A study of consumer behaviour on purchase of laptops

Introduction Laptop: A laptop is a personal computer designed for mobile use and small and light enough to sit on a person's lapwhile in use. A laptop integrates most of the typical

a desktop

computer,including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device(a touchpad, also known as a trackpad, and/or a pointing stick ), speakers, and often including a battery, into a single small and light unit. The rechargeable battery(if present) is charged from an AC adapter and typically stores enough energy to run the laptop for two to three hours in its initial state, depending on the configuration and power management of the computer. Laptops are usually notebook -shaped with thicknesses between 0.7–1.5 inches (18–38 mm) and dimensions ranging from 10x8 inches (27x22cm, 13" display) to15x11 inches (39x28cm, 17" display) and up. Modern laptops weigh 3 to 12 pounds (1.4 to 5.4 kg); older laptops were usually heavier. Most laptops are designed in the flip form factor to protect the screen and the keyboard when closed. Modern tablet laptops have a complex joint between the keyboard housing and the display, permitting the display panel to swivel and then lie flat on the keyboard housing. Laptops were originally considered to be "a small niche market" and were thought suitable mostly for "specialized field applications" such as "the military, the Internal Revenue Service, accountants and sales representatives". But today, there are already more laptops than desktops in businesses, and laptops are becoming obligatory for student use and more popular for general use. In 2008 more laptops than desktops were sold in the US.

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OBJECTIVES The research study tends to follow and achieve specific objectives. The objectives of this particular study are: To know the personal views of people regarding choices among various branded PC Laptop.  To study which branded PC Laptop is mostly preferred by people as per their choices.  Comparison between various branded PC Laptop.  Find out factor influencing the people at the time of purchasing Laptop regarding QUALITY, DURABILITY, VARIETY, PRICE.

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Research Problems Some problems that might be encountered in this study are under mentioned:

Coverage Problems: The IT categories of the company are very wide comprising of a number of brands, all of which cannot be covered in a single study .So, this study is restricted to mainly to some of the selected brands are mentioned.

Data collection Problems: Since quite a good proportion of the data used is secondary in nature, this poses the constraints on the validity and reliability of the data. Moreover in the case of Primary data collection also, there may be subjective biases on the part of the respondents. Errors may creep while the collected data is recorded and interpreted.

Not a complete picture of the preference and pre purchase evaluation behavior of customer: The IT sector is a very vast sector and the purchase and usage preference and pre purchase evaluation behaviors of consumers in this category is influenced by so many factors so some factors have been selected and research has been done, but these are not the only factors which represent the accurate result. Thus it is not a complete picture of the preference and pre purchase behavior of customer.

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Research Methodology Definition of Research:RESEARCH in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge .Also can be defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. Research is a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge.

TYPE OF RESEARCH The research designcomprise of the plan and structure of investigationconceived so as to arrive at the responses to the research queries. It there by addresses the aims and objectives of the study, both descriptively and analytically. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE The sampling technique adopted for the study is Random sampling technique according to the convenience of the researcher. A questionnaire was administered to different students and working professionals to obtain data for the purpose of analysis. SAMPLE SIZE Data is collected using a sample of 20 Respondents. SAMPLE DESCRIPTION The sample mainly consists of data from the primary sources that are utilized for the purpose of this study. This is done by means of administrating questioners to different peoples. Secondary data like company journals, records, research report etc. were also relied on for retrieving further information.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE Consumers develop their purchasing behavior with an intention which is motivated by various factors, when it comes to non-durable goods the consumer usually purchases based on the loyalty towards the product, whereas, when compared to the durable goods, it becomes a process which involves various process like attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior controls. This article starts with the conceptual background of the purchasing behavior of the consumers.

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History of Laptop Computers It is a little hard to determine what was the first portable or laptop computer, the first portable computers did not look like the book-sized and folding laptops that we are familiar with today, however, they were both portable and lapable, and lead to the development of notebook style laptops. I have outlined several potential firsts below and how each qualifies, many of the off-site links provide good photos of the computers that will let you see the progression in design.

The first laptop: Designed in 1979 by a Briton, William Moggridge, for Grid Systems Corporation, the Grid Compass was one fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was used by NASA on the space shuttle program in the early 1980's. A 340K byte bubble memory lap-top computer with diecast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen. Gavilan Computer: As The First Laptop Manny Fernandez had the idea for a well-designed laptop for executives who were starting to use computer. Fernandez, who started Gavilan Computer, promoted his machines as the first "laptop" computers in May 1983. Many historians consider theGavilan as the first fully functional laptop computer. The First Laptop Computer -Osborne 1 The computer considered by most historians to be the first true portable computer was the Osborne 1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher founded Osborne Computer and produced the Osborne 1 in 1981, a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds and cost$1795. The Osborne 1 came with a five-inch screen, modem port, two 5 1/4 floppy 6

drives, a large collection of bundled software programs, and a battery pack. The shortlived computer company was never successful.

More History of Laptop: •Also released in 1981, was the Epson HX-20, a battery powered portable computer, with a 20-character by 4 line LCD display and a built-in printer. •In January of 1982, Microsoft's Kazuhiko Nishi andBill Gatesbegindiscussions

on

designing a portable computer, based on using a new liquid crystal display or LCD screen. Kazuhiko Nishilater showed the prototype to Radio Shack who agree to manufacture the computer. •In 1983, Radio Shack released theTRS-80 Model 100, a 4 lb. battery operated portable computer with a flat and more of a laptop design. •In February 1984, IBM announced the IBM 5155Portable Personal Computer. •Three years later in 1986, Radio Shack released the improved and smaller TRSModel 200. •In 1988, Compaq Computer introduces its first laptop PC with VGA graphics –the Compaq SLT/286. •In 1989,NEC UltraLite was released, considered by some to be the first "notebook style" computer. It was a laptop size computer which weighed under 5 lbs. •In September 1989, Apple Computer released the first Macintosh Portable that later evolved into the Powerbook. •In 1989, Zenith Data Systems released the Zenith MiniPC, a 6-pound laptop computer.

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•In October 1989, Compaq Computer released its first notebook PC, the Compaq LTE. •In March 1991, Microsoft released the Microsoft BallPoint Mouse that used both mouse and trackball technology in a pointing device designed for laptop computers. •In October 1991, Apple Computers released the Macintosh PowerBook 100, 140, and170- all notebook style laptops. •In October 1992, IBM released its ThinkPad 700laptop computer. •In 1992, Intel and Microsoft release APM or the Advanced Power Management specification for laptop computers. •In 1993, the first PDAs or Personal Digital Assistants are released. PDAs are pen-based hand-held computers.

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Important Buying Factors: When Planning to Buy a Laptop Buying a new laptop is an investment for sure, and you can make the best possible choice Only by thoroughly assessing your requirements. Whether you're buying alaptop for the first time or have been using one for ages, before venturing on a new purchase, there are several factors that need to be considered. To make things easier for you, we've listed here the most important factors:

Processor (CPU): The first bullet point in all those "specification" handouts that a laptop sales person will show you would most likely mention the processor in the system. The processor is one of the main components in a laptop and directly affects performance as well as battery life. Over the past years, laptop processors were comparatively slower when pitted against desktop alternatives, but not anymore. Today, faster multi-core processors are common in laptops. The processor type differs depending on size, purpose or area of application of the laptop. Most laptops come with Intel or AMD processors, with either single- or multicore architectures.Considering average applications such as MS Office or other applications li kePhotoshop, a processor with a minimum clock speed of 1.6 GHz is essential. Unlike desktops, laptops cannot conveniently be upgraded, and so it’s always better to choose a faster processor with the future in mind.

Memory (RAM): Once you’ve decided on the processor you require, you need to do justice to it by letting it perform to its full potential by providing adequate system memory. RAM, the random memory needed for your operating system, running programs and their data, contributes to the overall system response time. Consider a situation where you have one of the 9

fastest computers around, but not enough memory to hold the programs and their data that you wish to run. Much of the program code and the data will have to be held on disk and brought into memory when needed. At the same time, Data that is not currently being worked on will be stored temporarily on disk. As the time taken to move data to and from a disk is much greater than moving from memory to the processor, this will slow the system down considerably. In case this stretches your budget, find out if it will be possible to upgrade later, or if it has to be done by a technician. These days, with resource hungry applications, we advise a minimum of 2GBRAMasstandard.

Display: The display abilities of a laptop are determined by the screen itself, as well as the graphics processor. Screens come in standard sizes and resolutions. Typically, larger displays have a higher resolution, but then this impacts the portability of a laptop. Wide screen displays are also gaining popularity as they help with better viewing and comfortable working. The graphics processor, on the other hand, determines performance that is visible when it comes to 3D graphics and gaming. Laptops come with onboard as well as dedicated graphics solutions. The difference between the two is that while on board solutions provide low end or very basic performance, dedicated graphics solutionsfrom NVIDIA and ATI significantly enhance performance and allow hiendapplications (newer generation games) and other 3D-intensive applications to run more smoothly.

Ports: Every now and then, we have to connect additional peripherals to our laptops. These may be wireless cards, USB drives, printers, mice or other gadgets. An adequate pool of available ports is very useful both for desktops as well as laptops. Most modern day 10

devices are designed to connect to USB ports. If you have devices which use Fire Wireor other connections such as Bluetooth or infrared, like many mobile phones, PMPs or video cameras do these days, make sure your laptop supports them by having the right connectors. An expansion slot for PC cards is also a good idea. This comes in handy to accommodate an internal modem, wireless card, additional Ethernet ports or a better sound card. With high definition video and audio coming to laptops, an HDMI port is also becoming common these days. HDMI replaces the old S-Video port and gives advantages such as single cable connection for both audio and video. Headphone and microphone jacks are common, but some laptops come with dual headphone jacks that can be used to connect your laptop to different devices or even to utilise its multi-channel output.

Drives: Hard drives can be broadly classified into two different categories: 1.HDD (Hard Disk Drive)2.ODD (Optical Disk Drive) Your storage requirement entirely depends on your usage. A hard drive’sconfiguration is fairly straight forward in terms of size. These days, laptops come with250 GB storage on a single HDD, but still you have to decide whether you really need all that space. Another critical factor that determines your overall system speed is the drive’s rotation speed — a drive with a higher spin rate yields faster data access times. However, these are more prone to damage as well. This is one factor you must keep in mind while arriving at your decision. Try and assess how much space you will need in your system, and then multiply by three. Optical drives have evolved considerably over the years. You can either have a simple CD-ROM drive for installing software, all the way up to the latest high definition Blu-ray DVD burners as part of your configuration. In most cases, laptops now come

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standard with a dual layer DVD burner. Blu-ray drives are starting to show up, but are extremely expensive.

Networking: One of the basic reasons to have a laptop is to be able to carry out all your tasks whileon the move. This involves your work for which you need to send/receive emails .Connecting to the internet or a local network is a crucial function that you need to have f6r your laptop. Most laptops today include a built-in 56 kbps modem and Fast Ethernet (RJ45) port that handle data rates up to 1,000 Mbps. WiFi has now become a common feature in laptops. There are several standards for wireless connectivity, but a very basic connection would require 802.11b/g support having a data rate of up to 54Mbps.

Size and Weight: You can add up the best of everything and arrive at a monster of a laptop! But then, that’s what portability is all about balancing your configuration for optimal performance a nd capacity on the one hand, and portability on the other. Although ultra portable laptops offer light weight solutions and a smaller size, they also sacrifice on processing speeds, ODDs, expansion slots, etc. Therefore, when looking for a laptop, consider these factors before making a final decision. Also consider the weight of the accessories, especially the AC adapter, because at times, laptops are light but after bundling accessories, the whole package can become quite heavy to carry. If you travel frequently, or carry a lot of heavy things while on the move, a lightweight laptop with a small form factor is what you need.

Battery Life: The best looking laptop is no good if it doesn’t offer you adequate battery time. This holds true even if the product you are considering is an Apple Macbook Air. Try to find the listed battery life for the standard battery, and see if it suits your needs. It would be wise to look for a system with at least two hours of battery life under normal conditions. 12

If you need extended battery life, then look for larger battery packs or media bays that can double as extra battery slots when required.

Warranty Plans: Laptops are more prone to breakdowns due to their portability. When buying a system, make sure to get at least a year’s warranty from the OEM. If you’ll be using the system heavily, a system that comes with a three year warranty is ideal. Consider several models while you are out there shopping. Consider all models that meet your buying criteria, and compare them on features and prices. Your decision should not depend on someone else’s preferences, but on your own. After all, it’s you who is going to use the laptop — don’t be shy to call dealers and customer support of the OEMs to find out more about their equipment. Check out the model physically whenever possible. Ask your friends who may have bought laptops recently or are currently using the one you wish to buy. Narrow your choices down to a few models, and then seek the best deal before finally buying your dream laptop.

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Market leaders for Laptops in India When buying a laptop it’s a good idea to have some knowledge of the laptop brands in India. From humble beginnings in the 1980s, the India laptop market has expanded in leaps and bounds in recent years, and now includes all the major brands. Dell and HP dominate the market, but Sony Vaio is the fastest growing laptop brand in India. Here’s an overview of the main laptop brands in India and how they compare to each other.

Acer

Acer is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer. The company entered the Indian market in 1999. Acer’s laptops are popular because they’re cheaper than many other laptop brands but still offer a lot of features and impressive configurations. In fact, Acer laptops can be seen as offering the same features as HP laptops, but at a lower price. As a result, Acer represents good value for money particularly as far as budget laptops are concerned. Of course, build quality is lacking compared to the more costly brands. It’s desirable to take a long warranty.

ASUS Another popular ―value for money‖ Taiwanese brand in India, ASUS laptops are amongst the cheapest on the market. They’re also amongst the most innovative. ASUS has been established in India slightly longer than Acer, but only started aggressively expanding in the laptop sector around 2006. Earlier, the company was known in for its motherboards. ASUS laptops are regarded as being much better designed than Acer’s. ASUS uses cutting edge technology, which is most apparent in its netbook and ultraportable ranges. 14

Gaming laptops are another of the company’s strong points. And ASUS laptops are surprisingly reliable! Definitely a brand worth checking out.

Dell Dell arrived in India in 2007, and in just under four years rose to become the top laptop brand in India, with the largest market share. What’s the attraction? Dell offers great quality, innovative and highly customizable products that have a lot of visual appeal. You can choose the color and configuration that you want, and do it all online. This online ordering process is convenient and enables Dell to keep prices low, as overhead costs are reduced. On the down side: reliability can be an issue.

HCL HCL is an Indian laptop brand that’s been established in the IT market for over three decades. The company focuses on producing portable laptops that are amongst the slimmest on the market. Designers are colorful and attractive, readily customizable, and pricing is aimed at the budget conscious. After-sales service can be a concern though.

HP Hewlett Packard Well known American computer company, HP, has been in India a long time. It arrived in 1989, when the only competition was IBM (later acquired by Lenovo). HP quickly established itself as the market leader by focusing on price and after-sales service. Then, in 2002, it merged with Compaq. This move added to its product range, which individually addresses the needs of home and business users. HP laptops are packed full of features and are also well regarded for their quality, although sometimes reliability can be an issue. However, they lose out to Dell in regards to customization. And their design is variable — some HP laptops are more innovative than others. 15

Lenovo

Chinese-based computer giant, Lenovo, purchased IBM’s PC business in late 2004. As IBM was the first computer company in India, this gave Lenovo an excellent entry point into the growing Indian market in which it’s now placed fourth. The company quickly went about leveraging IBM’s ThinkPad brand before adding its own products. These products largely focus on functionality and reliability. Expect powerful configurations and very durable construction.

Samsung Samsung, although a well known electrical appliance manufacturer, is a relatively small and new entrant into the laptop market in India. Samsung started selling laptops in late 2008. Recently, the brand has been gaining recognition and growing in popularity. The design of Samsung laptops isn’t the most inspiring, but these laptops tend to perform well and are reasonably priced.

Sony Sony is a premium laptop brand that established its presence in India in 1994. The company has many loyal followers who appreciate its unique quality and technology. Its hot selling and stylish VAIO range is a favorite with the fashion conscious. The screens on Sony laptops are particularly well designed.

Toshiba Japanese laptop brand Toshiba, one of the oldest players in the global IT market, set up its Indian subsidiary in 2002. The company is known for making laptops that combine

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maximum functionality and quality. Its products are extensively tested and notably reliable. Toshiba excels in netbooks, ultraportables (comparable to ASUS but with less battery life), and gaming laptops. Yet, its mainstream laptops are also of a high quality and well design.

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Brand leader survey-March 2012

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Acer

Apple

Asus

Dell

HP

Lenevo

Sony

Toshiba Others

According to the brand leader survey- march 2012, Dell is enjoying the major market share followed by HP, Apple, Lenevo, Sonyetc. which is shown in the above diagram.

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Consumer: An individual who purchases products and services from the market for his/her own personal consumption is called as consumer.

Consumer Behaviour: Consumer Behaviour is a branch which deals with the various stages a consumer goes through before purchasing products or services for his end use. An individual buys a product when there is a need for the product, social status and for the gifting purpose. An individual

does

not

buy

a

product

when

there

is

No

requirement,

Income/Budget/Financial constraints, Taste. A consumers purchase products mostly in Festive season, Birthday, Anniversary, Marriage or other special occasions. There are infact several factors which influence buying decision of a consumer ranging from psychological, social, economic and so on. In a layman’s language consumer behaviour deals with the buying behaviour of individuals. The main catalyst which triggers the buying decision of an individual is need for a particular product/service. Consumers purchase products and services as and when need arises. According to Belch and Belch, whenever need arises; a consumer searches for several information which would help him in his purchase. Following are the sources of information:  Personal Sources

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 Commercial Sources  Public Sources  Personal Experience Perception also plays an important role in influencing the buying decision of consumers. Buying decisions of consumers also depend on the following factors:  Messages, advertisements, promotional materials, a consumer goes through also called selective exposure.  Not all promotional materials and advertisements excite a consumer. A consumer does not pay attention to everything he sees. He is interested in only what he wants to see. Such behaviour is called selective attention.  A consumer would certainly buy something which appeals him the most. He would remember the most relevant and meaningful message also called as selective retention. He would obviously not remember something which has nothing to do with his need.

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Stages in Consumer Decision Making Process An individual who purchases products and services from the market for his/her own personal consumption is called as consumer. To understand the complete process of consumer decision making, let us first go through the following example: Tim went to a nearby retail store to buy a laptop for himself. The store manager showed him all the latest models and after few rounds of negotiations, Tim immediately selected one for himself. In the above example Tim is the consumer and the laptop is the product which Tim wanted to purchase for his end-use. Why do you think Tim went to the nearby store to purchase a new laptop? The answer is very simple. Tim needed a laptop. In other words it was actually Tim’s need to buy a laptop which took him to the store. The Need to buy a laptop can be due to any of the following reasons:  His old laptop was giving him problems.  He wanted a new laptop to check his personal mails at home.  He wanted to gift a new laptop to his wife.  He needed a new laptop to start his own business. The store manager showed Tim all the samples available with him and explained him the features and specifications of each model. This is called information. Tim before buying

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the laptop checked few other options as well. The information can come from various other sources such as newspaper, websites, magazines, advertisements, billboards etc. This explains the consumer buying decision process.

Several stages before purchasing a product or service: NEED ↓ INFORMATION GATHERING/SEARCH ↓ EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES ↓ PURCHASE OF PRODUCT/SERVICE ↓ POST PURCHASE EVALUATION

Need: Need is the most important factor which leads to buying of products and services. Need in fact is the catalyst which triggers the buying decision of individuals.An individual who buys cold drink or a bottle of mineral water identifies his/her need as thirst. However in such cases steps such as information search and evaluation of alternatives are generally missing. These two steps are important when an individual purchases expensive products/services such as laptop, cars, mobile phones and so on.

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Information search: When an individual recognizes his need for a particular product/service he tries to gather as much information as he can. An individual can acquire information through any of the following sources:  Personal Sources - He might discuss his need with his friends, family members, co workers and other acquaintances.  Commercial sources - Advertisements, sales people (in Tim’s case it was the store manager), Packaging of a particular product in many cases prompt individuals to buy the same, Displays (Props, Mannequins etc)  Public sources - Newspaper, Radio, Magazine  Experiential sources - Individual’s own experience, prior handling of a particular product (Tim would definitely purchase a Dell laptop again if he had already used one)

Evaluation of alternatives The next step is to evaluate the various alternatives available in the market. An individual after gathering relevant information tries to choose the best option available as per his need, taste and pocket.

Purchase of product After going through all the above stages, customer finally purchases the product.

Post purchase evaluation 22

The purchase of the product is followed by post purchase evaluation. Post purchase evaluation refers to a customer’s analysis whether the product was useful to him or not, whether the product fulfilled his need or not?

Factors influencing consumer behaviour: 1. Cultural Factors: Cultural factor divided into three sub factors (i) Culture (ii) Sub Culture (iii) Social Class

Culture:-

The set of basic values perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants and behaviour. Every group or society has a culture, and cultural influences on buying behaviour may vary greatly from country to country.

Sub Culture :-

A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations.Each culture contains smaller sub cultures a group of people with shared value system based on common life experiences and situations. Sub culture includes nationalities, religions, racial group and geographic regions. Many sub culture make up important market segments and marketers often design products.

Social Class:-

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Almost every society has some form of social structure, social classes are society’s relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interests and behaviour.

2. Social factors : A consumer’s behaviour also is influenced by social factors, such as the (i) Groups (ii) Family (iii) Roles and status

Groups:-

Two or more people who interact to accomplish individual or mutual goals. A person’s behavious is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups.

Some are primary groups includes family, friends, neighbours and coworkers. Some are secondary groups, which are more formal and have less regular interaction. These includes organizations like religious groups, professional association and trade unions.

Family:-

Family members can strongly influence buyer behaviour. The family is the most important consumer buying organization society and it has been researched extensively. Marketers are interested in the roles, and influence of the husband, wife and children on the purchase of different products and services.

Roles and Status:-

A person belongs to many groups, family, clubs and organizations. 24

The person’s position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and status. For example. M & ―X‖ plays the role of father, in his family he plays the role of husband, in his company, he plays the role of manager, etc. A Role consists of the activities people are expected to perform according to the persons around them.

3. Personal Factors It includes (i) Age and life cycle stage (ii) Occupation (iii) Economic situation (iv) Life Style (v) Personality and self concept.

Age and Life cycle Stage:-

People changes the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Tastes in food, clothes, furniture, and recreation are often age related. Buying is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle.

Occupation:A person’s occupation affects the goods and services bought. Blue collar workers tend to buy more rugged work clothes, whereas white-collar workers buy more business suits. A Co. can even specialize in making products needed by a given occupational group. Thus, computer software companies will design different products for brand managers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.

Economic situation:A person’s economic situation will affect product choice

Life Style:25

Life Style is a person’s Pattern of living, understanding these forces involves measuring consumer’s major AIO dimensions. i.e. activities (Work, hobbies, shopping, support etc) interest (Food, fashion, family recreation) and opinions (about themselves, Business, Products)

Personality and Self concept:Each person’s distinct personality influence his or her buying behaviour. Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and lasting responses to one’s own environment.

4. Psychological Factors It includes (i) Motivation (ii) Perception (iii) Learning (iv) Beliefs and attitudes

Motivation:-

Motive (drive) a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction of the need.

Perception:-

The process by which people select, Organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world.

Learning:Changes in an individual’s behaviour arising from experience.

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Beliefs and attitudes:-

Belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something Attitude, a Person’s consistently favourable or unfavourable evaluations, feelings, and tendencies towards an object or idea

ACTUAL COLLECTION OF DATA Both secondary and primary sources of data are utilized for the purpose of this study. Primary data is collected by means of administering a questionnaire to the different peoples. Secondary data is collected from various records, manuals and other sources. Sr. no

Particulars

Description

1

Title

A study on customer purchase decision towards laptops

2

Sample size

20

3

Sample unit

Students and working professionals

4

Sampling procedure

Random sampling

5

Research design

Descriptive

6

Research instrument

Questionnaire

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Data Analysis and interpretation  Do you have a laptop? SR.NO PARTICULARS

NO

OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS 1

YES

15

75%

2

NO

5

25%

3

TOTAL

20

100%

NO. OF RESPONDENTS

No, 25% Yes No Yes, 75%

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 75%of the people have laptop and 25% people do not have laptop.

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 If ―yes‖ which brand do you have? SR.NO PARTICULARS

NO

OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS 1

Dell

5

33.33%

2

Hp

4

26.67%

3

Lenovo

2

13.33%

4

Acer

1

6.67%

5

Sony

2

13.33%

6

Toshiba

0

0%

7

Apple

1

6.67%

8

Total

15

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS Toshiba, 0%

Apple, 6.67%

Dell Hp

Sony, 13% Dell, 33.33%

Lenovo

Acer, 6.67%

Acer

Lenovo, 13.33%

Sony Toshiba Hp, 26.67%

Apple

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 33.33% people have Dell, 26.67% people have Hp, 13.33% people have Lenovo, 6.67% people have Acer, 20% have people have Sony.

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 What are the various brands of laptops that you are aware of? SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGES

1

Dell

6

30%

2

Hp

4

20%

3

Lenovo

3

15%

4

Acer

2

10%

5

Sony

2

10%

6

Toshiba

1

5%

7

Apple

2

10%

8

Total

20

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS Apple, 10%

Toshiba, 5%

Dell Dell, 30%

Hp lenovo

Sony, 10%

Acer Acer, 10%

Sony Toshiba

lenovo, 15%

Hp, 20%

Apple

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 30% of the people are aware of Dell, 20% are aware of Hp, 15% are aware of Lenovo, 10% are aware of Acer, 10% are aware of Sony, 5% are aware of Toshiba and 10% of people are aware of Apple.

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 What is the purpose of you purchasing a laptop? SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO

OF PERCENTAGES

RESPONDENTS 1

Official

12

60%

2

Personal

5

25%

3

Both

3

15%

4

Total

20

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS

Both, 15%

Official Personal

Personal, 25% Official, 60%

Both

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 60% of the people purchases laptop for Official use, 25% people purchases it for Personal use and 15% people uses it for both official as well as personal.

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

What is the main feature that you look at while purchasing a laptop? SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGES

1

Great Display

3

15%

2

Bigger memory

5

25%

3

Best Processor

5

25%

4

Battery Backup

4

20%

5

Attractive Accessories

1

5%

6

Extended

service 2

10%

warranty 7

Total

20

Extended service warranty, 10%

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS

Attractive Accessories, 5% Great Display, 15%

Great Display Bigger memory

Battery Backup, 20%

Best Processor Bigger memory, 25%

Battery Backup Attractive Accessories

Best Processor, 25%

Extended service warranty

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 15% people like to have Great Display, 25% people like to have bigger memory, 25% people like Best Processor, 20% people like to

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have Battery Backup, 5% people like to have Attractive Accessories, 10%people like to have extended Service Warranty. 

What are the various attributes that you look at while purchasing a laptop?

SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGES

1

Brand Image

5

25%

2

Style

2

10%

3

Price

7

35%

4

Affordable

4

20%

5

Features

2

10%

6

Audio/Video Quality

0

0%

7

Total

20

100%

Audio/Video Quality, 0%

NO OF RESPONDENTS

Features Configuration, 10%

Brand Image Style Affordable, 20%

Brand Image, 25% Style, 10%

Price Affordable Features Configuration Audio/Video Quality

Price, 35%

Interpretation:The above table indicates that 25% of the people likes Brand Image, 10% people’s by Style, 35% people’s by Price, 20% people’s are by affordable, 10% of people Feature configuration and 0% of people’s behavior is influenced by Audio/Video Quality. 33

 What are the buying Factors which influences your buying Decision? SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGES

1

Price

8

40%

2

Availability

2

10%

3

Schemes

3

15%

4

Quality

5

25%

5

Advertisements

2

10%

6

Total

20

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS Advertisements, 10%

price price, 40% Quality, 25%

Availability Schemes Quality Advertisements

Schemes, 15%

Availability, 10%

Interpretation: The above table indicates 40% of the people are influenced by price, 10% by availability, 15% are by Schemes, 25% by quality and 10% by Advertisements.

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 What is the price range will you be prepared to pay for a laptop of your choice? SR.NO

PARTICULARS

NO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGES

1

25,000 – 30,000

9

45%

2

35,000 – 40,000

5

25%

3

45,000 – 50,000

4

20%

4

Above 50,000

2

10%

5

Total

20

100%

NO OF RESPONDENTS Above 50000, 10% 25000 - 30000 45000 - 50000, 20% 35000 - 40000, 25%

25000 - 30000, 45%

35000 - 40000 45000 - 50000 Above 50000

Interpretation: The above table indicates that 45% of the people like to pay 25,000 – 30,000, 25% like to pay 35,000 – 40,000, 20% like to pay 45,000 – 50,000 and 10% would like to pay Above 50,000.

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Recommendations 1. The research on the laptops makes us aware that people prefer to buy laptops from authorized retailers more than that from any other form of outlet. 2 It is found that there is no significant relationship between the laptop choice and the gender of the buyer. 3. We also found that there is a significant relation between the degree and the kind of laptop selected. 4. We could also recommend that educational qualification has a significant impact on the choice of laptop brand. 5. Annual family income has a significant impact on the choice of laptop brand selected. 6. The interaction of the variables educational qualification and family income has a significant impact on the choice of laptop brand. 7. The interaction of the variables family income and work experience has a significant impact on the choice of laptop brand. 8. The major factors form factor analysis are as follows: 

Convenience featuresFactor



Heavy usage features Factor



Style features Factor



Gaming featuresFactor



Easy movability features Factor



Security features

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Conclusion Despite of various difficulties and limitations faced during my project on the topic ―A STUDY OF CUSTOMER PURCHASE DECISION TOWARDS LAPTOPS‖. I have tried my level best to find out the most relevant information to complete the assignment that was given to me. After completion of my project I have gained several experiences in the sales marketing as how a customer is influenced while purchasing a laptop. I have got the opportunity to meet various people, which fluctuate in different situation and time. Project has given me the opportunity to study consumer behaviour. This Research has given me a chance to apply my theoretical knowledge to the real world. In spite of few limitations in the project I found that the work was challenging and fruitful. It gives enough knowledge about the laptop market, competitors and it also helps to know buyer’s Behaviour.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS: Meena Agrawal, 2009, Consumer behavior and rural marketing, new century publications. David mankin, 2009, Human resource Development, oxford university press.

WEBSITES: ♦ www.hcl.in ♦ www.indiainfoline.com ♦ www.google.co.in ♦ www.hp.com ♦ www.acer.com ♦ www.dell.com ♦ www.ibm.com

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Questionnaire  Do you own a laptop? If yes which brand it is? Yes

No

Acer

Apple

Dell

Sony

HP

Toshiba

Lenovo

 What are the various brands of laptops you are aware of?

Acer

Apple

Dell

Sony

HP

Toshiba

Lenovo

 What is the purpose of you purchasing a laptop? Personal

Official

Both 39

 What are the various features that you would like to have in your laptop? Great Display

Battery backup

Bigger memory

Attractive accessories

Best processor

Extended service warranty

 What are the various attributes that you look at while purchasing a laptop?

Brand image

Features configuration

Style

Price

Affordable

Audio/Video quality

 What are the factors which influences your buying decision? Price

Availability

Schemes

Quality

 Advertisements

 What price range will you be prepared to pay for such a laptop? 40

25,000 – 30,000

35,000 – 40,000

45,000 – 50,000

Above 50,000

41