A Contrasting Evaluation of Consumer Purchase Attitude-Behavior of Urban-Rural Working Women Consumers Towards White-Brown Durables, a Study With Specific Relevance to Kochi, Kerala

摘要

Consumer centric marketing style is predominant in the durables, which in turn revolves around the consumer purchase attitude. It is known that consumer attitude is a learnt predisposition to respond to an object or act consistently in a favorable or unfavorable manner and is shaped by one’s values and beliefs which are learnt. Only by changing the consumer’s attitude can they be influenced to enact a merchandise transaction in the marketing mileau. Hence the importance of attitude change is of paramount importance to marketers who are consumer focused in the modern age often customizing the products/services to match the tastes of the consumer by proper positioning and targeting strategies. Consumer segments may be urban or rural based on the peculiarities/residential location and outlook / lifestyle characteristics of the consumer. In this paper, an evaluation of the urban and rural consumer purchase attitudebehavior, a comparative study of various facets with special reference to consumer durables (both white and brown goods)withthe sample frame of middleclass working women families of Ernakulam (Kochi), the premier test marketing site in Kerala, is attempted herein. Based on the rich findings, the future strategies in market segmentation andmarket mix can be redesigned to match with current consumer tastes.