Assessment of Consumer Awareness amongst Women of Deesa, Gujarat

Abstract

The present study aims to assess the consumer awareness about eight consumer rights in Deesa city and to correlate their awareness with the age, education and media exposure. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Two hundred women were selected randomly from different societies of Deesa Taluka of Gujarat State. Data was collected during the period of June to December, 2016. An interview schedule was developed to collect data on personal characteristics of the respondents, various sources of information for consumer education utilized by them and consumer problems faced by them. Teacher made test was used to assess the awareness level of women regarding consumers’ rights. Awareness regarding consumer responsibilities and consumer protection laws was also assessed. Data was analyzed by applying suitable descriptive types of statistical tools such as mean score, frequency, percentage and correlation. Rank was given on the basis of mean scores. It was found in the present study that majority of the respondents (69%) were having moderate awareness level about consumer rights. On comparing mean scores of awareness level of respondents regarding consumer rights, they were highly aware about “Right to information (mean score-21.62)” followed by “Right to Redress(mean score-21.57)”. Consumers were more aware about Right to information in comparison to other rights. Consumer protection was explored as a vulnerable area, which needs to be taken care of. Education had a significant impact on consumer awareness.