Shopping Trends in Leeds UK - Essay Example

? Shopping Trends in Leeds UK Introduction Consumers in the United Kingdom have had an increasingly sensitized behavior towards environmentalism and the whole aspect of green issues. These consumers have been keen to observe the consumption of commodities which comply with the green world regulations and environmental issues. There is a need, therefore, to understand the buyer behavior in the United Kingdom in order to understand the purchasing choices that consumers make, what influences such decisions, and if there is any changing factors in the society. The decision process that consumers engage in whenever they are buying a product is the consumer behavior. It is an important marketing aspect for any firm since consumer behavior and response to certain products is fundamental to the firm’s success and survival in the market (Jackson, 2005). The decision process undertaken by a consumer to determine whether to purchase a product or not, involves several stages. Apparently, the actual purchasing is only one step among several others. These stages begin with the actual recognition of need or desire for a certain product. This desire can be stimulated by different factors ranging from hunger to an advertisement. The consumer then proceeds to do a search of the available options whilst doing comparisons and seeking referrals. Evaluation of the available alternatives then follows, with the buyer establishing a personalized criterion according to tastes and preferences. This is normally followed by the purchase decision and the actual purchase of the product. Post-purchase evaluation is also an important aspect of consumer behavior. It involves the outcome and post-consumption analysis of the buyer (Dobson, 2007). As noted earlier, consumer behavior can be influenced by word-of-mouth and referrals from friends and/or family. This is evident in cases where students are great determinants when it comes to triggering of new trends that are later adopted by the rest of the society. Students, and other youth, influence the choice of products amongst themselves and other peers. Most young people like to be involved in purchases of newest trends. This factor, therefore, makes this age group (18-25) the best to study on consumer behaviors. Task 1 This paper seeks to identify and analyze the internal influences that affect the consumer behavior of young people aged between 18 and 25. The importance of the investigation done by this paper has far reaching implications. First, there is the interest to inform consumers about environmentalism aspects when purchasing products. In the United Kingdom, the most prominent pressure groups fro consumer behavior have been friends, consumer groups and the government. Literature review This section aims at providing a review of literature that discusses the factors influencing buyer behavior, especially among the young people. Jackson (2005) provides a comprehensive literature review on the behavior of consumers and the corresponding behavior change. He recommends that policy makers in the consumer sector should encourage lifestyles that depict sustainability. Consumer behavior researchers attribute a lot of importance to the factors that influence consumer behaviors especially among peer groups. According to Dobson (2007), consumer behavior that is oriented towards sustainable development by observing environmentalism lasts longer than consumer behavior motivated by financial incentives. The environmental policy in the United Kingdom is strategized for sustainable development. Harrison et al (2005) discusses some ethical practices by the consumer that may influence the seller or product. On the other hand, De Pelsmacker et al (2005) argue that there are some factors contributing towards reduced consumption of green products. These factors include lack of information among consumers and their increasing disbelief in green product campaigns. Apparently, the information given to the consumers is complex and sometimes conflicting, and this overwhelms them (Moisander, 2007). Other literature observe that most consumers put more consideration on the environmentalism nature of a product which they frequently purchase than those products of high involvement. This is according to Sriram and Forman (1993). A study by Quelch and Harding (1996) show that if retailers narrow down a certain line of product, or promote a particular brand by doing so, they can help in the situation where consumers do not consider the environmentalism of products. This strategy can, however, mean that the green products may not be included. Sutcliffe et al (2008) study shows an individual’s environmental impact can be reduced by analyzing if their lifestyle is environmentally sustainable. This paper, therefore, focuses on the environmentalism of consumer behavior. Sampling methods This section discusses the sampling methods that could be used for the study. In this particular assignment, the interview method will be employed. These interviews will target young consumers aged between 18 and 25. The interviews will seek to explore the buyer behavior of this group of consumers, and their reasoning behind the behavior. I believe that this method is better than the questionnaire method of data collection since the latter tends to concentrate on the aims of buyer behavior instead of the behavior itself. These interviews will be focused mainly in the Leeds region of the United Kingdom. the means through which the interviews will be conducted include Leaflets and posters in charity and organic shops. Emails to youth groups in Leeds region. Posts in the Pure Magazine. Distribution to Friends of the Earth group members. Posts in the Ethical Consumer Magazine. Adverts in several newsletters dedicated to environmental sustainability Leaflets and posters in fair-trade shops in Leeds. Distribution to organic box scheme members. It can be observed that there will be a variety of sources sought for the interviews. This is to ensure that sustainable consumption is reflected in the data collection. The snowballing technique will be used to recruit further interviewees. The interview process of data collection will be designed into three different parts for this task. The first phase will have the interviewees supply samples of their recent purchases. This has to be a one-off expensive product such as a technology-based one. The objective of this phase of the process is to narrow down to purchases which the buyer probably remembers the decision-making process during the purchase. Since the products are expensive and not purchased on a daily basis, the buyer will be able to remember every aspect of the purchase process. These products may include freezers, cars, washing machines, computers, televisions, green energy tariffs and cookers. The second phase will then follow. Here, the participants will be asked to give details of the decision process undertaken during the purchase process of either two or three items that they had identified in the first phase of the interview. The interviewees will be required to provide details beginning with their first inclination, the research process, the actual purchase and the post purchase analysis. They may also discuss disposal where applicable. In order to understand any other influences towards their purchase decisions, the interviewees may also be required to discuss any lifestyle considerations of their purchases. These may include moving houses or having a busy job (Moisander, 2007). The third and final phase of the interview will give an opportunity to the interviewees to discuss their purchase habits. Here, they will give details of their routine purchases. They will also discuss ethical and green purchasing criteria that they observe. The laddering technique will be used in this phase of the interview for the purpose of obtaining the necessary details for the study (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). For the purpose of capturing the sequence of the decision-making process for purchases and the reasoning therein, additional analysis of the data collected during the interview will have to be conducted. This analysis will involve the narrowing down of broad data categories as well as drawing conclusions. Results and Analysis In this section, the decision-making process undertaken by the consumer during the purchase will be analyzed. The ethical and green criteria that the interviewees mentioned during the decision making process will be hereby classified as follows: (a) The environmental performance of the product. This will include aspects like energy ratings, fuel type, durability and efficiency. (b) The particular manufacturing nature of the product. Here, the reparability, chemical and the recycled content of the product will be analyzed. (c) The availability of a second hand product. The factors that may have affected the interviewees purchase will also be analyzed. These include their age, work pattern, the time of purchase and the experience they have after buying or using the product. The only limitation is that the records will only reflect the factors that the interviewees will be able to remember at that particular time, and not those influences unknown to consumers (Handel et al, 2007). The situational context appears to be more common for the purchase of goods. It will obviously appear to be the one which is largely affecting the decision making in the purchase product. The expected barriers that may come up during the exercise include lack of enough time for the research for the buyers to find out about the products. Decision making during the purchase process is also likely to be a barrier for the youth participating in the research. Price reduction and subsidies are also likely to come up as factors that influence the buyers green values and choice of products. Another expected barrier that may prominently feature among the green buyers is the lack of information on environmentalism and consumerism. This section will also seek to find out if the interviewees were aware of the environmentalism of the products that they purchased. The eco-friendly nature of the consumers approach will, therefore, be assessed. Analysis will also be done on the methods that the buyers used to reduce the cognitive effect when they were probably under the pressure of time. Discussion and presentation of potential results In this section, the results that will be acquired from the previous section will be discussed and presented. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the internal influences that affect the buying behavior of young people aged between 18 and 25 in the Leeds area of the United Kingdom. Data will be collected through in-depth interviews of youth in Leeds region in UK. This data will focus on the purchase behavior of the youth and the internal influences that affect this behavior. This section will, therefore, include discussions of the identified influences and other factors related to consumer behavior and the limitations therein. From the results obtained in the previous section, there will be need to develop a tentative young-consumer behavior purchase model and illustrate as figure 1. This will summarize every step that the consumer undertakes in the purchase process. Al important aspects in the context of purchases and consumer behavior will have to be incorporated in the model. These results will showcase the situational and internal influences that the individual consumer faces. These may include the availability of product range within the area, and the introduction of latest trends into the market. Every individual’s green consumption criteria will also be analyzed for the determination of the consumers’ knowledge of green issues (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). The other element to be discussed will be the individual consumer’s choice of the purchase in relation to green criteria. This section will also analyze the investigation done by the consumer including seeking reference from friends, family and peers, or checking on the Internet. The analysis should also bring out a clear distinction between primary and secondary green criteria that were applied during the purchase process. The latter can be discarded in cases where there are strong purchase barriers. The factors that directly influence the individuals green criterion and the final decision to purchase will also be analyzed here. Another factor that will be discussed in this section is the consumers experience with the product they purchased. The knowledge that they gained from usage of the product will also be discussed as well as any regrets or guilt they may have for foregoing a particular product. Now that the consumer’s purchasing process have been discussed into depths, the factors that influences the purchase of a product will be analyzed and discussed too. The green value of the individual consumer will be analyzed as will be their purchase experience. This section will also discuss if the consumer has got adequate time to do research and make the right purchase decisions. Task 2 This section will discuss the economic and non-economic influences on B2B buyers. The aspect of B2B business transactions involves the facilitation of goods and services between the producers and organizational customers. B2B buyers, therefore, are those that make purchases which will enable their businesses to re-sell or operate. These buyers normally purchase goods that are specific for their business needs. The purchasing decisions made by B2B buyers involve a large group of executives who use formalized processes and policies. They make their purchases directly from the suppliers or the producers of the goods. The items purchased do not, therefore, enter into finished product. Economic influences Although consumers normally purchase goods for personal consumption, B2B buyers normally follow certain laid-down purchase procedures. There are certain economic factors that influence B2B buyers. The price of a commodity is one of these. The complexities involved in the choice of a B2B seller are many. Some suppliers and sellers of the desired goods may offer competitively cheaper prices than others. However, it is not advisable to always go for the supplier with the lowest price in the market since there are other factors to consider. The B2B buyer needs to make an informed decision to purchase the goods according to customer services offered and the logistical support offered by the seller. The buyer should also consider superiority in performance of the seller as well as their reliability (Moisander, 2007). When the buyer undertakes these considerations, he may end up getting lower and more competitive total costs for the purchases than the former option. This is because some of the lowest priced products may cause failures in delivery as well as delays in production caused by substandard products. These purchase considerations will also help the B2B buyer in maintaining the consistency of quality productions. This cuts down on costs of replacing purchased goods or complaints by customers. B2B buyers should, therefore, go for the appropriate price for their purchases. Such a price is not necessarily the lowest available, but that which gives value for money spent. Another factor is the buyer’s product specification. This involves looking for the right product that meets the specified needs. This product should not have more or less specifications than those required by the buyer. Some products may come close to matching the desired specifications. The seller or supplier of the product should be able to sustain the supply of the product for the order cycle. Increasing demand for such a product should be met with the assurance that the supplier can offer sustainable supply of that particular product even with changes in demand. Electronic products, for example, have shorter shelf life than other products. Suppliers of such products should be able to keep up with progressive demands of the products. Finding a B2B seller with quality and consistent quality is important for the B2B buyer. This gives confidence to the buyer since he/she is assured of the quality of the product. There are some products which cannot afford to have even the slightest failure, and, therefore, the quality issue comes in. Another factor that influences B2B buyers is the continuity and reliability of supplies. A B2B buyer will need assurance that there are adequate supplies of a desired product. The buyer may even have to forego the economies of scale involved in the purchase of the product for the sake of sourcing products from different suppliers. In this way, the buyer is ensured of continuity of supply even when one of the suppliers fails. Risk is also spread, and this is good for business. Good customer service is also another factor that influences B2B buyers. Such a buyer requires assurance that the seller or supplier is ready to take responsibility for the products that they offer. Such assurances may come in form of provision of backup services when a problem to do with the product arises. Other customer services may be provided by the seller or supplier before the sale transaction is made. The seller may also show willingness to get jointly involved in developmental activities with the buyer. Non-economical influences There are several non-economical factors that may influence B2B buyers. First on the list is career security. In some instances, the process of decision-making is undertaken by individuals who are not entirely objective about the process. Others are quite objectives and have genuine concerns. They seek the best solutions to arising problems. There are those individuals that will definitely go for the solution that involves low risks and will not dare attempt a high risk alternative even if it involves high returns. Prestige is another non-economic factor that influences B2B buyers. Some organizations are made up of individuals who only seek status. Such individuals may end up making unnecessary purchases and payments for the sake outdoing their competitors. Others may seek to acquire departmental prestige by doing unnecessary office refurbishments for the sole purpose of intimidating others. Another important factor influencing B2B buyers is friendship and other social needs. These factors more often than not threaten to cross the ethical boundaries of an organization. If B2B buyers and sellers have a social relationship or friendship, it is important to respect business ethics while building on the personal trust and confidence. There are other personal factors that may influence B2B buyers. It can be observed from the previous discussions that most influences involve the organization, the individual and the job. There are, however, other influencing factors such as the individual’s self-confidence, character, and belief. These profiling characteristics, merged with communication skills and attitude can determine the extent to which such an individual may influence a purchase or the decision process involved therein. Another factor that cannot be afforded to be overlooked is trust. This is where an organization or an individual holds to the belief that the other party will not intentionally act in a way to bring out negative results, but both parties work for mutual benefits. Trust can be established at personal level between individuals or at the organizational level. Bibliography De Pelsmacker P, Driesen L, Rayp G. 2005. Do Consumers Care about Ethics? Willingness to Pay for Fair-Trade Coffee. Journal of Consumer Affairs 39 (2): 363-385. DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2005.00019.x Dobson A. 2007. Environmental Citizenship: Towards Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development 15: 276–285. DOI: 10.1002/sd.344 Harrison R, Newholm T, Shaw D (eds). 2005. The Ethical Consumer. London: Sage. Jackson T. 2005. Motivating Sustainable Consumption: a review of evidence on consumer behaviour and behavioural change. London: Policy Studies Institute. Moisander J. 2007. Motivational Complexity of Green Consumerism. International Journal of Consumer Studies 31 (4): 404-409. DOI: 10.1111/j.1470- 6431.2007.00586.x Quelch JA, Harding D. 1996. Brands versus private labels: fighting to win. Harvard Business Review 74 (1): 99-109. Reynolds TJ, Gutman J. 1988. Laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation. Journal of Advertising Research 28 (1): 11-31. Sriram V, Forman AM. 1993. The relative importance of products' environmental attributes: a cross-cultural comparison. 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