Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Study on the Consumer Preference and Perception of

Supermarket Chain - Case of Dmart
M. Guruprasad
Director Research
Universal Business School

Abstract:- D-Mart is a one-stop supermarket chain that The core objective is to offer customers good products at great
aims to offer customers a wide range of basic home and value.
personal products. To understand customer preference
and perceptions on D Mart products and services. The DMart was started by Mr. Radhakishan Damani and his
study reveals that the customers are satisfied with the family to address the growing needs of the Indian family.
services. From the launch of its first store in Powai in 2002, DMart
today has a well-established presence in 163 locations across
Keywords:- Supermarket, retail, preference, perception, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
shopping, Karjat, Badalapur, DMart, ASL,UBS. Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, NCR, Tamil Nadu,
Punjab and Rajasthan. With their mission to be the lowest
I. INTRODUCTION priced retailer in the regions we operate, their business
continues to grow with new locations planned in more cities.
Problem formulation The supermarket chain of DMart stores is owned and operated
The service industry and in particular, the retail market by Avenue Supermarts Ltd. (ASL). The company has its
has been vital to the world economy and undergone the ever headquarters in Mumbai. The brands D Mart, D Mart
intensified competition under recent crisis and economic turn- Minimax, D Mart Premia, D Homes, Dutch Harbour, etc are
down period. The modern retail industry is booming across the brands owned by ASL.
world. Therefore, it is essential for retailers to use strategies
which focus on satisfying current customers. Supermarkets II. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
and Hypermarkets have played an important role in food
distribution since they appeared. For modern life, the  To understand customer preference towards D-Mart
existence of traditional markets has been gradually replaced products.
by their descendent supermarkets and people depend on  To know the customers shopping habits.
supermarkets for their basic grocery needs. Shopping at the  To find out the consumer perception of D-Mart services.
grocery store has become a big deal and it is one of the most  To find out the effect of D-Mart on competitor’s business.
important food sources for many households. In addition,  To study the satisfaction level of customers of D- Mart.
unlike previous studies that have focused more on service
industry such as bank, healthcare, beauty etc, the researchers III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
considered a supermarket setting which fully represents both
product and service characteristics The Indian retail industry The data was collected from the respondents across all
has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced the income groups, occupation and gender. The total sample
industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts size for the study is 110. The study involves ascertaining the
for over 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product customer perception towards various areas such as price,
(GDP) and around 8 per cent of the employment. India is the promotions offered, billing system and parking facility etc.
world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. The study also tries to know why the customers visit and shop
at D-Mart and get valuable suggestions from them. So, the
India’s retail market is expected to nearly double to US$ study tried to get the responses almost all kinds of
1 trillion by 2020 from US$ 600 billion in 2015#, driven by respondents. This research is based on primary data and
income growth, urbanization and attitudinal shifts. While the secondary data. Due to time constraint, only limited number of
overall retail market is expected to grow at 12 per cent per persons contacted.
annum, modern trade would expand twice as fast at 20 per
cent per annum and traditional trade at 10 per cent. D-Mart is IV. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
a one-stop supermarket chain that aims to offer customers a
wide range of basic home and personal products under one Study was conducted in the area of Karjat and Badlapur
roof. Each D-Mart store stocks home utility products - market. “Simple Random Sampling” is used in this study.
including food, toiletries, beauty products, garments, Sample Size of the study is 110 respondents. Data Collection
kitchenware, bed and bath linen, home appliances and more - is done from various customers through personal interaction.
available at competitive prices that the customers appreciate. Questionnaire (Interview Schedule) was prepared for

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Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
collecting data. Majority questions in the Questionnaire were economic development, changes in the marketing and
close ended questions and a few open-ended questions. Data economic system as well as changing pattern and
was collected through primary as well as secondary sources. classification of economic activity.

Data collected is from D Mart Karjat and Badlapur. Data Hamilton Ryan (2009) in their research paper majorly
was collected as a part of experiential learning exercise which focused on the important decision that retailers always
is a unique learning process at UNIVERSAL BUSINESS involves in selecting the number of items constituting their
SCHOOL(UBS) by students and discussed in the classroom assortments. A key issue in making these decisions is the role
sessions as a case for Research Methodology subject. of assortment size in determining consumers choice of a
Precautions were taken to see that there was no bias and retailer. The authors address this issue by investigating how
correct methods of data collection were used. The collected consumer choice among retailers offering various-sized
data was analysed using SPSS software. assortments is influenced by the attractiveness of the options
constituting these assortments. The data show that consumer
V. LITERATURE REVIEW preference for retailers offering larger assortments tends to
decrease as the attractiveness of the options in their
Kotler and Armstrong (2012) define retailing as all the assortments increases and can even lead to a reversal of
activities for selling goods or services directly to ultimate preferences in favour of retailers offering smaller assortments.
buyers for their personal, non-business use. This research further presents evidence that the relationship
According to Amit & Kameshvari, (2012), the origin of between assortment size and option attractiveness is concave,
word “retail‟ comes from the French „retailer‟, that means „to such that the marginal impact of assortment size on choice
cut a piece off‟ or „to break bulk‟. In other words, it shows a decreases as the attractiveness of the options increases. Data
first hand-transaction with the customer The retailer is a from eight empirical studies offer converging evidence in
person or agent or agency or company or organization who support of the theoretical predictions.
sends the products or services to the ultimate consumer Thus, Krishnaveni (2006) identified that the most important
the customer and the fulfillment of customer desires and needs paradigm which is associated with promotion of loyalty
which are the key points of retailing are the retailing focus among consumers is the attribute of quality. Present
According to Tiwari,(2009),. Retailing is as old as generation invest more on the basic factors such as books,
exchange. Retailing is one of the oldest businesses in the clothes, food, music and gadgets such as mobile phones.
world and was practiced in prehistoric times. Earlier it was the Kuruvilla and Ganguli (2008) explained that shopping
exchange of food and traditional weapon which followed the develops into important aspect in the lives of people, as they
emergence of traders and peddlers. The day barter has been are becoming financially sound to do purchase in malls and
replaced by exchange through money (in any form) the they begin to consider the shopping value as an important
retailing came into existence A few centuries ago, in the 16th factor along with the price of the products. In 1990s the
and 17th centuries, some retail chains in some European cities modern trend in shopping mall concept had been introduced
were known.However, the beginning of retailing development by ‗Spencer Plaza‘in Chennai and ‗Crossroads‘in Mumbai.
is acknowledged to be at the end of the 19th century and early After that, there has been a great improvement in this modern
of the 20th century. At the beginning, retailers dominated with concept.
any merchandise. Later, retailers specializing in the market
began to gain momentum. Last few years, there are very large Dwivedi (2010) explained that when compared to major
stores, but again selling every kind of merchandise. In cities in India, the smaller cities seem to be a better place for
countries that have developed retailing, competition has investment. This is because these cities have low priced lands,
reached high levels and has again started focusing on low functional and operational expenses and greater number
specialized stores. of available lands. He further specified and explained that
there has been a transition in the taste and purchasing
According to Hansemark & Albinsson (2004), priorities of the customers from Tier II and III cities in the past
“satisfaction is an overall attitude towards a product provider ten years. He also presented the views of Ernst and Young
or an emotional reaction to the difference between what which illustrated that there was twenty six percentage of
customers expect and what they actually receive regarding the growth in mall of the metropolitan cities while malls in Tier II
fulfilment of a need”. Kotler (2000) also define satisfaction as and III cities showed fifty five percentage of growth.
a person’s feelings of pleasure, excitement, delight or
disappointment which results from comparing a products Bijapurkar (2008) explained that the reduction indicates
perceived performance to his or her expectations. the increase in the number of middle class populations who
can manage to pay for food, beverage and entertainment in
Nair Suja (2008) in her book ‗Retail Management‘ has addition to their basic needs. In India a great increase in
tried to explain the growth of retailing in Indian context family income has been observed.
especially in the context of new economic policy, global

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Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Feinberg, Sheffler, Meoli and Rummel (1989) keep-up of the city. Funds are generated essentially through
considered the social stimulation provided by malls, finding property taxes. Maharashtra State Assembly has two
that the mall served as an outlet for social behaviour. nominations from Badlapur. As per provisional reports of
Census India, population of Badalapur in 2011 is 174,226; of
C S Venkata Ratnam (2007) have detailed changing which male and female are 90,365 and 83,861 respectively.
consumer behaviour in retail trade in India in his paper Although Badalapur city has population of 174,226; its urban /
entitled “Changing Consumer Behaviour and Emerging metropolitan population is 18,394,912 of which 9,872,271 are
Challenges to the Retail Trade In India” The author has males and 8,522,641 are females.
highlighted that sustained and rapid growth of China and
India, which together provide home to over a fifth of the Now, let us understand the study findings of consumer
humanity, are creating a tremendous surge in consumerism on preference towards Dmart in these two locations.
a scale which is unprecedented. Both the countries are
attractive destinations for investment and production as well  Shopping Trend
as sales and marketing. From the research conducted it can be inferred that
majority of the people in Badlapur visit the store in the
VI. ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH evening, whereas half of the population in Karjat visit the
store at that time. Slightly less than half in Karjat visit the
Locations: Now, let us analyse the brief profile of the store at night in comparison to Badlapur which is a very small
two locations where the research were conducted. percentage. Morning visitor in both the place is a small
 Karjat an Overview minority. When it comes to offering D’mart products online
We look into the overall view of the location Karjat. The there was a divided opinion from customer from both the
basic information of these places was based on the Census location with half of respondents preferring the options.
2011 data provided by the Government of India. Karjat is a Majority of the customer in Badlapur and Karjat mentioned
Municipal Council city in district of Raigarh, Maharashtra. that they use their personal transport to get to the outlets.
The Karjat city is divided into 17 wards for which elections While as a minority use auto services to reach the outlet.
are held every 5 years. The Karjat Municipal Council has  Mode of Payment
population of 29,663 of which 15,248 are males while 14,415
are females as per report released by Census India 2011.
Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 3039 which is 10.25
% of total population of Karjat (M Cl). In Karjat Municipal
Council, Female Sex Ratio is of 945 against state average of
929. Moreover Child Sex Ratio in Karjat is around 917
compared to Maharashtra state average of 894. Literacy rate of
Karjat city is 88.38 % higher than state average of 82.34 %. In
Karjat, Male literacy is around 91.65 % while female literacy
rate is 84.94 %. Karjat Municipal Council has total
administration over 6,820 houses to which it supplies basic
amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorize to build
roads within Karjat Municipal Council limits and impose taxes
on properties coming under its jurisdiction. The area is well
connected with other places like Panvel, Mumbai, Thane and
Fig 1
Pune.

 Badalapur an Overview
Badalapur is a city in Thane District of Maharashtra state
in India. Badalapur city is a group of 4 villages namely,
Katrap, Kulgaon, Badlapur & Manjarli. Over a period of time,
Badalapur has transformed into a major residential area,
comprising of various communities & people of different
cadre. Badalapur is typically known to Mumbai people as a
week-end picnic spot, as it hosts two major dams and few
waterfalls appear during monsoon. Its proximity to Mumbai
has transformed Badlapur into one of the major residential
zone. Although it is approx. 70 km from Mumbai main city,
its quiet surroundings, beautiful nature and somewhat cool
temperatures made it a place liked by many. Badalapur has a Fig 2:- Badlapur
Municipal Council which takes care of civic amenities and

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Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
fruits offered. While another considerable amount said they
would like electronics to be sold. Large no of customers stated
that they spend Rs 1200 or more where they shop at either of
the store. Remaining said that they spend 700-1200 or less.
More than half of D’mart customer would like to be offered
fresh vegetable/fruits. Less than majority of customer want
electronics. A small amount of customers want fresh meats. A
lesser amount of customer want musical instruments and a
minority want in fresh flower offerings.
Fig 3:- Badlapur

As per the analysis 77% of the respondents visit the store

during evening, and 61% of the respondents pay through debit
card for their transactions.

Fig 6:- Karjat

Fig 4:- Karjat

Fig 7:- Karjat

Fig 5:- Karjat

As per the analysis 50% of the respondents visit the store

during evening and 48% visits during night, and 66% of the
respondents pay through debit card for their transactions. In
both the location majority of the purchases where done
through debit card and slightly more than a quarter said that
they paid using cash. Minority use credit cards. In Badlapur
majority of the customers visited the store once a month where
is in Karjat a slightly more than a quarter visited the store.
Almost half of people visit to the store 1 time in a month.
Slightly more than a quarter of people visit 2 times in a month. Fig 8:- Badalapur
Less than a quarter of people visit 3 times in a month as well
as 4 times a month and a minority of people visit more than 4
times in a month.

 Product Preference
Majority of the customers in both the location purchased
confectionary, groceries, garments and stationary item from
the store. while a major point of difference was that very few
people in Karjat purchase kitchen and homeware products in
comparison to Badlapur. When asked what services the
customer would like to be offered a large majority of the
sample size stated that they would like fresh vegetable and Fig 9:- Badalapur

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Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
minority. When it comes to offering D’mart products online
Majority shoppers rated 4 it means brand name is there was a 50-50 opinion from customer from both the
important for the consumers. A good brand has a major location. When finding out what motivates customer to shop
influence on the consumer. at D’mart majority of the customers in badlapur and karjat
said that its discount, convivences & offerings/variety that
 Service quality satisfaction motivates them to shop at D’mart. Majority of the customer in
The improvement that would like to be seen by most of badlapur and karjat mentioned that they use their personal
the consumers was service, while some other members stated transport to get to the outlets. While as a minority use auto
that they would like to see improvements in infrastructure, services to reach the outlet. In both the location majority of the
layout and offerings. Majority of the respondent in both purchases where done through debit card and slightly more
regions were of the opinion that signage and store layout were than a quarter said that they paid using cash. Minority use
helpful, they also felt that the return policy was satisfying. credit cards. In badlapur majority of the customers visited the
Respondents overall had good experience with D’mart. When store once a month where is in karjat a slightly more than a
probed on what motivates customer to shop at D’mart majority quarter visited the store. Customer that visit the store twice,
of the customers in Badalapur and Karjat said that its discount, thrice and fourth time a month more or less the same.
connivances & offerings/variety that motivates them to shop at
D’mart.A large majority of respondents in Karjat and Majority of the customers in both the location purchased
Badlapur said that discounts and products offered were the confectionary, groceries, garments and stationary item from
biggest advantages D’mart has over its competitors. All the store. While a major point of difference was that very few
respondents in Badlapur and slightly more than a quarter in people in karjat purchase kitchen and homeware products in
Karjat said they would recommend D’mart to others. comparison to Badalapur. When asked what services the
customer would like to be offered a large majority of the
According to the analysis the consumer of D’mart are sample size stated that they would like fresh vegetable and
satisfied with the services provided by D’mart. Large majority fruits offered. While another considerable amount said they
of consumer prefer it. What contribute to the popularity of the would like electronics to be sold. Large no of customers stated
demand is the service quality of the service provided by that they spend Rs 1200 or more where they shop at either of
D’mart coupled with the attractive pricing strategy followed the store. Remaining said that they spend 700-1200 or less.
by it. D’mart also has huge variety of product all under one The improvement that would like to be seen by most of the
roof which is one of its largest competencies. Majority of the consumers was service, while other quadrants stated that they
people rated D’mart among it’s competitors as 4 out of 5 would like to see improvements in infrastructure, layout and
meaning good. Less than a quarter of the people rated as 5 offerings. Majority of the respondent in both regions were of
which indicates best. Far less than quarter rated as 3 it shows the opinion that signage and store layout were helpfull, they
quite satisfactory. Minority of people rated it 2 among its also felt that the return policy was satisfying. A large majority
competitors. of the respondents never had a bad experience with D’mart. A
 Survey among Retailer large majority of respondents in Karjat and Badalapur said that
While analysing the competitor perception of D’mart it discounts and products offered were the biggest advantages
has been seen that D’mart has considerably of its competitor D’mart has over its competitors. All respondents in Badalapur
other reason for this is that the lack of ability of competitor to and slightly more than a quarter in Karjat said they would
cope up with changing preferences and market development recommend D’mart to others.
strategy prevalent in the market. D’mart mostly faces According to the analysis we conclude that the
competition from small shop which deal in single variety of consumers of D’mart are satisfied with the services provided
commodity. The only advantage that the competition has is the by D’mart. Large majority of consumer are loyal to brand
proximity to the Karjat market personal relation with the what contribute to the popularity of the demand is the service
consumer and existing brand image due to them being in the quality of the service provided by D’mart coupled with the
market for multiple generations. The competitions lack the attractive pricing strategy followed by it. D’mart also has huge
desire to expand, innovate and bring changes to their verity of product all under one roof which is one of its largest
businesses and are content with the current progress of the competencies. While analysing the competitor perception of
business but are in danger of becoming redundant. D’mart it has been seen that D’mart has considerably of its
VII. CONCLUSION competitor other reason for this is that the lack of ability of
competitor to cope up with changing preferences and market
From the survey conducted it can be inferred that development strategy prevalent in the market. D’mart mostly
majority of the people in Badalapur visit the store in the faces competition from small shop which deal in single verity
evening, whereas half of the population in Karjat visit the of commodity. The only advantage that the competition has is
store at that time. slightly less than half in Karjat visit the store the proximity to the Karjat market personal relation with the
at night in comparison to Badalapur which is a very small consumer and existing brand image due to them being in the
percentage. Morning visitor in both the place is a small market for multiple generations. The competition lacks the

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Volume 3, Issue 11, November – 2018 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
desire to expand innovate and bring changes to their [8]. Nair Suja, Retail Management, 1st ed., Himalaya
businesses and are content with the current progress of the Publishing House New Delhi,2008.
business but are in danger of becoming redundant. [9]. Tiwari R.S.,“Retail Management, Retail Concepts and
Practices”, Himalaya Publishing House, 1st
Majority of the respondents in Karjat rated Dmart as 4 Edition,2009.
on 5 points scale where 1 is low and 5 is the highest. Whereas [10]. Kotler, P, Marketing Management 10 (ed), New Jersey:
a quarter of respondents in Badalapur rated as 4 and slightly Prentice Hall, 2000.
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locations respondents said that brand name, convenience and [12]. Krishnaveni M., "Marketing Paradigms and the Indian
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endorsement were of least importance. In Badalapur slightly [13]. Kuruvilla S.J. and Ganguli J, Mall development and
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FDI Fables–FDI in Multibrand Retail,
Majority of the respondents in Badalapur had an income www.indiainfoline.com,2012
between 0-6 Lakhs with all categories having almost equal [15]. M. Guruprasad, Vaishalli Nikalje, “Experiential
shares in the chart whereas in Karjat majority had an income Marketing – Exploring New Horizons”, Indian Journal
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6-8 lakhs. While a small minority who are in Karjat have an
income of 6-8 lakhs and above where as in Badalapur the
minority percentage in that income bracket is slightly higher.
Thus, the above research was intended to understand the
Customers preference and perception about the services of
D’mart. The study reveals that the customers are satisfied with
the services. It has also been observed during the study, that
the presence of the D’mart has made a impact on the retailers.

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