ABSTRACT
Consumer behaviour is a central part of your life. It is a changing process where you
could be a user, buyer, seller, influencer and an environmentally conscious consumer
during different stages of your life. You may be involved in the process individually or
collectively. You may buy goods or services, you may buy brands habitually or accept
alternatives in an out-of-stock situation. You may take some time deciding on highpriced purchases, rationally evaluating the options. Consumer behaviour can be thought
of as the actions, reactions, and consequences that take place as the consumer goes
through a decision-making process, reaches a decision, and then puts the product to
use. The dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior, and environmental
events by which individuals conduct the exchange aspects of their lives. It is the study
of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose
of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires. Consumer
behaviour is also deals with the mental and physical acts of individuals, households or
other decision-making units concerned with ultimate consumption involving the
acquisition, own production, use and, in some cases, the dispossession of products and
services.
Walters (1974: 4) provides such a definition by stating that "A consumer is an individual
who purchases, has the capacity to purchase, goods and services offered for sale by
marketing institutions in order to satisfy personal or household needs, wants, or
desires." As will be noted from the definition above, reference is made to an individual.
Therefore, one should first focus on human behaviour, since consumer behaviour,
according to Walters (1974: 6), represents a subset of human. Human behaviour,
therefore, "... refers to the total process whereby the individual interacts with his
environment". Human behaviour encompasses every thought, feeling or action by
people. This implies that every thought, motive, sensation and decision that is made
every day, is classified as human behaviour. Belch & Belch (1990: 91) provide a link
between human behaviour and consumer behaviour, by stating that consumer
behaviour has been defined as the study of human behaviour in a consumer role.
Having defined human behaviour and accepted that consumer behaviour is founded in
human behaviour, Walters (1974: 7) defines consumer behaviour as: " ... the process
whereby individuals decide whether, what, when, where, how, and from whom to
purchase goods and services." Mowen (1993: 6) provides a different definition by
explaining consumer behaviour as: "... the study of the buying units and the exchange
processes involved in acquiring, consuming, and disposing of goods, services,
experiences, and ideas". This definition focuses on buying units in an attempt to include
not only the individual but also groups that purchase products or services.
The definitions reveal two central themes about consumer behaviour:
1. It is a process of actions covering purchase, usage and/or disposal.
2. It involves individual or group consumers in goods, services, ideas and experiences.
Definition: Consumer behavior is the study of how individual customers, groups or
organizations select, buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to satisfy their
needs and wants. It refers to the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and the
underlying motives for those actions. Marketers expect that by understanding what
causes the consumers to buy particular goods and services, they will be able to
determine which products are needed in the marketplace, which are obsolete, and how
best to present the goods to the consumers.
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
In business world, many brands of products are produced and marketed by a single
manufacture. The decision whether to buy or not depends only on the basis of
consumer motives. Modern market is consumer oriented and the consumer is the
decisive force. All the consumers have their own needs in their daily lives and these
needs make them make different decisions. These decisions can be complex depending
on the consumer’s opinion about a particular product, evaluating and comparing,
selecting and purchasing among the different types of product. Therefore,
understanding and realizing the core issue of the process of consumer decision making
and utilizing the theories in practice is becoming more challenging for many companies
and institutions. Hence, it is inevitable to have a thorough study on customer’s attitudes
and preference towards your products.
SOCIAL CLASS
Consumers don't exist in a vacuum. Their behavior is influenced by the environment in
which they live, and this behavior includes their buying behavior. This environment
includes families and friends, lifestyle and lifecycle, and the culture and beliefs of their
social class. When marketers understand how these influences work, they can often tap
into them as they develop marketing strategies.
Definition: By social class we refer to the group of people who share equal positions in
a society. Social class is defined by parameters like income, education, occupation, etc.
Within a social class, people share the same values and beliefs and tend to purchase
similar kinds of products. Their choice of residence, type of holiday, entertainment,
leisure all seem to be alike. The knowledge of social class and their consumer behavior
is of great value to a marketer. The simplest model to define social class is a threetiered approach that includes the rich, the middle class, and the poor.
THREE ways in which social class can affect consumption.
Usually, however, people are grouped in social classes according to income, wealth,
education, or type of occupation. Each social class has distinct characteristics and
approaches to consumption. There is a major difference in the consumer behavior of
different social classes. Social class can have a profound effect on consumer spending
habits in the following ways.
I.
II.
The level of disposable income of each social class.
People in the same social class tend to have similar attitudes, live in similar
neighborhoods, dress alike, and shop at the same type of stores.
III.
There is also a distinction in the type of goods they purchase.
1. Level of Disposable Income: The upper class, for example, has more
disposable income and can thus spend more on most products. Generally, the
rich have the ability to purchase more consumer goods than those with less
income, and those goods are of higher quality. If a marketer wishes to target
efforts toward the upper classes, then the market offering must be designed to
meet their expectations in terms of quality, service, and atmosphere.
2. Similar traits and Characteristics: A marketer should understand the
dynamic of the social class as well. For example, the upper-middle class are
generally ambitious, future-oriented people who have succeeded economically
and now seek to enhance their quality of life. Material goods often take on major
symbolic meaning for this group.
3. Type of goods purchased: For example, the upper class tend to be the
primary buyers of fine jewelry and often shop at exclusive retailers. The lower
class, in contrast, are much more concerned with simply getting by; they focus
more on necessities.
Consumer Need a Requirement for Effective Marketing Strategy
Understanding consumer behaviour is crucial for effective marketing, helping managers
identify appropriate people to target and design and communicate attractive offerings
benefits from an understanding of the customer. You probably know your best friends
pretty well -- their likes, their dislikes, where they shop, what brands they prefer and
why. You can probably even predict what they're going to buy before walking into a
store. This comes in handy when finding them a birthday gift, but wouldn't it be great
you knew your customers this well, too? Consumer behavior is influenced by various
factors like individual, environmental and decision making. And these factors may be
helpful to marketers in their marketing. Marketing is all about understanding consumer
needs and steering the customer toward your product by creating certain wants
in the minds of the customer. To do this marketers should be aware of the
consumer buying behavior process. For instance a customer need may be thirst, and
any drink such as a bottle of water could satisfy this need. However at the point of
purchase effective marketing determines what the customer will want to purchase in
order to quench their thirst. For example a good advertisement for coke could steer the
customer away from the bottled water section and towards the fizzy drinks. On the
other hand an effective ad for ice lollies, an indirect competitor, could steer the
consumer away from the fizzy drinks. Therefore the more effective the marketing, the
easier it will be to get the cash out of the customers hand. It is then obvious that
Marketing is all about understanding consumer needs and steering the customer toward
your product by creating certain wants in the minds of the customer. To do this
marketers should be aware of the consumer buying behavior process.
The consumer decision-making process consists of five steps, which are
1. buyer/need recognition
2. information search
3. evaluations of alternatives
4. purchase behaviour
5. post-purchase behavior
These steps can be a guide for marketers to understand and communicate
effectively to consumers.
The Consumer Buying Behavior Process:
1. Buyer Recognition: the consumer has to realize there is a problem or need that
needs to be fulfilled. The effective marketer will identify there is a difference between
the actual state of the consumer and the desired state, and try to fulfill this state of
deprivation.
2. Information Search: in this stage the buyer considers all the alternatives
present. For instance, according to the example above, the customer would look at all
thirst quenchers such as fizzy drinks, bottled water, juices and ice lollies. The most
information a customer gains about alternatives is through commercial sources, such as
advertisements and campaigns. However information about intangible products in the
service industry would mostly come from personal experience or experience from
others.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives: this is where all the information is gathered and
evaluated to help make the purchasing decision. These three stages are important, for
marketers to understand consumer behavior and what influences purchasing of a
certain product category and brand.
4. Purchase Decision: this is the stage where purchasing of the most preferred
alternative takes place. However the product category, brand, reseller, timing and
quantity all play a role in the purchase decision.
5. Post-Purchase Decision: Good marketers maintain a good relationship with the
customer even after the purchase has been made. This is to reduce any chance of
cognitive dissonance that the customer may experience with the product. To reduce the
negative effects of customer cognitive dissonance, good after sales services could be
provided along with effective advertising.
Family Influence on the Consumer Socialization of Children
Family is a major influence in consumer socialization. Parent-child socialization is an
adult initiated process by which developing children, through insight, training, and
imitation acquire the habits and values congruent with adaptation to their culture.
Mothers tend to have the most influence in consumer development and can teach
consumer behavior through observation, direct discussions, and parent supervision.
Families influence purchases in many ways. At first, the influence of parents is
significant because of how parents help their children to develop political and religious
beliefs, lifestyle choices, and consumer preferences. Most people are who they are
because of their parents. These family influences affect how children look at purchases
more directly than most other social influences on consumer purchasing.
Parenting style plays an important role in consumer socialization because parent-child
interactions determine how parents teach their child consumer behavior. During daily
smooth communication, parents' consumption preferences and attitudes will also affect
their children consumption. Parents who have negative attitudes toward television
advertising tend to have children who request fewer purchases and are more consumer
educated. Children who spend less time with parents and other familial ties are more
likely to be affected by peers and media than children who spend time with their family.
The Role of Television on Consumer Socialization of Children
Television has been shown to be as important of a socialization agent as family and
peers. Children learn from observation so by viewing advertisements and lifestyles from
a television show they will develop their consumer behavior as well as learning
consumer role perceptions. Television plays a detrimental role in the consumer
socialization of children by making them well informed and knowledgeable consumers
to deal with tough and complex business interactions in the dynamic business
environment. Though, there has been a lot of academic debate regarding the positive
or harmful impact of television on the children, but it cannot be denied that the modern
day children are very much “television literate. Children below the age of 8 or 9 will be
unable to decipher and understand whatever they see in the television advertisement
but they may remember and identify few things case by case. For example, children will
be much attracted to loud music, cartoon characters, funny voices and believe that
whatever they watch on television is real and not fictional. On the other hand, children
above the age of 8 will understand that the programmes telecasted in television are
fictional and this knowledge of differentiating the fiction from the reality increases with
the age.
Recommendations
Consumer beliefs and behaviors are changing fast. To keep up with and perhaps even
influence those changes, companies must leverage deep consumer insights. Five
actions can help companies influence consumer behavior for the longer term:

Reinforce positive new beliefs: Beliefs are psychological—so deeply rooted
that they prevent consumers from logically evaluating alternatives. When
consumers are surprised and delighted by new experiences, even long-held
beliefs can change, making consumers more willing to repeat the behavior, even
when the trigger is no longer present

Shape emerging habits with new offerings: Companies can attract
consumers toward new habits through product innovation. For instance, the
COVID-19 crisis has spurred consumers to become more health oriented and
increase their intake of vitamins and minerals. Companies should therefore roll
out such products by aligning its innovation priorities with consumers’ emerging
health-and-wellness concerns.

Sustain new habits, using contextual cues: Habits can form when a
consumer begins to associate a certain behavior with a particular context; For
example, more consumers are keeping hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes near
entryways for easy access and as a reminder to keep hands and surfaces clean.
Product packaging and marketing that reinforces the put-it-by-the-door behavior
can help consumers sustain the habit.

Align messages to consumer mindsets: People across the country have felt
an intensified mix of anxiety, anger, and fear because of recent events, making
marketing a tricky terrain to navigate. Companies should therefore ensure that
all their brand communications are attuned to consumer sentiment.

Analyze consumer beliefs and behaviors in details: Consumer beliefs,
habits, occasions, and emotional-need states will continue to change rapidly. For
consumer companies to stay abreast of those changes, monitoring product sales
alone won’t be sufficient. Companies must also conduct exploratory research
with a focus on identifying changed behaviors and associated changed beliefs
and motivators to get a comprehensive picture of the changing consumer
decision journey.
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