CONSUMER
BUYING BEHAVIOUR
TOWARDS
LUXURY WATCHES
|
Dr. Neeru Jain Associate Professor , IIS (deemed to be University), Jaipur |
|
|
|
|
ABSTRACT
Once considered a necessity, now a
status symbol, Watches have become a vital product like Jewellery and other
ornaments.
Watches are considered as men’s
Jewellery. More men own watches than women. Men have a few adornment options to
deck themselves with watches and therefore fulfill the need. On the contrary,
wrist watches were initially developed for women. Women wore watches on their
wrists and around neck while men used to carry the watches in their pockets
attached to Gold chains.
Most popular precious metals used in
watches are Gold and Platinum. The study
was conducted in order to find out the most popular brand in watches amongst
the rich class.
Keywords- Ornaments, Jewellery, Gold,
Platinum.
*Research Scholar, Department of
Commerce, IIS University, Jaipur
**Associate
Professor & Head, Department of Jewellery Designing, IIS University, Jaipur
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to understand
the influencing factors which impact consumer’s behaviour towards a
wristwatch by assessing consumers’ valuation on each attribute of the product.
Consumers choose an option that gives them the highest utility, and thus it is
believed that consumers’ behavior can be observed through their choices.
Nowadays Wristwatches play an
important role in people’s lives, whether for its fashion sense, practical
sense or for the simple fact that it is engrained in our day-today and it is
almost a habit to put a watch on our wrist, to the extent we do not feel
complete without it. But it was not always like this; the wristwatch is
somewhat recent when it comes to time telling.
It’s near impossible to
provide an exact explanation to the reason we as human beings buy things.
Sometimes those purchases are thought through, sometimes they are just purely
irrational, sometimes they are emotional and sometimes they are impulsive,
among other types of reasons as to why we choose to buy. Neuromarketing studies have proven that
around 90% of our consumption habits are unconscious and ultimately the
majority of what we buy is an attempt to fulfill our most intimate secrets,
desires and dreams (Windstorm, 2008).
Consumers buy as a result of different stages they go through, which
ultimately lead to the final purchase. Customers do not buy only what they
purely need, i.e. consumers often buy items that fulfill higher needs than the
ones of survival or even buy things just for the pure rush of buying them,
having minimum or no use for them whatsoever.
“If we went into stores only when we needed to buy something, and if once
there we bought only what we needed, the economy would collapse, boom”
(Underhill, 1999: 31).
Gold-
A very powerful status symbol in India is most commonly used because of its
popularity while Platinum because of its brilliant white color and hardness.
The survey so conducted consisted of
10 Questions based on the various choices which people might choose as their
favorite watch. The result of the same came out to be as follows-
-Chopard is considered to be
the most expensive watch worth Rs 26 million.
-The most complex wrist watch ever
made was by Patek Phillipe worth $ 1.3 mn.
-World’s oldest Diamond Company
Backers & Strauss introduced ‘Green’ watch made of 245 Zambian Emeralds in
Dubai price of which is $ 2,271,275.
India’s premier watch company- Titan
is also a Jeweler as both the business compliment to each other. These are
associated with Glamour. The celebrities are employed as Brand ambassadors by
them. The Global brands like Cartier, Piaget, Chopard etc. form their exclusive
boutiques. Other retailers like Bucherer, operate multi brand boutiques
that sell watches as well as Jewellery.
For a Jeweler, there are many
benefits of associating with brands. The brands lend credibility to an outlet
selling them. They also make the consumers feel secure in making purchases from
a Jeweler.
It draws additional footfalls from
the customers, as the watch buyers are pre-dominantly males, it helps him to
get incremental revenues from existing buyers.
-Brands such as Rolex, Cartier and Piaget have a policy of
selective distribution. Retailing such brands gives a luxurious feeling to the buyers.
The brand ambassadors are employed by Swiss brands outlets which help the
retailers to strengthen their relationship with the customers. The retailers of
the watches also earn various foreign trips on the completion of pre-determined
sales targets. In India, notable Jewelers are Talwar Jewelers, Meena Jewelers-
Hyderabad etc. Malabar Gold & Diamonds is one of the largest stores
generating the highest value for Rado and Tissot watches.
The Watch Bar in South Mumbai is
famous exclusively for retailing of high Swiss brands. Rado and Tissot
are Jewelers’ favorite watch brands. They are very popular due to their unique
positioning. Rado is very popular in India and the UAE. Malabar has
opened many Rado boutiques in Kerala.
Kalyan Silks have already entered
retailing Rado from Cochin Stores. Jewelers like Anupchand Trilokchand in
Raipur, Alankar in Patna etc. have also been retailing watches. Despite the
number of Jewelers retailing watches, the volumes and profitability generally
are low and inconsistent.
PERFORMANCE
OF WATCHES FROM JEWELLERY OUTLETS
There are a few reasons for the lack
lusture performance of watches from Jewellery outlets are-
(i)
The market of watches in India is
miniscule as compared to the Jewellery market. The estimated size of market of
premium and luxury watches is barely Rs. 1000 crores per annum. The import duty
on watches is very high and the market will take a few years to grow and hence
the jewelers are not too happy with the sales generated from the investment in
stocks.
(ii)
Low retention of profits: The retailing of
branded watches is very competitive. The swatch group of sales team is very
aggressive in opening new doors.
(iii)
Due to low profitability, most dealers
loose interest in watch retailing and divert the customers to buy Jewellery
instead.
Tissot specifically feels that in
India the jewelers need to start retailing brands. The tendency of a jeweler
has a dual role- Manufacturing as well as retailing which therefore gives
better control over profit margin and pricing. A jeweler should therefore be
careful in choosing appropriate brands of watches for retail. Malabar started
retailing watches from their Jewellery outlets and have now moved to opening
boutiques and other multi-brand watch stores. Separate Business Heads for
watches have been dedicated to ensure sales, profitability and expansion.
Rolex is the most preferred watch
brand in India among jewelers for retailing. Out of 21 Rolex retailers in pan
India, 7 are jewelers. A prospective Rolex dealer has to invest Rs 5 crores in
stocks alone. Opening a boutique involves an even higher investment.
TBZ- The original, a traditional
Jewellery store chain recently breached in the retail of watches and launched a
private label TBZ by signing an exclusive deal with Karloff and France.
INDIAN
MARKET TREND
In India, watch business is
considered as a separate entity. The top Jewellery brands have started to build
a separate watch segment in their own stores; traditional jewelers still need
to follow the same.
The reluctant jewelers are not alone
to be blamed for this. The first Indian Government had stopped the import of
luxury good into India post 1947 and therefore the Indian industrialists did
not have the opportunity to learn the craft and technology to manufacture
luxury watches. However, on the contrary, watches were evolving through various
phases and were made with great refinement and designs but our country was
deprived of these phases of evolution until the liberalization in 1990.
It was real tough in explaining and
convincing the people of India regarding the Jewellery watches that exist in
India. For the early consumers, Jewellery watch was just about a gold strap
around a regular dial. It was difficult for them to think about technology and
a few who were aware of luxury watches would pay exorbitant prices for
International brands.
Objectives of the study
are :
1. To know consumer
awareness towards watches.
2. To know the extent of satisfaction among
watch users.
3. To analysis the brand
loyalty of luxuries watches among consumers.
4. To study the factor
affecting the buyers behaviour.
5. To study consumer attitude towards price
policies of watches study the consumer attitude towards company’s promotional
activities.
6. To study influences of
the marketing strategy on consumer buying behavior.
9. To understand the impact of consumer
demographics on consumer buying behavior
REVIEW
OF LITERATURE
|
TITLE |
AUTHOR |
METHODOLGY |
FINDINGS |
|
A
Review on the Factors Contributing to the Selection of a Wrist Watch using
Conjoint Analysis |
Dr.
Josephine Lourdes De Rose |
The
primary data have been collected through survey and discussions were carried
out with the respondents. The
data collection was done from this zone as it consists of people who belong
to all economic classes among the four zonal areas who were chosen at random
from Abishekapuram zone of Tiruchirappalli. |
Watches
have become almost a necessity for human beings, to whichever economic class
they belong. When purchasing a watch price is given the highest importance
than the other attributes while selecting the wrist watch and appearance is
the next important factor considered. Multifunctionals such as alarm, stop
clock and Global Positioning System stand last in priority. |
|
Wrist
Watch Buying Behaviour among Youngsters
in Nagpur City |
|
Primary
data was Collected
through structured questionnaire. One
to one approach was adopted to collect the
data from the respondents while Secondary
data was collected
through
Journals, Research
Papers, and from different websites |
In India
certain occasions has
a great importance
and has a
great impact on
buying decisions of durable
products like wrist
watch. Especially
youngsters in India
has multiple of occasions when
they can buy
the wrist watch as
well as demographic factors
and attributes of
wrist watch also significantly associated
with the buying
decision of
wrist watch among youngsters |
|
Consumer
Behaviour and Brand Preference towards Sonata Wrist watches- A Study with
reference to Asansol City, West Bengal |
|
In
the study both primary and secondary data have been used for the purpose of
collecting data. The primary data have been collected through the consumer
survey of 200 consumers and discussions were carried out with the consumer
personally by the help of proper questionnaire. |
The
Sonata brand of wrist watches is known for quality and performance in the
domestic and international markets. The consumer of Sonata brand wrist
watches are highly satisfied customers having pride in owning and wearing the
most sophisticated, highly reliable and superior performance watch. |
A study on customer preference and buying
behaviour towards branded watches in coimbatore district
|
|
The
main intention of the study is to find out the preference and buying behavior
about branded watch, the primary data of 250 respondents were formulated and
consolidated into master table. In this research, the statistical tools were
used like simple percentage, chi-square and ANOVA has been analyzed in the
customer preference and buying behavior towards branded watches. |
Watches
have become almost a very necessary for all the human beings, to whichever
commercial class they belong. Now-a-days, a plenty of different brands of
wristwatches are available in the market. The customers in the different
forms of age groups and in the different income groups consider the various
features like price, quality, appearance, design, water resistivity and
brands. While purchasing a watch “price is considered as the highest
importance than the other attributes when selecting the wristwatch and the
appearance is the next important factor they considered when selecting a
wristwatch” |
CONCLUSION
Nowadays the wristwatch is
accountable for transmission of a person’s identity, lifestyle, social status,
amongst other important factors that help us determine our place in general
society. It is arguably the most impactful accessory that a man is able to
wear, and is responsible for conveying that man’s image and aspirations. In
regards to women, it is equally important, and when in compliance with other
accessories it might help a woman feel pride, brutal and beautiful; as it
happens with men.
The watches segment represent the
largest and fastest growing segments within the luxury goods space. The luxury
and premium watch market makes up nearly a third of Rs 2750 crore luxury
products market and growing at over 20 percent year on year. Most of the major
players agree that with the increase in the number of retail shops and growing
understanding of different watch brands, the market for Jewellery watch segment
is all set to go on to the new horizon. Experts also believe that over the
forecast period manufacturers will look to increase their penetration. They
will also look to launch new designs to increase their consumer base. Moreover, consumer notice that these domestic
brands have similar offerings with each
other, or even with the global brands. Differentiation of the product offering
is believed to be the key to successfully target consumers. Jaipur start-up
wrist watch manufacturers should make a unique offering to be able to compete
in the market. In order to successfully differentiate its product offering,
companies should understand the consumer preference.
REFERENCES
·
·
·
·
·
Top Five Most Expensive Watches, November
2015
·
www,google.com
·
Underhill, P. 1999. Why we buy: The
science of shopping. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Comments
Post a Comment