Science of Consumer Behavior and its Implications for Wesfarmers

This article discusses the findings of a research paper on the fundamental desire for control of the consumer and its impact on their choice of product. It recommends Wesfarmers to frame their products as utilitarian to attract more consumers and promote the usefulness of luxury products to enhance their sales.

Running head: SCIENCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Science of Consumer Behavior
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1SCIENCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Chosen article: Chen, C. Y., Lee, L., & Yap, A. J. (2017). Control deprivation motivates
acquisition of utilitarian products. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(6), 1031-1047.
Transcript:
In the above-mentioned research paper, investigation on how the fundamental desire for
control of the consumer affects their choice of the product has been done.
The major findings of the journal include:
 From Study 1, I found that both baseline and low control consumers prefer Utilitarian
products over Hedonic products. This is because, according to consumers Utilitarian
products are less likely be related to the feeling of regret and guilt compared to that of
hedonic products (Chen, Lee & Yap, 2016).
 Utilitarian products can be defined as products that are purchased for practical usage and
are produced by companies based on consumer needs. Hedonic products, on the other
hand, can be defined as products that are consumed for luxury purposes. While major
portions of the Hedonic product are edible, Utilitarian product chiefly comprises of non-
edible products.
 The findings of the Study 2 states that when consumers experience perceived control
loss, products that are framed as functional and utilitarian enhances consumer’s
preferences (Schulze, Schöler & Skiera, 2014).
 The study 3 finding indicates that when a product is marketed as Utilitarian, low control
consumers showed greater interest in the product compared to baseline consumers. When
the same product was marketed as Hedonic, no difference in the interest of both the low
control consumers and that of the baseline consumers were noticed (Steinhart, Ayalon &

2SCIENCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Puterman, 2013). Thus this result showed that both low control and baseline consumers
can be manipulated by marketing a product stating its practical benefits instead of luxury
values.
Recommendation for Wesfarmers
 Considering the fact that a major portion of the overall revenue of Wesfarmers
Organization comes from its retail sector, the company should frame their products as
utilitarian in order to attract more consumers.
 Since the demand for hedonic products is much lower than that of the utilitarian products,
Wesfarmers should diminish the import of luxurious items from suppliers. Instead of this,
the company should invest cost on importing utilitarian products (Bart, Stephen &
Sarvary, 2014).
 In order to enhance the sale of the luxury products, the company should promote the
usefulness of these products. For instance, Vanish stain remover, which is now one of the
most, sold detergents in Australia, initially failed to capture the market due to wrong
promotional strategy. The product started gaining market when the utility side of the
product was promoted by the company.
 Wesfarmers should create their own effective utility marketing campaign. For this, the
company needs to understand the specific needs of its consumers. Secondly, while
conducting a marketing campaign, the organization should stay true to the core messages
of the brands (Steinhart, Ayalon & Puterman, 2013).
 The strategy of Wesfarmers organization should include putting the service as the first
priority and the marketing as a second priority.

3SCIENCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
 In order to gain long-term consumer loyalty, the Wesfarmers organization should
maintain communication with the consumers through various social media platforms as
well as their own official website.

4SCIENCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Reference List
Bart, Y., Stephen, A. T., & Sarvary, M. (2014). Which products are best suited to mobile
advertising? A field study of mobile display advertising effects on consumer attitudes and
intentions. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(3), 270-285.
Chen, C. Y., Lee, L., & Yap, A. J. (2016). Control deprivation motivates acquisition of
utilitarian products. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(6), 1031-1047.
Schulze, C., Schöler, L., & Skiera, B. (2014). Not all fun and games: Viral marketing for
utilitarian products. Journal of Marketing, 78(1), 1-19.
Steinhart, Y., Ayalon, O., & Puterman, H. (2013). The effect of an environmental claim on
consumers' perceptions about luxury and utilitarian products. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 53, 277-286.