Factors that Affect Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example

Factors that Affect the Consumer Behaviour A Introduction The selection, buying, and consumption of goods and services bhuman beings to satisfy their wants is referred to as consumer behaviour. For a consumer to purchase any commodities they need to make a selection of the commodities that have a greater utility and them evaluate the amount to spend on buying the commodities. The consumers then analyse all the prices of those commodities before making any decisions on what to buy or consume. There are factors that influence the consumer purchasing behaviour such as social, cultural, and personal factors. Social Factors Social factors that influence the consumers buying behaviour include reference groups, social role, social status, and family. Reference and membership groups constitute the social group in which the individual belongs and may be based on the social origin, the place of residence and the work that the group does. The other basis may be the hobbies, age, and the leisure activities enjoyed by the group among others. Members of a similar group tend to consume similar products, for instance, bank managers will tend to visit the same market stalls, take their children to the same schools, and attend the same entertainment joints. These groups have different lifestyles and marketers need to understand the specific features of the groups especially in online advertising (Swaminathan, Lepkowska‐White & Rao, 1999), (Li, Kuo, & Rusell, 1999). Some people may be influenced by a group that they do not belong to especially if the person feels or wishes to be part of the group. A person aspiring to be in a particular group may buy the same products as the ones bought by the group. The idea is to get closer to the group b buying advanced products to feel acceptable. There are several roles that fall within a reference group such as the initiator who may suggest buying a certain product. The influencer then gives a point of view concerning the commodity, which may influence the others to purchase the product. The decision-maker selects the product to buy for instance; a soccer team leader selects a shoe for the others to buy. The buyer is the final consumer and buys the product selected by the decision-maker. The family is also an important factor that influences the development of certain attitudes on different issues such as politics, social relations, society, or personal matters. A family influences the consumer habits, perceptions, and the products bought by its members especially foodstuffs, clothes, health facilities, and education (Belk, 1975). People will always want to buy similar products as those bought by the family members even after moving out. For instance if a family was not consuming carbonated drinks due to their health problems; there is a likelihood that somebody from that family will not consume the drinks after growing up since the person never used the product during childhood. The social status also influences the consumer’s buying habits such as the profession, the job rank, family position, and his gender. Cultural factors The cultural environment in which a consumer belongs such as the culture and the society influences the behavior of an individual. An individual may be influenced by his friends, family members, or the cultural environment to buy a particular item. For instance in the Western countries invitations for a drink or dinner at home is a common habit but in the countries like Japan, the local norms do not advocate for such invitations. Going out with friends or going for tours is more valued (Moutinho, 1987). Sub-cultures influences the buying habits of consumers and may include nationalities, ethnic groups, gender of the individual, religions, and age groups. For instance, some types of cosmetics are common to certain populations such Africans and Indians. Social classes also have an influence on the type of commodities the consumers buy. There are similar values, interests, behaviours, and lifestyle by similar social groups especially on the products they use. Some groups with a high income prefer shopping from the internet and are always on their computers placing bids (Limayem, Khalifa, & Frini, 2000). There are several categories of social classes such as lower class, middle class, and upper class, which tend to have various desires of commodities in the market. Different classes will watch different TV shows, play different games, and wear similar types of clothes among others. For example, the political class in Africa has the tendency to play golf while the office and the bank employees wear suits at work (McKechnie, 1992). Cultural trends regarding popularity and conformity with the social pressure define consumers buying habits of certain commodities. Cultural trends influence the production of new products and may lead to innovation. For instance, the use of Facebook is an example of a cultural trend among the young generation, and everyone wants to chat and socialize. Personal factors The characteristics of consumers may influence the purchasing behavior of a consumer. Some of the personal factors may include the age, lifestyle, values, hobbies, and the environment. For instance, a consumer may decide to change the lifestyle from eating fast foods to eating a healthier diet such as fresh foods from the farms. Other consumers may prefer consumption of organic foods and will buy more of them (Krystallis & Chryssohoidis, 2005).. The family life cycle in individuals may have an influence on the buying behavior such as if somebody is single, married, or has kids. Grant & Stephen (2005) argue that Teenagers will go for fashionable designs and the ones their age mates are buying. The purchasing power and the revenue of individuals determine the purchasing power of individuals especially based on the income and the capital one has. Some consumers also consider the social value of the item before buying it as some want to show off their level of purchasing power. The lifestyle of some individuals determines the consumers decision to buy particular items avoid buying processed foods and concentrate on the farm produce. A personality defines the characteristics of individuals, which influences the persons behaviours. The shopping behavior of a person depends on the person’s self-concept and the choices of the products. For instance, the Apple Company utilizes technological innovation to attract its consumers who feel that buying the product improves their image. Many consumers go for the products that convey a positive image and will buy anything so long as they impress themselves (Solomon, Polegato & Zaichkowsky, 2009). The occupation of a person influences the choice of products that one buys. For example, a company manager will concentrate on buying suits for business purposes and not the fancy wears. The economic consumer of a person also has an influence on the purchasing choices made by consumers such as when the consumer has high income; the purchasing power will be high. People with low incomes tend to but commodities that are less expensive. Some consumers buy commodities depending on their personal ethics such as some type of clothing especially for office jobs (Carrington, Neville, & Whitwell, 2010). How marketers use the knowledge of consumer factors to make marketing decisions The marketers of various commodities benefit a lot by knowing the factors that influence the buying behavior of consumers. The marketers can develop good marketing strategies especially in the choice of advertisement targeting a certain group of consumers such as the online advertisement and product promotion (Phau & Meng Poon, 2000), Constantinides, 2004). The marketers can create a large market for their products and increase their sales as compared to when to have no idea of the market situation. Every organization should aim at satisfying its customers and make profits through the implementation of various marketing strategies. The consumer behaviour helps marketers understand their needs and satisfy them. The behavior of the consumers will help the marketer in designing the marketing and the organization strategies. The firms can reduce increase the quality of the product and reduce the cost of production if the know their targeted market. Marketing research is very important for the success of many organizations and consumer knowledge enables the marketers to identify their preferences to increase the amount of sales. Through marketing research, the marketers can know who the consumers are and what their preferences are before they launch their product. The knowledge of the factors affecting the consumer behavior allows the marketers to develop the internet use in marketing their products as they can reach various categories of consumers as Chen, & Barnes (2007) asserts. By knowing, the consumer preferences the marketers can decide on the prices of their products especially if the consumers have a high level of incomes. For products that target low-income earner, the manufacturers will make goods that are affordable by the group. The packaging is also very important as it improves the appearance of the product. If the consumers of the product prefer fancy packaging especially those who buy for social prestige, the packaging should be very attractive. The appearance of the product may lead to impulse buying by consumers especially if the packaging is attractive as Hausman (2000) asserts. Product branding also depends on the consumers buying habits and marketers have to keep on rebranding their products depending on the consumers changing behaviours towards the product. The information on consumer preferences will also help the marketers understand the consumer feelings as they launch new products and carry out the advertisements. For instance, the upper-class value advertisement more than the lower class and their response to promotions and coupons is also different. Marketers should work as psychologists to win consumers by knowing their favourite commodities and availing them. The consumer-buying is the key factor to a successful market. Conclusion There are a number of factors that influence the consumer buying habits such as the social, cultural, and personal factors. In social factors such as reference groups, social role, social status, and family, members of the same social class prefer shopping at the same places and buying similar products. The family is also an important factor as it influences the development of certain attitudes on different issues such as politics, social relations, society, or personal matters. The cultural environment also has some influence on the consumers such as Social classes and the characteristics of consumers may influence the buying behaviour (Mainieri, Barnett, Valdero, Unipan, & Oskamp, 1997). There are personal factors that influence buying behaviours such as the age, lifestyle, values, hobbies, and the environment, Consumer may decide to change the lifestyle from eating fast foods to eating a healthier diet such as fresh foods from the farms. The marketers can develop good marketing strategies especially in the choice of advertisement targeting a certain group of consumers through information about the consumers tastes and preferences. The marketers can create a large market for their products and increase their sales if they have the relevant information on the consumer factors. References Belk, R. W. (1975). Situational variables and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer research, 157-164. Carrington, M. J., Neville, B. A., & Whitwell, G. J. (2010). Why ethical consumers don’t walk their talk: Towards a framework for understanding the gap between the ethical purchase intentions and actual buying behaviour of ethically minded consumers. 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