The Influence of 4Cs of marketing on purchase intention of Over-The-Counter medicine in tier one supermarkets in Nairobi County

Abstract

The Global over-the-counter market size is expected to grow by 7.09% annually according to Euromonitor International. Serving up to 50% of the demand in the region, Kenya has the largest over-the-counter pharmaceutical industry in Eastern and Southern Africa. To provide easier and more widespread access to pharmacy services, governments in many nations have deregulated the retail pharmacy sector. Due to this deregulation, new medicine distribution channels have been able to enter not only pharmacies but also supermarkets. This study's objectives aimed to assess how the elements of the 4Cs (customer, cost, convenience, and communication) of marketing can influence the purchase intention of over-the-counter medicine in Kenya, focusing on tier-one supermarket customers in Nairobi country. The study was anchored on the theory of Hawkins’s impulse buying and the 4Cs of the marketing framework. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used for the study using a quantitative method. The study adopted a non-probability sampling approach of convenience to select customers visiting the supermarket over-the-counter category with the permission of the supermarket's management. The sample size was 384 customers from tier-one supermarkets. A pilot test was administered to ensure the respondents understood the questionnaire. Questionnaires were issued to the customers and used for data collection as designed by the researcher. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze the data and establish if a relationship exists between the 4Cs elements and customer purchase intention. Correlation analysis and regression findings showed a positive and significant relationship between customer, convenience, and communication on Purchase Intention. These implied that as customer, convenience, and communication increase by a single unit, there is an increase by one unit in the purchase intention of OTC medicine in tier-one supermarkets. Conversely, the study found a negative and significant relationship between cost and Purchase intention. These implied that as cost is reduced by a single unit, the purchase intention increases by one unit in the purchase of over-the-counter medicine in tier-one supermarkets. Therefore, Marketing managers should use customer-oriented 4Cs of marketing approach to meet customer needs. Commercial managers in tier-one supermarkets need to share feedback with the marketing managers of over-the-counter medicine to give insights into what the customers need to influence a positive purchase intention. The study was limited to supermarket customers in Nairobi County only. Future researchers need to include the voices of the consumers purchasing their OTC medicines within the other non-urbanites regions for generalizability and get their feedback on how the elements of the 4Cs could influence their purchase intention.