Estimating the Influence of Product Attributes on Consumers Preference for Santiniketan Leather Craft Products

Product Attributes

Product attributes identify features or basic descriptive aspects of a marketing strategy that reflect the appraisal criteria of the consumer in the selection of particular products, leading to a purchasing decision. Kotler and Armstrong (2012) stated that product attributes draw attention, acquisition, usage, or consumption to achieve satisfaction. They refer to a product’s physical composition and assess the nature and level of product performance (Keller, 1998). Product attributes deliver the benefits offered by the product and add value to the consumer. Consumers are believed to seek information to help recognise and assess products and make perceived purchases important to them (Moeller et al., 2009). Product attributes play a vital role in selecting since the outcome of a purchase decision depends on its attributes. Product attributes define those properties or characteristics of a product that are inherent, concrete, observable, objectively measurable, and relevant to choice among alternatives (Michalek et al., 2011). As Oyekunle and Sirayi (2018) reported, craft firms must be susceptible to market changes and fashion trends and can compete in the market. Handicraft firms should have the potential to innovate and gain competitive advantages regarding product attributes and price.

Consumers perform a product evaluation focusing on the product attributes when making a purchase decision on handcrafted products. Mogindol and Bagul (2016) have identified that in terms of craft segments, the two most favoured products purchased by consumers are leather and textile-based craft items. Product attributes such as colour, design and price influence the consumer purchase decision for a handcrafted product. Hu and Yu (2007) listed that design, price, and colour are important quality attributes of handicrafts. Yuksel (2004) emphasised the characteristics of leather-crafted products that affect market demand by focusing on design, price, and store attributes. Swanson (2004) added that the purchase location attributes affect the consumer where to buy. Therefore, design, price, and shopping outlet attributes are examined in this study.

Handcrafted products by local artisans are popular among tourists and in urban areas. Tourists are the main consumer of Santiniketan craft products (Hajra, 2020). Handcrafted leather products are heritage in Santiniketan. The items produced and marketed are in the form of handbags, coin bags, sandals, pouches, spectacle covers, piggy banks, jewellery boxes, coin bags, pencil boxes, cushion covers, wallets and many more (Figure 2).

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Figure 2.

(a) – (p) Name of the product with applied technique on leather and size (inches).

Design Attributes

The perception and use of beautifully crafted products create stimulation and sensory enjoyment. In contrast, products with unappealing forms can evoke distaste. Product design, an applied art, has a greater effect on our everyday lives since products are visualised daily (Creusen & Schoormans, 2005). Handcrafted goods include design and production processes in which only hand-controlled machines and tools are used, and the action focuses on handmade products (Pöllänen, 2015). The product design or its physical form remains an undisputed factor of its success in the market. Good design draws consumers, communicates, and adds value to the product by improving the quality of the consumer experience associated with the product. Initially, product form is one way to acquire consumer notice in cluttered markets (Truong et al., 2014). Second, the product form or its exterior appearance is important for communicating to consumers (Tian et al., 2001) and provides an initial impression to conclude other product attributes similar to prices (De Mozota, 1990). Third, in addition to managerial concerns, the product form is important in a wider context as it affects the quality of life. Fourth, product forms have long-lasting effects. Although many products get discarded, the aesthetic characteristics of more robust products have an impact for years on users and non-users as products become part of the sensory environment, for good or bad (Liang, 2009). When designing new product offerings, it is necessary to explore, identify, and understand the searched value and its dimensions to create a product offering that meets the needs and expectations of the consumers (Song et al., 2015). In addition to design, other elements classified under product attributes are creativity, fit, workmanship, price, and brand image (Ghodeswar, 2008). Handcrafted items relate heavily with design attributes like motifs, patterns, and colour, creating a unique cultural value influencing purchase decisions (Luchs & Swan, 2011).

Price Attributes

The role of price in determining product alternatives is quite likely, not one-dimensional. Initially, the price paid for a product by a consumer reduces their wealth. This role represents the price as a constraint (Erickson & Johansson, 1985). However, the price may also convey product quality information to the consumer, a role substantiated in several behavioural studies (Graciola et al., 2018). Thus, price becomes a character of a product attribute. However, if the subjective price-level assumptions are addressed, the price-level role will extend much further, as these beliefs are possibly correlated with other attribute beliefs. Product perceptions of different attributes might bias the perceived prices away from actual prices, much like price beliefs influence perceived quality attributes within the price-quality relationship. Price plays an important role in consumers’ assess goods. The price is the amount consumers pay for the purchase (Kamzabek et al., 2020). The most important aspects consumers search for while purchasing handicrafts are design and colour (Mayer, 2018).

Rural Marketplace or Store Location

Marketplace or store location is important and refers to the point at which consumers prefer to buy a product (Alba et al., 1997). Location refers to stores in a particular geographical setting and can mean convenience and accessibility. It is one of the primary components of the marketing mix (Kotler, 2012), referred to as a distribution channel, largely traditional and unique in India, and highly influences consumer buying behaviour (Mulky, 2013). Consumers want to buy products from a location or store where they can easily find their required products (Vijayasarathy, 2004).

Bolpur-Santiniketan is the main industrial hub of the Birbhum district, where cottage-based handicraft industries have been extremely popular. It is an amazing destination to find wonderful, handcrafted products at reasonable prices. Local women and men have always been involved in creating exquisite handicrafts and selling them through organised and unorganised formats. Santiniketan has managed to preserve a fast-disappearing rural crafts culture. The town’s main market is the Bhuvandanga market consisting of unorganised retail shops. The organised formats include stores like Amar Kutir, Basundhara Art and Craft Village, and Sonajhurir Haat (Sanibarer Haat). Sengupta (2008) argued that the traditional bazaar system is no longer relevant to the customer due to competition from retail stores. Traditional craft bazaars can become a possible tourist attraction for shopping (Munjal, 2019). Santiniketan, home to an impressive collection of handicrafts, is a shopper’s paradise. A summary of the marketplace is given below.

Bhubandanga Handicrafts Market consists of a variety of shops belonging to small artisanal traders (Figure 3). This very popular and lively market has something for everyone. Many consumers consider it an economic market and a perfect shopping spot for handcrafted items. However, one should have all the bargaining skills to get a reasonable price. The unorganised market is situated on one side of the Bolpur-Santiniketan road that occupies the land of the Public Works Department. The unorganised market traders have formed an association named ‘Kabiguru Hastoshilpo Unnayan Samiti’ to promote their common interests.

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Figure 3.

Handicrafts Shops at Bhubandanga Market.

Amar Kutir is a cooperative organisation promoting rural crafts, established in 1923, located at Ballavpur, on the outskirts of Santiniketan beside Bolpur-Suri Road. The site has a great natural setting along the Kopai river. Formerly a place of refuge for the Indian independence movement, but presently promotes local arts and crafts. The showroom displays a huge stock of authentic regional handicraft products at a reasonable price (Figure 4). The displayed products are leather goods, Kantha stitched, bamboo crafts, dokra, shola pith, woodcraft, macramé, ceramic products and other items.

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Figure 4.

Amar Kutir Society Showroom.

Basundhara Art and Craft Village (Figure 5) is a craft hub in the tribal village ‘Boner Pukur Danga’, which lies just at the periphery of the Khowai, the trenched land around the Sonajhuri forest. One can buy Santiniketan handicrafts at a reasonable price. The organisation revived many crafts unique to Santiniketan and helped disseminate the skill on a wider scale. Their leather products include various bags, purses, frames, and boxes. The designs mold the traditional concepts to satisfy modern functional requirements.

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Figure 5.

Basundhara Art and Craft Village.

Sonajhurir Haat (Figure 6) is located along the Mayurakshi river canal after Shyambati in the Khoai Forest, on a wide eroded landscape of red laterite soil and full of high Sonajhuri trees (Acacia auriculiformis). Initially, the Haat used to be held only Saturdays from 2 p.m. until dusk, with village artisans from and around Santiniketan and interiors of Bolpur gathered to sell their creations sitting under trees. In recent times, the Haat is open on all days of the week, where items ranging from Santiniketan Leather goods, kantha stitch products, handcrafted ethnic jewellery, home decor pieces, paintings, wooden ornaments, garments, ceramic products, and even local ethnic Bengal homemade sweet dishes are sold. The calm ambience is strengthened by the live performances of Bengali Baul folk music. Bauls denote a religious cult of Bengal, singing folk songs in praise of gods and goddesses and the universe. Also, the tribal woman in the group performs the Santhali dance is another attraction of this Haat. This colourful handicraft market is called ‘Khoai er Haat’.

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Figure 6.

Leather Merchandise Sold at Sonajhurir Haat.

Santiniketan is an art and culture treasure trove, attracting domestic and international tourists. The rural hinterland of Bolpur-Santiniketan is an ideal weekend gateway destination for tourists from the metropolitan city of Kolkata and neighbouring districts who desire leisure tourism during weekends and vacations to get relief from the metropolitan’s delirious pace and pollution. Rabindranath Tagore’s Visva Bharati University is the main attraction of the place. Santiniketan and surrounding Santhal villages are hotspots for ecotourism and cultural and heritage tourism. The villages form a major attraction for tourists visiting Santiniketan and add to the virgin charm of the area. The Santhals form one of the largest tribes in India and have zealously preserved their age-old rituals and customs. As a result, the deforming forces of globalisation have not yet overrun their ethnic Santhali culture. Sometimes an entire village specialises in a particular artisanal tradition and creates artistic items using traditional techniques. Ballavpur Danga and other traditional Santhal villages named Boner Pukur Danga, Phul Danga, and Moul Danga lie just at the periphery of the Sonajhuri forest in Khoai is known for the handicrafts made by the local artisans to earn their livelihood. Khoai forms a distinctive natural panorama due to its lateritic soils and gully erosion. The Indian government initiated the Endogenous Tourism Project in the early 21st century and included these villages in its Rural Tourism Scheme. Visitors flock to Khoai all year round due to the resorts established by private entrepreneurs. Home to an impressive collection of handicrafts, Santiniketan is a shopper’s paradise.

The five basic steps in the consumer decision-making process, often taken by consumers when considering purchases are problem recognition, search information, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decisions, and post-purchase behaviour (Kotler et al., 2019). Handicrafts are the symbol of artistic creativity, simplicity, and naturally rich, which entices the consumers of the modern society of complexity and sophistication to purchase, which not only solace but also develops a unique image of the consumer in the community (Pani & Pradhan, 2017). Consumers buy handicrafts to feel connected to indigenous traditions and cultures. Purchase decision reflects what the customer wants upon a product. The customer tries to get information about handicrafts at the information-searching stage. In selecting information and assigning meaning, the process is linked to perception. Subsequently, this would contribute to the understanding of handicraft items. Human perceptions are among the psychological factors that can affect consumer buying behaviour and is a method for selecting, organising, and interpreting the information collected from the environment (Febrianti & Ariffin, 2013). Thus, what consumers think will affect their behaviour, buying habits, and so on. The perception has strategic implications for marketers because consumers make choices based on what they perceive rather than on objective reality (Yadav & Mahara, 2019). Swanson (2004) believes that when buying craft souvenirs, tourists perceive product attributes. Besides, Febrianti and Ariffin (2013) discovered that design, artistic skill, and the image of value creation influence tourism purchase decisions.

Handicrafts are part of the tangible cultural heritage of all nations. Cultural components can facilitate economic development. The purpose of handicrafts in tourism is to serve as cultural souvenirs. Several countries build tourism facilities near major craft manufacturing centres because handicrafts are the primary source of tourism growth. Some people try to display their originality and individuality by offering new products created by combining national symbols or the ‘Make in India’ brand with handicrafts (Grobar, 2019). Handicraft developments have a crucial role in employment, entrepreneurship, and economic development. Establishing large handicraft workshops and crafts knowledge centres, finding new markets, creating export markets, and developing targeted policies will allow more artisans in the sector. There is a collaborative relationship between tourism and crafts. One of the factors affecting the attraction of tourists is handicrafts, and tourism development would result in growth in the production and sale of handicrafts (Datta & Bhattacharyya, 2016).

Over the last six decades, several studies investigated the shortcomings and market success of Indian village crafts. Reviewed literature reveals that village-based crafts are a compilation of tradition with religion and philosophy dating back to the Vedic period reflecting tremendous contributions to Indian commerce and trade (Menon, 2010).

Santiniketan carries huge cultural importance and is known for its beautiful craft and design works. The villagers are mostly involved in cultural art and creative design works. The symbol of Santiniketan culture is seen during the annual local fest and celebrations like Pous Mela, Basanta Utsav and Magh Mela (seasonal fairs) (Anand, 2021). Tourists from nearby regions and far away districts visit and participate in the cultural program. Thousands of artisans bring their products and sell them directly. Apart from the season, one can find a crowd every Saturday at Sanibarer Haat in the Sonajhuri area of Santiniketan. The overall beauty of Santiniketan can be viewed through the mirror of its cultural diversity (Sinha & Mohanty, 2021).

Santiniketan Leather Craft is a popular handicraft compared to other handicraft products of the region. District Industry Centre, Birbhum, claimed the demand for handcrafted leather products is increasing trend, compared to other crafts. During the annual fairs, the sales indicate that the demand for leather-crafted products is high and thus can become a potential industry. The increasing popularity of Santiniketan leather handicrafts has successfully promoted Santiniketan to the global platform. The leather-based craft industries are booming in and around Bolpur due to consumers’ demand for high-quality design and leather (Batabyal & Das, 2019). Santiniketan leather batik items are popular among tourists, including foreigners, who are completely enamoured by the colours and aesthetic nature of the products they bring home as valuable souvenirs. International tourists purchase handcrafted products for practical gifts (Liebl & Roy, 2003). The reason being the leather craft uses traditional designs and embossed motifs that are very distinct from the typical leather items. The products are full of colours, eventually creating their purchasing interest (Utusan Malaysia, 2011). Dasgupta and Chandra (2016), in their research about consumer preference for handicraft-based products, found that purchases made by tourists are derived from self-identity and acquired cultural knowledge. The uniqueness of handcrafted leather products is one attribute that affects the tourist purchase decision (Rama & Sofique, 2019). The promotion created by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises that promotes the marketing and export of handicrafts increased the demand for leather-crafted products. Even though tourists purchase leather crafts as souvenirs, there are still problems concerning the attributes of leather products with attention to design, price, and store. Ahuja (2022) claimed that Santiniketan’s leather product designs are old-fashioned and too traditional. The price attribute of leather products also affects consumer preferences, as the prices are often not standardised and the emergence of counterfeit products in the market (Chaudhary et al., 2022).