A Study of Buyer Motivations at the Bottom of Pyramid in Urban India

The Indian bottom of pyramid (BoP) segment contributes around 85% of the total national household market. This study attempts to ascertain the purchase behaviour of customers at the Indian urban BoP. It endeavours to appreciate the viewpoint of the urban BoP consumers in the purchase process with reference to their purchase basket comprising of products mainly across categories such as grocery, perishables and basic consumer durables. The study starts with qualitative grounded theory followed by quantitative survey-based approach. It presents and validates emergent themes to give insights about purchase behaviour of consumers at urban BoP. The empirical findings of the study discovered five consumer motivations through factor analysis. The subsequent result of the cluster analysis showed that the urban BOP market is heterogeneous. Since the size of cluster is substantial, companies must make marketing efforts to target them on a priority basis. The study proposes a conceptual model of consumer motivation supported by the self-determination Theory for the urban BoP market in India.

Perilous Fires, Pandemics and Price Gouging: The Need to Protect Consumers from Unfair Pricing Practices during Times of Crisis

Recent crises affecting Australia, including the Black Summer bushfires and Coronavirus pandemic, have devastated social morale and crippled our economy. Countless lives and properties have been damaged or lost. These conditions have inflated demand for basic consumer goods and services, such as hygiene products, staple foods, and utility services. Sadly, some sellers have exploited public desperation, with widespread reports of price gouging. This notorious practice involves pricing high-demand essentials at levels significantly higher than what is commonly considered acceptable, reasonable or fair. This article critically analyses moral and economic arguments surrounding statutory controls before proposing a model law regulating price gouging during times of crisis. It argues that such a law is both essential and easily adaptable to Australia’s consumer law framework. The model law provides a basis for the federal government to consider desperately required change to ensure consumers do not suffer during current crises or those to come.

DVOSTRUKI KVALITET PROIZVODA KAO POSEBAN OBLIK DISKRIMINACIJE POTROŠAČA

The modern market is characterized by the existence of several phenomena that threaten the realization of basic consumer rights and require changes or amendments to the existing regulation of consumer law. One such phenomenon is the frequent practice, especially prevalent among large multinational companies, of placing wellknown, recognizable ("branded") products of identical appearance but with certain differences in terms of content and structure of the product, its weight or other basic characteristics, depending on the geographic market in which they are placed. If these differences lead to different quality of a recognizable product in the markets of different countries, then we are talking about the dual quality of product. The subject of this paper is the analysis of legal mechanisms that can influence the cessation of the practice of marketing products and services of dual quality by large companies. This analysis is performed through a review of the development path of EU law regarding the practice of dual quality, with a reference to the amendment of the legal regulation on unfair business practices with the provision on dual quality of products. In the concluding remarks, the author assesses the possibility of applying the experience of EU law into Serbian law in order to suppress practices of dual quality of products.

Pemberdayaan Kewirausahaan Berbasis Teknologi Informasi Bagi Masyarakat Penyandang Disabilitas Di Gunung Kidul

Information Technology has been implemented in some sectors in life. One of them is the usage of Information Technology for online commerce. Mitra Sejahtera Disabled Person Organization has some featured products which are sold locally in some places nearby and only in Gunung Kidul. The usage of Information Technology in marketing will help people to expand the basic consumer and market. On the other hand, Mitra Sejahtera Disabled Person Organization does not have enough access and ability to start and open online shop. Furthermore, the usage of the smartphone for member of Mitra Sejahtera Disabled Person Organization has not been optimal yet, like the utilization of social media as an official account. Training and empowerment activities to Mitra Sejahtera Disabled Person Organization will contribute in increasing and optimizing the utilization of social media and e-commerce. This training and empowerment activities also will give some knowledge to the participant about how to open online shop in one of the biggest online marketplace in Indonesia. The result of this activity is official account in media social. The participant also encouraged and trained to start online shop in one of the biggest online marketplace platform in Indonesia.

The Second World War Japanese Occupation of Singapore

Japan's Second World War occupation of Singapore was marked by acute shortages of food and basic consumer goods, malnutrition, rampant black markets and social breakdown. We argue that the exploitation of Singapore was extreme and fully accorded with pre-war Japanese policy. Japan used Singapore mainly as a communications centre and port to ship Indonesian oil. Mid-1943 attempts to add manufacturing to the city's role had limited success. Acquiescence of Singaporeans to Japanese rule was a notable aspect of occupation. While part of the explanation is that the occupation was a reign of terror, the economics of shortage conferred on the Japanese considerable leverage in maintaining social control.

Perception of Consumer Rights among the College Students: A Case of Tikapur Municipality

This study aims at examining consumes’ perception towards marketing practices and consumer rights in Tikapur Municipality, Kailali based on an empirical study of college students in connection to John Kennedy’s bill of four consumer rights, namely, the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be heard. This study depends on a convenience sample of 60 students selected from Management, Education and Humanities faculties studying in graduate level at Tikapur Multiple Campus and Birendra Vidhya Mandir Campus at Tikapur, with a structured questionnaire to measure consumer attitudes regarding the four basic consumer rights, utilizing a fivepoint Likert Scale for measurement. The overall findings communicate that the current consumers’ attitudes towards marketing practices related to protection of consumer rights is low favorable, indicating that more work will be needed for improvement. This study explores the status of perceived consumer rights for the first time in study area. It suggests marketers and public policy makers to pay more attention to the current status of consumer rights, and formulate more useful legislations with implications for better business strategies.

ANALYSIS OF THE MARKET AND CONSUMER PROPERTIES OF CERAMIC BRICK

A ceramic brick is one of the most popular building materials used in residential, public and landscape construction, in the construction of temple structures over a long period and is still relevant today. The article presents the results of the ceramic brick market analysis to assess the demand for the market and the dynamics of the development of production over the years. An analysis of the export and import of ceramic bricks in Russia is presented; the distribution of production capacities by districts of the Russian Federation is analyzed. It has been established that the basic requirements for a ceramic brick are fully satisfied, mainly due to Russian production, the volumes of which depend on the pace and volume of construction. The nomenclature and basic consumer properties of ceramic bricks, satisfying the requirements of builders and customers, ensuring a long period of maintenance-free operation, preserving architectural expressiveness and aesthetic properties are considered. It has been revealed that the main producers with significant production capacities for the production of ceramic bricks react in a timely manner to market fluctuations and consumer demands by adjusting the change in shape, color, size and quantity of products manufactured.

AI-Driven Sales Automation: Using Chatbots to Boost Sales

The implementation of bot interfaces varies tremendously in current industry practice. They range from the human-like to those that merely present a brand logo or a digital avatar. Some applications provide a maximum amount of information with limited turn-taking between the user and the interface; others offer only short pieces of information and require more turn-taking. Instead of simply implementing the default option provided by chatbot providers and platforms, companies should consider very carefully how the specifics of the chatbot interface might affect the user experience. Simple mechanics such as increasing the frequency of interactions leads to greater trust and a more enjoyable user experience. Also, personalizing chatbots with basic consumer characteristics such as gender increases trust and improves the perceived closeness between the customer and the chatbot – and ultimately the brand. Brand managers should therefore consider chatbots not as merely another digital marketing fad or a way to save costs through service automation. When implemented wisely, they are even able to increase a company’s upselling potential.