Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is defined as the behavior that consumers

display in searching for purchasing, using, evaluating, and
disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy
their needs.
Consumer behaviour focuses on how individuals make
decisions to sirens their available resources on consumption
related items.
Consumers play an important role in the overall health of the
economy. The buying decisions consumers make affect the
demand for basic raw materials, for transportation, for

Types of Consumer
There are two types of consumers :
Household Consumer.
Organizational Consumer.
Household Consumer : The consumer buys goods and services for his or
her own personal use, for the use of household, or as a gift for a friend or
relative.
Organizational Consumer : The organization buyer includes profit and
non profit companies, government agencies, and institutions which buy
products, and services to run their organizations, or further their
production.

Buyer Behaviour Model

The Economic Model : This model views the buyer as a rational
man and his buying decisions will only be concerned with utility.
The Learning Model : This model says that buyer behavoiur
can be influenced by manipulating the drives, stimuli and
responses of the buyer.
The Psycho-Analytical Model : The individual consumer has a
complex set of deep-seated motives that drive him towards
certain buying decisions.
The Sociological Mode : This model says that the buyer is
influenced by the society.
The Howard Sheth Model : John Howard and Jagdish Sheth
put forward this systems model in 1969 in their publication titled
The Theory of Buyer Behaviour.

Buying Characteristics influencing

Consumer Behaviour
Cultural Characteristics :
Culture.
Subculture.
Social Classes.

Social Classes :
Reference Groups.
Family.
Role and Status.

 Age and Life-Cycle Stage :

Occupation.
Economic Circumstances.
Lifestyle.
Personality and Self-Concept.

Psychological Characteristics :

Motivation.
Perception.
Learning.
Beliefs and Attitudes.

Buying Motives
Buying motive can be defined as all the all the impulses,
desires and considerations which persuade or motivate a buyer
to purchase a specific product.
There are two types of buying motives :
Product motives : These are the impulses , desires and
considerations which make people buy a specific product.
Patronage motives : The impulses and influences which
persuade a buyer to buy from particular shops or company
explains patronage motives.

Buying Decision-making Process

Marketers must develop an understanding of how consumers
actually make their buying decisions. They must identify who
makes the buying decision, the type of buying decision that is
involved.
There are several roles people might play in buying decision.
The initiator is the person who first suggests or thinks of the
idea of buying the particular product or service. An influencer
is the one whose views and advice carries some weight in
making the final decision. The decider is the person who
ultimately determines any part of, or the entire buying
decision. The buyer is the person who makes the actual
purchase. The user is the person who consume or use the
product or service.

Types of Buyer Behaviour

Consumer decision-making varies with the type of buying
decision. The more complex and expensive decisions are likely
to involve more buyer deliberation and more buying
information.
Complex Buying Behaviour : Consumer go through
comoplex buying behaviour when they are highly involved in a
purchase and aware of significant differences existing among
brands. Consumers are highly involved in a purchase when it is
expensive, bought infrequently, highly self-expressive, risky.
Dissonance Reducing Buyer Behaviour : Sometimes the
consumer is highly involved in a purchase but sees little
differences in the brands. The high involvement again is based
on the fact that the purchase is expensive, infrequent and risky.

 Habitual Buying Behaviour : Many products are bought

under condition of low consumer involvement and the absence
of significant brand differences.( E.g. salt.)
Variety Seeking Buying Behaviour : Some buying situations
are characterized by low consumer involvement but significant
brand preferences. Here consumers are often observed to do a
lot of brand switching.

Stages in the Buying Decision Process

1. Need recognition

2. Information search
3. Evaluation of
alternatives
4. Purchase decision
5. Post purchase
behaviour

 Need Recognition : The buying decision process starts with

the buyers recognition of a problem or need. Consumer
problem can be any state of discomfort felt by the consumer.
The need can be triggered by either an internal stimulus or an
external stimulus.
Information Search : In many cases, an aroused consumer
searches for information about the product. In information
search, consumers usually consider only a select subset of
brands. His awareness set will include brands about which the
consumer is aware of.
Evaluation of Alternatives : After gathering sufficient
information, the consumer evaluates the alternatives. Here, the
concepts involved are product attributes, weightage for
important attruibutes, brand image, price, utility function and
evaluation procedure.

 Purchase Decision : After the brand and model are decided,

the consumer forms a purchase intention decision, followed by
the purchase decision. The purchase decision also includes the
vendor decision, timing decision, and payment terms or
method decision.
Post-purchase Behaviour : After purchasing the product, the
consumers will experience some level of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction. This is the post-purchase evaluation stage.

Consumer Socialisation
Consumer socialisation is the process by which growing
children and the youth acquire the skills, knowledge and
attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the
society. Factors that influence the consumer socialisation
process :
The background/environment factor.
The socialising agents.
Learning mechanisms.

4 primary ways in which family influences can be

transmitted to the individual within the family :

Parents act as a model.

Parent-child discussions.
Child-Child interactions.
The child begins to handle money as he/she becomes older.

Family Life Cycle Concept

The family life cycle is an important factor to be considered while
studying consumer behaviour, as the behaviour varies at its different
stages. Similar to individuals and products going through a life
cycle, families also have life cycles.
The family life cycle stages :
The Bachelor Stage (young and single) : At this stage of the life cycle,
income is low compared to future earnings, since most bachelors and
spinsters are just beginning their careers.
The Newly Married couples (young, no children) : The needs, wants and
resources change with marriage. When the newly married starts setting up a
house, household requirements increase.
Full Nest 1. (young, married, with child) : In the case of the young
couple, arrival of a child creates major changes. Some wives may stop
working to look after the child, and may be affected by a reduction in family
income. The financial position / resources thus changes significantly.

 Full Nest 2. (older, married, with children) : The familys

financial position starts to improve because of career progress
and also because many wives return to work.
Full Nest 3. (Older, married, with dependent children) : At
this stage, income will be high for the family as both parents
would have progressed to higher positions in the careers.
Empty Nest (older, married, with no children living with
them) : The familys financial position stabilises when
children et settled separately and only the elderly couple is left
at home. Savings will improve along with investments and
insurance.
Solitary Survivor (old, single, retired, widower or widow) :
Lifestyle becomes very simple and most economically, devoid
of luxury spending. Income will come down due to retirement.
Health care and medical expenses will be maximum.

Lifestyle Marketting
The study of lifestyles has emerged as an important aspect of
consumer behaviour study, based on which the trend has started
for lifestyle marketing. Lifestyle marketing is a process of
establishing relationships between products offered in the
marker and targeted lifestyle groups.
Lifestyle can be explained by the following characteristics :

Lifestyle is a group phenomenon.

Lifestyle pervades various aspects of life.
Lifestyle implies a central life interest.
Lifestyles vary according to sociologically rlevant variables.

There are many factors which influence lifestyle. Cultural and

social factors establish the outer boundaries of lifestyle specific
to culture.

 Lifestyle studies of consumer normally focus on activities,

interests, opinions and demographics. The dimensions in each
of these are given below :

Activities : Work, hobbies, social events, vacation, club, community.

Interests : Family, home, job, community, food, fashion.
Opinions : About self, social, political, business, economics,
Demographics : Age, education, income, occupation, family size.

The most important application of lifestyle concept has been in

positioning of new products, repositioning of existing
products, developing new product concepts and creating new
product opportunities in specific fields.

1. Need
2. Information
3.
recognition
Evaluation
4. Purchase
5. Post
search
ofpurchase
decision
alternatives