Significant Decline in Celebrity Usage in Advertising: A Review

-- Christian Schimmelpfennig and Svend Hollensen

Over the decades, the use of celebrities in advertising has increased. Research suggests that in western countries between 20% and 30% of all advertising used celebrities in the late 1990s. During the past 10 years, however, the use of celebrities in advertising has plunged. This paper discusses why advertisers are turning away from using major celebrities in their campaigns, and what alternative individuals may be used instead of the celebrities.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Factors Influencing Halal Products Purchase Intention in India: Preliminary Investigation

-- Adil Khan and Mohammad Khalid Azam

This research investigates consumer purchase intention for halal certified products in India and the motives which influence the consumption behavior of these consumers. Globally, marketers and researchers have discovered a consumer segment that is halal market, with a very high potential. The potential of global halal market, excluding Islamic finance, is USD2.3 tn. As this is a largely untapped market, the current research focuses on understanding India’s large Muslim consumers’ segment. The study employs a survey instrument based on the ‘Theory of Planned Behavior’. Apart from the three variables of original model, viz. attitude towards behavior, subjective norm and perceived behavior control, religiosity is also considered in the model to check its impact on purchase intention for halal certified products. Hypotheses are tested using correlation and regression analyses. The study finds that attitude and perceived behavior control are the significant and most important factors influencing the purchase intention for halal certified products. On the other hand, it finds that religiosity and subjective norms are insignificant factors, which is against the common sense belief considering the religious connotation of the products in question.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Store Choice: Understanding the Shoppers’ Preference in Selecting an Apparel Multi-Brand Outlet

-- M Rupesh Kumar and A G V Narayanan

This study aims to find out the factors influencing the shoppers’ preference in selecting a Multi-Brand Outlet (MBO). Then, it aims to determine the factors influencing shoppers’ decision in selecting one category from the three retail categories considered in this study such as staying with the same MBO, to move from one MBO to another and to shift to an MBO from an Exclusive Brand Outlet (EBO). The study was conducted among 400 respondents in Coimbatore city, India. The data was analyzed using Kendall’s (W) coefficient of concordance for arriving at the mean ranking. The study concludes that store image is the most important factor preferred by the respondents in selecting an MBO. Further, store image and wider choice are the two major reasons for shoppers to move from one MBO to another. Finally, the offers and promotions are the major reasons indicated by the shoppers to come to an MBO from an EBO. This paper is an effort to assist the retailers to understand the important factors affecting the shoppers’ choice of an MBO.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

Consumer Awareness and Consumer Activism Among Adolescents: A Socialization Perspective

-- Amardeep Kaur Ahluwalia and Preeti Sanan

Children are the most vulnerable segment of the market. They get easily influenced by the tactics used by the marketers. They should possess knowledge about their rights and duties as consumers, so that they do not fall into the trap of marketers. This study aims to examine the level of consumer affairs knowledge and consumer activism among adolescents. It also examines the influence of various socialization agents like parents, peers, mass media, school and demographic variables like age, gender and economic class of adolescents on consumer affairs knowledge and consumer activism. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 800 adolescents between the age of 10 and 17 years of different government and private schools in Punjab. Statistical techniques like t-test, correlation and regression analysis were used. The results suggest that male adolescents, older adolescents and adolescents belonging to upper economic class have more consumer affairs knowledge and perform consumer activism more frequently. As per regression analysis, mass media influences consumer affairs knowledge, while parents and TV have been found to be significant socialization agents for consumer activism.

© 2016 IUP. All Rights Reserved.