COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
CHAPTERS: Chapter 1-5
|
DOC FORMAT: MS WORD/PDF
|
PRICE: ₦5,000
ABSTRACT
The consumers have varied influences that affect their buying decisions and among these are the pricing tactics and strategies of the marketing firm. Most consumers are utility maximizes; many of them always look for value-to-cost when they make buying decision. In some situations, consumers extensively involve in haggling in order to justify economic value to their purchase. The traditional open native/localmarket structure which differs from the conventional markets, departmental stores, etc. encourages haggling in all traditional market settings in Africa and Nigeria in particular. Haggling is a common feature in these markets as consumers use it to assert their rights to bargain and participate fully in the selling process. Haggling usually occurs in markets and major open markets especially in consumer buying situations where core-value purchases are involved, even “Ogi or Akamu” which is not high value purchase also attract haggling. This determines the final price agreed between the parties and the nature of the offer package that will be provided for that price. Price haggling is concerned with communication processes that take place between the two parties to arrive at a mutually acceptable bargain. Most consumers widely articulated that when making purchases in open markets, the haggling price arrived at may determine their repeat purchases and selected retail traders in the subsequent purchases. Furthermore, in recent times, it has not been ascertained whether the issue of price haggling or negotiation is suitably effective for our marketing system. Thus, this study evaluated the effects of price haggling as a strategy for consumer buying at selected traditional markets in Ibadan. This study sought to: (i) assess the effects of price haggling on consumers’ decision making, (ii) determine the effects of price haggling on consumers’ repeat patronage, (iii) ascertain the effects of price haggling on open market system and (iv) examine the effects of price haggling and negotiation on consumer/seller relationship.The descriptive and survey design were used. The population of the study was 1276 registered traders from the five (5) major traditional markets in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The sample of 305 was selected using the Taro Yamane formula. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the respondents from each of the selected markets. Data was collected using the questionnaire research instrument. A pilot study was conducted and responses tested with Cronabch’s Alpha, giving a coefficient of 0.81, indicating the reliability of the instrument. Validity of instruments was measured using content validity. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. The statistical tools used in the study were the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) linear regression and Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z-test Statistics. These were done with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 17.0) software. The study revealed that price haggling has a significant effect on consumers’ buying decision making, is significantly effective on consumers’ repeat patronage, has positive effects on open market operation and has significant effects on consumer/seller relationship. It was recommended that improvement should be made on the haggling process that will ensure trust, fairness and justified price for product purchase, and Sellers should set retail price range which has a minimum and maximum price of goods, thereby creating a situation where no party in the haggling process is or feels cheated.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers’needs and wants better than competitors. Successful marketing requires that companies fully connect with their customers. This calls for adopting a holistic marketing orientation which means understanding customers and gaining a full turn-around view of both their daily lives and the changes that occur during their lifetimes so that the right products are marketed to the right customers in the right way. These consumers have varied influences that affect their buying decisions and among these are the pricing tactics and strategies of the marketing firm (Kotler and Armstrong 2007:5).
Brassington and Pettitt (2003:392) defined price as the value that is placed on something. Usually, the price is measured in money, as a convenient medium of exchange that allows price to be set quite precisely. This is not necessarily always the case.However, goods and services may be bartered, or there may be circumstances where monetary exchanges are not appropriate.
Zeithaml (1998:17) noted that from the buyer’s perspective, price represents the value they attach to whatever is being exchanged. Up to the point of purchase, the marketer has been making promises to the potential buyer about what this product is and what it can do for that customer. The customer is going to weigh up those promises against the price and decide, whether it is worth paying.
There is much competition for consumers’ disposable income. This is reflected in both the range of different product markets available for them to spend in and the variety of products competing in any one market. Consumers also have a great deal of discretion over whether they spend or not. There are very few real necessities and, on many occasions consumers buy because they want to, rather than because they need to (Achumba 2001:17).
Also, as a result of the fact that consumers are largely buying to please themselves, their assessments of competing products in most markets is often informal, non-rational or emotional or even none existent. McCarthy and Perrault (2005:172) stated that psychological factors can play a much greater role than analytical skills. Even where hard product information is provided, the consumer does not necessarily make the effort to digest it properly or retain it. Price too, as has already been pointed out, may be interpreted variously, depending on the individual customer.
Most consumers are utility maximizers; many of them always look for value-to-cost when they make buying decisions. In some situations, consumers are extensively involved in haggling in order to justify economic value for their purchase. Stanton and Sommers (1985:17) opined that in Business to Business (B2B) markets and major open markets in consumer buying situations where high-value purchases are involved, haggling usually takes place. This determines the final price agreed between the parties and the nature of the offer package that will be provided for that price. Price haggling, according to Lysons (1993:215), is concerned with communication processes that take place between the two parties to arrive at a mutually acceptable bargain.
Baily (1987:101) stated that price haggling is also known as negotiation. In marketing parlance, negotiation is usually used. Baily (1987:101) further defined negotiation as any form of verbal communications in which the participants seek to exploit the relative strengths of their bargaining positions to achieve explicit or implicit objectives within the overall purpose of seeking to resolve the identified areas of disagreement.
Many price haggling issues revolve around price and/or cost trade-offs with the rest of the commercial packages offered. Thus, a buyer may agree to pay a slightly higher price than he/she had intended, if the seller agrees to deliver more quickly than originally suggested. It must be noted that price haggling (or negotiation) is not only limited to the purchases of expensive, highly complex products. Also, in the Nigerian contemporary open markets, the issue of “hagglling” has become the most fundamental. It is only in selected departmental stores and large-scale retail outlets that price haggling may seem not to be effective (Kotler &Armstrong 2010:396).
Basing the discussions on the open markets, price haggling (or negotiation pricing) can never be overemphasized in this area of marketing. Olakunori (2009:162) asserted that haggling in Nigeria markets is a fundamental phenomenon that did not start yesterday or today. He pointed out that this can be traced back to the early 1860s when market structure started developing in Nigeria.
Olakunori (2009:172) defined haggling as a type of negotiation in which the buyer and seller of a good or service dispute the price which will be paid, and the exact nature of the transaction that will take place, and eventually come to an agreement. Haggling or bargaining is an alternative pricing strategy to fixed prices. Optimally, if it costs the retailer
nothing to engage and allow bargaining, the retailer can define the buyer’s willingness to spend. It allows for capturing more consumer surplus as price discriminationwhich is a process whereby a seller can charge a higher price to one buyer who is more eager or desperate.
This research work therefore examines the effects of price haggling as a strategy on consumer buying decisions in selected traditional markets in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. It must be realised that decision making, according to Kotler and Keller (2013:163), consists of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use and dispose goods and services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.