Analysis of Consumer's Preferences in Purchasing Fruits and Vegetables across Selected Marketing Organizations in Bangalore Rural and Urban Districts

The efficiency of marketing for fruits and vegetables in India has been of significant concern in the recent years. Poor efficiency in the marketing channels and inadequate marketing infrastructure are believed to be the cause of high and fluctuating consumer prices. This paper analyses the consumer preference across selected marketing organizations for purchasing of fruits and vegetables.Karnataka enjoys a prominent position on the horticultural map of India. The following four marketing organizations were considered for the study, Co-operative marketing systems (HOPCOMS), retailers marketing systems (Subiksha and My Greens) and direct marketing systems (Rythu Bazaar). The study was conducted in Bangalore urban and rural districts of Karnataka with the sample size of 40. Consumer fruit and vegetable purchasing habits are affected by various demographic, socioeconomic and socio-culturalfactors along with the product, price, distribution channel, and advertisement. Diversified andalternative supply chains offer so many advantages to consumers in fruit and vegetable markets.Consumers prefer different outlets for purchase of fruits and vegetables because of their personal differences that are formed by the effects of demographic, socio-economic and socio-cultural factors.