An Investigation into Shopping Behavior of Customers towards Modern Retail Stores in Vijayawada

The study is intended to analyze the general shopping habits and behaviors of customers towards modern retail stores. The objective of the study is to understand the factors affecting the shopping behavior of customers towards modern retail stores. The research is aimed at exploring the reasons for preferring modern retail stores to traditional kirana store, their usual preferences in purchasing various items, their behavior in planning the visits to these stores, the benefits sought by them shopping at these stores and their overall opinion towards these modern retail stores. A survey with a sample size of 120 from Vijayawada city was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The data so collected was analyzed using statistical tools and the results were presented. The findings of the study prove that there is a long way for modern retailers to go. There is ample scope for these modern retailers to capture the market, as a majority of the middle-class just started shifting their preference from kirana stores to modern retail formats. Stores also require introducing in-store sales promotions to turn casual shoppers into serious buyers. Stores may also require luring window-shoppers. Stores also require offering value-added services such as order-by-phone, mail orders and home-delivery to mitigate the image that stores are not conveniently located. Providing improved training for the staff proves to be very effective in serving shoppers better.