Global Journal of Management and Business Research

Volume 12 Issue 6 Version 1.0 March 2012
Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal
Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA)
Online ISSN: 2249-4588 & Print ISSN: 0975-5853

Mobile Phone Buying Behavior Of Consumers; A Comparative
Study Of Rural And Urban Consumers In Pakistan
By Hashim Zameer, Rashid Saeed & Raheel Abass
Bahauddin Zakariya University
Abstract - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the buying behavior of consumers in
Pakistan and compare the consumers’ behavior of urban consumers and rural consumers in
Pakistan. The data are collected from 600 consumers from all over the Pakistan through a structured questionnaire. SPSS 17 is used to analyze the results. To check consumer preferences while making a purchase decision we used AHP (analytic hierarchy process). We prioritize factors through AHP. This describes better results. Our findings indicate that rural consumers more focus on the functions of mobile phone and they are price conscious on the other hand urban consumers more focus on style of mobile phone and brand image of mobile phone. This paper serves as a valuable guideline for management to review their advertisement campaigns and modify their mobiles according to the needs of consumers.

GJMBR-B Classification : FOR Code: 150307, 150501, JEL Code: O33, M31

MobilePhonebuyingbehaviorofconsumersAcomparativestudyofRural- andUrbanconsumersinPakistan Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of:

© 2012. Hashim Zameer, Rashid Saeed & Raheel Abass.This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Mobile Phone Buying Behavior of Consumers; A
Comparative Study of Rural and Urban
Consumers in Pakistan

N

I.

INTRODUCTION

ow a day’s mobile phones become a basic element of individual communication across the globe in the past ten years, consumer research has dedicated little precise concentration to motives and choice underlying the mobile phone buying decision process (Karjaluoto, Karvonen et al. 2005).
At the time of separation Pakistan was a largely a rural country. Even as the rural population still represents about two-thirds of the total population.
Population in urban areas is continuously increasing as a result of the structural alteration of the economy.
Peoples move toward urban areas in search of employment opportunities to make higher income. The growing competition between the telecom service providers has augmented demand for both mobile telecom services as well as the handsets. According to estimate by the Govt. of Pakistan 40% peoples’ lives in urban areas and 60% peoples’ lives in rural areas of
Pakistan. There is a wrong believe about the rural markets in Pakistan. One is that rural Pakistan is poor and there is a lack of sufficient infrastructure. Second, rural Pakistan depends upon agriculture as an exclusive source of survival. But if we see the reality of rural
Pakistan it is different from the general perception.
It is important to differentiate the buying behavior of consumer’s lives in urban areas and the
Author α : Department of Business Administration, Bahauddin Zakariya
University Bahadur Sub Campus Layyah.
E-mails : hashimzameer@hotmail.com, executive_701@yahoo.com, raheel_bzu@hotmail.com consumers live in rural areas. The main object of this study is to compare the buying behavior of rural and urban consumers and find out their priorities while making a purchase decision regarding mobile phone.
II.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Cellular phones and digital televisions got more attention of marketing researchers as look upon the acceptance procedure (Saaksjarvi, 2003).
Rogers