Parameter Assessment of Sales Promotion Schemes for a FMCG Product: A Study With Respect to Biscuits

Abstract

Parle-G, Sunfeast and Tiger are the prominent brands of mass consumption in the glucose segment in India. The popular packs of these brands are offered at the same price at Rs.5/- for the same weight and similar size. There is no substantial product difference in terms of ingredients and tests. In the light of a uniform product and price, the marketers have no other option but to fight the battle only with the remaining two marketing weapons, viz. Place in terms of availability and promotions. Consumers evaluate the products on the basis of non functional differences created through the sales promotion schemes. Majority of the promotions are designed by offering added quantity of biscuits per pack. The identical product offer and low price per unit lure the consumers to switch the brands in response to promotion schemes. This research focuses to gain insight into the consumer preference to brands due to such promotional offers, that influence buying and consumption behaviour. Brand preference was studied as a function of three parameters, e.g. demographic differences, factor of motivation and perceived benefits. Four demographic factors such as age, gender, family size, level of income were adopted, Factor of motivation were studied in the form of promotion schemes, viz. Price and non price promotions, Six perceived benefit factors of promotional schemes were adopted from the earlier study ( Chandon, Wansink, and Laurent, 2002). The study objectives were set on the progressive exploration of literature search and marketer‟s specific expectations to understand the consumer psychology. The paper concludes with specific research findings, application for managerial purpose and limitations of the study and scope for refinement thorough future research.

Keywords: Biscuits, Demographics, Sales-Promotion, Repeat Purchase, Low Involvement

JEL Classification: M30, M31