The Changes in the Consumer Behaviour of Female Consumers in Regard to Online Shopping of Cosmetics - Essay Example

? “Exploring the changes in the consumer behaviour of female consumers in regard to online shopping of cosmetics” Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 31.1 Research Overview and Background: 3 1.2. Research Aim and Objectives: 5 1.3. Research Questions: 5 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7 2.1. Introduction: 7 2.2. Research Method: 7 2.2.1. Conceptual Framework: 7 2.2.2. Primary Research: 8 2.3. Method of Data Collection: 9 2.3.1. Questionnaire: 9 2.3.2. Interviews: 10 2.4. Sampling: 11 3. PRIMARY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 12 3.1. Questionnaire Analysis: 12 27 3.2. Interview Analysis: 28 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 30 4.1. Conclusion: 30 4.2. Limitations and Problems: 30 4.3. Recommendations: 30 List of References 32 appendix a 35 appendix b 37 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Overview and Background: Consumer buying behaviour could be defined as an action that an individual takes in purchasing and using goods and services (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh, 2009). Consumer buying behaviour could be best defined as “the process by which individual select, purchase, use, dispose of goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants” (Neal, Quester, and Hawkins, 2004). These purchasing decisions are the most complex to understand as consumer’s attitude and behaviour varies from person to person and purchase decisions are based on these factors. Each individual has a unique buying behaviour that sets him/her apart from others. This means that some people prefer to buy instantly to satisfy their needs. Some needs time to make purchase. Some people are fun-loving due to which they prefer traditional ways. Some consider time as money and are more focused on saving their time due to which they prefer online shopping. Some individual are easily influenced by others. Some influence others. This shows that consumer behaviour radically differs from person to person. The behaviour of consumers depends on motivation, learning, beliefs and attitudes. An individual makes a buying decision based on these factors. Social, cultural and personal are some other factors that can influence consumer buying decisions. Social factor includes family, friends, peers, status and role in society; cultural factor includes social class, traditions and customs; personal factor depends on individual’s personality traits that change with the lifecycle. This shows that even purchasing patterns of consumers from similar occupation and background are different (Guthrie and Kim, 2009). Cosmetic products are to meet the needs of the females. Females are mostly emotionally attached to cosmetic products and to influence them to make purchase is the aim of cosmetics industry. This anti-aging industry has helped the females to look beautiful, younger and to smell the best. The increasing trend of looking younger has increased the sales of cosmetic products as compared to earlier years. To help the consumers meet their need, retailers play an essential role (Guthrie and Kim, 2009). Retailers in this industry act as an intermediary to connect the consumers to the producers by providing the cosmetic products to the consumers. These retailers not only provide the consumers with the cosmetic products but also allow the consumers to buy popular international brands (Glamface, 2010). With a market size in billions of dollars, the cosmetics industry and its retailers are essential to provide customers the product that they require. Some of the major companies in the cosmetics industry are Proctor and Gamble, L’Oreal, Unilever, Avon etc. Proctor and Gamble is currently the market leader in the cosmetics industry with beauty sales of $21.1 billion followed by L’Oreal with beauty sales of $18.1 billion (Rodman Publishing, 2012). The top 20 beauty companies reported a sale of $155 billion which means that the industry has great potential to grow in the future (Rodman Publishing, 2012). The growth of each firm is highly dependent on the consumer buying decisions. Due to the technological advancement the companies have shifted to modern means of marketing and advertisement. One of the marketing technique includes advertisement through f-commerce; social media (Fisher, Annemieke, and Bentley, 2007). Through this media the company aims to change the behaviour of the consumers by providing them with updates regarding the cosmetics products. Consumers are curious to know about the latest cosmetic products and by doing so the company can change their behaviour by conveniently proving them all the information they need to make purchasing decisions (Christopher and Huarng, 2003). The retailers are shifting from just using the online media for marketing or making a presence to providing online shopping facilities and ecommerce (Fisher, Annemieke, and Bentley, 2007). This research will analyse the reasons for the change and shift from the traditional means of shopping to online shopping. This report will also analyse the preference of consumers when purchasing cosmetic products (i.e. traditional or online) and the reason for choosing particular mean of shopping. 1.2. Research Aim and Objectives: The main aim of this research study is to explore the changes in the consumer behaviour of female consumers in regard to online shopping of cosmetics. The associated research objectives which will be accomplished by the researchers are as follow: To explore the consumer behaviour of the female consumers indulge in online shopping of cosmetic products To identify different elements because of which there is a growth in the online shopping trend To explore the overall outlook of the cosmetic industry more specifically in UK To identify the influence of the consumer behaviour on the formulation of different marketing strategies and decisions 1.3. Research Questions: The research study will try to explore the following research questions: How the consumer behaviour of the female consumers is being changing in regard to the shopping of the cosmetics products? What are the elements which are influencing the online shopping behaviour of the female consumers for cosmetics? What are the important shifting trends in the overall cosmetic industry of UK? What is the relationship of consumer behaviour with the marketing strategies and decisions? 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1. Introduction: Research methodology is a scientific method based on set of postulates that enables researcher to carry research steps in systematic way. It is also important for the fact that clearly defined research methodology to all concerned for critical scrutiny; further use and replication of results for verification is ensured (Wilson, 2006). Scientifically set research methodology enables researcher to state with degree of confidence the results arrived for the research question understudy and hence, successfully meeting the objective of the study. Hence, importance of well thought research methodology is critical to achieving objective of the results (Burns and Bush, 2008). 2.2. Research Method: The research study is based on the primary sources and is supported by the conceptual framework. The researchers have developed following two levels of research methods: 2.2.1. Conceptual Framework: At the basic level conceptual framework has been developed based on the topic of the research. Conceptual framework refers to the developing the idea based on certain theory or already existing idea. This mode is taken into account by researchers to explore the aspects of the theory/ idea or to reinterpret the original concept leading. This form of usage is adopted by thinkers and philosopher etc. The other way of using conceptual framework, that has also been adopted by the researchers of the underlying study as well, is to develop base for exploring factors in support from the already identified aspects from theory (Malhotra, 2007). The researchers in order to explore the underlying research question has taken support from theory and hence formed conceptual framework. 2.2.2. Primary Research: Every research is based on certain criteria, aimed to explore certain objective and conducted within certain environment; therefore, results from certain research cannot be adopted as ground defining rule for all researches. These results also cannot be considered enough to endorse or contradict any theory mainly for the reasons of reliability, accuracy as well as suitability (Burns and Bush, 2008). Hence, to arrive at conclusion for the research questions developed for the underlying research, the researchers have collected primary data. Primary data refers to data that has been collected for the first time with certain defined set objectives for the particular research and study. Primary data, hence, maintains originality as has not been treated with certain measurement and evaluation technique earlier. Primary data collected for the certain research though provides research with the original data but there many factors affecting the method and impose limitation. For instance, requires financial resource based on the type and size of data; time constraints, maintaining the similar conducive environment similar for all participants, participants’ willingness as well as availability; legal and ethical consideration; and truthfulness of the information provided etc (Hackley, 2003). There are several methods of collecting primary data such as through questionnaires, observations, interview, schedules etc. Other methods include: warranty card, distributors audits, pantry audits, consumer panel, mechanical devices, projective techniques, content analysis and in-depth interviews etc. Each method offers certain benefits as well as has certain limitation and researcher has to ensure while using each technique that generated data has accounted for the limitation of the method (Bearden, Netemeyer, and Mobley, 1999). The researchers for the purpose of this research have adopted two methods for collecting primary data and these two methods include; first, online administered questionnaire and interviews. 2.3. Method of Data Collection: The selection of the appropriate method for the data collection is very critical to the success of the research. Factors that shall be and has been considered in developing the discussed research methodology are following facts (Chisnall, 2005): Nature, scope and type of enquiry Time and funds limitation Level of accuracy required. Since the objective of the research is to explore factors related to female consumer buying behaviour in online purchase of cosmetic therefore, the researchers have employed the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (Yin, 1994). This combination is beneficial for the overall research objective as it had support the research with already developed theory and existing literature (Kumar, Aaker, and Day, 2002). Finally, the combination of two techniques in primary data collection has provided researchers with both sides perspective of consumer and retailer; hence, comprehensive research results have been achieved. The researchers have focused mainly on the primary method of data collection as mentioned above and for this purpose have used online administered questionnaire surveys and interviews. 2.3.1. Questionnaire: Collection of primary data from the female customer of the cosmetic will be based on questionnaires. Questionnaire is among the most widely used mechanism of collecting data and is mainly adopted in cases where large number of people is required for generating response. Questionnaire development being the heart of study has been developed with consideration related to question structures, numbers, sequence, preferably closed ended question (McDaniel and Gates, 2006). The consideration on questionnaire is important to the research for the fact of matter that questionnaire usually results in low turnover and participants tend to leave questions that pose difficulty in providing clear meaning and understanding. The online administered questionnaire technique will provide the researcher with ease and will save the budget and time (Ilieva, Barton, and Healey, 2002; Scholl, Mulders, and Drent, 2002) 2.3.2. Interviews: Interview is a method of data collection that accounts for oral-verbal stimuli and the responses are also generated from oral verbal. Interviews are also further categorised within personal interviews and telephonic interviews (Patton, 1990). The main difference between the two is fact that in former method the participants is present in similar place and similar point in time with the data collector (interviewer) while in latter format the interviewee or the respondent is present in similar in point in time but not in similar place and are connected though telephone or such technology (Proctor, 2005). This research used interview based method with the interviews conducted from cosmetic retailer on face-to face format. These interviews have been based on the structured ways and the respondents have been investigated based on the decided format in order to get more direct responses and hence, chances of ambiguity from indirect responses is reduced. For structured interview pre-determined set of questions have been defined carrying set of questions to gain information while certain questions have been structured directly in order to explore consistency in responses. Pre- Requisites for interview: Despite this research is not expected to harm the ethical aspect for any participant; still interviews have been conducted after obtaining consent of participation from retailer with stating objective of the research along with assurance that information will not be provided for any third party for other use. Interviewees on the other hand, have been required to put provide acceptance that information provided in the research are true and honest to serve the purpose of research. Based on the resource limitation, interviews have been conducted within time span of week and each interview has been conducted for approximately 30 minutes. All these have been informed to participants to ensure their availability within specified time. Also assuring that time of the retailer is also not wasted. 2.4. Sampling: In order to make sure that the research findings are reliable and valid it is important to select the sample size carefully. At the same time it is important to keep in consideration that the target respondents are the true representation of the whole population so that the research results have high generalisation (Silverman, 1997). In this research study, the researchers have gone with convenience sampling in order to get the online administered questionnaires filled. Along with this the retailers are also selected on the basis of the convenience and availability. The sample size for the online administered questionnaires is 150 females and for that of interviews are 5 cosmetic retailers. 3. PRIMARY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 3.1. Questionnaire Analysis: Buying cosmetic products online is cheaper than buying products through traditional means The aim of this question was to gain insight regarding the cost of purchasing cosmetic products through traditional and online means. The results were astonishing as more than half of the respondents (i.e. 80 out of 150) representing 53 percent, agreed that purchasing through online means are far more cheaper than traditional means. It shows that the change in the consumer buying pattern is due to cheap mode of purchase. Only 21 of the respondents remained neutral on this issue. These respondents were not quite sure regarding the matter. In contrast, 49 out of 150 respondents were strongly against it. 33 percent of the respondents felt that the cost of online shopping is similar to the cost of traditional shopping. This shows that most of the respondents prefer purchasing cosmetics through online mediums as it saves their income. Online retailers offer more discounts than traditional retailers When the respondents were inquired about the discounts offered by both; online retailer and traditional retailers, we found that 75 out of 150 respondents (representing a total of 50 percent) were strongly in favour. These respondents believed that the discount offered by the online retailers is greater than the traditional retailers due to which most of the respondents have shifted from the traditional retailers to online retailers. Only 17 of the respondents remained neutral on this matter. On the other hand, 37 of the respondents were against it. In addition to this 21 of the respondents strongly disagreed on this matter. The total respondents that were against this issue were 58. These respondents were somehow in favour of the traditional retailers as they believed that the discounts offered by both are similar. I can buy internationally recognised cosmetic brands online rather than shopping traditionally The aim of this question was to analyse the purchasing pattern of internationally recognised brand through traditional and online shopping medium. It was found that respondents personally believed that purchasing international brand is easier than traditional shopping. 26 of the respondents strongly agreed and 46 respondents agreed that purchasing internationally recognised brand online is more convenient than traditional methods. Whereas 28 of the respondents felt that purchasing international brand is similar and remained neutral in this matter. A total of 50 respondents believed that traditional shopping is far more convenient than online shopping when it comes to purchasing of international cosmetic brands. Therefore these respondents were in favour of traditional shopping methods over online shopping. Online shopping of cosmetic products offers a lot of convenience This question was regarding the convenience of the respondents when purchasing cosmetic products. Amazingly 95 of the respondents believes that online shopping is a lot more convenient than traditional shopping when purchasing cosmetic products. This is the key factor due to which the respondents have shifted from the traditional shopping to online shopping. 14 of the respondents felt that both the shopping methods are equally convenient and none of the method is superior to other when it comes to convenience. However 41 of the respondents were not in favour of online shopping. These respondents believed that traditional shopping method is more convenient than the online shopping due to which they prefer shopping traditionally rather than shopping online. The respondents that favoured traditional shopping are only 27 percent whereas respondents that prefer online shopping due to its convenience are 63 percent. Online shopping allows me to buy cosmetic products anytime of the day This question was regarding the purchase of cosmetic products anytime of the day through online shopping. Interesting results were observed when the respondents answered this question. Out of 150 respondents, only 17 of them strongly felt that they could purchase cosmetic product regardless of the time. In addition to those respondents, 34 respondents agreed that online shopping allowed them to purchase anytime of the day even in holidays. It was amazing that 31 of the respondents remained neutral regarding this matter. On the other hand, a total of 63 respondents were against it. These respondents were in favour of traditional shopping and their perception regarding the online shopping was negative. Online shopping of cosmetic products allows me to compare different products This question was aimed to inquire regarding the perception of consumers about the comparability of cosmetic products through online shopping. A sum of 85 respondents; representing 56 percent, were in favour of online shopping. These respondents were highly in favour as online shopping provides these respondents availability to compare different brands respectively without any inconvenience. Since the majority of the consumers are female that frequently purchase cosmetic products, they consider it rather important to compare cost of different brands. 26 out of 150 respondents remained neutral regarding this comparability matter. In contrast, 39 of the respondents had negative perception regarding this matter. These respondents believed that they could compare different cosmetic brands prices through traditional method more easily as compared to online shopping method. This shows that consumers are more inclined towards purchase of cosmetic brands through online shopping as it provides them with an additional feature of comparing prices of the different brands available in the market. 56 percent were in favour of this feature whereas 26 percent of the respondents were against it. It is fun and exciting to shop cosmetic products online When it comes to fun and entertainment, the consumers were more inclined towards traditional shopping than online shopping. This question was regarding the entertainment factor during shopping of cosmetic products. 57 out of 150 respondents were in favour that online shopping is more fun and exciting than traditional shopping. On the other hand 17 of the total respondents neither agreed nor disagreed regarding the fun and excitement during shopping of cosmetic products. The respondents that were against this matter showed an amazing result. More than half of the total respondents (i.e. 76 respondents) believed that traditional shopping is more fun and exciting than online shopping. This shopping method according to these respondents was more fun and exciting as everything they purchase is according to their need and they could inquire about other products as well during purchase. I would prefer buying cosmetic products online This question was regarding practical advantage of one method over other method i.e. online method over traditional method. When the respondents were inquired about their first preference to purchase cosmetics products, we found an interesting result which shows that 27 of the respondents were strongly in favour to prefer online method. In addition to this, 38 more respondents were in favour to prefer online method over traditional method due to factors such as convenience, discounts, time and availability of international brands. 38 of the respondents were slightly in favour and slightly against online method due to which they were not able to make up their mind. A sum of 50 respondents was against purchasing products online and they preferred traditional method over online method. According to these respondents, online method might be convenient but it would eliminate all the fun associated with purchase of products which the respondents believed was quite important. A total of 65 respondents were in favour to prefer online shopping whereas 50 respondents preferred traditional shopping methods. I have been purchasing cosmetic products online for some time now This question was regarding the frequency of purchase via the internet. The results were interesting as in the earlier questions more than 50 percent of the respondents were in favour of online purchasing but the scores shows that only 53 of the total respondents have purchased cosmetic products via the internet. These are the respondents that have been purchasing cosmetic products for some time. The results regarding the frequency of purchases are not the same that was expected. Only 20 respondents remained neutral. With a total of 77 respondents it could be said that these respondents didn’t purchase cosmetic products frequently through online medium. From this question we could analyse the frequency of purchase of online shopping. I recommend others to shop cosmetic products online This question was related to word-of-mouth advertisement and recommending others to purchase cosmetic products online rather than traditionally. By analysing this question we found that 69 respondents were in high-spirit to recommend others to shop online rather than traditionally. This shows that to some extent respondents are interested in changing the mind of others to shift to the modern style of shopping rather than sticking to old and obsolete ways. 16 respondents were neither in favour nor against recommending others to shop online. On the other hand, 65 of the respondents were against recommending others to shop cosmetic products online. This shows the consumer’s interest and loyalty towards purchasing products the old-fashioned way. These consumers are somehow attached to purchase products traditionally and are reluctant to recommend the new and unexcited shopping methods to others. When did you bought your last cosmetic product online? This question was regarding the respondent’s last purchase of cosmetic products online. The response of the respondents shows an amazing result. 18 respondents were engaged in purchasing of cosmetic products online last month whereas within last 3 months 41 of the respondents had purchased cosmetic products online. The greatest numbers of purchases were seen within the last 6 months which shows that these respondents haven’t bought any other cosmetic products online after that. According to the response it was found that within the last 12 months (i.e. one year) only 34 of the respondents had bought their last cosmetic products online and within the last 24 months (i.e. 2 years) only 8 respondents purchased their last cosmetic product online. I bought my last cosmetic product offline i.e. through traditional means of shopping This question was regarding the respondent’s purchase of last cosmetic product through traditional means of shopping. It was found that 28 of the respondents purchased their last cosmetic product traditionally. Within the last 3 months the purchases of cosmetic products were at its peak (i.e. 52) and within the last 6 months only 37 of the respondents purchased their last cosmetic product through traditional shopping. The respondents that had purchased their last cosmetic product accounted for 31 respondents within last 12 months whereas only 2 of the respondents purchased their last cosmetic product traditionally. What is the most important factor that has encouraged me to switch to shop cosmetic products online This question is regarding the factor that has influenced the consumers to switch from the traditional means of shopping to online shopping. Following are the factors that affected the buying behaviour of the respondents. Convenience The most important factor due to which majority of the consumers have shifted to online shopping is convenience. Majority of the respondents that have shifted (i.e. 56 respondents) was mainly due to the convenience as these respondents believed that through online shopping they can easily access all those international brands that are not available at the retailer’s shop. They can carry with their work along with purchasing of brands through online shopping. Time Factor Time is the second most important factor that encouraged the consumers to shift radically from traditional mode of shopping. This shows that traditional mean of shopping consumed a lot of time from their busy schedule. Online shopping is not just only convenient but also reduces the time factor by 50 percent. Promotional Packages Promotional packages and discount packages are an appealing factor for the consumers. Because of such packages 25 of the respondents have shifted to online shopping. According to these respondents, traditional mode of shopping does not have much of promotional packages due to which they have shifted to online shopping. Online Products are Cheaper Due to the increasing trend of online shopping many of the brands have websites offering cheap cosmetic products which influenced the consumers (i.e. 19 respondents) to shift from traditional to online shopping mode. Have Access to More Brands Through online shopping the consumers have access to more brands than the traditional mode of shopping. 19 of the respondent’s major reason to shift was to gain access to international brands as well as local brands. 3.2. Interview Analysis: Interview with the retailers provided with a lot of information regarding the changing consumer buying behaviour. The aim of these interviews was to gain retailer’s insight regarding the changing buying pattern of the consumers and the reasons for shifts from traditional to online buying. Through the interviews it was found that most of the consumers prefer online shopping of cosmetic products as the consumers can view all the variety of cosmetics available. The retailers told that the online shopping is in trend and has taken over the traditional shopping pattern. The reason for such belief was the growing online sales of the products but retailers still believes that there are some customers that prefer purchasing the cosmetics traditionally. These customers have unique attachment with the cosmetics and prefer purchasing products after complete inspection. When the retailers were inquired regarding their observation about the change, they told that convenience was the major factor that led the change. Busy lifestyle and workload was another reason due to which the customers were shifting frequently from traditional to online shopping. Online transactions are perceived as reliable source to compare different brands in the cosmetic industry and help the consumers to select the best brand available at cheaper price. These facilities have encouraged the people to shop online which not only helps them to select the best brand but also helps them to spend more time with their family and friends. When the retailers were inquired regarding the ratio of male and female involved in the purchase of cosmetic products it was crystal clear from their response that the ratio of female to male was much higher. The reason that was provided from the retailers was the abundance of cosmetic products for the females as compared to males. The target audience of many firms is the females when it comes to cosmetics due to which the needs of the customers are fulfilled by providing them with variety. The retailers also made it clear that both the males and females are involved in online shopping of cosmetic products. However females are more involved than men in online purchasing of cosmetic products. In response to the question regarding the promotional campaigns and discount offered by the retailer, we got to know that promotional strategies are the backbone of the cosmetics industry. According to the retailer, promotion activities and discount encourages and attracts many female customers which rapidly increases the sales of the company for that particular time period. The retailer also said that these activities help to enhance the customer’s attention and to convince the customers. Being in such an industry, it is vital to continuously innovate due to which the retailers offer discount cards based on the loyalty of the customers. Through these discount cards the customers can easily avail the opportunity of discount and purchase as many cosmetic products until the card expires. 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1. Conclusion: The research study concludes that the female consumers are increasingly using internet for shopping for their favourite cosmetic brand and products. Different factors and elements have been identified which are responsible for this shift in the consumer behaviour. The most important factor in this regard is that the online shopping is believed or considered to be more convenient and it saves customers’ time and it can be done at any day at any time. This changing consumer trend and behaviour should be capitalised by the marketers as it has been witnessed that there has been drastic improvement in the sales and performance of different organisations and companies with the help of the online shopping. According to Wauters (2011), it is being forecasted that the online retail sales will increase up to $279 billion by the end of the year 2015. 4.2. Limitations and Problems: The major limitation while conducting the research study was the limited availability of the time and budget. As the time and budget was limited so the researchers were not able to gather data from large number of respondents and also were restricted to convenience sampling which effected the generalisation of the research study. Apart from this it was difficult for the researchers to get hold of required data from the target respondents and retailers. 4.3. Recommendations: The retailers of the cosmetics products should focus on capitalising the opportunity of increasing online shopping trends. The research study concluded that there is clear shift in the consumer behaviour of the female consumers of the cosmetics. However, the research study has low generalisation because of the limited budget and time. Additional research should be conducted on this research topic with large number of target respondents and more generalised sampling. Apart from this it will be more beneficial to conduct a comparative research by comparing the change in the consumer behaviour of female and male consumers or of consumers from different geographical regions. List of References Bearden W. O., Netemeyer R. G., and Mobley M. F. (1999). Handbook of Marketing Scales: Multi-item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publication.  Burns, A.C., and Bush, R. F. (2008a). Basic Marketing Research; using Microsoft Excel data analysis, 2nd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Burns A.C. and Bush, R. F. (2008b). Marketing Research, 6th Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Chisnall, P. (2005). Marketing Research, 7th ed., Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.  Kumar, V., Aaker D.A., and Day G. S. (2002). Essentials of Marketing Research, 2nd ed., New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.  Christopher, D, and Huarng, S, (2003). ‘Planning an effective internet retail store’, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 230-238 Fisher, J., Annemieke, C and Bentley J. (2007). ‘Moving from a Web Presence to e-Commerce: The Importance of a Business—Web Strategy for Small-Business Owners’, Electronic Markets, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 253-62. Glamface. (2010) Cosmetics Industry. Available at http://www.glamface.co.uk/cosmetics-industry/ [Accessed 5 December 2012] Guthrie, MF, and Kim, HS (2009) ‘The relationship between consumer involvement and brand perceptions of female cosmetic consumers’, Journal of Brand Management, vol. 17, pp. 114-133. Hackley, C. (2003). Doing Research Project in Marketing, Management and Consumer Research, Chippenham, Wiltshire: Routledge.  Hawkins, D and Mothersbaugh, D. (2009) Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy, McGraw-Hill, New York. 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(2002). ‘On-line qualitative market research: interviewing the world at a fingertip’, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 5, no. 3, pp.210-223. Silverman, D. (1997). Qualitative Research, London: Sage Publication  Wauters, R. (2011), Forrester: Online Retail Industry In The US Will Be Worth $279 Billion In 2015. Available at http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/28/forrester-online-retail-industry-in-the-us-will-be-worth-279-billion-in-2015/ [Accessed 5 December 2012] Wilson, A. (2006). Marketing Research: An Integrated Approach, 2nd ed., London: Pearson Education Limited.  Yin, R. K. (1994). Case Study Research Design and Methods, Newbury Park, California: Sage Publication. appendix a Questionnaire: 1. What is your gender y Male y Female 2. In which age group do you fall? y Less than 15 years y 15-24 years y 25-34 years y 35-44 years y 45-54 years y more than 54 years 3. What is your level of education? y High school y Vocational school or Colleges y Under graduate y Graduate 4. In which income group do you fall? y Less than 10,000 y 10,001-20,000 y 20,001-30,000 y 30,001-40,000 y 40,001-50,000 y more than 50,000 Agree Strongly Agree Neutral Strongly Disagree Disagree 5. Buying cosmetic products online is cheaper than buying products through traditional means 6. Online retailers offer more discounts than traditional retailers ? ? ? ? ? 7. I can buy internationally recognized cosmetic brands online rather than shopping traditionally ? ? ? ? ? 8. Online shopping of cosmetic products offers a lot of convenience ? ? ? ? ? 9. Online shopping allows me to buy cosmetic products anytime of the day ? ? ? ? ? 10. I save my time by shopping cosmetic products online ? ? ? ? ? 11. It is fun and exciting to shop cosmetic products online ? ? ? ? ? 12. I would prefer buying cosmetic products online ? ? ? ? ? 13. I have been cosmetic products online for some time now ? ? ? ? ? 14. Online shopping of cosmetic products allows me to compare different products ? ? ? ? ? 15. I recommend others to shop cosmetic products online ? ? ? ? ? Last month Within last 3 months Within last 6 months Within last 12 months Within last 24 months 16. I bought my last cosmetic product online ? ? ? ? ? 17. I bought my last cosmetic product offline i..e through traditional means of shopping ? ? ? ? ? Convenience of online shopping time factor promotional packages Online products are cheaper Have access to more brands 18. What is the most important factor that has encouraged me to switch to shop cosmetic products online. ? ? ? ? ? appendix b Interview Questions: 1. Do you believe that online shopping has influenced the consumer behaviour? 2. What are the changes that you have observed in the consumer behaviour with respect to cosmetic products? 3. Do you believe that online shopping has encouraged people to buy online rather than buying products through shopping traditionally? 4. What are the most important factors that you think have influenced and encouraged consumers in buying products online? 5. Is the ratio of male and female consumers buying cosmetic products online the same or whether the male or females are buying more cosmetic products online? 6. What is the reason there are number of online retailers offering different promotions and discounts to people to buy online? 7. Are your company also offering any kind of discount to buy products online? Read More