Determinants of Stores Choice in Rural Markets: An Empirical Study in Karnataka State

Abstract

The current empirical study entitled “determinants of stores choice in rural markets:  an empirical study in Karnataka state” has been undertaken with an intention to investigate the stores’ loyalty of the rural consumers and the major factors that determine the preference of a particular retail outlet.  To realise the stated objectives the researchers have employed a survey method. A structured questionnaire was used for the collection of the data from 1,600 rural respondents. The validity of the research instrument was adjudged using Cronbach's coefficient (α) and was calculated to test the reliability and internal consistency of the responses. The collected data was tested for the normality and various statistical tools have been employed to analyse the collected data. Based on the analysis of the study a brief summary of findings have been made and a meaningful conclusion has been drawn. Finally the results have been compared with the possible evidence. The study revealed that majority of the rural consumer respondents purchase their entire FMCG requirement in one shop and majority of the rural consumers seek clarification (case-on-case basis) from the retailer before purchasing the product. We found a significant difference in the nature of clarification made by the rural consumer to the retailer.  There is a significant influence of the distance to the nearest town of the rural consumer and the passing of benefits by the retailer to the rural consumers and there is a significant relationship in the reasons offered by occasional and consistent categories of retailers who do not pass benefits to rural consumers.