RANKING OF DECISION MAKING CRITERIA FOR PURCHASE OF AIR CONDITIONERS USING ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS RETAILERS PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this research article is to demonstrate the use of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to rank the factors affecting the consumer preferences for purchase of air conditioners from the retailers’ point of view and also to explore the managerial decision-making implications of the results. The suitability of AHP in examining air conditioner selection by consumers is demonstrated using an empirical analysis through data collected from 113 retailers spread all over the state of Tamilnadu in India. Data was collected in the form of a pairwise comparison matrix. Antecedents of consumer decision making such as brand of air conditioners, price, recommendation from friends and family (WoM), energy efficiency rating (star rating), warranty offered, special festival offers given and promotions given for the product in conventional media were considered for research. AHP was applied and it was found that customers have given first preference to brand of air conditioners during their purchase process, followed by price, WoM, star rating, warranty, festival offers and media promotion. Consistency analysis was performed to check the consistency level of the opinion of respondents and results showed that the responses given by the respondents were consistent and reliable. By having an understanding on the criteria used by buyers in the assessment of alternatives, managers can effectively place the product on the minds of the buyers. Thus AHP is an effective decision making technique for evaluation of alternatives in buying decision process.