International Journal of Commerce and Management Research

Authors
Jyoti Pradhan, Dr. DP Misra

Abstract
Villages are thernheart of India. According to census of India, 2011, the rural India comprisedrnapproximately 70 percent of India's population which was 121 crore. With 6,rn38,365 villages spread over 32 lakh sq. kilometers, rural India has become arnmassive consumer goods market. FMCG has emerged as a major product category inrnrural consumption. Companies marketing FMCGs to rural consumers cannot merelyrnextend their urban marketing strategies. Instead, they need to formulate andrnexecute rural specific strategies. In this process, they need to understandrncrucial issues relating to rural consumer behavior vis-à-vis variations in differentrngeographic regions of the country. This paper focuses on understanding factorsrnthat affect the rural Pre-purchase behavior in general and Pre-purchasernEvaluation of Alternatives of FMCG specifically in Keonjhar District of OdisharnState, India in particular. The commodities chosen for the research are bathingrnsoap, shampoo, skin cream, hair oil and packaged wheat flour. Factor analysisrnwas used to form nine key variables into two groups (influencing factors). ‘Pricernis important criterion’ has emerged as the most significant variable in the ‘Consumerrnpurchase decision’ factor and ‘Medicinal Values of FMCGs’ in the ‘Productrnproperties’ factor.