D.B.A.  Baker College (Michigan), 2022.
Specialization:  Business administration; South Asian studies; Women's studies

Female customer response towards preferred brand out-of-stock at retail stores: A case study in Bangldesh
128 pages. UMI #: 29255285
Citation, Abstract & Full text in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database

The proposed study considered the responses of female consumers in the preferred brand out-of-stock (OOS) situation for edible oil and toothpaste in three different cities of Bangladesh which were Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet. The situation in which a particular customer or a group of customers experience short-term unavailability of their desired brand or products at the designated shelf space at a retail store can be regarded as retail stock-out. Stockout is related to inventory control and optimization concepts for both retailers and users. As a part of effective inventory control and optimization, it was necessary to understand the stockout responses of the female customers to ensure proper stock management. A stock-out could result in short-term or long-term loss of sales for both the producers and the retailers depending on the variability in customers’ responses. In this study, the researcher tried to identify the variability in responses of female customers in Bangladesh while purchasing edible oil and toothpaste from retail stores. The researcher also tried to identify the factors that influenced the purchase decisions of female customers in a stockout situation. The study was a qualitative case study in which the population was the female customers of retail shops in three different areas of Bangladesh. Data required for the study was collected using a structured close-ended questionnaire from 30 participants who had been selected using the non-probabilistic purposive sampling technique. The data was analyzed, and themes were developed from the participant’s responses to each research question. The results indicated that female customers’ preferences for stockout could vary concerning changes in products and places. The retailers in Bangladesh bore a greater threat of incurring losses due to stockout compared to the producers. With the estimation of sales and diversifying supplies, the retailers could minimize stockout losses.

• Peggy Houghton, Ph.D., Chair
• Polly Bashore, Ph.D.
• Stanley J. Mikalonis, Ph.D.