The chapter highlights the profile of the respondents.

Various demographic characteristics of the

respondents will be highlighted like the age, gender, educational levels, occupational categories,
monthly household income (MHI), source of income, amount of pocket money received on a
monthly basis, marital status, number of siblings and working status of the parents etc.

4.1 Importance of the profile of the respondents:

Customer segmentation is the bedrock of contemporary marketing. Customer segments need to

be identified with the help of some important variables like geographic, demographic,
psychographic and behavioural variables. The demographic profile of the respondents is an
important aspect of consumer research as the nuances of consumer behaviour can vary with
changes in the demographic variables. Questions enquiring about the profile of respondents of
marketing and consumer research can be used to make profiles of the respondents that are part of
the target market for the relevant study. Profiles of customers are made using geographical,
demographical, psycho graphical and behavioural parameters. Identification of consumer
segments remains one of the very first steps of strategic marketing. Strategic marketing has three
components namely, segmentation, targeting and positioning.

Geographical aspects highlight certain broad aspects like regional, density of population and
climatic conditions that form the basis of profile respondents to exhibit similarity or difference
from other respondents who are in the same or different geographical territories. Geographic
variables are often complemented by demographic variables to provide a comprehensive profile
of customer markets. Strategies for marketing often involve understanding customer groups,
needs and technology (Kotler 2013). Customer segments can be identified with as many
variables as required for effective targeting and positioning.

Demographic variables that are often used for segmentation range from age, gender, income,
occupation, nationality, family life cycle, family size, race, religion, education etc..

Demographic variables form an integral part of consumer segmentation that provides consumer
insights after geographic segmentation has been done. Segmentation enables marketers to

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identify potentially lucrative segments that can be chosen for targeting the marketing offers for
profitable outcomes and which are also beneficial for the consumers.

Positioning of marketing offers by marketers are often challenging as competitive advantage

gains are relative and often short lived due to the dynamic nature of markets. Globally, marketers
of products and services target and position their offers differently based on age groups like the
children, tweens, young adults, older adults and senior citizens.

Psychographic segmentation can be done with the help of socio-economic, lifestyle and
personality variables. Behavioural variables for segmentation include the occasions for using the
offer, benefits sought in the offer, user status, usage rate, loyalty status, readiness and attitude
toward the market offer.

Demographic variables of the urban Indian respondents in the age group of 18-25 years, residing
within the urban geographical limits of Bengaluru, highlight the objective facts of the consumers
living in the area that are likely to influence the conspicuous consumption of lifestyle products
and services to signal status and economic well being. The demographic profile of the
respondents for the study include age, gender, income, occupation, marital status, monthly
household income(MHI), occupation, marital status, income source of the youth respondents,
amount of pocket money, number of siblings and which parent(s) were working. The questions
on demographic parameters form the third part of the questionnaire used for the survey of
respondents for this study.

Six hundred urban Indian youth, aged between 18-25 years, residing in Bengaluru were the
respondents of the survey conducted for the study. The respondents chosen for the study had
equal number of women (300) and men (300). The demographic variables of age and gender
variables are helpful to target different age and gender groups of customers and tailor specific
marketing strategies that appeal to customer groupings based on age and gender homogeneity.

Gender differences also require different positioning strategies based on appeals that could strike
the appropriate chord amongst the target market. Similarly gender differences need to be factored
in while formulating marketing strategies for product and services that target boys and girls, or,
men and women. Income variables indicate the spending propensity or disposable income that is

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likely to be available for spending. Status products consumption in a conspicuous manner has
been seen in different markets that are a means to signal wealth and economic stature among
customers’ reference groups. The study has identified that though the youth in the age group of
18-25 years may not necessarily have their independent source of income via either jobs or
business, yet a very important source of their monthly expenditure arise from their pocket money
that is often financed either by their parent(s) or guardian(s). The MHI question helps to identify
the income class of their families. The four zones of Bengaluru city were mapped and one
hundred and fifty respondents from each zone were identified to fill in the questionnaire. Fifty
percent of the respondents of each zone were male and fifty per cent women.

4.2 Age profile of the respondents:

The age profile of the respondents has been shown in Figure 4.1. The aim of the study was to
identify the perceptions and attitude of the urban Indian youth residing in Bengaluru who
belonged to the age group of 18-25 years.

Figure 4.1: Age Profile of the respondents:

All the respondents of the study belonged to the 18-25 years age group, with equal representation
from each of the gender categories.

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4.3 Gender profile of the respondents:

The study intended to have equal number of respondents from each gender. Thus half of the
respondents were to be young women while the balance half of the responses were to be
collected from young men. As can be seen from Figure 4.2, the respondents for the study
comprised of equal number of youths from both the genders.

Figure 4.2: Gender Profile of the respondents:

4.4 Education Profile of respondents:

The education profile reveals the level of educational attainments of respondents which could be
used to indicate the potential employability that will be instrumental for earning incomes that
could influence present and future purchases of lifestyle items.

For the present research the educational level of respondents are important from the standpoint of
potential income earning power in the future times as well as the prevalence and likelihood of
product and brand knowledge on lifestyle products and services that are likely to be
conspicuously consumed for status.

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Education is likely to influence the awareness of different categories of lifestyle products and
services that exist in the global and local markets.

Peer group influence at places of study, work and play are also likely to influence the tendency to
conspicuously consume lifestyle products and services to reflect status and economic wealth.

The level of education is also likely to influence brand awareness levels and brand preference
and choice impacting brand sales of lifestyle products and services.

As can be seen from Figure 4.3, the education profile of the respondents indicate that 72.8 per
cent of the respondents are graduates, while 20 per cent are post graduates with just 7 per cent
having studied till Higher Secondary (Class XII) level.

Figure 4.3: Education Profile of respondents.

Most of the respondents are graduates, out of which 38 per cent are women and 35 per cent are
men. Close to about twenty per cent of the respondents are post graduates while about eight per
cent have studied till H.S (till Standard XII).

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Figure 4.4 shows the education levels and gender profiles of the respondents. There are more
young women doing graduation as compared to young men, though there are more young men
pursuing post graduation as compared to the number of young women.

Figure 4.4: Gender and education levels.

4.5 Monthly Household Income (MHI) Profile of the respondents:

Questions pertaining to income remain a sensitive one among consumers and it may be difficult
to understand the authenticity of the stated answers as the respondents could be sensitive to the
question itself. Hence during the time of making the questionnaire, it was decided that efforts
will be made to reduce the sensitivity and bias among respondents in answering the question
regarding their MHI. The question pertaining to the MHI of the respondents was thus framed
using nominal scale containing five categories of response options. Thus steps were taken to
increase the reliability of the study.

The MHI of respondents are an important aspect determining the spending power of an
individual. Since the respondents chosen for the survey were mostly dependent on their families

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for their pocket money, so the MHI of the respondents were considered to be an important aspect
of profiling the age group being studied in this research.

 MHI & Gender Cross tabulation:

The MHI and gender profile illustrates the proportion of young women and men who belong to
different households categorized on MHI basis. The Figure 4.5 below shows the percentage of
male and women respondents based on the MHI levels.

Figure 4.5: Monthly Household Income (MHI) & gender profile of the respondents.

From Figure 4.5 it may be observed that most of the respondents belong to the MHI category of
25,001- 50,000. The next MHI category containing the second highest number of
respondents is 15, 001- 25, 000. The MHI categories of ‘ 10,001- 15,000’ and ‘above
50,000’ contain almost equal number of respondents.

The monthly household income(MHI) profile of the respondents show that the question itself
remains a sensitive one that has possibility of respondent bias in answering the question as it is
most likely to reflect the social rank and position of the respondents and their respective families.
Thus about 3 per cent respondents chose not to answer, while only 3.8 per cent declared their
MHI to be in the range of up to 10, 000 per month. There were about 12.5 per cent
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respondents who declared that their MHI was in the range of 10, 001- 15,000 per month.
Just 28.8 per cent have a MHI of 15, 001- 25, 000 per month. About 37.8 per cent
respondents belonged to households that had MHI of 25, 001- 50, 000 per month. Only
about 14 per cent of the respondents belonged to household having MHI above 50, 000 per
month.

4.6 Occupation Profile of the respondents:

The question on occupation of the respondents was given with using nominal scale with
categories that were ‘Self-employed’, ‘Service’, ‘Student’ and ‘Any Other’.

Occupational pursuit provides an idea of the profile of respondents supplementing demographic

variables like gender, age, income aspects of the urban Indian youth in Bengaluru.

Figure 4.6: Occupation of the respondents.

Among the respondents surveyed 89.8 per cent of the respondents were students, while 5 per
cent were self-employed and only 4 per cent were in service.

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In the next three to five years the student group is expected to be economically active. Around
1.2 per cent of the respondents indicated that they were neither students nor employed and so
indicated their occupation category as ‘any other’.

Figure 4.7: Occupation & Gender of the respondents.

As can be seen from Figure 4.7, about forty four per cent of the male respondents and forty six
per cent of the women respondents are students, while about three per cent of the male
respondents and about 1 per cent of the women respondents reported being in ‘service’. Around
3 per cent of the male respondents and about 2 per cent of the women respondents declared that
they were self employed.

4.7 Source of income of the respondents:

Source of income of the respondents is an important aspect for this study as that indicates how
the urban Indian youth sources his/her money which then indicates possible affordability for
lifestyle products and services.

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The question on source of income of the respondents is a new aspect of this research. The
question attempts to highlight potential sources of income of the urban Indian youth. The options
range from pocket money received from parents, to part-time or full-time work.

Since young people in many countries globally do part-time work during their graduate and/or
post graduate studies that complemented their pocket money, the present research aimed to bring
forth the information pertaining to the source of income of the urban Indian youth in Bengaluru..

From Figure 4.8 it may be observed that about 85 per cent of the respondents received pocket
money from their parents, while 7.7 per cent had part-time work. About 5.2 per cent of the
respondents reported earning from their full-time work, while around 2.3 per cent of the
respondents chose not to answer the question.

Figure 4.8: Source of Income of the respondents.

As can be seen from Figure 4.9 about forty two per cent of the male respondents and forty three
per cent of the women respondents receive pocket money from their parents. Three per cent of
the male respondents and about two per cent of the women respondents were into full-time work.

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About three per cent of the male respondents and around five per cent of the young women
indicated that they were earning from part-time work.

Figure 4.9: Source of Income and Gender of the respondents.

4.8 Amount of Pocket Money:

The amount of pocket money was indicative of the range of availability of funds with the urban
youth that would determine their discretionary expenditure. Pocket money is a very important
source of finance for the young people in the age group of 18-25 years as can be seen from the
data collected for the study.

The question was framed using the nominal scale with categories of pocket money ranges
mentioned as options from which respondents could choose to answer. This was done to increase
the reliability of the study by decreasing any sensitivity and personal bias that could affect the
willingness of respondents to answer the question.

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The intention of asking the question was to get an idea of the range and category of pocket
money that the urban Indian youth had at their disposal.

Figure 4.10: Amount of Pocket Money of the respondents.

Figure 4.10 highlights the bivariate cross tabulation of the gender of respondents and the amount
of pocket money received by them. The figure highlights the number of young men and women
respondents belonging to each category of the question investigating the amount of pocket
money.

Among the respondents who were surveyed, it was found that most of the respondents (around
45 per cent) received pocket money that was below 1000 per month, while the second highest
group of respondents (about 34 per cent) were found to have pocket money in the range of
1001- 2000 per month. About 12 per cent of the youth surveyed, had pocket money in the
range of 2001- 3000 per month while 6 per cent of the respondents reported receiving
pocket money above 3001 per month. The rest of the respondents (around three per cent)
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chose not to answer the question about the pocket money received by them. It may be observed
that more women respondents were to be found in the lower pocket money ranges than in the
higher pocket money categories. Similarly more young men receive pocket money in the lower
pocket money ranges than in the higher ranges of pocket money. More men are found in the
second and third categories of the pocket money ranges mentioned for the study, as compared to
young women. Twenty five per cent of the women respondents received below 1000 per
month of pocket money while twenty one per cent of the male respondents received less than
1000 per month of pocket money. For pocket money above 3001 per month, there were
more women respondents than male respondents. The cross tabulation of the MHI levels of the
respondents with the amount of pocket money claimed to have been received by the respondents
are illustrated next.

 MHI linkages with Amount of Pocket Money:

The MHI linkages to the amount of pocket money of the respondents are given in Figure 4.11.

Figure 4.11: MHI linkages with Amount of Pocket Money.

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MHI is linked to the amount of pocket money as shown on the x-axis. The number of the
respondents is shown in the y-axis. More respondents receive pocket money in the range of
2001pm- 3000pm, who belonging to households having MHI of 25,000pm- 50,000pm
and above 50,000pm. More respondents belonging to the third and fourth category of MHI
households receive pocket money in the first two categories.

4.9 Marital status of the respondents:

The marital status of the urban Indian youth respondents in Bengaluru who belong to the age
group of 18-25 years are illustrated in Figure 4.12. The marital status indicates whether the
respondent is single or married. The marital status of ‘divorced’ has also been included for the
study. The marital status of the respondents is a possible indicator of the number of immediate
dependent family members of the respondents and their family size. Among the surveyed
respondents, 95.7 per cent stated that they were unmarried, while around 1.5 per cent of the
respondents indicated that they were married. Around 2.8 per cent of the respondents reported
being divorced.

Figure 4.12: Marital status of the respondents.

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Thus the majority of the urban Indian youth respondents who were surveyed for this study
reported that they were unmarried which indicated that there could be a lot of scope for
discretionary spending to purchase lifestyle products and services.

However, in the next few years the unmarried respondents were likely to marry as they enter the
workforce and become financially independent. With marriage the youth cohort is likely to
proceed to the next stage of their life cycle of being a couple, to stepping into parenthood and
beyond. In the event of delayed parenthood the youth are likely to spend on lifestyle items. The
event of marriage and setting up of families are also likely to trigger a lot of purchases for
lifestyle products and services.

Figure 4.13: Marital status and the gender of respondents.

As can be seen from Figure 4.13, forty eight per cent of both the male and women respondents
are unmarried. Only 1.5 per cent of the women respondents reported that they were married. Two
per cent of the male respondents and about one per cent of the women respondents declared that
were divorced.

4.10 Number of siblings of the respondents:

The family size of the respondents can be gauged with the number of living siblings and parents.
For this research, the number of siblings was a question that was inserted to derive an
understanding of the possible size of the family size of the respondents.
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Family size is likely to affect consumer behaviour for products and services. Thus the research
aims to understand the perception of the youth for various aspects of lifestyle products and
services based on the number of siblings that they were growing up with.

Figure 4.14: Number of Siblings of the respondents.

From Figure 4.14 it can be seen that about 44 per cent of the respondents reported having one
sibling, while about thirty nine per cent of them stated that they had two siblings. Five percent of
the respondents reported that they had three siblings while just about 0.5 per cent of the
respondents indicated that they had more than three siblings.

Nine per cent of the respondents reported not have any sibling. The sensitive nature of the
question is likely to have led around 2.3 per cent of the respondents giving no answer to the
question and asked to be excused from answering the same.

Bivariate cross tabulation of gender and the number of siblings was conducted. The cross
tabulated data revealed that there were more male members who stated that they had a sibling as
compared to women respondents. More young women had two siblings as compared to male
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respondents. More young women were found to have three siblings as compared to their male
counterparts. There were more young women who reported having no siblings as compared to
the young men.

The bivariate cross tabulation reveals the household member composition trend of the urban
Indian youth being studied.

Figure 4.15: Number of siblings and the gender of the respondents.

4.11 Parent(s) working status:

It was deemed important to ask the question pertaining to understanding whether the parent(s) of
the urban Indian youth residing in Bengaluru were still working or not. It was intended to find
out if the parent’s working status affected the perceptions of the youth towards conspicuous
consumption of lifestyle products and services. It was expected that the parent(s) working status
may influence the respondents to have more disposable pocket money that could be spent for
lifestyle products and services purchase.
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From Figure 4.16 it can be seen that just over seventy seven per cent of the respondents declared
that their father was working while only about 9 per cent reported that their mothers were
working. Around eight per cent of the respondents reported that both their parents were working
while just over 4 per cent of the respondents declared that none of their parents were working.

Figure 4.16: Parents’ working status in numbers and percentage.

Thus cumulatively, about ninety-six per cent of the respondents who were surveyed indicated
that their parents were still actively working and generating their own income.

The information on the working status of the parents are expected to impacts positively the
affordability and disposable income of the urban Indian youth respondents of the study, resulting
in optimistic outlook for the possibility of conspicuously consuming lifestyle products and
services for signaling status among their reference groups.

The data reveals that the fathers of about forty per cent of the male respondents and for about
thirty seven per cent of the women respondents were still working. Around 4.5 per cent of the
male respondents and about five per cent of the women respondents indicated that only their
mothers were working.

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Both parents were working for about four per cent of the male respondents and for around five
per cent of the women respondents. Only about 1.33 per cent of the male respondents and about
3 per cent of the women respondents indicated that none of their parents were working.

Figure 4.17: Gender cross tabulation with parent(s) working status.

 Parents’ working status & the amount of pocket money.

It was intended to find if the parents’ working status was linked with the amount of pocket
money received. From Figure 4.17 it may be observed that most of the respondents who reported
receiving pocket money had indicated that their fathers only were working. It was also observed
that the respondents whose fathers were reportedly working received pocket money across all the
four categories of pocket money considered for the study.

Most of the respondents stated that they received pocket money below 1000 per month. The
second highest respondent group was those who received pocket money of up to 2000 per
month. The third ranking group of respondents stated that they received pocket money of up to
3000 per month.

In the group of respondents whose both parents were working, the highest number of
respondents stated that they received below 1000 per month of pocket money while the second

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highest group of respondents indicated that they received up to 3000 per month of pocket
money.
Figure 4.18: Parents’ working status and amount of pocket money.

The least number of respondents who received pocket money across all the ranges mentioned for
the study, were those whose neither of the parents were working. Thus the parents’ working
status seems to be an influential factor affecting amount of pocket money received by the
respondent group.

4.12 Zone of residence:

The respondents were chosen from all the four zones equally. The sample from each zone
consisted of equal number of male and women respondents. Hence out of the total respondents, a
quarter of the total sample belonged to each zone, out of which 12.5 per cent of were male
respondents and the balance 12.5 per cent were women respondents. The figure given below
illustrates the data that was derived out of the bivariate cross tabulation of the gender of the
respondents and the zone where the respondents declared that they were staying.

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Figure 4.19: Zone and gender of the respondents.

4.13 Summary of the profiles of the respondents:

The demographic variables of segmentation are important to determine the target market
characteristics and become an important aspect of strategic marketing. The demographic
variables of segmentation are made up of variables like age, gender, income, occupation,
nationality, race, religion, education profile, family size and family life cycle of customers.
Among the youth respondents of this study, the demographic variables like age, gender, income,
occupation, family size, parents’ occupation etc. were determined to better understand the
respondents for the purpose of this study. The demographic profile parameters as illustrated in
this chapter highlight the different aspects of the urban Indian youth respondents in the age group
of 18-25 years who reside in Bengaluru and were surveyed for this research.

The next chapter illustrates the data analysis conducted for testing the hypotheses proposed in the
study.

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