CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Sales promotion is widely considered as the backbone of marketing. Promote is a part of promotion mix in marketing activities as well as the marketing tactic of a business entering the market or retaining customers (Berjani and Strufe 2011). The major function of Sales Promotion is to communicate with consumers and touch their hearts. Chang & Tsai (2011) proposed the communication tools for marketing including advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotions, and direct marketing to enhance consumer Purchase Intention for purchase behaviors.

Sales Promotion is also a critical factor in consumer purchase behaviors (Dehkordi et al. 2012). Huang & Gartner (2012) regarded Sales Promotion as a direct stimulus to extra value of a product or an incentive to final consumers, salespeople, or distributors. Khajvand & Tarokh (2011) mentioned that Sales Promotion was composed of various temporary incentives, mainly to induce consumers or dealers purchasing certain products in advance or purchasing more quantity. Li et al. (2011) indicated that Sales Promotion was essentially a complimentary marketing effort, being practiced in limited time and tending to stimulate consumer purchase. The consumer market would change with changeable life styles and constantly present distinct promotion tactics, such as gift for a pair of sports shoes, cash refund, discount and coupon, prize, and cash or gift for returned certificate. It is what a marketer desires to know about which kind of promotion being able to enhance consumer evaluation on the brand of sports shoes and to appear preference and Purchase Intention on specific promotions (Mesforoush and Tarokh 2013).

On the other hand sales promotion improves consumer buying decision. Consumer buying decision however is the process by which the individual search for, selects, purchase, use and dispose of goods and services, in satisfaction of their needs and wants. The consumers‟ decision has a direct effect on the success of the firm and therefore must ensure that they create a marketing mix that satisfies consumers. The consumer mostly goes through about five steps in taking one purchase decision. These include Problem recognition, Information search, Evaluating of alternatives, Purchase decisions, Purchase and Post Purchase evaluation. Actual purchasing is only one stage of the process and not all decision processes lead to a purchase. Also not all consumer decisions will include all the stages but will depend on the degree of complexity and risk involved. There are however about four types of buying decision that consumers exhibit; these include a routine response which needs very little search and used when purchasing frequently purchased item, limited decisions which is used when purchasing low priced brands in a familiar product category, extensive decision which has a high degree of economic, performance and psychological risk which demands lot of time in seeking information and deciding and impulse buying which is spontaneous and needs no conscious planning.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Sales promotion is very important in the growth and profitability of a firm. However there are still some issues regarding sales promotion and consumer buying decision. One of the issues is that most consumers are not aware of most of the products because of little or no advertising. Sales promotion especially online is usually capital intensive and most small business owner do not have adequate finance to improve their sales promotion strategies. Another issue is adoption of bad sales promotion strategies; every business has a particular promotional strategy that drives sales and influence consumer buying decision but most business owner are yet to explore new ideas in sales promotion strategies.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to carry out a comparative analysis of the relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba. The objectives of the study are:

1. To determine the effect of sales promotion on consumer buying decision in Asaba
2. To examine the effectiveness of sales promotion in influencing consumer buying decision in Asaba
3. To determine the sales promotion strategies used in improving consumer buying decision in Asaba
4. To identify the factors affecting sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba
5. To recommend  ways to improve sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guide the objectives of the study:

1. What is the effect of sales promotion on consumer buying decision in Asaba?
2. What is the effectiveness of sales promotion in influencing consumer buying decision in Asaba?
3. What are the sales promotion strategies used in improving consumer buying decision in Asaba?
4. What are the factors affecting sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba?
5. What are the ways to improve sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba?

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

H0: there is no significant relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba

H1: there is significant relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study on a comparative analysis of the relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba will be of immense benefit to all business owners and organization in Asaba. The study will help business owners choose the right sales promotion strategies that will drive sales and influence consumer buying decision. The findings of the study will establish a correlation between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba. The study will also serve as a source of information to business owners, students and researchers that desire to carry out a similar study on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the existing literature on a comparative analysis of the relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study covers on a comparative analysis of the relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying decision in Asaba 

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

SALES PROMOTION: Sales promotion is a short-term incentive to initiate trial or purchase. Sales promotion is one of the elements of the promotional mix. The primary elements in the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and publicity/public relations

CONSUMERS: A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, orders, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities.

BUYING DECISION PROCESS: The buying decision process is the decision-making process used by consumers regarding the market transactions before, during, and after the purchase of a good or service. It can be seen as a particular form of a cost–benefit analysis in the presence of multiple alternatives

MARKETING: Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. In 2017, The New York Times described it as "the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallets. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce