Packaging-influenced-purchase decision segment the bottom of the pyramid consumer marketplace? Evidence from West Bengal, India

This study explores whether consumer segments can be formed by the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) consumers based on their perception towards various packaging attributes while making Packaging Influenced Purchase decisions (PIP) for buying Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products. Along with facilitating targeting for marketers, this study aims to contribute significantly to the literature of ‘BoP consumer behaviour’ where a visible research gap exists. FMCG, being a low-involvement market by nature, most of the purchase decisions are made under time pressure. So, packaging being the point of interaction between products and consumers, has huge potential to influence purchase decisions. A sample of 1530 BoP consumers has been considered from West Bengal, a state of India with high Human Poverty Index. Along with clustering techniques, Self-Organizing Map (SOM) has been applied for validation and visualization. The result shows existence of clear segments along with the variability of influences of the packaging attributes.