Analysis of Consumer Behavior in Omani Automobile Industry

This report provides an in-depth analysis of consumer behavior within the Omani automobile market, with a specific focus on the purchasing habits of female consumers. The report begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction that highlights the evolving trends in the market and the importance of understanding consumer preferences. The core of the report reviews an article examining female preferences and brand choices in the Muscat region of Oman. The report then evaluates the article using two additional articles, comparing research methodologies and findings. This evaluation is then applied to the Omani market, considering factors like economic empowerment, brand awareness, and the influence of car size, color, and design on purchasing decisions. The report concludes with recommendations for automobile companies seeking to understand and cater to the needs of female consumers in Oman, emphasizing the significance of brand equity and adapting marketing strategies to align with consumer behavior. The report utilizes the 7Os framework to analyze the market and draws upon various studies to support its findings, ultimately aiming to provide insights into consumer decision-making processes and market opportunities.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Executive summary
The report is aimed at undertaking an analysis for the better understanding of the possible market
opportunities of the automobile industry in the Omani markets based on the female consumers
buying habits. The evaluation of the journals has helped in understanding the various elements
of the customer decision making procedure.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. An overview of the summary of the article.................................................................................3
3. Evaluation of the article using other articles...............................................................................4
4. An application of the evaluation on the Omani market...............................................................7
5. Conclusion and recommendations.............................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
Appendix........................................................................................................................................14

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1. Introduction
The development of the trends in the market and the change in the needs of the people
has helped in the proper understanding of the consumer behavior towards a product or an
industry. The report is aimed at reviewing an article, which is based on examining the preference
and the brand choice of the female candidates of Oman relating to cars. The women being
economically empowered and holding an employment has their own choices and preferences.
The basic changes in the structuring of the society have helped in making the companies more
viable to the changes and the swings in the female consumer behavior. Therefore, the proper
understanding of their preferences is an important factor that is being addressed through the
report. It will be helping the automobile companies in understanding the needs and trends of the
market. The report is aimed at evaluating the article with the help of two other articles for the
proper understanding of the potentials and the methodology that is used as a part of the research.
2. An overview of the summary of the article
The study is based on the determination of the consumer behavior, more specifically the
female customers, for buying the specific brands of cars in the Muscat region of Oman. The
report will be helping in the proper determination of the factors that are affecting the demand for
the cars and the decision making of the female candidates of the society for making a purchase of
their favorite brands. The report will be helping the automobile manufacturers in understanding
the requirements of the female customers and thereby determine the trend that is being faced by
the market. The hypothesis of the review helps in determining the differences in the marketing
that is required to be taken by the car manufacturers for addressing the requirements of the male
and the female genders, which seems to be the same as per the report findings. The hypothesis of

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the research also delves into the findings of the differences in the decision making and the choice
of the female candidates over the male. On the other hand, the specifications of the marketing
and the management of the productions are based on the differences in the taste of the target
customer segments. The customer behavior and decision making is one of the major issues that
are being faced by the companies while determining the marketing of the products. The females
prefer small sized cars as they are easier to park. On the other hand, the color and the design of
the car also affect the demand for a specific kind of car. The budget of the female candidates is
again a significant consideration that is required to be taken by the organization before marketing
its products for the target segment. The Brand awareness is one of the primary concerns of the
organization and the loyalty of the segmented group, that is the females, is recorded too be high
which has helped the companies in designing their products as per the requirements of the
customers.
3. Evaluation of the article using other articles
The concerned article is based on the understanding of the various aspects of the
consumer behavior and the determination of the same in order to understand the prospects of the
automobile industry to undertake their marketing campaigns. It is a descriptive research method,
which is based on the qualitative analysis of the data for analyzing the decision making variables
for women customers in purchasing cars. The report helps in the identification of the different
aspects of the change in the consumer decision making and the manner in which it is influenced
through the market trends (Refer to Appendice 1). The report has enumerated the understanding
of chief determinants of the decision making process that will be helping the organizations in
marketing their products to the target segment. According to a manager who was interviewed in
the report, there company undertakes no initiative to discriminate between the choices of the

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male and female decision making while marketing their cars. However, there are specifications
based on the requirements of the women.
Tifferet and Herstein (2012) believed that the hedonic consumption of the women has
affected the brand preference and the loyalty in the market. Therefore, the companies must take
steps in order to understand the varied requirements of the women based on the color and the
design of the cars (Lysonski and Durvasula 2013). The budget of the women has helped in
determining the size of the cars. On the other hand, the efficiency of the women in parking the
car is again an important consideration that must be made by the organization while marketing
the cars in the target market (Zhang and Benyoucef 2016). The decision making of the
consumer behavior is based on the emotions and the attachment that is being felt by the
consumer towards the product, which finally leads the buyer to make a buy. The author has taken
steps for determining the demand for the cars and the brands in the concerned article through the
segmentation of the women consumers.
The segmentation has helped in the proper understanding different requirements of the
women in the market. The requirements are based on the speed, performance and the design of
the cars. On the other hand, the budget for the cars helps in determining the potentiality of the
female customers. Tifferet and Herstein (2012) stated in their article “Gender differences in
brand commitment, impulse buying, and hedonic consumption” that the women has greater
brand loyalty than the male. Therefore, the organizations must take steps to retain their brand
equity through the proper monitoring over the quality of the products and the services that are
being provided to the customers (Wang, Yu and Wei 2012).

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On the other hand, Shehzad et al. (2014) stated in their article “Influence of Brand Name
on Consumer Choice & Decision” that the brand name or the image plays a crucial role in
maintaining the sales and the profitability of the organization in any given customer segment.
The methodology that was used by the authors for making the research was data collection
through which the authors interviewed the samples for their research for obtaining the results.
The understanding of the market trends and the requirements of the people are being facilitated
through the trend analysis that was undertaken by the authors at the inception of the research
(Solomon et al. 2014). The basic correlation of the report with the concerned analysis is based on
the factor of understanding the requirements of the women in emphasizing on the brand equity.
The report proposed by Tifferet and Herstein (2012) clearly stated the high brand loyalty of
women. Therefore, the companies in Oman must take steps in order to bring in improvements in
their brand equity for holding on to the female customers. The research has emphasized on the
understanding of the impulsive shopping that is being undertaken by women in Oman. As per the
findings of Simha (2013) in his article “Identifying the Preferences and Brand Choices of Female
Customers for Cars: A Study Conducted In Muscat Region, of Sultanate of Oman”, the brand
equity and the management of the brands is a necessity for maintaining their market. The
organizations have taken no steps for bringing in the change in the patterns and the products for
marketing to the segmented group (Muruganantham and Bhakat 2013).
The brand loyalty of women are considered to be the higher than that of male (Rani
2014). Therefore, the articles have highlighted that the organizations must take steps to improve
the brand image in the markets for bringing in improvements in the structure and the functioning
of the organization in the market. The car is something that is perceived by women of Oman and
the Western world as an element that helps in making them independent (Kopetz et al. 2012).

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Therefore, every potential female customer buys a car based on the demand and the requirements
that the car is aimed at fulfilling. The article helps in determining the requirements of the women
customers, which helps the organizations in designing the cars (Rucker, Galinsky and Dubois
2012). On the other hand, the proper understanding of the different aspects of the change helps
in bringing in modifications in the products. The survey that was undertaken by the authors of
the articles has helped in determining the demand and the determination of the decision based on
the requirement of the women customers (Refer to Appendice 2).
4. An application of the evaluation on the Omani market
The proper identification of the characteristic elements of the Omani market will be
helping the entrepreneurs in making their sustainable growth and development. The
identification of the factors that are applicable for the market is based on the understanding of
the market trend and the understanding of the requirement of the people. The qualitative research
that is being undertaken by Simha (2013) points out the various elements of the consumers
buying behaviors based on the decision making. Buyer’s decision making is specifically based
on the quality of the products that are being delivered by the companies and the understanding of
the requirements of the people (Huang and Kuo 2012). On the other hand, it buys the raw
materials and processes for sufficing the needs of the customers and thereby the customers buy
their needs from the market. Therefore, in order to support the huge needs of the customers, the
market undertakes the buying activities.

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Figure 1: 7Os framework
(Source: Simha 2013)
Occasion of buying The market buys the raw materials when there
is a high demand for the commodities, which
the nation is failing, to support.
Operations The organization performs their distinctive
functions for making their progression in the
markets (Heitz-Spahn 2013)
Organizations The organizations perform in the market in
order to determine the demands of the people.
Objective of purchase The market buys the raw materials for

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development of the products in order to fulfill
the demands of the potential customers.
Objective of buying The market buys the product in order to
transform it into an utility for the customers
Outlets The different outlets from which the market
buys its products and makes the products
available to the consumers (Hung and Petrick
2012)
Occupant The people who can afford the high priced
brands occupy the market.
According to Simha (2013), the women in the nation are economically empowered
through the higher rate of education and the equal opportunities of employment that is being
given to the female customers. According to the report, there is an improvement in the
employment and growth possibilities of women from 22.2% in 2003 to 27% in 2010 (Rezaei
2015). Therefore, it has enhanced the chances of making the women more self-dependent. The
independence of the women is facilitated through the identification of the needs of buying a car
(Griskevicius and Kenrick 2013). They do not like depending on their husbands and their
partners for getting a ride on their cars, and thereby they desire to have a car of their own. In
order to support their needs the automobile manufacturing organizations must take steps in order
to facilitate the needs of the target segment (Katawetawaraks and Wang 2013). On the other
hand, the high financial status of the inhabitants of Oman and the industrial development has

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helped in the enhancing the scope of the organizations for their growth and expansion in the
Omani markets. The dependence of the organizations on the legislation of the nation has
encouraged the growth and expansion of their business enterprise in the Omani markets. The
determination of the demands of the female customers have helped the organizations in making
their progress in the international markets. The reliability of the target customers and the proper
maintenance of the quality of the products will be helping the organizations in making their
progress in the market structure (Shah et al. 2012). The flexible judiciary and the legislation of
the nation have helped in the evolution of the companies in the market. The proper identification
of the different channels and the determination of choice of the customers and the buying habits
will be helping the companies to flourish in the Omani markets.
5. Conclusion and recommendations
Therefore, from the above analysis it can be concluded that the proper understanding of
the needs and the requirements of the target segment of the market helps in determining the
aspects of the growth and expansion. The customer loyalty of the women is ranked to be highest
than that of the male members. The most intriguing characteristic of the Omani market is based
on the economic stability of the nation. It has helped the companies in making their
improvements based on the determination of the demand of the customers in the market.
Therefore, the companies are required to take steps in order to maintain their brand equity for
gaining the confidence of the women customers. On the other hand, the companies must also
take steps to bring in improvements in the design of the products and more specifically the
automobiles for fitting the requirements of the female customers in the market. The steps will be
helping the companies in retaining the customers and thereby it will be helping the company in
making their progress in the Omani markets.

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