The purpose of this research is to investigate the differentials and commonalties in the consumer behavior and attitudes of the working woman as opposed to the non-working woman. The findings of the research are analyzed to determine their impact on the performance of marketing institutions and functions. The major hypothesis tested in this research is: Working women comprise a distinct market segment, which differs in kind from the non-working woman. Both primary and secondary data are used for this study. The principal sources of secondary data are the 1960 and 1970 U.S. Government Census Tracts of the Census of Population. The primary data was obtained from a questionnaire, sent to 1,093 women residing in specific Census Tracts within the Dallas, Texas Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Tracts were selected by geographical dispersion and statistically tolerable limits for female labor force participation and median family income. This criteria insured the inclusion of women for whom the value of work was either high or low. The analysis of the data revealed that working women may be segmented into a distinct consumer market. Demographic characteristics related to consumer behavior were found to be (in order of importance) Age, Income, Education, Age of Children at Home, and Marital Status. The working woman is more likely to be younger, unmarried, have fewer, if any, children at home, and have a family income of less than $10,000 dollars, than her nonworking counterpart. Major differentials, related to work status were found in the areas of Food Shopping, Personal Clothing Shopping, Use of Leisure Time, Newspaper Readership and Television Viewing, Frequency of Eating Out, Use of Vending Machines, Use of Mail Order Catalogs, Attitude Toward and Use of Discount Houses, Opinion and Use of Advertising and Its Portrayal of Women, and Use and Knowledge of Credit. The use of services was more related to income than to work status.

This study examined consumer attitude towards adding branded quick-service items on domestic airline in-flight menus with the aim of assessing the variables of perceived customer value and customer satisfaction. A random sample of one hundred sixteen frequent flyers residing in the United States participated in the study. An examination of consumer attitude towards branded quick-service menu items if introduced on domestic in-flight menus was performed. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which of the four relationships was the most significant. The results showed that frequent flyer satisfaction with branded quick-service food items had the most significant relationship with perceived satisfaction of adding branded quick-service foods to coach class in-flight meal service.

Detaljhandeln förmodas möta en stor utmaning de kommande åren. Detta då digitaliseringen växer i snabb takt och e-handeln konkurrerar allt mer mot de traditionella butikerna. På grund av den hårdnande konkurrensen är det viktigt att företag tänker nytt och är innovativa. För att bemöta utmaningen menar jag att impulsköp kan anses som en konkurrensfördel för detaljhandelsföretag. Denna studie har därför tagit sin utgångspunkt i detta och belyser just fenomenet impulsköp. Då kvinnan är den som tidigare påvisats utföra flest impulsköp valdes det i studien att fokusera på henne. Syftet var att bidra med en ökad kunskap gällande vilka faktorer som kan påverka när svenska kvinnor impulshandlar. Studiens insamling av empiri bestod av en gruppintervju samt tre enskilda intervjuer. Dessa grundades i en analysmodell som utvecklats från studiens litteraturgenomgång. Sammanfattningsvis var det tre faktorer ur studiens analysmodell som kunde påvisas vara påverkande vid impulsköp. Dessa var shoppingmiljö, erbjudande och sällskap. Även merförsäljning och ålder har påvisats kunna vara betydande för impulsköp. / Retail business is expected to face a major challenge in the coming years. This is because digitalization is growing rapidly, and e-commerce is increasingly competing against traditional stores. It requires innovative thinking of companies to be competitive. To meet the challenge, I mean that impulse purchases can be used as a competitive advantage for retail companies. This study has therefore taken its starting point in the phenomenon impulse purchases. The study focuses on a female perspective since women are more inclined to execute impulse purchases. The purpose was to contribute to increased knowledge of the factors that may be crucial when Swedish women do impulse purchases. The study's empirical gathering consisted of a group interview and three individual interviews. These interviews were based on an analysis model developed by the study's literature review. In summary, three factors from the study's analysis model that could be shown to be influential in impulse purchases . These are shopping environments, offers and companies while shopping. Even additional sale and age have been shown to be significant for impulse purchases.

Consumer protection is an issue affecting a very broad group of citizens of the European Union. EU reflects customer protection in all its policies. I have focused on electronic communication because of my work experience in that field. In my thesis I am trying to compare my experience with valid legislation. In addition, electronic communication services are used by European consumers every day widespread through society. I have tried to follow the development of EU legislation in electronic communication sector focusing on consumer protection. This topic is very closely connected with price regulation and the whole situation on the electronic communication market. My goal is to define main problems of legislation by using case law and my knowledge from practice. In the first chapter of my thesis, I focus on general consumer protection in EU, which is applicable to all contracts concluded by consumers (unfair terms, contracts negotiated away from business premises etc.). I am pointing out issues I encountered in practice. I also compare implementation of EU legislation by EU member states. Second chapter of my work is concerned with EU regulatory framework of electronic communication valid from 2003 to 2009. I aimed at legislation related to consumer protection. I focused on main problems of the...

M.Com. / The South African apparel industry is growing tremendously with a sales value of R129.9 billion expected by 2019 (Marketline, 2015). This is due to the growth in the middle class, the increase in disposable income, and the fact that the South African economy is focused on technology, finance, and e-commerce (online shopping) (Marketline, 2013:2). Consumers are being exposed to various shopping channel options, both offline and online, which has been found to influence their purchase intention (Voinea & Filip, 2011:17). Retailers should therefore aim to understand how the offline and online shopping channels they offer are affecting consumers, and, in particular, they need to understand consumers’ reasons and motivation for selecting one channel over another. The literature on the subject has found that there are two main factors influencing shopping channel choice: shopping channel attributes – cost, time, convenience, and customer service – and perceived risk factors – delivery risk, product risk, and security risk (Al-Hawari & Mouakket, 2012:641; Lin & Sun, 2009:461; Martin & Camarero, 2008:629; Huang & Oppewal, 2006:347; van Dijk, Laing & Minocha, 2005:1). Thus, by understanding the two sets of factors influencing shopping channel choice, retailers will understand why consumers select one channel rather than another – which will allow retailers to design appropriate shopping channels for their goods. This will improve their efficiency and engagement as they will be offering consumers shopping channels that appeal to them...

M.Com. (Economics) / The South-African motor-cycle industry has experienced a constant decline in sales since 1981, that is, a drop from 84 000 units sold during 1981 to an expected sales figure of 24 000 units for 1985. This decline in sales poses a threat to the profitability and 'survival of the motor-cycle industry in South-Africa. Up to this point in time the marketing efforts of the motor-cycle industry were mainly directed towards the White consumer market. In order to bring about an upturn in motor-cycle sales, this study looked into the feasibility of a marketing effort, by the motor-cycle industry, aimed at the Black consumer market. The execution of such a feasibility study necessitated the gathering of information relating to the views and preferences of Blacks with regard to motor-cycles. Information was collected by distributing questionnaires to a random sample of Blacks in region nineteen according to the Standard code list for statistical main regions and regions, magisterial districts, cities, towns and non-urban areas. The potential of the Black market has been disregarded by the motor-cycle industry because of the belief that Blacks are apposed to motor-cycles as a result of their cultural traditions.

D.Com. / When low cost carriers are introduced into domestic or regional scheduled air transport markets, the effects tend to be profound. In most markets where they have been introduced, lower prices have tended to lead to the stimulation of demand. As the scope of the market increases, so too does the number of entrants in the market, resulting not only in higher levels of competition but also lower prices and services. The success of the low cost model is indicated by the uptake in the air transport markets, where low cost carriers sometimes account for as much as 50% of the total air traffic movements. The presence of the low cost carriers is not necessarily a guarantee of success and the market failure rates tend to be high...

M.Comm. / The objectives of this study are: - to determine the perceptions of the internal client relative to his requirements of the service being delivered, - to determine the specific areas in which there are shortcomings in the delivering of the services, and - to make recommendations for provision of better service. The respondents who participated in the study, are the managers of Telkom in the Witwatersrand area. The technical support services are delivering a support service to Telkom in maintaining the infrastructure of its network (power systems, air conditioning systems and electronic cards) and the production of various products of plastic and steeL The viability of the workshops will depend on delivering a quality service to its clients that meets their minimum requirement of expected performance. Data collection took place by using the SERVQUAL-questionnaire. This questionnaire is based on the five dimensions of service quality that were identified in a study by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985), namely reliability, reaction, insurance, empathy and tangibles. The managers were required to complete the questionnaire which was sent by E-mail A software program was used to process the results. The results indicated a negative satisfaction index and the conclusion could be drawn that the workshops do not meet expectations of the clients. The satisfaction gap is the difference between the perception of the client of the service that is delivered and the minimum requirements expected of that service. The reliability dimension is rated the worst of the five dimensions, where the respondents felt that the details of the timing of the delivery of the service are insufficient. The tangible dimension is rated the second lowest of the five dimensions. The two most important areas that require attention, agree the premises of the workshops and the documentation which accompanies the delivery of the service.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Food and Beverage management, Dept. of Hospitality, Tourism and Project Management) -- Vaal University of Technology / Background: About 66 percent of South Africans are urbanised. The majority of this population is forced by circumstances to live in informal settlements. Despite the income challenges faced, the market expenditure by these low-income consumers amounts to R129 billion per year. A lack of information exists regarding food product attributes that guide purchasing choice for maize meal. Objective of the study: To identify and describe the food product attributes experienced as most important during purchasing of maize meal by low-income consumers in informal settlements in the Johannesburg-Vaal region. Methods: Phase 1 comprised a quantitative survey in three informal! and one formal settlement (n=502), testing the level of importance perceived for 14 food product attributes. In Phase 2, focus group discussions were conducted to describe and compare the understanding of the food product attributes between groups and with literature. Results: Phase 1 defines income level as the boundary within which low-income consumers perceived the importance of food product attributes. Satiety value and the affordability of food products override sensory attributes as the main decision choice, as usually applicable to higher income groups. Nutrient content was ranked least important. These findings can probably be allocated to the need of low-income consumers to satisfy priorities for survival (satiety value). Phase 2 reported no distinctive differences in the meaning of terms between groups. However, a difference exists in the depth of meaning. The majority of descriptive elements indicated a link to economic attributes. Strong cross-links between attributes were revealed through the findings. No major differences were found in the understanding of food product attributes between the respondents' groups and with existing literature. Two concept elements, the versatility of product use as linked to taste and the ability of sensory qualities to report quality of maize meal as linked to product safety, were revealed by the current study. Key words: Food product attributes, low-income households, staple food, maize meal, informal settlement, purchase choice.

M. Tech. (Fashion, Department of Arts and Design, Faculty of Human Sciences): Vaal University of Technology / Criteria used by fashion consumers to assess the quality of apparel products during the decision-making process are a good indication of what considerations to keep in mind for customer satisfaction. Evaluative criteria of concern to apparel customers are intrinsic attributes, involving physical features such as design/style, materials and construction and performance features such as aesthetic and functional aspects and extrinsic attributes such as price, brand, store image, label, country of origin and appropriateness for the occasion, in this case casual day wear. The broad research aim of this exploratory study was to determine which evaluative criteria were used by female fashion consumers in the Vaal Region to determine apparel quality when purchasing casual daywear, and to what extent the various criteria were applied. A self-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Sections 1 and 2 measured the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic clothing evaluative criteria. Section 3 investigated the frequency with which the respondents bought casual daywear at various store types, namely specialty, department and discount stores, while section 4 gathered the demographic information of the respondents. A representative sample was chosen from the academic personnel of all seven tertiary institutions in the Vaal Region. The majority of the lecturers (38.00 percent) were between the ages of 31 and 40, which can be described as relatively young, constituting a group sometimes referred to as baby busters or Generation X. Although the predominant population group was white (65.71 percent), a quarter of the respondents were black. They all had a tertiary qualification, indicating a relatively high educational level, and an average income. These espondents were predominantly married, either by orthodox or customary marriage. Regarding the application of evaluative criteria for quality assessment, these respondents used intrinsic apparel attributes to a greater extent than extrinsic attributes. Three functional performance aspects namely durability, comfort and fit were rated equal and most important for judging quality, followed closely by an extrinsic attribute namely appropriateness for casual daywear. Three clusters of respondents could be distinguished, each with a specific disposition towards the evaluative criteria. The most popular store type for clothing was Department stores, followed by Discount and Specialty stores.