Report: Analysis of Consumer Behavior and Purchasing Influences

This report analyzes consumer behavior, focusing on the internal and external influences that shape purchasing decisions. It examines various factors such as needs, motives, attitudes, perceptions, culture, subculture, household structure, and group affiliations. The report uses a case study approach, analyzing the decision-making processes of two consumers who purchased a GHD hair-straightener. It identifies the interplay of internal and external influences, concluding that both types of influences combine to drive consumer choices. The report also provides a profile of the target market for the product, based on the analysis of consumer behavior, suggesting women aged 19-25 as the primary demographic. The report utilizes credible sources including journal articles and industry information to support its analysis.

Running head: CONSUMER BEAHVIOUR
Consumer Behaviour
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author Note:

1CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Executive Summary
This paper examines the various kinds of internal and external influences that affect the
consumer and informs their behaviour when it comes to purchasing a product from the
market. Based on the earlier assignment, this paper analyses to understand which of these two
minds of influences are decisive and finds that both of these influences have a combined
effect in motivating a consumer to purchase the product of their choice.

2CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Different Types of Influences................................................................................................3
Internal Influences..............................................................................................................3
External Influences.............................................................................................................4
The Impact of These Influences.............................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

3CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Introduction
The factors which go on to influence and inform the decision of a consumer when it
comes to buying a product are varied and multifaceted in nature (Rani 2014). It is important
to evaluate and analyse all of these considerations in order to better understand the role of the
consumer in the market and how to better optimize the selling of products by factoring in the
demand of the consumer which is created from these influences. This paper shall have a brief
look at these influences and how do they enable the consumer to make an informed decision
when it comes to purchasing a product as well as to identify which of these influences are
paramount in creating consumer demand.
Discussion
Different Types of Influences
As it has been mentioned, consumers are subjected to a wide variety of influences
which go on to inform the decisions that they make regarding whether or not to buy a product
in the market. Although it may seem a daunting task at first, the classification of these
influences is relatively easy by identifying how these influences act upon the consumer in
making them decide to buy a product. These influences can be broadly classified into the
following:
Internal Influences
Also called personal factors, internal influences are those influences which inform the
consumer how exactly they would benefit from purchasing of a product. These influences
appeal to the consumer on a personal level and they establish a dynamic which operates
between the product and the individual consumer. Internal influences are not absoluter in
nature and they might be related to other forms of internal influences and all internal

4CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
influences are often subject to the workings of external influences. The following are the
major components of internal influences:
 Needs and Motives: A consumer’s personal needs and motives happen to be the most
singular and most significant component of internal influences. Here, need in terms of
consumer behaviour can be defined as the lack of something – usually a product –
which the consumer seeks to fulfil by purchasing it from the market. The desire to
fulfil one’s needs translates into the motivation with which a consumer seeks to buy
something.
 Attitude: Attitude refers to what a person thinks about something or someone.
Gauging the consumer’s attitude is very important when it comes to market a product
as the brand or product has to tailor itself in order to maximize the satisfaction of the
consumer, which may not happen if not taken into consideration (Teck Weng and
Cyril de Run 2013).
 Perception: Closely allied with motive and attitude is the component of perception.
Perception is an individual’s subjective reaction to anything that goes on in their
surroundings. With the regard to marketing, the objective is to always make the
consumer perceive that the product being promoted is good or beneficial for them
(Fall Diallo et al. 2013).
External Influences
External influences are those factors which are outside of the consumer’s own,
subjective motivations and inclinations. These include culture, subculture, household
structure and groups within which the consumer exists. These influences come about from an
individual’s formal and informal relationships (Sweeney, Soutar and Mazzarol 2014), hence
they are also called socio-economic influences. Some of these are:

5CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
 Culture: The culture within which a consumer resides has a huge impact on the
perceptions and motives of the consumer, thereby influencing their purchasing and
consumption patterns (Farr-Wharton, Foth and Choi 2014). Marketing strategies often
include provisions for taking the culture of the market into consideration.
 Subculture: Often, a culture may belong to another culture existing within the
context of the wider, dominant culture. For example, a person may identify
themselves as being a nerd or a geek within the hegemony of the pre-existing culture.
Products are marketed by segmenting the market according to these subcultures.
 Household structure: The number of immediate family members and their
preferences can also have a huge impact on the consumer’s preference for purchasing
a product (Khare 2014).
 Group: Consumer motivations and attitudes are also shaped by the group to which
they belong (Wang 2014). This can mean groups based on gender, ethnicity,
language, nationality, etc. Market strategists also tend to segment the market based on
the number of groups in the market and their distinctive attributes.
The Impact of These Influences
After having discussed in brief the components of internal and external influences, it
must now be determined which of these influences have been decisive in making the
respondents purchase the GHD hair-straightener, respectively. For R1, the product and the
brand was entirely new and so she had no perception or pre-existing attitude towards it. For
her, buying the product pertained to fulfilling her need of buying a new product in order to
replace her old flat iron. She relied on the suggestion of other people at coming to a decision.
She sought to buy something within her budget but was not satisfied on buying the
commodity due to the price.

6CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
On the other hand, R2 was attracted to the hype around the new product as she had a
pre-existing experience with the brand and her attitude towards it was positive. This
prompted her to try out the new product without any kind of doubt or hesitation, knowing that
the quality of the products marketed by the brand was high. She was happy with the purchase
and she had no problems, rather, she was excited to try out the new features that the product
had to offer.
From the above, it seems that neither of the influences have are decisive in informing
the consumer’s purchasing behaviour. Instead, internal and external influences seem to
combine in making the consumer decide what to buy and for how much (Gifford and Nilsson
2014).
Conclusion
From the earlier assignment and from the analysis done on in this paper, it could be
stated that the target market for the GHD hair-straightener would be women between 19 and
25 years of age and who are well aware of the brand and its products. This target market
would unhesitatingly purchase the products being offered in the market and they would get
the satisfaction they want from their investment. Therefore, for this product, the mentioned
target market is proposed for consideration in order to increase the sales of the concerned
product.

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References
Fall Diallo, M., Chandon, J.L., Cliquet, G. and Philippe, J., 2013. Factors influencing
consumer behaviour towards store brands: evidence from the French market. International
Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 41(6), pp.422-441.
Farr‐Wharton, G., Foth, M. and Choi, J.H.J., 2014. Identifying factors that promote consumer
behaviours causing expired domestic food waste. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 13(6),
pp.393-402.
Gifford, R. and Nilsson, A., 2014. Personal and social factors that influence pro‐
environmental concern and behaviour: A review. International Journal of Psychology, 49(3),
pp.141-157.
Khare, A., 2014. Consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence as a determining factor
of ecologically conscious behaviour. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(1), pp.2-20.
Rani, P., 2014. Factors influencing consumer behaviour. International journal of current
research and academic review, 2(9), pp.52-61.
Sweeney, J., Soutar, G. and Mazzarol, T., 2014. Factors enhancing word-of-mouth influence:
positive and negative service-related messages. European Journal of Marketing, 48(1/2),
pp.336-359.
Teck Weng, J. and Cyril de Run, E., 2013. Consumers' personal values and sales promotion
preferences effect on behavioural intention and purchase satisfaction for consumer product.
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 25(1), pp.70-101.
Wang, S.T., 2014. Consumer characteristics and social influence factors on green purchasing
intentions. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(7), pp.738-753.