Consumer Behavior and Its Influence on Buying Decisions

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 1
Consumer Behavior
Name:
Institution

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 2
Introduction
Consumer behavior is the study of buying behavior of consumers. Consumer behavior
helps individuals to understand why they can buy goods and services or not from the market. The
culture of a community may influence consumer behavior. In this essay, I am going to discuss
how I learn the culture and the micro-culture that I belong to and how they influence the
decisions I make as a consumer.
I learn culture in different ways with the main forms comprising of formal, informal and
technical. For formal learning, I get it from people who are older than me, either in my family or
out of the family setting. I derive the informal culture by imitating the behavior of the selected
individuals such as television heroes, friends, and family (Zhang & Kim, 2013). Technical
learning is the last form I use to learn culture by learning instruction which I later apply in the
consumer buying environment.
I belong to the following micro-cultures which influence my buying behavior. The age-
based micro-culture refers to the idea that individuals belong to the same age bracket, thus they
share similar consumer tastes, preferences, and beliefs. The gender and sex roles micro-culture
are the societal expectations for women and men among members who belong to the same
cultural group. Regional micro-culture involves culture and lifestyles that I encounter as I travel.
My tastes such as drinks, food preferences, and sports differ from other people. I also belong to
the status and religion micro-culture.
The micro-culture influences my consumer decisions in several ways (Gentina, Butori,
Rose & Bakir, 2014). For instance, religion micro-culture affects my consumer buying decisions
because of the culture and beliefs that my religion holds. Example, people who belong to