Abstract

Fast moving consumer goods industry is in spotlight as it is growing with rapid swiftness over last decade peculiarly in rural domain. However, few studies provide insight into rural penetration but there is no study which gains insight into comparison among compensatory and non-compensatory structures of rural folks in consumer packed goods segment. This qualitative study explores the metamorphosis of significance of evaluative criteria betwixt compensatory and non-compensatory structures of three FMCG products i.e. toothpaste, shampoo and soap among rural consumers. The present study is conducted in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh which is in northern part of India. Multistage proportionate sampling technique was used for data collection and data were collected through self-administrated questionnaire. The results of the study illustrate that criteria’s such as shop location, style, shelf display, date of manufacture and credit facility available with the seller are not used by the rural folks prior to purchasing FMCG products. Moreover, for criteria’s such as attractive packaging, quality, quantity, brand, organic product, price, more features of product, country of origin, behaviour of retailer, special offer and discount, availability and medical use of products there is same level of importance, regardless of compensatory or noncompensatory decision rule. Besides, results demonstrate that retailer recommendations, effect of advertisement, friends and family recommendations vary in prominence between compensatory and non-compensatory decision rules among countryside folks.

Key words: Rural, FMCG, Compensatory, Non-Compensatory