Abstract
This dissertation studies the factors influencing parent’s purchase decision while purchasing private label's baby care items in Ireland. Baby products are gaining importance among businesses and consumers alike due to increasing wages and competition between private labels and brands. Considering (Nielsen, 2013) study as baseline, this study has explored further and provided insights on factors that may influence parents positively or negatively for buying baby products of private label. For exploring and analysing these factors, qualitative research technique has helped author to study subjective and socially constructed meanings expressed by the participants of this research through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Most researches in past in the area of baby care products and private label had focused on general concepts and theories of factors that influence a consumer’s purchase decision. However in past very little was explored in the area where non-consumers like parents make purchase decision for their child. This research has explored factors influencing purchase decision of non-consumers i.e. parents for purchasing private label baby product. Similarly, to finding of extant literature of frozen food products, low prices of private label products are found to plays a major role in influencing purchase decision in non-consumable baby products as well. Most importantly, this research found that loyalty towards specific private-label retailer, availability of organic option in private-label baby food products and positive recommendation from family and friends may positively impact parent’s purchase decision and alleviate any risk associated with private label baby product. Environmental concerns like overpackaging of products are not found to be a factor that positively or negatively impacts parent’s purchase decision, rather some parents believe reduction in packaging as reduction in quality. Research also indicates that consumers do not consider private label baby products more, or less risky compared to branded ones. To generalize these finding into strong theory for Irish FMCG market, further research is recommended by author of this research.
