A comparative study on the consumer's preference towards purchasing online branded jewellery and retail branded jewellery

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Significance of the study2

Aims and Objectives of the study3

Research Questions3

Scope of the Study4

Justification of the study4

Contributions of the Study5

Overview of Jewellery Companies to be compared5

Dissertation Structure6

CHAPTER 3: MARKETING CONCEPTS7

Research Method7

Secondary research9

Literature Search10

Search Technique11

Advantages and disadvantages of Secondary Research11

Limitations12

Marketing Concept12

Ansoff Matrix13

Communication Analysis14

Porters five Forces14

Competitive Analysis14

BCG Matrix15

Segmentation Analysis16

Research Plan16

REFERENCES18

BIBLIOGRAPHY22

APPENDICES24

Ansoff Matrix24

Porters Five Forces25

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Since, old times the jewellery was bought for investment rather than adornment. Jewellery which was made 18 karat was at first considered as a poor investment. People had more confidence local jeweller and it was considered as the hallmark of trust (Zinn, Liu, 2001, 49). There was a fixed clientele of a local goldsmith and they were loyal to that goldsmith. Buyer had unlimited faith on his jeweller and the local jeweller was based on providing local taste of traditional jewellery. Since late 1900s women were more focused towards trying new designs of jewellery which were trendier and light weight instead of traditional jewellery which was used at that time. In this case there was a rise in demand of light weight jewellery among young consumers belonging to the age group 16-25 as they considered jewellery as a necessary part of their usage rather than considered as an investment. There was a definite change in the consumer preferences with time (Machleit, Eroglu, 2000, 101). At this time, branded jewellery also gained acceptance which forced traditional jewellers to be under a certain brand. There was an increase in the gold retailers as they considered competition and opportunity in the market increased. Many brands such as Sterling, Goldsmith and The Jewellery Company all opened their outlets in various parts of the company (Chen, Yen, 2004, 217). Similarly, through this increasing competition traditional jewellers were also successful in bringing light weight jewellery and some of them also launched their in-house brand to gain more consumer acceptance. In 2002, the share of branded jewellery was about Rs 11 billion to 400 billion per annum in the jewellery market in 2002 and it was growing at a pace of 20 to 30% annually. The branded segment of jewellery occupied a small space at this time as the total jewellery market as they considered jewellery as an investment.

Furthermore, people also considered only their family jewellers when buying jewellery. Similarly at that time the branded jewellery makers started gaining acceptance of customers through attractive design and affordable prices (Machleit, Eroglu, 2000, 101). They also faced strong competition from local jewellers. They came up with various designs in order to increase their market share. They also focused on gaining customers trust and confidence on their customers by demonstrating the quality of gold they are providing.

Significance of the study

Retail jewelry industry of any country occupies an important position in the economy of any country. It is great revenue generator for any country. This study will help to understand the consumer preferences while purchasing ...