BE201 Consumer Behavior: Tech Impact & Marketing Strategies AOU

This essay delves into the evolution of consumer behavior, contrasting traditional approaches with the impact of technological advancements. It highlights how businesses previously relied on direct, persuasive communication methods like television, radio, and personal selling to reach consumers. Now, technology empowers consumers with online research capabilities, access to reviews, and a demand for personalized experiences. The essay emphasizes the need for businesses to adapt by enhancing their websites, creating helpful content, and leveraging social media to understand consumer trends. Carrefour's implementation of technology to understand consumer behavior is examined, alongside its marketing mix strategies. Ultimately, the essay concludes that companies must meet the evolving needs and expectations of consumers in a competitive market to achieve sustainability. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and past papers for students.

Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Student’s Name
University Name
Author note

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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Introduction
The essay studies on consumer behavior, their way of responding to the goods and
services offered to them based on their needs and requirements. It determines the
consumer behavior in the past 5 years and how they approach the business prior to
technological advancement. It determines the how technology has changed consumer
behavior and gives them power. It provides marketing strategies to implement
technology to positively affect consumer behavior.
Discussion
Question 1
In the past years the business used to communicate with their customers and share
the relevant information with the consumers by using the traditional forms of
communication tools and techniques. Prior to technological advancement, the business
organizations utilized advertising and used a direct persuasive communication method to
target the buyers and the consumers. Television was used to reach the consumers, and
inform them about quality, price and availability of particular product. Radio was also
used to reach the consumers; newspaper, cinema and magazine were used by the
business organization to reach to their target audience. Personal selling was used widely
by sales personnel to create good relationship with the consumers. Sales promotional
techniques were used to stimulate prompt action from the consumers and influence
greater purchase of a particular product or service (Fowler et al., 2013). The consumers
on the other hand used to reach the business by directly approach them, through retails
stores or reaching to the business via a telephone call.

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With the advancement in technology the companies adapted new strategies to
keep up with the consumers. The consumers are more associated in dealing with the
business online through the use of website via Smartphone. The consumers perform
product research online through various researches. The consumers are entitled to view
the products and services offered by the company, they are provided with opportunity to
give their reviews of their experience with the company. Today technology has changed
the way consumers behave. Enhancing the websites of the customer and easy access to
the company’s website attracts the consumer. By creating helpful content and detailed
information on the company website enables the business to gain potential consumers.
Personalization of the business profile and website has become an important determinant
of influence customer experience and influence their behavior. The business needs to
implement strategy to identify the target audience and personalize the content and
product to influence positive consumer response. There is an increased need to enhance
the customer experience. Consumers have become the key to growth and profitability of
the business. The business must be willing to implement change according to the needs,
requirements and demands of the consumers. By taking the advantage of social media
platform, the business can assess the consumer trends and behavior and act accordingly.
Advancement in technology has made it easier for the business to launch online business
at a cheaper rate (Hajli 2014).
Question 2
Consumers are considered to be the king in the present era of marketing and
business. With the advancement in technology the consumers are given power to choose
the retail option as well as overseas shopping which are most convenient to them.

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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Therefore, the competition among the business has increased manifolds. The business
requires being lot more creative and innovative to be in a competitive position to gain
the market position and build a positive reputation in the market (Hajli 2014). The
consumers are forced to engage in different ways to reach out to the customers who are
increasingly sensitive to time and have various alternatives to choose from. Therefore,
the consumers have to be more creative and smarter in their approach in order to gain
relevant information among the consumer needs and expectations. It is required by the
business organization to strategically understand the changing needs and demand of the
customers (Gao and Bai 2014).
With the evolution of technology, the consumers have more power of choice and
have less time. The consumers have the power to select from various different options
and select the most efficient and expedient experience. The consumers look for easy
convenience stores where they walk in to grab the most suited from the various options.
The simplicity of technology has enabled the consumers to save time and effort (Yang
and Forney 2013).
Question 3
The Carrefour supermarkets have implemented information technology
advancement to influence the consumers to act positively. By implementing various tech
platforms, Carrefour has been selling its consumer insight products. By collecting
relevant information and data on consumer behavior, Carrefour will be able to entice
customers to make purchases (Mullen and Johnson 2013).

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Marketing mix of Carrefour:
Product: It offers huge variety of fresh products and grocery items to its customers.
Price: Carrefour implements strategy of offering low price and reasonable price to sensitive
products.
Place: Carrefour operates in more than 30 countries in Europe, Asia, USA and Africa.
Promotion: Carrefour implements relationship management strategy provides loyalty card to
its customers which ensure customer retention.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis it can be concluded that technology has changed the
consumer behavior. There have been raised expectations of the consumers since the
evolution of advanced technology. Companies are required to meet the needs of the
consumers to achieve sustainability in the competitive market.

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References
Fowler, D., Pitta, D. and C. Leventhal, R., 2013. Technological advancements and social
challenges for one-to-one marketing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(6), pp.509-516.
Link:https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/JCM-05-2013-0549?
journalCode=jcm
Gao, L. and Bai, X., 2014. A unified perspective on the factors influencing consumer
acceptance of internet of things technology. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and
Logistics, 26(2), pp.211-231.
Link: https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/APJML-06-2013-0061
Hajli, M.N., 2014. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International
Journal of Market Research, 56(3), pp.387-404.
Link: https://www.lyfemarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Compressed-PDF.pdf
Labrecque, L.I., vor dem Esche, J., Mathwick, C., Novak, T.P. and Hofacker, C.F., 2013.
Consumer power: Evolution in the digital age. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4),
pp.257-269.

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Link:https://www.marketingcenter.de/sites/mcm/files/downloads/research/lmm/literature/
labrecque_2013_jim_consumer_power_evolution_in_the_digital_age.pdf
Mullen, B. and Johnson, C., 2013. The psychology of consumer behavior. Psychology Press.
Link: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781134932825
Yang, K. and Forney, J.C., 2013. The moderating role of consumer technology anxiety in
mobile shopping adoption: differential effects of facilitating conditions and social
influences. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 14(4), p.334.
Link: http://ojs.jecr.org/jecr/sites/default/files/14_4_p04.pdf