Consumer behavior is an activity which people engage in, when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of goods and services to satisfy their needs, wants and desires. It includes a blend of psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It helps marketers to understand buyer decision process which helps them to frame marketing strategies for their goods and services. This issue makes our readers understand different perspectives of consumer behavior.

The first paper titled, "The Mediating Role of Demographics and Time Pressure in Information Search Process: A Comparative Analysis of English and Indian Consumers", by Brinder S Saigal, Bikram Jit Singh Mann and Rashmi, analyzes the mediating role of demographics and time pressure in the information search process of consumers for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) in UK and India. This study compares the information search behavior of consumers of a developed country and an emerging economy to determine the characteristics of high and low information seekers.

The study done in the second paper, "A Review of Placement Literature: Conceptual and Managerial Implications", by Sonal Kureshi and Vandana Sood, reviews the literature on product placements to develop three frameworks for three frequently used mediatelevision shows, movies and games. These frameworks are used to draw managerial implications regarding use of placements, target choice, brand choice, design issues and legal considerations.

The third paper titled, "Parental Perception of the Impact of Television Advertisements on Children's Buying Behavior", by Manish Mittal, Anisha Daga, Ginni Chhabra and Jyoti Lilani, discusses the impacts of television advertisements on children. Besides providing knowledge about the products and brands, advertisements also create negative impact on children. It demonstrates that children demand only those products whose advertisements they like. Often times these advertisements result in unhealthy eating habits among them. This study was conducted in Indore, a city in Central India, using a sample size of 300 parents.

The fourth paper, "Identification of Secondary Factors that Influence Consumer's Buying Behavior for Soaps and Chocolates", by Manoj Patwardhan, Preeti Flora and Amit Gupta, attempts to identify the factors affecting Consumer's buying behavior based on two commonly used productssoaps and chocolates. These factors are based on certain variables like packaging, price, availability, ingredients, product popularity, etc.

The fifth paper, "Factors Influencing Purchase of Apparels from Organized Retail Outlets", by Isita Lahiri and Pradip Kumar Samanta, seeks to identify the factors the consumer's buying behavior is influenced by in retail apparel segment and to assess the importance of each of them to consumers in selecting apparel from organized retail outlets.

The sixth paper titled, "Consumer Attitude Towards Environment-Friendly Products: A Comparative Analysis", by Ubba Savita and Naresh Kumar, focuses on the usage of environment-friendly products by comparing the attitudes of males and females as well as urban and rural consumers. The outcome of the study is that there are no significant differences in the attitudes gender-wise, except in the case of after-use features of environment-friendly products. While compared to rural, urban people have more favorable attitude towards environment-friendly products.

The present issue concludes with the paper titled, "Viral Marketing of Retail Products: A Study on the Influence of Attributes of Web Portals and Incentives Offered on User Registrations", by Shailendra Dasari and B Anandakrishnan. The paper discusses the evolution of viral marketing, its efficacy as a promotional tool and relevance for Indian retail sector. On the basis of two separate surveys conducted, the authors have identified the key factors that influence the connectors to register with a portal and send/receive messages, and the results are validated with the help of advanced statistical techniques.

-- B Shafiulla,
Consulting Editor