*Doctoral Scholar, Bharathiar School of Management & Entrepreneur Development, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641046, India.
**Associate Professor, Bharathiar School of Management & Entrepreneur Development, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641046, India.
The rural Indian economy, growing at 8–10 per cent every year, will be adding $90–100 billion of new consumption in the next five years, over the current base of $240–250 billion. There are many factors supporting this growth: increasing incomes due to good monsoons and government initiatives and schemes; employment opportunities in infrastructure and industry projects across the country and; emphasis on local employability. Rural India offers a similar opportunity for modern retail as well. The initial set of modern retail initiatives here have been mostly centered on farm equipment and produce, or stripped-down versions of urban concepts. The opportunity is now large enough to develop concepts that are ‘Built for Rural India,’ where all elements are built around the requirements, challenges and complexities of the market as well as the availability (or lack) of products and services. The study was undertaken in the rural areas of Coimbatore district to understand the purchase pattern of rural consumers, the role of retailer as a source of information to the rural respondents and to analyze the retailer influence on purchase decision across demographic profile of rural respondents. A sample of 392 respondents was interviewed using a structured interview schedule and the results were analyzed using SPSS tools. The results help in getting a clear view of the gap in efficient usage of the rural retailer as a source of marketing communication and influencer of rural consumer's purchase decision.
Rural Retailing, Brand Message, Rural Consumer Buying Behavior
