The Qualitative Study on Consumers Buying Behavior about Imported Shoe Products

The Case of Bule Hora Town

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the consumer buying behaviour of imported shoe products in Bule Hora town. The study examined consumer preference, consumer attitude, product attributes, and demographic category in relationship with imported shoes. The study adopts an exploratory research design with a qualitative interpretative phenomenology approach. Purposive sampling technique is deployed to select a sample from the population of consumers of the town. This qualitative study relied on in-depth study on six participants and a focus group consisting of five members. Data are collected from the participants and focus group discussion members. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the data. The findings show that consumers in the study area prefer imported shoes, although they have no predetermined purchase schedule for imported shoes. Besides, the factors that influence purchase decision are price, income, and availability of smart imported shoes in the market. The consumers’ buying behaviour is largely influenced by attributes such as the quality, design/style, price, and the colour of the imported shoe. Additionally, demographic profiles such as gender, age, educational status, and income accelerate consumer buying behaviour. The study recommends that marketers should focus on identifying changing consumers’ preferences and adjust product attributes according to consumers’ choice. Future researchers could ponder additional product categories since the relative influences of price, quality, colour and test in consumer evaluations appear to vary by differences in product category and place.