Abstract
Category planning and management is the vital strategic part of retailing. It is the instrument for differentiated customer service and customer satisfaction. The cause of category planning and management induce the effect on retention of customers in competitive retailing environment. The present study focuses to understand the antecedents of category planning and management among the pharmaceutical retailing by considering the product mix dealing of healthcare, oral care, skin care, personal care and homecare products and its line dealt by the drug stores for the enhanced service to customers on customer satisfaction as well retention at Kanchipuram town. The Category Management process undertaken by the medical shop retailers in the study area comprises product assortment, availability, pricing, promotion and reachability as important constructs with identified sub items through previous studies. The empirical data required for the study were collected from the customers during the time of purchase in different retail formats of pharmaceutical shops belong to brand and unbranded retailers in the study area. The conceptual theoretical background on retail Category Management model influence on enhanced customer service and customer satisfaction was tested through structural equation model (SEM-covariance) with the help of AMOS 17.0. The major observations of the study proclaims that the Category Management aspects have direct influence on enhanced customer service and no direct influence on customer satisfaction but at the same time the effect of enhanced customer service is high on customer satisfaction.
Highlights
IntroductionRetailing is the enhanced value chain in the ultimate consumption of every consumer. Retailing is the activity where in which both manufacturer and consumers interact with each other and undergoing the process of exchange of products or services for money value
In order to perform the retailing activity by any form of retailer need to employ strategic retailing activities ranging from identifying the right supplier and their vending process, keeping the right place for selling, collecting the products or services from different manufacturers and delivering through add on value for ultimate consumers
The growth of consumerism, market liberalization, digitized marketing and retailing activities invoke the retailing houses to scrambled merchandising as well vertical retailing activities: category purchase frequency and hedonic nature of category. Out of these four it is the in store display category and the hedonic nature of category that increase the frequency of unplanned decisions
Summary
Retailing is the enhanced value chain in the ultimate consumption of every consumer. Retailing is the activity where in which both manufacturer and consumers interact with each other and undergoing the process of exchange of products or services for money value. The retailers are the prominent brand promoter for every manufacturer brand by assuming the trade leverage for assorting the products or services of producers and delivery to the ultimate consumers on their need of consumption. The growth of consumerism, market liberalization, digitized marketing and retailing activities invoke the retailing houses to scrambled merchandising as well vertical retailing activities: category purchase frequency and hedonic nature of category Out of these four it is the in store display category and the hedonic nature of category that increase the frequency of unplanned decisions. The nature and type of pharmaceutical market in the world is dealt through retail shops and where in which the direct contact between manufacturers to ultimate consumers are very negligible except medical instrument products. The buying processes of consumers towards pharmaceutical products are more on prescriptive rather than self-selection
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