influences how a person responds to his environment. For example why do some people like to go movies and other people love buying sports accessories or attend sports event it all depends upon an individual personality. (Blackwell, Souza, Teghian, Miniard & Engel, 2006)
Every person has personality as every personality reflects individual differences, enduring and a personality can change. Under certain circumstances a personality changes such as child’s birth, Nike withdraw the sponsorship that may change your personality to buy Adidas sports accessories, career promotion all such kind of things can change a human personality and this significantly affects the consumer behavior. (Schiffman, Lazarkamk, & Hasan, 2007)
Personality is considered the main force behind consumer decision making. Personality refers to a person’s behavior or reply to recurring situations. Personality plays an important role when it comes to consumer behavior of any sorts, especially if it involves consumer buying process. An individual’s personality has become very significant now days when it comes to making decisions while buying. It holds different meaning accordingly to the consumers tastes, preferences and personality. (Knight, 2009)
An attitude is an individual enduring evaluation, feeling about and behavioral tendencies towards a product or idea. For example he have attitude for politics, music, sports and sports accessories we wear, football team we support. Although attitudes can change, they tend to remain stable and not vary from moment to moment. As attitudes put people into frame work of mind of liking or disliking things, as attitude is difficult to change. Person attitudes fit into the pattern and to change one attitude may require difficult adjustments in many others. However all of a person’s attitudes do not have equal impact at one time, some are stronger than other and this plays an important when they are buying a sports accessories product. Individuals acquire attitudes through experience and interaction with other people. (Pride and Ferrell, 2007)
Attitude of an individual people or group of people always affect the consumer behavior and for example one group of individual with same attitude are diehard fan of a football team and they are highly committed to their team and they have love for the game and if the sponsoring company are providing the sportswear of that team, the people with all the same attitude will buy the same product as the players are wearing. This will affect the consumer behavior and the sports companies should provide better sports accessories for the diehard fans as they all have the same attitude towards a same idea. (Solomon, Dann, Susan & Bennett, 2009)
So far the consumer attitude has big influence on consumer behavior such as whether you like a product or dislike a product such as do u like Coca Cola or not, do u like Nike and Adidas sports accessories or not.
Theoretical framework
Based on the theoretical framework the theoretical framework is there to test the validity of an existing theory. It is easier t understand the theoretical framework if it is viewed as the answers to the collected interrelated concepts.
Role, Status & Age
Consumer Behavior
Lifestyle
Personality & Attitude
Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Hypothesis Development
Hypothesis development is necessary as it shows a relationship between two or more variables expressed in the form of testable statement. (Sekaran, 2003: pg 103). Based on the research topic the final indepdent variable and dependant variable are as follows.
First Independent variable is Role, Status and Age which is IV1
Second Independent variable is Lifestyle which is IV2
Third Independent variable is Personality and Attitude which is IV3
Consumer Behavior is Dependent Variable which is addressed as DV
Hypothesis development is there by confirming or rejecting hypothesis, it is expected that solutions can be found to correct the problem encountered. (Theoretical-Framework-and-Hypothesis-Development, 2010)
Null Hypothesis
Addressed by: = 0
Finding: There is no relationship between the IVs and DV
The null hypotheses represent that the independent variable (IVs) and do not have any effect on the outcome of Dependent Variable DV.
Table of Null Hypotheses
H1 = Hypothesis 1. Role and Status
H2 = Hypothesis 2. Lifestyle
H3 = Hypothesis 3. Personality and Attitude
= 0 => = Ho
H1= Ho
There is no significant effect of Role and Status on Consumer Behavior
H2= Ho
There is no significant effect of Lifestyle on Consumer Behavior
H3= Ho
There is no significant effect of Personality and Attitude on Consumer Behavior
Alternative Hypothesis
Addressed by: ≠0 meaning that ≠Ho
In hypothesis testing, the null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis are put forward. If the data are sufficiently strong to reject the null hypothesis, then the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of an alternative hypothesis. Alternative hypothesis is a constructed hypothesis which the results are examined against the prediction of null hypothesis.
In general the null statement is expressed as no relationship between two variables or no difference between two groups. The alternate hypothesis which is the opposite of the null is a statement expressing a relationship between two variables or indicating differences between groups. (Sekaran & Bougie, 2003)
Procedure: There is either negative or positive relationship between the IVs and DV. The alternative hypotheses represent that the outcomes are different from zero; in particular, it could be positive or negative. As a result, IVs positively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses greater than zero and negatively relate to the DV if alternative hypotheses lesser than zero. To find out how significant IVs positively or negatively relate to DV, Alternative Hypotheses are measured.
≠0 => ≠Ho
H1≠Ho
There is either positive or negative effect of Role and status on Consumer Behavior
H2≠Ho
There is either positive or negative effect of Lifestyle on Consumer Behavior
H3≠Ho
There is either positive or negative effect of Personality and Attitude on Consumer Behavior
Research Design
The main aim of this research is to conduct a descriptive study and a correlation study. Descriptive research is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena to describe “what exists” with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The methods involved range from the survey which describes the status, the correlation study which investigates the relationship between variables, to developmental studies which seek to determine changes over time. (Key, 1997)
In this research the researcher wants to relate the independent variables and the dependent variables. Descriptive study and a correlation study would help in identifying the information, design a procedure to gather the information and analyze the information with the help of the IV’s and DV.
3.1 Research Methodologies
In order to collect the data for my research it is necessary to get an understanding of the data collection methods. There are many research methods but according to the topic nature we are doing a qualitative study. Qualitative research is unstructured exploratory in nature based on small samples and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as group interviews, word association asking respondents to indicate their first responses to stimulus words and interviews (Malhotra, 2007)
3.2 Data Collection Methods
According to the research design we are going to the following methods
Secondary Data: – Secondary data are the existing sources which were produced by earlier researchers for some specific purposes. According to the research topic we are using secondary data collections ways as it is from existing sources. (Blaxter et al, 2001)
Primary Data: – Primary data are original information collected by researchers to fulfill numerous purposes of research. The investigators could collect primary data by using various methods such as direct interviews, interviews through telephone, questionnaires, observations and others. (Macneill and Chapman, 2005)
In this research, secondary data will be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, company manuals, and brochures.
3.3 Data Collection Methods
In this research, the researcher uses a questionnaire to gather data due to questionnaire is an effective data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest (Sekaran, 2003). Data would be collected through magazines, journals, newspaper reports, and brochures.
To capture data, questionnaires are designed accordingly to specific information needed. In order to be precise, the question will be set as simple as possible. The number of question is small and the words are simplified. Before the questionnaire is practiced, they should be pre-tested to see how it works and improved if there is any mistake.
3.4 Data analysis
The researcher needs an effective data analysis tool to examine the chosen hypothesis at the beginning step. SPSS which stands for Statistics Package of Social Science is considered the best method in statistical analysis. This software allows researchers to enhance their perception of the data and interpretation of the output. (Weinberg and Abramowitz, 2002) The main jobs of researcher are to decide the needed variables before entering the input to the software, to select correct statistical tests to analyze data and to interpret the final output results. (Bryman and Bell, 2007)
3.5 Pilot-Testing
The purpose of doing pilot testing is to detect weaknesses in design and content in the instrument before it is reach final steps. (Fink, 2003), 12 peoples are required to be tested. The pilot tested should monitor the ease with which respondents complete the questionnaire, and also the ease with respondents to complete the questionnaire (Fink, 2003).
4 Ethical issues
While conducting survey and interview for the research, the researcher should consider the code of ethical issue. The major responsibility of the researcher is to inform clearly and accurately the survey’s purpose and content to respondents so that they can make decision whether they wish to participate.
The researcher should also show the respect to the participants by keeping their answers confidential based on the guidelines of the university. Furthermore researcher need to guarantee the data must be used only for this particular report.
Schedule
No
Content
Month
Oct Nov
2010
Dec Jan
2010
Feb Mar
2010
Week
1,2
3,4
1,2
1,2
1,2
3,4
1,2
3,4
1,2
3,4
1,2
1
Problem Identification
2
Literature Review
3
Research Design
4
Choice of Methodology
5
Data Sources
6
Data Collection
7
Data Analysis
8
Writing up Draft
9
Editing
10
Final Document
11
Binding of Document
Table 1 below presents a detailed dissertation schedule to ensure that the research work
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