Consumer Behaviour
INTRODUCTION
Consumer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the consumer playing the three distinct roles of users, payer and buyer.
Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.
WHAT IS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?
Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘the dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behaviour, and environmental events by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives’. There are at least three important ideas in this definition: (1) consumer behaviour is dynamic; (2) it involves interaction between affect and cognition, behaviour, and environmental events; and (3) it involves exchange.
• CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS DYNAMIC
First, the definition emphasis that consumer behaviour is dynamic. This means individual consumers, consumer groups, and society at large are constantly changing and evolving over time. This has important implications for the study of consumer behaviour as well as for developing marketing strategies. In terms of studying consumer behaviour, one implication is that generalizations about consumer behaviour are usually limited to specific periods of time, products, and individuals or groups. Thus, students of consumer behaviour must be careful not to over- generalize theories and research findings.
In terms of developing marketing strategies, the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour implies that one should not expect the same marketing strategy to work all the time across all products, markets, and
Consumer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the consumer playing the three distinct roles of users, payer and buyer.
Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy products. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.
WHAT IS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?
Consumer behaviour can be defined as ‘the dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behaviour, and environmental events by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives’. There are at least three important ideas in this definition: (1) consumer behaviour is dynamic; (2) it involves interaction between affect and cognition, behaviour, and environmental events; and (3) it involves exchange.
• CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS DYNAMIC
First, the definition emphasis that consumer behaviour is dynamic. This means individual consumers, consumer groups, and society at large are constantly changing and evolving over time. This has important implications for the study of consumer behaviour as well as for developing marketing strategies. In terms of studying consumer behaviour, one implication is that generalizations about consumer behaviour are usually limited to specific periods of time, products, and individuals or groups. Thus, students of consumer behaviour must be careful not to over- generalize theories and research findings.
In terms of developing marketing strategies, the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour implies that one should not expect the same marketing strategy to work all the time across all products, markets, and