BUSINESS RESEARCH ON SHOPPING TRENDS OF CONSUMERS IN CASUAL WEAR SEGMENT IN MUMBAI

INTRODUCTION
Gone are the days when a government employee goes to office in formal . It seems that the athletic man with flair has stolen a march over the 'Complete Man'. The growth in casualwear is said to be outpacing the formal wear segment ,nudging Indian branded apparel makers to design strategies to tap this segment. As the advent of western culture in work places and also the cultural changes bring more casuals into the work places .People want to work comfortable in their offices. Even the bosses are ok with the casuals. ``Today the key word is `comfort and `easy dressing. This is the reason why there has been a proliferation of casual wear brands in the Indian market Young executives also prefer to buy different types of fabric-based garments. The lifestyle culture has now spread from metro cities to other cities. As industrialisation proceeds at a fast clip,many of the smaller cities are also experiencing growth in the corporate sector. `The young executives in Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore in particular have moved towards a casual dress code outside their workplace. Brands such as Lee & Flying Machine ,Levis & Spykar are lifestyle brands. I have no doubt that consumer groups will opt for brands which offer a wide variety of products which support this casual lifestyle both now and in future. Indian Apparel Industry Apparel is the second largest retail category in India. There are a number of factors that have contributed to a definite swell in apparel market size. The rising affluence of themiddle class due to rising disposable income and strong per capita income have considerably helped the industry to move ahead from a commodity level garment purchasing to a life style or a branded level product. Consumer spending on apparel in India has grown over the last five years, touching the global benchmark of 5 per cent of the total income, according to Consultancy firmMCKinsey. Growth of Indian Garment Industry The industry has already given ample hint of ingenuity, as is evident from the revival of consumer enthusiasm in the seemingly stagnant menswear segment, besides remarkable growth in categories like sports wear, casual wear and party wear. The apparel market has grown 15.5% to INR 1,224 billion.

The Indian apparel industry (including garment retail, fashion designing and accessories trade) is booming like never before. The rapid increase in job opportunities and expanding earning capabilities has resulted in the inculcation of a brand new mindset amongst Indian consumers. Spending on brands is no longer an improbability, with shoppers willing to pay for quality and premium products. The apparel industry has benefited immensely from these new market trends. The countrys organized retail is booming because of increasing private incomes and changing lifestyles and consumption pattern of consumers is having a positive effect on the apparel industry. There has been a rapid increase in the market size of ready-to-wear clothing and lifestyle apparel brands.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM To determine the shopping trends of consumers (both males and females) in casual wear segment in Mumbai. Under the domain of shopping trends, we have tried to study the consumers preferences and trends with respect to various parameters like spendings, frequency of shopping,place of shopping,what do they look for when they shop for casual clothes etc.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study will give us an idea of how the shopping behaviour of consumers changes and what behaviour they display while shopping for casual clothes and garments. Also,it would help us in understanding the relationships between various parameters like income,spending,frequency of shopping,preferences etc. and draw significant conclusions on the same.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The type of study used is descriptive study and we have used convenience sampling technique for the research. We have used a combination of primary and secondary research tools. Primary Research For the study,we have conducted an online and face to face survey with the help of a structured questionnaire (including likert scale etc.). Sample

For the purpose of our study we have basically targeted the youth segment because nearly 70 percent of the casual wear shopping is done by the youth. Further narrowing it down,due to the the time constraints, we have conducted the survey in SIMSR Campus and limited areas of Mumbai like Bandra,Colaba,Kurla etc. In all, we managed to gather 50 responses in short span of time.

Secondary Research In addition to primary research, we used secondary research tool as well wherein we took the help of online journals, research work etc. on the above topic so as to supplement our research and capture the comprehensive view of the consumers shopping trends and buying behaviour in casual wear segment. The data so collected from the survey was edited, cross tabulated and correlation test was applied, scaling and measurement was done and thus the final conclusions and results were drawn. Limitations Limited time was given for data collection. The findings were based on the responses given by the customers which can be biased. Geographical reach was limited as maximum responses were gathered from within the SIMSR Campus.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION