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Brand Loyalty: A Perception Among Gems and Jewellery
Retailers in Madurai District
Mr.Kumaran
Dr. R. Moses Daniel
Dr. P. Kannan
Abstract
Brand loyalty is the consumer’s emotionally charged decision to purchase a specific brand again and
again. Today, The Madurai Jewellery Industry in Tamilnadu is one of the fastest growing sectors in the
country. The inherent attractiveness of the segment is luring more and more investors from other
district and other states, as is clearly indicated by the opening of a number of Jewellery retail outlets
by major corporate houses in the past decade. Now, Brand loyalty is receiving a great deal of attention
in Jewellery retail Industry. However, to build long-term customer loyalty, price, quality, Retail layout,
designs, Promotions and customized personal service are very much needed. The present study is taken
up with an objective to study the effect of modern retail formats on traditional retail formats in
Madurai district and to determine factors influencing brand loyalty in Jewellery retail Industry in
Madurai district. The primary data was gathered through a five point Likert scale questionnaire from
200 Jewellery retailers across Madurai district. The sample size was determined based on the sample
standard deviation. Correlation analysis, Anova, was carried out to find out the relationship between
dependent and independent variables. The major findings in the light of the objectives of this study
were that most of the jewellery retailers need to have attractive window displays, proper stores layout,
appealing visual merchandising schemes to attract present and potential customers into the outlet.
Keywords: Component; Brand Loyalty; Retail Layout; Quality, Visual Merchandising, Quality.
I. Introduction
A. The Indian Gems and Jewellery
The gems and jewellery sector is one of the most important sectors of Indian economy and
has been contributing to 6% to 7% of the country's GDP, apart from large scale
employment generations and foreign exchange earnings. The domestic gems and jewellery
industry had a market size of INR 251,000 Cr in 2013, with a potential to grow to INR
Thayumanavan, Research Scholar, R & D Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India-641046 &
Assistant Professor, NPRCET, Natham. e-mail: kumaran_t_ece@yahoo.com
Research Supervisor, R & D Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India-641046 &
Principal, NIITM,, Coimbatore. e-mail: mosesdaniel007@gmail.com
Associate Professor & HoD, Anna University, NPRCET, Natham. Dindigul, India-624401
e-mail: kannanace08@gmail.com
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ISBN: 978-0-9948937-0-3
500,000–530,000 Cr by 2018. The industry provides direct employment to roughly 2.5
million people and has the potential to generate employment of 0.7–1.5 million over the
next five years. Gems & Jewellery sector estimated at about INR 1,00,000 crores is as high
as the apparel sector and much higher than many other sectors in India.
The Indian Gems and Jewellery market contains more than 2.5 million jewellery outlets
and most of them are family run. However, with the Indian consumer becoming more
aware and quality conscious (BIS Hallmark), branded jewellery is becoming very popular.
With an increasing number of jewellery houses entering the branded jewellery sector,
retail of jewellery is becoming organized. The share of unorganized segment, comprising
family jewellers, declined from 96% in 2009-10 to around 93-95% in 2010-11. The market
for branded jewellery retailing in India at USD 2.85 billion is just 5% of the USD 57 billion
domestic jewellery retail market. The branded Indian jewellery retail market is growing at
30-40% annually, with growth being attributed to the rising brand consciousness of
people.
As the economy improves and retail competition steepens in Madurai Jewellery Industry,
brand loyalty is delivering impressive bottom-line results in Jewellery retailing. Brand
loyalty is a sort of commitment towards the brand that induces a re-buy behavior into the
customer in spite of the potential marketing attempts by competitors to break up the
coalition between the brand and the consumer (Oliver, 1999). From discounts and offers
like discounted wastage charges, loyalty programs of all types are boosting customer
spending, shaping purchasing behavior, building brand awareness and increasing market
basket size.
In India, gems and jewellery inspire passion unlike any other object of desire. Everyone
has been moved by the beauty of gems and Jewellery at some point be it a glittering
wedding necklace, exquisite earrings, or a solitaire diamond. Gems and jewellery have a
rich history and cultural heritage that, coupled with an enduring attraction to gold, has
given rise to a large and thriving industry. Gold has the second-highest share in imports,
increasing from 6 percent in 2002–2003 to 11 percent in 2012–2013. The increase in gold
imports is largely driven by the spectacular growth in gold prices, with prices moving from
INR 5332 per 10 gm in 2002–2003 to INR 30,164 per 10 gm in 2012–2013 (CAGR of 19
percent), leading to a CAGR of 32 percent in value terms.
B.
About Madurai district
Madurai is known to be a Jewel hub. It is the third largest city in Tamil Nadu next to
Chennai and Coimbatore and the second largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu next
only to Chennai. It is one of the Second Tier cities and Sub capital of Tamil Nadu by
administration headquarters of southern districts in Tamil Nadu. The city covers an area
of 147.99 Sq km and had a population of 10, 56,885 in 2011. The rural section of the
Madurai society takes to farming and making of pottery and clay utensils. This research
© 2015, by CAASR Ltd| CANADA Press
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Proceedings of the International Conference on
Contemporary Management Practices (CAASR-ICCMP `15)
gives an idea regarding the brand loyalty in Jewellery Retail Industry and the strategies to
constitute brand loyalty in Madurai district,
C. Evolution of Jewellery Market in Madurai District
A jeweller has a special significance in Indian culture. Backed by intricate Karigari and
designs developed over the ages, it has been an integral part of Indian lifestyle and culture
for centuries. Today, India has a large domestic jewellery market. It is also the largest
consumer of gold jewellery in the world with 29 percent share of the total global demand
for gold as jewellery.
The Madurai Gems and Jewellery market continues to be dominated by the small and
medium size jewellery retail outlets. There are around 2000 small and medium jewellery
retail outlets (Madurai Jewellers & Bullion Merchants Association 2013 report) in Madurai
district and most of them are family run.
Traditionally the art of making jewels has been passed through generation, Kaarigars
having inherited expertise and skill from their ancestors, the art being handed down
through the generations to generation. In 1940s, there were around 15 jewellery retail
outlets in Madurai which steadily increased to 200 outlets in 1960 and 500 outlets in
1980. During this period, art catalogue (modeling art with black and white printing) was
used to select the ornaments. In 2000, there were 800 retailers; photos showing number of
designs were used to get purchase orders from the customers.
Figure 1: Evolution of Jewellery Retailers in Madurai district
Source: MJBMA Report 2013
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During 1995-2000, jewel encyclopedia shows the design prevailing the market. In 2006,
there are 1500 jewellery retailers. After 2000 there is a tremendous change in the gold
market with the heavy competition and advertisement provided by various jewellery
retailers. Now, the Madurai Jewellery Industry is one of the fastest growing Industries in
the country. The inherent attractiveness of the segment is luring more and more investors
from both India and abroad, as is clearly indicated by the opening of a number of Jewellery
retail outlets by major corporate houses. However, to build long-term customer loyalty,
price, quality, variety, and right image are very much needed. To attain this, the Layout,
ambient elements and the service of the retail outlets and the way the Jewels are displayed
at the outlets are very important.
Today, Madurai Jewellery market has been witnessing the retail revolution since the
preceding few years. The large retailers in the Madurai Jewellery Market which are
periodically advertising / promoting their brands are Bhima Jewelers, Jewel One, Joy
alukkas India Pvt Ltd, Jos Alukkas Jewellery, Thangamayil Jewellery Ltd, GRT Jewelleries,
Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Alukkas, Sri Balagopalan Jewellery Mart, RMA Jewellery,
Tanishq, Seetharam Jewelers, Kalayan Jewellers, Jeyaprabha Jewellers, ORRA, Sri Kumaran
Thanga Maligai, Lalithaa Jewellery Mart Pvt Ltd, Thamgam Jewellers, SMJ, Khazana
Jewellery Pvt Ltd, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Kirtilals Jewellers and Shri Krishna Jewellery.
Today, in this competitive environment Selling Jewels from jewellery retail outlet is
incomplete without communicating its image. To build long term brand loyalty, in addition
to the quality of the jewels (BIS Hall mark) Jewelers in Madurai district invest huge money
on the promotions. But many jewellers in Madurai district in which most of them are
family run neglect the retail front which is the face of the brands.
II. Problem definition
The Madurai gems and Jewellery industry were developed as an unorganized sector, but
the past decade has witnessed the emergence of retail players outside Madurai district and
also from other states, with Government liberalizing gold imports into the country. The
industry is, however, still fragmented, with local and independent retailer constituting
roughly 80 percent of the overall market, in comparison to a much higher proportion of
share from large retailer (about 50 percent). In rural areas, many local jewellers will also
play the role of financiers/money lender, lending money against gold. The trusted local
family jewelers with whom customers have relationships over generations, is now
becoming weak for jewelry sales. The growth of state chain players is inhibited by the
strong presence of local and regional players and variances in consumer preferences in
designs, quality, and material across different regions. Despite that, there has been a sharp
increase in the share of chain retailers, which was almost negligible 15 years ago. Along
with a few large national players, regional players have also expanded beyond their
city/catchment and have become regional chains. Over the period between 2008 and
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2013, the share of regional chains has increased significantly from 7 percent to 17 percent,
while the share of national chains has grown from 3 percent to 5 percent. Though Madurai
is one of the largest market for Jewellery consumption, the Jewellery retailing has certain
challenges which are consistently there for long times & now a days they have become
more intense as Jewellery retailing is in the transition phase. In recent years, with the
increase of competition in retail Industry, Jewellers need to attract consumers, need to
keep them and need to focus on developing various strategies. The main purpose of many
retailers is to make their customers more loyal (Yucel & Yucel, 2012, p. 96). The reason is
that, contrary to Jewels, the customers are the lifeline and the most important assets of the
jewellery outlet. Establishing a retail brand loyalty on consumers is a target of every
retailer seeks to reach, because, this means steady sales or preservation of market share
(Atesoglu, 2003, p. 75). A consumer today interacts with retailers while shopping for his
jewels. He faces an array of similar jewels often available at competing outlets at almost
similar or even at lower price. This commoditization has created a retail environment
where the importance of brand has diluted and consumer shops around competing outlets
with abandon. In an environment, when consumer spending is at an all-time and low
wastage charges are the rule of the day, Jewellery retailer should take a look at ways to add
value to the customer. It is so very critical to understand the need of the customer and
offer highly personalized service at the most appropriate of times. This research tries to
capture the essentials elements of a retail brand loyalty and the technologies that the
retailers are currently using to encourage repeat purchase behaviour.
III.
Purpose, Scope of the Study
Key elements that are effective in creating brand loyalty that enables the jewelers to
possess a competitive edge are customer satisfaction, Price, Store Layout, ambient
elements, corporate image, customer expectations, perceived service quality and Jewel
quality. Setting of from this point, this study analyzes retail outlet image and the service
which have positive influences on brand loyalty in Madurai district.
IV.
Review of Literature
Brand loyalty is defined as a deeply held commitment to a preferred product or service
consistently in the future, repeated purchase and commitment despite the situational
influences and marketing efforts which have the potential to cause switching behavior
(Algesheimer et al.,2005; Şahin et al., 2011). Brand loyalty is considered to provide greater
leverage to trade, condensed marketing costs (Aaker, 1991) and building an augmented
market share (Jarvis and Mayo, 1986).Store loyalty comprises of consumer attitudes,
purchase intentions and actual purchasing behavior ( Anic, 2006). Lau et al; (2006) he
mentioned in his editorial that there are numerous factors which influenced consumer’s
brand loyalty towards a particular brand. The factors are; brand name, product quality,
price, promotion and service-quality. Lovelock (2010) indicated that store’s environment
is also one of the features that might play a vital role in consumer’s decision-making. On
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the other hand there are some of features that influence the customer assessment and
satisfaction with a specific brand. The characteristics are shoppers, salespeople, store
environment, noises, smells, temperature, and displays, symbols, colors and commodities.
Srivastava’s (2012) research project deals with the marketing strategies that are to be
followed by retailers located in malls. The effect of customers and the competitors on the
marketing strategies adopted by the store has been studied. Further, the study deals with
the various marketing strategies adopted by these retail stores which includes, tie-ups
with other brands, mall branding and other promotional offers to attract the customers
and improve the competitiveness.
In the process of building brand loyalty, customer brand relationship is a crucial factor
(Chiou & Chang, 2006). This since, brand experience leads to brand loyalty by creating
emotional connections by engaging compelling and a consistent context, where the context
is the environment the encounter occurs (Şahin et al., 2011). Including emotional aspect to
the building of brand loyalty is also valuable since emotions are memorable increasing
loyalty (Mano & Oliver, 1993). Some researchers argue that brand loyalty is the outcome of
brand experience, brand satisfaction and brand trust. Since a positive brand experience
affects brand satisfaction from customer trusting the brand, will provide a bigger loyalty
(Şahin et al., 2011).
V. Hypotheses
This research focuses on the factors that influence brand loyalty towards the Jewellery
outlets. Based on the factors that influence brand loyalty, the following hypotheses are
derived.
Figure 2: Hypothesis development
Quality Jewels /
Service
Retail
Environment
Designs /
Fashion
Personal Service
/ Relationship
Brand
Loyalty
Promotions
Price
Source: Primary data
H1:
H2:
H3:
There is a significant and positive relationship between Quality of the Jewels and
Brand Loyalty.
There is a significant and positive relationship between Retail Environment and
Brand Loyalty.
There is a significant and positive relationship between numerous jewel
collections / designs and Brand Loyalty.
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H4:
There is a significant and positive relationship between Personal service /
relationship and Brand Loyalty.
H5: There is a significant and positive relationship between Promotions and Brand
Loyalty.
H6: There is a significant and positive relationship between Price of Jewels and
Brand Loyalty.
H7: There is a significant and positive relationship between experience of the retailer
and effects of competitor’s advertisements.
H8: There is a significant and positive relationship between size of the retail outlet
and its sales of Jewels.
H9: There is a significant and positive relationship between Age of the retailer and
the effectiveness of the Facebook or whatsup marketing applications.
H10: There is a significant and positive relationship between educational qualification
of the retailer and usage of digital marketing strategies in jewellery retailing.
V.
Objective of the study
 To analyze the factors influencing the Brand loyalty among Jewellery retailers
in Madurai district.
 To identify the various competitive strategies adopted by the Jewellery
retailers in Madurai district.
 To study the effect of modern retail formats on traditional retail formats in
Madurai district.
VI. Research Methodology
The researcher developed a quality-assured, a well-structured questionnaire to collect the
data on various aspects and Empirical research methodology was used to analyze the data
collected so, and a findings where charted out.
A. Type of Research
A qualitative and quantitative approach was used in this research and the research is
empirical in nature.
B. Measurement and Scaling
The conceptualization and development of the questionnaire was based on the existing
literature. A Choice Based, Ranking and typical 5-point Likert scale were used to measure
the constructs presented in the survey. The survey instrument was refined during a pilot
study to ensure the internal consistency of the measured instrument, with the involvement
of 200 retailers.
The questionnaire contained 64 items in total. The first part of the instrument contained
11 questions about retailer’s profile such as age, gender, education, stream etc. The second
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part of the questionnaire contained 5 questions about the customer’s Profile, third part of
the contains 13 questions about the Retail service and Technology used by the retailer;
Fourth part of the questionnaire contained 10 questions, to study the factors influencing
marketing strategy of the jewellery retail outlet like Price, Quality, Service, Design, Layout,
personal service and other promotional offers. Fifth part of the questionnaire contains 11
questions about the effects of competition; Sixth part of the questionnaire contained 2
questions on their children taking up the business. Seventh part of the questionnaire
contains 3 questions about awareness level of the jewellery retailers in the competitive
environment.
Convenience sampling approach was adopted in order to collect the primary data and it
took a period of four month for the entire collection of data. The individuals targeted for
the collection of data for this research were Jewellers in Madurai district.
During a four months period, 217 respondents completed the survey. A total of 200
responses were collected. Seventeen responses were discarded due duplicate submissions
or incompletion, a net sample of 200 (Size is determined based on the sample standard
deviation) usable questionnaires were used in this study.
C. Tools Used
For the purpose of data analysis, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
20 was used. Statistical tests were applied to check the reliability (Skewness and Kurtosis
Test) and normality (Cronbach Test) of the data. Descriptive analysis is used to analyze the
background as well as the respondent’s profiles pertaining to their perception of brand
loyalty. The common measures such as the total, mean, variance, frequency and
percentage are used to analyze the data gathered through the questionnaires.
ANOVA is an appropriate test for hypothesis testing when there are more than two groups
measured on an interval scale. In this study, ANOVA is used to determine whether there is
any significant relationship between independent variables (Stock level and designs, Low
wastage charges, cash credit to customer, jewel exchange value for the used jewels, display
settings, Promotions and Deposit Scheme) and dependent variable like Experience of the
retailers in Jewellery Industry. One-way ANOVA is a single-factor, fixed-effects model to
compare the effects of one factor (Malhotra, 2007). This means that One-way ANOVA is
used to determine the variability of the sample values by looking at how much the
observation within each group varies as well as how much the group means varies.
Pearson Correlation was used as appropriate to analyze the relationship between the two
variables which were interval-scaled and ratio-scaled. Furthermore, correlation
coefficients reveal magnitude and direction of relationships which are suitable for
hypothesis testing (Malhotra, 2007). The researcher used Pearson correlation to test six
independent variables. (Brand Loyalty, Designed jewels, Price of the jewels including the
wastage charge and Labor / crafting cost, Personnel Service, Store Environment and
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Promotions), that influenced brand loyalty and to test if a relationship existed between the
independent and dependent variables.
VII. Analysis and Discussion
TABLE 1: Retailer’s Characteristics and Demographic profile
Factors
No of respondents Percentage (%)
Age of the Retailer
Less than 25 years
16
8.0
Between 26 and 30
17
8.5
Between 31 and 35
47
23.5
Between 36 to 40
41
20.5
Between 41 to 45
31
15.5
46 and above
48
24.0
Qualification
Up to Higher secondary 54
27.0
Diploma
33
16.5
Graduate
46
23.0
Post Graduates
18
9.0
uneducated
30
15.0
others
19
9.5
Ownership
Rental space
136
68.0
Own outlet
64
32.0
Type of location
Roadside outlet
63
31.5
Stand-alone outlet
53
26.5
shopping complex
57
28.5
Others
27
13.5
Sample Size N = 200
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As far as profile of the retailers are concerned 24% of the retailers are above 46 years old
and 23.5% of the retailers are in-between 31 and 35 years which shows that the
researcher has selected experienced retailers of right age for this study. As per Table 1, In
the total sample size around 27% of the retailers are studied up to higher secondary
followed by 23% of the retailers completed their graduation. This shows that the retailers
are not professionals and they studied up to higher education. As per Table 1, around
68% of the retailers are using the rental space for their business and 32% of the retailer
is having their own premises. From Table 1, it is clearly seen that most of the retailers
(31.5%) established their outlets in the shopping complex and 26.5% are stand-alone
outlets. Almost equal weight age has been given to select the samples from all the formats
respectively.
Table 2: Retailer’s Characteristics and Demographic profile
Factors
No of respondents Percentage (%)
Size of the Outlet:
less than 100 sq. ft.
27
13.5
100 to 200 sq. ft.
26
13.0
200 to 300 sq. ft.
50
25.0
300 to 400 sq. ft.
45
22.5
400 to 500 sq. ft.
23
11.5
Greater than 500 sq. ft.
29
14.5
Experience in Retailing
Less than 5 years
6-10
11-15
15-20
21-25
Greater than 25 years
20
23
31
32
40
54
10.0
11.5
15.5
16.0
20.0
27.0
Own Gold smith / work shop
Yes
No
47
153
23.5
76.5
Precious metals Availability
Gold
Silver
Diamond
Platinum
200
190
80
40
100
95
40
20
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Investment
Own Prosperity
Loan from Bank
Loan from third Party
No response
112
40
26
22
56
20
13
11
Total number of Retail outlets
1
156
78
2
25
12.5
3
8
4
Greater than 4
11
5.5
Sample Size N = 200
From the study when the demography of the retailers is analyzed; the cost of establishing
jewellery retail is much higher than other retail sector. The jewellery retail outlets are
classified based on sq. ft. since the majority of the jewellery outlets in Madurai district are
located in Jewellery Street named South Avani Moola Veeti was one of the high density
area. It is found that 25% of the retail outlets size is in between 200 and 300 sq. ft. and
22.5% of the retail outlets size are in between 300 and 400 sq. ft. Most of the respondents
27% are having more than 25 years of experience in jewellery Industry followed 20% of
the retailers are having experience in between 21 and 25 years in jewellery Industry and
this shows that the researcher has selected experienced jewellery retailers for this study.
Among this 76.5% of the retailer doesn’t own work shop / goldsmith and 23.5% of the
respondents have their own workshop. Almost all the retailers are selling gold jewels,
95% of the retailers are selling silver products, 40% of the respondents are having
diamond collections and only 20% of the respondents are having platinum collections.
56% of the retailer invests their own amount for the jewel business and only 20% of the
retailer depends on the bank. 78% of the respondents have only one retail outlet followed
by 12.5% has two outlets.
A. Reliability & Normality Statistics:
Table 3: Normality Statistics
Factors
Retail Technology
Marketing Strategy
Effects of competition
Awareness level
Attitude of the children
No. of Items
6
7
9
3
2
Skewness Statistics
0.393
-0.275
-0.675
-0.725
-0.145
Kurtosis Statistics
0.095
-0.311
0.265
0.091
-0.479
Sample Size N = 200
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Table 3 shows the normality analysis of the data. Skewness and Kurtosis were calculated
to ascertain the normality of the data. The values of both of these descriptive i.e.
skewness and kurtosis for all the variables fall between the acceptable value of +1 and -1
hence, it portrays that the data is normally distributed.
Table 4: Reliability Statistics
No. of
Items
Factors
Retail Technology
Marketing Strategy
Effects of competition
Awareness level
Attitude of the children
6
7
9
3
2
Cronbach
Alpha
0.710
0.711
0.809
0.803
0.659
Mean
3.064
3.10
3.18
3.47
2.99
S.D
0.739
0.743
0.742
0.982
1.068
Sample Size N = 200
The above Table 4 shows the reliability of the data, which was tested using Cronbach’s
alpha. The acceptable value for Cronbach alpha is 0.6. As for all the variables, the value of
Cronbach alpha is above the acceptable value, this shows that the data collected from the
survey is reliable.
Jewellery industry is as dynamic as it is fast growing. Consequential changes are under
way, both in consumer behavior as well as in the industry itself. Jewellery players can’t
simply do business as usual and expect to thrive; they must be alert and responsive to
important trends and developments or else risk being left behind by more agile
competitors. The table 4 also shows the mean values for the variables. The average
respondent score on overall attitude towards retail technology, Marketing Strategy is
found to be 3.06 and 3.1 respectively on a five point Likert scale, with 1 the least favorable
and 5 the most favorable. This is above the neutral score of 3, which implies that
respondents’ overall attitude towards upgrading the outlet to new technology and
adopting new marketing strategy was positive. It also shows that the retailers are aware of
the external environment and competitive promotional strategy affects their sales and
profit.
B. Weighted Average Method
Madurai consumers have been using jewellery for adornment since centuries. The
significance of jewellery in the district is evident from the fact that on many auspicious
occasions, gold jewels forms a part of gifts. Though the trend of men adoring themselves
has now faded away, many of them still use earrings, bracelets, etc. However, it is the
women for whom jewellery holds utmost significance. In Madurai, jewels are considered
auspicious for women. Even poorest of poor women will have some kind of jewels with
them. From the table 5, we provided the respondents with a ranking scale to rate the
assorted categories of jewels on the basis of sales, to obtain their most and least preferred
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pick of those jewels by their customers. It was found that majority of the retailers sell
Necklace and Chain as the most preferred consideration. Rings and Bangles were the
subsequently preferred jewels. The research shows that women jewels are sold most than
men.
Table 5: Assorted Categories of Jewels
Jewels
Weighted Average Rank
Necklace 76.5
1
Chain
76.4
2
Rings
75
3
Bangles
74
4
Sample Size N = 200
It is statistically evident from the Table 6 that, around 39% of the regular customers are
from rural area and 37.5% of the customers are from both rural and urban area in
Madurai district. As per Table 6, it is noted that 39.5 % of the sales are through purchase
order and 33.5% of the sales are through on-spot delivery and purchase order. As for as
decision making in a nuclear family who are visiting the outlet is concerned; the parents
(55%) are the final decision maker followed by their children with 51%. Relatives/
Friends are at 39.5% and as a whole family at 41.5% respectively.
Table 6: Customer’s Profile
Factors
No of respondents
Region of the customer
Urban
42
Rural
78
Both
75
others
5
Percentage (%)
21.0
39.0
37.5
2.5
Majority of your sales:
Order Process
On spot delivery
Both
79
54
67
39.5
27.0
33.5
Decision Maker
Parents
Children
Relatives / Friends
Group decision
110
102
79
83
55
51
39.5
41.5
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C. Facilities and Services
In the 1980s to 2000, Local Jewellers were the clear leaders in Madurai district. Today,
many other district, State, and national jewelers have been outpaced Local players by
such as Kalayan and Lalitha Jewellers. Others have built or expanded their presence In
Madurai district. Now, jewellery retailing has become a truly challenging business in
Madurai district.
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S.No
Table 7: Facilities and Services
Facilities and Services
1
2
Point-of-Sale (POS) machine
Computerized accounting, inventory control (s/w)
etc.
3
Air-conditioning environment
4
Spy Camera
5
Website
6
Price Tag
7
Parking Facilities
8
Music and Scent
9
Employee dress code
Sample Size N = 200
Current
Use
Yes
No
20
80
22
78
Future
Yes
29
34
No
71
66
57
41.5
6.5
6.5
35
31
19
80
70
18.5
15.5
40
42
23
20
30
81.5
84.5
60
58
77
43
58.5
93.5
93.5
65
69
81
Selling Jewelry is more complicated than many other retail goods; there are ways and
tools available to make it simpler and less cumbersome so that the retailer or manager
can concentrate on how to run it as tight and as profitable using new technology. From
the Table 7, it is clear that 20% of the retailers are using POS Machine and remaining 80%
of the retailers are not use POS Machine. In Future only 29% of the retailers are willing to
use it. Only 22% of the retailers are using computerized accounting and inventory control
software and 34% of the retailer shows their willing ness to use POS Machine in Future.
57% of the retail outlets are air conditioned and in Future, 80 % of the retailers agreed to
upgrade their outlet in an air-conditioned environment. 41.5% of the retailer have spy
camera for security reasons and in future 70% of the retailer agreed to have spy camera.
In the total sample size only 6.5% of the retailers are having website and in Future it was
only 18.5%. Around 35% of the retailers are having adequate parking facilities for the
customer and in future 40% of the retailers are equipped with the same facilities for the
customer. Currently 31% of the jewelers are using Music and Scent and it will increase up
to 42% in Future. 19% of the retailers are specifying proper dress code for the employee
and it will rise up to 23% in future.
D. Henry Garett Ranking Method
Retailers opinion towards the changes made in the jewellery retail outlets in the past five
years was collected and the first five factors are ranked based on Henry Garett Ranking
Method are listed in Table 8.
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ISBN: 978-0-9948937-0-3
Table 8: Henry Garett Ranking Method
Advertisements
Rank
Reduced wastage charge
1
Offer BIS Hallmark Jewels
2
Improved display settings
3
Introduced Branded jewels
4
Promotions / Advertisement 5
Sample Size N = 200
E. Experience of the retailer versus Factors of Marketing Strategy
One-Way ANOVA analysis between the Marketing Strategy and experience of the retailer
in the jewellery industry was executed. The objective of the analysis is to find out whether
there is significant relationship between the variables.
Table: 9 Experience of the retailer versus Factors of Marketing Strategy
(One-Way ANOVA)
Marketing Strategies
df Mean Square F
Sig.
Stock level and designs
5 1.239
.872 .001
Promote discount, Bonus, Free gift 5 .444
.356 .878
cash credit to customer
5 .926
.683 .637
resale value for gold
5 1.583
1.573 .169
display settings
5 4.131
3.621 .004
wastage charges than competitors 5 3.466
2.275 .049
Deposit Scheme
5 2.796
2.142 .062
Sample Size N = 200
The results of the analysis are presented in Table 9. There are three variables that are
significant which are Stock level (.001), jewel Display settings (.004) and wastage charges
(0.049). In the Jewellery Industry, the overall results show that retailers prefer to upgrade
display settings, Increase stock level and reduce wastage charges to replace the existing
customer in the competitive environment.
[159]
0.08
0.08
1.12
1.076
1.1
2
1.0
9
1.17
1.09
3.31
3.41
1.07
51.5
54
1.0
1
1.06
SE
SD
0.08
0.0
7
0.08
0.076
0.0
8
0.0
7
27.5
I would like to make my store more modern by doing up
the interiors with better shelving, lighting, display ,etc.
28
0.08
Mean
3.2
3.0
2
3.3
3.42
2.6
9
3.3
1
21
2.75
Agree
38
24.
5
52
58.5
22.
5
51.
5
Neither
agree nor
disagree
41
52
22.5
21.5
25.
5
20.5
23.
5
25.5
I would like to introduce new methods of customer
service.
18
I am having sufficient resources to change my business
formats.
23.5
I would like to change my business strategy in keeping
with modern times.
26
Has your business increased over the last 5 years
25
Has the number of customers fallen due to the heavy
advertisement campaign of the leading retail outlets
20
Has there been any change in your business after any
new, national and International players opening nearby.
52
I am looking for other avenues because my business is
not sustainable over the long run.
22.
5
I have a set of loyal/regular customers that will not
change even if new, more modern retailers come in.
51.5
The Effects of Competition
Disagree
Table 10: Effects of Competition
Sample Size N = 200
From the Table 10 it is clear that 41% of the retailers were neither agree nor disagree
with the statement that loyal/regular customers that will not change even if new, more
modern retailers establish their retail outlets in Madurai district. 52% of the retailers
were neither agree nor disagree with the statement that their business is not sustainable
over the long run. 52% of the retailers agreed that there is a change in their business after
any new, National and state level jewelers opened their outlets nearby. 58.5% of the
retailers agreed that the number of customers fallen due to the heavy advertisement
campaign of the leading retail outlets in Madurai district. The heavy Promotional /
advertisement campaign of the national and state level players shows that significant
level of difference in retail store image, Jewels availability, and choice of brands, price
[160]
Article
ISBN: 978-0-9948937-0-3
discounts, complements, proximity, and credit among the customers. 52% of the retailers
disagreed that their business increased for the past 5 years. Therefore, this study clearly
point out that the Local retailers are facing stiff competition from the national and state
level retailers. This has been reduced their sales, profit, and employment considerably for
the past 10 years. 54% of their retailers agreed that they would like to make their outlets
more modern by doing up the interiors with better shelving, lighting, display, etc. 51.5%
of the retailers agreed that would like to change their business strategy in keeping with
modern times. The presence of large retailers forced the local jewelers and Family
Jewelers to provide better care to their customers. This is very essential for the customer
retention and Brand Loyalty. 51.5% of the retailers like to introduce new methods of
customer service. Majority of the retailers in Madurai district made dramatic changes in
their ambience of the outlet to retain the existing customers and attract new customers
with sophisticated facility and more space and additional service. The operational cost,
consumer credit also increased at certain level due to the competitive environment in
Madurai district.51.5% of the retailers agreed that they are having sufficient resources to
change their business formats to customer needs and wants.
F. Correlation Analysis
This research investigated factors influencing brand loyalty in Madurai district and
studied six dimensions that potentially influence consumer purchase behavior. Six
hypotheses were developed to test the relationship between various factors and Brand
Loyalty. Correlation values of factors influencing Brand Loyalty of Personnel Service and
numerous designs are estimated to be 0.580 and 0.509 respectively and their significance
value is less than 0.003 and 0.001. This shows that all the two variables have a strong
positive significant relationship.
Retail Environment and Price are estimated to be 0.193 and 0.115 respectively and their
significance value is 0.001 and 0.006. This shows that the two variables have a Moderate
positive significant relationship. Table 11 indicates that jewels Designs, Personnel
Service, price and Retail Environment does affect brand loyalty to a greater extent.
1
.509**
.115*
.580**
.193**
.130
1
.200**
.243**
1
.172*
Promotions
1
.189**
.169*
.208**
Store
Environment
1
.405**
.367**
.382**
.377**
Personnel
Service
Price
Brand Loyalty
Design
Price
Personnel Service
Store Environment
Promotions
Design
Brand
Loyalty
Table 11: Correlation Matrix
1
[161]
Note. * p < .05, ** p < .01 N = 400
Source: Primary data Sample Size N = 200
G. Retail Technology and Services
SE
SD
0.08
1
1.14
3
0.07
9
1.11
6
0.078
0.08
8
1.24
3
1.105
3.15
3.09
1.188
0.07
6
1.06
9
39.5
37
0.084
Mean
3.6
2.93
3.06
38
My general intention to use mobile marketing
services is very high.
32.5
2.57
Agree
62
30.5
32
22.5
21
Neither
agree nor
disagree
19.5
38.5
47.5
18.5
By using advertising messages via the mobile
phone I can demonstrate my product and service to
my customers.
30.5
Having a website enhance my business
23.5
My Facebook/what’s up marketing is effective
31
Now a days Social media was important in the
businesses
20.5
Now a day, Technology (computerization, bar
coding, etc) can add much value to my business.
55.5
RETAIL TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES
Disagree
Table 12: Retail Technology and Services
Sample Size N = 200
From the Table 12 it is clear that 62% of the retailers agreed that now a day, Technology
(computerization, bar coding, etc) can add much value to jewel business. 38% of the
retailers are neither agree nor disagree with the statement that Social media is important
in the businesses. 47.5% of the retailers neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement
that their Facebook/what’s up marketing are effective. 58% of the retailers disagreed
with the statement that website enhance their business. 39.5% of the retailers agreed
that by using advertising messages via the mobile phone jewelers can demonstrate their
product and service to their customers. 37% of their retailers agreed that their general
intention to use mobile marketing services is very high.
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ISBN: 978-0-9948937-0-3
H. Awareness level of the Retailer
The Table 13 clearly shows that 55.5% of the retailers agreed that they would like to keep
themselves updated with all the current business news related to jewels. 52.5% of the
retailers agreed that they usually know about the business Practices of their closest
competitors. 55.5% of the retailers agreed that they will follow the budget closely every
year and are aware of government policies that affect their business.
SE
1.139
1.058
1.084
SD
0.075
0.077
0.081
Mean
3.43
3.48
3.5
Agree
52.5
55.5
Neither
agree nor
disagree
55.5
18.5
26
30.5
I follow the budget closely every year and am aware of
government policies that affect my business.
26.5
I usually know about the business Practices of my closest
competitors.
17
I like to keep myself updated with all the current
business news related to jewels.
18
Retail Technology And Services
Disagree
Sample Size N = 200
I. Attitude of the children taking up the business
0.08
8
1.24
9
0.08
2
1.15
6
SE
2.78
2.97
SD
26
30
Mean
31.5
I would like my children to get into my business but
will leave the choice to them.
9
Agree
42.5
Neither
agree nor
disagree
I would definitely like my children to continue with
the same business.
31
Disagree
Attitude of your children taking up your
business
Sample Size N = 200
[163]
The Table 14 it is clearly shows that 42.5% of the retailers like their children to continue
with the same business. 31% of the retailers agreed that like their children to get into
their business but will leave the choice to them.
J. Chi square test
Table 15: Chi Square Test Results
No.
Hypothesis
Experience of the retailer and
effects of Advertisements.
H7
size of the retail outlets and
the sales in the past five
years.
Age of the retailer and the
H9
effectivenes of the facebook
or whatsup marketing.
Educational qualification of
the retailer and digital
H10
marketing
in
jewellery
retailing.
Sample Size N = 200
H8
Results
Not Supported
Supported
Not Supported
Supported
Reasons
Chi Square results, df
value = 20, Asymp. Sig. (2sided) = 0.696
value = 20, Asymp. Sig. (2sided) = 0.00
value = 20, Asymp. Sig. (2sided) =0.238
value = 16, Asymp. Sig. (2sided)=0.005
The Table 15 shows the results of chi-square Test for four hypotheses. Two of the four
hypotheses were not supported by the data, consistent with previous literature in most
cases. In the cases, Size of the retail outlets influences the sales of the Jewels and there is a
relationship between Educational Qualification of the retailer and the digital marketing
strategy. Experience in Jewellery Industry has no influence on the advertisement and
there is no relationship between age wise classification of the retailer and usage of
whatsup or Facebook marketing.
K. Best Business Practices
S.No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Table 15: Best Business Practices
Best Business Practices
Improve display settings
Increase Stock level and introduce numerous designs
Extend cash credit to customer
Promote discount, Bonus, Free gift
Reduce the wastage charges than competitors
Offer high resale value for the used gold jewels
Deposit Scheme
Mean
3.5
3.33
3.3
2.9
2.98
2.88
2.71
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
[164]
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ISBN: 978-0-9948937-0-3
Sample Size N = 200
Table 15 shows that there were seven independent variable factors of brand loyalty that
were tested by the researcher through the questionnaires distributed to jewellers. The
Likert scale was used in the questionnaire: 1 indicates strongly disagree, 2 indicate
disagree, 3 indicate neutral, 4 indicate agree and 5 indicate strongly agree. The result is
derived from the highest mean score of factors of brand loyalty based on the respondents’
answers. Madurai Jewellers particularly choose display settings as the main factor that
influences brand loyal customers. The study shows that numerous designs with BIS Hall
Mark jewels influence on brand loyalty while cash credit was the third most preferred
factors in influencing the customers.
VIII. Limitations
This research has certain limitation, based on the geographical location and access
facility. Primary focus has been given to prepare a concrete base to analyze the present
scenario on the various developments in Jewellery retail industry in Madurai district.
IX.
Conclusions
The Madurai Jewelry industry seems poised for a glittering future. But the industry is as
dynamic as it is fast growing. Consequential changes are under way, both in consumer
behavior as well as in the industry itself. Madurai Jewellery Industry is changing now and
national and state level retailers opened their outlets and running successfully. Modern
Jewellery retailers offer Jewels with numerous designs and offers a better shopping
experience. Jewellers can’t simply do business as usual and expect to thrive; they must be
alert and responsive to important trends and developments or else risk being left behind
by more agile competitors. Every jewelry outlets should seek to strengthen and
differentiate its brands through unique, distinctive designs. The trend toward branded
jewelry will be especially hard on small size retailers, who don’t have the marketing
muscle of the large jewelry groups.
According to the perception of the family and traditional jewellers in Madurai district, the
behavior of the consumer is much changed due to opening of national and state level
players with huge advertisement campaign. Local and family Jewellers follow their own
strategies to maintain their customer base. They are more stick to satisfy their more short
of loyal customer by maintaining personnel relationship with the customers. Most of the
Jewellery retailers in rural area of Madurai district offer non-banking financial services to
the customers. They add this service as a main promotional tool for them. The most
important thing behind loyalty of customers is kind behavior and helpful nature of the
retailers. The small and medium size retailers should upgrade their outlets with latest
designs and technology. The key findings of the study are the improved service quality of
[165]
the services provided and three dimensions, namely Personal relationship, Quality and
Retail Layout including display settings, were significant to brand loyalty.
X.
Managerial Implications
Results showed that the retail layout including display settings dimension has the
strongest power to predict Brand loyalty. Jewellery retailers therefore need to continually
track their customer’s perceptions on this dimension when formulating their service
strategies. Even though some retail service quality dimensions (Personal Interaction,
Physical aspects and designs) were found to be positively related to brand loyalty, their
associations were only moderate. This is because there were still some factors such as
store location, prices, promotion activities, after-sales service and economic environment
that affect customer loyalty. All these variables are believed to be additional important
elements for customers become a brand loyal customer. Personal Interaction, Design and
Fashion Jewels, Store Layout including windows display and Price were relatively
influential factors that affected Brand Loyalty. To improve the Personal Interaction
dimension, retailers can focus on the customers that show a specific relationship with the
retail brand and with the retailer. To improve the Physical Aspects, renovation of the
outlet (for example, to make it more modern and fashionable) is useful to change the
perception of customers and give them a brand new image. Staff uniforms and service
materials like catalogues should also be improved so that a better impression can be
provided to customers.
XI. Acknowledgment
Authors wish to acknowledge all those who had supported this work. Authors had taken
account of every detail to provide information properly to the reader. All the data obtained
and produced in this research is of original work done by the concerned authors and they
are responsible for the data collected, interpreted and published. if readers of this article
found any data, details to be misguiding, misinterpreted, wrongly judged the same may be
brought to the notice of the authors. Proper and necessary reference is given to all the
works referred by authors and if any work is neglected it is non voluntary and can be
added if brought to notice of the authors.
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