Women as Consumers of Household Durables – A Behavioural Study

Purchase practices of women consumers of household durables were studied in 2021-2022 by interviewing 150 women of Kanpur city of Uttar Pradesh (UP) state. The results revealed that in majority of households (76.4 and 74.8%) women claimed to be the initiators for the purchase of furniture and electronic devices respectively, whereas 51.2 and 66.4 per cent of respondents claimed to be the sole buyers of furnishing items and kitchen tools. However, very few respondents were involved in making purchase decisions about conveyance items. Reputed retail showrooms were the most preferred purchase outlets for furniture and furnishing items, authorized dealers for electronic devices, whereas majority of respondents showed preference for company showrooms for conveyance items. A sizeable number of respondents (41.6%) confessed that they were always attached towards discount offers. The pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase practices of majority of respondents were not up to optimum satisfaction level. Women consumers were submissive and inactive in taking action against shopkeepers and dealers who cheated them, and had no inclination to approach any consumer organization for getting redressal of their grievances.