Emerging distribution channel effectiveness in rural jharkhand for consumer electronics

Rural market is attracting marketers because of its massive size, increasing income, improving infrastructure and saturated urban market. This study focused on effectiveness of distribution channel with specific reference to emerging channel especially e-commerce. The study classified into three major parts. First part deals with emerging distribution channels in rural landscape, second one explains after sales services and decision making for consumer electronics and third part deals with webrooming and showrooming. In this study, conclusive and cross-section study had been used and one-way ANOVA to analyze the result. The scope of the study was Jharkhand and to make market representative quota sampling was used. Quota classification was done based on consumer durable consumption of rural districts that are laggards, contenders and leaders. Research found that there is an emergence of innovative distribution channels and e-commerce is integrating and coming out as one of the potential medium to reach out rural market in an effective and profitable way. After sales services are important considerations in decision making, salespeople or retailer influence consumers' decision. Showroomers are those who live in semi-urban areas of leader rural districts. Showroomers are younger people less than 45 years of age and belong to higher income group. The webroomers are living in laggard and contender rural districts and live in rural belt and belong to lower income strata. Webroomers do more research and price sensitive. The study was unique and first of its own kind because in India such study had never been done for rural market.