APRAJITA GAUTAM 1st year PhD student, Texas A&M University ( – Consumer Behavior) 220Q, Wehner Building, E-mail: [email protected] Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas Mobile: +1(551)3995398

EDUCATION

Current – PhD 1st year student (Marketing - Consumer Behavior) 2019 Texas A&M University, USA Master of Business Administration (Dual Major - Marketing & Finance) 2009 - 2011 XLRI Jamshedpur, India Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science; 1st division with honors 2005 - 2009 APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, India

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Emotions, Sensory Marketing, Consumer Well-being, Sustainability and Green Behavior

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Works in Progress Life was simple in those days: Nostalgia and its impact on Simplicity seeking behavior: with Chiraag Mittal Abstract - Previous research has shown nostalgia to be a bittersweet emotion with central features such as memories, the past, remembering. Our hypothesis is that we also associate the past life with a simpler life - “I was simple, life was simple and what I owned was simple”. Hence, we test whether inducing nostalgia will result in a higher preference for simpler products or designs (or even the number of items that we choose)? Further, is the impact of nostalgia more(less) for certain individuals basis their fast(slow) life history strategy? We explore these questions in our research on Nostalgia and Simplicity. I have got the study approved from IRB and designed a Qualtrics survey. Data collection is in process. The goal-oriented BOPS (buy online pick up in store) shopper- Role of pre-shopping factors and cross category merchandizing on unplanned purchases: with Venkatesh Shankar Abstract – Retailing has moved from standalone stores to multichannel and now omnichannel shopping. For retailers BOPS (buy online pick up in store) is one of the most significant pillars of their omnichannel strategy with over 70% retailers offering this service. However, currently there is very limited understanding of the pre shopping factors which make BOPS shoppers different vs. other shoppers. We hypothesize that the shopping motivations and goals and hence time urgency and in store slack for BOPS shoppers is significantly different vs. regular shoppers. This has implications on pick-up zones in terms of design and the categories which retailers can stock up to increase unplanned purchases.

Applied Research at Procter & Gamble (P&G) 2016 – 2017 Researcher - P&G’s Behavioral Lab (Global Emerging Markets Centre), India 1. Total shopping journey of a store owner (retailer) in wholesale store I ran a multi country research (Mexico, India, Philippines, Turkey, China) to understand the key motivations of store owners while they stock up their own store. I ran an exploratory qualitative study (sample size - in depth interviews - 104 and shop-alongs - 74) to understand the key stages and behavior during the shopping journey. After constructing key hypothesis, I validated these via a quantitative survey (sample size - 525). The insights and action steps which I developed were adopted globally by P&G as part of the Global wholesale strategy. 2. Effective retailer communication via in-store point of sale material in wholesale stores I undertook this research across P&G to understand the types of communication ideas that could be used to influence the purchase decisions of small store owners during their shopping journey. This was the first time in P&G that we tried to map the drivers for retailers and subsequently the communication levers that could be used in store to influence purchase behavior. Further I undertook a quantitative study across P&G brands (sample size - 524) to understand the type of retailer claim/communication which could result in highest purchase intention. 3. STOP-HOLD-CLOSE – Influencing consumer via packaging, point of sale material and claim design for high frequency stores I conducted a meta-analysis of consumer & shopper research of over 10 years in P&G (50+ researches with 5000+ shoppers) to understand the key motivations that drive shoppers in small stores. I used the resulting insights to generate design principles of in-store communication vehicles (POSM, packaging, promotion communication). Today, these form the core of the global design toolkit for P&G. 4. Effectiveness of technological interventions (LED screen) vs. traditional point of sale material in influencing purchase decisions in store I undertook an eye tracking study of shoppers (sample size - 104) in small stores to compare the effectiveness of LED screens displaying product/pricing/promotion information vs. traditional POSM displaying the same. I augmented this by a post purchase survey to measure unaided and aided recall. The results helped quantify the impact of traditional vs. technological interventions in store. 5. Impact of emotional elements in diaper packaging on equity and purchase intention In order to understand the unconscious associations with design elements in packaging, I conducted an eye tracking study combined with shopping simulation and in-depth interviews. I contrasted the proposed packaging of Pampers diapers with the existing packaging and its impact on purchase intention of shoppers in small stores.

Research Assistant, Department of Marketing , Chiraag Mittal & Nickolas Olsen Fall 2019 Mays Business School, Texas A&M University

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Analyzing Consumer Behavior, Teaching Assistant (Chiraag Mittal) Fall 2019 Department of Marketing, Mays Business School Effective Business Writing, P&G Certified subject matter expert and trainer 2016 - 18 Procter & Gamble

DOCTORAL COURSEWORK

Seminar in Social Psychology William Rholes Seminar in Marketing Models Venkatesh Shankar Statistical Analysis in Education research Eunkyeng Baek Technical Skills - STATA, SPSS, Qualtrics Trainings - Human Subject Protection Training through CITI (for IRB applications) WORK EXPERIENCE

Procter & Gamble 2011 - 2018 Manager - Customer & Shopper Marketing – Feminine Hygiene 2018 Owner of Trade strategy and Trade spends for Whisper - $330 mn brand in India Researcher - Global Emerging Markets Innovation Centre, India 2016 – 2017 Account Executive - National Store development organization 2014 - 2016 Led a team of 9 P&G managers and 200+ distributor employees to deliver a business of $100 Mn Developed organization expertise in shopper psychology and in-store analytics in Organized retail Key Account Manager - Independent and Organized retail 2011- 2014

HONORS AND AWARDS

Recipient, Graduate Research Travel Grant, Texas A&M 2019 Recipient, Department of Marketing Fellowship, Mays Business School, Texas A&M 2019 Procter & Gamble global award for “Innovation in Research” 2017 Procter & Gamble national award for “Power of Minds” 2017 Procter & Gamble national award for “Power of Agility” 2015 Procter & Gamble national award for “Executing with Excellence” 2013 Procter & Gamble national award for “Best in class fundamentals” 2012 Gold Medal for Best Incoming Student ’05 in Graduation 2005 Scholarship from Canara Bank for academic excellence in Senior secondary 2003 2nd runner up International SAARC poetry competition 2003

STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

GMAT- 740 2018 TOEFL- 119/120 2018

EXTRA CURRICULAR AND VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Completed Spanish Language Level 1 from Academia de Espanol, Mumbai 2015 NSE Certification in Financial Markets (NCFM) 2009 Executive member, Alumni Committee, XLRI 2009 - 2010 Vice President, Indian Society for Technical Education - AKGEC chapter 2008 – 2009

REFERENCES

Chiraag Mittal Alina Sorescu Assistant Professor of Marketing Professor of Marketing Mays Business School Paula and Steve Letbetter `70 Chair in Business Texas A&M University Director of the Ph.D. in Business Administration +1 (520)3017752 - Marketing Program [email protected] Mays Business School Texas A&M University Venkatesh Shankar +1 (979)8623043 Coleman Chair Professor in Marketing [email protected] Director of Research, Center for Retailing Studies Texas A&M University +1 (979)8453246 [email protected]