Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour

The assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting consumer behavior in marketing, highlighting the importance of understanding consumer psychology to achieve success in the market. It covers various topics such as consumer culture theory, pro-environmental concern, psychographics, and the sharing economy, among others. The document aims to assist students in understanding the complexities of consumer behavior and how to apply this knowledge in real-world marketing scenarios.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Name of the student:
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR1
Consumer behaviour refers actually to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer,
present in a market. there are many factors, characteristics and specifications influence the
decision of the individuals in buying a product. This also influence the shopping habits, brand
awareness and purchasing behaviours of the people based on which the marketers plan
marketing strategies. A consumer’s purchasing decision is regulated by numerous factors
emerging from social, political, economic and psychological aspects (Gifford and Nilsson
2014). The buyers visit the retailers after they are convinced with the need and validity of the
products. Before the products are purchased there are several steps that the consumers follow
unintentionally. Moreover, their buying decisions are led by culture, social class, membership
groups, family, personality and the current cultural trends matching with situational
environment. Therefore, the companies use social networks and other platforms for
advertising campaigns more efficiently and organising way so that they meet the needs of the
customers to increase their sales.
The behaviour of the consumers depends on the various factors which the marketers
need to understand deeply. These behaviours can be applicable either for individual
consumers, or in context of any consumer groups. For instance, there are great influential
factors which encourage the people to buy. One of them is their friend’s recommendations
another is their family traditions that influence them to select one particular brand for use.
Consumer behaviour includes the usage as well as disposal of the products and the
study the factors that the method used for purchase of any product. Product usage is of the
greatest attention for the marketers, as it can impact on place where and how the product is
best placed and how the marketers can reassure bigger consumption. As there are numerous
environmental problems that effect from the product disposal, it can be an area of gaining
knowledge. The customer behaviour includes various services, ideas along with tangible
yields. The effect of the customer behaviour in the social order is also of utter significance.

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For instance, the aggressive marketing of high fat foods, or aggressive marketing of easy
credit, may have a serious repercussion for both the national health as well as economy.
Therefore, the marketers need to study the various factors of the consumer behaviours before
the reach for the target market.
Social classes have been defined as the groups which are more or less homogenous
but ranked against one another in order to form a social hierarchy. It is the social class that
brings together the individual values, lifestyles, behaviours and interests into one. Every
society in the world possesses some kind of social groups and these are important for the
retailers and the organisations because they follow the similarities of demand pattern. Some
studies have found out that identification of this demand pattern of a social class help the
sellers to tailor their marketing activities (Peek et al. 2014). Moreover, this social classes
have particular social perception of any brand or a retailer. This regulate the buying
behaviour as well as purchasing habit of that particular class. Different social class has
different lifestyle that affect often change their purchasing behaviour. The consumers from a
lower economic class can be extra focused on the price of a product whereas a purchaser of
higher economic class will be interested to judge other elements like quality, features,
innovation even the societal benefit he may gain from that product.
Proper understanding of consumer choice is vital for understanding the consumer
behaviour. The more the sellers understand the process of the consumers’ choice or
preference making, better the companies will understand the factors of buying decisions and
marketing mix will be designed (Sparks, So and Bradley 2016). There are 5 stages of
consumer choice which the consumers follow unconsciously while making purchasing
decisions. These are demand recognition, searching information, assessment of the
substitutes, buying choice and post buying behaviour. These consumers can have different
social classes or families with different attitudes or perceptions and even different

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experiences in life, follow this same model of consumer choice. Under the economic model,
the customers make rational economic selection of purchasing where they rigidly follow
these steps. Here the consumers review all the available choices then compare before making
any choice. On the other hand, the choice of the passive as well as emotional consumers can
be easily manipulated because these people make choices through advertisements or guided
by emotions (Thompson 2014).
Motivation drives the buyers to develop a buying behaviour. it is an expression of
need or fulfilling demand that become stronger in the psychology of the consumers to lead
them to satisfy that need. This feelings of need are latent in the minds of the consumers and
work in the subconscious level making it difficult to measure. Each of the individual has
diverse needs for instance social needs, physiological needs and biological needs. Some of
these needs are less pressing whereas other press more. These needs, latent in the mind, get
instigated by the increasing specificity. Thus these needs become motive when press the
person more and seek immediate satisfaction. Thus, motivation is directly related to the
consumers’ needs and instigate their purchasing decision process (Gunter and Furnham
2014). Therefore, one of the chief criteria of the retailers or the companies to encourage their
customers to purchase more by creating brand awareness, make them conscious and reinforce
the feeling of need in the minds if the customers so that these increase purchase motivations
and eventually company’s sales. Moreover, these initiatives of purchasing motivation will
help in consumers’ consideration and instigate them for buying a product of a particular
brand (Hamari, Sjöklint and Ukkonen 2016). For understanding which way to follow to
motivate the customers, the brands must target a particular segment, research and identify the
needs and make their products as the solution to satisfy such needs.
Proper understanding of cultural factors is vital for planning marketing strategies
because consumer behaviour is largely affected by their families, friends and their cultural

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environment (Arnould and Thompson 2015). These factors are changed the values,
preferences and common behaviours that vary country to country and culture to culture. The
brands make marketing strategies based on the expectations, behaviour and perceptions of the
consumers. This is the reason why different companies can make profit in different countries
whereas some companies have to confine themselves within few countries (Rani 2014). This
is because of their offered products which can be accepted widely in some culture but not
applicable in some cultures. Some brands sometimes communicate in diverse ways, even
create specific products for some definite cultural groups. In this aspect, religion, age, gender
and family also play a vital role in judging consumer behaviour.
Personality of an individual as well as self-concept reveal the set of exact
characteristics. It is the continuous interaction between psychological characteristics and
identity which ultimately result in consumer behaviour (Oyserman and Schwarz 2017). This
constant interaction is reflected in their personality traits which modify their confidence level,
sociability, autonomous nature, charisma, ambition, curiosity, adaptability and openness to
others. Their occupation, economic stability and lifestyle are chief regulating factors that
motivate the customers in their purchasing decisions. In one hand the economy of a person
denotes his lifestyle and interests and on the other hand, personality is reflected in his buying
opinion and activities (Cross et al. 2018). As these factors vary from person to person but
study of their dominance, self-confidence and perception help the sellers to determine
consumer behaviour for one particular product as well as service.
Proper utilization of the power of social media has proved to be advantageous for the
sellers as they get great scope to communicate with their consumers. Social media allows
greater penetration through which the company can assuredly convey their messages. This
allows the organizations to increase their visibility which permits the consumers to
communicate their opinions about any brand or product (East et al. 2016). Social media

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platforms permit huge dissemination of information about products or services. Some of the
platforms help the customers to change their identities from only common consumers to
researchers. The brands collect customers’ reviews which help them to renew or alter their
marketing and service strategies. Social media platforms allow social data gathering for both
the consumers as well as the sellers.
The sellers identify the trends and the new customers which ultimately help them in
market segmentation (Schütte and Ciarlante 2016). The more the consumer have data
available, the more they will make the buying preferences which fits his needs. Before
purchasing, the consumer may log on to some social media networks and see what other
people think about some particular products along with the process the companies use to
handle customer service. Through the social network channels, the brand gain consumer
loyalty which ultimately leads the companies to strategies more efficiently. The consumer
behaviour can also be realised through various related services such as discounts, giveaways
and coupons because these services guide the brands to judge current trends and demand of
the market in building the brand’s reputation.
Consumer behaviour is largely influenced by different situations and their life
experiences. Despite the fact that these are actually impermanent product not conditions.
Situations actually determine whether the consumer will be buying a product or purchase a
supplementary product or would not but anything. The consumer behaviour based on the
situational factors is completely different from the personal and product factors. These
situational factors largely depend on the specificities of particular time and location.
Moreover, this does not comply with the personal knowledge or evocative attributes which
are used to bring an organized and demonstrable effect on one’s present behaviour (Latif et
al. 2018). On the other hand, the critics argue that situational factors are the effect of a
situation emerged from the consumers’ psychological procedures as well as explicit

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behaviour. Situational factors emerge from the locations, time and considerations which
greatly impact on the buying decision of the consumers.
Situational factors can extend, abbreviate and cease the buying process of the
consumers. This involves with the social factor, physical and psychological factors as well as
purchasing reasons of the customers. The spatial essentials relate to the physical substances
like brands, products, shopping centres, even interior decorations can alter the consumer
behaviour. The desired physical surroundings of the stores including their environment and
employee behaviour attract the consumers to visit the stores several times. On the other hand,
the social surroundings associated with purchase involve fundamental interactions among
different people present at the time of making purchase decisions and ultimately purchasing
process. The social situation ignites the consumers to buy yet set what to buy and how much
to buy and when. By accepting the social condition in which the consumer is, the companies
can considerably affect their buying decisions. In addition to this, time has been proved to be
one of the most substantial situational factors that affect the purchasing decisions of the
consumers.
The modern consumers have become researchers therefore; they need time for
research. Moreover, these customers may have severe time restraints that press them to make
their purchasing decision fast or hold-up for some time. In this present day world, the
customers do not have time to waste in researching and comparing products. Therefore, the
marketers plan such strategies that accommodate all the needs of the customers. Purchasing
reason is also an important factor that significantly gets affected by the motive to buy a
product as each product achieves different necessity of the consumers (Cohen, Prayag and
Moital 2014). This is the reason why the companies design different offerings for different
segments of the consumers which directly apple their target markets. Beside these factors, the
individuals’ temporary moods and momentary situations influence their buying decisions

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greatly. Therefore, in understanding the consumer behaviour, the marketers make strategies
after judging these factors.
Political consumption is a vital side of consumerism and greatly affect the buy ng
decision of a particular segment of a market. It denotes the constant intersection between the
consumer research and their political sociology. Political consumption records the
contemplation of both ethical as well as political motives when the consumers decide to buy a
definite product. Its key forms are the purchasing of any desired products distinguished by
some certain ethical and political features for example sustainability, corporate responsibility
and social justice. Political and ethical factors also effect the consumers in their ideology as
well as understanding the needs of any products including brands or companies (Solomon et
al. 2014). The political consumers are more active and dynamic than average population in
other forms of political participation. Political reasons influence the customers to support a
product in the market or boycott one based on political and ethical ground. However, the
boycott of products directly affects the reputation of the companies as well as brands.
Therefore, it can be concluded that customer behaviour is one of the most vital fact
for the marketer as this decide the success of the products or services of the companies in the
market. Therefore, a consumer oriented market service provider works as a psychologist in
order to procure consumers. The affecting factors can be judged from behavioural discussion
and made favourable to achieve consumer satisfaction. All these mentioned factors have
noteworthy influence on consumers throughout the purchase as well as consumption process.
Hence, consumer purchasing behaviour is a way to success in a market.

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