What Influences Consumer Behaviour? Discover Key Drivers

Today’s discussion about consumer behaviour, made with two words consumer and behaviour. 

Behaviour - The way in which one acts or conducts oneself especially towards others. 

1. As s student your behaviour will be different. 
2. While a friend you behave differently with them 
3. As a son or daughter, you will be different

Hence, all have different behaviour while performing different role. Similarly, as a consumer or customer one behaves in different way. Few consumers like to eat at street food, where few consumers favor restaurant food only. 

What is consumer behaviour?

Consumer behavior can be defined as the decision-making process and physical activity involved in acquiring, evaluating, using and disposing of goods and services. It is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. It is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field.

Examples

1. Psychology - Some consumers believe that products that are costly are more effective like they prefer Dove in comparison to Santoor.
2. Sociology - Still in many villages people resist using any other brand other than Lifebuoy.
3. Economics - some people experiment with their brands according to their economic capability. 

A process of buying starts in the minds of the consumer, which leads to the finding of alternatives between products that can be acquired with their relative advantages and disadvantages. This leads to internal and external research.

Meaning of Consumer behaviour?

Consumer Behaviour reflects the totality of consumer decisions with respect to the acquisition consumption and disposition of goods, service, time and ideas by human decision-making unit overtime.

Consumer Behaviour 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.

1. In the words of Engel, Blackwell, and Mansard, “consumer Behaviour is the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and services for personal consumption”.
2. According to Schiffman “Consumer Behaviour is defined as Behaviour that consumers display in searching for purchasing, using evaluating and disposing of products and services that expect will satisfy their needs”.
3. According to Louden and Bitta, “Consumer Behaviour is the decision process and physical activity, which individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services”.

Consumer behaviour is the study of individual, groups or organisation and all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. It consists of how the consumer’s emotion, attitudes and preference affect the buying behaviour. So, it observes that how people choose, use and discard products and services, encompassing their emotional, cognitive and behavioural reactions. In simple terminology, Consumer behavior is the process whereby individual decides whether, when, what, where, how and from where to purchase goods and services.

Consumer behaviour is the study of how consumers make decisions about what they need, want, and desire and how do they buy, use, and dispose of goods and services.

Consumer Behavior Varies

1. Difference in a way consumer buys.
2. May buy from upscale store or from modest store or nearby.
3. Product is used differently.
4. Variation in purchase reflects different values.
5. May or May not consult others.

Importance of Consumer Behaviour

1. Marketer can understand the expectation of the consumers
2. Kind of products like by the consumers
3. In order to fund success for the existing as well as launching of new products
4. Application of marketing efforts according to the taste and preferences of the consumers
5. To create and retain the existing customers

Nature of consumer behaviour

1. Influence by various factor – Behaviour is influenced by the number of factors that influence consumers include marketing, personal, psychological, situational, culture and social.
2. If reflects status – The buying behaviour of consumer is not only influenced by status of a consumer coma but it also reflects it. The persons who owned luxury cars, watches and other items are considered by other persons of higher status.
3. Different for different products – The behaviour is different for different products there are some consumers who may buy more quantity of certain items and very low of some other items.
4. Different for different customer – All customers not behave in same manner the different is in the consumer behaviour is due to individual factors such as nature of the consumers lifestyle, culture etc.

What Influences Consumer Behaviour?

A consumer buying is influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors.

Cultural Factors 

Culture, Subculture and social class are particularly important influences on consumer buying behaviour. Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behaviour. Different culture has different values and accordingly consumers have different buying habits. The growing child acquires a set of value, perception, and behaviour through his or her family and other key institutions. 

For example – 

1. North & South India Fooding habits like north Indian people’s favour tea over coffee, like that South Indian people’s favour coffee instead of tea.
2. A child growing up in the United States is exposed to the different values than a child growing up in a traditional middle-class family in India. Indian child is exposed to the following values respect and care for elders, honesty and integrity, hard work, achievement and success and sacrifice.
3. Social classes show distinct product and brand preferences in many areas including clothing, home furnishing, leisure activities, and automobiles.
4. Social classes differ in media preferences with upper class consumer often preferring magazines and books and lower-class consumers often preferring Television.

Social Factors

A consumer’s behaviour is influenced by social factors such as reference group, family and social roles and status.

1. Reference groups
2. Social Roles and Status
3. Family 

Reference Groups 

Person’s reference groups consist of all the groups that have a direct either face to face or indirect influence on his and her attitudes or behaviour. Groups having a direct influence on a person are called membership groups.

1. Primary group – Such as family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers, those with whom the person interacts fairly continuously and informally.
2. Secondary group – Such as religious, professional, and trade union groups, which tend to be more formal and require less continuous interaction.
3. Person do not belong to it – people are also influenced by this group aspirational groups are those person hopes to join dissociative groups are those whose values or behaviour an individual rejects for example – Youtubers, Craze, Copy, Buying, Marketer reach leaders convey the message.

Family

Family member constitutes the most influential primary reference groups. Family member influence buying decisions. 

1. In traditional joint families, the influence of grandparents on major purchase decisions, and to some extent on the lifestyles of the younger generations is still intact though diminishing.
2. In Urban India with the growth of nuclear families, and both husband and wife working, the role of women in major family decisions such as the purchase of house, automobile, and durables has grown substantially.
3. Joint Decision making – teenager children and tech savvy product.

Social Role and Status

A person may be part of many groups, family, clubs, organization. The person’s role and status are defined by his position in each group. A role consists of the activities a person is expected to perform each role carries a status. People choose products that reflect and communicate their role and actual or desired status in society. For example – company top management often drive luxury cars, wear expensive suits. Marketers must be aware of the status symbol potential of product and brands.

Personal Factors

A buyer’s decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics. These include the buyer’s age and stage in the life cycle, occupation and economic circumstances, personality and self-concept and lifestyle and values.

1. Age and stage in the life cycle – Over a life time people buy different goods and services. Taste in food, clothes, furniture and recreation is often age related. For example – Kids - Junk foods, Elders – Normal meal, consumptions of goods and services are also affected by family life cycle.
• Marketers should also consider critical life events or transition like higher education, marriage, childbirth, illness, relocation, divorce, career change, widowhood as giving rise to new needs. 
• These should alert service providers bank, lawyers and marriage, employment and counsellor, event planner to ways they can help. 
• So, different opportunities for marketers at different stages in the consumer lifecycle.
2. Occupation and economic circumstance – Occupation also influence consumption patterns. A blue-collar worker will buy work clothes, work shoes, and lunchboxes. A company CEO will buy dress suits air travel. 
• Product and services choice is also affected by economic circumstances – spendable income provide level, stability and time pattern, saving and assets, debts, borrowing power and attitudes towards spending and saving.
• College student – casual wear
• Office person – Formal clothes
3. Personality and self-concept – personality the way of thinking, feeling and behaving. Each person has personality characteristics that influence his or her buying behaviour. Personality can be useful variable in analysing consumer brand choices. The idea is that brands also have personalities and consumers are likely to choose brands whose personalities match their own. 
• Levi’s with “Ruggedness”, MTV with “Excitement”, CNN with “Competence”
• Consumer often choose and use brands that have brand personality consistent with their own actual self-concept how one views oneself.
4. Life style and values – people from the same subculture, social class and occupation may lead quite different lifestyle. A lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living in the world as expressed. In activities, interest and opinions. Lifestyle portrays the “whole person” interacting with his or her environment. Marketer search for relationship between their products and lifestyle groups. For example – a computer manufacturer might find that most computer buyers are achievement oriented.

Factors in consumer Behavior

1. Personal Process in consumer Behavior –

• Consumer Perception Process = It can be defined as the process by which we receive information through our five senses.
• Learning = It is a process of receiving and assimilating information. It leads to permanent change in behavior of the consumer.
• Habit = The natural extension of learning is habit.
• Attitude = It is acquired mental position we hold in regard to a brand.
• Motivation – Positive attitude towards a brand will not necessarily translate into a purchase.

2. Interpersonal Influence –

• Family = our attitude and belief are strongly influenced by our firm.
• Society = we are also a member of broader group the community that influences us very strongly.
• Reference Groups = It consist of people whose approval matter to us, whom we wish to copy.
• Opinion Leader = an Opinion leader is any person or organization whose opinion in his field of expertise is respected by us.
• Culture & Sub Culture = It impose definite influence on the consumers.

3. Non-Personal Influence –

• Environment = The physical and social surroundings that influence a consumer’s buying behaviour. Example: A clean, well-lit store with pleasant music encourages people to stay longer and buy more.
• Place = The location where the purchase is made or the product is available. Example: A consumer is more likely to buy snacks from a nearby store than travel far for them.
• Time = The timing of the purchase, depends on Time of day, Season, Special occasions or events and Time pressure Example: People buy more chocolates during Valentine’s Day or more umbrellas during the rainy season.

FAQs on Consumer Behavior

What is consumer behavior?

Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals select, buy, use, and dispose of goods and services to satisfy their needs.

Why is consumer behavior important?

It helps businesses understand customer needs, design better products, create effective marketing strategies, and improve customer satisfaction.

What influences consumer behavior?

It is influenced by cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors.

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