Bobby Christopher

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
INTRODUCTION
In the simplest form, consumer behaviour may be defined as the way consumers would respond to various products and services. There are several factors that affect consumer behaviour including emotional factors, psychological factors, and also the economic situation of the consumer. From a marketing perspective, consumer behaviour (B) can be defined as ...a function of a function (f ) of the interactions of interpersonal influences (I) such as culture, friends, classmates, coworkers, and relativesand personal factors (P) such as attitudes, learning, and perception. (Kurtz, 2008, p.134). It can be represented as B = f(I,P). As it is evident from the definition, consumer behaviour depends on several factors and can be a very complex process. Every buying decision is based on an array of determinants (Kurtz, 2008). The perception of social class differs from person to person. For example, a person who may have worked hard to become wealthy may perceive that a classy person should have a Rolls Royce and a huge mansion to accompany. However, the perception of a person who has a history and a long line of wealthy ancestors may not feel the need to own a Rolls Royce or a huge mansion. As such, the concept of class is very subjective. For the purpose of marketing, social class has been defined by the consumers economic conditions and their standing in society (Solomon et al., 2006). One of the main indicators of social class as perceived by marketers is the way consumers spend their money rather than how much they spend (Kurtz, 2008). However, social class is not about the money, there is more to class than just money (Solomon et al., 2006).

WHAT IS SOCIAL CLASS?

According to Caruana & Magri, (1996, p.40) ...social class may be defined as homogeneous and relatively prominent divisions in a society in which individuals and families sharing similar values, interests and behaviour can be categorized. From this definition, it is inferred that social class applies to various sectors of the society and divides people into different segments based on their standing in the society as well as their values and interests. Generally speaking, the socio-economic classes of the modern world are represented as A, B, C1, C2 (G2 from figure 1), D, and E following in descending order of social class with A being the highest and E being the lowest in the working class of people. However, the modern classification of social class has changed into numbers from 1 to 8, 1 representing the highest class and 8 representing the lowest class (Jobber, 2010). In the past, there was great importance placed on social class and status with respect to marketing. Although the importance of social class on consumer behaviour is known, there is very little literature that has been published on the subject in recent years (Williams, 2002). This is due to the fact that with modernisation, many intangible barriers such as social class have disappeared and new concepts have taken their place (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009). It has been stated that dedifferentiation has taken place which has in turn made the distinctions between social classes very difficult to identify (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009). Although it may be said that social class is one of the factors that influences consumer buying behaviour, it cannot be ignored that there are several other factors that influence consumer buying behaviour which supersede social class (Henry, 2002).

Bobby Christopher

Figure 1 UK Socioeconomic Classification Scheme (Kotler et al., 1999, p.233) In order to identify the impact of social class and consumer behaviour in the modern day, it is important to identify the factors that influence consumer behaviour and the extent to which consumer behaviour can be influenced.

FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Drawing from the definition of consumer behaviour, it can be seen that there are four primary factors that affect consumer buying behaviour which are: cultural factors, social factors, psychological factors, and also individual factors (Lamb et al., 2011).

CULTURE
Kotler et al (2005) suggest that culture is one of the most basic determinants of persons needs and wants, as a result the behaviour. It has been stated that human behaviour is learned from a very early age. The opinions and attitudes that are formed by individuals, to a large extent, are the result of what the individual might have learned while (s)he was young (Lamb et al., 2011). The cultural values and beliefs are sewn into children, which they carry with them for the rest of their lives, in most cases. Culture influences every attribute of human behaviour from the way people eat to the way people dress or aspire (Lamb et al., 2011). Furthermore, culture is dynamic in the sense that it adapts to new environments and more increasingly, modernisation. As a result, from a marketing perspective, it is important to understand each of the differences that may come about as a result of the cultural background of a person. Culture is further divided into subcultures based on various attributes such as religion, geographic regions, and the ethnic background (Lamb et al., 2011). In the UK, there are several subcultures that have emerged. For example, in London, it is seen that in East Ham, the population is predominantly filled people particularly from the South of India. In order to be able to meet the needs of these people, it is important for the marketers to understand the Indian sub-culture within London.

Bobby Christopher Social Class It is seen that each subculture may have a different social class structure. Also, in each society, there is some form of social class that is established. However, due to modernisation and the complexity in social class, it is noticed that the focus from social class has been shifting to that of celebrity culture where people would like to associate themselves with certain celebrities, of their choice of course (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009, p.40; Williams, 2002). It is seen that in some countries, the class system has a greater impact on the consumer buying behaviour than others (Kotler et al., 2005). Britain is perhaps one of the countries that fit in with the latter type of consumers where social class is not a determinant of the buying behaviour (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009). The problems with the determination of social class lie in the fact that many of the determinants or variables that were used to determine social class are either dated or invalid and do not apply to the modern consumer base (Solomon et al., 2006). For example if a particular social class is applied to a group of people, not everyone within that group might be equal in status are in their standing on one or all of the attributes. For instance, if a person originates from a high class family, but is currently living a middle class life, the individuals to be called a high-class person though the economic situation may be middle-class. As such, the actual social class of the person may not be applicable or may not be influential in the consumers buying behaviour (Solomon et al., 2006). This can be explained by the normative self image of a person which is discussed later. It is to be noted that social class is differentiated primarily on two counts occupational prestige and income (Solomon et al., 2006). Although there may very well be distinctions among people with respect to social class, it is seen that the actual social class does not affect the consumer behaviour to a great extent. On the contrary, it is seen that the consumers buying behaviour can be affected by the perceived class of the individual (Kurtz, 2008; Parsons & MacLaran, 2009). For instance, if a middle class person, with sufficient money, was to buy a watch, would he think like a middle class person or would he like to buy something that he thinks high class people (or a celebrity) would buy? In most cases, the person would like to buy the watch that he associates with a higher class than himself. As such, it is difficult to ascertain the effect of social class on the consumer buying behaviour (Solomon et al., 2006). Additionally, it has also been said that social class has lost its relevance in the modern day context (Williams, 2002).

SOCIAL FACTORS/ ELEMENTS

While culture may be one of the primary determinants of an individuals attitudes and opinions, social influences also contribute towards the behaviour of consumers. The social factors with respect to consumer behaviour are related to groups or memberships which influence consumer behaviour. Groups The group to which a consumer belongs has a very high bearing on the behaviour of the individual (Kurtz, 2008). There are different types of groups with respect to consumer behaviour in marketing. The primary types of groups are membership groups and reference groups (Kotler et al., 2005). Additionally, the aspirational or inspirational reference group is also a very important contributor to consumer behaviour. Membership groups are those groups with which there is a close tie, such as family, friends, trade unions, club memberships and so on (Lamb et al., 2011). Reference groups are

Bobby Christopher those groups that influence the consumers indirectly. Although the consumer may not belong to a certain group, he or she may want to be like them (Kotler et al., 1999). For instance, an example of a reference group is celebrities (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009). In most cases, these reference groups are aspirational and as such, they have a greater impact on the consumers (Kotler et al., 2005; Kotler et al., 1999). The aspirational groups relate to what consumers would like to be associated with and not what they actually are. In other words, this relates to the normative self image of the consumer. Marketers usually find opinion leaders who influence the consumers with respect to the reference groups. For example, a teenage girl would perhaps want to be like Miley Cirus and as a result, may purchase products that she endorses, to be like her. Additionally, there are also non-aspirational reference groups that consumers would never like to be associated with (Lamb et al., 2011). Family It is a well known factor that family members can influence consumer buying behaviour to a great extent. However, there are two aspects of families with respect to consumer buying behaviour the family of orientation and the family of procreation. The family of orientation refers to the consumers parents and their origin while the family of procreation refers to the consumers spouse and children (Kotler et al., 2005). To a large extent the family of orientation plays a role in the social class of a person. For example, if the parents of the consumer are wealthy and have a status of being high-class, then that passes on to the consumer and he or she inherits this status. However, the family of procreation determines the actual class of the consumer as the inherited wealth may not last forever. This is because this family determines the actual buying behaviour of the consumers and therefore it has a direct bearing on the consumer behaviour (Kotler et al., 2005). Roles and Status Roles and status, with respect to the social class can be stated as the groups to which a person belongs and the position of the person within the group (Lamb et al., 2011). For example, considering a person may be a father, a son, a husband, and an uncle, all at the same time. Each of these roles induces different buying behaviour in the consumer. Additionally, these roles have associated values and status in the society (Kotler et al., 2005). For example if the person in the example is a CEO, the purchase behaviour will reflect that of a CEO rather than those of a father, son, uncle or husband as the status of CEO has greater value in the society.

PSYCHOLOGICAL
The primary psychological factors that affect consumer behaviour are factors such as motivation, perception and consumer learning. Although these factors are influential in the development of consumer behaviour, they do not have a direct bearing on the social class of the consumers (Lamb et al., 2011). However, it may be said that, to an extent, the psychological factors such as motivation, perception and consumer learning are indeed influenced by the perceived social class of the consumer. For example, if the consumer aspires to be high class, then he or she may be motivated to purchase products and services that appear to be high class to him or her. Maslows theory of needs hierarchy may apply in this case. The same principle applies to perception as well. As far as learning is concerned, factors such as family and reference groups become more important.

Bobby Christopher

INDIVIDUAL
It follows that the individuals buying behaviour is influenced by the individual traits and characteristics of a person. Some of the common influential factors include age, gender, family life stage and life cycle, and the personality or the self concept and lifestyle of the person (Lamb et al., 2011). With respect to the social class, personality, self-concept and the lifestyle of the consumers has a big influence. The Normative Self Image The self concept and the personality of the individuals deals with the normative self image which is the ideal self image that a person strives to attain (Kurtz, 2008). As such, every activity that a person may do could reflect the normative self image of the person. There is usually a stark difference between the normative self image and the real self image of a person (Lamb et al., 2011). While the normative self image deals with what the individual would like to be, the real self image of the person reveals the reality of the person (Lamb et al., 2011). It has been seen that consumers generally would not like to be associated with the real self image (Andreassen, 2010). For example, a middle class person may feel that the ideal self image is that of a high class person or something aspirational and as a result, strives to resemble this as best as possible. This could be reflected in the buying patterns of the person or the lifestyle of the person. In either case, there would be a huge difference between the actual and the ideal or the normative self image of the person. As such, the normative self image of a person dismisses the theories of social class and moves on to a new celebrity culture. This means that the normative self image of the consumers affects and distorts the perception of social class in that the consumer may perceive that he or she is of a higher class than the actual social class. Thus, it affects the consumer buying behaviour adversely. For instance, if marketers want would like to sell middle class products to the middle class people, chances are that most of the products would remain unsold due to the fact that middle class people would not like to be known as middle class people. Lifestyle It may be argued that the lifestyle of an individual is influenced to a great extent by his or her social class, and this may indeed be true (Lamb et al., 2011). The lifestyle of people coming from similar cultures or similar subcultures is usually similar. Additionally it can also be said that people having different occupations and social class also have different lifestyles. This is reflected in the buying patterns or the interests and activities of the consumer (Kotler et al., 1999). However, it should be taken into account that the normative self-image also has a great impact on the lifestyle of person. Owing to the diversity in culture in the UK, social class seems to have been eradicated giving way to newer systems. The newer systems are being defined by the consumers normative self images and as such are being reflected in their lifestyles (Kotler et al., 2005; Caruana & Magri, 1996).

MONEY, SPENDING POWER, AND INVOLVEMENT

Another aspect that could perhaps have an effect on the social class is the income and the spending power that a consumer may have. It has already been established that social class has an implication on how consumers may spend their money rather than how much they would spend. At first glance, it would seem that the high class people spend a lot of money on everything, but in reality, it

Bobby Christopher may or may not be true (Solomon et al., 2006; Kurtz, 2008). To an extent, the spending power of the consumers determines what consumers buy or do not buy. Additionally, it is seen that high involvement products are more likely to be associated with social class and the normative self-image rather than low involvement products such as consumables (Kotler et al., 2005; Sivadas et al., 1997). High involvement products are often purchased by consumers to reveal to others their social standing through these products. As such it can be said about what people buy does not determine their social class, rather it determines their normative self-image and the aspirational social class. However, it is seen that the high class consumers do behave like high class consumers which is generally reflected in their purchasing patterns or lifestyles. However, owing to the fact that the number of high class of people in Britain is very less, studying social class may be very helpful in understanding consumer behaviour in general (Parsons & MacLaran, 2009).

CONCLUSION
From the discussion, it can be said that although social class may have a bearing on the lifestyle of the consumer, it may not have a significant impact on the consumer buying behaviour. This is due to the fact that modernisation has brought about a change in behaviour away from social class and towards a celebrity culture type of class which appeals to the normative self image. As such, it may appear that social class may not have a significant value in understanding consumer behaviour.

Bobby Christopher

WORKS CITED
Andreassen, T.W., 2010. Service Differentiation: A celf-image congruency perspective on brand buinding in the labor market. Journal of Service Marketing, 21(2), pp.212-36. Caruana, A. & Magri, E., 1996. The effects of dogmatism and social class variables on consumer ethnocentrism in Malta. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 14(4), pp.39-44. Henry, P., 2002. Systematic variation in purchase orientation across social class. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(5), pp.424-38. Jobber, D., 2010. Principles and Practice of Marketing. 6th ed. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J. & Wong, V., 1999. Principles of Marketing: Second European Edition. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Europe. Kotler, P., Wong, V., Saunders, J. & Armstrong, G., 2005. Principles of Marketing. Fourth European ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Kurtz, D.L., 2008. Contemporary Marketing. Mason: Cengage Learning. Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. & McDaniel, C., 2011. Marketing. Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Parsons, E. & MacLaran, P., 2009. Contemporaty Issues in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour. Burlington: Butterworth-Heinemann. Sivadas, E., Mathew, G. & Curry, D.J., 1997. A premilinary examination of the continuing significance of social class to marketing: a geodemographic replicatio. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), pp.463-79. Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S. & Hogg, M.K., 2006. Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Williams, T.G., 2002. Social class influences on purchase evaluation criteria. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(3), pp.249-76.