Sem: Sep-2024 Maximum Marks: 50 Examination: End Exam Date: September 25, 2024 Duration: 2.5hrs
Programme code:17 Programme: PGDM-(Executive) G&B	Class: FY	Semester: IV Batch-1
College: K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management	Name of the department/Section/Center: Marketing and International Business
Course Code: 117I17E412	Name of the Course: Consumer behaviour
Instructions: 1. Answer THREE questions. 2. Question ONE is compulsory. Answer any other TWO questions. 3. Supplement your answers with suitable examples where necessary. 4. Explain with the help of theories/ concepts wherever necessary. 5. Begin each answer on a new page.

Question No.	Max. Marks
1	Write Short notes on Any One of the following: Discuss the influence of the role of Freudian theory (id, ego, and super ego) and the influence it may exert on a purchase decision. Define Routine problem solving, Limited problem solving and Extensive problem solving. Which of them would you expect most consumers to follow in their purchase of Luxury handbags? Relevance and significance of consumer behaviour for marketers.	05
2.	Explain briefly the five stages in the Consumer buying decision process. Discuss the same in the case of (Attempt Any One) A family tour and travel package for a middle-class family for an international trip. Purchase of a luxury car.	10
3	The resemblance of certain private brand packaging to the packaging of nationally known brands has been so close at times that they have been described most often as lookalikes. Discuss this in view of the phenomena of Stimulus generalization and Stimulus discrimination. Cite examples to show how companies use the above concepts to market their products.	10
4	Hey, they’ve shrunk the kid’s chocolate bar. You may not have noticed it, but you may be getting fewer bangs for your buck. The price of your favorite brand of noodles or biscuits may have remained constant despite inflation, but what about the quantity? When Abhishek Mathur, a student, was told by his friends that the ubiquitous Rs: 10 Maggi pack now had 20% less quantity, he was less than amused, although he had not noticed the change. Chances are most people are buying soaps, bread and biscuits thinking companies have not passed on to the consumer the higher prices in packaged goods, but to protect margins amid rising costs, food and fast-moving consumer goods companies are cutting down on quantity-grammage in trade parlance. Product Price (Rs.) Weight (Grams) Then Now Lays Chips 20 68 61 Good day biscuits 10 100 84.5 Dairy Milk Chocolate 20 50 38 Britannia Bread 12 400 375 Maggi 10 100 80 Haldiram Snacks 10 52 48 Lux Soap 10 75 65 Experts say reducing quantity while maintaining a constant price helps companies protect their volumes. “The FMCG category is highly price sensitive. Prices of items can be increased only to some extent. Reducing grammages (quantity) will help these companies retain their customers as well as their market shares,” said Pratichee Kapoor, associate director for retail at consulting firm Technopak. For retailers across cities, the move has hardly spelt a difference over the past 6 months since the trend started. Most retailers continue to witness significant growth, despite price rises and quantity cuts. Food and personal care items are rarely potential areas of compromise for consumers, they reason. “It’s the consumers in the middle of the pyramid that are not much affected by these cuts in grammages. If the company succeeds in communicating better value proposition to this section, the strategy is sustainable for them. Impulse items, especially, can protect their volumes by going for grammage reductions,” said Raj Hosahalli, executive director, Nielsen India. So, the next time you go shopping, make sure you don’t end up buying smaller quantities while staying within budget. Questions: Why has this strategy of grammage reduction (shrinkage) by marketers gone unnoticed by the consumers? Base the answer on your understanding of the absolute threshold and the differential threshold concepts of perception. Will such a strategy be useful in another category of products? Give reasons for your answer. How will this knowledge of quantity reduction affect the future behavior of the consumers of these products?	10